Here comes centralized Digital Currency, I mentioned earlier. This may not be a good thing for the consumers, many bank employees and many of us who are committed to decentralized financial services as an alternative to government/bank controlled currency. Unfortunately, we don't even have an industry association to speak with a united voice. That is just my opinion. What is yours?



itBit Hires Former NYDFS General Counsel Daniel Alter, Pushes Ahead with Bankchain Project

by GIULIO PRISCO on SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 0
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/21845/itbit-hires-former-nydfs-general-counsel-daniel-alter-pushes-ahead-bankchain-project/


In April, Bitcoin Magazine reported that Bitcoin exchange itBit had filed for a banking license in New York. Later in May, itBit was granted a trust charter by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYFDS) under New York State banking law, the first such charter granted to a digital currency company by the NYDFS. ItBit also announced the successful completion of a $25 million Series A funding round.

On September 2, itBit announced the appointments of Daniel “Danny” Alter as the company’s new general counsel and chief compliance officer, and Kim Petry as chief financial officer. Petry was previously CFO of global operations and technology at Broadridge Financial Services and, before that, served as CFO and vice president of global commercial/corporate card payment at American Express.

Alter joined itBit after stepping down in February from his most recent post as general counsel of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), where he served as principal counsel and strategic adviser to the New York state superintendent of financial services.

The former New York State Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky left the NYDFS after releasing the controversial Bitlicense regulations for digital currency businesses operating in New York. Lawsky’s move to a consulting business was strongly criticized by the libertarian Cato Institute.

“Because of the contacts he made as a regulator, [Lawsky] can hire himself out to Bitcoin companies wanting to signal to other regulators that they have the approval of the regulatory establishment,” noted Cato Senior Fellow Jim Harper.

It seems likely that Alter’s move to itBit might be criticized in the same grounds.

“The New York State Public Officers law requires that I have a two-year recusal before I can appear before the New York Department of Financial Services on behalf of the company,” said Alter in a pre-emptive statement reported by Reuters. “And it will certainly apply to itBit. I will not step near or have any communications with the New York Department of Financial Services. Those will be handled by outside counsel or qualified compliance people within the company.”

“Between Danny’s deep expertise in financial services and virtual currency regulation and Kim’s demonstrated track record as a successful CFO of global financial organizations, I’m confident that itBit will continue to grow and develop innovative blockchain-based solutions to address the financial industry’s greatest pain points,” said itBit co-founder and CEO Chad Cascarilla. “Danny and Kim possess a deep understanding of how to grow and run a successful business within the regulatory framework of the financial services industry, and their expertise will be invaluable as we work toward the launch of our new permissioned distributed ledger product – Bankchain.”

Bankchain, a new high profile project still held under wraps by itBit, will be a closed, “permissioned blockchain” owned and operated by banks and financial institutions – in other words, a private blockchain without bitcoin and anonymous miners. According to itBit claims, Bankchain will automate, accelerate and simplify post-trade processes across the financial services industry, saving institutions time and money.

Bankchain is “the first consensus-based ledger system exclusively for financial institutions,” states the still very basic Bankchain website. “Bankchain is a new clearing and settlement network that leverages blockchain technology to reimagine how financial institutions execute post-trade. The decentralized network is powered by itBit but fully governed by the member participants that join the platform.”

“[Bankchain] is a proprietary itBit protocol, not blockchain based, but is derived off of blockchain,” itBit head of global operations Steve Wager told Coindesk in August. “We will also not be using bitcoin as the native token; it will be an itBit proprietary token.”

Reddit users strongly criticized the “Sinister Bankchain Project,” but it appears that the trend toward private, permissioned blockchains is here to stay, with strong support expressed, among others, by Accenture and Digital Asset Holdings CEO Blythe Masters.

Hey, thanks for reminding me of the years of hard work it has taken to place Smokeys Daylily Gardens in the top place, for premium daylilies. Our competitors did not have a clue what we were doing and many had not even heard of us the first few years. It is almost ironic that I am still meeting key leaders in our industry who have not heard of DNotes.

I am beginning to get the feeling that the vast majority our industry have not heard of DNotes, CryptoMoms, DNotesVault, CRISP and DCEBrief and even a lot of those who have are not aware of their strategic value. Frankly, if venture capital money was used to fund our ecosystems, a $2 million investment would have been spent.

Building a successful venture is never easy. It is even harder to build a trusted brand, invaluable in financial services. It is a very long term commitment to execute many strategic plans at the right time as flawlessly as possible. We want to be the best in class and we want the top spot, even if one of our CRISP For Kids has to complete that challenge.  

Thanks, infovortice2013. That is great advice for Kris. We all appreciate that very much. We have great plans for Kris, once she can navigate her way around comfortably. Any help will be well appreciated. DCEBrief press release has been distributed. I am very busy today but will check back later.

Update - Voting For DNotes at Cryptsy:

1st   DNotes            48,126 Votes

2nd  Lime Coin          43,097 Votes

3rd   Popular Coin      42,589 Votes

4th   Amber Coin       31,044 Votes


Support for DNotes is still very strong. Thanks.   

Quote From Kris Today:

Alan - does coinbase include DNotes?


Quote From Dyna Today:

Coinbase and most of the largest exchanges only list Bitcoin. DNotes is still in its infancy with relatively low trading volume. Currently, the best exchange to buy or sell DNotes is Poloneix: https://poloniex.com/exchange#btc_note

Here is  a Sneak Peek of DCEBrief Press Release For immediate release on Wednesday, 9-2-2015:




Digital Currency DNotes has founded numerous platforms to confront the challenges facing the industry as it seeks mass acceptance. The latest initiative is DCEBrief: providing executive briefs on Digital Currency issues that matter for busy executives, decision makers and everyday people worldwide.
 
DNotes, launched on February 18th, 2014, is one of ..........   Founded at a critical time when the Digital Currency industry faced many challenges; DNotes decided to take a different path, embarking on a long term strategic plan to build a trusted brand supported by its own ecosystem.

DNotes' latest project is DCEBrief; to provide objective, unbiased news on the latest developments in the world of Bitcoin and Digital Currency, in “Executive Summary” format, with no fluff or filler. DCEBrief's mission is to ensure decision makers, busy executives and everyday people worldwide can access the information they need, to help them understand the often misunderstood Digital Currency industry...................

DNotes has relentlessly pursued a path of mutual respect, cooperation, and solutions believed to be in the best interest of the industry and ultimately humanity. Co-Founder Alan Yong, a respected technology visionary since the emergence of personal computer and wireless communication in the 1980’s, stated that Digital Currency like DNotes has the built-in capabilities to be far superior to money or fiat currency.

...... When the vast majority of global commerce transactions take place between only the payer and the recipient, similar to the way cash is used today, that will be the day of mass acceptance of Digital Currency. .....................

As Alan Yong states about DCEBrief's mission:

“When one begins to understand why Digital Currency and Blockchain technology will be the greatest technological revolution since the Internet, that fear will be replaced by a desire to learn more and put it to good use.”......................

Utilizing an “Executive Summary” without fluff and filler. DCEBrief was launched with the mission to keep the public informed with timely, objective, accurate, and unbiased information that encourages both the cooperation of the media and the full support of political leaders and regulators worldwide, to help promote and not stifle innovation for the better good of mankind.

Quote from: Chase on Today at 06:40:04 PM

This news made my day!  It was a very long, drawn out process to be a Coinbase customer from Canada.  I'll let you know how much faster / easier this is in a couple of days.


Coinbase Expands Bitcoin Services to Canada

Bitcoin users in Canada can now buy and sell bitcoin using Coinbase.

The bitcoin services firm, which has raised $106.7m in four public venture rounds, is now available in 27 countries in North America and Europe. The move follows the company's expansion to Europe in September 2014.

CEO Brian Armstrong had previously indicated that Coinbase is seeking to extend its services to 30 countries by the end of 2015, a goal he disclosed at the time of the startup's $75m Series C round, announced in January.

As a result of the move, Canadian residents can now buy and sell bitcoin using Canadian dollars (CAD), deposit CAD funds into bitcoin wallets and trade CAD/BTC using the Coinbase bitcoin exchange.

In an interview, Armstrong explained that, while the company has so far found success launching in more developed markets, it remains active in its efforts to extend its services to developing markets. However, he suggested the regulatory environments have so far proven easier to navigate in countries where English language proficiency and technology literacy are high.

Armstrong told CoinDesk:

"It's not where we would want to launch first, it's actually where the partners we have to work with are able to work with us first. But certainly Canada has a huge population of people that are interested in bitcoin that didn't have easy ways to buy and sell it."

The company indicated its legal counsel does not believe Coinbase to be "engaged in any regulated activity" in Canada, a factor that encouraged it to launch its brokerage and exchange services across all Canadian provinces.

Notably, the company's CAD/BTC exchange will be kept in a separate order book, meaning, for now, US exchange users will not be able to access the pair via their US accounts.

"There's certainly an advantage to multiple currency pairs, but we wanted to be more conservative from a legal and regulatory sense," Armstrong continued.

As part of the launch, Coinbase said it would waive retail conversion fees for users of its bitcoin brokerage service through 6th September. Trading fees on its exchange product will not be subject to the promotion.

Wall Street shoe-in

Armstrong also commented on the increasing competition in the US bitcoin exchange space, which has seen the launch or announcements of expected launch by well-capitalized competitors including itBit and Gemini.

While those exchanges may have garnered the lion's share of media discussion, Armstrong feels Coinbase is best positioned to capture investment from this demographic. In particular, he cited the New York Stock Exchange's (NYSE) investment in the company and co-founder Fred Ehrsam's experience at Goldman Sachs.

"If Wall Street is doing to do anything [with bitcoin], they're going to do it with us. Perception here is that we're a shoe-in in the banking crowd," he said.

Coinbase Exchange is currently available in more than 30 states, as well as Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, partly through licenses secured in each jurisdiction. Rival itBit has alternatively secured a New York banking charter, which it has claimed gives it the ability to service customers in all 50 US states.

Though he spoke positively of rival itBit, Armstrong called Gemini's effort, including its recent filing for a banking charter in New York, "embarrassing", suggesting the investors and entrepreneurs behind the project, brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss don't have a reliable track record of product delivery.

Business model questions

As for Coinbase's long-term revenue model, Armstrong said the startup is likely to add additional financial products to its exchange product, potentially including derivatives.

Armstrong described the company's brokerage and professional trading tools as its "Google AdWords", the revenue-generating arm of the firm that will allow it to pursue more innovative, low-cost, consumer-facing services.

Still, he acknowledged that, across the industry, wallets and exchanges are having difficulty raising revenue, but he believes Coinbase is well-positioned to monetize through its brokerage service, given that the company has established a trusted name in the industry.

"It's more an Apple than a WalMart model," he continued. "I think the consumer business is going to be defensible and profitable and allow us to offer the developer platform for free."

For now, he reiterated Coinbase is seeking to build an "open and efficient payment network" for a global user base, emphasizing that its services in Canada are yet another step toward that goal.

http://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-expands-bitcoin-services-to-canada/

Quote From Shepherd Today:

That is great news for our Canadian friends. I like Coinbase and have been with them since day one.

What really caught my attention is the clear indication that there is significant competitive pressure building up. The Bitcoin  only exchanges will not find sufficient revenue growth to survive. It will be more and more competitive and some will be very friendly to Bitcoin Alternative like DNotes. To us at this point, strategic positioning and building a trusted brand if of paramount importance. And that is what we have been doing.

It shows how important knowledge and leadership in government can make a big difference. I would rank the British, Canadian, and Singaporean leadership in government to be the most knowledgeable about Bitcoin and most sensible in their attitude towards compliance issues. 

Agreed. You are with the right team, Kris. We have some of the most helpful and knowledgeable people here.

Good insight but I am puzzled why we have been getting the same form letter response to every support inquiry.

It is a long and costly process to be in full compliance. However, I am getting the impression that they  are currenly focusing their attention to be in compliance with AML at federal level with no mention of consumer protection licensing at state level. Their customer verification is quite intrusive; among others, the requirement of a photograph of the customer holding a photo ID with date and “Cryptsy” written on a white page. I understanding that PayServices is planning to take it to another level to include all that and a recorded video and voice statement which will eventually become a part of the security identity verification – image and voice verification +.

With Quantum Crypto and Blockchain in the near future, there will come a time when it is safer to carry digital currency in your pocket, via your smart phone, than carrying cash. Ironic? That is the future as I see it. I also envision that your smart phone is also you multi-currency card loaded with a preset amount of DNotes. As long as you have more DNotes available at the DNotesVault you can keep reloading it. If your phone is stolen, a kill switch will automatically empty your phone wallet and send it back to your DNotesVault account for safe keeping. Yes, DNotes will be the digital currency with the capabilities to be far superior to fiat currency. We just need our political leaders and regulators to be on the same page with us. Hence we are investing all that time and resources in DCEBrief.

« Last post by KristinaHD on Today at 01:50:39 PM »

Thanks, Smokey! This is coffee?? I thought it was mud, but didn't want to be rude....

« Last post by KristinaHD on Today at 01:48:47 PM »

Thank you!! I'm excited to learn more about CryptoMoms! Can't wait to become the expert! 

CryptoMoms.com / Re: Welcoming Kris

« Last post by KristinaHD on Today at 01:54:47 PM »

Thank you all for letting me join your band of pioneers. I'm excited to be a part of something so IMPORTANT. Doing a lot of research - With your help, I'll be an expert before you know it!

With the launch of DCEBrief and Kris joining our team we can consider this as the beginning of a new chapter. Now that we have established a fairly solid foundation and good awareness, we are going to pick up speed in reaching out to potential strategic partners who may have common grounds to start working with us.

We fully believe that for DNotes to be the trusted global digital currency, with mass acceptance ultimately, we must make it easily available for everyone worldwide to participate even if we have to continue to hand out some free DNotes to promote our shared stake concept, especially for  a good cause.

We have no doubt that digital currency like DNotes has the built-in capabilities to be far superior to money or fiat currency. However, harnessing its superiority is an enormously costly and time consuming task few would want to undertake. Unfortunately, if the valuation of DNotes is an indicator, I must add that many investors may not quite understand why DNotes has invested so much time and resources in a diverse list of projects. The short answer is that they are all strategically linked as vital building blocks as we strive for mass acceptance of DNotes in a global scale. Investment in DNotes is best suited for long term investors and ideal for our family of CRISPs. DNotes is much more than just another digital currency. It is a currency with a purpose coupled with multiple missions to reflect the best of humanity.

A Warm Welcome to Kris:

On behalf of CryptoMoms’ and DNotes’ communities I want to extend a very warm welcome to Kris for join the DNotes Team. Although, Kris has heard a lot about DNotes she is new to our industry and I trust that you all will be most helpful in helping her with any questions she may have.

With Kris’s help this will be the beginning of a new chapter for CryptoMoms and our family of CRISP. Kris is very passionate about women’s empowerment, economic equalities and the financial future of children. We will be reaching out to many organizations and individuals to help take CryptoMoms to the next level.

Thanks. Press release for DCEBrief scheduled for Wednesday September 2, 2015.

Visit: http://www.dcebrief.com/

"This article is proof that we are on the right track including digital currency in a retirement portfolio.  Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System... meet CRISP For Retirement!"

That is correct, Chase.  This is a very good indicator. As I mentioned in my other posts, it is also a very good sign that an increasing number of financial planners have been connecting with me on my LinkedIn professional network. They included many professionals with the credential of CFP (Certified Financial Planner). Professional investors and fund managers, such as the Canadian Pension Funds Venture do not just invest based on rumors and excitement. They follow potential investment candidates for an extended period of time, analytically researching available data and industry trend, as well as how the potential investment candidate position itself to exploit growth opportunities and avoid risky exposures.

DNotes is the best positioned in our industry to be the long term investment candidate. Follow us every step of the way if you are considering allocating a small percentage of your investment in an effort to balance your portfolio with high-risk / high-reward situations. No matter how promising the potential, never invest more than what you can afford, in case of a total loss.

Support Letter Sent – Ref: Vote for DNotes at Cryptcy

DNotes has been on the top of Cryptsy voting list for at least threes weeks and I have personally sent in a support ticket for some guidance. Other than a standard form letter, we have not receive any up date. Rightfully, our community is anxiously interested to get an update and  our chance of been listed on Cryptsy. We also like to know if there is anything else we need to do.

For your convenience DNotes is at position # One with 47,217 votes. There have been a total of 146 paid BTC transactions amounting to 1.785 Btc. I am certain thousands of Cryptsy points were spent, involving many voting hours.

We are looking forward to your favorable response.

It is worth looking into it. I like team efforts and get our community more involved. DNotes has huge potential for long term appreciation. Those who believe in what we are doing but may not have the means to acquire more DNotes, we have a few generous stakeholders who have continued to give away DNotes personally, on a regular basis. PM me if you like to get more involved.