Coinsetter has acquired Cavirtex in a record cryptocurrency merger, and Rand Paul is now the first presidential candidate in history to accept Bitcoin donations. Here are the cryptocurrency highlights of week 15.
- New Jersey is not intending to be very open to Bitcoin. The New Jersey Division of Taxation issued a memo in which it explains how both acquiring Bitcoin, as well as transactions in which the virtual currency should be subject to sales tax. Effectively, sales taxes would thus have to be paid twice for buying a single property with Bitcoin.
- New York City-based Bitcoin exchange Coinsetter has acquired the Canadian exchange Cavirtex. The latter exchange was forced to shut down following a hack attack earlier this year. The platform will now be reopened for trading under the same name. The value of the acquisition has not been disclosed, but it most likely concerns an amount of $2 million.
- The Bitcoin Foundation is “effectively bankrupt” according to one of its elected board members Olivier Janssens. Janssens writes: “the Bitcoin Foundation is effectively bankrupt. As a result of 2 years of ridiculous spending and poorly thought out decisions, they almost ran out of money in November of last year.” The Board of Directors responded by denying these claims. The truth may lay somewhere in the middle.
- Senator Rand Paul, the Republican presidential candidate, is now the first presidential candidate in history to accept Bitcoin donations to his campaign. Donations can be made in amounts up to $100 worth of Bitcoin. Senator seems to intend to at least run the most tech-innovative campaign in 2016.
- After a few relatively stable weeks the price of Bitcoin has declined again this week. The digital currency lost $17 per coin (over six percent) since last week, and is currently trading at about $237 per coin.
