More Bitcoin Problems

To some, not many, let's make that clear from the off, Bitcoin is seen as the future and that this new digital crypto currency will change how we use money, transfer money and trade money, however the problems simply keep on coming. Recently we have seen security breaches and the latest issue, and some would say quite a large issue is the fact that Bitcoins' largest exchange Mt.Gox has now suspended transfer withdrawals of US Dollars. The block on US withdrawals has been put in place for what we are told is a two week period and the reason for the block is stated as unmanageable volume. With 70% of all Bitcoin transactions controlled by the Mt.Gox exchange this could be seen as more than a little concerning and will surely bring a little more scrutiny on the Japanese based company from the US government which only last week seized funds that were sitting in the transfer intermediary Dwolla. Another huge concern for some users is that the exchange is allowing US Dollars in, but not allowing withdrawals, however it is worth pointing out that only the USD has been affected and that other currencies are operating as normal at present. The suspension of these withdrawals is something that banking regulators will surely monitor more closely than they are at present.

Bitcoin and Online Gaming

The online gaming world is still going through the whole, 'is this really for us' stage at the moment with as yet just a few operators accepting the new currency, with one of the issues being the instability and the constant huge fluctuations of the currency. In April 2013 one bitcoin was trading at $266 and just last week it was sitting at $107, which is an astonishing fall. With those types of drops and then the unsustainable highs it's no wonder operators are keen to keep an eye on things but at the same time, keep their distance. The same goes for online gaming players too, especially poker players who keep money sat in their player accounts for a long time. How would it even work for them? Depositing one Bitcoin in April would give you a balance of $266, do that very same thing today and you get just over the $100 mark. Just a year ago many in the industry were touting this global unregulated currency as the future of online gambling and to date not one major player has taken it on board, and that's looking likely to be the case for a little while longer.