BitInstant: در حال حاضر دارای مجوز فرستنده پول در 30 ایالات امریکا

مقررات، یک موضوع داغ در جامعه بیت کوین از قوانین FINCEN در ماه مارس بوده است، و در کنفرانس بیت کوین آخر هفته گذشته یک چهارم کل این کنفرانس به مسائل اقتصادی و نظارتی اختصاص داده شده بود.

این اعلان برانگیخته از احساسات قوی هر دو تسکین و عدم قطعیت در سراسر جامعه بیت کوین بوده است؛ اگر چه کاربران عادی بیت کوین در حال حاضر تقریبا به طور قطع از مقررات موجود آگاه هستند، یک واقعیت است که مجوز بسته نرم افزاری Humble و بنیاد مرز الکترونیک، پذیرش بیت کوین را آسان نمود.
مبادلات بیت کوین در حال حاضر به احتمال زیاد ملزم به داشتن مجوز فرستنده پول در تمام 48 ایالت در سراسر کشور میباشند – و این مساله یک روش بسیار طاقت فرسا است که بارها مانع کسب و کار حتی در خارج از فضای بیت کوین شده است. بسیاری از چهره ها در این زمینه به این مطلب که چقدراین فرآیند هزینه باردار میباشد اشاره کردند; و این یک درک مشترک بود که در آن میلیون دلار از تلاش های قانونی و اوراق قرضه ضامن به طول می انجامید. Jeff Berwick در استعفای خود را از پروژه Robocoin Bitcoin ATM گفت که مانع اصلی، مشارکت بیش از حد ایالات متحده “25 میلیون دلار”اوراق قرضه بیمه” لازمه “فرستنده پول” در ایالات متحده است.”

چند کمپانی به همراه ۴۸ مجوزدر حال کسب و کار در این زمینه هستند؟ پاسخ از این عدد بسیار دور میباشد. الکس واترز از BitInstant یک رقم دقیق ۳۰ ایالات را ارائه کرده است. کمپانی بیتینستانت پیشرفت زیادی در این زمینه داشته و یکی از پیشگامان تبادل ارز در صنعت بیت کوین میباشد

چرا بیت کوین در آرژانتین گران تر از آمریکاست ؟

افرادی که در آرژانتین زندگی می کنند نسبت به کسانی که در ایالات متحده زندگی می کنند برای دریافت بیت کوین پول بیشتری می پردازند. در مواجهه با نرخ تورم 25 درصدی، آنها نسبت به پول ملی خود بدبین شده اند.

در زمان نگارش این مقاله، اطلاعات برگرفته از LocalBitcoins.com نشان می دهد که متوسط قیمتی که برای خرید 1 بیت کوین در ایالات متحده به صورت آنلاین پرداخت می شود در حدود 103.97 دلار و در انگلستان 103.50 می باشد. در آرژانتین، هر بیت کوین در حدود 921.48 پزو (ARS) یا 166.97 دلار است و اگر نرخ صرافی های دولت آرژانتین را در نظر بگیرید 5.5 ARS به دلار یا 115.23 دلار درصورتی که از نرخ های بازار سیاه یا “دلار آبی” استفادن کنیم در حدود 8 ARS به دلار خواهد بود.

اما چرا قیمت بیت کوین در آرژانتین بیشتر است ؟

مقامات رسمی نرخ سالانه ی تورم این کشور را در حدود 10 در صد تخمین زده اند. اما

ادامه خبر را در ادامه مطلب بخوانید

U.S. Marshals Service Bitcoin Auction Taking Place Today

Today is the day for some high rollers to get their hands on bitcoin in a way unlike we have ever seen before. A massive bitcoin auction is taking place from 6 am to 6 pm Eastern time, and it’s being held by the United States Marshals Service.

Up for grabs: 29,656.51306529 bitcoins seized from the Silk Road operation that was shut down by federal authorities in late 2013.

Silk Road had served as the web’s most popular illicit marketplace, where users could buy anything from hard drugs to weaponry using bitcoin. With the take-down came the arrest of the alleged Dread Pirate Roberts, Ross Ulbricht (he’s currently awaiting trial).

Today’s auction comes following a registration process that began nearly two weeks ago. Bidders interested in participating were required to fill out a registration form, provide government-issued identification, and wire $200,000 as a deposit to the Marshals service.

It all leads up to today, where there will be a so-called “Series A” auction for 9 blocks of 3,000 bitcoins, and a “Series B” auction for 2,646 bitcoins.

And while the auction is expected to be held in secrecy, a Marshals Service staffer last week inadvertently released the email addresses of individuals who had inquired.

Among them include a Coinbase executive, a BNP Paribas employee, and Barry Silbert of SecondMarket/Bitcoin Investment Fund.

Silbert announced recently the creation of a syndicate that would allow investors to join the auction in a pool without having to commit to depositing $200,000.

Certainly, it should be interesting what comes from today’s auction, and we’ll have more information on the results just as soon as it becomes available (if it becomes available!).

Bitcoin Exchange OKCoin Doing Q&A Session Monday Morning

If you’re looking for an opportunity to ask a bitcoin exchange questions about their operations, Monday morning will be your chance.

OKCoin, China’s largest bitcoin exchange, has announced that they will be conducting a Reddit AMA (ask me anything) session on Monday, June 30th. There, Reddit users will be able to, well, ask the company anything — and one user has already taken the liberty of doing so by asking:

“Why are you still faking volume? Current 24 h volume okcoin 55k BTC more than 2x Rest of exchanges combined”

The question was met with a lengthy response, of which includes:

A lot of discussion has been centered on the trading volume at OKCoin and how it is “fake”. This, however, just isn’t true. It all boils down to the zero-fee trading model. Because we don’t charge our users any fees for trades there is a lot of HFT(High Frequency Trading) taking place. This leads to the “bloating” of our numbers. We have admitted this and our CEO Star Xu made a statement about this in a Coindesk article written by Rui Ma.

Another user asks: “I am not sure I will be able to be there at that time but I am curious if you have any plans to open up USD/BTC in the future?”

OKCoin responded by stating that they do indeed have plans to do so and are working to enable this as soon as possible.

The exchange will be starting the Q&A session at approximately 9 am Eastern time that day. Mark your calendar!

Need to Put $25 to Work? Ashton Kutcher Says Buy Bitcoin

Bitcoin just found itself another celebrity endorsement. Hollywood star and investor Ashton Kutcher endorsed the digital currency this week on Quora, a question-and-answer website frequented by people of all walks of life.

Kutcher responded to the interesting question: “What are some smart ways I can put $25 to work for me?” in which he, among other things, suggested the poster buy bitcoin.

He writes:

I would deploy a barbell strategy. Go to stockpile.com and buy fractional shares in blue chip stocks. Then buy bitcoin. Do this every other week for four weeks and on the fifth week buy a beer for someone you admire or gift someone either some bitcoin or fractional shares of stock. I’m a firm believer that generosity has a multiplying effect. Happiness, freedom, peace, and financial security are only sustained by sharing them with others.

This isn’t the first time Kutcher has expressed interest in bitcoin. At the TechCrunch Disrupt conference that took place in mid-2013, Kutcher said bitcoin is “obviously becoming more and more relevant.”

Further, Kutcher’s A-Grade Investments venture capitalism fund has invested in Atlanta-based BitPay, a leading bitcoin payments processor.

So you could say it’s no surprise here that he’s recommending people buy into this digital currency, which has seen exponential growth in the last one and a half years.

Over the past several months, bitcoin has attracted the attention of many notable entities in the tech sector — particularly those who invest. Just ask Marc Andreessen, who suggests that in twenty years, we’ll be talking about bitcoin like we do about the internet today.

A soar in price first in April 2013 and later in November 2013 put the digital currency in a position where investors have actually been able to look into it seriously and making the determination that this is worth putting money into.

What do you think? Is Kutcher’s strategy one worth taking seriously?

The Bitcoin Job Fair Takes Places Today in Manhattan’s Financial District

If you’re interested in getting yourself a job in the bitcoin industry and live in the New York City area, today may be your chance. The Bitcoin Center NYC is holding a Bitcoin Job Fair today from 12:00 – 5:00 pm local time.

This particular job fair is the eastern coast’s first, with the last fair taking place on May 3rd in Sunnyvale, California at the Plug and Play Tech Center. The fair saw four hundred job seekers, and this weekend’s event in Manattan will be on-track to attract a decent crowd, it seems.

At the last Bitcoin Job Fair, Atlanta-based BitPay made multiple hires — adding a Chief Compliance Officer, a user experience team members, and an engineering services group member.

It looks like BitPay will be back for more action in New York, along with eGifter, Coinbase, Coinsetter, and others, according to the Bitcoin Job Fair website.

The event’s location is fitting. Bitcoin Center NYC sits a mere 100 feet from the New York Stock exchange in the financial district of Manhattan. It’s old finance meeting new finance within the space of one city block.

Admission to the event is free for prospective job seekers, but space is limited as we understand, so if you’re one to do things last minute, you still have some time to get yourself in presentable shape!

Barry Silbert Releases Results of Bidding Syndicate For US Marshals Bitcoin Auction

SecondMarket and Bitcoin Investment Trust CEO Barry Silbert has released some decently interesting information this Saturday afternoon relating to Friday’s bitcoin auction held by the United States Marshals Service. To be clear, the results were not that of the auction itself, but the syndicate that Silbert formed shortly after the USMS announced the auction a couple of weeks ago.

According to Silbert, there were 42 bidders involved in the syndicate, with 186 bids received and a bitcoin quantity bid of 48,013.

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 syndicate was designed to allow smaller-scale investors get involved with the auction sans having to commit as if they had gone into the auction alone. Those requirements demand bidders submit a deposit of $200,000 from a United States bank account, in addition to meeting other registration standards.

As such, the collection of all bids received by the syndicate would then go toward the USMS auction, which ran for twelve hours from 6 am to 6 pm Friday. The minimum amount to have participated in the syndicate was $25,000.

Ten percent of auction fees collected from the syndicate will go directly to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Certainly, Monday will be interesting, but it’s unclear as to whether or not the Marshals Service will publicly announce the auction winners. There’s a good possibility that it will be kept undisclosed (to the best of the USMS’s ability). That is until the inevitable moment where someone involved provides more information.

We can likely expect Silbert to make additional comments on this matter come Monday. Stay tuned.

California Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill Legalizing Alternative Currencies Like Bitcoin Into Law

We’ve been discussing a bill that’s been making its rounds through the legal system in California, and as of this weekend, it’s been signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown just days after the news that lawmakers in the Golden State had passed it.

That bill [also referred to as AB-129]– as we’ve discussed previously — effectively makes it simpler for state residents to use alternative currencies by nullifying an old bill that deemed anything but the use of the United States dollar as legal.

These alternative currencies include but are not limited to Starbucks Stars, Amazon Coins, and yes, even bitcoin and other cryptographic currencies.

“In an era of evolving payment methods, from Amazon Coins to Starbucks Stars, it is impractical to ignore the growing use of cash alternatives,” said State Assemblyman Roger Dickinson in a recent statement, as pointed out by the Los Angeles Times.

And while the news is good for users of this emerging digital currency, it doesn’t quite change a whole lot in terms practical use of bitcoin, for example. The aforementioned law that prohibited the use of anything but the dollar was one of many unenforced laws in the State of California.

Former Director of US Mint to Keynote at Bitcoin Conference in N. Carolina

We’ve written a few times about Edmund C. Moy, the former Director of the United States Mint who has seemingly taken a liking to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general.

Last month, Moy notable said via social media that, “It’s Time Banks Got Competition. Time for Cryptocurrencies,” further pushing him into a noble status in the cryptocurrency community.

And now he’s even doing public speaking at a Bitcoin expo. As first pointed out by bitcoin website CoinTelegraph, Moy will be serving as the keynote speaker at the ‘Cryptolina‘ conference that’s taking place from August 15-16th in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Event organizer Faruk Okcetin had the following to say in a press announcement:

“This is a game-changer. Ed Moy is widely respected among the finance and exchange industry, and is among the highest level officials yet to recognize both the future and inevitability of cryptocurrency. The Carolinas are thrilled to be hosting Mr. Moy’s first appearance at a Bitcoin conference.”

Other speakers at the event include Elizabeth Ploshay of BitPay and the Bitcoin Foundation, and angel investor Mark Easley.

As one would come to expect at a bitcoin conference, Cryptolina takes a look at today’s issues in the cryptocurrency community on several fronts along with the future.

Edmund C. Moy was nominated by President George W. Bush as the Director of the United States mint in 2006, and was sworn in the same year. The role lasted until 2011.

For more information on Cryptolina, visit www.cryptolina.com.

Cryptocurrency Mining Conference Slated to Take Place in October

Cryptocurrency Mining Conference Slated to Take Place in October

There’s apparently a new kind of cryptocurrency conference taking place later this year. Dubbed Hashers United, it’s said the be the first global conference dedicated to cryptocurrency mining, and it’s taking place from October 10th-11th at the Tuscany Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The conference will bring together professionals, hobbyists and vendors from within mining and throughout the wider cryptocurrency sector. Attendees can expect over 35 workshops and sessions, and more than 25 speakers.

On the list of speakers is Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Litecoin creator Charlie Lee, who have been “specially selected for their expertise and commitment to mining and cryptocurrencies.”

The conference will feature key figures from tax, legal and regulatory bodies from the United States to provide important updates. In addition, speakers will cover topics including protocol scrutiny, algorithm analysis for better strategic planning and operations; more effective rig building; live mining demonstrations; and workshops covering profitability, investment, cryptocurrency management and more.

Behind the conference is Final Hash, LLC, a mining contract company with rig facilities in Houston, Texas.

“We’re in contact with miners every day and their needs just aren’t being met via current conferences or even online,” said the company’s Executive Technical Director, Marshall Long. “It’s time for a ‘real world’ forum where everyone, no matter their experience, can have an open and frank discussion about the key issues they are facing and how as a community we can help each other to overcome them.”

For more information on the event, head over to HashersUnited.com.

Edward Snowden Defense Fund Has So Far Raised 150 Bitcoins

We’ve seen all sorts of bitcoin fundraisers going on in the community recently, but did you know there existed a fundraiser to help with the legal defense of Edward Snowden?

There apparently is, and the amount of money its raised so far is nothing to scoff at. As of this writing, the address [Blockchain.info link] has collected just about 150 bitcoins, or $87,195 at the present exchange rate.

Snowden defense fund has raised $90,341.66 in #Bitcoin https://t.co/cKda45taX1 donate: http://t.co/GEHJ0hK5YS info: https://t.co/SdNf8MpTa1

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 24, 2014

The news comes from Wikileaks, a media outlet that has taken to publishing secret information and classified media from unidentified sources. Wikileaks has longs supported Edward Snowden, who has been on the run from authorities in the United States since 2013 after releasing a slew of classified documents from his work as a National Security Agency contractor.

Donation efforts are designed to help Snowden through his current legal predicament, in which the United States seeks to bring him back to face trial.

Wikileaks turning to bitcoin, to many in the community, was an inevitable thing. With pressure from world governments, traditional processors like VISA, MasterCard, PayPal, and others imposed a banking blockade on the funding of their operation.

With no central authority to say what can and cannot be transmitted, it highlights just one of many benefits of bitcoin — with nobody on the other end to say “no

QuickBooks Online Adds Support for ‘PayByCoin’ For Bitcoin Payments

Intuit’s QuickBooks Online has become the first cloud accounting system to allow small businesses to accept bitcoin payments, we’re learning via a blog post sent to us by a company spokesperson earlier today

The California-based company’s new PayByCoin service has been made possible through an integration between QuickBooks Online and Coinbase — a bitcoin merchant services provider and broker.

For the small businesses using QuickBooks Online to generate their electronic invoices, PayByCoin comes as a free add-on, which is certainly convenient.

Here’s how the whole thing works, as explained by Intuit:

1. The small business owner/operator must first register with Coinbase and link their wallets to their existing QuickBooks Online account.

2. Customers who receive and invoice have the option to pay by traditional means (credit card, etc.), but also have the option to pay in bitcoin.

3. Intuit isn’t charging any fee for the service (although Coinbase does charge a 1 percent fee after the first $1 million in sales).

The company explains:

Intuit is providing the connectivity and software services to direct customers to the small business operators CoinBase wallet, and to record the transactions in QuickBooks Online. Intuit will not receive or hold any funds related to the PayByCoin transactions, either in USD or Bitcoins.

It’s an interesting development in the world of bitcoin e-commerce, especially seeing such a large company getting involved with the digital currency in this manner.

As a business owner, how inclined would you be to use this service?

Project Skyhook Announces Shipment of 150th Bitcoin ATM

Bitcoin ATMs: they’ve become so very popular. A point proven today by Project Skyhook, who announced via their blog that they have shipped their 150th unit.

Demand for the Skyhook units have been quite high primarily given their low-cost pricing. Compared to competitors’ pricing, the Skyhook only runs at $999, and Project Skyhook says that demand “is very strong, and growing every day.”

In the past month, the team says they’ve sold 70 ATMs, and they’re apparently projecting even greater demand in the next month.

“Our goal this year is to sell 1,000 units, and thanks to our great customers (seriously, we love you, thank you), we’re strongly on track to meet that goal,” they write.

The team also notes that customer issues with the machines have been minimal, adding they’ve “gotten a lot of great testimonials and very creative use stories.”

They write:

Our goal with Skyhook has been to make it possible for everyone to become a Bitcoin exchange, so that the buying of Bitcoin is easy, accessible, and not restricted to a single central source. We’re happy that people are using Skyhook ATMs to make it easy for everyone to buy Bitcoins, and we’re proud of our role in improving the Bitcoin ecosystem by reducing our dependence on centralized exchanges.

Skyhook ATMs are designed to be easy to manufacture, and even feature a pre-installed tablet to act as the touch screen interface.

Most recently, Canadian start-up Quadriga CX announced plans to install 30 of the devices throughout Vancouver

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Meet Australia’s Newest Bitcoin Exchange: CoinTree

The evolution of bitcoin exchanges over the past year and a half have been interesting. We’ve seen many exchanges come and go, and our Australian friends may be pleased to know their country now has another option for trading digital currency.

It’s called CoinTree, and it’s based in Melbourne and run by two software engineers (who thankfully also happen to be members of the bitcoin community) who have a combined twenty years of experience in building global software (they also frequently attend the Melbourne bitcoin meetup if you want to meet them).

From what I’ve observed, the website appears to be fairly well designed. And they have this great instant demo that allows you to try out the system without having an account.

Also interesting: when a user makes a deposit into their secure wallet on CoinTree, they can actually verify the balance using a block chain explorer so they know exactly where their money is.

Fees are important, and according to the exchange’s announcement today on Reddit, there aren’t any buy or sell fees on the platform. There also aren’t any fees to withdraw bitcoin from the exchange. If you are, however, looking to withdraw in cash, a 2 percent fee will apply.

Of course, they’re only getting started here, so it will be a while before we know if this platform will take off. But hey, at least there’s another option available.

For additional details, visit cointree.com.au.

BTC-e Establishes New PAMM Service

Popular cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e announced via their website this week that they are now offering traders their new PAMM service, a first in the sector.

PAMM — or Percent Allocation Management Module — will allow BTC-e investors to follow the trading strategies (using a slave account) of both professional and experienced traders (a master account).

Over the past several years PAMM technology has been extensively used by traders in the currency exchange markets. It is a proven and effective instrument for money management, investments and strategy copying. BTC-e is the first crypto-currency exchange to make PAMM accounts available for bitcoin traders.

Explained by BTC-e:

Traders can select a suitable strategy with the help of PAMM account rating and graphs that display the Master’s trading results in the past. The Master uses his own capital for trading and trades via the Meta Trader 4 terminal. And his trading strategy is replicated on an unlimited number of ‘Slave’ accounts. As a remuneration the Master receives part of the profit from each ‘Slave account’, that follows his strategy. Profits and remuneration are calculated automatically within the PAMM technology and are paid strictly on time.

The idea is to allow anyone — new or experienced — to get in the game and start generating profits. And the addition of the feature is reflective of BTC-e’s desire to remain one of the top crypto exchanges today.

It will certainly need some time to get off the ground, but it will be interesting to see where this goes in the weeks ahead. If you’re looking for additional information on this, you can visit pamm.btc-e.com

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U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Seeks to Give Bitcoin More Attention

A new report from Bloomberg suggests that bitcoin is about to get a whole lot more attention from the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The investigative arm of the United States Congress, The Government Accountability Office had written in what has been described as a confidential report that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau needed to be more active in the field of creating digital currency policies.

The Bureau responded to the Government Accountability Office in agreement:

“We’re looking forward to increasing our involvement in formal working groups as they engage on specific issues relating to consumer protection,” wrote William Wade-Gery, the acting assistant director for card and payment markets in early May.

The Government Accountability Office hasn’t outlined how they want the Bureau to be more active in the digital currencies policies space, but it’s likely to be related to regulation and preventing financial crimes.

“GAO’s report underscores the importance that all sectors — law enforcement, industry, relevant regulators, and consumer protection agencies — must come to the table and engage in meaningful dialogue to provide clear rules of the road for entrepreneurs, investors, and consumers alike,” said Senator Tom Carper in a statement emailed to Bloomberg.

Tom Carper led Senate hearings on bitcoin last year, and has become one of the first lawmakers to take a serious look at digital currency usage in today’s economy.

Major Italian Newspaper il Giornale Accepting Bitcoin For Digital Subscriptions

A major Italian newspaper outlet is apparently now accepting bitcoin for digital subscriptions, we’re learning from a reader email this morning. The bitcoin logo is boldly visible on il Giornale‘s digital subscriptions page [link], where nearby it says, “The Journal is the first newspaper in Italy and in Europe who accepts payments in Bitcoin.”

The outlet is one of the top 20 daily papers in Italy, with a last reported circulation number of 678,000 readers in 2012.

il Giornale‘s digital subscriptions allow readers to view all news categories and articles in PDF files optimized for Android smartphones, iPads, and other tablet devices.

The cost? 0.42 cents per day with an annual subscription.

Despite the fact that il Giornale may be the first major newspaper in Italy and Europe to accept bitcoin, they aren’t the first in the world.

Here in the United States, the Chicago Sun-Times announced they would be accepting bitcoin payments for subscriptions at the start of April of this year in a move designed “to keep the Sun-Times current and evolving with changing technology.”

Despite the news, many in the community weren’t exactly surprised, given the paper’s previous interest in the digital currency. In early February, the paper put up a bitcoin paywall as a test of how users would interact with using bitcoin (users had the option of donating to a non-profit). The results were overwhelmingly positive, with 713 donors.

While we haven’t exactly seen widespread adoption of bitcoin for digital news subscriptions, it’s nice to see it getting a start in Italy

 

Bitcoin Shop Registers With U.S. Marshals Service For Bitcoin Auction

With news that the United States Marshals Service is planning to auction off about 30,000 bitcoins later this week (seized from the Silk Road illicit marketplace in 2013), big names are looking for some way to get involved.

One such name happens to be Bitcoin Shop, Inc., an online retail store that sells a variety of products that can be purchased using the bitcoin digital currency.

The company said on Monday that they have submitted registration with the United States Marshals Service in direct relation with the bitcoin auction. It’s the prerequisite to the actual bidding process, which will take place on Friday, June 27th.

In order for an entity to register for the auction, they must first wire a $200,000 [refundable] deposit via a United States bank account. Bitcoin Shop says they’ve completed this step, but is awaiting final approval from the Marshals Service.

“We believe in the future of virtual currencies and have made a strategic decision to participate in this unprecedented opportunity by wiring the deposit and submitting a registration application to the USMS,” said Charles Allen, CEO of Bitcoin Shop. “We look forward to updating shareholders on the status of our application and any subsequent bid after June 27, 2014.”

Bitcoin Shop isn’t the only bitcoin-related company to want to take part in the auction. SecondMarket/Bitcoin Investment Trust CEO Barry Silbert recently announced the formation of a syndicate that would collectively bid in Friday’s auction.

And last week, the Marshals Service inadvertently revealed a list of entities that had expressed interest in the auction, which includes Bitcoin Shop, a Coinbase executive, and a staffer at BNP Paribas.

ZipZap Brings Digital Currency Buying Back to 20,000 Retail Locations

ZipZap Brings Digital Currency Buying Back to 20,000 Retail Locations

Some better news for residents in the United Kingdom who might be looking to buy bitcoin. ZipZap announced on Tuesday that they’re bringing their global cash transaction network back to 20,000 retail locations in the UK.

The announcement come following a news item at the end of March in which we learned that the company would be halting the processing of digital currency transactions. The halt directly related to ZipZap’s payment processor, PayPoint, and its desire to put the processing on hold until the legalities surrounding there digital currency transactions became clearer.

Now, ZipZap is working with a company called Payzone, one of the leaders in consumer payments in the country.

So what does this mean for you (assuming you live in the UK)? You’ll be able to purchase digital currency like bitcoin, litecoin, and yes, even dogecoin through ZipZap’s exchange partners, which include ANX, Bittylicious, and Buybitcoin.sg.

“Many UK consumers prefer dealing with cash without having to disclose their banking information,” said Simon Nahnybida, ZipZap’s Senior Vice President of Business Development. “Our partnership with Payzone allows customers to easily buy digital currencies online and pay at convenient locations within a walking distance from their home or work.”

Here’s what Mark Mellor, Director of Sales and Marketing at Payzone, had to say:

“We are very excited to partner with ZipZap and participate in the digital currency economy [...] We strive to provide the best products and services with the utmost convenience and ZipZap’s practices fall in line with our belief of providing quick and cost-effective payment services to consumers whilst offering an extra service for our merchants to add to their Payzone basket of services.”

Atlas ATS Partners With Strevus For KYC/AML Compliance

Digital currency trading platform Atlas ATS has partnered up with Strevus, Inc., a company specializing in compliance lifecycle management solutions for financial service institutions to help out Atlas’s institutional clients be in compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance.

In April, Strevus expanded their business model to encompass bitcoin and digital currencies.

“The single biggest barrier to the institutional adoption of cryptocurrency is the conflict between the pseudonymous nature of the transacting counterparties and the regulatory requirements,” said Shawn Sloves, CEO at Atlas ATS. “Using Strevus’s solution, our members will be able to easily manage the onboarding process, collect information for KYC and AML reporting, and monitor and analyze the data required to ensure ongoing compliance. In the future, we plan to leverage Strevus’s compliance technology for multiple private markets.”

The conversation surround AML/KYC has increased significantly over the past year as the use of bitcoin and other digital currencies has increased significantly. And it’s become one of the major issues to consider when establishing an exchange.

Companies that neglect to comply in a proper fashion face stiff penalties, too.

“It’s clear that cryptocurrency exchanges and their members are under pressure to meet the enhanced due diligence requirements needed to maintain compliance,” said Strevus CEO Ken Hoang. “Strevus, recognizing this need, is providing a solution for the initial onboarding and KYC checks as well as ongoing due diligence. Our solution follows industry best practices and cuts the time to onboard new customers while dramatically reducing costs.”