The Bitcoin frenzy has captured the imaginations of the get rich quick crowd—those who expect the markets to do something for them. Most of the rich I work with have made their money slowly, over a long period of time. And that is the reason why they tend to hold onto it. Over the weekend a prominent bitcoin advocate was arrested. The WSJ reports here:
Prominent bitcoin advocate Charlie Shrem was arrested and charged in connection with a money-laundering conspiracy that allegedly funneled more than $1 million of the digital currency to users of the online black-market site Silk Road.
Mr. Shrem, 24 years old, was arrested Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after returning from a bitcoin conference in Amsterdam. Another man, Robert Faiella, also was arrested in what the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office said on Monday was a conspiracy to help Silk Road customers anonymously purchase everything from narcotics to forged passports.
The arrests come as prosecutors have escalated their scrutiny of bitcoin, a once esoteric experiment that has exploded in value and notoriety. While the currency has attracted a wave of interest from investors, including Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Facebook Inc. fame, it also has been trying to shake off a reputation that the virtual currency is used for illegal activities.
