Crypto @CES 2015: A 2,000 Square Foot World of Bitcoin, Plus a Visit from Bitstamp CEO

This year's edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), ongoing from January 6-9 in Las Vegas, will once again have a large Bitcoin presence.

There will be some new exhibitors as well. At last year's event, there was a bigger focus on mining. Participants included Hashfast, Butterfly Labs, KnCMiner, Bitcoin Shop, among others...a lot has happened since then. Returning participants this year include BitPay and Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term.info.

Other participants include: Bitcoin exchanges Kraken and Bitstamp; Circle, Bitman, Robocoin and yBitcoin. Together, the companies comprise the 2,000 square foot "World of Bitcoin". Said Emily Vaughn, Marketing Manager at BitPay:

"Bitcoin is rapidly redefining financial and commercial paradigms. The showcase represents some of the top talent in bitcoin technology and will provide a unique experience for the 170,000 CES attendees."

With his exchange maintaining a presence at the exhibition, Bitstamp CEO, Nejc Kodrič, is also apparently attending. The exchange recently suffered a major hack, costing it over $5 million worth of bitcoins. Kodrič tweeted:

Due to circumstances I skipped my connecting flight and spend the night in NYC. I am flying to Vegas today to attend CES. — Nejc Kodrič (@nejc_kodric) January 5, 2015

He also restated: "The bulk of our bitcoin are in Cold Storage Cold Storage Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation that is designed for the retention of inactive data, in this case private keys for cryptocurrencies. This helps put up resilient barriers against theft by hackers and malware, and is often a necessary security protocol especially dealing with large amounts of Bitcoin.In order to “own” a cryptocurrency, one must be in control of a cryptocurrency’s private keys. As such, private keys are long strings of random characters that can be used to se Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation that is designed for the retention of inactive data, in this case private keys for cryptocurrencies. This helps put up resilient barriers against theft by hackers and malware, and is often a necessary security protocol especially dealing with large amounts of Bitcoin.In order to “own” a cryptocurrency, one must be in control of a cryptocurrency’s private keys. As such, private keys are long strings of random characters that can be used to se Read this Term, and remain completely safe."