Bitcoin may get Telstra’s call as telco considers digital payments



 Tesltra may consider accepting bitcoin payments. Picture: GETTY IMAGES

TELSTRA, the nation’s biggest teleco, says it is keeping an eye on bitcoin and may consider accepting payments in the digital currency if demand continues to grow.

Its head of digital operations, Monty Hamilton, now says that indications from a global technology conference in Texas last month pointed to such crypto-currencies becoming more mainstream.

“Are we going to accept payments through bitcoin? No. Are we watching closely? Yes,” he said.

“If we see demand from customers these are things we will actively consider. We are starting to see things like bitcoin move from a micro-niche into something more mainstream.”

His comments come after the Reserve Bank of Australia this week said the development of digital currencies do not pose a threat to the financial system. At the same time US Republican presidential nominee Rand Paul this week said he would be accepting bitcoin donations.

Mr Hamilton was asked by former Telstra chief David Thodey to help spearhead the telco’s digital operations.

Mr Hamilton drew a comparison with the way PayPal was once viewed as an unsafe payment method but is now common.

Telstra was one of the first to embrace PayPal in March 2013 for bill payments.

“The scale of our customer base is representative of society — we see trends so much earlier,” he said.

Telstra has the biggest customer base in the country with about 16 million mobile users.

He said to many customers bitcoin would still be “foreign” but others were becoming comfortable with it.

“With bitcoin you can’t help but draw the link with Beta and VHS. Is bitcoin the best (crypto currency)? Maybe not, but was VHS the best? The currency is becoming a lot more accessible,” he said.

A single bitcoin has steadied as a currency in recent months and was trading at $US252.98 yesterday after reaching $US979.45 at the end of 2013.

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Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/bitcoin-may-get-telstras-call-as-telco-considers-digital-payments/story-fni0dcne-1227296101068

Your post is offtopic. Bitcoin doesn't require financial institutions, but doesn't exclude them either.

OP: I suggest you find a way to settle this - trying to hide it may end up being more expensive and will definitely do more damage to your credit score.

No, I live in Europe. How exactly is the U.S. government debt related to this thread? Collections agencies usually sue people if they don't pay (at least if the amount is significant - I guess OP would try to hide it if it wasn't)

I don't live in the U.S. but usually a collections agency is allowed to take most of your property if you can't pay so it doesn't really matter. They won't simply give up just because you're out of money they'll just take your car or anything else.

AFAIR some exchanges ask you to provide personal information (ID, proof of residence) before releasing tainted coins back to you or allowing you to trade them.

The article doesn't say anything about it, but I'm pretty sure that acquiring Cavirtex means that all liabilities are transferred to Coinsetter.

Bitcoin exchange Coinsetter acquires Canadian exchange Cavirtex



New York based Bitcoin exchange Coinsetter is announcing the acquisition of the Canadian Virtual Exchange, also known as Cavirtex.

Sources involved in the transaction confirmed a target acquisition value of approximately $2 million.

The deal will give Coinsetter a presence in Canada as well as the U.S., where it currently operates. The company says the deal will also bolster its expansion into margin trading, a service that lets clients borrow money in order to purchase stock or in this case Bitcoin — an offering the company first announced in January.

Cavirtex has been operating since 2011. The company shutdown its exchange in March due to a major security breach. When it ceased operations, the company maintained that it was financially solvent, however the database compromise had irreparably damaged the company’s reputation making it difficult to do business.

Cavirtex was also having trouble with its Canadian banking partner, according to an article from Coindesk. Despite these hurdles, sources close to the matter say that Coinsetter will be maintaining a relationship with Cavirtex’s unnamed banking partner going forward.

The acquisition is well timed as laws in Canada surrounding Bitcoin have recently been clarified. In January Canada passed a law that instituted reporting criteria for cryptocurrency businesses. The move discouraged some businesses, which then closed operations, but seems to invigorated others. Still, the rules will not go immediately into effect for Bitcoin businesses and there will be an opportunity for these companies to voice their opinion on how crypto-money businesses should be regulated. Either way further regulation could help pave a way for smoother relationships between Coinsetter and its (potential) banking partner(s).

To stem issues pertaining to Cavitrex earlier fraud Coinsetter will be overhauling Cavirtex’s entire infrastructure.

“We will also be adding order books in new currencies on both Cavirtex and Coinsetter. The integrated trading liquidity and security of both exchanges will provide an unmatchable global bitcoin platform to bitcoin users everywhere,” says CEO Jaron Lukasiewicz.

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Source: http://venturebeat.com/2015/04/08/bitcoin-exchange-coinsetter-acquires-canadian-exchange-cavirtex/

AFAIK PayPal doesn't have to share this information. You could pay an agency for background information, but that's not exactly cheap.

Here's how you can see if an account is verified: https://www.paypal.com/us/verified/pal=user@domain.com

If they're using their own domain you could visit the website and lookup their WHOIS record: http://whois.domaintools.com/domain.com

At least he specified his real name and address for domain registration so you know how to find him.

Bitcoin bourse: UK’s first regulated digital currency exchange in pipeline



Financial watchdogs are in discussion with one of the world’s largest digital currency markets about the possibility of setting up a Bitcoin exchange in Britain.

Coinbase was set up in 2012, providing a platform for users to transact using the new currency.

It launched a regulated Bitcoin exchange in the US with over $100 million in backing from banks and the New York stock exchange.

The chief executive of the exchange platform, Brian Armstrong, said in an interview with The Times that talks had been going on for “at least six months.” He said conversations had been “positive and moving the right direction.”

However, Armstrong said he was “hesitant to avoid putting any measure” on a potential launch date.

If a regulated Bitcoin exchange is established in the UK, it could help reinvigorate the digital currency’s image, which has previously been classed as the main bartering tool of “dark web” drug dealers.

Bitcoin has had shaky beginnings with big Bitcoin exchanges like Mt Gov suffering huge thefts. Larger tech companies, however, like Dell and Microsoft, have begun to accept the digital currency as payment in their online shops.

While the UK does not currently recognize bitcoin as a currency, the Treasury announced plans last month to regulate a range of digital currencies, including Bitcoin.

Armstrong said most new digital currencies “really take about 10 years to reach the mainstream. All sorts of people in financial services are starting to look at this. We’re in conversations with at least a dozen banks around the world.”

The price of Bitcoin is currently around $250, having experienced massive fluctuations since it was launched in 2009. In 2013 it was worth more than $1,200.

There are currently around 14 million Bitcoins in circulation, meaning the currency is worth more than $3.4 billion.

“It’s getting less volatile every year and I think that trend will continue,” Armstrong said.

“There was a bubble period at the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014. We saw this massive run-up in the price that didn’t match the actual price of Bitcoin underneath.”

“If I had to guess, my feeling is that we’re probably near the bottom now. My hope is that the growth will be much slower and steadier here on in,” he added.

Coinbase has 2.1 million users across the globe, who collectively hold a total of 2.6 million wallets which they can use to buy, sell and transact in Bitcoin.

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Source: http://rt.com/uk/247529-bitcoin-exchange-opening-britain/

I almost forgot about that- the 2010 version of status.net looks better than the current one IMO. There was also a project called diaspora...

Investment companies in the U.S. need to register with the SEC Mr. Lombardo....

If you suspect that a customer is paying with stolen money or trying to launder money you have to request further information about the source of the money regardless of the payment type. In this case it was known that the money was involved in crimes - of course the Bitcoins are worth the same, but the client should've been refused for being a criminal. AFAIR BTC-e allowed them to trade the coins tho.

Bitcoin is just more convenient to track for law enforcement and businesses.

Ok, I get it: most people want to keep Digital Goods and the moderators don't want to take actions against bad actors.

Keep in mind that using escrow won't protect you from getting licenses revoked or gift cards reversed - I hate to say that, but I suggest using reversible payment options for purchases in this section (the trust system would be a nice thing if it was reliable)

I'm locking this topic now - stay safe if you're planning to trade Digital Goods.

Rand Paul taking bitcoin donations



WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — In what appears to be a first for a presidential campaign, Rand Paul is accepting donations made in bitcoin.

The cryptocurrency would appear to be a good thematic fit for the presidential campaign of the Republican senator from Kentucky, who has somewhat of a libertarian bent. Paul also accepts credit card or PayPal donations.

While new at the presidential level, candidates for U.S. Congress did take bitcoin after a Federal Elections Commission advisory opinion gave its support.

Most who accept bitcoin as payment quickly convert it into good-old-fashioned U.S. dollars, though the FEC opinion doesn’t require this.

Also read: Bitcoin has no place in your — or any —portfolio.

From four-figure highs, one bitcoin was worth roughly $254 on Tuesday.

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Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rand-paul-taking-bitcoin-donations-2015-04-07

Just arrived:

It should be renamed to "Complaints" if it's for all types of complaints. There's a difference between a scam (fraud) and just a complaint. I suggested Meta, because a few other people used it for complaints:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=905210.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1011858.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=999252.0

This forum is called "Scam Accusations". If you do not have evidence of fraud and you're only posting a complaint here you should move your post to Meta

All they really use is Bitcoin...