Earlier today, China’s five largest bitcoin exchanges released a joint statement on the Twitter-like social-networking site Weibo. The statement acts as both a mea culpa for the ongoing problems in with bitcoin in China, as well as the first public announcement of a move towards self-regulation for the exchanges. The five participating exchanges are OKCoin,…
After nearly six months of quiet pressure, the long-rumored People’s Bank of China “bitcoin ban” is finally materializing. Earlier today, major Chinese exchange BTC China announced on its Twitter account that it had suspended yuan (RMB) deposits from the Bank of China. This was the second such notice from BTC China, the first being posted…
In many emerging-market countries, most average people are still too poor to afford relatively expensive items like computers and smartphones. Even if they can afford such luxury items, access to reliable internet providers can be just as elusive. In fact, the only piece of modern technology that has significant market penetration in these comparatively poor…
A proposed plan to revive the shuttered Mt.Gox exchange hit a roadblock today, as presiding Judge Gary Feinerman opted to delay further deliberation on the matter until May 13th. The delay was requested by Mt.Gox’s defense team, arguing that such a settlement would unfairly hinder CEO Mark Karpeles and parent company Tibanne KK in other…
In a message to customers released yesterday, Calgary-based virtual currency exchange VirtEx announced new plans to create a network of bitcoin ATMS across Canada. The company also announced an in-person bitcoin deposit and bill-payment option powered by U.S. payday-loan/check cashing/cash-for-gold service Money Mart. Although there is no specific timeline for the launch of the ATM…
Citing new regulatory pressures on bitcoin-related banking, Chinese bitcoin exchange FXBTC announced it will be closing down next week. Although bitcoin exchanges remain legal in the country, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has been pressuring the country’s banks to close the accounts of bitcoin business, leaving users with no easy way to deposit or…
Speaking with Ars Technica, Mt.Gox founder Jed McCaleb revealed that he personally lost around $50,000 in the Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange’s collapse. Although he sold he site to French bitcoin entrepreneur Mark Karpeles in 2011, McCaleb retained a 12% stake in the company. Unlike many Mt.Gox users, however, McCaleb’s losses were in standard fiat accounts, rather…
Is the People’s Bank of China too big to create appropriate bitcoin regulation? According to a guest post on BitcoinBlog.de, that may be the case. Chinese IT entrepreneur Zhang Weiwu has a decade-long history of working with authorities in the country, and believes that bitcoin’s recent woes with the Chinese central bank is less a…
In early March, Canadian virtual currency exchange Vault of Satoshi pulled out of U.S.-based transactions citing the “increasingly hostile” regulatory environment. In the last few months, VoS has focused on building up its Canadian and international presence, and gaining some official banking status after being granted a Money Services Business License last month. Yesterday, the…
The Mt.Gox bankruptcy moved another step closer to resolution today, with the official appointment of attorney Nobuaki Kobayashi as trustee for the failed exchange. Mt.Gox changed its filing in a Tokyo court earlier this month, dropping plans for a proposed rehabilitation due to an “extremely large” number of creditors and a massive logistical challenge getting…