Category Archives: News
Bitcoin Foundation Responds to California: Respectfully, You’re Wrong
Bitcoin Foundation Fires Back to California
A few weeks back, the California Department of Financial Institutions sent a cease and desist letter to the Bitcoin Foundation for engaging in the “business of money transmission without having obtained the license or proper authorization required by the California Financial Code.”
Attorneys for the Bitcoin Foundation have responded with a 7-page letter outlining why they believe the Bitcoin Foundation is not subject to regulation under the California Money Transmission Act.
Here are the key points:
- The Bitcoin Foundation does not engage in money transmission in California
- The Bitcoin Foundation does not maintain business operations in California
- The Bitcoin Foundation does not sell or issue payment instruments
- The Bitcoin Foundation does not sell or issue stored value
- The Bitcoin Foundation does not receive money for transmission
In other words, California, respectfully, you’re wrong.
The wrap up the letter with a request for the cease and desist letter to be withdrawn and ask that an opinion be issued that officially states that Bitcoin is not regulated under the California Money Tranmission Act
For the foregoing reasons, the Bitcoin Foundation has concluded that it does not engage inactivities for which a California money transmitter license is required. Furthermore, the Bitcoin Foundation respectfully submits that the sale of bitcoin is not a regulated activity generally speaking. The Bitcoin Foundation therefore respectfully requests that your office issue an official opinion or administrative letter ruling confirming that the Bitcoin Foundation is not required to obtain a license for the reasons explained above and affirming that the May 30, 2013 warning letter has been withdrawn. Further, the Bitcoin Foundation requests that your office issue an opinion that, for the reasons explained above, the sale of a bitcoin is not regulated under the California Money Transmitter Act.
Read the full letter below.
Top Bitcoin News Last Week: Mt.Gox Changes, Coingig, Winklevoss IPO
Bitcoin News
A roundup of the top Bitcoin news from June 27 to July 4.
Thursday, June 27
- States Targeting Bitcoin Companies for Money Laundering (Video)
- Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Reaches Across the Table at G8 Summit
Friday, June 28
- Startup Profile: Coingig Launches the eBay Marketplace for Bitcoin
- Mt.Gox Now Offering International Wire Transfer to all US Banks
Saturday, June 29
- Bitcoin Awareness at 25% of US Population, Research Shows
- CES and SXSW to Feature Bitcoin Showcase Hosted by Startup Debut
Monday, July 1
Tuesday, July 2
Thursday, July 4
- Turn Cash into Bitcoins in Seconds with the Lamassu Bitcoin ATM Machine
- Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Resumes U.S. Dollar Withdrawals
Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Resumes U.S. Dollar Withdrawals
Bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox announced that they are resuming account withdrawals. Two weeks ago, Mt.Gox suddenly halted withdrawals of U.S. dollars, prompting wide concerns.
Below is the company’s published statement on resuming withdrawals and improving banking.
Dear Mt. Gox Merchants, Mt. Gox is happy to announce that global account withdrawals have now fully resumed as of today, after several days of testing our new system for processing transactions. We want to keep you informed about our progress in this arena, and especially assure our customers that their funds are accessible.
Progress in the Previous Two Weeks
While we announced that there would be a temporary hiatus on withdrawals, during our testing over the past two weeks we managed to process over $1,000,000 USD to customers. As this required a great deal of manpower and was not a perfect solution, we are quite happy with the progress made despite the conditions.
New Banking Partners
Mt. Gox has now formed relationships with several new banking partners both in Japan and around the world, and we are still in the process of finalizing even more. This means that we will have increased stability and ability to transmit withdrawals going forward.
Current Back-log
The new system is just now getting under way, so there is still a back-log of withdrawals that we need to process. Our team is working hard to increase transaction speeds, but there is approximately a two-week back-log we need to overcome. It will take a few weeks to get back to normal, and we thank you for your patience during this time.
Moving Forward
We at Mt. Gox are proud to be one of the first advocates and entrepreneurs in this growing ecosystem, but much still needs to be accomplished to bring trust and stability to a mass market. In addition to our improved withdrawal system and new trading engine, we are very excited about the innovation happening across our industry and around the world. Despite the hiccups, these are exciting times and we are eternally grateful for your confidence and support along this bumpy road.
Turn Cash into Bitcoins in Seconds with the Lamassu Bitcoin ATM Machine
Lamassu Bitcoin ATM: Turn Cash into Bitcoins in Seconds
Bitcoin startup Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures has launched an ATM that turns cash into Bitcoin in under 15 seconds. In the video below, 3 simple steps are demonstrated:
- Scan your Bitcoin QR code.
- Insert cash.
- Send Bitcoins.
The Lamassu Bitcoin machine was demonstrated at the BTC London conference as the first Bitcoin ATM ever outside the United States, reprogrammed of course to accept British sterling (GBP).
“The Bitcoin Machine was always meant as a global solution, and we’re thrilled to be able to demonstrate our machine in London, converting pounds sterling to Bitcoin,” said Lamassu co-founder Zach Harvey in a release on PR Web. “Talking about the economic and technological advantages of Bitcoin is a lot to wrap your head around, but experiencing the power of Bitcoin via our machine only takes six seconds. Even without prior knowledge of Bitcoin, it’s a wow factor.”
Here are the key features of the machine:
- Fiat to Bitcoin in fifteen seconds
- Accepts notes from over 200 countries
- Compatible with leading exchanges, such as Mt.Gox and Bitstamp
- Coded and audited by network security experts
- Intuitive and simple user interface
- Internal steel vault is securely bolted to wall, stand, or countertop
- Web-based back end
- Sub-second QR code scanning
- License-free
- Compact desktop size (13” W × 17” H × 10” D)
Lamassu has reportedly been contacted by more than 60 potential distributors in over 30 countries, including China, Canada, Libya, Cyprus, Kenya, Israel, the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark and Switzerland, and expects production of the Bitcoin Machines to begin this fall.
NYC’s Inside Bitcoins Conference Attracts Leading Experts
NYC’s Inside Bitcoins Conference Attracts Leading Experts
Explore the future of virtual currency and bitcoin with industry thought leaders from Bitcoin Foundation, BitPay, and Tradehill at the Inside Bitcoins Conference, July 30 in New York City.
Attendees will discuss what business and investment opportunities, as well as legal issues, exist in this emerging field. Don’t delay– prices increase next week.
You’ll hear from 20 bitcoin experts on topics including The VC Take on Bitcoin, Bitcoin Boom: The Business Adoption of Bitcoin, Bitcoin and Freedom of Speech, Rethinking Content Monetization with Bitcoin, Legal and Regulatory Issues Facing Virtual Currency Businesses, and more. View the full program here.
The event will also feature AlphaPoint and CoinMKT as exhibitors, and the evening’s drinks reception provides the ideal forum to network with like-minded peers. Developers, entrepreneurs, investors, finance professionals, bankers, consultants, lawyers, security solution providers, data and payment processors, and online retailers will all be present.
Charlie Shrem, Vice Chairman, Bitcoinfoundation.org and Chief Executive Officer of BITINSTANT, will deliver the keynote presentation, while additional speakers include Tuur Demeester, Author of MacroTrends, Chris Larsen, CEO & Co-Founder of OpenCoin, Jared Kenna, Founder & CEO of Tradehill, and Manu Sporny, Founder & CEO of Digital Bazaar. View the full speaker list.
This conference is one of the first to allow attendees to pay for tickets in bitcoin. Each registrant will also receive a bitcoin paper wallet with a 0.01 bitcoin.
Enter On Bitcoin’s discount code: ONBC to save 15% on your conference pass. For the best rates, register before July 11.
