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If Senators Really Like Bitcoin They Should Encourage Banks To Cooperate

"With many of their fears assuaged, the senators seemed ready to ask what they could do to foster Bitcoin and other digital currencies during these early stages of innovation. And the message was clear: give banks the assurances they need to accept Bitcoin companies as clients. In the last year, this has been a huge problem for U.S.-based companies. The senators expressed an admirable concern about falling behind in this arena. And if they really want the country to catch up, they will find a way to help Bitcoin integrate with the U.S. banking system." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIf Senators Really Like Bitcoin They Should Encourage Banks To Cooperate

$1bn payout expected as Russian regulator pulls plug on ‘dubious’ bank

"Russia’s Central Bank (CBR) has revoked the license of Master Bank over $61 million in alleged illegal banking transactions. Over 1000 ATMs are frozen, and the head office is being raided by police. Massive money laundering operations and shady aсcounting prompted the regulator to withdraw the license, part of a larger overhaul to close down corrupt banks in Russia. The withdrawal of Master Bank's license means that its estimated $1.5 billion (47.4 billion rubles) in private funds are now frozen, with Russia’s Deposit Insurance Agency promising to pay out $917 million (30 billion rubles) to bank customers by December 4." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$1bn payout expected as Russian regulator pulls plug on ‘dubious’ bank

Bigger than Libor? Forex probe hangs over banks

"A global investigation into the setting of the London interbank lending rate, and related global benchmarks, has so far yielded about $3.6 billion in fines. Penalties for some of the biggest players are still to come. Traders have also faced criminal charges. As the extent of damage caused by Libor-rigging is revealed, lawyers say the probe into fixing currency rates could unfold in a similar way, and rival its impact. London is the center of the loosely regulated foreign exchange market, the biggest in the world's financial system with average daily turnover of $5.3 trillion. Proven abuse in this market would have a significant ripple effect, exposing offending firms to a host of legal action." Continue reading →

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Taiwan central bank ‘keeping close tabs’ on Bitcoin

"The head of Taiwan's central bank said Wednesday that the bank is keeping close tabs on the development of Bitcoin, a decentralized virtual currency that approximates cash on the internet. 'We have taken note of the development of Bitcoin and have adopted measures to prevent money laundering through its trading,' said Perng Fai-nan, the governor of the Central Bank. Ruling Kuomintang Legislator Lu Shiow-yen asked Perng about his view of the bitcoins, which she said are being traded at an exchange rate of 1 to US$590, the highest valued currency in the world. In response, Perng said Bitcoin is a new kind of money circulating among a specific group of people." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin continues to swing without any help from central banks

"The euro dropped against the dollar Wednesday on yet another signal that the European Central Bank is considering more unconventional policies at the same time that the Federal Reserve has shown a willingness to slow its bond purchases. Such central-bank inspired moves are absent from bitcoin by design; the virtual currency has no central bank and is created through a process called mining. So without monetary policy as a driver, what’s behind the big moves? Surging demand in China, growing legitimacy in the U.S. as demonstrated byhearings in the Senate, the closure of the bitcoin-only drug market Silk Road, and an open-ended bitcoin trust run by SecondMarket." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin continues to swing without any help from central banks

ECB Said to Consider Minus 0.1 Percent Deposit Rate

"The European Central Bank is considering a smaller-than-normal cut in the deposit rate if officials decide to take it negative for the first time, according to two people with knowledge of the debate. Policy makers would reduce the rate for commercial lenders who park excess cash at the ECB to minus 0.1 percent from zero, said the people who asked not to be identified because the talks aren’t public. It would be the first time the central bank has adjusted interest rates by less than a quarter of a percentage point. The concept, which has been discussed by Governing Council members, doesn’t yet have a consensus, the people said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingECB Said to Consider Minus 0.1 Percent Deposit Rate

Venezuela’s Central Bank to Trade Gold with Goldman Sachs

"Venezuela's Central Bank and Goldman Sachs are ready to sign an agreement to swap or exchange international gold reserves, with a start date in October, as stated in the contract, and until October 2020. The negotiated amount, equivalent to 1.45 million ounces of gold, are deposited in the Bank of England and the transfers are made directly to Goldman Sachs once delivery times are stipulated. The operation involves the delivery of gold from the central bank, which will receive dollars from the U.S. firm. Economist Jose Guerra explains that this operation is being undertaken because of the fall in international reserves, on Nov. 15 totaled $20.6 billion, a loss of $9.9 billion in 11 months." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVenezuela’s Central Bank to Trade Gold with Goldman Sachs

Bitcoin Scandal Reflects Popularity of Virtual Currency in China

"The willingness to invest in GBL despite its shortcomings demonstrates just how popular 'crypto-currency' has become in China. In early November, BTC China overtook Mt. Gox and Bistamp to become the largest bitcoin exchange site in the world, handling 34 percent of global bitcoin transactions over the previous seven days, according to data from Bitcoinity.org, a website that tracks bitcoin exchanges. Bitcoin’s appeal to Chinese investors is manifold. The currency experienced a major spike in value in July shortly after being the subject of overwhelmingly favorable reports on CCTV, China’s state-run television station, and People’s Daily, the main Communist Party newspaper." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Scandal Reflects Popularity of Virtual Currency in China

Online Casinos Hobbled as Credit-Card Issuers Reject Bets

"Just as legal online gambling gets started in the U.S., banks and payment processors are refusing to play. Credit-card issuers Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and American Express Co., along with EBay Inc.’s PayPal, aren’t allowing the transactions, according to the companies. Delaware and Nevada permit Internet wagering, with New Jersey poised to become the third and biggest state on Nov. 26. The rejections threaten a nascent business with the potential to reach $7.4 billion in annual revenue in four years, the estimate of researcher H2 Gambling Capital. American Express and PayPal say they don’t process gambling transactions of any kind." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOnline Casinos Hobbled as Credit-Card Issuers Reject Bets

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