The Leftover Bits 30/4/15: Ulbricht Defense Gets Some Time, Circle Wants You To Send Dollars Through The Blockchain, SwC Owner Needs Legal Help

By Aubrey Swanson·1 May 2015·2 min read

Key Points

Forrest postponed Ross Ulbricht's sentencing from May 15 to May 29, granting the defense time to prepare for new testimony.
Families of people who died from drug overdoses allegedly

Judge Katherine B. Forrest postponed Ross Ulbricht's sentencing from May 15 to May 29, granting the defense time to prepare for new testimony. Families of people who died from drug overdoses allegedly purchased on the Silk Road plan to testify before sentencing. The court will hold a May 22 hearing to determine whether those statements will affect the punishment. Ulbricht, convicted of running the Silk Road, could receive a life sentence.

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The defense argued that agents involved in the investigation stole hundreds of thousands of dollars and engaged in other misconduct, but Forrest rejected the bid for a new trial. The defense fund accepts donations at the bitcoin address 1Ross5Np5doy4ajF9iGXzgKaC2Q3Pwwxv, and other contribution methods are available through the official website.

Nevada authorities charged Bryon Micon with operating an unlicensed interactive gaming system and issued a warrant for his arrest. Micon left poker to build Seals With Clubs, a bitcoin-based poker site, and now faces up to ten years in prison and a $50,000 fine if convicted. He relocated to Antigua after law enforcement raided his home, though no charges resulted from that raid. Micon launched a GoFundMe campaign requesting $100,000 to cover legal costs. He retained the firm Chesnoff & Schonfeld to represent him in Nevada.

Circle secured $50 million in funding from Goldman Sachs and IDG Capital Partners, a China-based venture capital firm that has backed Tencent, Baidu, and Xiaomi. The partnership helps Circle expand into China. The company announced a new feature allowing users to hold and transfer U.S. dollars through the bitcoin network with no transaction fees. Coverage is limited to U.S. dollars, unlike BitReserve which supports multiple currencies. FDIC insurance protects customer balances. Circle will roll out the feature in phases.

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