New bitcoin gift cards could take cryptocurrency mainstream
UPI reports: "Edmonton, Canada-based Bitcoin Solutions has developed what it hopes is
a new solution -- by allowing people to buy bitcoin gift cards online,
which can be loaded into digital wallets and spent anywhere bitcoin is
accepted. Or investors can hold on to the bitcoin as an investment.
[...] Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum and others use a
decentralized blockchain rather than a bank. The same blockchain can be
used for micro payments, smart contracts and a host of other services
that could disrupt traditional ways of doing business."
Comment:
I should start with my usual disclaimer: I'm not saying this is the
Mark of the Beast, I'm just noting trends. In this case, distributed
ledger technology can be used for many different kinds of applications,
including identity management, and I think it's a technology worth
keeping a watchful eye on.
Showing posts with label currency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label currency. Show all posts
2019/02/26
2017/11/27
Bitcoin near $10K -- now seven times more valuable than gold - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The virtual currency bitcoin hit a new high of $9,700 on Monday -- making it worth seven times more than an ounce of gold. After starting the year with a value of just $1,000, the currency's value has skyrocketed 860 percent this year. Its value was listed at $8,000 just last week. The latest gains could be fueled by expectations of big investors, such as hedge funds and asset managers, pouring money into the currency."
Comment: I'm starting to follow Bitcoin news after being a bit late to the party. I looked into this a bit and it does appear that the underlying technology may be a potential platform to host a universal currency. The usual caveat applies: I'm just following trends and don't know what the MOTB will turn out to be.
UPI reports: "The virtual currency bitcoin hit a new high of $9,700 on Monday -- making it worth seven times more than an ounce of gold. After starting the year with a value of just $1,000, the currency's value has skyrocketed 860 percent this year. Its value was listed at $8,000 just last week. The latest gains could be fueled by expectations of big investors, such as hedge funds and asset managers, pouring money into the currency."
Comment: I'm starting to follow Bitcoin news after being a bit late to the party. I looked into this a bit and it does appear that the underlying technology may be a potential platform to host a universal currency. The usual caveat applies: I'm just following trends and don't know what the MOTB will turn out to be.
2017/07/18
Visa offers $500K for eateries to stop accepting cash - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Visa is challenging small restaurants, cafes and food trucks to stop accepting cash. The credit card company announced in a news release this week it is offering $500,000 to 50 eligible U.S.-based eateries to go 100 percent cashless. Restaurants signing up can get a $10,000 gift from Visa to help pay for technology upgrades, the San Francisco-based company said.
Comment: Visa is trying to get merchants in the U.S. to stop accepting cash, good luck with that. Meanwhile, in Britain, they are investing in trendy new banknotes with extra security features. I guess they didn't get the Visa offer.
UPI reports: "Visa is challenging small restaurants, cafes and food trucks to stop accepting cash. The credit card company announced in a news release this week it is offering $500,000 to 50 eligible U.S.-based eateries to go 100 percent cashless. Restaurants signing up can get a $10,000 gift from Visa to help pay for technology upgrades, the San Francisco-based company said.
Comment: Visa is trying to get merchants in the U.S. to stop accepting cash, good luck with that. Meanwhile, in Britain, they are investing in trendy new banknotes with extra security features. I guess they didn't get the Visa offer.
2015/06/19
My Way News - Need reason to pay by phone? Apple, Google add new features
My Way News reports: "The tech industry has been saying for years that smartphones would make traditional wallets obsolete. But most people still use cash or plastic when they shop in stores. That could change later this year when three leading tech companies are promising to give shoppers more reasons to use 'digital wallets.'"
My Way News reports: "The tech industry has been saying for years that smartphones would make traditional wallets obsolete. But most people still use cash or plastic when they shop in stores. That could change later this year when three leading tech companies are promising to give shoppers more reasons to use 'digital wallets.'"
2014/09/02
Ecuador heralds digital currency plans
AP reports: "Ecuador is planning to create what it calls the world's first digital currency issued by a central bank, which some analysts believe could be a first step toward abandoning the country's existing currency, the U.S. dollar."
Comment: It's always interesting when the world gets a new payment system, but this is a very new development, it will need lots of work to be implemented and become trusted by the people of Ecuador. Still, if it works, promoting digital currencies could be an attractive nationalist alternative to developing countries chafing at the restrictions placed on them by the current international financial system.
AP reports: "Ecuador is planning to create what it calls the world's first digital currency issued by a central bank, which some analysts believe could be a first step toward abandoning the country's existing currency, the U.S. dollar."
Comment: It's always interesting when the world gets a new payment system, but this is a very new development, it will need lots of work to be implemented and become trusted by the people of Ecuador. Still, if it works, promoting digital currencies could be an attractive nationalist alternative to developing countries chafing at the restrictions placed on them by the current international financial system.
2014/05/23
My Way News - Visa, MasterCard renew push for chip cards
My Way News reports: "Retailers have long balked at paying for new cash registers and back office systems to handle the new cards. There have been clashes between retailers, card issuers and processors over which processing networks will get access to the new system and whether to stick with a signature-based system or move to one that requires a personal identification number instead."
My Way News reports: "Retailers have long balked at paying for new cash registers and back office systems to handle the new cards. There have been clashes between retailers, card issuers and processors over which processing networks will get access to the new system and whether to stick with a signature-based system or move to one that requires a personal identification number instead."
2014/02/26
My Way News - What's a bitcoin? A look at the digital currency
My Way News reports: "Early Tuesday, the world's most established exchange for bitcoin disappeared from the Internet, sending the price of the virtual currency tumbling and prompting fears that the world's biggest experiment in electronic cash could soon be strangled by fraud or regulation."
My Way News reports: "Early Tuesday, the world's most established exchange for bitcoin disappeared from the Internet, sending the price of the virtual currency tumbling and prompting fears that the world's biggest experiment in electronic cash could soon be strangled by fraud or regulation."
2013/07/31
My Way News - Virtual currency Bitcoin blocked in Thailand
My Way News reports: "Bitcoins are created, distributed, and authenticated independently of any bank or government. The currency's cryptography makes it almost immune from counterfeiting, and its relative anonymity holds out the promise of being able to spend money across the Internet without scrutiny."
My Way News reports: "Bitcoins are created, distributed, and authenticated independently of any bank or government. The currency's cryptography makes it almost immune from counterfeiting, and its relative anonymity holds out the promise of being able to spend money across the Internet without scrutiny."
2013/07/23
dvice.com - New payment system could let you buy groceries with your face
DVICE reports: "Uniqul, a company based out of Finland, is getting ready to release a new payment system that uses facial recognition. Instead of using a credit card to make purchases, this new facial recognition software, which is linked to a customer's bank account, will allow you to pay for your groceries by gazing into a camera. Not only will this speed up the often unbearably long lines at the supermarket, but it could also be more secure than any other payment system currently available."
DVICE reports: "Uniqul, a company based out of Finland, is getting ready to release a new payment system that uses facial recognition. Instead of using a credit card to make purchases, this new facial recognition software, which is linked to a customer's bank account, will allow you to pay for your groceries by gazing into a camera. Not only will this speed up the often unbearably long lines at the supermarket, but it could also be more secure than any other payment system currently available."
2012/05/08
PopSci.com - Canada Launches Its Own Virtual Cash, Called MintChip
Popular Science reports: "Next time you visit Canada, you might use digital currency to purchase your poutine, using something called MintChip backed by the Canadian government. The Royal Canadian Mint announced it’s getting rid of the penny and starting a new e-currency instead, and it wants the software community to help develop it [...] MintChip would enable the same type of low-cost transactions for which you’d normally use cash."
Popular Science reports: "Next time you visit Canada, you might use digital currency to purchase your poutine, using something called MintChip backed by the Canadian government. The Royal Canadian Mint announced it’s getting rid of the penny and starting a new e-currency instead, and it wants the software community to help develop it [...] MintChip would enable the same type of low-cost transactions for which you’d normally use cash."
2012/04/24
VOA - The Death Of Cash
The Voice of America reports: "Think for a moment: in a world where every monetary transfer is logged and recorded and stored in the cloud, anonymity disappears. Every thing you buy or sell, from a car to a gallon of milk, will be marked and recorded. And critics worry that same system that logs and records your every financial move could also, potentially, have the power to block them all."
Comment: This is an interesting article about money and asks if we are headed towards a cashless society.
The Voice of America reports: "Think for a moment: in a world where every monetary transfer is logged and recorded and stored in the cloud, anonymity disappears. Every thing you buy or sell, from a car to a gallon of milk, will be marked and recorded. And critics worry that same system that logs and records your every financial move could also, potentially, have the power to block them all."
Comment: This is an interesting article about money and asks if we are headed towards a cashless society.
2012/03/17
My Way News - In Sweden, cash is king no more
My Way News reports: "Bills and coins represent only 3 percent of Sweden's economy, compared to an average of 9 percent in the eurozone and 7 percent in the U.S., according to the Bank for International Settlements, an umbrella organization for the world's central banks [...] Internet startups in Sweden and elsewhere are now hard at work developing payment and banking services for smartphones [...] Most experts don't expect cash to disappear anytime soon, but that its proportion of the economy will continue to decline as such payment options become available."
My Way News reports: "Bills and coins represent only 3 percent of Sweden's economy, compared to an average of 9 percent in the eurozone and 7 percent in the U.S., according to the Bank for International Settlements, an umbrella organization for the world's central banks [...] Internet startups in Sweden and elsewhere are now hard at work developing payment and banking services for smartphones [...] Most experts don't expect cash to disappear anytime soon, but that its proportion of the economy will continue to decline as such payment options become available."
2010/11/09
Reuters - World Bank chief surprises with gold standard idea
Reuters reports: "Leading economies should consider adopting a modified global gold standard to guide currency rates, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said on Monday in a surprise proposal before a potentially acrimonious G20 summit."
Reuters - TIMELINE - Gold's history as a currency standard
Reuters reports: "Leading economies should consider readopting a modified global gold standard to guide currency movements, said World Bank president Robert Zoellick."
Reuters reports: "Leading economies should consider adopting a modified global gold standard to guide currency rates, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said on Monday in a surprise proposal before a potentially acrimonious G20 summit."
Reuters - TIMELINE - Gold's history as a currency standard
Reuters reports: "Leading economies should consider readopting a modified global gold standard to guide currency movements, said World Bank president Robert Zoellick."
2010/10/22
Reuters - G20 statement to pledge commitment to market FX rates
Reuters reports: "Group of 20 finance leaders will pledge on Saturday to commit themselves to pursue market-determined exchange rates and refrain from 'competitive devaluation' of their currencies, a G20 source said."
Comment: I expect this meeting to be very contentious and would not be surprised to see some surprises from China on behalf of emerging economies.
Reuters reports: "Group of 20 finance leaders will pledge on Saturday to commit themselves to pursue market-determined exchange rates and refrain from 'competitive devaluation' of their currencies, a G20 source said."
Comment: I expect this meeting to be very contentious and would not be surprised to see some surprises from China on behalf of emerging economies.
2010/08/13
My Way News - PayPal hopes to make micropayments easier online
My Way News reports: "PayPal wants to make it easier to buy low-cost digital goods online, whether it's a single article on a news website or virtual items in a video game. Scott Thompson, the online payment service's president, said Thursday that PayPal plans to roll out a payment product by the end of the year that helps businesses collect 'micropayments' on the Web."
My Way News reports: "PayPal wants to make it easier to buy low-cost digital goods online, whether it's a single article on a news website or virtual items in a video game. Scott Thompson, the online payment service's president, said Thursday that PayPal plans to roll out a payment product by the end of the year that helps businesses collect 'micropayments' on the Web."
2010/07/06
Reuters - Scrap dollar as sole reserve currency: U.N. report
Reuters reports: "A new United Nations report released on Tuesday calls for abandoning the U.S. dollar as the main global reserve currency, saying it has been unable to safeguard value [...] The report supports replacing the dollar with the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights (SDRs), an international reserve asset that is used as a unit of payment on IMF loans and is made up of a basket of currencies."
Reuters reports: "A new United Nations report released on Tuesday calls for abandoning the U.S. dollar as the main global reserve currency, saying it has been unable to safeguard value [...] The report supports replacing the dollar with the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights (SDRs), an international reserve asset that is used as a unit of payment on IMF loans and is made up of a basket of currencies."
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