Twenty-two-year-old Taylor More is the first to list histwo-bedroom bungalow in Alberta on the website For Sale By Owner inexchange for the hard-to-trace digital Bitcoins – 5,362 of them(US$395,000).“My home is being traded for Bitcoins!” reads More’slisting. “Properties like this rarely come on the market andthis one’s priced to sell in one of the most sought-afterrecreation areas of the Rockies.”The current exchange rate of one Bitcoin is US$73.“I have a few projects that I am working on that involveBitcoin and they happen to be a pretty hard thing to get your handson right now if you want to get them in large quantities,” Moretold CBC. “So I figure the best way to get them is to try tosell our property.”Bitcoin is an experimental, decentralized digital currency firstintroduced in 2009, which allows instant payments to anyone,anywhere in the world. Bitcoins do not physically exist and are notissued by a central bank. “Because it has no central authority no one can freezeaccounts. So people are seeing the beauty of it, especiallyconsidering what is going on in Cyprus with everyone’s bankaccounts being frozen. This is a way to keep your savingssafe,” argues More.The currency has been growing in popularity because of itsprivacy and the ease of peer-to-peer payments. Bloomberg valued the“alternative world currency” at over US$600 million.“You basically have an e-wallet and every wallet has its ownID number and that is how you are recognized in a Bitcoinworld,” added More.There are various services that accept Bitcoin as payment,including an online Bitcoin store, which sells everything fromelectronics to beauty products and sports goods. AnotherPizzaforcoins.com website accepts food orders in exchange for theonline currency. An office space rental company in Toronto, Canada,allows people to rent rooms using Bitcoins. There are some hotelsthat also accept the digital money as payment.There was even a first dollar-converting Bitcoin ATM developedin early 2013.More has not received any offers on his house so far. … Read More
Todd Helton Calls DUI Arrest ‘Monumental Mistake,’ Apologizes At Spring Training (VIDEO)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Calling his recent drunk driving arrest a “monumental mistake,” Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton fought tears as he apologized Sunday and asked for forgiveness at the start of spring training.
Helton was arrested Feb. 6 on charges of DUI and careless driving.
Winter Storm: Travelers Hope To Be On Their Way After Heavy Snow
CHICAGO — Travelers facing canceled flights and closed roads were hoping to finally head to their holiday destinations Friday as a widespread snowstorm that dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of the Midwest moved across the Great Lakes toward Canada.The storm, part of a system that began in the Rockies earlier in the week, led airlines to cancel more than 1,000 flights Thursday and caused whiteout conditions that left roads dangerous to drive on. It was blamed for deaths in at least five states, with parts of Iowa and Wisconsin hit with more than a foot of snow.Read More…
