VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Bitcoin has fueled a rise in cyberattacks where computers and data are held hostage until the owner pays the ransom in the digital currency, according to a report.

After the government announced a ban on the use of Bitcoin for financial institutions, China's biggest search engine Baidu Inc announced that it would no longer be accepting the digital currency as payment.

The market in mobile payment or transaction apps using Bitcoin as a payment option is being fueled by a growing interest in average consumers who view payments via their smartphones as an easy way to settle their dues.

China's central bank the People's Bank of China (PBOC) stressed the need for its domestic banks to avoid transactions using Bitcoin and other virtual currencies and vowed that it will launch countermeasures against illegal activities using the alternative online payments.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Bloomberg Television today that despite the high trading value of the Bitcoin, the virtual currency holds no intrinsic currency value like with real physical money.

A video footage of a college game fan holding a sign that read "Hi Mom send Bitcoin" was caught by ESPN's College Gameday yesterday, with The Verge confirming on its article that the fan raised around USD22,000.

According to Financial Times, the Bitcoin fever has caught on to Silicon Valley with digital currency companies getting venture capital financing in their early rounds.

In a bid to ensure the user security of in its platform, popular Bitcoin trading exchange Mt Gox announced today that it is implementing a new one-time password card system.

A report on the Financial Times recounted the similarities of the rise, and possible downfall of the popular Bitcoin to early virtual currency favorite e-gold.

BitPesa Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Rossiello claimed that the startup will reduce money remittances transaction costs and its turnaround time, which will challenge major players Western Union and MoneyGram International Inc.

Bitcoin advocate Mike Hearn and skeptic Dr. Stephen Kinsella shared their opposing views on the future role of the digital currency in a BBC News report.

Virtual currencies are all the rage these days, with Bitcoin at the lead. A report on The Irish Times examined the other solutions that the digital money could provide.

The Bitcoin is doomed to fail because it is private money. This was the view expressed by Edward Hadas, the economics editor of Reuters' Breakingviews.

The competition is growing in the world of virtual currencies as other rivals tout their advantages over the bitcoin, a report from The New Y0rk Times The Dealbook reveals.

Almost all cryptocurrencies (peer-to-peer digital currencies) has been growing fast over the last seven days, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, PeerCoin, Megacoin, and Namecoin, according to coinmarketcap.com.