Famous Addresses

How To Prove You Are Satoshi: Demonstrate Control Of The Block 9 Bitcoin Address

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Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto
Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto

Craig Wright
Craig Wright

The bitcoin address that received the 50 BTC mined in block #9 on January 9, 2009

12cbQLTFMXRnSzktFkuoG3eHoMeFtpTu3S

belongs to Satoshi Nakamoto. There were 14 blocks mined that day, the first day of bitcoin mining. None of the bitcoin addresses from that day have outgoing transactions (to date) except for the one from block 9. The block nine bitcoin address was used in the first transaction ever on January 12, 2009 to send Hal Finney 10 BTC. Continue reading How To Prove You Are Satoshi: Demonstrate Control Of The Block 9 Bitcoin Address →

Analysis

Bitcoin Ransomware Attacks

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This is a list of bitcoin ransomware attacks which I will be updating periodically as more become public.

Last Updated 11-June-2016

Date BTC Amount Paid (USD) Target City Country Virus Name Source
6/29/2016 500 Sports Team USA vocativ.com
6/7/2016 20,000 University Calgary, OT CA cbc.ca
4/25/2016 NA Utility Lansing, MI USA theregister.co.uk
4/1/2016 750 Fire Department Snoqualmie, WA USA CryptoLocker “Locky” eastofseattle.news
3/1/2016 Pending (4 BTC) Hospital Henderson, KY USA CryptoLocker “Locky” livebitcoinnews.com
3/1/2016 Pending Hospital Baltimore, MD USA Samsam aka MSIL or Samas baltimoresun.com
2/1/2016 17000 Hospital Los Angeles, CA USA CryptoLocker “Locky” wired.com
2/1/2016 450 Police Station Melrose, MA USA   ibtimes.co.uk
12/10/2015 500 Retail Store Calgary, OT CA cbc.ca
10/1/2015 572 Sheriff Office Dickson County, TN USA   bostonglobe.com
4/1/2015 500 Police Station Tewksbury, MA USA KEYHolder bostonglobe.com
1/1/2015 500 Police Station Midlothian, IL USA   bostonglobe.com
11/1/2013 750 Police Station Swansea, MA USA CryptoLocker “Locky” bostonglobe.com

From pymnts.com

In 2015, the FBI received roughly 2,453 complaints related to ransomware malware attacks, which amounted to $24.1 million in losses for victims

Related from The Merkle 11-June-2016
Cisco Ransomware Tool Can Now Decrypt All Versions of TeslaCrypt

Analysis

The Ever Popular DeepBit Mining Pool Address

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deepbit.net mining pool
Old DeepBit.net mining pool home
The bitcoin address of long defunct mining pool DeepBit [1VayNert3x1KzbpzMGt2qdqrAThiRovi8] is still somehow crazy popular. According to Blockchain.info’s “Popular Addresses” page, DeepBit holds the #8 overall ranking for most frequently used bitcoin address. But how can a defunct mining pool, that hasn’t found a block since 2013, and has only 47 transactions since January 1, 2015, still hold the #8 overall popularity ranking based on # transactions?

The most likely explanation has to do with the significance of DeepBit in the early days of bitcoin history. Continue reading The Ever Popular DeepBit Mining Pool Address →

Analysis

Top 50 Bitcoin Donation Address Rankings

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Original Gavin Andresen Faucet Page
Original Gavin Andresen Faucet Page

The First Ever Bitcoin Donation Address League Table

Gavin Andresen’s Faucet Ranks #1 With 19,922 BTC Received

One of the most redeeming qualities of the bitcoin community is their generosity. For every scammer trying to take advantage of the blockchain’s anonymity, there are multiple others giving transparently to a cause in which they believe. From the original Wikileaks campaign, which arguably put bitcoin on the map, to the current Free Ross movement, there is no shortage of organization’s taking advantage of bitcoin’s frictionless ability to cross borders and replace traditional payment systems.

This first ever ranking of bitcoin donation addresses is easily led by Gavin Andresen’s original faucet addresses. This faucet originally gave away 5 BTC just for solving a captcha when it first went live in July 2010. Talk about generous! The total received balance on these addresses is almost three times that of the second ranked Bitcointalk Forum address.

The popular Free Ross Ulbricht campaign address currently ranks #12. Free Snowden ranks #25.

Here are the rest of the top 50 bitcoin donation addresses based on total received balance out of 475 reviewed. Continue reading Top 50 Bitcoin Donation Address Rankings →

Interviews

A Living Currency: An Interview With “Jercos”, Party To First Bitcoin Pizza Transaction

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Jercos
Jercos

Living Currency

An Interview with Jeremy Sturdivant aka “Jercos”, the young man who sold two pizzas for 10,000 BTC in what would come to be recognized as the first transaction involving a tangible good or service in bitcoin history. Now recognized as “bitcoin pizza day”.

On May 22, 2010 Laszlo Hanyecz now famously declared success in his four day quest to trade 10,000 BTC for “a couple of pizzas”, posting on a bitcointalk forum page:

“I just want to report that I successfully traded 10,000 bitcoins for pizza. Thanks jercos!”

At the time the transaction was valued at $25. A year later it was $57,700. Continue reading A Living Currency: An Interview With “Jercos”, Party To First Bitcoin Pizza Transaction →

We put the pseudo in pseudonymous