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A little over a month ago, thanks to a fortuitous convergence of events, Bitcoin's value leaped to what was then a record high: $240. By Thanksgiving it had cleared $1,000. Since everyone loves a get-rich-quick story, news of the digital gold has now officially infiltrated popular culture, and things are getting ridiculous. Here’s a glance at what went down in the Bitcoin world this week.
As I forecast earlier, everything ever started announcing it would now accept the virtual currency as a form of payment. This week that included Melanie Brown aka Mel B aka "Scary Spice," who informed us she’ll be accepting bitcoin for her new single, "For Once in My Life." (Not one to be outdone by a Spice Girl, Snoop Dogg tweeted earlier that he too will make his upcoming album purchasable by bitcoin and it will be delivered by drone.)
My next record available in bitcoin n delivered in a drone.
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) December 2, 2013
For those not inclined to spend their virtual coins on pop music, not to fear, the first bitcoin-run homeless shelter has popped up in Florida. It's called Sean's Outpost and it accepts donations only in bitcoin: 1 BTC will buy 680 meals. Apparently the donations are pouring in, so much so that the Outpost is using the crypto-funds to open a second location.
Naturally, when something gets this hyped someone will always jump at the chance to make fun of it, and so enters Coinion, a satirical Bitcoin news site that appeared on the internet this week, obviously a parody of the Onion. It launched with a faux expose of the rampant child labor used in Bitcoin "mines." Today's top headline: "Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Admits To Using Bitcoin."
Also, Bitcoin is now a question on Jeopardy!
But while businesses and pop culture are embracing the virtual currency, the reaction from the financial sector has been somewhat awkward. This week Fidelity took what seemed to be a huge leap of faith by announcing its customers could now put bitcoins in their IRAs, only to do an about-face days later and announce that it would no longer allow IRA Bitcoin investments.
There was also a lot of hullabaloo after JP Morgan Chase renewed a patent for an anonymous, decentralized virtual payment system that the news media quickly branded as the banking giant's "Bitcoin killer." But, the theory that the corporation was building a Bitcoin rival, JPCoin, was put to rest when it was discovered that the bank actually filed the application 13 years ago.
And speaking of corporate giants, Apple’s been busy making a name for itself as the Grinch Who Stole Bitcoin. The company has reportedly been routinely blocking Bitcoin-related apps from its iOS store—first Coinbase, then Blockchain, and most recently Gliph, a messaging and payments app that enables Bitcoin transactions. So far Apple's stayed mum on why it's hesitant to get behind the new technology.
Indeed, the virtual currency isn't a household name quite yet. According to a new Bloomberg poll, about half of Americans still have no clue what Bitcoin even is—and six percent of them think its an Xbox game. So maybe we should all run out and update our IRAs quite yet.