“Bitcoin, for us, is not stopping at buying and selling," Square CEO Jack Dorsey told analysts on their earnings call as reported by Business Insider. "We do believe that this is a transformational technology for our industry and we want to learn as quickly as possible."; bitcoin has yet to effect Square’s earnings as they have only recently started crypto payments; they currently include a margin to account for the volatility of bitcoin; shares were down slightly after releasing earnings. Source.
Business Insider sat with Coinbase’s Dan Romero who recently took on the role of general manager and vice president of the company in January; the interview covered the company’s plans for growth on the engineering and product sides; he said the company is looking to become for cryptocurrency what Google has become for search; the interview also talks through the recent SegWit upgrade, where Coinbase is headed in the next few years and how they compare to their biggest competitors. Source.
Users in California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and New Hampshire will now have access to trade bitcoin and ethereum commission free; Robinhood plans to open to most states by the middle of 2018; over 4 million people have signed up for accounts with Robinhood. Source
Coinbase launched their Coinbase Commerce platform to allow merchants to accept digital currency; the service will be integrated into the merchant’s checkout or added as a payment option; the company is accepting merchants by having them email in to be added; this positions Coinbase well as Stripe no longer accepts payments and PayPal has been slow to adopt. Source.
While some of Europe’s biggest banks will not allow clients to buy cryptocurrencies with credit cards or advise on investing in the market, the smaller banks see an opportunity; Vontobel, Falcon Bank and Bank Frick have all agreed to handle cryptocurrency investments on behalf of clients; “There are risks involved but there are also really big opportunities,” Edi Wögerer, chief executive of Bank Frick, told the Financial Times; some of the world biggest banks have said the market is too risky with volatile prices and money laundering concerns; with the potential for more regulation these smaller banks are looking to already stake a place in the market before the bigger firms feel comfortable enough to get involved. Source.
The emerging blockchain industry is starting to look like the rest of the tech industry, predominantly male; it is estimated that only 4 to 6 percent of blockchain investors are women; there are a number of women who are looking to change this culture and have started forming clubs and conferences to attract more women to the space; “We have an opportunity to rebuild the financial systems,” entrepreneur Brit Morin said to the NY Times. “Women want to be part of that.”; there has been numerous incidents at industry events and from ICO marketing campaigns that have been discouraging to say the least for blockchain women enthusiasts; with the industry still in its infancy there is plenty of time to build a more inclusive culture for all those interested in the potential of blockchain technology. Source.
BOA filed a lengthy regulatory filing this week; in it they mention the risks of cryptocurrencies to their business; the bank wrote: “The widespread adoption of new technologies, including internet services, cryptocurrencies and payment systems, could require substantial expenditures to modify or adapt our existing products and services as we grow and develop our internet banking and mobile banking channel strategies in addition to remote connectivity solutions.”; they also discussed the regulatory consequences of cryptocurrencies which could limit the ability for the bank to track movement of funds. Source
Dozens of Coinbase users were complaining on Reddit regarding unexpected charges on their credit and debit cards; Worldpay and Visa issued a joint statement saying the issue was not cause by Coinbase; the Financial Times reports that the source of the problem was still not clear though it did seem related to merchant category codes that were assigned to Coinbase; the issues bring up concerns that regulators have been discussing, rules around the new digital currencies are not clear. Source.
Head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, said she thinks it is inevitable that global regulators come up with new regulations for cryptocurrencies; the IMF has been primarily focused on how the new currencies are being used for money laundering and funding illicit activities; this isn’t the first time the IMF has hinted at and discussed cryptocurrency regulations; trends in the direction of new legislation have been hinted at for some time though nothing widespread has occurred yet. Source.
BlockFi offers loans to those who own cryptocurrencies; the company is currently in a beta launch and is lending in 35 states; ConsenSys Ventures, Kenetic Capital, PJC, SoFi, Purple Arch Ventures and Lumenary participated in the round. Source