WINONA, Minn. – A scary call arrived at West Side house: Don’t open your front door or back door or a bomb will explode. A subsequent call: Send money — 5,000 in bitcoin to get the bomb defused. The only one home at the time, a teenager, called her folks who rushed back. Police cleared the house and searched for a bomb. None. This was about 6:40 p.m. in the 1050 lock of Marion Street. In a way the demand was absurd: Bitcoin values fluctuate wildly – and recent trading has 5,000 bitcoin at 142 million in U.S. dollars. That’s a bit more than most of us have tucked under the mattress.
