money

Pawn Shops Boom as Consumer Retail Banking Retreats

"The industry association estimates there were 10,000 pawnshops in early 2012, the latest figures available, compared with about 6,400 in 2007. That expansion is, in part, fed by the rising number of Americans whose tarnished credit effectively bars them from the mainstream financial system. The growth has attracted the attention of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a recently formed regulator that has been scrutinizing pawnshops, along with other nonbank lenders like payday loan operators. EZCorp, a publicly traded operator of pawnshops, reported that total loan balances swelled 22 percent to $44 million in its most recent quarter." Continue reading →

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BitPagos Uses Merchant Processing To Bring Bitcoin To Argentina

"Argentina’s currency troubles have been well documented for years. With inflation between 10 and 11% per year for most of the past decade, Argentinians have actively looked to subvert the country’s strict capital controls and obtain alternative stores of value. Historically, that has meant underground dealing in USD and EUR, but more recently has led to interest in the largely-unregulated world of bitcoin. BitPagos, a Latin American payment processing company in the latest class of the Boost.vc Accelerator, is capitalizing on that interest by adding bitcoin to their processing options." Continue reading →

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Monetary Authority of Singapore warns on ‘unregulated’ bitcoin

"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is cautioning consumers against bitcoin trading even as a few merchants in Singapore have started accepting the digital currency as payment for physical goods. Invented in 2009, bitcoin is the world's most well-known digital currency. It is not issued or managed by a single company or monetary authority. Bitcoins can be bought through online exchanges that convert real money into the virtual currency. Due to its anonymous nature, bitcoin trading was declared illegal in Thailand in July over money laundering concerns. An MAS spokesman told The Straits Times that consumers should be wary of such trading." Continue reading →

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Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

"The internet provides the extra money he needs to buy a meal each and every day. Since setting up a bitcoin wallet about three or four months ago, he has earned somewhere between four or five bitcoins — about $500 to $630 today — through YouTube videos, Bitcoin Tapper, and the occasional donation. And when he does odd jobs for people around Pensacola — here in the physical world — he still gets paid in bitcoin, just because it’s easier and safer. He doesn’t have to worry as much about getting robbed. Jesse Angle isn’t your average homeless person. But he shows that bitcoin is changing the world in more ways than you might imagine." Continue reading →

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Swiss socialist politician asks government to create report on bitcoin

"Jean Cristophe Schwaab of the Swiss Socialist Party said he is concerned about the potential of bitcoin. 'At the moment, I have no idea, but a Swiss journalist recently bought drugs from Silk Road using bitcoins, so I think the state needs to make an intervention,' he added. The 34-year-old said bitcoin came to his attention because he has a strong interest in internet policy, data protection and new online trends. He has also come across bitcoin in his work as a unionist for bankers – he is on the executive board of the Swiss Bank Employees’ Association. He said the only people in Switzerland who know about bitcoin are 'geeks, criminals and special police units'." Continue reading →

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Canadian Mint ready to test its own digital money project

"MintChip is 'the future of money,' according to the Mint’s promotional video, which goes on to present it as a digital version that would be legal tender, just like physical dollars and cents. You would hold it on a smartphone or other electronic device, just like a wallet. And according to the Mint’s Mr. Brûlé, the money could be used just as easily whether you’re shopping at a conventional bricks-and-mortar retailer, on-line or at your neighbour’s garage sale, though your neighbour would of course need a properly equipped smartphone. Mr. Brûlé sees it as part of the leading edge of a tsunami in mobile technology that is now washing over our society." Continue reading →

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Jim Rogers on Financial Globalization and Mining Opportunities

"Mr. Rogers added that China should 'globalize the Renminbi in the next 20 minutes rather than the next 20 years'. He thought that China is currently the world's second largest economic entity as well as the country with most amount of foreign exchange reserve, 'there is no reason to restrict the Renminbi globalization. It is good for all Chinese people, as Renminbi globalization means all investors worldwide can invest in China, which will bring great market opportunities to China's commodities. Stock price in China will rise, China will become the world's center for commodity transaction, China's financial market will be the best in the world." Continue reading →

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Jim Rogers warns of world economic slowdown, praises RMB

"Rogers reiterated his optimism on the RMB, describing it as 'the only currency that can compete and replace the U.S. dollar.' A recent BIS report showed that the Chinese yuan has broken into the top 10 of the most traded currencies in the world for the first time. 'I will buy more RMB whenever I can. If anyone wants to sell RMB, come and see me afterwards,' he quipped during his speech. He praised the government's endeavors to make the currency more convertible, but hoped that the pace could be faster. In contrast, Rogers called the U.S. dollar 'flawed' and 'troubled'. However, he still has to own the dollar because people go to the greenback when there is economic turbulence, he said." Continue reading →

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Swiss Fund Centralway Invests $250k In Bitcoin Exchange Buttercoin

"Swiss company builder Centralway is opening a new seed and early stage investment arm that will invest $50 million per year into 20 to 30 startups — including both small seed-stage investment and larger Series A rounds. It said its 'preferred case' will be to do a smaller investment at the seed stage, followed by larger investment into the same company at a later round. Buttercoin‘s model is to open a local Bitcoin exchange in each country where it operates — starting with Europe (where it’s due to launch in around two months’ time) — and then partner with local money transfer businesses to gain legal compliance in the country." Continue reading →

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