Coin News

According to a local report, two men in the city of Valencia, capital of the state of Carabobo, Venezuela were arrested by the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, the primary intelligence agency in Venezuela. The arrests were made few days ago, for mining bitcoin. Earlier this week on Monday, an article was published on a state-owned media […]

The post Report: Two Venezuelan Men Arrested for Mining Bitcoin appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin prices traded largely between $410 and $420 during the week between 11th March and 18th March, as 30m BTC was traded on exchanges globally. The digital currency’s price movements were largely subdued, starting the week out at $416.24 on 11th March at 12:00 UTC before surpassing the $420 level at 09:10 UTC. For the remainder of […]

Japan recently made headlines by announcing that its government was considering defining Bitcoin and other digital currencies as currency...

The post Japan Debates Regulating Bitcoin as Currency; Banks Eager to Study Blockchain appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin Press Releases: “BANK TRANSFER” this is the request of a lot of sellers on COINLINK. As customers are prioritized this feature for withdrawing money was added, with fees as low as 0.5%, to maintain an improved experience on their platform. Besides, a Deposit Money Simulator and a Withdraw Money Simulator were added to the […]

The post Good News for Bitcoin sellers in Coinlink.net appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

This week, Inc. editors and writers dedicate an entire episode to Bitcoin and the blockchain. Brian Forde, MIT Media Lab's director of digital currency, breaks down how the blockchain could transform the way the world does business.

In light of the recent Cryptsy debacle where millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies went missing after a malicious attack, another cryptocurrency exchange in BitQuick has become victim to hackers. In a blog post published on their website on March 17th, 2016, Founder and CEO as well as Customer Service Rep. (respectively) […]

The post Bitcoin Trading Platform BitQuick down 2 to 4 Weeks after Cyber Attack appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

The Winklevoss twins recently made an appearance at SXSW Interactive 2016, where the early Bitcoin adopters discussed how the industry has...

The post The Winklevoss Twins on Bitcoin Industry Growth: "Let's Build That Bridge to the Legacy World" appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Industry Insider" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

Ally Bank, one of the biggest online-only banks in the U.S., has announced that it would start supporting Apple Pay for debit cardholders.

Customers at Ally Bank with eligible iOS devices can start loading their debit cards into Apple Pay right away. The bank made this move in response to the expanding popularity of mobile devices, said CEO Diane Morais in a press release. Furthermore, Ally Bank intends to add Android Pay and Samsung Pay support by the end of 2016.

Apple Pay adoption has lagged in the U.S., but the Ally Bank partnership could provide a boost to the mobile wallet. Ally customers would likely be more tech-savvy and focused on mobile compared to the general population. This type of customer is more likely to be an early adopter of a new technology, as online-only banks are still relatively new in the U.S.

This type of customer is also more likely to get past some of the roadblocks that have prevented other customers from testing Apple Pay. A PYMNTS/InfoScout survey in October 2015 found that only 16.6% of eligible users had tried the mobile wallet. Those who did not mostly said they were satisfied with their current payment method or were not familiar with how Apple Pay works. 

Ally Bank customers likely would not have this problem, which could lead to an above-average adoption of Apple Pay among this group. If this occurs and the customers provide positive feedback on the service, then other online-only banks around the globe could follow suit.

The growing use of mobile wallets is just one piece of the rapidly changing payments ecosystem. The way in which consumers pay for goods is steadily evolving and speeding up thanks to mobile wallets. But there's far more to it than that.

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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ProtonMail, the world's largest encrypted email provider, announced that the service is leaving beta and will be allowing open...

The post Encrypted Email Provider ProtonMail Opens to the Public, Accepts Bitcoin Payments appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin price was washed over two waterfalls today and looks set to drop onto a support shelf at $400. With the price chart looking more bearish than it has for weeks, that may not be the end of decline. This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3-hour delay. Read the full analysis here. Not […]

The post Bitcoin Price Drops Out Of A Bull Trap appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

In a statement, the Department of Electronic Commerce and Information Technology in Vietnam has warned Vietnamese citizens against engaging in investments or the buying and selling of Bitcoin and digital currencies. The Vietnam e-Commerce and Information Technology Agency – which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) – serves as […]

The post Vietnam Regulator Warns Against Using Bitcoin appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

CoinDesk profiles entrepreneur Ola Doudin who has emerged as a 'bitcoin pioneer' in the Middle East as the CEO of bitcoin startup BitOasis.

A healthy dose of skepticism is well, healthy. As for The Economist, their opinion is pretty much in lockstep with much of the world’s biggest industries that have been predicted to be ripe for adoption of blockchain technology. With specific mention of the financial and banking industry, the editorial goes into why blockchain technology may […]

The post Economist Editorial Skeptical about Short Term Growth of Blockchain Technology appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Leading bitcoin wallet and exchange services provider Coinbase has announced stop orders, a new feature that will allow customers to buy or sell the cryptocurrency at a previously specified set price in the Coinbase Exchange. Bitcoin services provider Coinbase has now added stop orders as a new feature to its exchange, enabling users to buy […]

The post Coinbase Enables Stop Orders for Bitcoin Traders appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Digital currency bitcoin has found favor among smaller investors, thanks to the availability of funds designed to invest in it, but remains a niche among the larger investing community.

Investors at some family offices, smaller mutual funds, and traders at hedge funds say bitcoin has helped returns and demonstrated a low correlation with other asset classes.

Hopes that bitcoin would become a broadly used alternative to other currencies helped buoy its price to more than $1,000 in December 2013, when its market capitalization was $13 billion.

But the market cap has retreated since then, to about $6.4 billion as of Thursday.

Early enthusiasts for the crypto-currency were drawn to its revolutionary ideals of transparency and a lack of central or official control. The risks of dealing in bitcoin were laid bare in 2013 when Tokyo-based exchange Mt Gox collapsed after admitting it had lost the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars of investor funds.

The currency's earlier ties to gambling and criminal websites did not endear it to traditional investors.

Jeremy Millar, founder and managing partner at Ledger Partners in London, estimated that 50 to 90 percent of bitcoin's current $6.4 billion market cap is held by near-institutional money such as individuals at hedge funds and family offices. That has not changed over the last two years.

He does not have an estimate for institutional investment holdings of bitcoin. But he said they are likely to be insignificant, compared with the smaller investors who have fewer restrictions about fund allocation.

"What is clear though is that over the last two years, bitcoin has emerged from its 'hacktivist' origins to a more institutionalized ecosystem which includes the participation of hedge funds, traders, and professional investors," said Millar.

BITCOIN IN PORTFOLIOS

Funds dedicated to investing in bitcoin are relatively small. The largest is the Pantera Bitcoin Fund, a $160 million hedge fund founded by Dan Morehead, formerly of Tiger Management, available to institutions and individuals who invest $50,000 or more.

According to a Pantera Bitcoin Fund brochure, the fund was launched in July 2013, a period when bitcoin traded at around $65. On Thursday, it traded at $418.80, a gain of more than 500 percent from July 2013. The firm did not comment on fund performance or its investors.

The majority of the Pantera Fund's investors are family offices and high net worth individuals, said two people familiar with the fund.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust, with assets of more than $60 million, is another vehicle for investors. GBTC is backed by bitcoin advocate Barry Silbert and his Digital Currency Group.

It is the only publicly traded U.S. security in the over-the-counter market invested in bitcoin. Volume is thin, with a few thousand shares traded daily, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Antonis Polemitis, managing director at Ledra Capital in New York, a family office specializing in education and technology, said that on average, clients have allocated 1 to 3 percent of their portfolios to bitcoin.

"A lot of people will take that bet with 1 percent of their assets," he said. "A 1 percent loss does not change anyone's life in any way. If it goes up 10 times, then you get to feel very smart."

Some investment managers say having bitcoin in portfolios has helped performance.

ARK Invest, which manages four exchange-traded funds with $240 million in assets, holds GBTC in its $12 million Next Generation Internet ETF and the $7 million ARK Innovation ETF.

Chris Burniske, analyst and blockchain products lead at ARK Invest in New York, said since investing in September 2015, GBTC has contributed 67 basis points to the Next Generation Internet ETF's return and 62 basis points to the ARK Innovation ETF.

For 2015, the Next Generation ETF posted a 15.29 percent return, while the Innovation ETF had 3.76 percent gains.

For Kingsbridge Wealth Management, a multifamily office in Las Vegas with $150 million in assets, GBTC has become a great diversifier because so far it has had a low correlation with other asset classes, said David Dunn, the firm's founder and chief investment officer. The firm has about $1.7 million invested in bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain, Dunn said.

(Editing by David Gaffen and Matthew Lewis)

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The Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation held the second meeting of its Global Blockchain Council to consider initiatives it will address this year, according to a release from the Dubai government. The council formed last month as part of the foundation’s efforts to adopt the latest technologies and innovation practices at a global level […]

The post Dubai’s Global Blockchain Council Draws Plans for Initiatives in 2016 appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Releases: Customers who purchase products now can receive four miners for the price of three. NEW YORK — pH Miners Inc. has officially launched its two new cybercurrency miners for Bitcoin and Litecoin, and is offering a special deal for customers who purchase now. The company, based in New York City, is giving customers […]

The post pH Miners announce promotional offer on products appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Releases: Customers who purchase products now can receive four miners for the price of three. NEW YORK — pH Miners Inc. has officially launched its two new cybercurrency miners for Bitcoin and Litecoin, and is offering a special deal for customers who purchase now. The company, based in New York City, is giving customers […]

The post pH Miners announce promotional offer on products appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.