How to display Mt.Gox Bitcoin data in your website - AJAX request to retrieve market prices for Bitcoin at Mt.Gox

With my miners wasting time in the customs office i will use the time to spread some useful information. At least for the aspiring developers among you.
Here's a little jquery snippet which will fetch you the current Bitcoin exchange rate.
The example requests US dollars, and inserts the data in various ticker fields.

<script type="text/javascript">
$(function() {
    $(document).ready(function(){
        $.getJSON('https://data.mtgox.com/api/1/BTCUSD/ticker', function(data) {
            $('#ticker-high').html(data['return'].high.display_short);
            $('#ticker-low').html(data['return'].low.display_short);
            $('#ticker-avg').html(data['return'].avg.display_short);
            $('#ticker-volume').html(data['return'].vol.display_short);
            $('#ticker-buy').html(data['return'].buy.display_short);
            $('#ticker-sell').html(data['return'].sell.display_short);
        });
    });
})
</script>

Obviously for this to work you need some jquery running. I recommend the use of a content delivery network for this. Cloudflare offers a great service for this called cdnjs.com which also supports ssl.

Hope i could help you. If you like some advice on how to save a complete history of the bitcoin trade networks to your database please leave me a comment.

I also like to say sorry for the recent troubles with the coin-inc collector. There were some errors with the time zone settings on the new server but we fixed it.
Also, the forwarding to the next faucet happens automatically now. You just need to fill the capture and press enter... then again... then again... ;-)
We are working in all spare time on a new setup which will further ease the collection of free Bitcoin taking out the need to change between the faucet sites. If you like to support the development please find a donation address at coin-inc.com.

Have a good day and see you soon forum!

Tim

It seems the first "live with Bitcoin only" experiment is underway - American couple plans documentary

According to a source at Forbes magazine Austin and Beccy Bingham Craig plan to live the first 3 months after their honeymoon on Bitcoin only. Their motive "to see if it works" is good enough for me, given that in recent polls especially americans became kown for distrusting their currency. (The distasteful comment "In god we trust" on the US currency seems like a Karma-backfire in this light.)
I and all people i talked to about wish them good luck.
In our opinion the experiment can only be a success - as it either works out for the two or points out the gaps in the market where Bitcoin start-ups can still get a foothold or a niche for them.

I am also happy to announce that the Bitcoin market graph on the mother-site coin-inc.com is coming along. We are still collecting data but a basic Euro curve has been implemented already.
Just leave me a comment about which Bitcoin data would be interesting for you guys and we can adjust our priorities accordingly.

In other news: The tracking number of my miner states it is due to arrive in the target-country. I am well happy it shipped and will keep you updated!

See you soon forum!

best regards,

Tim

$US 11.500.000 volume BTC deal of undiscloed investors buys out Bitcoin bet platform Satoshi Dice - And betting on things you made up

Hi dear forum!
It seems i have been right with my predictions ;-)
Which brings us immediately to gambling in general. Without a general human need to gamble places like Las Vegas, Macao and others would surely not exist - an ample supply of flashing lights, magician shows and pale booze can be secured at other destinations.
And as always when it comes to public eye - everybody is surprised that apparently more gambling has taken place than anybody previously thought. (Any similarities to publications about global spy networks are purely by chance).
For Satoshi Dice it has been enough to put out a fair market-price of 126.315 Btc (source), though i do hope that future investors into the Bitcoin business will hold back a bit with their plans. Yes it would push the price through newly invested money in the short run, but without a broader userbase the only people using the coin will be themselves. Thus creating "a bubble to be" as the other vital market ingredient - the user - is neglected. More apps need to be provided to make BTC everyday-friendly for the normal user. One updated wallet app is not going to cut it in the long run. Sadly enough we also had to read about more leaks in current operating systems and apps such as the unencrypted mail password saving function in Blackberry devices (source) or Androids notorious saving of your wireless LAN passwords (source). Things like these do encourage the normal user to tighten their security - they resign in the face of overwhelming threats.
Business-wise i am happy to see that more and more providers emerge to offer Bitcoin payment interfaces for online merchants and other services.
There will be a few more coughs and hick-ups along the way, but that's quite normal if your are the first with something. Now backed by even more other crypto-currencies Bitcoin is even less likely to vanish from the market, given that the investments made into Bitcoin give trust and credibility to crypto-currencies as a whole.
If you have an own opinion about this - and i hope you do - you're welcome to post your outlook at BitBet and see it become a statement people can wager Bitcoin on ;-) (source)
The most scary and the wildest fantasies of Bitcoin are brought together here, voiced by the users and you can quite legally take a bet on it.
In other news: Yesterday i had contact again with my supplier and was promised my tracking numbers on the new Butterfly ASIC's - As soon as they arrive i will update you with "Tim's Miner Test Of Scrutiny".

I also would like to inform about coin-inc.com again. A witty Bitcoin collector that i helped devise.
Hence my appeal - Coin-inc.com is currently in open beta phase and is tested to breaking-point during this period. We would like you to be part of this as the tool is supposed to be for you hunter-gatherers and it's ease our aim. Please leave us feedback in the comments here. Thank you

Until then:
Stay safe, happy mining and see you soon forum!

Best regards,

Tim

Playing games and getting paid is fine - taking control over the money-flow is even better!

Dear Forum,
this is sadly unrelated to Bitcoin though i thought it's worth informing about. There are a lot of sites that promise you payment though you will be limited to what you can click.
Check out GoldenBattles - In a global war against invading alien races you can make a stand, choose your career path, found companies and produce goods for the worldwide resistance.
Of it does not end there; you may also trade, scavenge, raid or fight your way to the top.
Though the best thing is - You can exchange your winnings into real currency and withdraw it to any bank or paypal account.
The forum is really helpful and an in game chat offers support by other members. Like global economy, it is shifting in the game too and the demands of war change all the time.
Take your chance to get to the top ;-)
If anybody is looking for me in-game - my players name is "minionTim" - hope to see you.
I have also found specific tutorials, so if you need some advice please leave me a comment.

GoldenBattles.com

Have fun playing and see you soon forum!

best regards,

Tim

P.S.: Any feedback on the Bitcoin Collector at Coin-inc.com is more than welcome. Being a surfer i tried to make it easy though you might have another opinion. Please comment.

coin-inc.com is online in open (gmail) beta! The ultimate Bitcoin collection tool

My attempts to outsource the coin-collection tool have led to www.coin-inc.com
Open beta in this case means that the workings stand so far and a reasonable amount of faucets and surf sites is integrated to reason publishing.
I have a handfull of other faucet sites i will add in the coming weeks though their developers didn't make them very compatible.
To use coin-inc.com just enter your bitcoin address and press "get coin" - then decide if you like to collect faucets or if you like the surf screen.

The faucet collection leads you through a cycle of faucets where you have to solve the captcha and hit enter. Your address is automatically entered into the according field.
In the top bar you will see a status change after solving the captcha and you can press "next".
Via "my account" you can see all timers and the remaining minutes for your entered bitcoin address.
No more guessing. See when you can collect and get their automatically through coin-inc.com

The surf screen contains currently 4 surf and PTC sites on which you can simultaneously collect Bitcoin! No more multiple tabs and all timers in view!

That's it. Super easy to use - and incredibly useful!

If you have ideas or critics for the site and / or tool, you are most welcome to leave them here im my blog.

best regards and see you soon forum.


Tim

Bitcoin Faucets just upped their payout and the Bitcoin rates are climbing again! Collect some free Bitcoin now!

Hi forum!

I just discovered that the bitcoin faucets available in my bitcoin collection tool upped their payout from 0.00000100 to 0.00000250 per captcha. A 150% rise in free Bitcoin per visited Faucet!
Follow the link above or use the one at the top of sidebar to get to the coin-collector tool.

In other news: My Butterfly miner is about to be shipped. I am eagerly awaiting the tracking number.
And...
The Bitcoin exchange rate is nearly up to a 100 $US again. Told 'ya it was a speculator panic. ;-)

Sorry for the short post, but time is limited at the moment. Will get back with more in a few days.

See you soon forum!


Tim

Quick Update: Bitvisitors rates dropped massively, CoinAd paying more currently (up to 0.004btc daily)!

Ripple makes waves but leaves weird aftertaste - Lawyers accepting Bitcoin - and HMRC has a teabreak about whether Bitcoin is a currency

Good day to you forum!
In recent news floating the net there is a lot of talk on projects supporting the Bitcoin idea and related services. I have reported on a couple in recent posts. As more and more facts about these projects emerge and some lawmakers try get their head around digital currencies, there is more ground for speculations.
Reason i come up with this is the behavior of officials and banks towards the Bitcoin.
My assumption is clear: instead of fighting it (you cannot shut a peer to peer network down so easily) the credo is to howl with the wolves in order to get a cut of the pie.
The first steps have been the actions against Mt.Gox and other Bitcoin exchange networks by such illustrious agencies as the Department of Homeland security. On the grounds of being unlicensed money-transmitters. Does this now mean that when i hand old Jenkins from next door the 20 quid that Hammond gave me for him last week i am the potential target of DoHS? After all, my intentions where to demand a beer as transaction fee and i had not registered for a license to transmit money.
The second and higher tier steps are Ripple & co. According to the makers it will be a "PayPal like peer to peer credit and banking system" and a main feature is to be the so called "Bitcoin Bridge". To sell it to us the user we get shown the advantages of more exchange points in the network. Which would lead to greater stability as the global market would not suffer as much as before when one of these platforms denies service for what-ever reason. It would also give access to the bitcoin trade to wider masses as the nerd-factor diminishes through a UI such as Ripple's Bitcoin Bridge. There is no need to have Bitcoins to purchase something with them.
And exactly here is the soapy aftertaste. Anonymity within this trade network is gone for the Bitcoin, except you sell a digital good via TOR network. Chances are some people do this but it's not applying on most goods.
With all the anonymity dwindling we will undoubtedly hit the point where somebody wants to tax the new found wealth. But this will also be the point where governments have to acknowledge Bitcoin as a currency, therefore lifting their course again (so likely that i would bet on it. leave me your offers in the comments). The British HMRC (Her Majesties Revenue & Customs) is currently having a bit of a quandary whether or not to accept Bitcoin as a currency (source). Apparently nobody needs to register their UK Bitcon exchanges under the terms of the money laundering regulations, but this information seems as stable as uranium when considering a paragraph from a letter of the HMRC:

We are currently in discussions with HM Treasury concerning this market and whether HMRC will be a Supervisor for this market. HMRC will be watching any developments relating to the Bitcoin market and may change our view, therefore I would suggest that you regularly check our news and update section on our website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/mlr and sign up for our e-mail alert system at www.uktradeinfo.com/AboutUs/Pages/EmailAlertServices.aspx.

Until something changes then standard Tax rules apply according to an HMRC spokesperson.
And accepted currencies rarely tend to vanish. They are rather exchanged for a newer, better systems. So we came from pebbles, to shells, to gems, over gold to the colorful paperslips and know we exchange strings of numbers. It really does not matter. None of the former fills you up when hungry and their value will always be fictive.

But should you get into trouble along the way, don't worry. You can now also use your Bitcoin to pay lawyers and attorneys. The law firm "Nesenoff & Miltenberg LLP" based in Manhattan has now announced to accept payments in Bitcoin. They state to have found a niche market in digital currency and plan to allocate more resources to "figuring out a lot of these complex bitcoin and digital currency problems". (source)

Bottom line is the world tries to get to grips with Bitcoin, one way or the other. The global tendency is upwards even though a few panicking speculators have drawn the price down temporary.
If you have thoughts or questions to this please write in the comments.
Until then - have a nice day forum!

regards,

Tim

Bitcoin plunges but earns worldwide words of praise - Newcomers, merely an addition

The Bitcoin course has had a dive recently just as it seemed to hold stable at a hundred $US. This is obviously fueled by a couple of factors and comparing blogs have already been quick to point the finger, but as always in life; it is probaly not as easy as pointing and shouting "Witch!".
Of course there are speculations done on the price of Bitcoin, but being so volatile and with so little shift in value over the last 3 weeks it seems a pretty pointless calculation. Every speculator will know that with increased holding time also the risk grows and an imminent sell is needed to cut the losses. Thus Bitcoin seems not to lend itself to a speculation business intended on winnings.
The thugs also don't make cut. Even if Bitcoin are used to trade in illicit goods. Money and Credit Cards are too. So why does this make bitcoin any worse? Because they're anonymous? Credit Card payments are not anonymous and still billions of dollars are subject to fraud each year, and cash is just good for everything from stolen bicycle to a bribed politician. I remember one who was bribed with a Villa. Are houses bad now? Surely all crooks should be awaiting sentencing in light of this non-anonymity. Yet they aren't. In fact the news tell us these people count peoples votes in dollars and count money by weight.
To all of you grumpy authors i came across: You are just jealous that you didn't get into it when it was time. But if you still want some; I recommend my coin-collector or the 50+ free bitcoin sites list. Cause something tells me you don't like to pay for coins either.

Back to the good news. A german news magazine (Der Spiegel) published some information about a set of UK laws which target "reckless misconduct" amongst managing personal in financial institutes. It is to be seen if the legislation will hold up as a banker in jail seems as possible as not being spied upon.
An article at gigaom is introducing multiple UK start-ups in the London area and beyond that have written bitcoin on their flags. Given the nature of the newcomers it seems Bitcoin have lost their mystery. A multitude of apps leads the development that aim to integrate Bitcoin closer into everyday life with applications such as Bitcoin ATM's, Ripple - a further crypto-currency and currency exchange that founded their own currency: the Ripple (They offer ways to pay bitcoin receivers over cash accounts with them as middleman) and other apps and news about major investments into various Bitcoin projects
And the arabian Gazette has an opinion on the fate of Bitcoin. Also a very nice graphical model which explains the detailed way a bitcoin transaction goes. Since the author is stated on the document and it is not property i have taken the liberty and got the image for you.

I am happy to see the course climb again. The recent investment into Bitcoin ventures creates hope that more users and public trust are gained. A more stable exchange rate would be of advantage to everyone.
In unrelated news: Mastercard has announced to withdraw from the donation-boycott against Wikileaks. Consider donating some of your coins to this most valuable resource of real freedom on this planet!

Happy mining and have a nice day forum!

Tim

BBC article about BitCoin opens on a cliffhanger and ends with a logic conclusion

In a recent article on BBC Finance the author "Constance Gustke" was asking "Does digital currency have staying power?". It then describes parts of BitCoin history whereas they were invented in the far away japan and the jerry's even have websites to trade BitCoin into other currencies, including the ones your bakery accepts. The list does not stop there and by now "Merchants, such as online dating site OkCupid, are slowly starting to accept the digital money for goods and services".

Reading this far one asks oneself; The damn currency was invented in 2009 and is in use ever-since - how did the BBC manage to avoid them for about 4 years? Surely there must be another meaning to this pamphlet. And - oh surprise - as we read on, "Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss" turn up which we know from a dispute over the origins of social networking with mr. Zuckerberg.
Apparently they are investing into a BitCoin-trust which is (or is said to be) "designed to operate like an exchange-traded fund — to the public.". It's key feature "exposure to Bitcoins with minimal credit risk" is used as intro into the volatile behavior of the BitCoin exchange rate.
And here, after stating that BitCoin would hinder growth and "even sophisticated financial thinkers have trouble understanding how it works" The article finally concludes to a series of interviews that mirror the worlds need for an de-centralised and anonymous currency.
It must be a hard time for some people to think that there could be tax you should have paid on something. Or the tears you help shedding based on missing atm transaction fees.
! Do not forget to take your steps to prepare. It won't be the manager who feels the missing money, formerly skimmed by the establishment.
One of the most amusing bits is the relay of advise from "Jonathan Waller, who runs a Bitcoin meet-up in Tokyo". Where he states that "investors and consumers should not put more than 5% of their money into the currency". It is nice to mention this, but if needed for the target audience of BBC Finance, future prospects are pretty dim.

In the end the article lists all the other crypto-currencies they have found on wikipedia and adds the myspace example of falling giants in an attempt to keep up the doubt.
We know who keeps BitCoin alive; WE DO. We miners, gatherers, chatters, start-ups and users of BitCoin gave it its value at the first place. As i have reported in previous posts this does not go down well with financial institutions who fear to be beaten in "their" game.

Be smart and head over to the Coin Collector tool to gather some free Bitcoins right now while the rest of the world is still puzzled.
Because i (though i should say we) believe that BitCoin has the staying power it needs.

In other news: I am sorry to have delayed the cookie version of the Coin Collector tool, though for experience and performace reasons the Tool will get it's own dedicated space. See you soon on http://www.coin-inc.com ! More news on this space.

Btw. the source of the mentioned BBC article.

Stay safe, and see you soon forum!

regards,

Tim

The fixed Bitcoin Collector, a new site to gather some coin and a hopefully positive law

Hi there forum!
And sorry for the broken coin collector tool - It's fixed now! Somehow blogger seems to break the javascript into multiple lines which causes it to error.
So i decided to move this site to a dedicated url and space in order to have everything work properly. With the coming cookie (optional) i must also add a privacy policy, i hope you don't mind. There will be no google analytics running on the new page and though i cannot speak for the faucets.

In other news: coinvisitor.com is down, though some members report the chat as working. On the reporting page an argument about coinchat.org not paying it's visitors was put to rest by the operators of said chat. A bit further down we also find a new player in the bitcoin game: easybitco.in. They allow you optional retrieval by PayPal though you can keep anonymity with a bitcoin address and a made up email. Earning opportunities include a chat, paid to click, and offers with attached free bitcoins.
Also; the german "bundestag" ruled Bitcoin transactions tax-free if one year passes between purchase and selling of the held bitcoins. The politicians though do not yet answer on how they imagine a user to produce said proof. The original article can be found here.

Have a save day,  and see you soon forum!


Tim