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Brave Software Inc., the creator of a browser that blocks unwanted web ads and replaces them with ads generated by Brave with payouts in Bitcoin, has been advised by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) that its plan to replace publishers’ ads on their own websites with Brave’s advertising is illegal, a charge that Brave immediately […]

The post Newspaper Publishers and Bitcoin Browser Brave Tangle over Publishing Rights appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

CoinDesk contributor Jameson Lopp traces the history of the cypherpunks, the band of innovators whose beliefs helped inspire the bitcoin movement.

The Panama Papers will have political and social fallout for months and years to come, much like the Libor scandal or the Edward Snowden leaks. A vote of no confidence for Iceland’s prime minister and Internet censorship in China are likely but the beginning.  With top Chinese leaders cited in the leaks, the nation is […]

The post China’s “Panama” Censorship & The Implications For Encryption, Bitcoin appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

A campaign group calling for the end to physical cash has launched a "Manifesto for Cashlessness", setting out how countries can move towards an era of digital-only money.

CashlessWay, an Italian association of online payment providers, launched the manifesto at the Money2020 conference in Copenhagen this week. The manifesto outlines an argument as to why cash — notes and coins — should be abolished and replaced with digital payments like card or Apple Pay. The launch coincides with the 6th annual "No Cash Day" in Europe, which was on Tuesday and is organised by the group.

CashlessWay is obviously pretty biased — if we get rid of cash then who benefits? Guess what, it's the online payment guys who make up the organisation. But it does highlight some interesting arguments as to why digital trumps physical when it comes to money.

One is the idea that online money makes criminal activity harder. Here's an extract from the report (we added the link in for reference):

The European Commission has already said that it wants to investigate the connection between cash (specifically €500 notes) and terrorism. Cash, however, is desirable for all sorts of criminal purposes, not merely terrorism. Now, clearly, removing cash won’t end crime. The reason to make electronic money a firm policy goal is to raise the cost of criminal activity. Whether that crime is drug dealing or money laundering, bribing politicians or evading tax, cash makes it easy and cost-effective.

Physical money doesn't automatically leave a paper trail as digital money does, which is perfect if you're selling something illegal or funding ISIS. There's no link between you and the group.

With digital, there's almost always a register of who paid who what. That makes it easier to spot dodgy activity. (Bitcoin famously eschews this, aiming to make online money transfer anonymous much to the annoyance of regulators.)

As a consequence, CashlessWay is calling for governments in Europe to promise to: "remove €100, €200 and €500 notes from circulation within five years and €50 (and £50) notes from circulation in a decade."

Here are the manifesto's other stepping stones to a post-cash world that governments are being asked to sign up to:

• We will halve the total social cost of the payment system in the next decade, starting by allowing retailers to surcharge for all forms of payment including cash, except for “card present / cardholder present” debit.
• We will regulate for an on-demand electronic payment account capable of holding a maximum of €1,000 without further KYC other than unique recognition (e.g., a mobile phone number).
• We will create a privacy-enhancing infrastructure for transactions and for the sharing of transaction data, beginning with a law preventing payment cards from displaying the cardholder name either physically or electronically.

The last one might sound like it contradicts the group's claims on criminal activity, but the idea is to protect people's privacy so that data is automatically anonymised. If suspicious activity is identified, the regulator will be able to find out who's behind it but by default people will be hidden. That's the idea anyway.

Other arguments put forward by CashlessWay as to why we should ditch cash include more efficient money supply, boosting financial inclusion by offering better access to things like direct debit, and better regulation.

A world without cash might sound crazy but it's actually rapidly becoming a reality in some parts of the world: cashless payments overtook notes and coins for the first time in the UK in 2014; Sweden has made so much progress toward turning itself into a cashless society that it now has 27% less hard cash in circulation today than it did in 2011; Denmark wants to allow shops, including restaurants, gas stations, and clothing stores, to stop taking cash; and the Bank of Korea has said it's aiming for a cashless society by 2020.

You can kiss your hard earned notes goodbye.

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NOW WATCH: Why 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner products don’t work

In yet another attack on an online cryptocurrency exchange, Shapeshift.io went down for a couple days while they dealt with some malicious intrusion into their server, assessing the damage and keeping their customer base aware of the status the entire time. Within a day of knowing that something wasn’t right with their servers, Shift.io immediately […]

The post Bitcoin Exchange Shapeshift Server Breach Leads To Down Time appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

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Blockchain-based startup Markit worked with major banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, and JPMorgan Chase, to test blockchain-based technology for record-keeping on credit swap default trades, according to The Wall Street Journal. The test was run in partnership with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC), Wall Street’s central bookkeeper.

Blockchain has the potential to increase efficiency across the financial industry.

• Financial institutions are flocking to blockchain because it could streamline processes. The technology, which was initially developed to power cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, relies on a distributed ledger. It could enable transactions to pass between two parties instantly and without the need for centralized authorities or other middlemen.
• For this trade in particular, the blockchain application showed how to improve efficiencies and minimize costs for credit default swaps. In a typical credit default swap, banks match buyers and sellers, transmit trades through a data provider, and then send the record to a shared bookkeeper. In the test, blockchain’s common ledger replaced a portion of this record-keeping task. That could lead to a big payoff down the line — blockchain technology could cut trading settlement costs for banks by about a third, equivalent $16 billion a year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This most recent test puts the industry one step closer to actual blockchain implementation. DTCC is looking to see if other banks and regulators are interested in using blockchain technology for trading functions, according to The Wall Street Journal. The DTCC's oversight and involvement could be critical as the blockchain ecosystem matures. 

And the Markit test is one of several implementation projects currently underway — earlier this week, collaborative hub R3 CEV announced the debut of a proprietary blockchain-based platform called Corda, which it plans to test for a variety of interbank functions.

These blockchain tests are yet another sign that we’ve entered the most profound era of change for financial services companies since the 1970s brought us index mutual funds, discount brokers and ATMs.

No firm is immune from the coming disruption and every company must have a strategy to harness the powerful advantages of the new fintech revolution.

The battle already underway will create surprising winners and stunned losers among some of the most powerful names in the financial world: The most contentious conflicts (and partnerships) will be between startups that are completely reengineering decades-old practices, traditional power players who are furiously trying to adapt with their own innovations, and total disruption of established technology & processes:

• Traditional Retail Banks vs. Online-Only Banks: Traditional retail banks provide a valuable service, but online-only banks can offer many of the same services with higher rates and lower fees

• Traditional Lenders vs. Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces: P2P lending marketplaces are growing much faster than traditional lenders—only time will tell if the banks strategy of creating their own small loan networks will be successful

• Traditional Asset Managers vs. Robo-Advisors: Robo-advisors like Betterment offer lower fees, lower minimums and solid returns to investors, but the much larger traditional asset managers are creating their own robo-products while providing the kind of handholding that high net worth clients are willing to pay handsomely for.

As you can see, this very fluid environment is creating winners and losers before your eyes…and it’s also creating the potential for new cost savings or growth opportunities for both you and your company.

After months of researching and reporting this important trend, Evan Bakker, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has put together an essential report on the fintech ecosystem that explains the new landscape, identifies the ripest areas for disruption, and highlights the some of the most exciting new companies. These new players have the potential to become the next Visa, Paypal or Charles Schwab because they have the potential to transform important areas of the financial services industry like:

• Retail banking

• Lending and Financing

• Payments and Transfers
• 
Wealth and Asset Management

• Markets and Exchanges

• Insurance

• Blockchain Transactions


If you work in any of these sectors, it’s important for you to understand how the fintech revolution will change your business and possibly even your career. And if you’re employed in any part of the digital economy, you’ll want to know how you can exploit these new technologies to make your employer more efficient, flexible and profitable.

Among the big picture insights you'll get from The Fintech Ecosystem Report: Measuring the effects of technology on the entire financial services industry:

• Why financial technology is so disruptive to financial services—it will soon change the nature of almost every financial activity, from banking to payments to wealth management.
• The basic conflict will be between old firms and new—startups are re-imagining financial services processes from top to bottom, while incumbent financial services firms are trying to keep up with new products of their own.
• Both sides face serious obstacles—traditional banks and financial services firms are investing heavily in innovation, but leveraging their investments is difficult with so much invested in legacy systems and profit centers.
• Meanwhile, startups are struggling to navigate a rapidly-changing regulatory landscape and must scale up quickly with limited resources.
• The blockchain is a wild card that could completely overhaul financial services. Both major banks and startups around the world are exploring the technology behind the blockchain, which stores and records Bitcoin transactions. This technology could lower the cost of many financial activities to near-zero and could wipe away many traditional banking activities completely.

This exclusive report also:

• Explains the main growth drivers of the exploding fintech ecosystem.
• Frames the challenges and opportunities faced by incumbents and startups.
• Breaks down global and regional fintech investments, including which regions are the most significant and which are poised for the highest growth.
• Reveals which two financial services are garnering the most investment, and are therefore likely to be transformed first and fastest by fintech
• Explains why blockchain technology is critically important to banks and startups, and assesses which players stand to gain the most from it.
• Explores the financial sectors facing disruption and breaks them down in terms of investments, vulnerabilities and growth opportunities.
• And much more.

The Fintech Ecosystem Report: Measuring the effects of technology on the entire financial services industry is how you get the full story on the fintech revolution.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the fintech revolution, 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 fast-moving world of financial technology.

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