Monthly Archives: April 2014

Canadian Government to Divest ‘MintChip’ Digital Currency Program

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“The Canadian government has announced that it will end its MintChip electronic payment system, and that it will look to sell the business to the private sector.  Announced in 2012, MintChip was not a digital currency akin to bitcoin, but rather a digital payment mechanism meant to function as an electronic cash that could be transferred between users.  MintChip used a silicon chip with a unique ID as a store of value, which was then to be sent to brokers who would trade them to consumers and businesses. Users could embed MintChip devices onto USB sticks, wallets, laptops and tablets, or store their digital cash with a third-party service provider.”

http://www.coindesk.com/canadian-government-end-mintchip-digital-currency-program/

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Bank of Montreal CEO: Bank is open to Bitcoin, conditionally

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“If it was reliable and if it was regulated, ‘then there’s no reason why we couldn’t be an intermediary in bitcoin-related transactions,’ Bill Downe said in an interview after the company’s annual general meeting in Toronto.  ‘Because, if you wanted a Swiss franc transaction or a Japanese yen transaction or a U.S. dollar transaction, we can do that transaction for you,’ he said. ‘If bitcoin [can be] a reliable medium of exchange, then at that point in the future, we would be able to [conduct business] with bitcoin.’  So far, however, almost every major banking chief in North America has either stayed mum on, or openly derided, the currency.  Canada’s banking watchdog said it does not regulate bitcoin.”

http://business.financialpost.com/2014/04/01/bmo-open-to-bitcoin-if-virtual-currency-is-regulated-reliable-says-ceo-bill-downe/

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Australian Manufacturer Debuts First Cashless Bitcoin ATM

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“An Australian company says it has produced one of bitcoin’s holy grails: a cashless ATM that allows users to buy bitcoins using a credit card, and sell bitcoins via a direct deposit to their bank account.  The first fully functional Diamond Circle ATM arrived from its manufacturer in Brisbane this week. Unlike competing ATMs and vending machines that rely on QR codes and cash, Diamond Circle’s solution is based on near-field communication (NFC) technology with paper receipt backups.  This unique approach is the brainchild of CEO Stephen Rowlison, a seasoned FinTech (financial technology) entrepreneur with 30 years of IT experience in Australia, Asia and the US.”

http://www.coindesk.com/australias-diamond-circle-has-cashless-bitcoin-atm-chip-wallets/

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ATM of the future: No cards, no buttons

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“Diebold has deployed the first of a completely new kind of ATM designed to appeal to gadget-obsessed millennials.  The machine has no physical buttons or card reader. You do nearly all your interactions with it through the cloud using a smartphone. This video demonstrates it.  The new machine was announced in early 2013. but now there is one in operation at Diebold’s own credit union, Diebold Federal Credit Union (DFCU).  Such ATMs should make skimming basically impossible. Customers conduct very little interaction directly with the ATM itself. New, stronger methods of authentication are possible.”

http://www.zdnet.com/atm-of-the-future-no-cards-no-buttons-7000027850/

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San Jose Quakes to become the next sports team to accept Bitcoin

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“Dave Kaval, President of the San Jose Earthquakes, just told the world on SiliconANGLE’s TheCube that his team will be accepting bitcoin with the upcoming soccer season. Soccer fans can expect to use the virtual currency for anything from the merchandise store as well as tickets to see games.  The San Jose Earthquakes are an American soccer team based in San Jose and a Major League Soccer participant. And now they are the second professional sports team to take bitcoin as a payment option—following the Sacremento Kings (an NBA team) who announced that March 1st would mark their acceptance of bitcoins.”

http://siliconangle.com/blog/2014/04/02/the-san-jose-quakes-to-become-the-next-sports-team-to-accept-bitcoin/

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Israeli Bitcoin Company Opens First Vietnamese Bitcoin Exchange

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“The idea to expand into Vietnam was developed over a bitcoin-purchased beer in an Israeli bar. Eli’s friend, Dominik, a German bitcoiner, understood the opportunity for bitcoin in Vietnam, as his wife is Vietnamese.  Bit2C’s stress-tested and proven technology comes at a dire time for Vietnam. The country is a quickly-expanding market, with over 80 million people suffering from the effects of inflation.  Using bitcoin saves an incredible amount on remittances; of massive importance because the Vietnamese population overseas is ‘over 4 million people, [making it] a top 10 country in the remittance market with more than 10.6 billion dollars a year in incoming transactions,’ Dominik explains.”

http://bitcoinmagazine.com/11803/bitcoin-arrives-in-vietnam/

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Bitcoin could get boost from Square and Stripe moves

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“Two payments companies, Square and Stripe, have said in recent days they are working with the virtual currency bitcoin, lending support to the idea that the bitcoin technology could be used to improve the way money is transmitted.  Square said Monday it would begin accepting bitcoin for products ranging from coffee beans to chairs on Square Markets, its online marketplace. Last week, Stripe said it had launched its first test of bitcoin payments that will allow the online back-up services company Tarsnap to accept bitcoin.  Bitcoin transactions in February averaged $68 million a day, compared with daily averages of $225 million for Western Union and $492 million for PayPal.”

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2014/04/04/bitcoin-could-get-boost-from-square-and-stripe-moves/

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eBay Now Allows Virtual Currency Sales

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“eBay, owners of payment service PayPal, has quietly added a new Virtual Currency category to their sales site, allowing users to sell virtual currency like bitcoin, as well as miners, and mining contracts.  The category is sparsely populated right now and the listings are all classified ads, suggesting that eBay wants buyer and seller to hash out their sale outside of the company’s jurisdiction, thereby reducing risk of become liable for scams and fake sales.  Considering bitcoin is a direct competitor to PayPal and recent patent filings have shown eBay is working towards a type of cryptocurrency for its users, it makes sense for them to test the waters in this way.”

http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/04/ebay-now-allows-virtual-currency-sales/

eBay, owners of payment service PayPal, has quietly added a new Virtual Currency category to their sales site, allowing users to sell virtual currency like bitcoin, as well as miners, and mining contracts.

The category is sparsely populated right now and the listings are all classified ads, suggesting that eBay wants buyer and seller to hash out their sale outside of the company’s jurisdiction, thereby reducing risk of become liable for scams and fake sales.

The company has been moving into digital sales over the past year but has long held a no-nonsense policy against digitally downloaded items. One listing for dogecoin, for example, notes that the cryptographic keys to the currency will be sent, presumably on a thumb drive or hard copy, via USPS or UPS rather than via email, something eBay has long frowned upon.

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Lamassu CEO: Our ATMs Will Soon Become Portals for Bitcoin Services

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“Startup Lamassu makes bitcoin ATMs that take in cash and exchange it on the spot for bitcoin. The company was started by Zach Harvey, Josh Harvey and Matt Whitlock just one year ago and, despite regulatory challenges in various locations, more than 200 people have bought Lamassu machines and are working to put them into operation all over the world.  CoinDesk sat down with Zach Harvey at CoinSummit to discuss the machine’s roll-out, Whitlock’s departure and the bitcoin ATM’s true potential.”

http://www.coindesk.com/lamassu-ceo-atms-will-soon-become-portals-bitcoin-services/

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Square now lets sellers accept Bitcoin on their own storefronts

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“Square today announced it has added support for paying with Bitcoin. As a result, buyers can now use the digital currency to purchase goods and services on Square Market, which allows sellers to create an online storefront with online payment processing.  The mobile payment company promises the experience won’t feel any different for sellers and they ‘don’t have to change a thing, except potentially expecting new trailblazing customers and more sales.’  The seller receives the amount of the purchased goods or services in the amount of USD advertised to the sellers’ customer at the time of transaction, and can fulfill their customer’s order.”

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/03/31/square-now-lets-sellers-accept-bitcoin-storefronts/

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