Tag Archives: adoption
Adoption Increases as Bitcoin Seen As Alternative in India to Rupee
Comparing the Indian rupee and Bitcoin is an exercise of pitting one volatile currency against another in today’s currency climate.
The Indian rupee dropped to historic lows this summer ($68.80) on fears of the Fed tapering its bond-buying program. The rupee has slowly climbed back about 10% from that point and India is reportedly working on a program to boost the national currency.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, climbed to its historic high in April of this year ($266) before settling down around $100 to $140. Still volatile, the currency can jump 15% or more on news.
In light of these movements, an interesting trend has emerged in India: people are turning away from their own currency and toward Bitcoin.
The Wall Street Journal blog reported (with data from The Genesis Block) that Indian Bitcoin client software downloads increased 17.23% in the third quarter.
“Considering the volatility in developing market currencies like the rupee, it’s not surprising that people in India would be exploring alternatives,” said Greg Schvey, head of digital currency research for The Genesis Block and a former fixed income analyst at Citigroup. “Entrepreneurs have been quick to capitalize on bitcoin’s potential and are already setting up remittance companies, exchanges and conferences throughout the country. Bitcoin also offers near-free monetary transfer which could dramatically benefit India as the world’s largest remittance market.”
Related: Argentina Bitcoin Adoption Jumps
CC image by FriskoDude
Bitcoin for Organisations – A Global Guide by UK-Based MetaLair
MetaLair is a startup based in the UK focused on Bitcoin, Litecoin and cryptocurrency. The company is developing a decentralised exchange mechanism able to facilitate secure exchanges between both cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies.
In a effort to promote Bitcoin for organisations, MetaLair has published a leaflet that provides a quick primer of how organisations can adopt Bitcoin. It is embedded below and published on Reddit.
Brigham Young University Housing Starts Accepting Bitcoin
Two off-campus housing facilities at Brigham Young University have begun accepting Bitcoin as payment for rent. The two houses are Mountain Pines (for women) and The Nauvoo House.
The official announcement on the housing websites is rather understated, simply saying “We Accept Bitcoin! Please contact us if you would like to make a payment using Bitcoin,” but this is a big step forward for the alternative currency.
First, this is a demonstration of mainstream adoption in Bitcoin. There is nothing more critical than paying your rent and this is a big endorsement that the currency can be trusted.
Second, this gives college students the opportunity to drive faster adoption of Bitcoin. Facebook started out as a social network for Harvard students, followed by all campuses, and eventually the world. Perhaps Bitcoin’s rise to ubiquity will be ignited by its usage on college campuses as well.
Mt. Gox Makes New Appeal to Bitcoin Community to Share Stories
Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox has published a new appeal to the Bitcoin community. After a successful ad campaign promoting the positive adoption of Bitcoin during the G8 Summit in June, Mt.Gox’s parent company Tibanne is developing a grassroots campaign to show how Bitcoin affects real people and small businesses.
They are accepting crowd-sourced submissions by Wednesday, August 7.
Here is the official appeal from Mt.Gox:
Dear Bitcoiners,
Thanks so much for your support of our previous ad for the G8 Summit in June. We were able to get Bitcoin in front of a lot of influential people from around the globe and received a lot of amazing feedback.Right now our parent company Tibanne is working on another campaign to promote Bitcoin by showing how real people and businesses are using Bitcoin to improve their lives. The campaign will be launched in a major print ad and website.
It’s short timing, but we’re appealing to merchants and individuals in the Bitcoin community interested in sharing their experiences with Bitcoin as part of this campaign. We’ll feature selected people and businesses in the ad as well as on the site, and of course link back to you.
What we need:
- Picture of you if you’re an individual, and you and your business if you’re an owner
- A quick quote about how Bitcoin has influenced you or your business
- We’ll need you to sign a release as well, so we’ll send that to you when you get in touchThe deadline for submission is August 7th 2013 (Wednesday) EOD. If anyone would like more information or has any questions, please don’t hesitate to post them here or send us an email at stories@tibanne.com
Thanks so much for your help, and we’re looking forward to getting your stories out to the world.
Argentina Bitcoin Adoption Jumps in Recent Months – Report
Argentina Leads Top 50 Countries in Increase of Bitcoin Adoption
According to a report by The Genesis Block, adoption of Bitcoin in Argentina has jumped in recent months.
The chart below shows the change in rate of Bitcoin downloaded (month to date in July), highlighting that Argentina is the only country that increased in Bitcoin adoption month-over-month.
The Genesis Block shares this explanation for the change in Argentina.
In a story familiar to any bitcoin enthusiast, the digital currency is being sought after for two key reasons: debasement of national fiat and increasing capital controls. Inflation has been a significant problem for Argentina for years, but has come to the forefront after a series of public events highlighted just how bad the problem had become.
In March, economists from an opposition party to the reigning President Cristina Kirchner estimated inflation to be roughly 24%, more than double the government estimate of of just over 10%. Those economists were given fines of 500,000 pesos each, equivalent to nearly $100,000. The fines were overturned in May by the countries courts, sending an embarrassing blow to President Kirchner.
Argentinan economists aren’t the only ones who don’t believe the government’s inflation data. In February, the International Monetary Fund censured the Argentine government for misreporting inflation statistics.
Read the full analysis at The Genesis Block.
CC image by Pablo Manriquez.
