Proving once again that Bitcoin is not just for illicit purchases (you can go to space with it too!), a man bought a Tesla Model S car with bitcoins. The purchase is reportedly the first Tesla, and possibly the first car ever, to be bought with the online currency.
Lamborghini Newport Beach in Southern California sold the car, the dealership announced on its blog last Wednesday, but the buyer is currently unknown.
"We just sold our very first vehicle with Bitcoin as payment," reads the blog post. "That's right, an electronic currency was used to purchase a fully electric vehicle." The dealership, which is not operated by Tesla, also announced that it would accept Bitcoin payments going forward.
There aren't many details available about the purchase, but the dealership's marketing director, Cedric Davy, told CNN that a man from Florida bought the car for 91.4 bitcoins, which at the time were equivalent to $103,000. Though the price of the notoriously volatile currency dropped shortly after the sale, CNN reports that payment processor BitPay locked in Tuesday's Bitcoin price for both buyer and seller.
While the dealership didn't previously accept Bitcoin, when the man called asking if he could pay with it, they researched the electronic currency and worked with BitPay to make the sale happen.
"All these people have bitcoins," Davy told CNN. "I think some people are trying to spend it."
Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Original article and pictures take a.amz.mshcdn.com site
Making sense of bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain
Overview
There has been a lot of noise recently about terms like "bitcoin," "blockchain," and "cryptocurrency." Some of it is hype, but some of it points to important forces in the financial services industry. So what does it all mean?
We can help. We’ve pulled together a few short articles that explain why a lot of industry observers are paying close attention.
Let's start with some quick definitions. Blockchain is the technology that enables the existence of cryptocurrency (among other things). Bitcoin is the name of the best-known cryptocurrency, the one for which blockchain technology was invented. A cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange, such as the US dollar, but is digital and uses encryption techniques to control the creation of monetary units and to verify the transfer of funds.
A look at blockchain technology
Blockchain also has potential applications far beyond bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Blockchain is, quite simply, a digital, decentralized ledger that keeps a record of all transactions that take place across a peer-to-peer network. The major innovation is that the technology allows market participants to transfer assets across the Internet without the need for a centralized third party.
From a business perspective, it’s helpful to think of blockchain technology as a type of next-generation business process improvement software. Collaborative technology, such as blockchain, promises the ability to improve the business processes that occur between companies, radically lowering the “cost of trust.” For this reason, it may offer significantly higher returns for each investment dollar spent than most traditional internal investments.
Financial institutions are exploring how they could also use blockchain technology to upend everything from clearing and settlement to insurance.
For an overview of cryptocurrency, start with “Money is no object.” This paper, from PwC’s Financial Services Institute, focuses on cryptocurrency. We explain where it came from, how much consumers know about it and use it, what it will take for the market to grow, and what the regulators think. We also look at how market participants, such as investors, technology providers, and financial institutions, will be affected.
For some quick background on blockchain, take a look at these two short articles.
The first Q&A provides some examples of the innovative uses of blockchain implemented by financial institutions and an overview of the challenges and opportunities that blockchain presents for the industry.
For a deeper dive into blockchain’s implications, read “A strategist’s guide to blockchain.” This article, from strategy+business, examines the potential benefits of this important innovation — and also suggests a way forward for financial institutions. Put simply, proceed deliberately. Explore how others might try to disrupt your business with blockchain technology, and how your company could use it to leap ahead instead. In all cases, link your investments to your value proposition, and give your business partners and your customers what they want most: speed, convenience, and control over their transactions.
For a peek into the application of blockchains for smart contracts, check out “Blockchain and smart contract automation”. This short series of articles explore how blockchains, both public and private, have triggered a global hunt for ways to remove friction from transaction-related processes, including the process of reaching contractual agreements. Learn about the precursors, challenges, and future outlook of implementing smart contracts. We also chat with Gideon Greenspan of Coin Sciences to learn about his views on the legal ramifications of public blockchains and why companies are seeking alternatives.
When a technology moves so quickly, it’s dangerous to sit on the sidelines. We’re watching blockchain move from a startup idea to an established technology in a tiny fraction of the time it took for the Internet or even the PC to be accepted as a standard tool. Blockchain technology could result in a radically different competitive future for the financial services industry. These articles will help you understand these changes — and what you should do about them.
How PwC can help
Any blockchain solution, no matter how prescient, is only as good as its execution. This is where PwC excels—by offering proven expertise in managing complex implementation programs from start to finish.
What PwC delivers:
Business and functional requirements
Design, development, testing and training of blockchain solutions
Integration and management of third party implementation partners
Rigorous PMO and proactive management of overall efforts
Original article and pictures take www.pwc.com site
Make the BITCOIN great - btc crypto currency T-Shirt Independent artist’s content may not match model depicted; RealView™ technology illustrates fit and usage only. Original article and pictures take www.zazzle.com site
Localbitcoins Trading Volume Sets New Global All-Time High
Peer-to-peer (P2P) bitcoin trading on Localbitcoins established a new global weekly all-time high for the week of the 19th of September, largely driven by an exodus of capital from China’s cryptocurrency markets. The spike in global P2P trading volume has seen record-breaking Localbitcoins trading volume across numerous international markets, including China, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela in recent weeks.
China’s Crackdown on Cryptocurrency Exchanges Has Forced Many Traders to Use P2P and OTC Markets
The Chinese Localbitcoins markets set a new all-time high for trade volume this past week, with over 115 million CNY worth of bitcoin being exchanged. Many believe that the record volume is a direct result of China’s cryptocurrency crackdown, which has driven traders to use platforms that are outside of the Chinese central government’s control.
Switzerland also witnessed record highs in P2P bitcoin trading volume this week, establishing a new high of approximately 140,000 francs. The high comprises the second consecutive week that the Swiss Localbitcoins markets set a new all-time for trading volume, following a 37 percent increase in trading volume during the week of the 19th of September.
Many International P2P Bitcoin Markets Witnessed a Significant Spike in Volume During the Week of the 19th of September
Malaysia’s Localbitcoins markets established a new all-time high for trading volume last fortnight. Approximately 5.27 million ringgit worth of bitcoin was traded on Localbitcoins during the week of September 19th – a more than 25 percent increase over the preceding week’s record volume of 3.6 million ringgit. Thailand also broke its previous P2P weekly volume record by 25 percent during the same week, establishing a new all-time high of approximately 29.5 million baht.
The United Arab Emirates witnessed a dramatic spike in Localbitcoins trade volume, breaking its preceding weekly all-time high of approximately 1 million dirhams by nearly 36 percent to set a record of 1.59 million dirhams. New Zealand-based weekly P2P bitcoin trading also shot up by over 50% during the week of the 19th of September, setting a new high of 1.3 million NZD.
India and Pakistan set weekly P2P volume highs during September, with India setting a new all-time high of almost 70 million Indian rupees in trade last week. The record comprises the second consecutive weekly all-time high to be set by the Indian Localbitcoins markets. Pakistan set a new record of 47.5 million Pakistani rupees in trade during the week of the 9th of September and has witnessed strong volume throughout the month since.
P2P Bitcoin Trading and the Total Bitcoin Market Capitalization Show Signs of Divergence
The total bitcoin market capitalization and global P2P bitcoin trading volume are showing signs of divergence during September, following numerous months of relative correlation. This divergence likely signifies that much of the spike in volume across international P2P bitcoin markets can be attributed to traders based outside of China withdrawing capital from China’s cryptocurrency exchanges.
Venezuela’s Localbitcoins trading volume has also set numerous all-time highs for trade volume in recent months, signifying an intensification of the country’s hyperinflation crisis which has seen the Bolivar lose more than 77% of its value in the last decade. In an interview with CNBC, Daniel Osorio of Andean Capital Advisors recently described Venezuela’s monetary crisis as “potentially [driving] the first bitcoinization of a sovereign state… out of necessity.”
Do you think that China’s crackdown is largely responsible for the international spike in localbitcoins trading volume? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Coindance, Localbitcoins
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The digital currency fell below $300 after its founder Charlie Lee, a former director at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, said he would sell all of his holdings to avoid conflicts of interest.
“Litecoin has been very good for me financially, so I am well off enough that I no longer need to tie my financial success to Litecoin’s success,” Lee said in a Reddit post.
It fell from around $320 on December 20 to $210 just two days later as rumors swirled the interwebs around Lee’s intentions in selling off his coins.
Some cryptocurrency watchers said the move indicated that Lee had lost faith in the digital currency, while others said he was swapping his litecoin for positions into other digital currencies.
Saturday’s gains represent one of its biggest rallies since Lee said he would sell his holdings.
It also follows another surprising announcement by Lee. He took to Twitter on December 30 to say he would “need to step away” from litecoin for it to thrive.
“Seeing how people lost trust because I sold makes me more convinced that it was the right move,” he said. “Litecoin was too centralized and dependent on me. Eventually, for Litecoin to succeed, I need to step away.”
He said he would wait until it returns to all-time highs before stepping aside. Litecoin peaked above $380 a day before Lee said he would sell his holdings. Lee created the digital currency in 2011.
Litecoin and bitcoin, given the similarities between their technological underpinnings, are often called the silver and gold of the cryptocurrency world.
Original article and pictures take www.24cryptoroom.com site
L'échange DMM Bitcoin du Japon s'ouvre pour les affaires avec 7 Cryptocurrencies
Le géant japonais du commerce électronique et du divertissement, DMM Group, a lancé son système d'échange crypto, prenant en charge 7 crypto-monnaies et 14 paires de transactions. Le groupe se prépare également à lancer un autre échange de crypto au printemps destiné aux investisseurs inexpérimentés.
Lancement de l'échange de chiffrement de DMM
Le conglomérat Internet et de divertissement japonais DMM Group a lancé un échange de crypto-monnaie sous la marque DMM Bitcoin. La plateforme a commencé à se négocier le jeudi 11 janvier.
Pour commémorer l'ouverture officielle, l'échange donne 1 000 yens (~ $ US9) à tous les clients qui ouvrent un nouveau compte pendant la période de campagne entre le 11 janvier et le 11 mars.
Matériel promotionnel DMM Bitcoin.
Les clients peuvent échanger sur leur PC ou utiliser une application Android ou iOS. La plate-forme supporte bitcoin (BTC), litecoin (LTC), éther (ETH), ethereum classique (ETC), nem (XEM), bitcoin cash (BCH), et ondulation (XRP). Quatorze paires de devises sont disponibles à la vente. En plus des 7 pièces de monnaie échangées contre yen, 7 paires de négociation crypto-crypto sont offertes; ils sont ETH / BTC, ETC / ETH, XEM / BTC, XRP / BTC, LTC / BTC, ETC / BTC et BCH / BTC.
Selon l'annonce de DMM, la bourse utilise une plate-forme de négociation fournie par Simplex Inc. appelée «Simplex Cryptocurrency». Cette plate-forme offre des outils de négociation pour les investisseurs généraux, les systèmes de gestion d'entreprise et un système de négociation.
Simplex fournit des systèmes de négociation de titres et de devises aux principales banques et sociétés de services financiers telles que SBI Holdings, GMO Group, Nomura Securities, Matsui Securities, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho Bank et Money Partners Group. La société a récemment commencé à offrir un système de négociation crypto-monnaie et DMM Group est son premier client pour le nouveau service.
L'échange d'un autre DMM bientôt
En outre, une filiale de DMM Group lance un nouvel échange de crypto-monnaie. Next Currency Inc a annoncé plus tôt cette semaine qu'elle avait déposé auprès de l'autorité financière japonaise l'enregistrement d'une nouvelle bourse appelée Cointap.
"Cointap est un service qui vous permet d'acheter et de vendre facilement des monnaies virtuelles à partir de smartphones", a ajouté "mieux adapté pour ceux qui veulent lancer des transactions en monnaie virtuelle telles que les bitcoins". En outre, l'entreprise affirme:
Depuis lors, les échanges de devises virtuelles sont centrés sur les services destinés aux personnes ayant une connaissance et une expérience d'investissement de la monnaie virtuelle, ils sont à la mode mais difficiles à comprendre et difficiles à utiliser.
Citant qu'il y a beaucoup d'investisseurs inexpérimentés qui ne savent pas comment acheter ou vendre, la filiale DMM a expliqué que Cointap sera adapté aux investisseurs entrant sur le marché pour la première fois.
Que pensez-vous de DMM Bitcoin Exchange et Cointap? Faites-nous savoir dans la section commentaires ci-dessous.
Original article and pictures take www.itech-pro.com site
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