Bitcoin exchange rate. Provided by blockchain.info
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system and digital currency that involves open source software. It was introduced in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Mysteriously, this name appears to be a pseudonym and the true identity of the developer or developers is not known. A technical paper that started it all, allegedly authored by Satoshi Nakamoto, can be found here.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency because it uses cryptography to control the creation and transfer of money. Users send and receive payments using their personal computers, smartphones or a web application.
Bitcoins have grown in popularity in recent months and value of Bitcoins has skyrocketed. They are currently trading at 1 Bitcoin to about 825 U.S. Dollars. Bitcoins are highly volatile; they have traded at over US$1,100 and near zero within the same year.
Bitcoin Patents
Although Bitcoin has received a great deal of attention in certain circles, there are relatively few patent records that reference Bitcoins. The first published patent applications specifically referencing Bitcoins were filed in 2011.
This is a list of U.S. patents and published patent applications that reference Bitcoins:
Granted Patents
| 1 | 8,621,368 |
System and methods of virtual world interaction |
| 2 | 8,572,207 |
Dynamic serving of multidimensional content |
| 3 | 8,523,657 | Gaming System, gaming device and method for utilizing bitcoins |
| 4 | 8,522,330 |
Systems and methods of managing virtual world avatars |
| 5 | 8,493,386 | Systems and methods of managed script execution |
| 6 | 8,453,219 | Systems and methods of assessing permissions in virtual worlds |
| 7 | 8,449,378 | Gaming systems, gaming device and method for utilizing bitcoins |
Pending Applications
| 1 | 20140025473 | CROWDFUNDING BASED ON ACTIONS |
| 2 | 20140007201 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF ASSESSING PERMISSIONS IN VIRTUAL WORLDS |
| 3 | 20130346883 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF MANAGING VIRTUAL WORLD AVATARS |
| 4 | 20130346309 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING AND TRANSFERRING FUNGIBLE ELECTRONIC MONEY |
| 5 | 20130346228 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING NEWS MATERIALS OBTAINED BY BYSTANDERS |
| 6 | 20130311266 | METHOD AND SYSTEM TO PERSONALIZE REWARDS AND LOYALTY PROGRAMS |
| 7 | 20130305142 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF ASSESSING PERMISSIONS IN VIRTUAL WORLDS |
| 8 | 20130282580 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR EXTENDING IDENTITY ATTRIBUTES AND AUTHENTICATION FACTORS IN AN ePAYMENT ADDRESS REGISTRY |
| 9 | 20130246233 | Method for Virtual Currency Futures Transactions |
| 10 | 20130232023 | Systems and methods to process online monetary payments dependenton conditional triggers involving future events for online auctions and online trading exchanges involving stock exchange, commodity exchange, foreign exchange, sporting exchange, gaming exchange, file sharing exchange, andother types of online peer-to-peer exchange. |
| 11 | 20130215115 | DELIVERING AND CONTROLLING STREAMING INTERACTIVE MEDIA COMPRISING RENDERED GEOMETRIC, TEXTURE AND LIGHTING DATA |
| 12 | 20130212388 | PROVIDING TRUSTWORTHY WORKFLOW ACROSS TRUST BOUNDARIES |
| 13 | 20130179555 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR TIMESTAMPING DATA AND METHOD AND DEVICE FOR VERIFICATION OF A TIMESTAMP |
| 14 | 20130179337 | Account free possession and transfer of electronic money |
| 15 | 20130166455 | CREATING AND USING DIGITAL CURRENCY |
| 16 | 20130166398 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING A CONTEXT BASED PAYMENT SYSTEM |
| 17 | 20130085945 | Limited Access to a Digital Version of a Purchased Paper Book |
| 18 | 20130073620 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ELECTRONIC TRADING BASED UPON INFLUENCE |
| 19 | 20130055280 | QUALITY OF SERVICE AWARE CAPTIVE AGGREGATION WITH TRUE DATACENTER TESTING |
| 20 | 20130046854 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF VIRTUAL WORLDS ACCESS |
| 21 | 20130046853 | MULTIDIMENSIONAL GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATIONS |
| 22 | 20130044106 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF OBJECT PROCESSING IN VIRTUAL WORLDS |
| 23 | 20130041773 | Systems and methods to process online monetary payments dependent on conditional triggers involving future events |
| 24 | 20120278200 | Value Banking System And Technique Utilizing Complementary Value Currency |
| 25 | 20120239556 | LATENCY PAYMENT SETTLEMENT APPARATUSES, METHODS AND SYSTEMS |
| 26 | 20120215652 | MARKETPLACE FOR SENSOR DATA FROM MOBILE DEVICES AND ITS ABSTRACTIONS |
| 27 | 20120101886 | DYNAMICALLY GENERATED TARGETED SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGE |
There are many advantages and interesting aspects to Bitcoins. The number of patent applications being filed for Bitcoin related inventions is likely to increase. We have probably only just begun to see innovations with Bitcoin and other digital currencies.