Bonafide Raises $850k to Build Reputation System for Bitcoin

By Daniel Cawrey

A startup called Bonafide has raised $850,000 to build a reputation system for the bitcoin industry.

The funding round, which comes from Quest Venture Partners, Crypto Currency Partners and the AngelList Bitcoin Syndicate, among others, is a step towards creating a scoring system for addresses on bitcoin’s network.

Notably, Bonfide.io was included in Silicon Valley’s 500 Startups incubation program last year.

Brian Moyer, the firm's co-founder, said that 500 Startups venture partner Sean Percival saw early on the potential for Bonafide to create more credibility in bitcoin commerce, whether between consumers and merchants, or in person-to-person payments.

Moyer said:

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UK Exchange Launches with Backing From Regulated E-Money Firm

By Joon Ian Wong

The team behind a regulated e-money issuer has launched a bitcoin exchange called Digital Securities Exchange (DSX).

The issuer, ePayments Systems Ltd, has been an authorised electronic money institution with the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, since last July. ePayments Systems has in turn made DSX its agent.

The move is meant to position DSX to capture the market for sterling-bitcoin trading, said Mike Rymanov, who founded and leads both ventures.

Rymanov said:

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Cautionary Tales on Bitcoin Security

By KIRK PHILLIPS

Bitcoin Exploration

The Bitcoin ecosystem has many different types of platforms such as exchanges, payment service providers, reporting platforms and an array of other supporting services. Every time you create a new account your online profile expands, increasing the risk of breach with one or all of your accounts. Private keys and passphrases should be managed as securely as possible, and the same for login credentials. The following tales are filled with valuable lessons for stepping up your game with digital identity management.

Gone Phishing

Paul Boyer, creator of the “Mad Money Machine” podcast on the “Let’s Talk Bitcoin” network, learned a tough lesson recently. Paul happily received donations totaling 3.3875 bitcoins, about $2,000, from loyal listeners until he discovered a zero balance in his wallet at the end of June 2014. He collected donations using a payment service provider normally paying out bitcoins in U.S. dollars on a daily basis, but he never submitted a bitcoin payout address, so the coins just accumulated, awaiting the attention of hackers. That was his first mistake.

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