Bitcoin’s Biggest Bet: Andreessen Horowitz Leads $25 Million Investment in Coinbase

Get ready for a lot more venture capital flowing into bitcoin-related startups, starting … now!

News Byte

As It Tries to Revamp the Mobile Addressbook, Brewster Sees Staff Turnover

Brewster, a small startup that makes a year-old iPhone contacts app, lost a significant portion of its staff this year, as Business Insider first reported today. “I have nothing but more confidence in what we’re going after. It’s just really hard,” said Brewster founder Steve Greenwood today, noting that “most of the people who were with us before are no longer with us today.” Commented investor Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, “Sometimes change is for the best.”

No End-Zone Dance for Tumblr Investor Fred Wilson

You can count on it — when a deal works out spectacularly everyone involved will take credit for it. This behavior is particularly annoying to the entrepreneurs who put the sweat, blood, and tears into the Company.

“Union Square Ventures’ Fred Wilson, one of Tumblr’s earliest investors, celebrating the Yahoo deal without celebrating

Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley on Growth, Data and His New Money (Q&A)

“Hey, there’s not a lot of companies that get to play in this space. And guess what? We get to be one of those companies.”

News Byte

Like We Said, Hailo Raises $30M Led by Union Square Ventures

We reported in December that Hailo was raising $30 million at a $140 million valuation in a round led by Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures in New York. Correction: It was actually Wilson’s partner John Buttrick. The taxi appmaker and venture capitalist disclosed the round today, saying that Hailo would soon enter markets in New York, Tokyo (home of another new investor, KDDI), Madrid and Barcelona.

Exclusive: Hailo Raising $30M at $140M Valuation for Epic NYC E-Taxi Throwdown With Uber

Hailo, the hot European taxi-hailing app, is raising a large round of funding as it prepares to do battle in the U.S. market, specifically in New York City.

Demand A Plan: Tech Leaders Sign On to Mayors’ Effort to End Gun Violence

Will social media help an effort to ensure gun safety?

Voices

Bubbles on the Brain

Is education technology turning into a gold rush?

Voices

Email Turns 30

There are over 3.375 billion email accounts worldwide, with nearly 145 billion email messages sent each day.

Silicon Snowbank: A New Incubator for Buffalo to Give Local Start-Ups a Different Set of Wings

Chicken wings, check! Time for tech to take off in the Queen City.