Cointelegraph will be live-streaming crypto and fintech conference MoneyConf in Dublin, Ireland as the event’s official media partners starting today, June 12. The conference – organized by the team behind annual tech conference Web Summit – includes speakers from across the crypto, blockchain, and fintech industries, including Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Joseph Lubin of ConsenSys, Square CFO Sarah Friar, and Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne. From the cultural side, musician Imogen Heap, also founder of music blockchain ecosystem Mycelia, will lead a panel titled “Is all fair in music and blockchain?” Today’s lineup kicks off with opening remarks from Paddy Cosgrave, the …

You may think that you have never heard of Laszlo Hanyecz, a Florida-based programmer working for online retail company GoRuck, but you’d probably be wrong — Hanyecz was behind the inspirational purchase of two pizzas from Papa John’s for 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) back on May 22, 2010, making this week a celebration of Pizza Day’s eight year anniversary. But the transaction did not involve only one person: Jeremy Sturdivant, also known as Jercos, participated in the original Bitcoin pizza deal as the recipient of those 10,000 BTC that he turned into two pizzas. Ever since the fateful first-ever recorded transaction …

Nasdaq has named blockchain API developer Chain as the first company that will be trialing a blockchain backed version of the group's Private Market for trading pre-IPO company's shares. Nasdaq embraces blockchain tech In an announcement on June 24, Nasdaq OMX Group explained that Chain would be the first company on the Private Market to be issuing, cataloging, and managing transactions of their privately issued shares through blockchain technology. The problem the companies are trying to solve is the difficult bookkeeping and paperwork currently associated with issuing shares in a private company. The paper records used are frequently outdated as …

Overstock sold its first cryptobond, the cryptography team at Blockstream unveiled its first prototype sidechain and more top stories for June 9. Overstock Sells World's First Cryptosecurity Overstock has become the first company to solicit qualified institutional buyers in a digital corporate bond which will trade using blockchain technology. CEO Patrick Byrne purchased the world's first cryptobond for US$500,000. The pioneering development is part of the company's larger cryptofinance initiative known as Medici, on which Overstock expects to sell a total of US$25 million in digital bonds. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said: "The cryptorevolution has arrived on Wall Street [...] …

On June 5, retail giant Overstock became the first company to offer a corporate bond, valued at US$25 million, as crypto securities to qualified institutional investors. The offering is part of the company’s bitcoin blockchain-based initiative called Medici. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne stated in a press release: "The crypto revolution has arrived on Wall Street. We're making it official by offering the world's first crypto security.” The crypto securities, or stocks, will be powered and issued by Overstock’s TØ.com platform, which Overstock said “refers to the fact that trades on the system securely settle same day, as opposed to three …

Overstock takes steps toward issuing blockchain-secured stocks by purchasing a 25% stake in trading firm Pro Securities. Following their March application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue US$500 million worth of blockchain-secured crypto stocks, Overstock has started securing the plan for the opening of their Medici stock market. By acquiring a stake in a trading firm, which is rumored to be valued at US$250,000, Overstock has lined up the “alternative trading system” needed to actually allow interested investors to purchase crypto stocks. Pro Securities is already registered with the SEC in this capacity, reducing the amount …

A curious user recently asked members of the Bitcoin subreddit how they spend their bitcoins on an everyday basis. Because Reddit is a global community, it's likely that their responses are reflective of overall patterns. Here's how the bits are flowing today: 1. Coffee and Food Delivery – Couture coffee got a whole lot cheaper the day that Foldapp started offering 20% off Starbucks purchases. Redditors also use bitcoins for food delivery services like Foodler, Magic and Thuisbezorgd (Netherlands). Word on the street is that Foldapp will soon add both Whole Foods and Target to its 20 % off list, …

Stock exchange operator NASDAQ is experimenting with blockchain technology, Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul has named Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne as a member of his tech council, and more top stories for May 11. NASDAQ Tests Blockchain Technology Stock exchange operator NASDAQ is experimenting with blockchain technology to see if it could be used for the trading of shares of private companies. More precisely, NASDAQ is testing blockchain tech in NASDAQ Private Market, a marketplace that handles pre-IPO trading among private companies, and where transactions are currently largely handled with informal systems such as spreadsheets. NASDAQ Chief Executive Robert Greifeld …

A bill aimed at getting the state of Utah to accept bitcoin for states services passes its first reading in the Senate. The bill has now passed its first Senate reading having already passed through the House of Representatives with a slim majority of 38 Yes votes against 36 No's. Utah state representative Marc K. Roberts introduced the proposal, Bill H.C.R 6, to the Clerk of the House of Representatives on February 10. The bill states in its general description that its aim is to look into how the state could accept bitcoin, specifically: “This concurrent resolution of the Legislature …

A resolution put before state lawmakers in Utah could see the Beehive state legitimize Bitcoin as a legal payment method. H.C.R. 6, the “Concurrent Resolution on Payment Options for State Services” introduced by Republican Marc K. Roberts: “[P]roposes the creation of the Council on Payment Options for State Services to study whether and how the state could accept bitcoin as a valid form of payment.” Consideration of such a resolution at state level means Utah joins several US states taking an active stance towards Bitcoin’s role in the local economy. One of these is New York, which is in the …

Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne discusses the vulnerabilities of our current financial system, and explains how "blockchain trading" could solve these flaws, at CATO Institute conference. On November 6, Patrick Byrne gave a keynote at the Cato Institute’s 32nd Annual Monetary Conference, where he discussed Wall Street's organized crimes and explained how blockchain technology could solve our financial system's weaknesses. In reference to an article written by Wired, entitled "Meet Patrick Byrne: Bitcoin Messiah, CEO of Overstock, Scourge of Wall Street," Byrne started by clearing the air: "My commitment isn't to Bitcoin. It is to the crypto revolution, and to the …

Keynoting at the Inside Bitcoins Conference in Las Vegas, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne wowed the crowd by announcing a stock market based on the Bitcoin block chain protocol. Byrne stated: “Overstock went public in 2002. And it became very clear to me, very quickly, that there was a tremendous amount of criminality on Wall Street. And I was asked to take part. Then in 2007, a very well known hedge fund manager sat me down on Wall Street and said, ‘You need to understand, Patrick, you’re the most hated man I’ve ever known in my entire life. I hope they …