Brokers Minutes

Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp launches a new pre-paid debit card program




In an announcement, the London-based Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp says it has launched a new pre-paid debit card program. The company informs that the initiative allows Bitstamp’s clients to get US dollars, Euros or British pounds denominated debit cards. Nonetheless, these debit cards can be either virtual or physical and loaded with Bitcoin. The announcement read:

Dear Bitstamp clients, we are excited to announce prepaid debit cards program. Bitstamp’s clients are now able to get USD, EUR or GBP denominated prepaid debit virtual or plastic cards. First 100 users to order the card will get them for free. Hurry up and order your own here!

Prepaid plastic debit card are now available for customers who can order them paying just $10. Upon confirmation the buyers will immediately receive virtual debit card that are perfect for shopping online. Customers can also convert their virtual card into a plastic card; it only takes few seconds for doing so.

Additionally, the customers can receive their own plastic debit card to their home address within 10-15 business days along with activation details and instructions. However, for that they need to go through additional verification procedure to raise their annual loading limit. The latest offer is expected to further popularize Bitcoin among users in England.

An outcome of Partnership between Bitstamp and Payment Processor AstroPay

The company informs that the program is being launched thanks to a partnership the payment processor AstroPay. However, initially, the debit cards will be available to the exchange’s customers based in the European Union and will be accepted by any business that currently accepts major credit and debit cards.

According to the official blog that informs the readers, transferring funds from Bitstamp account to the card carries flat $10 fee for amounts up to $1000. Similarly, for transfers above $1000, a two percent fee is charged. Nonetheless, transfers to cards denominated in Euros or British pounds will be converted automatically.

Additionally, the customers holding the card will be have access to their transaction history and able to retrieve their PIN, order new cards and more using the site Cardportal.com. Interestingly, as the card is not available to United States citizens at the moment, it will lose huge number of potential customers. However, the exchange plans to expand the service there.

More...

Bitmine AG Goes Bankrupt, Facing Multiple Lawsuits for Non-delivery of Hardware

Another Bitcoin company biting the dust; Bitmine AG, the Swiss Bitcoin mining hardware producer, has declared itself bankrupt. The company has been facing huge financial trouble and multiple lawsuits in regards to undelivered hardware and broken promises. It has now declared bankruptcy in the Swiss city of Bellinzona.

The home page of the company says that it was in a difficult situation from several months. Though it tried its best despite our biggest attempts to save the company by restructuring its product and services and seeking for new investments, all without success left us no other chance than the road to bankruptcy.

Bitmine AG informs that the accounts, assets and all company documents are now in hands of the Swiss justice and will be under inspection and investigation. The message posted on the homepage reads:

"We all, both as former directors of the company and as individuals, make our deepest apologies to the many customers and suppliers that were patiently waiting for a refund or compensation. As BITMINE AG’s board, we have always acted in our best good faith, within the limits of our skills and in the interests of the company and, therefore, its customers."

Lost All the Company’s Share Capitals and Hundreds of Bitcoins

Bitmine AG says that the company wants to take the opportunity to make clear with everybody that the accusations on the forums are false. According to the firm it has lost all the company’s share capital and several hundreds Bitcoins in loans to the company ourselves. This is fully documented on the company registers.

The company also informs that all the information is not available to the relevant authorities for inspection. Nonetheless, the whole explanation shows just one point and that is that their insolvency, complete with a breakdown of costs versus income mean the customers would never get their hardware at all.

Though Bitmine AG claims that it was not a scam, not many customers who never got their hardware despite paying in advance claim it is full on scam. The company claims that out of the 3500 units that it sold and it got prepaid for, it has delivered to the customers more than 2000 units, all produced in its facilities.

Bitmine AG admits that even if some units were not delivered it still is a great achievement:

"Let’s examine the above quote for a moment. Giving the benefit of the doubt, and rounding up to 2500 units paid for and shipped, that leaves 1,000 units paid for and never delivered, or nearly 30% of orders. There are very few businesses where this level of success would be considered good business, upstanding, or “not a scam.” Indeed, (a minimum of) three in ten people making purchases with Bitmine never received a thing."

More...

David Whiteing of CBA Says Digital Currency Tech is where the future of payments is heading

David Whiteing, the CIO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia or CBA which will soon launch Ripple technology for its subsidiaries to transfer payments between them, says that digital currency technology is where the future of payments is heading. Ripple, a peer-to-peer, distributed payments network supports both cryptocurrency and fiat currency.

Built on an open source Internet protocol called Ripple Transaction Protocol, Ripple according to David Whiteing has huge potential. Similarly, he says that Bitcoin is a protocol which is now being replicated by non-asset based vendors like Ripple and others. He says that he sees huge potential in the technology and the bank has a role to play in that as well.

Whiteing also admitted that Ripple being a technology with huge potential has also invited their attention and they have in fact, done a whole bunch of experiments with it. He also declared that they are about to launch using Ripple as a means to transfer payments between their subsidiaries to make things easier for their customers.

Nonetheless, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s announcement that it will use Ripple technology to facilitate payments between its subsidiaries, describing distributed protocols as “the way of the future” gives hope for Bitcoiners. It will be the second such bank after Germany’s Fidor that became the first bank.

Fidor had integrated Ripple’s protocol into its payments infrastructure, with two US banks, CBW Bank and Cross River Bank, following suit four months later. Nonetheless, as Whiteing sees no reason why bank accounts could not be used to store fiat money, cryptocurrencies and other assets like store loyalty points in the future, moving ahead with the project was priority.

Whiteing says:

“Bitcoin is a protocol which is now being replicated by non-asset based vendors like Ripple and others. We absolutely see that’s where it’s going to go. The bank has a role to play in that. The idea is to test in a controlled environment what a bank-to-bank internal transfer might look like using crypto rather than existing payment providers."

He ensuring that the testing remains internal within Commonwealth Bank Group and continues to comply with all legal and regulatory requirements. Thus, it looks the decision to use Ripple for payments between subsidiaries remains experimental; however, the Commonwealth Bank’s sheer size makes its announcement a valuable decision.

More...

The Santa Monica-based Bitcoin startup, PopChest, launched a private beta

In an announcement, the Santa Monica-based Bitcoin startup, PopChest, says that it has brought up a private beta of their micropayment solution which is expected to generate curiosity and demand among customers. According to the company sources the service will allow people to add a Bitcoin paywall to content posted on YouTube and other video hosting websites.

PopChest claims that in order for viewers to watch the video they will need to pay the required amount of Bitcoin, through a QR code or address. Once the videos are uploaded to a website like YouTube, content providers then go to PopChest and enter the URL. The service will ask for a Bitcoin address, and some other details.

However, the company informs that currently the service is available only for qualified beta users. Once the users have entered the URL, the platform will then produce a PopChest URL that people can give to viewers for watching the video. The four stage procedure for the users is not just user-friendly but quite accommodative as well.

PopChest’s website says that it has created an easy way for people to give back to those making life more enjoyable. According to the firm giving directly to artists makes the world a better place. Whereas the old system sees a vast majority of revenue going to distributors while the actual content creators pick up the scraps. PopChest flips that model upside-down.

Some Vital Features and Benefits Using PopChest

The firm says that it helps in unlocking the value as whereas credit card companies charge minimum fees that make microtransactions impossible, PopChest opens up a whole new world of commerce. Similarly, it helps users escape commercials; for
instance, a 30-minute television show generally has 10 minutes of commercials.

However, here users can take back the time and attention by paying to bypass ads. Interestingly, though the service doesn’t say, it seems likely users will have to set the video to private on YouTube. In such a situation viewers will then go to the PopChest website to watch your content, where they will be presented with the Bitcoin paywall.

PopChest claims that Bitcoin micropayments improve the viewer experience by getting rid of ads and having an undistributed viewing experience. The startup is currently working with original content creators that have an established and active audience. It is inviting the original content creators as well for the purpose.

More...

BTC Payment Processor Coinzone Partners with X-Cart to help it Offer Services to European Customers

The measure that can be extremely great a moment for a lot of customers in Europe, Bitcoin payment provider Coinzone and hosted shopping cart provider X-Cart have entered into a partnership. According to the two firms, the strategic partnership offers Bitcoin payments to X-Cart’s European customers; this will help X-Cart gain Bitcoin capabilities for its customers.

At the same time Coinzone will make its digital currency services available to X-Cart’s European customer base. Thus, it is a win-win deal for both the companies that wanted to expand the horizon of reach. Coinzone, based in Europe, provides a Bitcoin merchant payment gateway and point-of-sale platform tailored to each specific European market in over a dozen languages.

However, with the latest move it will be able to further expand it with the help of X-Cart’s open source PHP shopping cart which is available in 111 countries, and serves over 33,000 stores. Nonetheless, X-Cart has processed over $2 billion in payments in 2014; however, the company says that a significant portion came from outside of Europe.

Interestingly, the Russian company is also a leading shopping cart provider for European businesses. Talking about the latest deal for partnership, Manuel Heilmann, CEO of Coinzone said:
“Ecommerce businesses prefer to have one integration point with a solution that covers all their needs, rather than having to mix and match different providers and solutions in a complex package which they then have to own and manage. As a result, it makes sense for us to make our Bitcoin payment solutions available in as many platforms and environments as possible.”

Earlier in March this year, Coinzone started providing UK businesses with an array of proven and effective tools including their payment gateway, which was created to give merchants an easy and highly intuitive way to take full advantage of Bitcoin. The company had then claimed that the risk free Coinzone accounts include no currency exchange risk.

Bitcoin has Several Advantages for Businesses, Merchants, Freelancers, etc.

Additionally, the customers were able to access instant payments and convert to GDP, thanks to Coinzone’s UK bank partnerships. Nonetheless, the free processing for new merchants is available until June 30, 2015. The firm says that more than 5 million businesses in the UK can accept Bitcoin transactions, through an efficient system.


More...

After two years of debates and revisions, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) today released BitLicense, the world’s most awaited Bitcoin regulatory framework that many experts believe could be a prototype for other state regulators.

Mr. Benjamin Lawsky, the soon-to-be former Superintendent of NYDFS, dictated the law during a speech in Washington DC. The new rules, as said by the regulator, were focused on businesses which hold customers’ funds, and also those which offers digital currency to fiat exchange services. As per the speech,*these kind of firms*are told to obtain a special DFS license, and are further asked to keep their license up to date with regards to the laws related to consumer protection, anti-money laundering, change of ownership, and amongst others.

BitLicense meanwhile brought some optimistic amendments for the technology-centered businesses, ensuring a space for innovation that most of the earlier critics questioned. Lawsky acknowledged Bitcoin as a never-seen-before technology which cannot be caged into the traditional money-transmission laws. He therefore excused tech firms from obtaining permissions when it comes to introducing software updates and organizing capital funding rounds.

Lawsky further excused students and innovators from obtaining the Bitcoin license, until and unless they become a financial intermediary. “There is a basic bargain that when a financial company is entrusted with safeguarding customer funds and receives a license from the state to do so – it accepts the need for heightened regulatory scrutiny to help ensure that a consumer’s money does not just disappear into a black hole,” he added.

No Duplicity

Lawsky meanwhile also excused the Bitcoin companies from submitting Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) to NYDFS, saying that such information can also be obtained by the federal regulators.

“Our goal is to avoid duplication where possible,” he said. “And we generally already have access to that information when we need it through information sharing arrangements with federal regulators.”

The BitLicense comes at a time when Wall Street is already showing immense interests in experiment with the digital currency technology. In last few months, America’s leading stock exchanges Nasdaq and NYSE has joined the Bitcoin club, while the investments into the sector has also surged impressively from last year.

More...

NYSE chairman Jeffrey Sprecher has come out in support of Bitcoin and the blockchain

Bitcoin and the technology behind Bitcoin i.e. blockchain is receiving support from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) CEO and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) chairman Jeffrey Sprecher. He has supported Bitcoin and the blockchain, voicing his belief that the technologies are part of a larger change in how trust is being established in society.

Talking about the digital currency and blockchain technology he said that he trusts Bitcoin to great extent. He was talking with CNBC’s Bob Pisano on “Power Lunch”, Sprecher opened up about NYSE’s investment in Bitcoin services provider Coinbase’s recent $75m Series C funding round, one of the largest so far closed by an industry firm.

Nonetheless, Sprecher has been quite vocal about his support for Bitcoin when he suggested NYSE has been looking into Bitcoin and the blockchain for “over a year.” However, at the same time he noted the exchange has found the language of the industry difficult to navigate. No doubt a lot of government agencies are intrigued by blockchain tech, it should not surprise.

Interestingly, when Jeffrey C. Sprecher, an American businessman and the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange and Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, gives such views, it gives a lot of momentum for Bitcoin. This chemical engineer from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is an MBA from Pepperdine University, knows a lot about Bitcoin.

Sprecher says that his interest had persisted due to the fact that millennial are becoming comfortable using the technology in the same way that they are becoming used to other platforms. He added that they are seeing millennial trust a currency that is created in the ether, more than they trust fiat currency by government.

Encouraging View from Key People for Bitcoin

According to him trend, whether it’s a restaurant review or a taxicab or the way a user exchanges value, is something they believe in and he wants to be on top of it because he thinks it’s going to impact everyone. He also adds there’s something to it alluding to Bitcoin and the blockchain.

He admits that there’s something here, that’s why the company invested in it. His views on Bitcoin and blockchain technology are encouraging the stakeholders as these carry immense value. If the digital currency keeps receiving such support from key people around the world, it has immense scope to emerge as a popular option for fiat.


More...

The First Version of BitPay’s multi-signature Wallet Copay now Available

BitPay has brought in Copay for the first time for customers after a year of beta testing. In an announcement, the company says that the first version of BitPay’s multi-signature wallet Copay was released on June 3. It is expected that Copay, a multi-signature wallet built on BitPay’s Bitcore, an open-source platform for Bitcoin- and blockchain-based applications will be popular.

According to the announcement Copay multi-sig wallet is a shared Bitcoin wallet. Here each owner holds a unique private key and the ability to push out payments or withdrawals. Moreover, as a transaction initiated in a Copay multi-sig wallet requires the approval of multiple people, it is efficient for businesses and privacy-conscious users.

Talking about Copay, BitPay Chairman Tony Gallippi said that with it, a small company can, for example, manage their Bitcoin holdings by requiring 3 of 5 officers to sign transactions that spend funds. Similarly, according to him a household can use a 2-of-3 wallet to manage family funds to make sure there is complete security.

Even families can use it as a parent can use a 2-of-3 wallet with their child to moderate the child’s spending habits and ensure they don’t accidentally lose Bitcoins to a virus. The company claims that there are many more possibilities as well that can be explored. Nonetheless, the Copay multi-signature wallet provides a convenient flow for sending funds.
Now, the users can send funds from shared wallets which small or co-owned business could greatly benefit from. Additionally, a small online business on e-commerce platforms such as E-Bay or Amazon could also adopt the Copay wallet. They can use it to combine the budget of the business into one shared wallet.

Safe and Secure Transactions

Additionally, they can then allocate the expenses through approvals from different departments of the company. The firm also says that the Copay multi-signature wallet brings the security of Bitcoin wallet into a whole new level. For instance, even if a Bitcoin wallet service provider or exchange were ever compromised, the private keys would not be.
Thus, the possessed Bitcoin would not be affected at all and the users will have safe and secure transaction. Additionally, as Copay wallet is also the first Bitcoin wallet to support the Bitcoin testnet on both iOS and Windows Phones that allows developers to create/test new Bitcoin applications across different platforms with ease, customers will prefer it a lot.

More...

Sorry, I didn't catch, is brokersminutes a broker company or not?

Originally Posted by Chris

Sorry, I didn't catch, is brokersminutes a broker company or not?

Not.

wikipedia -

Minutes, also known as protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting, starting with a list of attendees, a statement of the issues considered by the participants, and related responses or decisions for the issues.