CoinJelly Exchange to Offer Debit Cards, ‘Bank-Level’ Services

Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on July 11, 2014 at 12:11 BST

 

A new exchange and wallet service based in Australia and Hong Kong says it is building ‘bank-level’ services around bitcoin, designed to appeal to both serious traders and everyday travelers.
CoinJelly will launch two exchanges for high-volume traders, initially for the Southern Hemisphere and then soon after, the Northern. Notably, its consumer wallet option features an ATM/debit card network for use worldwide.
In perhaps its most novel approach, though, the company claims it has insured its bitcoin ecosystem against loss for up to AUD$20m ($18.7m), or 20 BTC per customer.
Accounts will be open to customers in 160 countries and balances available in nine major world currencies, including Russian rubles and Chinese yuan.

Building trust

CEO and founder Ashley King said security, compliance and transparency were CoinJelly’s biggest issues, in order to build trust with those yet to adopt bitcoin who might have been put off by high-profile failures in the past.
The firm follows other exchange launches in the region with a new focus on professionalism and financial services aimed at serious investors.
CoinJelly’s wallet is now launched and live, and its exchange has been under development for 4-5 months. According to King, there have been no security breaches or attempted intrusions as yet.
King said:

“We’ve implemented a number of bank-level passive and active safety measures including strong encryption, offline back up and two-factor authentication, leaving customers’ wallets far less vulnerable to attack.”

CoinJelly’s insured wallet also offers an intrusion alarm system, which identifies possible malicious activity and reacts automatically to head off fraud and attack.

ATM/debit cards

CoinJelly will also be providing ATM/debit cards for customers to easily cash out their bitcoins, and is in the process of finalizing merchant accounts.
The cards are aimed primarily at travelers as an affordable and easy way to transfer funds into local currency worldwide.
If the ATM/debit card plan sounds familiar, it’s because CoinJelly purchased some of the related merchant connection code from defunct Cypriot ‘bitcoin bank’ and debit card network Neo & Bee.
This will enable customers to purchase cards from CoinJelly’s site, load the cards with bitcoins (thus effectively selling them to CoinJelly) and then spending the fiat amounts on the cards like any other bank debit card.
The cards may also be used to withdraw cash at over two million ATMs worldwide.
A limited-edition black-colored card will be available to the first 500 customers and will also offer discounted rates for life.

Insurance and security

CoinJelly approached an insurance company about wallet guarantees, but it was only after company representatives were provided a copy of the software to experiment with that they were able to make an agreement.
Security is handled through in-browser encryption of private keys, and the company does not have any access to bitcoin balances.
Customers may also schedule a personal visit to CoinJelly’s head office in Brisbane for an extra layer of assurance.

International focus

CoinJelly’s development team is divided between Australia, Switzerland and Sweden.
To build liquidity around launch time, King and his team have spent most of the past six weeks traveling the world talking to traders to find out what they want, particularly fee structures and special promotions such as fee-free days.
They have signed up about 15 large North American traders already, including some that King describes as high-profile names, and he said the company now has enough volume to trade about 1,500 BTC daily.

Non-traditional markets

CoinJelly will be accepting accounts from Russia and even mainland China, where users can fund accounts through CoinJelly’s bank in Hong Kong.

“Until instructed otherwise we’ll continue to do so. Obviously we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, If we’re told to stop doing it, we’ll stop doing it.”

Coinjelly’s financial operations are currently being managed from Hong Kong, intended as a temporary solution until regulation and compliance issues are resolved in other nations like Australia.

“We’re going to have a nice little ecosystem, we’re going to have a really good wallet and a great exchange, initially tiered towards high-volume guys, but once we open the Northern Hemisphere exchange the bigger guys will probably switch to that.”

Sole investor

Aside from the money used for initial funding, CoinJelly is financed solely by investor Peter Anderson, who made his fortune in the early days of the Internet economy.
He said he was drawn to bitcoin more for its disruptive potential than any desire to speculate on its value and that CoinJelly was the first project he thought worthy of such investment:

“[Ashley King's] solution was the first one I’d come across that fit my ethical standards as well as the overall approach to the community – customers rather than users. He has a really grown-up approach. Which is something that’s missing in other offerings.”

Banks, he said, had grown lazy due to being the default means for moving money around the world, rather than offering any real value. This was especially true of the forex market, he indicated.

“Crypto coins will blow a hole in that laziness. They’re going to have to compete. There’s long-term value for consumers here who are happy to look a bit deeper.”

While compliance issues would likely raise the cost of doing business in the bitcoin space, Anderson said, it wouldn’t be as high as banks often claimed.
“Cost of compliance is a tremendous excuse for banks and other institutions to jack up fees,” he said, adding:

“Trouble is, they jack those fees way past the [true cost] of providing that compliance. And given my career has been in and around that area, it has always annoyed me.”

Disclaimer: This article is not an endorsement of the company or companies mentioned. Please carry out your own thorough research before investing any funds.
Card image courtesy CoinJelly 

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Correction: A previous version of this article stated that CoinJelly had been cooperating with the Swiss Zurich Insurance Group to insure its ecosystem against loss. Zurich has since been in contact with CoinDesk to clarify that: “A CoinJelly press release stating that Zurich Financial Services in Australia is insuring CoinJelly products is erroneous. Our authorised general insurer in Australia, Zurich Australian Insurance Limited (ABN 13 000 296 640) has not issued any policy of insurance to CoinJelly. [...] We do not know who (if anyone) is providing insurance to CoinJelly in Australia.”
The previous version also stated that CoinJelly is voluntarily submitting itself to a vetting process by the Bitcoin Association of Australia (BAA). The BAA has also denied any involvement, and says it does not have such a vetting process.

Latin American Bitcoin Startup Moneero Exits Stealth Mode

Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on July 11, 2014 at 21:45 BST

Uruguay-headquartered bitcoin startup Moneero has officially exited stealth mode, and announced that its debut wallet services are open to an initial batch of users.
The news coincides with the launch of the company’s currency agnostic banking system, Moneero ROX, a tool Moneero says allows it to manage accounts and subaccounts in a variety of currencies, including bitcoin, litecoin, Ripple, fiat and smart property.
Speaking to CoinDesk, chief product officer and co-founder Steven Morell told CoinDesk that ROX will allow Moneero to one day extend its full suite of finished services – including a planned ATM service and FX trading platform – to users in any country around the globe and to remain compliant with local laws.
Comparing ROX to a set of Lego pieces that rearrange to suit many differing needs, Morell said:

“In Hong Kong, you can do transactions up to HK$8,000 without verifying yourself. In Uruguay, the threshold is U$3,000. What we can do with ROX is that in Uruguay, the moment someone in Uruguay uses Moneero, a different set of [AML and KYC] rules apply to him.”

He added: “This means we can rapidly adjust to regulation in every part of the world”.
Moneero is a continuation of the previously announced project BTC Global. Morell maintains that the rebranding was needed for both legal reasons and to stress the ongoing evolution of the previous brand’s ideas.
BTC Global had previously aimed to introduce a Massive Parallel Licensing (MPL) program, which it aimed to use to address onerous exchange regulations. Moneero’s founders include Morell, Vladimir Marchenko and Mauro Betschart

Social vision

Though Morell did not provide many details on the offering, he indicated that what might be the cornerstone of the company’s vision is the development of Moneero Social, its product that will allow users to send bitcoins to friends and followers on various social networks.
Morell stressed that it is in this area that Moneero hopes to improve access to bitcoin, citing how for many younger users around the globe, the Internet is now purely mobile and social.

“There are people selling fish on Facebook, and there are sheepherders selling sheep on Instagram. In the next five years, anywhere between three billion and five billion people will get on the internet and they all will get into an internet in different ways than the one you and I know.”

Morell explained how the company’s API will connect to what it calls “ThinApps”, applications that don’t have their own business logic and that don’t store data. It is these apps, he said, that will be used to help it roll out its Facebook and Twitter apps and previously announced SMS and bitcoin ATM initiatives.
The product follows the launch of Facebook-integrated wallet QuickCoin, which arrived to great user enthusiasm in May.
When asked how Moneero aims to educate these users, who may be new to bitcoin, Morell also refrained from offering specifics, stating that the company is currently in talks with potential partners that possess the large number of users it would need to jumpstart its initiative.

Wallet offerings

To start, Moneero will not provide bitcoin buying and selling services, but rather introduce two wallet products, the PlayWallet – which requires users to provide no identification – and the OptiWallet, which it describes as a secure multisig wallet. The company plans to use an exchange partner, at least initially.
OptiWallet aims to solve a common pain point for bitcoin users owing to the importance of keeping coins in cold storage for safe-keeping. Morell said OptiWallet will allow users to spend bitcoins that they have in cold storage by taking out loans from Moneero.
Morell said that these extensions will later be repaid by users:

“You can spend your money while it’s stored securely. At the end of the month, we send you an account bill and take back what you borrowed.”

Moneero also plans to provide a bitcoin test wallet for the development community, and expects more features to roll out in the coming weeks.
Images via Moneero

Argentinian Money Regulator Mandates Reporting on Bitcoin Activity

Stan Higgins | Published on July 11, 2014 at 23:10 BST

Argentina’s Unidad de Información Financiera (UIF) has ordered financial services companies within the country to report all transactions involving digital currency.
The UIF document, which outlines amendments to previous regulations, cites the threat of money laundering and criminal financing. It suggests that the UIF will act as a conduit for information enabling greater oversight of bitcoin and other “virtual coins”. The UIF is Argentina’s chief anti-money laundering agency.
The announcement, dated 4th July, comes more than a month after Argentina’s central bank issued a warning to businesses seeking to use digital currencies. In that release, the BCRA cautioned that “there is no consensus on the nature of these assets”. Other financial regulators in Latin America have adopted similar stances.
A translation of the UIF resolution reads:

“Virtual currencies are often traded remotely online. The movement of assets, and that entities from different countries can participate in the same jurisdictions that do not have controls to prevent money laundering and financing of terrorism, make it difficult for regulated entities to detect suspicious transactions.”

Financial institutions in Argentina are required to file monthly digital currency reports with the UIF. The purpose, the agency said, is to prevent criminal funds from moving outside of the country’s regulatory framework.

Digital currency vs electric money

As outlined in the document, the UIF draws a distinction between digital currency and electric money. The latter, the document reads, is meant to represent fiat currencies in an online format whereas bitcoin and other digital currencies fall outside of that definition.
Whereas electric monies are considered well-regulated, Argentina’s money regulators suggest that digital currencies risk promoting financial fraud or criminal funding. The amendments serve to push companies in the Argentine financial system to track and catalog transactions made using digital currencies.

“The regulated entities…must pay particular attention to the risk involving transactions with virtual currencies and establish enhanced monitoring on these operations.”

The rules take effect in August, according to the document.

Sign of regulatory tightening

At least one member of Argentina’s bitcoin communiy sees the UIF action as bad sign for bitcoin.
Carlos Guberman, a researcher at the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa who specializes in digital currencies, told CoinDesk that the move reflects the continued restrictive nature of national money regulators in regards to digital currency.
He said:

“I think the decision of Argentinean authorities regarding virtual currency reports as suspicious of money laundering are a bad thing. It is somehow weird that at the very same time that there is in place a law for exteriorizing dollar holding of Argentinians, the UIF comes out with a measure like this that is clearly penalizing virtual currencies.”

Guberman added that he believes many bitcoin transactions currently take place in dark pools and off-the-grid markets. As a result, he doesn’t foresee these regulations having an impact on those activities in the near future.

Tough environment for bitcoin

The UIF oversight order is yet another development from a Latin American financial or monetary regulator that cites the threat of money laundering, criminal activity and terrorist financing in relation to digital currency.
In June, Bolivia’s central bank, El Banco Central de Bolivia, announced that it was instituting a ban on bitcoin. At the time, it cited risks to investors and consumers when it deemed the use of the digital currency illegal.
Colombia’s central bank said in April that bitcoin is not a legal currency, adding that it was conducting research into the kinds of dangers cited by the UIF and other government agencies around the glob. However, Colombia has stopped short of declaring bitcoin illegal.
Despite these regulatory challenges, bitcoin businesses in Latin America continue to grow and develop.
Earlier this month, Uruguay-headquartered bitcoin startup Moneero opened its debut wallet service to beta testers after operating under the radar. As well, the region’s first Ripple gateway opened in June, bringing the payment network to seven local markets including Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.
Tanaya Macheel contributed reporting
Image via Shutterstock

Barry Silbert Releases Data on SecondMarket’s US Marshal Auction Syndicate

Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on June 30, 2014 at 16:01 BST

Barry Silbert, CEO of bitcoin investment platforms SecondMarket and Bitcoin Investment Trust, has released new data regarding the auction syndicate that his entities formed to participate in Friday’s US Marshals Auction of 30,000 BTC seized from online black market Silk Road.
The figures, while potentially unrelated to the final results to be confirmed Monday, provide evidence that Silbert’s strategy to use a syndicate model was successful at opening the auction to a wider range of foreign and domestic investors.

Results of our US Marshals bitcoin syndicate: Bidders – 42 Bids received – 186 BTC quantity bid – 48,013 Winners notifed by USMS on Mon
— Barry Silbert (@barrysilbert) June 28, 2014

The SecondMarket syndicate was one of a handful of confirmed bidders to be participating in the auction. Other bidders included Pantera Capital, Binary Financial and Bitcoin Shop. Those participant confirmations were preceded by a lengthier list of names leaked by the US Marshals Service (USMS) that gave insight into other potential participants.
Silbert first announced his syndicate’s auction plan on 20th June, issuing a statement to interested investors that said the syndicate would lower the minimum bid needed to participate from $200,000, the amount required by the USMS to join the auction, to smaller bids between $25,000 and $50,000.
In total, Silbert reported that 42 bidders took advantage of SecondMarket and BIT’s syndicate, and that the initiative garnered 186 individual bids on the assets.
Silbert also noted that the total value of the bids was 48,013 BTC or roughly $28.4m. At press time, the market value of the 30,000 BTC was roughly 17.7m.
For more on the strategies of other auction participants, read our full report.
Auction bidder image via Shutterstock

Malaysian Retail Giant i-Pmart Will Hold 100% of its Bitcoin Payments

Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on June 19, 2014 at 06:00 BST | Companies, Merchants, News

 

Another e-commerce giant has joined the bitcoin world, with major Malaysian online mobile phone and electronic parts retailer i-Pmart adding it to the list of accepted payment methods last week.
CEO and founder Mart Tang also said the company will hold onto the bitcoins it earns and watch the price rise, rather than convert them into local fiat currency.
Although based in Malaysia, the company ships worldwide from outlets in its home country, plus China and the US. The bitcoin option was introduced first to the Malaysian site only, though international customers may still use that version.
All other i-Pmart sites worldwide will start accepting about 20 days from now, as soon as the integration process is complete.

Low-key launch

What’s most surprising about i-Pmart’s decision is the lack of fanfare with which bitcoin was added to the list of options. Rather than publicizing it, or even celebrating the announcement with its 730,000+ fans on Facebook, the company added the bare-bones line “We accept bitcoin” and an icon into its long list of existing payment options.

i-Pmart is also a big seller of litecoin mining equipment, selling GPU-based rigs both to advanced users to self-assemble with the ‘Savvy Pack’, and a ‘Newbie Pack’ for beginners that includes the option to have i-Pmart assemble, host and even operate the hardware for them.
Despite this, however, the company is not adding litecoin as a payment option yet.

Bitcoin fan

CEO Tang said his interest in bitcoin came from being an IT entrepreneur always searching the Internet for the latest tech information and gadgets.
Shortly after absorbing everything he could about bitcoin and other digital currencies, he began hearing about merchants in other countries accepting bitcoin and studied how to become a digital currency miner himself.
“This gives me more insight into bitcoins and others types of coin on how it works and benefits from it,” he said.

“That’s how I have started to think if I have customers who want to use bitcoin to purchase my products online which gives convenience of various types of payment choice especially those who do not prefer to pay using their credit card, cash or other mode of payment.”

He then sat down with his web development team to discuss how to integrate bitcoin as a mode of payment in the business portal www.ipmart.com globally.

“[I'm] looking forward to the new world of virtual payment choice, which I believe can be the future of global virtual currency that people might embrace, especially the Gen Y.”
“I am holding the bitcoin. Because having a very big confidence the price of bitcoin is not the rates of today USD 650, should be higher than this price very soon.”

Company background

The i-Pmart Group of Companies was founded in 2001, and has focused mainly on the international market since 2005. It has ‘MSC status’ in Malaysia, meaning it is part of the country’s ‘Multimedia Super Corridor’ initiative designed to promote Malaysia as a regional center for world-class technology businesses.
The group now consists of domestic and internationally-focused retail sites, plus arms specializing in management, development, and logistics.

New Singapore Industry Association to Promote Bitcoin Use, Best Practices

Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on June 17, 2014 at 02:51 BST | Asia, News, Regulation

 

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Bitcoin businesses in Singapore now have a new group to promote their cause, with the formation of the Association of Crypto-Currency Enterprises and Start-ups, Singapore (ACCESS) on 30th May.
ACCESS, which launched publicly just yesterday, represents various businesses within the Singapore bitcoin and other cryptocurrency ecosystem, including exchanges, merchant transaction services, vending machines and miners.
As a condition of membership, members must abide by a Code of Conduct.

Mission and objectives

The Association’s Mission is “To facilitate legitimate use of cryptocurrencies in Singapore”, and its vision is “to promote Singapore businesses using cryptocurrencies and lower the cost of business transactions”.
It wants to promote Singapore globally and industry-wide as the world’s premier location for cryptocurrency-related businesses and services. It recognizes the need for regulation, saying the framework must balance the necessity for innovation with the duty to protect both consumer end-users and commercial entities.
ACCESS will also promote adoption and development of digital currencies within Singapore itself, through education, public engagement and effective engagement with governmental and non-governmental bodies.
It also seeks to ”promote the development, dissemination and adoption of best-practices by Singaporean digital currency businesses and other industry participants, and to counter illegitimate use of the technology.”
Chairman Anson Zeall of CoinPip reiterated these main points at the Inaugural General Meeting on 13th June:

“ACCESS aims to provide an open and clear dialogue between Singapore cryptocurrency businesses and the wider public, including regulators. With the forming of our association, we will help facilitate an ecosystem where Singapore can be a hub for cryptocurrencies businesses to grow and create jobs related to this new and growing technology.”

The seven-member executive team features other notable Singapore bitcoin business representatives, including President Antony Lewis of exchange itBit, and Secretary General Jarrod Luo of local ATM/vending machine producer Tembusu Terminals.

Registration

ACCESS is a fully registered society with the Registry of Societies under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Singapore law states that any professional society concerning monetary activity must register with the government. Although bitcoin is still not legally defined as money, since its most common use is as such, ACCESS decided the best option would be to register.
Image via PokkO / Shutterstock

Bitcoin Australia Launches Preemptive Strike Against Restrictive Taxes

Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on June 16, 2014 at 20:51 BST | Australasia, News, Regulation

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Australian bitcoin advocacy association Bitcoin Australia (BA) has published a paper detailing its recommendations for how bitcoin taxation should be managed by domestic authorities.
By producing the paper, BA is preempting the Australian Tax Office (ATO), which is expected to release its own official guidelines sometime in the next few weeks.
BA’s recommendations are designed to fit within the framework of existing Australian federal tax legislation, factoring for income, capital gains and a goods-and-services tax (GST). At the proposal’s heart, however, is the legal definition of digital currency as ‘money’, which it describes as “any generally accepted medium of exchange for goods and services and for the payment of debts”.
The 12-page paper, crowdsourced by local experts with the help of Australian legal firms Adroit and McCullough Robertson, all of whom worked pro bono, recommends the tax office take “the practical approach” to defining bitcoin, stating:

“If the approach taken by ATO were to counteract the efficiency and simplicity of the bitcoin process, these innovative businesses would not be viable. This will push both the innovators and the investors offshore and it will see alternative jurisdictions benefiting from Australian innovation and capital.”

Bitcoin is money

Bitcoin’s lack of a central authority, and ability to be used and accepted universally by anyone, differentiates it from other non-cash payments such loyalty points and frequent flyer miles.
BA believes bitcoin can exist within Australian tax law’s broad definition of ‘money’ as-is, without changing the fundamental operation of systems like the GST. Indeed, outside of its function as money, bitcoin has little reason to exist regardless of how it is defined legally.
The paper points out that bitcoin can also be considered ‘property’ under GST and thus an ‘asset’ under capital gains tax, also under existing legal precedents and definitions.

Keeping BTC prices low

The GST, which is Australia’s sales tax, taxes anything that fits its broad definition of a ‘supply’ (ie: goods and services). This typically does not include money to prevent the tax from being inappropriately applied twice during a single transaction. Instead, money is defined as a ‘consideration’, or payment, for the supply.
The potential for extra taxation of bitcoin due to a non-money definition has been an issue in other countries that have already set guidelines, namely the US and Singapore.
BA says treating a medium of exchange like bitcoin as ‘supply’ would drive prices up by 10% and cause Australian consumers to make their purchases overseas, rather than locally.
It has a point: a high-valued local currency and 10% GST on local purchases have already seen shoppers turn to online retailers overseas, leaving Australia-based retailers fuming.

Taxation is inevitable

The ATO in February made clear its intention to tax bitcoin transactions somehow, saying it would release official guidelines in time for the end of the current financial year on 30th June.
Providing some extra details in a privately addressed letter to a business owner, an ATO official said the department would tax bitcoin under income, capital gains and GST laws.
So far, however, it has not said what legal status bitcoin should have under those guidelines, leaving businesses to speculate.

Australia open for business

Local bitcoin advocates see the tax treatment of bitcoin in much grander terms, choosing to focus on the potential economic effects Australia could face, should it eschew appropriate taxation.
Bitcoin Australia president and co-founder of bitcoin payment gateway BitPOS, Jason Williams, said the government should be doing whatever it can to encourage economic and investment activity:

“Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are not going away – the genie is out of the bottle. It’s really up to the Australian government to embrace the change that is happening right now, and position Australia as a center of excellence.”

Williams continued, implying the decision could have far-reaching economic impacts:

“By seeing bitcoin in the same light as traditional Australian dollars, the government positions Australia as a place that will attract investment and usage, bolstering the Australian economy by bringing in overseas investment. Australia will become known around the world as a place that is not afraid to welcome change.”

BA’s paper also describes the growth of Australia’s bitcoin economy, saying it grew by 480% in the first four months of 2014, with an estimated 192 businesses and 7% of the world’s investment focusing on bitcoin ventures.
The group said it is available to help and assist any government department or agency understand bitcoin further, and would welcome the opportunity.
Bitcoin Australia, also known as The Bitcoin Association of Australia, is affiliated internationally with the Bitcoin Foundation and serves as its local chapter.
Image via Mattz90 / Shutterstock

DigitalBTC Makes History With Australian Stock Market Debut

Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on June 15, 2014 at 23:14 BST | Companies, News, Startups

 

 

Australian multi-service bitcoin company digitalBTC will make history today as the first bitcoin-focused company to trade on a major mainstream stock exchange.
DigitalBTC, which began as a mining operation but also engages in bitcoin trading and is developing retail and consumer applications, debuted on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) this morning as Digital CC Limited (trading as digitalBTC; ASX code: DCC).
The ASX has a daily turnover of over AUD$4.6bn (US$4.32bn) and a market cap of around AUD$1.6tn.

Credibility rewards

The company views its new listing as crucial to building trust in a consumer bitcoin firm. Trust is a huge issue in the bitcoin world, and scandals involving some of its biggest names were seen as a turn-off for investors outside the bitcoin realm.
Legal requirements for the listing will make digitalBTC “the most transparent bitcoin company around”, according to a spokesperson.
The listing opens doors to a different breed of investor than might normally put money into a bitcoin company: more risk-averse individual and institutional investors and, digitalBTC hopes, those with a lot more money to invest.

The path to listing

DigitalBTC has technically been listed on the ASX since its ‘reverse takeover’ and transformation of Macro Energy Limited back in March, but has pursued the extra legitimacy of its own listing since then, which required approval.
Its backers at the time, consisting of “institutions and high net worth people”, committed AUD$9.1m (US$8.55m) to the deal at an effective price of $0.20 per share.
Since then, digitalBTC’s mining operations have earned over 5,100 BTC and its established trading desk revenues had returns of 34% in May, up from 31% in April.

Final approval

The reverse takeover meant that Macro Energy officially acquired digitalBTC, giving the company a faster track to the exchange listing. Investors could buy shares in Macro, but the digitalBTC name was necessary to indicate the company’s true business and gain value.
Trading has been suspended for the past three weeks while an ASX listing officer reviewed and approved the final paperwork, which is now complete.
The company has also lodged a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Bitcoin vs ‘real’ exchanges

Observers will be keen to see what happens to digitalBTC’s share price. Most bitcoin startups, where listed, trade on bitcoin-only and ‘unofficial’ stock exchanges, which operate in a regulatory grey area.
Just last week, SatoshiDICE and FeedZeBirds founder Erik Voorhees was fined $35,000 and forced to relinquish profits of almost $16,000 resulting from his offering of securities in the two firms.
Uncertainty surrounding crytpocurrency exchange listings is likely keeping mainstream investors at bay, at least until rules are properly clarified.

Reporting requirements

A major stock exchange listing also brings with it a raft of extra reporting and transparency requirements hitherto unknown to the bitcoin world. Among them are quarterly cashflow reports and six-monthly audited accounts, and should any legally-defined ‘material’ issue arise, it must be disclosed immediately.
DigitalBTC founder and now Executive Chairman, Mr Zhenya Tsvetnenko, said he was very pleased with the extensive progress made between March and finalizing the official launch today.
“We’ve made a great start for digitalBTC, aggressively expanding our early bitcoin-focused operations, for some very good results. So much so that we are now one of the largest bitcoin miners in the world,” he said.

“What we really look forward to now is the success we can generate from development of our bitcoin retail consumer product line, as digital currencies such as bitcoin continue their explosive growth. Our successful early operation’s growth positions us well to support our future development activities in the digital currency sector, and I look forward to the updates we can bring shareholders and the market in the coming months.”

DigitalBTC also has a hardware partnership with BitFury, which recently announced a $20m funding round of its own.

Bitcoin’s march in Australia

Bitcoin and similar currencies are well on the way to mainstream acceptance in Australia, both at a corporate and official level.
Australian digital currency businesses also recently launched the The Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association (ADCCA), a body intended to function as a professional chamber of commerce for any companies involved in bitcoin either directly or indirectly, including bitcoin-using merchants and potentially even banks.
It would work in partnership with broader advocacy groups for bitcoin itself, like the Bitcoin Foundation-affiliated Bitcoin Association of Australia.

Tax rules

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has also announced its intention to release official taxation guidelines for bitcoin businesses and investors, probably before the end of the current Australian financial year on 30th June.
Although the local Bitcoin Association has published its own recommendations in anticipation, the ATO has not yet revealed its policy.
Image via Passion Images / Shutterstock

REEDS Now Lets Jewelry Customers Pay With Bitcoin in Store, Online

Daniel Cawrey (@danielcawrey) | Published on June 11, 2014 at 22:00 BST | Coinbase, Companies, Merchants, News

 

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A large jewelry chain in the United States has announced that it is now taking bitcoin as a form of payment.
REEDS Jewelers is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. It has 64 retail locations in the eastern US as well as an online presence.
The retailer, which has been in business since 1946, tapped Coinbase to serve as its payment processor. REEDS is allowing its customers to pay using bitcoin both in-person and online.
Mitch Cahn, marketing director for REEDS, told CoinDesk that his company’s decision to accept bitcoin is all about embracing the growing community surrounding digital currencies, saying:

“There are a lot of people out there that have bitcoin. And they are looking for ways to convert it into other things. We want to be able to provide that as a service.”

Embracing technology

Cahn says that although the jewelry business is relatively traditional in nature, REEDS is trying to keep up with new digital trends.
“We’re a very old industry. Us as a company in particular, we’re not bleeding-edge. But we’ve tried to stay pretty current,” he said.
The jeweler was one of the first to have a website, which it first established in 1998. Since then, online sales have become a big part of its business. Because of this, each physical location has at least three iPads that link to a system with online access to REEDS’ entire inventory.
Moves by large companies like Overstock to accept bitcoin made the integration a strategic one for REEDS. With tablets already in place, software configuration was pretty easy for the company to begin accepting BTC compared to older point-of-sale systems.
According to Cahn:

“We see a trend, obviously we’re not the only retailer to do this by far. It’s not extremely difficult to implement. It wasn’t a huge undertaking.”

Opportunity for investors

Precious gold and diamonds, according to Cahn, can be considered “semi-commodities”. REEDS believes bitcoin investors may be interested in diversifying, purchasing gold and diamonds with digital currency.
Another aspect of the business is that many jewelers such as REEDS also buy precious metals and other valuables.
Cahn says that after the 2008 global economic crisis,” gold buying and diamond buying became a big part of the jewelry industry. [And] we always do trade-ins and repairs. It’s been a big part of our business.”
When asked if REEDS pay out in bitcoin for trade-ins from its customers, Cahn replied that such a service is not on the immediate horizon, saying:

“We’re pretty progressive, but I don’t have answer for you on that. I’ll never say no to anything because you never know, but as of right now that’s not in the forecast.”

The company is not planning to hold onto bitcoin right now, using Coinbase to turn BTC proceeds into dollars.
“For what it’s worth, we’re not holding on to the bitcoin. We are converting [it to fiat],” said Cahn.
Jewelry ring image via Shutterstock

Study: Speculation Isn’t the Sole Driver of Bitcoin Prices

Stan Higgins | Published on June 4, 2014 at 22:21 BST | Analysis, Asia, Investors, News, US & Canada

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There are a number of factors claimed by market-movers, observers and everyday investors as to what exactly influences the price of bitcoin. However, one new study has analyzed key drivers in the bitcoin market, and its findings could have an impact on how investors approach digital currencies in the future.
For example, the authors notably found that while there is a great deal of connectivity between the two, there is no clear evidence that the Chinese bitcoin market has a significant impact on activity in USD markets.
Entitled “What are the main drivers of the Bitcoin price?”, the paper by Ladislav Kristoufek of the Institute of Economic Studies at Charles University in Prague explores the economic, financial and perceptive catalysts for changes in the price of bitcoin. To do so, it leverages wavelet coherence analysis, a mathematical tool for data analytics, when examining information from the bitcoin market.
Kristoufek noted in the study that the properties of bitcoin, compared to other currencies, make it ideal for analysis, saying:

“Compared to the standard currencies such as the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and others, bitcoin shines due to an unprecedented data availability. It is completely unrealistic to know the total amount of the US dollars in the worldwide economy on a daily basis. However, bitcoin provides such information on daily basis, publicly and freely.”

He added: “Such data availability allows for more precise statistical analysis”.

China’s influence

Kristoufek acknowledges that major bitcoin events in China have an impact on the broader global market. Indeed, he concedes that both markets “tend to move together very tightly both in prices and in volumes” when looking at data from 2013.
Yet, he argues that the relationship lies primarily in volume, whereas prices are less connected. This, Kristoufek asserts, means that the interactions between these two markets might be less significant than some observers claim.
He wrote:

“Even though the USD and CNY markets are tightly connected, we find no clear evidence that the Chinese market influences the USD market.”

However, Kristoufek notes that China remains an “important player” in the bitcoin ecosystem.

Bitcoin not a safe haven

The paper also explored the concept of bitcoin as a safe haven asset, one that would theoretically be leveraged during times of economic strife.
Kristoufek uses the case of the financial crisis in Cyprus as a lone example. Utilizing the Financial Stress Index from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, as well as the price of gold denominated in Swiss francs, he paints a picture that suggests bitcoin has not – at least yet – been treated as a safe haven asset.
The author suggested that there are correlations between the event in Cyprus and the use of bitcoin as a safe haven, explaining:

“Apart from the Cypriot crisis, there are no longer-term time intervals where the correlations are both statistically significant and reliable (in a sense of the cone of influence).”

Additionally, there were few indications of a deep relationship between bitcoin and movements in gold – arguably one of the world’s key safe haven assets – leading Kristoufek to conclude that “we find no signs of bitcoin being a safe haven”.

Market perception

Among Kristoufek’s findings is the idea that investor interest and the overall popularity of bitcoin puts pressure on prices, but that the forces are not equal during upswings and downturns in the market.
He used Google and Wikipedia searches for “bitcoin” and sought correlations between those search terms and dates when notable changes in the price of bitcoin occurred.
Kristoufek found that the velocity of price gains and losses in bitcoin is ‘asymmetrical’, writing:

“The interest and prices are then negatively correlated and the interest still leads the relationship. However, the correlations are found at lower scales than for the bubble formation. The interest in bitcoin thus seems to have an asymmetric effect during the bubble formation and its bursting – during the bubble formation, the interest boosts the prices further, and during the bursting, it pushes them lower.”

He added negative interest in bitcoin appears to be more impactful than positive interest in regards to the price, saying that this creates “a more rapid effect during the price contraction than during the bubble build-up.

Fundamental forces

According to Kristoufek, there are plenty of observers of bitcoin who say that speculation remains the key driver of price changes. While he doesn’t directly dispute this statement, he posits that there are fundamentals which can be found to influence the market.
He wrote:

“Even though bitcoin is usually labelled as a purely speculative asset, we find that standard fundamental factors – usage in trade, money supply and price level – play a role in bitcoin prices in the long term.”

Business strategy visualization via Shutterstock

Bitcoin Conferences Proliferate Across Asia and Australia in 2014

Jon Southurst (@southtopia) | Published on June 4, 2014 at 23:12 BST | Events, News

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A clear sign that digital currency is truly going global is apparent in the increasing number of bitcoin conferences taking place in different parts of the world this year, most particularly in Asia and Australia.
There are several significant events upcoming in the greater region, where attendees can catch presentations and panels featuring some of digital currency’s top leaders and thinkers.
Conference organizers like Mediabistro have already proven their ability to organize successful events, such as the Inside Bitcoins conference series in places like New York, Berlin and Las Vegas. In addition to the events below, the company will also hold bitcoin conferences in Seoul in December and Singapore in January 2015.
Then there are new starters in the field, such as Australia’s Informa and other independent conferences, proving that competition in the digital currency event space is almost as healthy as that among digital currencies themselves.
So why not get out the diary, reserve one of those ridiculously cheap Asian low-cost airline seats, and start researching local bitcoin-accepting businesses to visit while attending the following bitcoin events?

Inside Bitcoins Hong Kong

This event, to be held on 24th-25th June, bills itself as “Asia’s Largest Bitcoin Conference”, with 45 speakers and 20 seminary sessions, including heavyweights Bobby Lee (BTC China), Leon Li (Huobi), and Brock Pierce of the Bitcoin Foundation.
The event also features speakers from all areas of the Asian digital currency ecosystem, including Rui Ma of 500 Startups, Antony Lewis of itBit, Zennon Kapron of Kapronasia, mining ASIC maker Rock Xie, and Dave Chapman of ANX.

Inside Bitcoins Melbourne

Despite a healthy bitcoin economy, Australia hasn’t featured so prominently on the conference circuit so far – but it’s about to make up for it with two conferences within the same month.
The action starts with Inside Bitcoins Melbourne, from 9th-10th July. Speakers include Asher Tan of CoinJar, investors Domenic Carosa and Niki Scevak and numerous others from Australia’s startup scene, plus international guests Edan Yago of Epiphyte and Josh Zerlan of Butterfly Labs.

Cryptocon Sydney

Cryptocon’s two events, both in the last week of July, share several of the same speakers on an agenda that highlights the economic connections between Singapore and Australia.
The inaugural conference will take place in Sydney from 24th-25th July. International invitees include Emmanuel Abiodun of Cloudhashing, Elizabeth Ploshay and Jon Matonis of the Bitcoin Foundation, and Safello’s Frank Schuil.
Local speakers include Jason Williams of BitPOS and Tristan Winters of ICE3x, and Domenic Carosa in a conference encore.

Cryptocon Singapore

As well as international invitees Jonathan Levin of Coinometrics, Jackson Warren of Bitcoiniacs and ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Roger Ver, the 28th-29th July conference features local entrepreneurs Anson Zeall of CoinPip and Tembusu ATM founders Jarrod Luo and Peter Peh.
Cryptocon’s organizer, Jonny Peters, says his events move on from debate over security and whether bitcoin is a currency or commodity, and onto the more interesting opportunities presented by block chain technology itself.
“Through its tag line ‘The Internet of Money has Arrived’, the event makes a big statement and encourages the discussion to move towards something way bigger,” he said, explaining:

“The blockchain is a solution that solves the inherent problems of the Internet – credit card fraud, inefficient and cumbersome payment systems, and personal privacy issues. These three factors create a consumer distrust of the Internet. The billionaires of the next decade will be those who take advantage of this solution – this is where Cryptocon positions itself.”

BitcoinExpo China 2014, Shanghai

Promoting itself as “The Largest of All Bitcoin Conferences”, Shanghai’s BitcoinExpo will also be mainland China’s second major bitcoin event for the year – not bad for a country often inaccurately accused of ‘banning bitcoin’.
Final dates and a speaker list are yet to be finalized, but the event will cover three days in September this year. Organizers have also issued invitations for sponsors and exhibitors.
Image via Maxim Blinkov / Shutterstock

The CoinDesk Mining Roundup: Mineral Oil, Bitmain and Scrypt-N

Daniel Cawrey (@danielcawrey) | Published on May 31, 2014 at 21:31 BST | Butterfly Labs, Mining, News

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Last week, there were 1,145 blocks rewarded to miners, according to the Neighbourhood Pool Watch. Based on the recent price of BTC times the 25 coin reward, that’s more than $12m.
At bitcoin’s current price and network difficulty, the network is generating millions of dollars per week. But that’s with miner operating costs notwithstanding.
For example, Dave Carlson’s MegaBigPower pool earned 18 blocks last week, representing 1.57% a share of total rewards. That’s about $200,000, and some of those spoils will need to go to running the datacenter that supports his pool.
With that in mind, here is what has been going on in the mining sector since our last roundup.

Mineral oil cooling

Using Radeon R9 280x GPUs to mine scrypt is becoming fairly inefficient due to the rise of the Gridseed miners. One enterprising DIY miner has decided to remove heat by dipping his GPUs in mineral oil, then extracting the heat using a car radiator.
There are a number of cooling options available for mining: Air, water and the use of treated fluids to cool miners.
Mineral oil is an interesting option, not only because it looks unique – you can see heat dissipating off of the oil – but also due to the fact that it can be quite messy. Nevertheless, it does work and miners building their own custom rigs are clearly using it to reduce heat generation.

HashFast founders broke

San Francisco-based HashFast, a mining designer and manufacturer, has been having a number of problems. It recently had to lay off half of its staff and told Ars Technica that the company is broke – although they have denied bankruptcy rumors.
“The only thing that is holding us back is that we are as poor as church mice,” CEO Eduardo de Castro said.
HashFast had reportedly taped out a 28nm chip that could hash at 400GH/s last September. However, the company has had a number of problems. For example, in March the company had its bitcoin wallet frozen by a Fort Worth, Texas court.
In a guest post by Dario Di Pardo for CoinDesk about purchasing mining equipment, Di Pardo wrote he had lost confidence in the company, and has requested a refund.

Innosilicon A2 Terminator

ASIC scrypt mining is heating up, and perhaps the best example of this is Innosilicon’s A2 Terminator.

The 28nm chip is capable of operating at a minimum of 1.6MH/s per 10 watts. That means a 150MH/s unit would use 1KW. Innosilicon, a Wuhan, China-based manufacturer, will sell these chips to makers of complete mining rigs.

One of those companies is Gridseed, one of the first producers of scrypt-based mining units. Gridseed has told CoinDesk that it already has built a blade form factor unit using the A2 Terminator called the G-BOX.
The Gridseed G-BOX is expected to produce 70MH/s of scrypt power per unit. That would be a major step up from Gridseed’s current G Blade, which hashes at 5.2MH/s while using 140W.

Bitmain Antminer S2 upgrades

The Antminer S2. Source: Bitmain

China-based Bitmain, which has reportedly been delivering on its shipment promises, will offer its existing Antminer S2 customers an upgrade. The company is currently selling the Antminer S2 units with 1TH/s of power at 1.2KW.
However, a recent Bitcoin Talk forum post indicates that the company will sell upgrade packages to these units that could double the S2′s power to 2TH/s, available this fall.
Bitmain’s only other product right now is the Antminer U2+, a USB stick that generates 2GH/s at 2.95W. It is selling a minimum order of 500 U2+ units for 10.8. Bitmain also seems to have an agreement with 112 Bit, a US-based distributor of Bitmain products, to provide hosting for the company’s hardware.

BFL Monarch update

Source: Butterfly Labs

Kansas-based ButterflyLabs has released an update on its Monarch blade form factor miner. The 28nm unit, which is expected to perform at 600GH/s for $2,196, is said to have better power performance over its industry rivals.

According to the update, the Monarch will be three-to-five times more efficient than the competition. The base Monarch is expected to draw 235W of power, and another version, called the Imperial Monarch, will have 1TH/s of power at 550W.

Although the Monarch’s initial test chips were produced back in January, shipment of units has been delayed. Recently, it was reported that consumers have appealed to the Federal Trade Commission to investigate over $1m in alleged unfulfilled orders from BFL.

Flower Tech scrypt-N

The Lilac will support scrypt and scrypt-N proof of work. Source: Flower Technology

Canada-based Flow Technology is focusing on scrypt – and also scrypt-n, which has been supposedly ASIC-resistant. The company’s $7,900 rack-mount Liliac unit is expected to hash at 300MH/s at 1.8W per megahash. The units are scheduled to start shipping in Q3 of 2014.
The company does have two other products for scrypt mining – a 10MH/s standalone unit called the Daisy and a 60MH/s blade called the Orchid. However, these units also have a Q3 2014 target ship date.
There are now a number of coins promoting themselves as protected from ASIC mining because of scrypt-N including vertcoin. But if Flower Technology is able to produce a miner that can hash both scrypt and scrypt-N, that could have some serious implications for the altcoin mining market.
Got a cryptocurrency mining tip for future roundups? Contact us.
Disclaimer: This article should not be viewed as an endorsement of any of the companies mentioned. Please do your own extensive research before considering investing any funds in these products.

HashFast Staves Off Involuntary Bankruptcy In San Francisco Court

Stan Higgins | Published on May 31, 2014 at 22:10 BST | Companies, Law, News, US & Canada

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Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer HashFast has avoided being forced into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings by signing a deal with its creditors.
Under the deal, signed in a federal bankruptcy court in San Francisco, HashFast will commit to an accelerated restructuring in order to meet its obligations. Mining company Liquidbits sought court approval last week for HashFast to enter an involuntary bankruptcy in order to recoup funds lost after HashFast failed to deliver on a $6m order.
Ars Techina reported that HashFast is now able to resume part of its business. However, the bankruptcy court placed restrictions on the manner in which the company can sell products in keeping with previous agreements struck during arbitration.
The court order read:

“Subject to the other provisions of this Paragraph 2, HashFast may operate only in the ordinary course of its business.”

Permission to sell inventory

US Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali gave HashFast the go-ahead to begin selling some of its mining chip inventory, up to 1,000 units, as a way to raise funds. As part of the agreement, the company can raise no more than $100,000 by this method.
The court order also stipulated that the company’s creditors may grant future approval for more chip sales.
HashFast has provided its creditors with pricing figures for the products it intends to sell, and must abide by an agreement to not sell them for any more than the agreed-upon amount. The court also said that HashFast’s creditors must keep this information in strict confidence.

HashFast to hire chief restructuring officer

HashFast has agreed to hire an outside counsel to serve as chief restructuring officer during the process. Any candidate is subject to approval from the company’s creditors, the court said.
According to Ars, HashFast has reportedly retained the services of an attorney from the Brincko Group, a law office specializing in corporate restructuring and bankruptcies. The company’s lawyer also noted that this person has already been brought onto the team to help begin the restructuring effort immediately.
The court decision represents the first hint of a turnaround for the company, which in March had its bitcoin wallets frozen.
For months HashFast has been dogged by customer complaints and allegations of fraud. In early May, the company announced that it was firing 50 percent of its staff, saying the layoffs were a result of a business model restructuring rather than preparations for possible bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy court image via Shutterstock

Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne Reports $1.6 Million in Bitcoin Sales

Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on May 28, 2014 at 20:25 BST | Merchants, News

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In a new interview with FOX Business, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne has reported new bitcoin sales figures for the e-commerce giant, noting the company has processed $1.6m in purchases so far this year.
The news follows the 4th March announcement by the company that it had passed $1m in year-to-date sales, less than two months after its decision to begin accepting the alternative payment method at the start of the year.
Since becoming the first major retailer to accept bitcoin in January, Overstock and its outspoken CEO have become unlikely figureheads for the digital currency community.
Byrne was similarly optimistic about bitcoin and its prospects in his interview on the FOX program Opening Bell, stating:

“Bitcoin is tiny at this point, but it’s growing about 25% a month. In terms of actual transactions in a day, I think it’s $300m a day. It’s surpassing PayPal, at this point, in terms of transactions. [...] But, it is growing very quickly.”

Byrne most recently delivered the opening keynote at Bitcion2014 in Amsterdam, where he gave an impassioned speech on the underlying economic theories supporting bitcoin.

By the numbers

If correct, the figures would seem to indicate that Overstock has seen a drop off in bitcoin sales figures in recent months after its strong start.
While the company earned $1m in the first two months of offering the payment option, Bryne’s latest comments would suggest that this figure has fallen to $600,000 in the roughly three months since, though he did not provide exact dates for either projection.
In March, Bryne revised his anticipated year-end bitcoin sales figures up from roughly $3-$5m to as high as $10-20m.

Holding BTC

Byrne also confirmed that his company is still holding 10% of its BTC sales earnings in the digital currency, a fact he first revealed in March.
The reiteration of the company policy comes at a time when critics in the traditional financial community have taken issue with the notion that Overstock is accepting bitcoin by working with California-based merchant processing service provider Coinbase.
Image via FOX Business

CoinJar Launches Bitcoin Donation Drive for Teen Entrepreneur

Stan Higgins | Published on May 28, 2014 at 19:01 BST | Australasia, Companies, Lifestyle

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Australia-based bitcoin wallet and exchange service CoinJar has pledged nearly A$4,000 in bitcoin to a crowdfunding campaign started by young entrepreneur Madelaine Scott.
The 19-year-old owner of Madelaine’s Organic Eggs, based in Melbourne, Australia, is seeking to raise at least A$60,000 on Pozible to purchase an egg-grading and cleaning machine for her 900-plus flock of hens.
In addition to the initial bitcoin donation, CoinJar has said that it will match any contributions made in the digital currency by its user base, up to an additional A$10,000.
In a statement on its website, the company cited the success of the dogecoin NASCAR crowdfunding project, which fielded $50,000 to sponsor driver Josh Wise, as a driving factor behind the initiative, saying:

“If r/dogecoin can sponsor a NASCAR, surely we can help Madelaine get her business to the next level.”

How it works

The exchange says customers can make donations to Scott directly through Pozible, while finalizing the transaction with CoinJar.
After going through an approval process on Pozible, users can opt to pay with BTC. CoinJar notes that customers need to input a valid return address in case the crowdfunding project does not meet its goal.
Pozible then gives the user the option to sync with their CoinJar wallet. Once redirected to the wallet service, the user finalizes the payment and their pledge is authorized.
The fundraiser ends on 26th May, and to date, Scott has raised more than $45,000. Like other crowdfunding platforms, donations through Pozible earn users scaled rewards that, in this case, include egg shipments and weekend getaways at the organic farm.

Digital currency’s crowdfunding potential

CoinJar growth strategist Samuel Tate told CoinDesk that the company was drawn to Madelaine’s business because of her entrepreneurial spirit and her ability to quickly grow her home-spun business.
Additionally, it proved an opportunity to see the impact of bitcoin on targeted crowdfunding projects.
Tate said that:

“Bitcoin allows the costs of money transfer to be reduced, which makes micro payments more feasible. Previously small transactions were not practical due to paypal and credit card costs. Bitcoin makes it possible for more platforms like Pozible to reduce their costs of money and pass these benefits onto people like Maddy.”

Scott agreed, telling CoinDesk that bitcoin’s role in crowdfunding may very well grow in the future, saying the digital currency “will become more versatile over time”.
Additionally, bitcoin donations could serve as a way for people to avoid some of the fees traditionally associated with sending money between parties.
She added that she has seen a noticeable impact since CoinJar began its donation drive. Further, she said that a potential egg client has expressed interest in purchasing orders using bitcoin exclusively.

Bitcoin growth

Australia has emerged as one of the more active areas for bitcoin businesses in recent months.
Last week, Australia-based VC firm Future Capital launched a US$30m global investment fund for bitcoin companies, while cashless ATM provider Diamond Circle introduced a bitcoin debit card.
Australia’s regulators have not been as enthusiastic toward digital currency, however. The country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, suggested in a document published in late April that bitcoin poses a “limited” risk to the country’s existing payments infrastructure.
The report went on to add that bitcoin’s “appeal of low fees and fast transaction times” would likely not form the basis for broader adoption.
Image via CoinJar