Coin News

Bitmain is releasing the Antminer R4, which is energy efficient and about half as loud as the average bitcoin miner, enticing home miners again.

The dark web has started to embrace Monero, a privacy-conscious alternative to Bitcoin. First, the operators of SIGAINT, a commonly used...

The post Darknet Customers Are Demanding Bitcoin Alternative Monero appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Want to be a cyborg?   Dangerous Things, a biohacking company, has developed a near-field communication (NFC) compliant chip that allows people to implant cryptographic keys under their skin, as reported by Motherboard. The chip is scheduled for release next year. Benefits Versus Privacy Implantable chips are good for people who have trouble holding onto their keys, […]

The post Future Shock? Device Allows You to Implant Cryptographic Keys under the Skin appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

CoinDesk explores how the ethereum hard fork affected sentiment regarding bitcoin's long-raging block size debate.

News has come in this morning that Baidu has banned bitcoin advertising on its website which handles almost all of China’s search inquiries. The action follows the tragic death of Wei Zexi, a college student with cancer who sought treatment from a hospital found through an online advertisement. Zexi stated in a post before his […]

The post Baidu’s Slap of Bitcoin with a Ban Is a Wake up Call to All appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Customs agents in Finland revealed today that they seized bitcoin and other items worth about €1m earlier this year.

Bitcoin price is climbing in a choppy advance. Is this the base of a large advance, or just an upward correction in a sideways spell? This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3-hour delay. Read the full analysis here. Not a member? Join now. Bitcoin Price Analysis Time of analysis: 14h00 UTC Friday Bitstamp […]

The post Bitcoin Price Tell Me You’ll Be True appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Technology is upending workflow and processes in the financial services industry. Tasks once handled with paper money, bulky computers, and human interaction are now being completed entirely on digital interfaces. Given how pervasive financial services are across the globe, the disruption opportunity for fintech startups is massive.

Almost every type of financial activity — from banking to payments to wealth management and more — is being re-imagined by startups, some of which have garnered blockbuster investments. Meanwhile, the old guard is trying to solve a puzzle presented by the fintech revolution: How can they benefit from the rise of digital, and how can they avoid obsolescence? 

In a new report from BI Intelligence, we provide a detailed overview of the fintech ecosystem, explain the challenges and opportunities for incumbents and startups and evaluate the key areas of finance being disrupted by new technologies. We also determine which financial sectors are most vulnerable, which are still shielded from immediate disruption, and what that means for new entrants and financial giants.

Companies mentioned in the report include: Lending Club, Stripe, Square, Apple, Western Union, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, TransferWise, China Rapid Finance, Lufax, OnDeck, Dwolla, PayPal, Adyen, Simple, Moven, Ally, Capital One 360, Betterment, Wealthfront, Vanguard, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Allstate, Oscar, Metromile, Azimo, Klarna, Number26, Atom Bank, LendingRobot, Earnest, and more.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Fintech — financial technology — is an umbrella term describing disruptive technologies in financial services. Fintech has transformed the way money is managed. It affects almost every financial activity, from banking to payments to wealth management. Startups are re-imagining financial services processes, while incumbent financial services firms are following suit with new products of their own.

• Established players and startups face very different challenges. Banks are investing more heavily in innovation, however, they haven't yet fully diffused their innovation strategies throughout their organizations. Meanwhile, startups are trying to navigate the regulatory landscape. Banks will have to find a way to develop new platforms while overcoming legacy infrastructure; startups will have to find a way to scale out their business while facing increased regulations, higher costs, and larger infrastructures that will be more difficult to change and manage. 
• 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. This would have a dramatic effect on big banks, which currently face high operating costs. It's also disruptive in that it could disintermediate many financial processes.

In full, the report:

• Defines fintech and explains the main growth drivers of this new ecosystem.
• Frames the challenges and opportunities faced by incumbents and startups.
• Provides data on global and regional fintech investments, evaluating which regions are the most significant and which are poised for the highest growth. 
• Determines the financial sectors facing disruption and breaks them down in terms of investments.
• Explains why blockchain technology is critically important to banks and startups, and assesses which players stand to gain the most from it.
• Examines what banks and startups see as their greatest challenges in navigating this ecosystem.
• Offers concluding thoughts on which sectors are the most vulnerable, which regions and segments will see the highest growth, and which new entrants and established players will fare the best during the migration to digital.
• And much more.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

1. BEST VALUE:  Join our BI Intelligence INSIGHTS service level and gain immediate access to this report PLUS 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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Breitbart is not happy with Glenn Beck. The tea party talking head, Beck, insinuated in a radio program that Stephen Bannon, Donald Trump’s new presidential campaign CEO and former Breitbart News executive, threatens enemies lives and hires assassins on the dark net.  Beck, who supported Ted Cruz during the Republican primary, said Bannon might use […]

The post Glenn Beck: Donald Trump Campaign Chief Hires Assassins On Dark Web appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Prominent bitcoin and Ethereum wallet and exchange Coinbase has unveiled a new feature to users in Europe who will now be able to purchase the digital currencies on their phones, using a payment card. Coinbase has announced that its European customers can now purchase bitcoin and Ethereum on their mobile phones using a credit or […]

The post Coinbase Enables Bitcoin, Ethereum Buying via Mobile in Europe appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

According to latest figures from ‘The Pulse of Fintech’ quarterly report, total venture capital investment in the UK dropped slightly during the second quarter of 2016 though fintech investment was less affected. The report [PDF] by KPMG, along with KPMG Enterprise’s Global Network for Innovative Startups and CB Insights which launched on August 17th, 2016, analyses the latest global […]

The post Despite Drop in Funding Q2 2016, UK Still Europe’s Fintech Leader appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Release: Maximus Coin is bringing the aforementioned claim to reality through its two cloud mining plans. The first plan, as stated on the company’s website, requires investors to deposit amount ranging from 0.01 BTC to 10 BTC. And in return, the investment promises to yield a 200% net profit by the end of […]

The post Maximus Coin Offering Up to 300% Returns on Bitcoin Investments appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

China’s largest search engine, Baidu, has discreetly removed all bitcoin and virtual currency-related advertising from its online portals. China, the world’s largest market for bitcoin will no longer see bitcoin-related advertising on the country’s most-used search engine Baidu. The search engine giant moved to remove all cryptocurrency advertisements from its online portals this Thursday. Prominent […]

The post Chinese Search Giant Baidu Stops Bitcoin Advertising appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

As bitcoin spreads, courts and the police need to answer some basic questions including, is it money, property, or something else entirely?

By Promit Mukherjee

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Questions over the exact provenance of bedsheets sold by Welspun India to America's middle classes have not only wiped $740 million off the firm's market value, but also revived one of Indian manufacturing's enduring headaches: quality.

India's government, desperate to accelerate growth and create more jobs, has backed a "Make in India" manufacturing push. India already makes everything from car parts to t-shirts, but is trying to move up the chain to make higher-end products, like Apple's iPhone.

One major hurdle, however, has been product quality, often blighted by low salaries, poor training and sketchy suppliers. As India manufactures more, cheap is not always cheerful.

So far, in Welspun's case, U.S. retailer Target Corp has severed ties, accusing it of passing off cheaper sheets as premium Egyptian cotton for two years. Other Welspun clients are probing the company's products.

It's not clear what led to the problem. Welspun, whose share price nearly halved this week, has said it would do an external audit of its supply chain.

Other Indian manufacturers distanced themselves from Welspun, but many fretted over the broader impact as the country tries to bet on quality, not just cheap workers, where it faces constant competition from regional rivals.

"It's high time exporters improve the quality of their products," said S.C. Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, set up by the government and industry to promote exports. He said the group would take up the issue of quality with its members.

Arvind Sinha, national president of the Textile Association of India, said India's image as a manufacturing destination for textiles could be tarnished.

"This is another blot on the Indian exports resume," said an analyst at a local brokerage, who asked not to be named as it would violate his firm's policies. "The Welspun fiasco could have ripple effects and force companies to scout for options in other regions in Asia that have unscathed records."

Government officials say the Welspun case is an exception, and don't expect much damage to India's reputation as a manufacturing hub.

"We hope it will be one of the stray incidents that will not have much impact on our near $42 billion textile exports," said a senior textile ministry official, who declined to be named.

A senior official at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said more such incidents could dent efforts to promote India as a manufacturing export hub.

"If Indian industry is to survive and thrive, it has to adopt global standards," he said, adding the ministry has raised the issue of standards with exporters through export promotion councils, and has stressed third-party auditing and self-regulation.

DRUGS AND NOODLES

India has been here before.

Its $15 billion pharmaceutical industry, a global supplier of cheaper generic medicines, has been dogged by quality concerns, with health regulators in the United States, Britain and Europe barring some plants from producing drugs for their markets because of inadequate standards.

Highlighting weak official checks and under-resourced testing facilities, Nestle India had to pull its popular Maggi instant noodles off the shelves last year after local regulators found some samples contained unsafe levels of lead. Subsequent tests at government-accredited laboratories showed the noodles were safe for consumption.

Quality assurance experts in India and beyond, however, said damage from the Welspun case could be contained - if the authorities and businesses move quickly to put in place stringent quality assurance standards.

"The government and the companies should themselves put in place better quality control standards to ensure India's image is protected," said a certifier at the Indian arm of a Europe-based textile certification company.

The $108 billion textile industry accounts for a tenth of India's manufacturing production, 5 percent of GDP and 13 percent of export earnings, according to government data. It is the country's second-largest employer after agriculture.

The government has announced several schemes in the past two years to encourage better use of technology and infrastructure in the textiles sector, and to foster innovation.

But the Welspun case suggests more needs to be done.

"Sourcing strategy is really driven by who can deliver the lowest cost at an acceptable quality, and India is still a place that delivers on that promise," said Neil Stern, senior partner at retail consultancy McMillan Doolittle in Chicago.

"This certainly brings negative publicity, but companies will stack it up as one bad apple and not view it as a systemic problem."

($1 = 67.0175 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee, with additional reporting by Manoj Kumar in DELHI and Nandita Bose in CHICAGO; Editing by Euan Rocha and Ian Geoghegan)

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Ripple Labs has created a lot of interest in blockchain technology with its Interledger Protocol (ILP), including from Apple and Google, according to the International Business Times. The ILP could be bringing the technology to more widespread use. Ripple serves as co-chair of W3C’s Web Payments Working Group, putting the company in regular contact with technology […]

The post Google & Apple Prefer Ripple Blockchain Tech over Visa appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Ripple Labs has created a lot of interest in blockchain technology with its Interledger Protocol (ILP), including from Apple and Google, according to the International Business Times. The ILP could be bringing the technology to more widespread use. Ripple serves as co-chair of W3C’s Web Payments Working Group, putting the company in regular contact with technology […]

The post Google & Apple Prefer Ripple Blockchain Tech over Visa appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Chronicled, a blockchain startup headquartered in San Francisco, has introduced an Ethereum blockchain-based physical asset verification...

The post Chronicled Introduces New Ethereum-Powered IoT Open Registry appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.