Regulators See Value in Bitcoin, and Investors Hasten to Agree

Jennifer Shasky Calvery, left, with Mythili Raman and Edward Lowery
 on Monday at a hearing in Washington.

The virtual currency bitcoin took a big step toward the mainstream on Monday as federal authorities signaled their willingness to accept it as a legitimate payment alternative.

A number of federal officials told a Senate hearing that such financial networks offered real benefits for the financial system even as they acknowledged that new forms of digital money had provided avenues for money laundering and illegal activity.

“There are plenty of opportunities for digital currencies to operate within existing laws and regulations,” said Edward Lowery, a special agent with the Secret Service, which is tasked with protecting the integrity of the dollar.

Signs that the government would not stand in the way of bitcoin’s development, even as it has been cracking down on criminal networks that use the digital money, stoked a strong rally in the price of the crypto-currency.

By Monday evening, the value of a bitcoin unit soared past $700 on some exchanges. The total outstanding pool of bitcoin — which is created by a network of users who solve complex mathematical problems — is now worth more than $7 billion.

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Yahoo's Marissa Mayer interrupted by Walmart protesters at Salesforce.com conference

Salesforce.com Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff talk with guest speaker Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer at the Salesforce.com annual trade show at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Nov. 19, 2013. (Josie Lepe/Staff)

SAN FRANCISCO -- A noisy protest on behalf of Walmart workers briefly disrupted a talk by Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Marissa Mayer during a major tech industry conference Tuesday night, but Mayer remained unfazed as she spoke of her efforts to refocus Yahoo on the mobile tech trend.

The protesters were quickly escorted out of the auditorium at Moscone Center after interrupting Mayer's talk on stage with Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff. Mayer explained that she serves on Walmart's board of directors but said she wasn't at the event to talk about Walmart issues.

Labor activists have been dogging Mayer at public appearances for the last year, although they usually have remained outside public events, while seeking attention for the company's treatment of Walmart workers who say they were fired for protesting unsafe practices at the retail giant.

Mayer, however, quickly returned to the subject of Yahoo's turnaround effort, telling Benioff that she believes the popularity of mobile Internet devices is a major industry shift that Yahoo can ride to success. Rebuilding Yahoo's popular web services for mobile users "was an immediate priority" when she took the job as CEO last year, Mayer said.

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Here Are The Hottest Companies In Tech Right Now, According To Goldman Sachs

I think we’ve established by now that what happens in Vegas actually never stays in Vegas. And, as you can see by the agenda obtained by TechCrunch that’s embedded below this post, the Goldman Sachs Private Internet Company Conference scheduled to take place in Sin City over the next two days is no exception.

The Goldman Sachs conference for private web firms is one of the most high-end and hush-hush events in the tech world. It’s essentially like the Hackers Conference or dinners at Sheryl Sandberg’s house or Fight Club, except for tech executives who are likely to soon go through an IPO or big M&A deal. If you’re on the invite list, you’re in pretty good company — and the first rule is that you don’t talk about it to others.

This year, according to sources, it’s happening this week, on November 20th and 21st in Las Vegas. You can see the whole lineup in the image embedded below this post.

It bears mention that companies attending this conference have not necessarily engaged in an exclusive relationship with Goldman to manage their potential upcoming IPOs or M&A deals. In fact, most of them are free agents, fielding offers from any number of firms. Other investment banks such as Allen & Co. hold their own swanky events to court potential clients, too. I’m told that the competition amongst financial advisors to secure relationships with hot web companies is tougher than ever these days. But with Goldman Sachs coming off the high of having headlined the hugely successful Twitter IPO, this year’s event is sure to be a buzzy one.

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With Banks Slow to Lend, Small Businesses Seek Alternative Funding

When it comes to securing a loan for a small business, it’s natural to think a bank is the best bet. And that may be true, but a loan may be more difficult to secure than you think.

Pepperdine University’s Private Capital Access Index, which examines business and private capital, had some interesting findings for the second quarter of 2013, as detailed by the Coleman Report:

Of small companies that were in search of funding, 59 percent targeted banks. The next highest percentage looked to business credit cards (57.2), personal credit cards (49.9), personal loans (48.4) and friends and family (44.2).

The success rate turns that list upside down. Seventy-one percent got funding assistance from friends and family, but only 27 percent did from banks.

What to do when banks give you the stiff-arm? Some businesses turn to alternative financing, in which loans are more accessible and faster, and not necessarily dependent on collateral. But these loans or cash advances can cost much more in the long run.

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