Yes, it’s entirely possible [according to this Forbes article] to fund your existing debit card, or credit card, with your accumulated bitcoin.

In Kreuzberg, Berlin, virtual currency Bitcoin has expanded off the internet to become a favoured medium of exchange in real shops and bars. Joerg Platzer, the owner of bar Room 77 is helping to establish what he believes to be the world's first Bitcoin local economy.

Over the years, Bitcoin has experienced ups and downs; the currency has been targeted by hackers and thieves and botnets and been victim to more than one embarrassing software glitch. But it has persevered, and this week, one can fairly say that Bitcoin came of age. On Monday, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network released its first “guidance” as to how “de-centralized virtual currencies” should fit into the larger regulatory regime under which currencies of all kinds are required to operate.

Since the collapse of Arthur Andersen, the government is now afraid to prosecute large companies and banks in particular. Unfortunately, they're also unwilling to prosecute individual employees of those same corporations.

In case you hadn't seen, Erowid is accepting donations with Bitcoin. I haven't heard it mentioned recently (that I remember), but it used to be a favorite website on FTL. From the site: "Erowid is a member-supported organization providing access to reliable, non-judgmental information about psychoactive plants, chemicals, and related issues. We work with academic, medical, and experiential experts to develop and publish new resources, as well as to improve and increase access to already existing resources.

WinPoker.com, on the iPoker network, is adding Bitcoin support for deposits and withdrawals, pokerfuse can exclusively reveal. It is the first time a poker room on any major online poker network has added first-class Bitcoin support to the cashier. Deposits can be made by sending BTC directly through the cashier on the WinPoker website to the room’s Bitcoin wallet. As soon as the system receives the funds—typically within ten minutes—the money will be credited to the player’s account. If players store their wallets on smartphones, depositing can be as simple as scanning a QR code.

bitcoinstore.com, an electronics retail outlet that only accepts Bitcoins as payment. Bitcoinstore.com stands out among potential competitors because the site's investors have only one goal – to urge major online retailers to start accepting Bitcoin.

"The idea behind the site entirely is to force Amazon and Newegg to accept Bitcoin by saying 'Hey, look at our prices, we beat you, now beat us,'" said bitcoinstore.com head of marketing Jon Holmquist.

To do that, bitcoinstore.com sells its products at 0 percent markup.

The world's leading Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, has announced a partnership with the Silicon Valley startup Coinlab. Under the agreement, Coinlab will handle Mt. Gox's American operations, which account for a large majority of the exchange's business. The transition will occur on March 22. CoinLab raised half a million dollars of venture capital last year. At the time, the firm was touting a scheme to exchange bitcoins for currency in games such as World of Warcraft and Second Life. Taking over Mt.

An article in Linux Magazine briefly describes the history and basics of bitcoins.

mainstream print and electronic media regularly use “capitalism” to refer to “the economic system we have now.” And it’s relatively common to hear “capitalism” employed as a synonym for “dominance of workplaces and society by capitalists—by the owners of substantial capital assets.” Libertarian principles as I understand them entail support for capitalism in neither of these senses.