In the latest sign that the technology behind bitcoin is being embraced by the corporate world, IBM says it’s exploring how the cryptocurrency’s shared ledger system can be used in fields from banking to the Internet of Things.“It’s a completely novel architecture for business–a foundation for building a new generation of transactional applications that establish trust and transparency while streamlining business processes,” wrote Arvind Krishna, senior vice president and director of IBM Research, in a blog post Wednesday.“It has the potential to vastly reduce the cost and complexity of getting things done.”The notion of a blockchain was first developed by Bitcoin’s pseudonymous inventor Satoshi Nakamoto to record transactions in the currency without the need for banks or any central authority.All transfers of Bitcoin are announced to the currency’s network of users, and Bitcoin miners are rewarded with newly generated coins for bundling those transactions into specially formatted records called blocks.

New blocks need to satisfy certain mathematical properties when taken in conjunction with those already generated, and the complete historic transaction record is known as the blockchain.The Blockchain, And Self-Updating AppliancesRival cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Dogecoin each have their own blockchains, and various projects have experimented with using blockchains to store data besides financial transfer records.A project called Namecoin uses its blockchain to record Internet domain name registrations, and the Ethereum project allows its blockchain to store simple programs called “smart contracts” that can automatically transfer funds when certain conditions are met.To IBM, which has seen data processing systems evolve from the mainframe-based systems of the 1960s and ‘70s to today’s distributed SQL databases, the blockchain concept might just be the next big thing in sharing data.The company says blockchains future blockchain-based systems could make it significantly easier to share records and execute all kinds of transactions, including those based on more traditional currency.“We always have our eye out for the next innovation around these things,” says IBM Middleware CTO Jerry Cuomo.

“panies could store transactions with suppliers around the globe in a shared blockchain, rather than manually exchanging data from separate databases, for example.Car rental agencies could use smart contracts that automatically allow rentals when payment’s received and insurance information is confirmed through a blockchain record, he says.“When all of these three agreements are out there on the chain, we kind of form the final agreement, which is, it’s yours,” he says.“, the online retailer that began accepting bitcoin last year, is also developing its own blockchain-based securities trading platform called T0.The company made proof-of-concept sales of so-called cryptobonds through the platform earlier this year to Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne and to financial firm First New York, and says T0 will settle transactions significantly faster than traditional exchanges.Cuomo says IBM plans to release source code and other data from its blockchain research within the next few months—possibly including an internal flowchart he says the company uses to illustrate when using a blockchain makes sense and when it doesn’t.“A blockchain is the new shiny object, but in some cases, if it’s used for the wrong thing, it might be twice as slow and twice as expensive as using a traditional database,” he says.

It still takes some searching to find places to spend your Bitcoin, but the list is growing.sec bitcoin alertFrom sports teams to gift card retailers to online outlets, more and more shops are partnering with sites like Coinbase and other digital wallets to make it easier for people to spend their cryptocurrency.Restaurants and other types of brick-and-mortar businesses are starting to accept Bitcoin in person, but it's mostly just individual locations — for example, a Subway sandwich shop in Pennsylvania or an Indian restaurant in California.bitcoin precio en vivoRight now there are at least 76 restaurants around the country, according to some estimates.As of the time of writing, the going price for a Bitcoin is $621.69.ethereum highest hashrate

If you've got some to throw around, here is a list of 10 places currently accepting Bitcoin as payment.bitcoin mit sofortüberweisungSEE: 10 things you should know about Bitcoin and digital currencies If you have a few hundred Bitcoins lying around, feel free to put them toward a trip to space.bitcoin igreThe airline is now accepting Bitcoin for space flights on board the SpaceShipTwo.bitcoin centos rpmOne seat on the six-passenger spaceship costs $250,000, and Virgin Galactic plans to operate flights out of Spaceport America in New Mexico by 2015.The Winklevoss twins, who are well-known for creating a Harvard social networking site and for suing Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook, bought their seats using some of their large Bitcoin stash earlier this year.The popular blogging platform accepts Bitcoins as payment for upgrades and allows users to install plug-ins for accepting the currency on personal websites that use the free service.

The feature has been in place since 2012.Wordpress said they use Bitcoin because, although their blogging platform is free, many international users are blocked because of PayPal and other traditional payment limitations.Last week, Expedia, the online travel site, announced it will start accepting Bitcoin for hotel bookings.If people utilize the service, the company said it will eventually bring it to other areas of the site like air travel, car rental, and other vacation services.Expedia is using Coinbase, the international digital wallet for secure purchasing and keeping of the digital currency, as the processor of these transactions, so it won't hold the currency it receives. and receive it at your door.Pizza for Coins prices fluctuates as the demand for Bitcoin changes, but a large, thin crust Papa John's cheese pizza is $0.0259 Bitcoin right now, or $16.32.Depending on what type of pizza you order and how popular Bitcoin is, that pizza could be pretty affordable.The Pirate Bay, the popular BitTorrent website for downloading music, movies, games, and software accepts Bitcoin as donation funds to keep the site up and running.

Before, the site relied on banner ads for money, and the digital currency makes it much harder to trace who is funding the site.The Pirate Bay also accepts Litecoin, an open source digital currency.Purchase gift cards for more than 200 retailers using the gift card retailer website Gyft, which now accepts Bitcoin as payment.Some retailers include: Whole Foods, Best Buy, Sephora, Gap, Sears, Victoria's Secret, Target, and Home Depot.All you need is a Bitcoin wallet to purchase the gift card and you're good to spend it at the store location or website.This is obviously an easy way to convert Bitcoin to spendable currency at mainstream retailers.Online gaming company Zynga accepts Bitcoin as a payment option for tokens (Zynga's in-game virtual currency) for such games as FarmVille, CityVille, Hidden Chronicles, and others.It is the first major gaming site to allow the transactions via Bitcoin, though the games it offers have dropped in popularity recently.The company is probably hoping this addition will help boost revenue.

Zynga has partnered with BitPay for this, which is a startup that is trying to be the main Bitcoin gateway.Overstock was the first major retailer to start accepting Bitcoin through Coinbase.Patrick Byrne, the CEO, was a Bitcoin enthusiast from the beginning and made sure his company stayed ahead of the game by accepting the currency before almost anyone else.Overstock sells surplus and liquidated items, as well as new furniture, apparel, home goods, and electronics.The Sacremento Kings and San Jose Quakes are two sports teams that now accept Bitcoin for ticket purchases and team apparel.The Quakes partnered with Coinbase as a digital wallet service, and you can also purchase food and beverages like churros or a beer with the currency while you're at the game.All you need to bring is your mobile phone with a digital wallet carrying your Bitcoin.It depends on the individual seller, but the list of the vendors who accept Bitcoin for payment on Etsy is growing every day.Currently, there are at least 500 on Etsy that accept Bitcoin.