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May 8, 2015 Peter Yeh

After proposing rules last year, New York State’s Department of Financial Services has granted a license to bitcoin exchange itBit, allowing the company to immediately begin accepting US customers. This makes itBit the first and only U.S. licensed and regulated bitcoin exchange as a trust charter company in full compliance with New York and federal […]

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October 29, 2014 Peter Yeh

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have come down with serious regulatory decisions that will impact every Bitcoin-related business from exchanges like Coinbase, payment processors like BitPay, to even the Reddit tip bot you got Dogecoins from. FinCEN’s two rulings say that despite trying to pass virtual […]

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October 2, 2014 Rhett Jones

A new Banksy piece appeared in a small British town, which the artist authenticated via his website. Alas, by that time, the piece had already been buffed off the wall after complaints that it was “racist and offensive,” even though it was obviously a satire, critical of racism and xenophobia. The piece featured a bunch of pigeons holding […]

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September 19, 2014 Marina Galperina

According to the newest “Billionaire Census” from Wealth-X and UBS, there are 7% more millionaires in the world than last year. Most of them reside in New York, home to the biggest wealth gap in the country. There are 103 billionaires in the city, followed by 85 in Moscow and 82 in Hong Kong. A typical billionaire is […]

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July 9, 2014 Peter Yeh

Roger Ver or “Bitcoin Jesus” — no seriously, people call him that — gave up his US citizenship for citizenship in St Kitts and Nevis, the famous tax shelter in the West Indies. He has also offered to help any other Bitcoiner with “Passports for Bitcoin:” Having a second citizenship and passport in a stable country is now a […]

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June 2, 2014 Andy Cush

Last month, the NYC data blogger Ben Wellington of I Quant NY discovered the most profitable fire hydrant in the city. Wellington analyzed data about parking tickets to find the spot, which sits on Forsyth between Rivington and Delancey on the Lower East Side. He also figured out why the hydrant is such a money-maker: confusingly, […]

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May 27, 2014 Andy Cush

We’ve griped before about the city government’s dogged refusal to funnel any public funding to Citi Bike, and now, City Hall wants a $1 million payout from the cash-strapped program. As the Wall Street Journal points out, the city’s contract with Alta Bicycle Share, the company that operates Citi Bike, stipulates a payment from Alta to […]

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May 22, 2014 Andy Cush

Being able to afford owning a home in New York City takes a yearly salary of about $90,000, according to a new report. Compare that to Cleveland, where prospective homeowners need only make $29,788.67, or beautiful Pittsburg, which requires $30,177.78. NYC didn’t even top the list. That honor goes to (surprise!) San Francisco, where affordably […]

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May 20, 2014 Andy Cush

Are you a “budgeted student, who have (sic) a primary residence?” A “full time work (sic) who rarely stays at home (Male renters only)?” How about a masochistic hermit who enjoys low light and beds that looks like prison cells? This Final District rental is perfect for you. As spotted by Curbed, the room-cum-dungeon of existential despair features high-speed […]

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Andy Cush

The saga of Banksy’s “Mobile Lovers” — a piece the artist painted on a wall in his native Bristol in April — has been a long one, but it seems to be drawing to a close. Dennis Stinchcombe of Broad Plains Boys Club, a nearby youth organization that claimed the work as its own and […]

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