Tag Archives: exchange
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.
Finding Business Model Opportunities in Bitcoin – Inside Bitcoins NYC
Trends to watch and how to think about Bitcoin as a business
At the Inside Bitcoins NYC conference, Coinsetter CEO Jaron Lukasiewicz spoke to a packed crowd. His message: the current financial system is outdated and relies on critically dated infrastructure. He believes that “people involved in Bitcoin [are saying] this is not acceptable anymore.”
Exploring the current financial system he points to three to five fund transfer times under ACH payments and drawing experience from his previous startup in ticketing, companies paying over 40% of revenues out in credit card fees. Basically, in 2013, it is still exceptionally difficult to send money to a friend and this is leading to a customer revolution.
Today, he proposes, Bitcoin is the dominant virtual currency. Not simply in terms of transactions and value, but based on awareness – including awareness outside current users of the market. The first mover advantage is significant and Mr. Lukasiewicz asks us to spend time thinking about how it has the potential to become an “IP address for money.”
Coinsetter is a leveraged forex trading platform, focused on active traders. Originally he questioned the number of exchanges being set up at the moment and why there isn’t an original business model. On reflection he thinks this is actually important. The more liquidity that comes into the Bitcoin system, the better. It will draw more users; innovation and a greater focus on customers. The latter being a key concern for Mr. Lukasiewicz, there is “room for a lot more exchanges to come online, but it is important to focus on a particular customer.”
Bitcoin Companies Working with Government and Banks
Focusing on the themes that will lead to business opportunities, he has concerns about government regulation and how banks will interact with Bitcoin. One of his theories is that anonymous financial transfer systems will not be easily integrated into the current banking system. Know Your Customer concerns and regulations will be a significant hurdle, along with security for institutions with large holdings. When challenged on these points during Q&A, Mr. Lukasiewicz clarifies that he sees this as layers added on top of the current system, rather than a change to current Bitcoin protocols – apparently to the great relief of the audience.
In conclusion, he sees the best opportunities for those companies that firstly, concentrate on Bitcoin as a payments protocol, and secondly, have a strong focus on having a strong customer proposition and delivering an appealing experience.
Authored by Michael Smouha and Ronan Murphy, Contributors to On Bitcoin
Bank of Thailand Advises That Various Bitcoin Actvities Are Illegal
Bank of Thailand Officials Call Bitcoin Activities Illegal
Thailand-based Bitcoin Co. Ltd. issued an alarming release today, asserting that senior members of the Bank of Thailand advised the company that various Bitcoin trading activities are illegal in Thailand.
The company runs an exchange, allowing users to buy and sell Bitcoin, and has suspended operations after the guidance by the Bank of Thailand.
Below is the full release.
Trading suspended due to Bank of Thailand advisement
July 29, 2013
During the past several months Bitcoin Co. Ltd., in Thailand, has been in the process of registering with the various Thai government agencies in order to operate in a lawful manner. Included in this due diligence was to reach out to the Bank of Thailand, the governing body that regulates financial transactions in Thailand, and ask for guidance as to any applicable licenses in buying and selling bitcoins.
Initially the Bank of Thailand had bypassed the company’s money exchange license on the basis that Bitcoin was not a currency, however the company was invited back, on July 29th, 2013, to participant in a conference about how Bitcoin works in general, and business operations of Bitcoin Co. Ltd. The conference was held with about 15 members of the Bank of Thailand in attendance. During this conference directors of Bitcoin Co. Ltd. gave a presentation about the workings of Bitcoin, the benefits of Bitcoin, incite into the company’s operations and future implications of Bitcoin.
At the conclusion of the meeting senior members of the Foreign Exchange Administration and Policy Department advised that due to lack of existing applicable laws, capital controls and the fact that Bitcoin straddles multiple financial facets the following Bitcoin activities are illegal in Thailand:
- Buying Bitcoins
- Selling Bitcoins
- Buying any goods or services in exchange for Bitcoins
- Selling any goods or services for Bitcoins
- Sending Bitcoins to anyone located outside of Thailand
- Receiving Bitcoins from anyone located outside of Thailand
Based on such a broad and encompassing advisement, Bitcoin Co. Ltd. therefore has no choice but to suspend operations until such as time that the laws in Thailand are updated to account for the existance of Bitcoin. The Bank of Thailand has said they will further consider the issue, but did not give any specific timeline.
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.
