Why Thursday may have been the strangest bitcoin news day ever

The purported unmasking of Satoshi Nakamoto by Newsweek on Thursday trumped any other bitcoin news. Whatever else was going on in the world of the world’s favorite virtual currency pretty much got ignored. Makes sense.

But to show just how strange and crazy things can be around bitcoin these days, here are four stories we ignored because of the Nakamoto revelation:

1. Bitcoin firm CEO found dead in suspected suicide: “Autumn Ratke, a 28-year-old American CEO of bitcoin exchange firm First Meta was found dead in her Singapore apartment on Feb. 28. Local media are calling it a suicide, but Singapore officials are waiting for toxicology test results. Ratke formerly worked with Apple and other Silicon Valley tech firms on developing digital payment systems.�

2. The Winklevii Are Spending Their Bitcoin Fortune on Space Travel: “Just as the price of Bitcoin crashes to earth from its effervescent highs, two of the world’s most famous cybercurrency investors, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, are hoping to escape the planet’s pearly grip. The Winklevii, as they are commonly known, used the website of their investment firm to announce that they have signed up to travel to suborbital space on Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company founded by Richard Branson. Tickets cost $250,000, according to Virgin Galactic, which plans to start flying next year. The brothers plan to pay for their trip in Bitcoin, it almost goes without saying.�

3. Another bitcoin bank bites the dust, Flexcoin blames losses on hackers: “After the collapse of Mt. Gox, now Canada-based virtual currency exchange Flexcoin has been forced to close down. Flexcoin said flaws in its software code enabled hackers to make off with bitcoins worth around 440,000 euros.�

4. Arrested Bitcoin Mogul Charlie Shrem Defiant In First Public Appearance Since Criminal Charges: “In a speech to the Texas Bitcoin conference in Austin Wednesday, Shrem accused prosecutors of pursuing him for political purposes: a desire to control Bitcoin and fear of how it could shift economic power. He spoke via Skype from his parents’ home in Brooklyn, New York, where he’s being held under house arrest.�

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