VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The biggest Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp has temporarily halted processing withdrawals because of a denial-of-service attack but assured users that no funds have been compromised, TechCrunch reported.

The price of the digital currency bitcoin slid to its lowest level in nearly two months on Monday after bitcoin digital marketplace Mt. Gox said a halt on withdrawals it announced on Friday would continue indefinitely after it detected "unusual activity."

The Central Bank of Russia echoed its statement that the Ruble is the country's official currency, and being a money substitute, Bitcoin is now banned because it is reportedly used in illegal activities.

Alleged Silk Road operator Ross William Ulbricht will have a November 3 trial date after pleading not guilty in a Manhattan federal court, Bloomberg reported.

State authorities in Florida have arrested and filed charges against three individuals who they alleged were doing illegal operations involving substantial amounts of Bitcoins, Krebs on Security reported.

The value of digital currency Bitcoin plunged 21% to $619 from $783 after Tokyo, Japan-based exchange paused its trading because of an increase in withdrawal requests.

New Bitcoin startup investor Ben Horowitz of US-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Bitcoin skeptic Felix Salmon made a bet against each other on the status of the digital currency as a payment mechanism by 2109.

Startups that intend to give Bitcoin investors protection from losses arising from hacking and theft have emerged from the phenomenal rise of the digital currency, Bloomberg reported.

iPhone fans aren't too happy that Apple has decided to remove a Bitcoin application called Blockchain from the app store, with some taking extreme action to show their displeasure to Apple, Bloomberg reported.

Tokyo, Japan-based Bitcoin exchange Mt Gox announced on its site that it temporarily halted Bitcoin withdrawals to resolve a technical problem that arose from the increased withdrawal traffic.

Tech giant Apple has cleared the App Store of all Bitcoin mobile wallet apps by pulling Blockchain from the store on Wednesday without a clear explanation for the move, but retained other non-wallet Bitcoin apps in the said store.

The hearing held by New York State banking regulator Benjamin M. Lawsky points to more regulation in Bitcoin's future, The New York Times The Dealbook reported.

BTC China, the biggest bitcoin exchange in the world, has begun allowing users to buy the digital currency using Chinese yuan again, just a month after it halted renmibi deposits because of a bank warning.

Bitcoin' chances to get recognition as a legal form of money or payment has been slimmed down again when a top foreign currency in Sweden, SEB AB, denied its clients' requests to open accounts in the bank to manage Bitcoins the latter owned.

Charlie Shrem and Robert Faiella, both executives of New York-based Bitcoin exchange business BitInstant, were arrested for money laundering in connection to the illegal drug transactions on an online black market, according to the Manhattan US attorney.