A video posted by IBookStarsEnt.Bookings LLCπ⭐️π« (@ibookstarsent.bookings) on
Bitcoin's price fell quite sharply over the weekend, following the publication of Mr Hearn's blog.
One bitcoin is now worth $380 (£265), down from about $430 on Thursday.
However, the price of Bitcoin is notoriously volatile.
It has been classed as the best performing currency in the world in 2015.
But authors of that analysis, The Money Project, also noted it was the worst performing currency the previous year.
Besides price, Bitcoin has also suffered from a litany of cases in which bitcoins have been stolen from online exchanges in which they were stored, in some cases due to negligence or poor security.
Such incidents generally result in a complete loss of funds for the victims, since it is very difficult to trace where stolen bitcoins have been transferred.
Meanwhile, the currency continues to grow - a sign of good things to come, say many.
A video posted by IBookStarsEnt.Bookings LLCπ⭐️π« (@ibookstarsent.bookings) on
Bitcoin's price fell quite sharply over the weekend, following the publication of Mr Hearn's blog.
One bitcoin is now worth $380 (£265), down from about $430 on Thursday.
However, the price of Bitcoin is notoriously volatile.
It has been classed as the best performing currency in the world in 2015.
But authors of that analysis, The Money Project, also noted it was the worst performing currency the previous year.
Besides price, Bitcoin has also suffered from a litany of cases in which bitcoins have been stolen from online exchanges in which they were stored, in some cases due to negligence or poor security.
Such incidents generally result in a complete loss of funds for the victims, since it is very difficult to trace where stolen bitcoins have been transferred.
Meanwhile, the currency continues to grow - a sign of good things to come, say many.
Bitcoin's price fell quite sharply over the weekend, following the publication of Mr Hearn's blog.
One bitcoin is now worth $380 (£265), down from about $430 on Thursday.
However, the price of Bitcoin is notoriously volatile.
It has been classed as the best performing currency in the world in 2015.
But authors of that analysis, The Money Project, also noted it was the worst performing currency the previous year.
Besides price, Bitcoin has also suffered from a litany of cases in which bitcoins have been stolen from online exchanges in which they were stored, in some cases due to negligence or poor security.
Such incidents generally result in a complete loss of funds for the victims, since it is very difficult to trace where stolen bitcoins have been transferred.
Meanwhile, the currency continues to grow - a sign of good things to come, say many.
A video posted by IBookStarsEnt.Bookings LLCπ⭐️π« (@ibookstarsent.bookings) on
Bitcoin's price fell quite sharply over the weekend, following the publication of Mr Hearn's blog.
One bitcoin is now worth $380 (£265), down from about $430 on Thursday.
However, the price of Bitcoin is notoriously volatile.
It has been classed as the best performing currency in the world in 2015.
But authors of that analysis, The Money Project, also noted it was the worst performing currency the previous year.
Besides price, Bitcoin has also suffered from a litany of cases in which bitcoins have been stolen from online exchanges in which they were stored, in some cases due to negligence or poor security.
Such incidents generally result in a complete loss of funds for the victims, since it is very difficult to trace where stolen bitcoins have been transferred.
Meanwhile, the currency continues to grow - a sign of good things to come, say many.
A video posted by IBookStarsEnt.Bookings LLCπ⭐️π« (@ibookstarsent.bookings) on
Bitcoin's price fell quite sharply over the weekend, following the publication of Mr Hearn's blog.
One bitcoin is now worth $380 (£265), down from about $430 on Thursday.
However, the price of Bitcoin is notoriously volatile.
It has been classed as the best performing currency in the world in 2015.
But authors of that analysis, The Money Project, also noted it was the worst performing currency the previous year.
Besides price, Bitcoin has also suffered from a litany of cases in which bitcoins have been stolen from online exchanges in which they were stored, in some cases due to negligence or poor security.
Such incidents generally result in a complete loss of funds for the victims, since it is very difficult to trace where stolen bitcoins have been transferred.
Meanwhile, the currency continues to grow - a sign of good things to come, say many.
Mr Hearn, who had until recently been working on new software for the currency, says he has now sold all of his own bitcoins and will no longer take part in the crypto-currency's development.
So, is Bitcoin doomed?
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a crypto-currency - a system of digitally created and traded tokens to which value is assigned.
Computers have to solve cryptographic problems in order to add blocks to the blockchain - a ledger that records every transaction that has ever occurred with Bitcoin.
In return, those computers receive bitcoins in a process known as bitcoin "mining".
Users have a "bitcoin address", to which bitcoins may be sent or from which they may be used.
Addresses are stored online in wallets that function like bank accounts.
Although most people refer to Bitcoin as a currency, it is worth noting that for regulatory reasons many countries - including the United States - have decided to define it as a commodity instead.
What are the problems?
The biggest issue most bitcoin users acknowledge is how quickly new transactions can be processed.
As a result, the rate at which transactions can be processed has been slowing.
Indeed, some transactions face significant delays, hampering payments.
Some fear the network will eventually become oversaturated and cease to be usable.
Who is Mike Hearn?
Mike Hearn is a software developer who has worked on Bitcoin technologies for over five years.
In 2014, he left his job at Google to focus on Bitcoin full time.
He has worked closely with Bitcoin chief scientist Gavin Andresen on alternative software for Bitcoin called Bitcoin XT, which aims to address capacity issues facing the network.
Mr Andresen is generally thought of as next in the chain of influence over the currency's development after Bitcoin's mysterious founder, Satoshi Nakamoto.
How might the capacity of the network be increased?
Currently, each block can be no more than 1MB.
But in May last year, Mr Andresen said bigger ones should be adopted.
He later wrote, "It is more likely people [will] just stop using Bitcoin because transaction confirmation becomes increasingly unreliable."
The Bitcoin XT version developed by Mr Hearn, Mr Andresen and others offers to increase the block size limit to 8MB
There are alternatives, however.
Nic Cary, co-founder of Bitcoin start-up Blockchain, points to BitcoinClassic, which would increase the block size limit to 2MB.
Why is there a dispute over this?
Bitcoin's history as a "decentralised" currency has led to much hesitation over decisions that might change its fundamental nature.
Any proposal relating to Bitcoin is likely to encourage fierce debate and, in some cases, stagnation.
Some have argued vehemently against Bitcoin XT, causing a deep divide in the community. The New York Times has reported that death threats had even been made against some Bitcoin developers.
Mr Cary says the need to update the block size limit is not as urgent as some say.
"This is a matter of perspective," he told the BBC.
"The Bitcoin network has been updated safely dozens of times and will continue to be the most reliable, affordable, and efficient way to send value around the world."
However, there are some who feel that Bitcoin's potential as a currency has already been exhausted.
"I'm sure there are smart people right now working out what the next generation [of Bitcoin] should look like but I have to say I'm not convinced that money or payments is the optimum [use] of the technology," Dave Birch, a director at consultancy firm Consult Hyperion, told the BBC.
Part of the problem was the lack of consensus over what Bitcoin was and how it should be used, he added.
How 'healthy' is Bitcoin?
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionIn the past, Bitcoins stored in online exchanges have been lost or stolen - leaving their owners out of pocket
Bitcoin's price fell quite sharply over the weekend, following the publication of Mr Hearn's blog.
One bitcoin is now worth $380 (£265), down from about $430 on Thursday.
However, the price of Bitcoin is notoriously volatile.
It has been classed as the best performing currency in the world in 2015.
But authors of that analysis, The Money Project, also noted it was the worst performing currency the previous year.
Besides price, Bitcoin has also suffered from a litany of cases in which bitcoins have been stolen from online exchanges in which they were stored, in some cases due to negligence or poor security.
Such incidents generally result in a complete loss of funds for the victims, since it is very difficult to trace where stolen bitcoins have been transferred.
Meanwhile, the currency continues to grow - a sign of good things to come, say many.
Fujitsu has (once again) announced an avalanche of new hardware aimed at businesses, including a new hybrid, laptops and desktop PCs.
The 2-in-1 machine is the Fujitsu Arrows Tab R726/M, a 12.5-inch Windows tablet with a detachable magnetic keyboard (pictured above).
With the keyboard attached, it's 14.7mm thick and weighs 1.25kg, and the hybrid's display has a full HD resolution.
The tablet has a kickstand so you can prop it up for showing off your presentations, and it boasts an encrypted SSD for storage and a built-in security chip that manages encryption keyS.
There's also an optional dock and the Tab R726/M can be specified with LTE on board.
Fujitsu has also produced a second tablet with a 13.3-inch display which is dust, water and chemical resistant, and can be configured with a number of different elements including a palm vein sensor for security, and a Clearsure remote data wipe solution.
Multiple LifeBooks
As for the new Windows laptops, both the LifeBook S936/M and LifeBook U745/M have palm vein sensors – these allow you to login to the OS just by holding your palm above the machine. They also have the Clearsure remote data deletion solution
There are five further LifeBook notebooks coming out – the E756/M, E746/M, E736/M, E556/M, E546/M – which boast what Fujitsu calls a "Family Concept" chassis. The idea here is that employees can share accessories such as docking stations or power adapters amongst each other regardless of their exact model.
Finally, the new desktop PC is the Esprimo K556/M, a Windows 10 machine powered by the latest Intel Xeon CPU – the company has also added a new model to its long-life PC range designed to last a decade, namely the Esprimo J529/FA which also has a Xeon processor.
The LifeBook laptops will start to roll out from this month onwards, with the Esprimo desktops due next month, and the Arrows tablet and hybrid coming in March.
The Arrows Tab R726/M hybrid is pitched at 147,300 Japanese Yen, which is around £880 (about $1,250, AU$1,830), with the LifeBook laptops starting from 231,000 Japanese Yen – that's £1,380 (about $1,970, AU$2,860).
