35% of US Consumers to Buy Bitcoin

A new study suggests that many consumers remain cautious about the prospect of purchasing or using digital currency.
The report was written by the Massachusetts Division of Banks (MDB) in conjunction with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), who canvassed more than 1,000 consumers with an online survey that focused on digital currency.
The CSBS, which is a national organization of bank regulators, previously held a hearing on the topic of digital currency in May.
The survey data shows that while a slim majority of respondents (51%) have heard of digital currency, 65% stated that they are “unlikely” to ever buy or use a technology like bitcoin.
Eighteen percent of participants indicated that they were “likely” or “very likely” to use a digital currency, and only 3% of those who had heard of bitcoin said they had actually bought some.

Research phase

According to the CSBS, the Emerging Payments Task Force – the organization’s working group that focuses, in part, on bitcoin – will use the data as it continues to develop its policies for digital currency.
In a statement, the chairman of the task force and Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks David Cotney said that the study fits into the broader research phase currently taking place.
He explained:

“State regulators welcome innovations that lead to greater choice and lower costs, but we also want to understand any consumer and marketplace risks as we evaluate the overall benefits of virtual currencies.”

Concerns highlighted

Fears regarding security and regulation, as well as concerns regarding the lack of consumer protections afforded in the traditional financial system, were highlighted in the study.
Sixty-one percent said that the overall security of their bitcoins would factor significantly into whether or not they used or purchased some, while 43% of study participants stated that bitcoin’s tax status would be a major factor. Forty-eight percent reported that concerns of insurance might stop them from buying bitcoin.
The report highlighted answers from roughly 350 participants who gave additional comments on the topic of digital currency. Twenty-five percent suggested that, because of their concerns, they would never buy bitcoin. The overall safety of the process was questioned by 13% of respondents, while 14% suggested that they didn’t know how digital currency might be used.

Age and affluence a factor

The data also highlighted how knowledge and perception of digital currency breaks down by age demographics. Overall, younger respondents expressed far greater levels of enthusiasm for bitcoin than older participants.


Read more at:

http://www.coindesk.com/banking-survey-65-us-consumers-unlikely-buy-bitcoin/

Market Focus: Anonymity

As most working in the bitcoin space will tell you, Bitcoin is not anonymous, it is pseudonymous.
Now at first glance that statement feels a bit superfluous, a play on words if you will. Leaving the suggestion that the two might more or less be equivalent. However, as it stands there are some significant differences between those two positions and there is a whole market developing around finding ways to take transactions on the blockchain and make them (if not perfectly anonymous) closer and closer to anonymity with each added layer of security.
Case in point Darkcoin, utilizing what it calls “Darksend” manages to make it very difficult to track transactions through “the mixing of inputs and outputs going through the Darksend system. A user’s payment is automatically split into smaller denominations and pooled with the split-up payments of other users. Receivers of payments draw these denominations automatically from the pools until they have received the correct amount. Anyone viewing the blockchain will see payments being made but they won’t be able to see who paid who.”
So sitting at slot 7, with a little over 4.5 million units of DRK available at a price of  0.00638474 BTC per unit we end up with a marketcap of 29,260 BTC (14,790,424 USD). Suggesting that at the very least there’s 14 million dollars betting on the idea that the market just might want some anonymity features that Bitcoin, in it’s current form, cannot provide.  Yet Darkcoin is hardly the only player in the anonymity game.

Just a few slots down in the 18th spot we have BitcoinDark (are you sensing a theme yet?) with a current 3,143,825 USD in terms of market cap. Relying on an “off- blockchain private network” to accomplish what it is calling “Teleport Technology”. Something that, according to Darkcoin developers, can be applied to any cryptocurrency thus potentially making the entire market anonymous in one fell swoop.

Yet my current favorite in the anonymity scene (if for no other reason than because it breaks the “Dark” name theme) is currently at slot 51, named ducKnote. A fork of Bytecoin, utilizing the same cryptonote technology it claims to “provide unlinkable and untraceable transactions”. While it is currently enjoying an opening burst, as many alt-coins do, sometimes opening burst continue on to become something more. Only time will tell if that can be said of ducKnote.
Last (but perhaps not least) on my list of anonymity focused choices is Icognito Coin, the community based relaunch of which was covered by our own Armaan Chandnani. Utilizing what it is calling “Bitkey Technology” it claims to create anonymity by handling the transactions in a Bitkey-transport layer. Whether or not that is sufficient to create actual anonymity is unclear to me at this time however should it prove a reliable method, Bitkey technology can be used on any and all cryptocurrencies currently in the market. Meaning once again, we can add anonymity to any coin, token, or share of our choice. If that is true then we can expect Incognito Coin’s current market cap (clocking in at 30,964 USD) to grow in time.

Read more at:

http://bitcoinist.net/market-focus-anonymity/