Plug and Play dives into bitcoin world

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Plug and Play Tech Center Expo organizer Scott Robinson says that half of the 30 companies pitching at the upcoming Dec. 5 event will be connected to bitcoin and other forms of virtual currency. There is a panel of experts set to discuss the alternative currency, as well.

Cromwell Schubarth

Senior Technology Reporter- Silicon Valley Business Journal

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Plug and Play Tech Center, whose focus tends to closely follow startup investment trends, is jumping on the bitcoin wave.
The Sunnyvale incubator is dedicating its quarterly pitch expo to the alternative cryptocurrency on Thursday, Dec. 5.
About half of the 30 startups that pitch that day will be involved in bitcoins, either helping to provide the infrastructure that supports the currency or accepting it as payment, according to Expo organizer Scott Robinson.
"Since the summer we have been hosting a bitcoin meetup group here every Tuesday," Robinson told me, adding that it has grown to about 300 members, making it the tenth biggest bitcoin meetup group in the world.
"When (Plug and Play cofounder) Saeed Amidi saw the level of interest he decided to focus on that at the Expo," Robinson said.
In addition to the bitcoin-related startups that pitch at the Expo, a panel has been assembled to discuss how new companies are using the alternative currency. Panelists include Chris Larsen, founder and CEO of alternative currency network Ripple Labs in San Francisco; Vinny Lingham, co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-based mobile gift card business Gyft.com; Jean-Jacques Cabou, a Perkins Coie lawyer with expertise in virtual currency; and David Johnston, co-founder of the BitAngels investor network.
"It's a great group that we think will offer a lot of information and interesting perspectives on bitcoin and cryptocurrency," Plug and Play's Robinson said.
The incubator is also looking into ways that bitcoin entrepeneurs can use its 16-megawatt power substation.
The virtual currency is generated by so-called "miners" who earn bitcoins by solving complex mathematical problems with powerful computers. As the network of miners grew, the problems were made more complex in order to prevent a flood of the currency from deflating its value.

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Cromwell Schubarth is the Senior Technology Reporter