Entrepreneurship

Talk of the Day — Bitcoin to be introduced in Taiwan

"Wayi International Digital Entertainment Co. announced Wednesday that its online shopping site Wmall will begin to accept Bitcoin payments next year. The OTC (over-the-counter) market-listed company, which focuses on the research, development and distribution of online games, will be the first Taiwanese company to accept the decentralized virtual currency as a payment tool. Wayi's decision will test the Central Bank of the Republic of China's (CBC's) attitude toward Bitcoin development in Taiwan and its ability to regulate the currency's circulation. CBC Governor Perng Fai-nan said recently that the central bank has been keeping close tabs on the development of Bitcoin." Continue reading →

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Keiser Report: Bitcoin Battle

"In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the bitcoin price plunge as Baidu ditches the crypto currency and China bans it for financial firms. Unnoticed at the same time, Germany declares bitcoin to be private money and Merrill Lynch claims it can replace money transfer systems like Western Union. In the second half, Max interviews Dr. Christos Vlachos, CFO of the University of Nicosia, which is now accepting bitcoin as payment and he explains how the volatility in the price won't matter to the university. They also discuss Dr. Vlachos' hope to turn Cyprus into a bitcoin hub." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Awareness Grows in South Korea After Central Bank U-turn

"Kevin Lee is a Seoul-based bitcoin entrepreneur and CEO of BitcoinKorea, South Korea’s first bitcoin business and portal. He has traveled around Asia attending bitcoin-related conferences and meetups, and wants to be instrumental in promoting its use in his native land. He thinks South Korea’s need for digital currency options are similar to China’s: a way to diversify investments and find a way around capital controls. Lee, a friend of Asia-based bitcoin missionary Roger Ver, said the pair will tour South Korea from 8th to 23rd January to spread the word – talking to major news organisations and helping to introduce Kraken, an exchange that launched in the country just last Friday." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Companies and Entrepreneurs Can’t Get Bank Accounts

"The Bitcoin banking casualty list is a long one: popular Bitcoin – USD exchanges Bitfloor and BitInstant, in New York; Tradehill, in California; and Bitbox, in Michigan, have been out of commission for months. All had registered as money exchangers with the Department of Treasury’s FinCen. Mobile Bitcoin payment company Coinapult moved from Colorado to Panama to avoid the 'murky, unpredictable, and onerous' regulatory environment in the U.S.. Capital One even shut down the merchant account for Mulligan Mint, a commemorative coin maker, when it started making physical Bitcoin silver coins; the business was not in fact dealing with Bitcoins, just making fake models of them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Companies and Entrepreneurs Can’t Get Bank Accounts

Bitcoin Companies and Entrepreneurs Can’t Get Bank Accounts

"The Bitcoin banking casualty list is a long one: popular Bitcoin – USD exchanges Bitfloor and BitInstant, in New York; Tradehill, in California; and Bitbox, in Michigan, have been out of commission for months. All had registered as money exchangers with the Department of Treasury’s FinCen. Mobile Bitcoin payment company Coinapult moved from Colorado to Panama to avoid the 'murky, unpredictable, and onerous' regulatory environment in the U.S.. Capital One even shut down the merchant account for Mulligan Mint, a commemorative coin maker, when it started making physical Bitcoin silver coins; the business was not in fact dealing with Bitcoins, just making fake models of them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Companies and Entrepreneurs Can’t Get Bank Accounts

The Rise and Fall of the World’s Largest Bitcoin Exchange

"Mt. Gox evolved into a reliable marketplace for buying and selling bitcoins, now the world’s most popular digital currency. By one estimate, Karpeles has made over $8 million plus 345,000 bitcoins (at current rates: $86 million) swapping bitcoins for dollars and yen and other federal currencies. Karpeles and his company are a metaphor for the bitcoin world as a whole. Created by an anonymous computer scientist, the digital currency rose to prominence after it was embraced by software geeks across the globe. But now, as its influence continues to grow, these young, idealistic hacker types are running into the government regulators who control the existing financial system." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Rise and Fall of the World’s Largest Bitcoin Exchange

Farmers help bitcoin grow organically in Argentina

"Organic farmers in Argentina are finding bitcoin to be a compelling solution when selling their produce through a website called Tierra Buena. The website has been highlighted in a new short film by Jacob Hansen. The film tells the story of how Nubis Bruno (one of the people behind the exchange site, Conectabitcoin) helped local farmers by creating the website as a means to sell their produce online in exchange for bitcoin or litecoin (and Pesos). The existence of Tierra Buena doesn’t signal a pending economic revolution in Argentina, or anywhere else. However, it is a great anecdote of how digital currencies can be genuinely helpful." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin helps Iranian shoe store overcome international trade sanctions

"The business is Persian Shoes, an over 70-year-old business selling handmade footwear. It is located inIsfahan, the third-largest city in Iran. The owners are happy to ship anywhere, but paying them is a problem. The usual e-commerce channels are blocked. Trade sanctions against the entire country of Iran by the United Nations, United States, European Union and others mean Western Union and major credit card companies will not deal with Iranian businesses, even those in the fashion world. The only way to pay someone in Iran is with cash carried in your pocket – or some easily transferrable, mostly unregulated, digital currency." Continue reading →

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Vault of Satoshi expands Canadian bitcoin exchange market

"A new Canadian exchange launched this week, offering cheaper rates than the incumbent, and touting an advanced API. [..] The firm sent in two requests to FINTRAC, the financial services regulator in Canada, asking for a money services business (MSB) license, but the regulator’s current position is that no such license is currently needed for bitcoin. The company was refused, says Curry. However, this puts exchanges in a precarious position, because while the regulator may not have concerns, some banks do. Royal Bank of Canada closed Virtex’s account early this year because it didn’t have a license, and Curry had the same problem." Continue reading →

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Will Migrant Workers Drive Bitcoin’s Mundane Future?

"Several companies have determined that the biggest opportunity to prove their worth is in the decidedly boring race to help emigres handle remittances, a global market expected to total $550 billion this year, according to the World Bank. The average fee on remittances is 9 percent of the transaction cost, and some banks charge additional 'lifting' fees of up to 5 percent when someone wants to turn the remittance into cash. Sitting in the middle of money transmissions is a lucrative business. Western Union(WU) brought in $4.6 billion in transaction fees charged to consumers last year and almost $1 billion further in foreign-exchange revenue from its consumer business." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Migrant Workers Drive Bitcoin’s Mundane Future?