Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access to at least seven Bitcoin related websites Tuesday on the grounds that the currency “contributes to the growth of the shadow economy.” ITAR Tass reported that Roskomnadzor claims the implementation of the ban follows a court order dating from September 2014, which read: Introduction in Russia of other monetary units ...

Online goods marketplace Etsy Inc. is looking to raise $300 million in a first quarter IPO, according to a report from Bloomberg. Founded in 2005, the company focuses on handmade and vintage items, as well as art and craft supplies. Items available on the Etsy site include art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, quilts, and toys. ...

Ross Ulbricht went on trial Tuesday before a Manhattan Court on multiple charges stemming from his creation and administration of notorious darknet marketplace Silk Road. Ulbricht is facing charges of conspiring to commit narcotics trafficking, conspiring to commit computer hacking and conspiring to commit money laundering. The defense opened with attorney Joshua Dratel admitting upfront that Ulbricht ...

Google has launched Google Domains in beta to the United States market, a domain registration and site building platform it has been privately testing since June 2014. The service, like those provided by the likes of GoDaddy Group Inc. and Namecheap Inc., offers domain registration services across a number of TLD (top level domain) extensions, from ...

Bitcoin storage provider Elliptic Enterprises Ltd. has achieved a Bitcoin industry first in obtaining ISAE3402 accreditation from a “big four” accounting firm for financial reporting at a standard applied to banks. The London, England-based company provides services to investment funds and trading houses, covering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency storage solutions. ISAE 3402 accreditation: Assurance Reports on Controls at ...

Restaurant review company Zomato Media Ptv Ltd has acquired Urbanspoon from IAC/InterActive Corp. The price of the acquisition has not be disclosed, but is believed to be around the $60 million mark according to Geekwire, who broke the story. Urbanspoon offers restaurant search, reviews and ratings and has a strong presence in the United States, Canada, U.K., ...

The British Prime Minister said Monday that the U.K. Government would ban encrypted apps after the next U.K. General Election in May unless security services were given backdoor access to spy on users. David Cameron, in what is surprisingly not an April Fools Day joke, cited the recent terrorist attacks in Paris as his raison d’etre. “The ...

The Internet of Things comes in all shapes and sizes in 2015, and whereas some have dubious merit, occasionally you hit something so cleverly simple yet useful you just go wow. Meet smrtGRiPS, billed as the “world’s first connected bike grips.” The initial reaction maybe one of doubt, as upfront the obvious question is why in the ...

In 2015 Podcasting is cool again. Led by Serial, the space has had a second coming, and the Bitcoin market hasn’t missed out on the action. We’ve cruised the web to deliver you a list of some of the best Bitcoin podcasts available. They vary from news, commentary, and even through to a touch of music and comedy ...

Google is said to be updating its Google Translate app to allow speech to text translation in real time, following a similar move by the Microsoft-owned Skype in December. According to The New York Times, the updated app “will automatically recognize if someone is speaking a popular language and automatically turn it into written text.” It’s not ...