Wednesday, August 12, 2015
AUG 12 DIGEST: Visa to Start Blockchain Research; LocalBitcoins & BitQuick Join NY Exodus
Colu Launch Taps Bitcoin Blockchain to Digitize Assets, Starting with Music
Ether Dump? Price Falls Back to Earth as Trading Floors Open
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Bitcoin Adoption Growing in Brazil Despite Poor Perception, Real Inflation Rate Hits 9.6%
Is the high inflation rate of 9.6 percent the reason people are turning to Bitcoin in Brazil?
The simple answer is no.
Recent statistics and infographics published by global bitcoin payment processor BitPay revealed that the volume of bitcoin transactions in Latin America has increased by 120 percent, and almost doubled in quarterly transactions. Many analysts suspected that the high inflation rate and unstable economy of Argentina and Brazil have caused a surge of growth in Latin America’s bitcoin industry.
While this may be true for Argentina, a country where the majority of the population is willing to pay 20 percent above international rates to obtain U.S. dollars and suffer from annual inflation rate which currently stands at 28.2 percent, the increase of inflation rate and bitcoin growth in Brazil is entirely coincidental, says Daniel Novy, the founder of Brazil’s largest bitcoin exchange, BaseBit.
“When inflation is high, everyone buys government bonds,” Novy told Bitcoin Magazine. “They are offering about 14 percent a year. It’s a very good deal comparable to the most profitable hedge funds you can find in America. It doesn’t make much sense to use bitcoin to protect yourself against a 9.6 percent inflation per year when the bitcoin volatility is about 50-plus percent per year. I mean, you don’t use a more volatile asset to protect yourself against a less volatile one. And having the option to protect yourself using government bonds, which offers a premium over the inflation, makes the use of bitcoin less attractive yet.”
Many industry analysts began to suspect that the growth of Bitcoin and the surge of bitcoin transactions in Brazil is caused by the country’s 12-year high inflation rate, which currently stands at 9.56 percent.
Increase in Merchants
Regardless of the inflation and the decline of Brazil’s economy, the number of bitcoin merchants has increased significantly over the last few months. Novy told Bitcoin Magazine that the number of bitcoin merchants in the e-commerce industry has increased, “but it’s definitely not related to inflation. … Bitcoin has a bad reputation here, but anyway the merchants are definitely being more opened to it.”
He added, “The bad reputation is mostly due to the bad news that arrives here. Like bitcoin being used by money laundering, kidnapping with rescue paid in bitcoin, exchanges closing their doors and running away with bitcoins from its clients, things like that. Whenever bitcoin is on the newspaper, [it] is for a bad reason. The path to remove this bad reputation from it, in my opinion, is to have more magazines and newspapers showing to the general public the advantages of … bitcoin.”
According to recent report released by bitValor.com, monthly bitcoin transaction volume in at all bitcoin exchanges in Brazil stood at 10,000 BTC, around $2.8 million USD.
Despite the high monthly bitcoin volume in Brazil, Novy explained that not a lot of people in Brazil are aware of bitcoin. The more serious problem, he says, is the lack of investment and capital for Bitcoin startups, and the overall environment of the country which is not exactly friendly to Bitcoin/digital currency startups. According to BM&F BOVESPA Bank “operation of organized securities markets and custody and settlement systems require prior authorization of the CVM and the Central Bank.”
“As an example, my wife participated recently in a seminar for entrepreneurs and on one, again: no one knew about Bitcoin!” Novy said. “That’s kind of unbelievable, but that’s Brazil… new technologies take really long to get to the mainstream here. I see a lot of reasons for that but the principals are: a) complete lack of seed capital and venture capitalists. If you can receive 14 percent per year return doing… nothing, it doesn’t make sense to risk your money! b) lack of incentives from government for startups.”
Bitcoin Product of the Week: Silent Pocket Make Your Device Undetectable
Silent Pocket is the first product featured as the Bitcoin product of the week, a new series from Bitcoin Magazine highlighting some of the cool, interesting, or funny things you can buy with bitcoin. What should we cover next week? Let us know at hello@bitcoinmagazine.com.
Silent Pocket is a wireless shielding technology integrated into sleek leather goods like bags, pouches, backpacks, etc. which makes any device undetectable by instantly blocking cellular, GPS, WIFI, Bluetototh, RFID and NFC in all frequencies.
The feature prevents potential data breaches, hacking attacks or identity theft on mobile devices and other hardware such as bitcoin hard wallets and by protecting all devices, including cell phones, credit cards, passports, tablets and computers.
“Aside from preventing identity theft and fraud as well as corporate espionage, there are also social concerns with being constantly connected,” the Silent Pocket team says. “While technology has provided us a means of connection that would have never been possible otherwise, it is also causing many to feel spread too thin.”
Silent Pocket could also protect Bitcoin hardware wallets such as Trezor or Case, which must be connected to the Internet to access or to send transactions. Although it may be highly unlikely, leaving hardware wallets connected to a public Wi-Fi connection for a long time could make the wallets vulnerable. By completely disrupting all signals, Silent Pocket cuts off the connection of a Bitcoin hardware wallet to an Internet/Wi-Fi connection completely.
The interior of Silent Pocket leather wallets and bags are surrounded by interlocking magnetic RF seal and a combination of the best radio frequency EMR shielding material.
Currently, Silent Pocket offers a credit card wallet, iPhone 6 case, passport wallet, clutch wallet, briefcases and backpacks. Want one? Silent Pocket is available online and can be purchased with bitcoin.
Institutions that Understand Bitcoin and Digital Currencies will Lead the New Monetary System, says BBVA
In April, Bitcoin Magazine reported that BBVA, one of Spain’s major banks, was among the sponsors of the Digital Currency Summit in Madrid.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), the second largest bank in Spain after Santander, is recognized within the industry for being more pro-technology than many of its competitors.
“Some bankers and analysts think that Google, Facebook, Amazon or the like will not fully enter a highly regulated, low-margin business such as banking,” BBVA Executive Chairman Francisco González told The Financial Times in 2014. “I disagree. What is more, I think banks that are not prepared for such new competitors face certain death.”
With this forward-looking attitude, it’s not surprising that BBVA is interested in the blockchain. In 2013 BBVA Research, a BBVA department that “adapts economic research to the needs of a banking group with a growing international presence in order to respond to the challenge of evaluating increasingly globalized developments,” published a paper titled “Bitcoin: A Chapter in Digital Currency Adoption.” The conclusions of the 2013 paper were similar to González’ remarks in 2014:
“Tech giants could develop processing capacity and become clearing houses of digital currency either on their own or through joint ventures with financial institutions. It’s only a matter of time before new models of digital currency become mainstream. The massive adoption of digital currency opens the door to new and different competitors in the financial system. Therefore, financial institutions and regulators who understand and eventually embrace the digital currency are most likely to lead the new digital monetary system.”
BBVA Research recently published a new paper titled “Blockchain Technology: The Ultimate Disruption in the Financial System.” The new paper opens with a surprisingly strong (coming from a major financial institution) quote of libertarian economist Friedrich Hayek.
The paper notes that financial institutions were initially slow to recognize the potential of the blockchain. However, two years after the publication of the first paper, dozens of large banks have now invested in the blockchain technology because they have understood its most evident advantages: fast and relatively cheap payments and the possibility of cost-effective infrastructures.
“The attention is likely the result of how disruptive this technology is to the financial sector, particularly if it allows massive simplification of banking processes and significantly reduces costs,” the paper reads.
Recently, Santander Innoventures, the innovation arm of Santander, suggested blockchain technology could reduce banks’ infrastructure costs attributable to cross-border payments, securities trading and regulatory compliance by between $15 billion and $20 billion per year by 2022.
The BBVA paper mentions the new “Bitcoin 2.0” systems characterized by the possibility of “smart contracts” enforced by complex algorithms that operate autonomously in distributed platforms without a centralized register, thereby increasing efficiency. “In this environment, the current system where financial institutions record individual’s accounts in a centralized fashion and the bank’s reserves are stored by the central bank (i.e. Federal Reserve) would be replaced by the ‘Internet of money’ or the ‘Internet of finance’ – a fully decentralized financial system.”
There are, of course, challenges and possible roadblocks. In particular, new fintech systems need to comply with legal and regulatory demands. Also, blockchain systems can have significant energy costs and still be vulnerable to some types of attacks like traditional systems.
“Nonetheless, improvements and modifications in blockchain technology could overcome some of these obstacles and lead to broader acceptance,” concludes the BBVA paper. “Therefore, the key question is not how, but when the disruption will become far-reaching. As other industries that have been transformed by new technologies and digitization, blockchain technology could reshape the financial industry well beyond the payments system.”
37Coins.com Shuts Down Bitcoin Operations
‘G’ is for Google: Tech Giant Restructures to Become Alphabet Inc.
AUG 11 DIGEST: Tokyo Police Suspect Karpelès Embezzled Funds; US Bank Regulator Calls for Balanced Bitcoin Oversight
BBVA: Block Chain Technology is The Ultimate Disruption
Wall Street Walkout: Top Execs Jumping Ship to Bitcoin
Monday, August 10, 2015
Bitcoin Solutions Provider HashingSpace Secures Business Incentives Advisory Services from Duff & Phelps
US based HashingSpace Corporation (OTCQB: HSHS) announced today that it has retained the services of Duff & Phelps, a global valuation and corporate finance advisor. HashingSpace builds key infrastructure for the global adoption of Bitcoin and Blockchain services with hosted ASIC mining.
WENATCHEE, WA / August 7, 2015 / HashingSpace Corporation (OTCQB: HSHS), a Bitcoin ASIC mining and hosting company, announced today that the company has reached an agreement with Duff & Phelps Corporation to secure their expertise in business incentives advisory services.
Duff & Phelps is the premier global valuation and corporate finance advisor with expertise in complex valuation, dispute and legal management consulting, M&A, restructuring, and compliance and regulatory consulting. The firm’s more than 2,000 employees serve a diverse range of clients from offices around the world. As experts in complex properties, Duff & Phelps assist clients by identifying and capitalizing on available tax benefits and incentives.
“Duff & Phelps has the expertise to advise HashingSpace in a variety of areas that are important to our success,” stated Timothy Roberts, CEO of HashingSpace Corporation. “Initially, they will be focused on finding tax rebates and grants that are available to us as we build our state of the art data center, Fortress One. Duff & Phelps will review our spend data to mine the optimum amount of recoverable benefits. HashingSpace is looking to maximize the potential we have to build a cutting edge energy efficient data center that is purposely built for the Bitcoin and blockchain industry. Our shareholders can feel confident knowing we have retained a world leading company with the expertise to help us maximize our tax and incentive opportunities.”
Gregory Burkart, Managing Director of Duff and Phelps Business Incentives Group added,
“We are honored to be working with Tim Roberts and HashingSpace. Duff and Phelps has been fortunate to assist some of the world’s most innovative companies with their economic development incentives, and we welcome the opportunity to partner with HashingSpace on this exciting project.”
HashingSpace Corporation’s business will provide a wide range of services to include:
· HASHHOSTING Servers fully managed and specifically set-up for ASIC MINING
· CLOUDHASH Cloud mining servers that can be rented with full hashing power
· HASHMINING Our own Mining Farm
· HASHATM Owner and operator of Bitcoin ATM machines
· HASHWALLET Bitcoin consumer wallet for bitcoin banking and transactions
· HASHPOOL Public Stratum and P2Pool (Web/IOS/Droid)
· HASHTICKER Free Ticker for tracking Bitcoin Value (Screen Saver/Web/IOS/Droid)
· HASHVAR A wholesaler of Bitcoin servers and Bitcoin ATM machines
All company information, including stock trading, filings, and market data related to the company, is reported under the ticker symbol, HSHS.
About HashingSpace Corporation
HashingSpace Corporation is a Bitcoin ASIC mining company, hosting provider, and service provider of blockchain transactional services. HashingSpace’s high density datacenters are designed to meet the demanding power and cooling needs of client hosted Bitcoin mining gear with unparalleled pricing, cooling and green energy. The Corporation is continuing to expand its datacenters to satisfy the shortage of low cost hosting facilities catering to the Bitcoin and blockchain mining and transactional verification services industry specifically.
HashingSpace Corporation manages HashWallet, a Bitcoin wallet; HashPool, a Bitcoin
mining pool; and HashATM, the owner and operator of Bitcoin ATM machines. The company is a wholesaler of Bitcoin mining servers and Bitcoin ATM machines. Bitcoin businesses interested in reselling HashingSpace products and services are invited to reach out to HashingSpace Corporation for more information.
HashingSpace Corporation is headquartered in Wenatchee, Washington. For more information, visitwww.hashingspace.com.
Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements may not be currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase HashingSpace services should make their purchase decisions based upon features currently available. For more information please visit http://ift.tt/1Bkk5H0 or call 1-855-HASHING (427-4464).
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the Company’s current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Company Contact:
HashingSpace Corporation
5042 Wilshire Blvd. #26900
Los Angeles, CA, 90036
855 – HASHING (427-4464)
Investor Relations: ir@hashingspace.com
This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an endorsement by Bitcoin Magazine or BTC Media, LLC. Bitcoin Magazine does not certify the accuracy of the above information provided by HashingSpace Corporation.
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