Coin News

Though the scaling debate remains in progress, bitcoin enjoyed both price stability and high trading volume in the seven days through 12:00 UTC on 11th March. Market participants traded more than 35m BTC during the seven days through 1:30 p.m. (EST), Bitcoinity figures reveal. These trends were similar to the prior week, when bitcoin prices fell […]

Bitcoin lending platform BTCJam is no longer taking new US customers, citing uncertainty around regulation in the country.

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The U.S. is trying to speed up its payment processes, and it looks like we're one step closer to that goal.

Payments solutions provider Jack Henry & Associates has partnered with The Clearing House to spread real-time transactions to more U.S. banks, according to Finextra.

TCH has partnered with JHA Payment Solutions Group, a division of Jack Henry & Associates, to bring TCH's real-time platform to 6,300 additional banks and credit unions when the platform launches.

This partnership would link individual banks to the system that TCH is currently creating with other partners such as ACI Worldwide and VocaLink. This could smooth the transition for the real-time payments system in the U.S. once it begins rolling out at the end of September.

The U.S. ranks behind several other nations in terms of payment speed, as settlements currently take several business days. To change this, the Federal Reserve has approved enhancements to a plan that would require same-day payments at all banks.

This move toward same-day processing is one step in the increasingly complex payments ecosystem. From mobile wallets such as Apple Pay to virtual currency such as Bitcoin, the way we spend our money is changing.

Evan Bakker and John Heggestuen, analysts at BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, have compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices.
• Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play.
• Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified.

In full, the report:

• Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond.
• Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers.
• Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step.
• Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more.
• Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem.

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Bitcoin evangelist and journalist Chris DeRose examines both the promise and problems related to smart contracts.

Bitcoin price continues edging higher in strained advance. A pullback is due. This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3-hour delay. Read the full analysis here. Not a member? Join now and receive a $29 discount using the code CCN29. Bitcoin Price Analysis Time of analysis: 14h30 UTC Bitstamp 4-Hour Chart From the analysis […]

The post Bitcoin Price Edging Higher appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

  The Charity Commission in the United Kingdom has issued an alert toward all charities about an extortionist group demanding between £300 – £500 in bitcoin (approx. 1.03 to 1.72 BTC) or face cyberattacks, if the ransom isn’t paid up. In an alert issued toward UK-based charities today, the Charity Commission has revealed that a cyber-extortion […]

The post UK Regulator Advises Charities against Paying Bitcoin Ransoms to Avoid Cyberattacks appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Blockchain is gaining notice from at least one member of the U.S.Congress, according to TechTarget. U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., called on attendees at the DC Blockchain Summit in Washington, D.C. to educate lawmakers about the technology’s benefits so that lawmakers can address it in a way that benefits the economy as opposed to excessive regulation. […]

The post U.S. Congressman Seeks Blockchain Experts To Educate Lawmakers appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

The co-founder and CEO of prominent bitcoin miner BitFury, Valery Vavilov, has penned an impassioned blog to highlight the merits of bitcoin and the bitcoin blockchain at a time when infighting within the bitcoin community is making all the headlines. The executive has also opined that there is the only blockchain that matters, with its […]

The post BitFury CEO: “There Is One Blockchain. The Bitcoin Blockchain.” appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin blockchain mining infrastructure provider BitFury has announced it has made a strategic investment in the universal African Bitcoin...

The post BitFury Invests in Pan-African Bitcoin Trading Platform BitPesa appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Andrew Poelstra is a mathematician at Blockstream and was recently part of a panel discussion on improvements for Bitcoin at the 2016 MIT...

The post Bitcoin Privacy: "Confidential Transactions" Feature Can Fix Some of CoinJoin's Problems appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin ATM manufacturer BitAccess has in a recent announcement revealed that the cryptocurrency can be purchased across 6,000 retail storefronts in Canada, via a Flexepin voucher that works similar to a gift card. Ottawa-based Canadian bitcoin ATM developer BitAccess has revealed that the cryptocurrency will be available for purchasing at 6,000 Canadian retail locations, via […]

The post BitAccess Enables Bitcoin Purchases in 6,000 Canadian Retail Locations appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Asking for blockchain without bitcoin struck Marc Andreessen as wanting “online” without the Internet. Siddharth Kalla, the chief technology officer of Acupay, a technology provider in New York specializing in cross-border finance, believes Andreessen was astute when he tweeted this observation in December.   Kalla, writing in American Banker, is the most recent financial observer […]

The post Why Banks’ Best Bet is a Public Blockchain (With Bitcoin) appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin distribution in Las Vegas has broad appeal. Vegas and bitcoin seem destined for each other as more businesses accept payments in the cryptocurrency. Las Vegas is one of the world’s most popular gaming and entertainment destinations. Over the past few years, more Vegas visitors exchange bitcoins for everything Sin City has to offer, including […]

The post Las Vegas Sees Increased Bitcoin Distribution appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

The shadow chancellor of Labour — John McDonnell — just laid out some details over how Britain's opposition plans to look after the economy, should it come into power in the next General Election in four years time.

According to the BBC, McDonnell is trying to regain "economic credibility" for the party.

However, some of the things he proposed may sound the alarm bells for some economic experts.

McDonnell needs to prove to the public that Labour knows what it is doing — even though the next General Election isn't until 2020.

At the moment, the leader of the Labour party Jeremy Corbyn, is a staunch socialist, who sang a socialist anthem after winning the party's leadership race and said he wants a government that will nationalise more companies, abolish austerity, and levy more taxes on business.

Also, the party was mocked by the Tories over securing Yanis Varoufakis, the self-described "erratic Marxist" and former finance minister of the absolutely economically crippled Greece, as an advisor.

And to cap it all off — McDonnell quoted former communist dictator Chairman Mao Zedong in Parliament by reading from Mao's Little Red Book, before throwing it across the Commons despatch box towards UK Chancellor George Osborne, and Prime Minister David Cameron.

Labour currently isn't winning over economic experts or businesses with its knowledge that it will be able to look after the nation's finances — mainly because the current makeup of the Labour party can be interpreted as anti-big business and capitalism. And up until now, there have has been little in the way of detail over how it would achieve its proposals in its economic manifesto.

However McDonnell told the BBC in a TV interview that Labour plans to regain this "economic credibility" by the following terms:>

• By installing a "fiscal credibility rule" that will allow the government's economic regulator — the Office for Budget Responsibility - to tell the Labour when it was breaching the "credibility rule." In other words, help it make sure it is balancing "day-to-day" spending with the money it raises in taxes.
• To report to Parliament rather than the Treasury.
• Only spend the borrowed money on investment.
• Any future Labour government would invest more than the ruling Conservative Party.

"We know now from the world's central banks that the world economy is looking at stagnation, and there needs to be a new rule. And we want people to have confidence in a Labour government. That means we are introducing a new fiscal credibility rule," said McDonnell to the BBC.

"First, that a Labour government will always balance day to day expenditure. Second, that we will only borrow for the long term, and that means for investment - investment in our infrastructure, in the homes that we need, the railways, the roads, the renewable energy.

"And in new technology to grow our economy. Third, debt will fall under a Labour government over a five year period. And then finally all this will be supervised independently by the Office [for] Budget Responsibility, reporting directly to Parliament. This is a new iron discipline for a Labour government."

However, there are a few issues here to highlight.

Firstly, not going through the Treasury is like saying, not going to your qualified accountant to check over your numbers and file your tax returns. Instead, it is just winging it and then only knowing you've done something wrong when the regulator notifies you.

Secondly, promising to only spend money on investment could severely paint Labour in a corner. Governments don't borrow money just for the sake of it — They borrow so they can spend more without having to increase taxes.

Borrowing money goes to pensions, our "free" healthcare system, and defence for example.

Thirdly, saying you are going to invest more than the current government — which is desperately trying to reduce the deficit into a surplus — suggests more borrowing. The budget deficit is the amount in which expenditures exceed revenue. A budget surplus is when income exceeds expenditure.

After the BBC interview, Labour sent the BBC extracts from McDonnell's speech that he will deliver later today.

"There is nothing left-wing about excessive spending. There is nothing socialist about running up too much debt," McDonnell will say according to the BBC.

"When governments do not manage their finances responsibly, it is ordinary working people who eventually suffer. When governments try to disguise their spending, it is accountability and democracy that suffer.

"The Fiscal Credibility Rule is not about making spending commitments. It is about providing a framework for the responsible management of public finances. We must be a party that thinks first about how we earn money, not only how we spend money."

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Greg Hands told the BBC in response to McDonnell's proposals that "Labour spent and borrowed too much last time they were in power.

"It's clear they've not learned their lesson and can't be trusted with the economy. At a time of uncertainty in the global economy, Labour is a serious threat to our economic security and it's working people who would pay the price."

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