Coin News

A new research note from Needham & Company asserts it might be too early to call bitcoin a “safe haven” asset.

The FBI did not need a warrant to hack a US citizen's computer, according to a ruling handed down on Tuesday by Senior US District Court Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. If the decision is upheld, it may have ripple effects that essentially allow governm...

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Fintech Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

Circle, a company that uses blockchain technology to enable instant peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, has raised $60 million from multiple investors, including Chinese venture capital firm IDG Capital Partners and Chinese Internet giant Baidu.

The company also announced that it had created Circle China, a company based in Beijing, ahead of a planned future launch in the world's most populous nation.

Furthermore, Circle said it would soon allow transfers in Euros for customers in Spain as part of a rollout across Europe in the next month.

Circle converts currency into bitcoins for transfer and then converts the amount back to fiat currency once the transfer is complete. Because settlement of Bitcoin transactions depends on the distributed computing power of the network's users rather than a central authority, the transaction essentially becomes free for both parties.

Circle is trying to establish itself in the Chinese market by targeting Chinese investment. The company needs investment to expand, and those expansion plans include China. Circle China should let the company pick the brains of Chinese investors with regard to the market and business relationships.

But Circle is not specifically targeting the domestic Chinese money transfer market, said CEO Jeremy Allaire, according to Forbes. And this is a wise move given that tech giants Alipay and Tencent overwhelmingly dominate this space. Circle will instead focus on the Chinese international P2P payments market, as China sent $2.7 billion to people in other nations in 2015.

Blockchain technology, which is best known for powering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is gaining steam among finance firms because of its potential to streamline processes and increase efficiency. The technology could cut costs by up to $20 billion annually by 2022, according to Santander.

That's because blockchain, which operates as a distributed ledger, has the ability to allow multiple parties to transfer and store sensitive information in a space that’s secure, permanent, anonymous, and easily accessible. That could simplify paper-heavy, expensive, or logistically complicated financial systems, like remittances and cross-border transfer, shareholder management and ownership exchange, and securities trading, to name a few. And outside of finance, governments and the music industry are investigating the technology’s potential to simplify record-keeping.

As a result, venture capital firms and financial institutions alike are pouring investment into finding, developing, and testing blockchain use cases. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, have begun researching the technology in-house, or have helped fund startups with products rooted in blockchain. 

Jaime Toplin, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on blockchain technology that explains how blockchain works, why it has the potential to provide a watershed moment for the financial industry, and the different ways it could be put into practice in the coming years.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Spending on capital markets applications of blockchain is expected to grow at a 52% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2019, according to Aite Group, to reach $400 million that year.
• Banks and major financial institutions are working both collaboratively and independently to develop blockchain tech. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, like R3 CEV or Chain. And many are investing in the technology on their own as well.
• Putting blockchain to use for real-world transactions is likely not that far off. If working groups' tests are successful, firms could be using it to transact real value as early as the end of this year and we could see widespread industry application within the next few years. 

In full, the report:

• Examines the funding increases that are pouring into blockchain
• Assesses why blockchain is becoming so popular and what factors are driving up increased research and development
• Explains in full how blockchain technology work and what assets make it valuable and vulnerable
• Identifies pain points in the financial industry and profiles how various firms are using blockchain to solve them
• Demonstrates the challenges to mainstream adoption and their potential solutions

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 blockchain technology.

Join the conversation about this story »

During a Bitcoin Core development meeting on Thursday, it was decided that the code for Segregated Witness (SegWit) is ready to be merged...

The post Segregated Witness Will Be Merged Into Bitcoin Core Release Soon appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

The bitcoin price chart advanced $140 since yesterday’s low. In the meantime markets rudely awoke to find Brexit had come true. Chaos ensued, but the bitcoin market keeps ticking like clockwork. 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 […]

The post Bitcoin Price And Brexit appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

As the price of Bitcoin continues its wild ride, expert observers weigh in on the reasons: China, halving, Japan, Brexit ‒ all seen as...

The post BTCC's Bobby Lee: Chinese Capital Controls Not a Factor in Recent Bitcoin Price Rise appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin is surging

The U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded Austin, Texas-based $199,000 to Factom Inc. to advance digital identity security for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.   The award was one of several DHS S&T awards to support the development of security solutions that involve blockchain technology. DHS S&T also […]

The post DHS Awards Millions in Grants to Blockchain, Cybersecurity Projects appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Release: NAV coin, which holds the auspicious title of the world’s first fully anonymous cryptocurrency, announced a coin swap that comes with a list of game changing improvements for the coin. The news has lead to an ongoing price surge. NAV’s coin swap to set off a chain of game changing improvements  “The […]

The post Cryptocurrencies’ Dark Horse to Swap for a Thoroughbred appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin wallet and exchange Coinbase has revealed new funding methods – PayPal and credit cards, to further enable digital currency transactions and swaps in its exchange. The support for the two new funding mechanisms is currently in beta. In a move that can be seen as a further sign that PayPal is dipping its toes […]

The post Bitcoin Exchange Coinbase Adds Paypal Support appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

The discussion and debate around the DAO vulnerability raises questions about trust and the human factor in the evolving realm of distributed ledger technology, Sean Neville, co-founder and president of Circle, noted in a Medium blog. Trust in the safety of assets and data in blockchain systems does not depend on human gatekeepers, Neville noted. But […]

The post DAO Vulnerability Raises Questions of Trust and the Human Factor appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

OpenDNS Security Labs has discovered 100 fake bitcoin and blockchain domains that mimic legitimate bitcoin wallets in an attempt to steal credentials.   The domains share a provider with three different names that has used the IP space to sell pornography, false merchandise and phishing sites. The sites, most of which were registered on May 26, continue […]

The post Researchers Uncover Bitcoin Phishing Campaign appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

 The global finance markets are slipping on Friday after the UK public voted to leave the EU, but there is one currency that is reveling in the uncertainty of the Brexit result: bitcoin. Read More

 After a tumultuous Thursday that saw bitcoin price drop below $550, the cryptocurrency is making gains in trading again, scaling beyond $675. Bitcoin price has experienced volatility lately with observers pointing to a multitude of factors including increased buying interest from China supporting the price swell and the temporary outages suffered by digital currency exchange […]

The post Bitcoin Price Surges Beyond $675 Amid Brexit Vote appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

The price of bitcoin is rising at press time, passing the $650 mark just a day after dropping to a weekly low of $550.