From the Front Page - Opinion
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OpenBazaar: The Decentralized Marketplace
April 19th, 2016 byahmadmanga
[Earlier this month](https://blog.openbazaar.org/openbazaar-is-open-for-business/), one of the most anticipated Bitcoin services was released. [Openbazaar](https://openbazaar.org/) is a decentralized marketplace where anyone can open their own shop and sell anything for Bitcoin, without middlemen or fees. Read More -
Bitcoin and Reading: Combining the Best of Two Worlds
March 15th, 2016 byahmadmanga
I'm Ahmad Al-Hemmally, known on the Internet as [@ahmadmanga](https://twitter.com/ahmadmanga). Bitcoiner and hobbyist [game developer](https://ahmadmanga.itch.io/). I always look for ways to earn bitcoin, and since I became [temporarily unable to use ChangeTip](https://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/post/the-africoin-report-changetip-isnt-global-anymore), I started playing with bitcoin [faucets](http://www.coinfox.info/faq/3175-what-is-a-bitcoin-faucet). ### Faucets  rise to the [top of the Bitcoin subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/433rmx/great_listen_great_attitude_amir_saw_mike_herns/). Many people said they missed the kind of spirit that Taaki brought to the table, along with others like him. Whether we like to admit it or not, we think Bitcoin is going through an identity crisis. Read More -
'Goodbye Mike and Some Thoughts About Bitcoin,' by Charles Hoskinson
January 16th, 2016 bycharleshoskinson
After reading Mike Hearn's [farewell letter to the community](https://medium.com/@octskyward/the-resolution-of-the-bitcoin-experiment-dabb30201f7#.6dik1397w), I've decided to finally draft my thoughts on the block size debate, but first a few things about Mike. Read More -
'Ross Ulbricht: A 170-Page Appeal for Justice,' by Jamie Redman
January 15th, 2016 byJamieCrypto
It's been close to a year since a federal jury sentenced 31-year-old Ross Ulbricht [to two life prison convictions](http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/29/technology/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-prison-sentence/) for running the Silk Road website under the name Dread Pirate Roberts (DPR). This week, the Ulbricht family attorneys have filed with higher courts to appeal all seven charges against him, submitting [170 pages](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2686067-Document-22.html) of arguments. Read More -
Mike Ward on 'Internet in Chains'
November 10th, 2015 bymdw
Seems like quite a bit of controversy was stirred up by the recent Economist article, "The great chain of being sure about things," which they say "has implications far beyond the cryptocurrency." Their point seems to be spot-on in my view. Bitcoin is a substrate for token-based systems of many sorts. But is it the most appropriate choice for all use cases? Aren't we likely to see MILLIONS of blockchains in the future? Read More -
MMM Global Republic of Bitcoin: Crypto's Next Scandal?
October 17th, 2015 byWilliam
Recently I came across a scam of alarming proportions. It is called “MMM Global Republic of Bitcoin.” Those who follow Ponzi schemes will immediately recognize the name MMM. In the 1990s, Russian fraudster Sergey Mavrodi ran one of Russia’s largest Ponzi schemes with the same name. Savvy marketing and promises of 1000%+ returns suckered tens of thousands of people into investing their savings in Mavrodi’s scheme. By 1994, when MMM’s offices were closed due to tax evasion, Mavrodi owed his investors beween 100 billion and 3 trillion rubles (between tens of millions and billions of dollars). Mavrodi spent a few years in jail, but by 2011, he was responsible for at least two other pyramid schemes. Now Mavrodi is back in business, bigger and badder than ever. This time he is using Bitcoin. Read More
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