Monthly Archives: September 2014

UPDATE: “PayPal making a move to embrace Bitcoin” says Braintree CEO

Posted on 8th September, 2014

The rumors are true: PayPal is integrating bitcoin payments into their One Touch mobile wallet system using technology developed by their subsidiary Braintree. Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco today, Braintree CEO Bill Ready said that the company will soon be integrating bitcoin payments via a partnership with Coinbase. Not hedging his bets, Ready made […]

OKPay surrenders $6 million in held customer funds to Mt.Gox

Posted on 8th September, 2014

Last month, early-adopting bitcoin payment processor OKPay was ordered by a British Virgin Islands court to surrender $6,014,910 in held customer deposits to defunct bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox. OKPay had hoped to return these funds directly to customers, but legal challenges by Mt.Gox’s Trustee Fund have held the funds in a “limbo” within Mt.Gox’s OKPay account […]

Blockchain.info adds Marco Santori as global policy counsel

Posted on 8th September, 2014

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Blockchain.info has retained Marco Santori in a new role as global policy counsel. Santori is well known within the bitcoin industry, and currently serves as the chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation’s regulatory affairs committee. In addition to his legal work for the Bitcoin Foundation, Santori also writes about […]

Braintree expected to announce Coinbase partnership today

Posted on 8th September, 2014

According to tech industry news website Re/code, PayPal subsidiary Braintree will soon announce that it has entered into a bitcoin-payment processing arrangement with Coinbase, possibly as early as today. Braintree’s service is widely used by a variety of tech startups, including openly disruptive, peer-to-peer services like Uber and Airbnb, which are seemingly ideal adopters for […]

New PayPal video strongly suggests bitcoin adoption on the horizon

Posted on 8th September, 2014

This morning, the official PayPal YouTube channel uploaded new video titled “PayPal Voices,” focusing on the increasingly peer-to-peer nature of transactions in an increasingly decentralized economy. But a single line of the video’s text holds huge ramifications for the bitcoin community, as well as the future of digital currency. Roughly eight seconds into the video, […]

Safello debuts new social media-style bitcoin wallet

Posted on 7th September, 2014

Even for experienced users, bitcoin wallets can be a headache. Although QR code readers and BIP-70 integrations have helped sand some of the rougher edges off some modern wallet programs, particularly in the mobile market, bitcoin wallets can still be counterintuitive programs for new users to learn. The first company to make a truly user-friendly […]

Details emerge on Charlie Shrem’s plea deal

Posted on 6th September, 2014

Former BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem appeared in a New York courtroom on Thursday to formally enter a plea of guilty on charges that he aided and abetted an unlicensed money-transmitting business, processing over $1 million in bitcoin payments for Silk Road vendor Robert “BTCKing” Faiella. The appearance was part of a plea deal with federal […]

New report says bitcoin ATM industry at risk of “creative destruction”

Posted on 5th September, 2014

According to a new report published by the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA), the rapidly growing bitcoin ATM industry is at risk of “creative destruction” unless self-governance structures are soon put in place. The ATMIA’s “position paper” notes that bitcoin ATMs represent a “genuine innovation in the payments space,” and hopes for an eventual “stabilization” of […]

Mobile-focused payment and security company Alternet Systems enters into partnership with BitPay

Posted on 5th September, 2014

Miami-based mobile security and payments company Alternet Systems announced a new partnership agreement with Atlanta-based bitcoin payment processor BitPay. The non-exclusive agreement will allow Alternet’s payment arm, Alternet Payment Systems (APS), to serve as a third-party vendor for BitPay. While affiliate partnerships are nothing new, even for BitPay, the scope of this new arrangement could […]

Chamber of Digital Commerce to be first recipient of Overstock BTC donation program

Posted on 5th September, 2014

In a recent Gigaom profile of Overstock.com’s bitcoin adoption, CEO Patrick Byrne let slip an interesting detail about the company’s plan to donate 4% of BTC sales to a different bitcoin charity or foundation every month. According to the article, the first recipient of the plan will be the newly minted bitcoin political advocacy group […]