Currency agnostic crypto-payments system Ripple announced a partnership with Munich-based internet bank Fidor Bank AG today. The San Francisco payment network provider will supply Fidor with support for its cutting-edge payment protocol, which is fully compatible with bitcoin, alt-coins and fiat currencies. Fidor is no stranger to the cryptocurrency community, partnering with virtual currency exchange…
Bitcoin’s venture capital pool grew significantly this week with the launch of a US$30 million fund created by Australian financial technology investors Future Capital. The Future Capital Bitcoin Fund (FCBF) will make “equity investments, globally, into companies facilitating payments, exchanges, trading and smart property rights based around the Bitcoin and other digital currency ecosystem.” Although…
The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions issued a warning on virtual currencies last week, adding one more official notice on the topic from state-level authorities in the U.S. The statement offered the now-common warnings about cryptocurrency, namely the current price volatility, the lack of oversight and regulation, the association of virtual currency with criminal enterprises,…
Speaking with The Canadian Press, outgoing Bank of Canada second-in-command Tiff Macklem said that his organization isn’t worried about the impact of bitcoin on the banking sector. According to Macklem, bitcoin’s innovations and implications for monetary policy are speculative, and “far into the future.” Given the tiny global market cap, and immature ecosystem, Macklem says…
In a letter released yesterday, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) further clarified rules for bitcoin escrow services and cloud-based mining operations. The letter (PDF) issues a new ruling that neither form of business fits the requirements of a money transmitter service as detailed in the Bank Secrecy Act, and as such would not…
D.C.-based lobbying firm Peck Madigan Jones is no stranger to influencing how lawmakers view the world of finance. With a client list that includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Insurance Association, Wells Fargo Securities and MasterCard, the bipartisan firm makes no secret of its ability to sway the thinking, and the voting, of…
Bitcoin’s steady march towards Wall Street passed another milestone today, as Bloomberg added a price ticker the virtual currency to its Bloomberg Professional service. The subscription-based service reaches more than 320,000 investors and financial professionals across the globe, adding an additional level of legitimacy for a currency widely considered to be “hacker money” only a…
Latin America has a long history of economic instability, forcing many countries in the region to be almost entirely dependent on the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency. Latin America is also a huge piece of the U.S. remittance market, with the 17 North and South American nations in that group accounting for $41 billion…
There is little serious debate that the modern banking industry bears little resemblance to its historical origins. Although the popular conception of banks is that they hold customer funds and issue loans from those deposits, the reality is that modern banks are in a very different business. Today’s banks are mostly in the business of…
Although bitcoin currently has no legal status in France, the French Ministry of Economy and Finance has confirmed that any revenue from digital currency in the county is subject to taxation. Speaking with French news outlet Le Monde, a representative from the Ministry explained that there was no obligation to declare bitcoin earnings specifically, and…