{"id":749465,"date":"2013-05-02T15:00:15","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T19:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=641626"},"modified":"2013-05-02T15:00:15","modified_gmt":"2013-05-02T19:00:15","slug":"is-bitcoin-for-real-find-out-at-gigaoms-silicon-valley-meetup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/749465","title":{"rendered":"Is Bitcoin for real? Find out at GigaOM\u2019s Silicon Valley meetup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone from banks to bad guys are buzzing about Bitcoin — the cryptography-based currency that is beyond the control of governments. At GigaOM, we’ve covered Bitcoin<\/a> as part of our mission to explain new ways that technology is connecting us. Now, we’re hosting a get-together in Silicon Valley where people who know their money and their tech will share their perspective on this new form of payment.<\/p>

\"GigaOM<\/a><\/p>

The event is taking place<\/a> on Thursday, May 16 from 6pm to 9pm at the San Jose Tech Museum — and it’s free thanks to our friends at Ribbit Capital. This will be a great way to get the inside scoop on who is using Bitcoin — from pizza merchants<\/a> to investors — and what will happen next with the controversial currency.<\/p>

Joining us will be David Barrett of Expensify, which now offers Bitcoin as a way for companies to repay employee expenses. We’ll also have engineers Mike Hearn of Google and Ben Davenport of Facebook, and Wences Casare who founded the digital wallet service Lemon.<\/p>

Together, we’ll explore whether Bitcoin can be a viable payment option amid wild valuation swings and ongoing hacking incidents. We’ll also look at how U.S. government agencies like the IRS and FinCEN<\/a> are taking a growing interest in Bitcoin — and how much they can affect the use of the currency.<\/p>

At a broader level, the event will also be a way to examine how Bitcoin is part of trans-national technology networks that connect people without\u00a0government\u00a0intermediaries.<\/p>

Here’s the link again to sign up<\/a>. See you on May 16.<\/p>
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