Seeking to Solve Bitcoin's Banking Dilemma

When Fidor Bank's Michael Maier spoke to CoinDesk in June, the Internet bank COO framed his industry as one that bitcoin would grow to challenge directly, suggesting at the time that its partnership with Kraken demonstrated its intent to accept this future and even cooperate with it.
However passive these statements may have seemed at the time, they came into sharper focus on 31st October, when Fidor announced it would team with its San Francisco-based bitcoin exchange partner to launch "the world's first cryptocurrency bank".
The unnamed project seeks to build a regulated financial institution that would help bitcoin startups that have struggled to secure and maintain accounts even for day-to-day business.
Given this backdrop, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell sees his company's most prominent collaboration with Fidor as more than an exercise in bringing another first to the ecosystem. In a new interview, Powell positioned the specialized bank for cryptocurrencies as a necessity should the ecosystem succeed at delivering on bitcoin's full technological potential.
Powell said:

"For Kraken to be a viable business long term, for most players to be viable, we need to see the pie grow. That’s what we want to do with Fidor, is create a bank with the specific mandate to bank bitcoin companies and provide reliable banking to end-users of bitcoin."

By providing stable banking partnerships to companies in the ecosystem, Powell aims to, in turn, return lost time and energy to the community. In the process, he will also expand his business beyond one that targets market makers and bitcoin companies with a VC-backed order-book exchange.
However, Powell contends that Kraken has the experience it will take to rise to the challenge and deliver on its goal.
"We’ve talked to more than 200 banks in the last year-and-a-half about banking bitcoin companies, and the successes are the ones you’ve seen so far, the 1% success rate," he said. "[The bitcoin community] can’t go on wasting time. How many man hours is the industry wasting talking to banks? It’s just insanity."

A 'bitcoinized' financial institution

Though Powell was clear on the goals the project is set out to achieve, his statements suggest that Fidor and Kraken are far from solidifying any concrete plans on the types of services they will provide. As the original release relayed, even the name of the bank – BICONDO, BYSE Bank or Cryptocurrency Bank – remains a matter of debate.
However, Powell indicated that the bank does intend to offer certain services to clients, like the ability to borrow against bitcoin assets and invest in lending products.
"We hope to leverage blockchain technology to offer some additional services and 'bitcoinized' traditional financial services," Powell added.

Read more:
http://www.coindesk.com/kraken-seeking-solve-bitcoins-banking-dilemma/

Paying Employees in Bitcoin

Buying bitcoin from exchanges can involve lots of hoop-jumping, as customers navigate complex and tedious registration and transaction processes. Some people are now cutting through the whole tangled mess, and having their employers pay them in bitcoin directly.
Canadian firm Wagepoint has been helping companies do this north of the border. Wagepoint, a startup based in Waterloo and Nova Scotia, Canada, offers Canadian and US companies an easy way to process payroll online.
The firm handles payroll deductions for tax purposes and files all the necessary paperwork electronically. It has processed $120m in payroll payments using traditional fiat currency, but now, a growing percentage of customers are taking advantage of its bitcoin payment services, says CEO Shrad Rao.
Rao explained that the firm was interested in bitcoin and pulled the service together quickly, saying:

“We started it in November 2013. It was a side project.”

“We didn’t imagine we’d get any uptake,” said the CEO, and initially he was right.
Nothing happened during November and December, but then, in January this year, he received his first bitcoin request from a customer, which paid out $2,000 worth of bitcoin in salaries.
Since then, the firm has paid $75,000 in bitcoin on behalf of its customers.

How bitcoin payroll works

Wagepoint makes it as easy as possible for companies to make payments in cryptocurrency. Customers don’t have to handle bitcoin at all. Instead, Wagepoint takes its fiat currency and handles the convergence for them.
In Canada, it uses CAVIRTEX for the exchange. In the US, its deal with Buttercoin now has $1.3m in funding from people including Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Buttercoin is still in stealth mode.
Perhaps predictably, tech firms are at the front of the queue when it comes to paying their employees in bitcoin. Structur3D Printing, based in Kitchener, Ontario, produces a system for extruding paste that can be used in 3D printing.
Co-founder and president Charles Mire is targeting everything from cake makers and chocolatiers through to hobbyist ‘makers’ with the product, which can handle everything from silicone to cake icing.


Read more at:
 http://www.coindesk.com/companies-paying-employees-bitcoin/

Miss Bitcoin

Exclusive interview with Moran Shaked the Founder & CEO

We had a chance to make an exclusive interview with Moran Shaked, the Founder and CEO of an exciting project called Miss Bitcoin. The official launch is going to take place at the upcoming London Inside Bitcoins conference on 15 September. After that Miss Bitcoin will be presenting at the Inside Bitcoins Tel Aviv, Israel in October and at Bitcoin Australasia Conference in Perth, Australia for their Australian launch in November. Until then, let’s get a little closer to the Founder and CEO, Miss Moran Shaked:
Bitcoinist: When did you first hear about crypto currencies? Was it love at first sight?
My first encounter with Bitcoin was in the early 2012, when economic newspapers only gave it a tiny tiny slot at the bottom of their pages. Not sure if you could call it love at first site, but I do remember thinking to myself: “I don’t quite understand what this Bitcoin is all about, but if it’s real, I’m witnessing the next big thing here.”
Bitcoinist: How deep are you involved in crypto business now?


Moran Shaked

These days I’m focused 100% on Miss Bitcoin. If you haven’t already noticed, we have been doing mini pop up launches all over the globe! You can look out for our hashtag #missbitcoin or @TheMissBitcoin and see what we are all about and how we are spreading the word out there.
Our official launch will be at London on the 15 September at the Inside Bitcoins Conference, following from that we will be presenting on the Inside Bitcoins Tel Aviv and next to our Australian launch at Bitcoin Australasia Conference in November, which I can’t say too much for now, I guess you will just have to follow us on twitter.
What I can say is our London launch will be the first time Miss Bitcoin officially steps out to meet the world. 
I’m excited to announce that for the 48 hours of the conference, we will be offering all participants to be the very first members of Miss Bitcoin, as we will also launching our super powers on MyPowers.com.
On these 48 hours, Miss Bitcoin will give the opportunity for those who want to be part of truly making a change, and take advantage of the special benefits that come with joining us.

You will be able to find out who she is, what she has been doing and what she is all about. 
I can tell you now there will be some very very exclusive invites on the day of the launch. 
So come find me and our Miss Bitcoin girls if you are there.
Bitcoinist: What was your main motivation when deciding establish Miss Bitcoin? 

Miss Bitcoin started with a “I dare you” joke on FB. 
I wanted to conduct a meet up focused on women, since I hardly saw any of them in the conferences and meet ups I went to (and I’ve been to a lot!). My main motivations was the belief that money as we know is about to change and this is the future economy. Now since the concept of “money” is something that touches every single one of us, everyone should understand what Bitcoin and crypto it’s all about. I have decided to focus on women, since I thought I could deliver it best as a woman to another woman.
My background is advertising and marketing, so I was asking myself if i want to see more women involved: How should I approach my target audience best? How do I make them comfortable enough to come find out more? That’s how Miss Bitcoin came to life.
From a small meet up initiative tailor made for women, it grew to be so much more.
Bitcoinist: What’s the aim of this exciting project?
Miss Bitcoin is a platform that maximizes engagement of women with the new economy and crypto currencies by making them accessible, understandable and providing content, services and products  that utilize the new currency. 

Women in Bitcoin, is an untapped market waiting to happen. I am very excited to merge that market with Bitcoin.


Read more at:

http://bitcoinist.net/welcome-to-the-era-of-miss-bitcoin/

Ben Lawsky: New York Can’t Risk ......

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced today it would extend the comment period for its proposed bitcoin regulations by 45 days, citing significant public interest in the rules as a key reason behind the decision.
In an exclusive interview with CoinDesk, NYDFS superintendent Benjamin M Lawsky opened up about the decision, emphasizing that he felt the extension both necessary and reasonable given his agency’s need to ensure that the proposed laws, when enacted, have the desired consequences.
Lawsky told CoinDesk that the aim of the agency is to put forward the best regulation possible, adding that while the agency wants to move quickly to put in place policies, it doesn’t want to do so at the risk of getting crucial elements wrong.
Lawsky explained:

“We’re not the kind of agency that thinks we have a monopoly on the truth and that we’re always right. We feel strongly about a lot of the provisions in the proposed regulations, but we get that there might be things we can improve.”

For instance, he clarified that the law is intended to relate only to financial intermediaries and financial service providers, not software providers as widely interpreted.
He confirmed the NYDFS aims to put out a revised proposal by the end of October, and that following any material changes in the law, an additional 30-day comment period would allow the industry more time to influence the final rules.
“I think the sooner we get the regulatory framework out there, I think ultimately the better, but we don’t need to move so fast that we risk getting something wrong,” he added.

International influence

Though the NYDFS said that letters from US companies and citizens had an influence on the decision in the formal release, Lawsky acknowledged to CoinDesk that the broader global effects of the proposal were also a motivating factor.
Noting this global influence, Lawsky said:

“I think that gives us an additional responsibility to do our very best to get it right, and the best way to get something right is to try and get as many viewpoints as you can when you put a complicated regulatory framework, consider them carefully and make the best decisions possible.”

The response is notable given a recent comment filed by China’s three largest bitcoin exchanges BTC China, Huobi and OKCoin, which alleged the language of the laws would require them to perform enhanced due diligence on non-US customers.

Expected reaction

Lawsky also commented on the reaction from the digital currency community, which, while initially positive about the regulation, has been more vocal in recent weeks about its more restrictive aspects. For example, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire went so far as to suggest his company would refrain from serving New York customers should the laws pass in current form, a viewpoint echoed by other prominent business leaders.
Noting that he wasn’t surprised by the reaction, Lawsky remarked:

“I think the most surprising thing has been that certain provisions in the regulation that I think when we drafted it initially that we thought would be pretty clear in terms of the breadth, were read by some much more broadly than we intended.”

Still, he praised the responses the NYDFS has so far received, noting that he has been impressed by the number of companies and individuals that take the industry seriously and care about its underlying technology.

Unintended consequences

Specifically, Lawsky suggested that he was surprised that the digital currency industry’s software providers had implied that the law was meant to govern their actions.

Read more at:
http://www.coindesk.com/ben-lawsky-bitcoin-regulation/

Also find out why states can't stop bitcoin
http://www.cryptonews.biz/states-cant-stop-bitcoin/

EBay CEO serious about bitcoin

John Donahoe, CEO of online e-commerce marketplace eBay and its subsidiary PayPal, has once again hinted strongly that he sees the integration of bitcoin into his companies’ offerings as inevitable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LRPASC3tzLI

Price of Bitcoin Falls to $500

The price of bitcoin on the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) dropped below $500 today.
At 2.30pm UTC, the price had fallen nearly 9% to $496.27, its lowest level since 21st May, when concerns about restrictive regulation in China were widespread.
Notably, the decline below $500 was short lived, with the BPI quickly rebounding over the $500 mark to reach $512.26 at press time.

No clear cause

Though no one news event could clearly be linked to the price decline, speculation was rampant on Reddit and other bitcoin community mainstays as to what factors were contributing to the market decline.
In its most recent BitBeat report, the Wall Street Journal suggested that the recent US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warning and Bitstamp’s announcement that it had changed banking partners were both potential factors.
However, WSJ acknowledged that uncertainty over US regulation may have also been a contributing cause.
Vytautas Karalevičius, Spectro Coin co-founder and CEO, told CoinDesk he believes all three events to be contributing factors, though he said Bitstamp might have been the most important of the three, adding:

“Bitstamp changing its bank provider from Unicredit to Raiffeisen might have two effects. Firstly, some deposits to old Unicredit account are bouncing back, so people who were willing to buy bitcoin these days do not support the demand for it. Also, it shows a potential problem [even the] most liquid exchanges face.”

Though the proposal was first introduced last month, a growing number of bitcoin’s business leaders have started moving to formally contest the proposed framework. Boston-based bitcoin startup Circle even declared yesterday it would not serve New York customers should the laws be enacted.
Speaking to CoinDesk, Shawn Sloves, CEO of global bitcoin exchange network Atlas ATS offered a different take. He suggested that overall saturating in the bitcoin exchange market remains a contributing factor. New York regulation, regardless of the form in which it passes, will be a boon for the industry, he added.

Read more at:
http://www.coindesk.com/price-bitcoin-falls-500-lowest-level-since-may/

8,000 Convenience Stores in Argentina Sell Bitcoin

BitPagos has launched Ripio, a new bitcoin brokerage service that allows consumers in Argentina to buy small amounts of bitcoin at more than 8,000 convenience stores.
To achieve this goal, Ripio will integrate with TeleRecargas, a popular mobile phone service that allows consumers the ability to prepay for cell phone plans at a network of partner convenience stores across Argentina.
Argentina and Palo Alto-based bitcoin merchant processor BitPagos raised $600,000 from prominent bitcoin angel investors earlier this year. The company’s CEO Sebastian Serrano told CoinDesk that Ripio aims to target underbanked consumers as well as existing bitcoin users who want an easy way to buy bitcoins at a physical location.
He explained:

“You can go to any location, give them your account in Ripio and the amount of pesos you want to get in bitcoins. Boom: you have some bitcoins. It’s going be extremely easy to use and to buy bitcoins easily, securely and near you, even if you don’t have a bank account. We think that this is going to push adoption.”

For now, the service will only be available in Argentina, though Serrano sees the service as broadly appealing to consumers in other Latin American markets that could benefit from an easy bitcoin buying solution.
In particular, Serrano said BitPagos is looking to expand Ripio to Venezuela, but that this program expansion will take time to achieve.

How Ripio works

While Ripio works primarily at physical locations, Serrano indicated that users must first complete an initial registration on the platform’s website.
Users next print their Ripio ID and search the service’s map for available stores. Still, Serrano is confident that these elements of the service will be convenient for on-the-go users or those still learning the basics of bitcoin management.

Read more at:

http://www.coindesk.com/bitpagos-brings-bitcoin-8000-convenience-stores-ripio/

Slovenia to Host First Central and Eastern Europe Bitcoin Conference

Digital currency fans from across the globe will be heading to Slovenia next month for the Bitcoin Central and Eastern Europe Conference.
Taking place on 11th and 12th September, the event is being organised by GreCom and its primary sponsor is GoCoin, which helps merchants accept payment in bitcoin and other digital currencies.
According to GreCom managing director Gregor Knafelc, the aim of the conference is to “showcase the success stories of businesses and […] cover legal aspects of the bitcoin business models”.

“We will discuss new trends and business models and of course have fun too. […] We wish to see our participants get complete information regarding bitcoin business through our conference, for instance, about the banking, taxations and other legal procedures in the CEE region.”

The speakers

Knafelc wants the participants “to see and hear which direction bitcoin [is] heading in the terms of business opportunities” and said that the conference is aimed at professionals as well as enthusiasts.
Steve Beauregard, CEO and founder of GoCoin, will give the keynote speech, and other speakers and panellists will include:
- Jesse Heaslip, CEO, Bex.io
- Josh Zerlan, operations manager, Butterfly Labs
- Christian Ander, CEO, Goobit.se
- Elizabeth T. Ploshay, member of Bitcoin Foundation and account manager, BitPay
- Radoslav Albrecht, founder, Bitbond.net
- Abdul Haseeb Awan, co-founder, BitAccess Canada
- Alexis Roussel, vice president, The Pirate Party
- Stanislav Wolf, VP product development, Yacuna AG
- Hans Henrik H. Heming, CEO, coinify.com
- Jean-Louis Schiltz, legal adviser, professor at University of Luxembourg, ex minister of the Luxembourg government
- Matija Mazi, software developer
- Deborah Thoden-Peden, partner, Pillsbury Law
- Matjaž Pajk, barrister, Dušan Korošec and Barristers Law Firm
- Luka Pušić, president, Bitcoin Association of Slovenia
- Jeremy Bonney, product manager, CoinDesk

The schedule

The first day will start with a keynote speech on the importance of bitcoin payments as a checkout method, and will then have sessions on.


Read more:
http://www.coindesk.com/slovenia-host-first-bitcoin-central-eastern-europe-conference/