JUN 15 DIGEST: Overstock Spends Bitcoin on 3 Domains; Anonymous Hacker ‘Doxes’ Silk Road Judge

Overstock bought three domain names and three social media handles for 150 bitcoin, hacker publishes meta-data details of Silk Road judge

Katherine Forest

‘s work accounts and more top stories for June 15.

Overstock Buys Domain Names and Social Net Handles with Bitcoin

According to thedomains.com, Overstock bought three domain names and three social media handles from Anonymous Media LLC. for 150 bitcoin. The first major retailer to accept bitcoin as payment is said to have purchased the domain names O.ly, O.vu and O.cr as well as the social networking handles of twitter.com/O; vimeo.com/O and O.tumblr.com, back in December 2014.

As such, this purchase may well be the first time a major merchant has spent bitcoins earned directly, without converting them to fiat currency.

Anonymous Hacker ‘Doxes’ Judge Katherine Forest in Silk Road Retaliation

An anonymous hacker who goes by the pseudonym PH1K3 published meta-data details about Silk Road judge

Katherine Forest

‘s work accounts, email interactions, websites visited, and more. This “doxing” was in retaliation to the judge’s role in sentencing

Silk Road

founder Ross Ulbricht to life in a high security prison.

In a statement, PH1K3 said:

“Ross Ulbricht is a programmer like me, just that we code different stuff. Ross coded a platform, he created Silk Road, and today Silk Road is in the hands of a crew and I think its going to be like [The Pirate Bay] a ship they can’t take down.”

Sweden’s Third Largest Bank Sponsors a Full-Page Ad to Explain Its Stance on Bitcoin

Swedish bank SEB placed a sponsored, full-page ad this week in

Sweden

’s largest online newspaper, Swedish Dagbladet. The author of the article, SEB’s chief strategist Johan Javeus, presents the usual examples of why the bank frowns on the cryptocurrency’s use. He says that it needs more stability and increased regulation in order for it to function effectively as a means of payment.

Javeus:

“There is a problem when there is no Governor acting anchor to a currency, to ensure stability.”

Bitcoin Vietnam Launches New Bitcoin Remittance Service

Vietnamese Bitcoin broker exchange service Bitcoin

Vietnam

officially announced the launch of cash2vn, a new service for international remittances to

Vietnam

via the Bitcoin network.

The new remittance service will enable users to send funds to their families and friends in

Vietnam

for a fee of US$2 per transaction. At the current stage, the platform allows remittances to any person owning a Vietnamese bank account, while the team Bitcoin

Vietnam

is working to enable additional methods, which should allow the unbanked population in

Vietnam

to use the service as well.

Bitcoin

Vietnam

CEO, Nguyen Tran Bao Phuong, said:

“To introduce the remittance service by leveraging the abilities of the Bitcoin network was one of the next natural steps on our road map as full-service provider around Bitcoin in Vietnam. “

Exchanges Refrain from Commenting on the Block Size Debate

While most Chinese Bitcoin exchanges, Western Bitcoin web-wallet services and Bitcoin software providers have weighed in on the recent debate regarding the block size limit, almost all of the non-Chinese Bitcoin exchanges have so far refrained from offering meaningful, public comments on the issue. As such, it remains unclear whether the Bitcoin exchange industry would be in favor of raising the block size limit to 20 MB, as proposed by Bitcoin Core Developer Gavin Andresen.

Living Room of Satoshi Allows Australians to ‘Pay Anyone’ With Bitcoin

Australian Bitcoin facilitator Living Room of Satoshi has pioneered a new program called “Pay Anyone.” Through Living Room of Satoshi, users can now send bitcoin to the company, which in turn will wire transfer the equivalent amount in Australian dollars to any Australian bank account.

Living Room of Satoshi CEO Daniel Alexiuc said:

“Bitcoin users can now pay their friends, tradesmen and anyone else; even if the recipient has no knowledge about bitcoin [...] This is a vital piece of payment infrastructure that is now available to all Australians.”

Interview with Alan Yong: ‘DNotes Will Be Known as the Currency with a Purpose’

After being introduced to cryptocurrencies in 2013, and conducting some serious research, Alan Yong wanted to add a human element to cryptocurrency. He therefore went on to found three cryptocurrency-based organizations: the Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plan, CryptoMoms, and Dnotes.

Cointelegraph spoke with Yong to learn more about his most recent projects.

Yong:

“No one has sufficient self-interest to promote and protect Bitcoin, with an over-emphasis that it is a trustless system. [...] How could I hand over my life savings, if no one could be held responsible or would stand by it to give me the confidence that it is in good hands?”