“The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.”
Abedier, Osama, 101
Alcor Life Extension Foundation, 7
Alibaba (Chinese Internet company), 261
Alice (hypothetical user), 9, 11, 21–23, 358–359
Alipay (Chinese payment processor), 260–261
Allen & Co., 181, 292, 349, 353
altoid (screen name), 69, 248. See also Ulbricht, Ross
Andreessen Horowitz, 186, 192, 329
Andreessen, Marc, 181, 186–187, 293–295, 303, 335
Andresen, Gavin
beginnings with Bitcoin, 44–47, 49–50, 323
as Bitcoin central figure, 59–62
Bitcoin mining, 53, 192–197, 329
Bitcoin promotion, 75–76, 101–106
creation of Bitcoin Foundation, 138, 141–142
dealing with scandals, 99
relationship with Satoshi, 55–56, 80–86
responding to Mt. Gox collapse, 309
2014 Bitcoin Pacifica (Lake Tahoe), 346–348
Anoncoin (digital currency), 270–271
Anti-state.org (website), 29
Argentina, 153–161, 182, 240–242, 259, 277–280, 286, 349–353
ASIC (computer chip), 189–190, 259, 329–330
Assange, Julian, 56–57
Athey, Susan, 345
Atlantis, 245
Australia, 44–45, 117, 168, 171
Automated Clearing House (ACH), 133
Avalon (ASIC), 190, 206
Back, Adam, 17–22, 339, 348
Baidu (Chinese search engine), 261–262
bank bailout of 2008, 32, 111
Bank of America, 272
Bates, Richard, 75–77, 115–116
bee-te-bee (Chinese Bitcoin), 255–256
Beijing Summer Olympics (2008), 145
Benchmark Capital, 282, 293, 305
Bernanke, Ben, 266
Bezos, Jeff, 353
Bharara, Preet, 299–300
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 353–355
Bitcoin
arrival of Gavin Andresen, 44–47
arrival of Martti Malmi, 29–30
building trust, 24–25, 33, 48, 61–62, 69, 99–100, 279, 315, 339
buying/selling with, 43–44, 82, 119–120, 129–130
changing business model, 236–239
characterization as “cryptocurrency,” 36
comparison to gold, 157–158, 165, 182
comparison to paper money, 219, 286–287
creation and operation of original code, 4–6, 20–24
disappearance of Satoshi Nakamoto, x–xiii
hacking and scandals, 91–99
increasing price/value, 38, 66–69, 79, 81–85, 89–91, 131, 175, 180, 184, 193–196, 204–206, 210–211, 250–253, 262–264, 267, 271–275, 284–285
legality/government regulation, 196–198, 251
limitations based upon computers, 347
Mt. Gox collapse busts bubble, 308–317
origin and ideology, vii–xv, 5, 113–114
as Ponzi scheme, 220
proof-of-work, 18–19
Bitcoin Foundation
candidacy of Bobby Lee, 345
dealing with Bitcoin collapse, 314–315
Gavin Andresen as member, 192
involvement in Senate hearing, 265–267, 270, 300–302
Patrick Murck as member, 176
planning and creation of, 138–142
regulatory problems, 217–219, 233–236
resignation of Charlie Shrem, 302
Bitcoinica, 237
Bitcoin Investment Trust, 314
Bitcoin Meetups. See conferences (Bitcoin and others)
Bitcoin mining
about process vulnerability, 41–42
creating blocks and recording transactions, 359–361
creation of ASIC chip, 189–192, 259, 329–330
creation of Avalon chip, 190, 206
formation of mining companies, 294–295, 328–329
formation of mining pools, 192–194
GPU technology, 42, 56, 189–191
growth in China, 259–261, 329
Litecoin mining, 283
more users increased difficulty, 53
role in securing system, 100
Satoshi Nakamoto patterns, 324
specialized computers/computing power, 105, 170, 190, 233, 324, 330, 347
The Bitcoin Show (TV program), 102, 128
Bitcoin software
about operation, 23, 357–362
beta testing, 25–26, 58
changes to code, 22–24, 35–39, 43–46, 55–58, 61–62, 141, 309, 346–347
creating/maintaining protocol, x, 5–6, 32, 99, 215–216
creation and launch, xiv, 30–31, 319, 346
downloads, 49–51, 80, 237, 261
Google interest, 100–102
hard fork, 193, 195
“1 RETURN” bug, 56
role of public-key
cryptography, 9–10, 17–18
running on Macintosh, 41
transaction malleability problem, 309–314
updates and old versions, 37, 59, 193–195
version 0.2, 37
version 0.3, 47–48
version 0.319, 59
version 0.7, 194–195
version 0.8, 194–195
The Bitcoin Trader (blog), 195
Bitcoin White Paper, 21, 45, 339
Bitfury, 330
bit gold, 18, 338–339
BitInstant. See also Shrem, Charlie
attracting investors, 130–135
creation and function, 128–130
dealing with problems and competitors, 201–207
hacker penetration, 150
investment by David Azar, 134, 150–151
investment by Roger Ver, 128
investment by Winklevoss twins, ix, 173–176, 211–215
involvement of Erik Voorhees, 135–137
management problems, 220–222
regulatory problems, 222–224
trading volume, 201, 205–207
BitLicense, 302, 317
Bitomat (Polish exchange), 97–98
BitPagos (Argentinian payment service), 278–279
BitPay, 134, 211, 219, 272
Bitstamp (Slovenian exchange)
about founding, 203
attendance at 2014 Bitcoin Pacifica, 252–253, 337
regulation of virtual currencies, 271
response to Mt. Gox collapse, 309–310, 315
surpassing Mt. Gox volume, 236
trading volume, 262–263, 267
working with banks, 327
blind digital signatures, 12
blockchain
banking interest in the technology, 324–328
Bitcoin transfers, 97–98, 133, 148, 182, 203–204, 235–237
creation and function, 21–26, 43, 55, 61, 340
dealing with hard fork, 193–194
generating new coins, 361–362
increasing file size, 100–101
sidechains, 348
use by mining pools, 191–194
use by money transfer projects, 188–189, 336
winning acceptance and approval, 269–274, 289–290, 345
winning blocks, 361
Blockchain.info, 237–241, 252, 270, 315, 330–331
Blodget, Henry, 182–184
Bloomberg, Michael, 144, 325
b-money, 339
Branson, Richard, 297
Briger, Pete, 163–165, 201, 236, 252–253, 281–283, 287–288, 302, 342–343. See also Fortress Investment Group
Brito, Jerry, 79–80
Bruno, Joe Bel, 322
BTC China, 255–264, 267–269, 275, 284–285, 300, 315, 343–345. See also China
BTC Guild, 195
BTC King (screen name). See Faiella, Robert
Buffett, Warren, 353
Burges, Kolin, 310–312
Business Insider, 184
BusinessWeek, 197
Byrne, Patrick, 289
Canada, launch of Mint Chip, 133
Carper, Thomas (senator), 235, 267–268
Cary, Nic, 239, 252, 296–298, 333
Casares, Belle, 154, 162, 243, 352
Casares, Wences. See also Lemon Digital Wallet and Xapo
background and arrival at Bitcoin, 153–165
Bitcoin as commodity, 274
Bitcoin holdings, 287–288
Bitcoin promotion, 179–180, 185–187, 197, 209–210
Bitcoin promotion in Argentina, 240–242
conference attendance, 181–185, 214–216, 349, 351–355
development of Lemon Digital Wallet, 201–205
sale of Lemon Digital Wallet, 252, 280–283
seeking business investors, 291–296
startup business financing, 305–306
2013 Argentina, Bitcoin meeting, 277
Xapo founding and operations, 349–351
Casascius coins, 126–127
chronicpain (screen name). See Green, Curtis
cimon (screen name). See Variety Jones [vj]
cirrus (screen name), 246–248
Chaum, David, 10, 12, 23, 71. See also DigiCash
China, xiii, 128, 183, 190–191, 273–275, 280, 329. See also BTC China
CIA. See U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
Coinapult, 174, 338
Coinbase (Bitcoin service). See also Ehrsam, Fred
about the founding and operation, 203–204, 211–213
investment by Andreessen Horowitz, 293–295
maintaining private keys, 281
regulation of virtual currencies, 271
regulatory compliance, 236–237
response to Mt. Gox collapse, 315
transaction fees, 290
working with banks, 305–306
CoinLab, 138, 144, 200, 213
COIN (Nasdaq ticker symbol), 353
Collins, John, 265–266
conferences (Bitcoin and others)
2011 CIA interest in Bitcoin, 81
2011 NYC Bitcoin World Expo, 102–106, 135
2011 Thailand, Bitcoin, 104
2012 Amsterdam, Bitcoin, 104, 297–298
2012 Federal Reserve on money transfer, 132–133
2012 NYC, Bitcoin, 104
2013 Allen & Co., 181, 349
2013 Argentina, Bitcoin, 277–283
2013 San Jose, Bitcoin, 214–216
2014 Allen & Co., 262, 349, 353–355
2014 Austin, Bitcoin, 331–336
2014 Bitcoin Pacifica (Lake Tahoe), 337–345
2014 SXSW, 334–336
2014 Utrecht technology, 298
The Construction and Operation of Clandestine Drug Laboratories (Jack B. Nimble), 69
Costollo, Dick, 181
Cowen, Tyler, 286
CRASH (CRypto caSH), 12
credit cards
Bitcoin as replacement, 23, 158–160, 235, 292
digital wallets and, 101, 154, 209
disputes and chargebacks, 64, 134, 343
lack of privacy, 11
Target Corporation, data breach, 288–289
transaction fees, xii, 102, 240–241, 272, 277–278, 290, 343
WikiLeaks blockade, 57
Crisis Strategy Draft, 313–315
cryogenics, 7
cryptocurrency, 36
Cryptonomicon (Stephenson), 19, 252
currency debasement, 30–31
Cypherpunk Manifesto, 8–12
Cypherpunks
awareness of privacy and data vulnerability, 8–9
conceptualizing future of money, 11–13, 16
facing digital money obstacles, 19–20
philosophical influences, 70
termination of mailing list, 20
Dai, Wei, 19–20
Darkcoin (digital currency), 270–271
Debt: The First 5,000 Years (Graeber), 157, 179
decentralized systems/technology. See also Blockchain
about Bitcoin ideology, 236
Bitcoin comparison to gold, x
building Bitcoin system, 55–56, 141, 292–294
development of payment systems, 129, 133
disadvantages of centralization, 113–114
Internet as, 182
Occupy Wall Street movement and, 111
open source software and, 45–47
P2P Foundation and, 30
regulatory compliance, 269–270
resolving problems, 195
Silk Road and, 118
trend toward centralization, 99–100, 347
Der-Yeghiayan, Jered, 246–248
DigiCash, 12, 19, 21, 23, 26, 158. See also Chaum, David
digital currency
Anoncoin, 270–271
Chinese potential, 260–261
creation of early systems, 12–13
Darkcoin, 271
Finney experimentation, 5
Greenspan prediction, 17
Liberty Reserve, 218
Mint Chip, 133
Q coin, 257, 260–261, 268
DigitalInk (screen name). See George, Jacob
Dimon, Jamie, 303–306
Dixon, Chris, 181–182, 186, 294
Dodd, Nigel, 16
Donahoe, John, 262
Donald, James, 24
Draper, Tim, 353
Dread Pirate Roberts [DPR] (screen name), 118, 121, 168–169, 171, 213, 225, 227, 248. See also Ulbricht, Ross
drugs/drug trafficking. See Silk Road
eDonkey (file sharing website), 50–51
Ehrsam, Fred, 334–336. See also Coinbase (Bitcoin service)
Electronic Frontier Foundation, 80, 270
Eleuthria (screen name), 195
encryption technology, 8–12. See also Public-key cryptography
exchange-traded funds (ETF), 222, 250
Extropians, 11
Facebook, 145
Faiella, Robert (aka BTC King), 130, 138, 299
The Far Wilds (online game), 50–51
FBI. See U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Reserve. See U.S. Federal Reserve
Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit [FinCen] (Treasury Department), 138, 196–197, 201, 234–235, 266, 325
Financial Times, 262, 317
Finney, Fran, 3
Finney, Hal
defense of Bitcoin system, 24–27
introduction to Bitcoin, 3–8
Lou Gehrig’s disease diagnosis, 27
return to Bitcoin community, 59–60
role in PGP, 10, 13
Finney, Jason, 27
FirstMark Capital, 144, 147–149, 176
Forbes, 80, 96
Fortress Investment Group, 180, 217–219, 252, 272–273. See also Briger, Pete
Founders Fund, 187, 211
4chan (hacker message board), 75
Freeman, Ian, 75–76
Free State Project, 107–110
Free Talk Live (radio program), 75–78, 108
Freis, James, 325
FriendlyChemist (screen name), 225–226
Gandalf (computer chip), 329
Garzik, Jeff, 83–84, 92, 99, 190, 196, 348
Gates, Bill, 353–355, 385n
Gawker (website), 83–84
George, Jacob (aka DigitalInk), 121
George Mason University, 80
Georgia, Republic of, 330
GitHub, 141
Goldman Sachs, 324–326
gold standard, x, 15–16, 31–32, 45, 109, 157–158
Gonzague, 312–315
Goodman, Leah McGrath, 319–324
Google, 101–103, 187, 248–249, 283, 304–305, 314–315, 334
Google Wallet, 101
government regulation/investigation
arrest of Roger Ver, 77–78
arrest of Ross Ulbricht, 170–171
BitInstant, 222–224
BTC China, 273–275
Erik Voorhees, 224–225
PGP and Zimmerman, 10
virtual currencies, 66–67, 196–198, 235
Graeber, David, 157
Great Depression, 31
Great Recession, banking crisis of 2008, 32, 111
Green, Curtis (aka chronicpain), 116, 170–171, 225, 249, 332
Greenspan, Alan, 17
hackers/hacking
Bitcoin vulnerability, xiv, 24, 154, 201, 215
BitInstant penetration, 150
message boards, 75
Mt. Gox penetration, 67–69, 82–83, 90–96, 99, 114, 205–207
ransom demands/payments, 82, 150, 169, 347–348
Silk Road penetration, 168–169, 225, 248–251
Target data breach, 288–289
vulnerability of private information, xii, 19
Hanecz, Laszlo, 41–44, 48, 58, 189, 215
Hashcash, 17–22, 339, 348
hash functions, 22, 25–26, 41–42, 136, 359–362
Hearn, Mike, 80–81, 99–100, 101–103, 320
Hoffman, Reid, 181, 183, 291–293, 353
Horowitz, Ben, 192, 335. See also Andreessen Horowitz
Huang Xiaoyu, 255–256, 258
Hughes, Eric, 8, 11–12
Huobi (Chinese exchange), 285
Iceland, 330
India, 350
WikiLeaks blockade, 57
Internet relay chat (IRC), 41, 54, 67, 196
Internet terrorism. See hackers/hacking
Jack B. Nimble, 69
Jiasule (Chinese security service), 261
Johnston, David, 204
JP Morgan Chase & Co., 202, 218, 303–306, 327
Juno Moneta (Roman god), 17
Kaminska, Izabella, 317
Karpeles, Mark. See also Mt. Gox (Bitcoin exchange)
arrival at Mt. Gox, 65–68
becoming Mt. Gox owner, 68–69
control over Mt. Gox code, 99
lack of management skill, 127–128, 233, 307–309
marginalization in Bitcoin future, 331
NYC Bitcoin Expo 2011, 103–105
struggling with Mt. Gox growth and problems, 140–141, 200–201
vacating Bitcoin Foundation seat, 345
Kodric, Nejc, 253
Kraken (Bitcoin exchange), 315
Krugman, Paul, 286
Kutscher, Ashton, 335
Kuzmin, Alexander, 135–136
La Nación (newspaper), 241
Larsen, Chris, 325–326
Lawsky, Benjamin, 225, 300–302, 304, 317
Lee, Bobby, 256, 261–265, 267, 273, 300, 343–345
Lee, Charlie, 100, 103, 105, 256, 283
Lemon Digital Wallet, 154, 160–162, 179–180, 242–244, 252, 261, 280–283, 351. See also Casares, Wences
Lenihan, Larry, 144, 176
Lerner, Sergio, 324
Levchin, Max, 185–186, 349, 353
Levine, John, 24–25
Liberty Reserve (online currency), 218
Liew, Jeremy, 300–301
Lilla, Mark, 111
Ling Kang, 268, 274–275
LinkedIn (networking site), 291–292
Litecoin, 256, 283, 286
Luria, Gil, 271–272
MagicalTux (screen name). See Karpeles, Mark
Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange. See Mt. Gox (Bitcoin exchange)
Magic: The Gathering (online game), 51, 77
Maguire Ventures, 149
Makan, Divesh, 293
Malka, Micky, 179–180, 201–203, 210–212, 236, 242, 252, 282–283
Malmi, Martti
beginning connection to Bitcoin, 29–30, 200
entry into Bitcoin operations, 33–39, 44–50
exchange services and forums, 53–54
making Silk Road work, 72, 84
reduced role in Bitcoin, 58–60
return to Bitcoin community, 348
running Bitcoin website, 66, 80–82, 86
Marcus, David, 158–159, 181, 184–185, 201, 216, 281, 292, 349
Mark Twain Bank, 12
Maxwell, Gregory, 348
McCaleb, Jed
creation of Ripple, 187, 325
exclusion from Bitcoin Foundation, 139
founding of Mt. Gox, 50–53
handling Mt. Gox disputes and problems, 63–65
Mt. Gox account hacked, 90, 94–95
partnership with Mark Karpeles, 65–69
2011 NYC Bitcoin Expo, 103–105
2014 Bitcoin Pacifica (Lake Tahoe), 337
views on political ideology, 112–113
meetups. See conferences (Bitcoin and others)
Memory Dealers, 78–79, 93, 126. See also Ver, Roger
Mercatus Center, 80
Miller, Ira, 137, 174, 176, 201
mining. See Bitcoin mining
Mint Chip (Canadian digital currency), 133
money/monetary systems
about origins and determination of value, 15–17
basis of market economy, 11
Bitcoin as form of, 82, 286
Bitcoin as replacement for gold, 182
currency debasement, 30–31
evolution of credit, 157
gold standard, x, 15–16, 31–32, 45, 109, 157–158
jokes on nature of, 146
money laundering
Bank Secrecy Act enforcement, 196
Bitcoin as form of, 84, 303
investigation and arrests, ix, 224–225, 249, 266–267, 298
PayPal investigation as, 186, 216
regulatory compliance, 92, 203, 218
Mongolia, 330
Morehead, Dan
gathering for Lake Tahoe poker game, viii, xii–xiii
investment in Slovenian exchange, 236
invited to work with Fortress, 217
meeting for first Bitcoin Pacifica, 251–253
meeting for second Bitcoin Pacifica, 337–342
relocation out of Fortress offices, 342–343
Morton, Chris, 221–222
MS Haberdasher (screen name), 170
Mt. Gox (Bitcoin exchange)
about the founding and growth, 50–54
arrival of Mark Karpeles, 65–69
contending with competitors, 97–102
federal seizure of assets, 213–214
government regulation, 66–67
hacker vulnerability/penetration, 67–68, 82–83, 89–96
management problems, 307–309
plans for closure, 312–314
reaction to collapse and bankruptcy, 314–316
shutting down exchange, 193, 205–207
trading disputes and problems, 63–65, 85–86, 199–207
trading volume, 53, 79, 201, 203, 207, 209–210
transaction malleability problem, 309–312
Murck, Patrick, 139–142, 176, 233–236, 265–267, 269, 302
Murdoch, James, 181
Murdoch, Rupert, 353
Murrone, Federico (“Fede”), 159–160, 201, 280–281, 349, 351
Musk, Elon, 187
MyBitcoin (online Bitcoin wallet), 98–99, 113–114, 237
Napster (music sharing service), 35, 50–51, 347
Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 222, 353
Nas (rapper), 335
National Security Agency (NSA), 8, 271
Nebseny, Val, 329–330
Nelson, Gareth, 129–130
NewLibertyStandard (screen name), 37–39, 41, 48, 69
Newsweek, 319–321, 324–325, 342, 347
New York, State of. See Government regulation/investigation
New York Times, 211, 293, 303, 365
“99 percenters.” See Occupy Wall Street movement
Niven, Larry, 7
Nixon, Richard, 31
nob (screen name), 121, 170–171, 332
Novogratz, Mike, 180
O’Brien, Eric, 210
Occupy Wall Street movement, xi–xii, 111–112, 140, 157, 287, 331, 336
OKCoin, 344
Olympic Summer Games (Beijing, 2008), 145
“1 percenters,” wealth distribution, 287, 336
Overstock (online retailer), 289–290
Ovitz, Michael, 183
Pantera Capital, 217, 343
Patagon, 162
Paul, Ron, 110–111
PayPal
about founding, 185–187, 291–292
acceptance of Bitcoin, xii, 261–262
Bitcoin support from, 129, 158–159, 184–185, 192, 349
buying/selling Bitcoin through, 38, 52–54, 110
ransom demands and criminal use, 347–348
restrictions by Argentina, 159–161
shutting down Mt. Gox account, 64
WikiLeaks blockade, 57
Paysius, 174
PC World, 57
People’s Bank of China, 273–275
Pidgin (chat service), 246
Pirate Party, 35, 333
Ponzi scheme, Bitcoin as, 220
pornography, 72, 112, 117, 126, 234
Powell, Jesse, 94–96, 103, 105, 127–128, 139, 252, 315, 337
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), 10, 13
proof-of-work, 18–19
P2P Foundation, 30, 323–324
public-key cryptography, 9–10, 141, 185–186, 238, 248, 281, 320, 330
Q coin (Chinese virtual currency), 257, 260–261, 268
ransom demands/payments, 82, 150, 347–348
Reeves, Ben, 237–239
reusable proofs of work (RPOWs), 18–19
Reuters, 211
Ribbit Capital. See Malka, Micky
Ripple, 187, 325
redandwhite (screen name), 225–226, 245
Russia, 54, 135–136, 197
Sacks, David, 192
Salmon, Felix, 210–211
SatoshiDice (gambling site), viii, 136, 193, 224, 338
Satoshi Ltd., 174
Satoshi Nakamoto
creation and promotion of “e-cash,” 5, 20–22
disappearance/search for, xiv, 60–62, 80–81, 141
participation in forums, 55–56, 58–59
unearthing identity, 319–324, 339–340
Schumer, Charles, 84, 269
SecondMarket. See Barry Silbert
Shared Coin, 270
Shasky Calvery, Jennifer, 235, 266
Shrem, Charlie. See also BitInstant
arrest by federal agents, 298–300
background and founding of BitInstant, 128–130
lack of management skill, 220–224
marginalization in Bitcoin future, 331–334
vacating Bitcoin Foundation seat, 345
Silbert, Barry, 143–144, 147–149, 217–218, 300, 303–304, 314, 325–326
Silicon Valley Bank, 203–204, 305–306
Silk Road
additional resources, 368n
BitInstant transactions, 129–130
creation and business concept, 69–73
as fringe group experiment, 335
government investigation, 84–85, 121, 169–171, 213, 227–229, 298–300
growth and success, 115–121, 137–138, 167–168
growth in membership, 75–77, 82–84
hacker penetration, 169, 225–226
seizure by FBI, 245–253
Silk Road 2.0, 269–270
Sirius-M (screen name). See Malmi, Martti
Slashdot, 47–51, 53, 58
Snoop Dogg (rapper), 297
Snowden, Edward, 271
The Social Network (movie), 145
Songhurst, Charlie, 184, 292
Spain, 330
Spitzer, Elliot, 186
SpongeBob SquarePants stickers, 39, 69
Srinivasan, Balaji, 191–192, 294–295, 329
scout (screen name), 169, 246
silkroad (screen name), 73, 118. See also Ulbricht, Ross
Stephenson, Neal, 19, 252
Summer Olympics (Beijing, 2008), 145
SVBitcoin (email list), 204
Swap Variety Shop, 39
Szabo, Nick, 18–19, 338–341, 351
Taaki, Amir, 57–58
Tanona, Bill, 165, 180
Target Corporation, data breach, 288–289
taxes/taxation, 13, 126–127, 168, 219–220, 239–241, 287
Tea Party movement, xi–xii
TechCrunch, 214
Tencent (Chinese Internet company), 261, 284–285
Texas Bitcoin Association, 331–334
Thiel, Peter, 185–187, 192, 211, 291
Tibanne (cat), 66, 140, 200, 312
Tibanne Ltd., 68
Time (magazine), 79–80
Tor (software/network), 71–73, 120, 245, 369n
Transaction malleability, 309–310
Trickster (screen name). See Malmi, Martti
21e6 (mining company), 191–192, 294–295, 329
Two Bit Idiot (blogger), 315
Ukraine, 329–330
Ulbricht, Lyn, 331–332
Ulbricht, Ross. See also Silk Road
about creation of Silk Road, 69–73
arrest by federal agents, 246–251
fundraising for legal defense, 331–332
murder-for-hire accusations, 225–226, 332
plans to go off-the-grid, 226–229
Underground Brokers (renamed Silk Road), 70. See also Silk Road
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 78, 81, 86–87
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 121, 247
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), 186, 234, 266–267
U.S. Department of the Treasury. See Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit [FinCen]
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), 298
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 137–138, 227–228, 245, 247–251
U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), 114
U.S. Federal Reserve
about role as U.S. central bank, 17, 23
assessment of Bitcoin, 266–267, 289, 328
function of gold standard, 31
monetary policy, 80, 110–111
technology, adaptation to, 132–133
2008 big bank bailout, 32, 286
U.S. Government. See Government regulation/investigation
U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 248. See also Taxes/taxation
U.S. Marshals Service, 353
U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), 271, 342
U.S. Secret Service (USSS), 17, 266–267
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ix, 224, 338
Variety Jones [vj] (screen name), 118–119, 228
Vaurum (Bitcoin company), 340–341
Vavilov, Val, 330
Ver, Roger. See also Memory Dealers
background and intro to Bitcoin, 77–80
as Bitcoin spokesman, 214
dealing with ransom demands, 348
investment in BitInstant, 128–131, 175
investment in Blockchain.info, 237–239, 252
meeting Erik Voorhees, 107–110
NYC Bitcoin Expo 2011, 103–105
promotion of Bitcoin, 127–128, 294
reaction to Mt. Gox collapse, 311, 314
relocation to Japan, 125–126
renouncing U.S. citizenship, 126, 169, 234, 330, 338
responding to Mt. Gox hack, 92–96, 308
size of Bitcoin holdings, 287
2013 Argentina, Bitcoin meeting, 277
Vessenes, Peter, 138, 144, 200, 213, 233
Virtual money. See Digital currency
Voorhees, Erik
introduction to Bitcoin, 107–110
early vision/prediction about value, vii–ix, xi–xiii
gathering for Lake Tahoe poker game, vii–viii
joining BitInstant, 130–132, 135–137
sale of SatoshiDice, viii, xv, 224
van Der Laan, Wladimir, 348
Wagner, Bruce, 102–104, 128
Walker, Paul, 325–326
Washington Post, 267
Wells Fargo Bank, 202, 219, 272–273, 287–288, 302
WikiLeaks, xi, 56–58, 66–67, 80
Wikipedia, 4, 45
Williams, Tom (possible pseudonym), 98
Wilson, Fred, 154, 182, 212, 300–301, 305
Winklevoss Capital, 149
Winklevoss, Tyler and Cameron
backing BitInstant startup, ix, 144–149, 173–177, 201–202, 220–223, 297
buying/selling Bitcoin, 180, 196, 250–251
investment in Bitcoin, 211–215
loan to Mt. Gox, 205
Mt. Gox collapse, 312–314
regulatory filing for COIN, 353
testifying at government hearing, 300–302
Woo, David, 272
Woodside Bakery and Cafe, 291–293
World War II, 31
Wuille, Pieter, 348
Xapo, 281–282, 292–296, 305–306, 349–351, 353. See also Wences Casares
Yang Linke, 255–256, 258, 260
Yoda (computer chip), 329
Zimmerman, Phil, 10
Zuckerberg, Mark, 145, 176, 221, 291