Bitcoin startup TransferB wins the 2015 Deloitte Top Technology Talent Competition, New York Times reporter announces new book on Bitcoin, Coinbase expands to the UK, Bitfinex integrates with AlphaPoint, and more top stories that happened on April 29.
Ripple Labs Partners With Western Union
Ripple Labs has announced a new partnership with Western Union, founder and CEO Chris Larsen said today on Twitter.
The announcement suggests the two entities are working on a remittance-based integration for "real-time settlements," according to Larsen.
"We're excited to announce ... we're working w/@WesternUnion on a pilot to provide infrastructure for real-time settlement."—@chrislarsensf
— Ripple Labs (@RippleLabs) April 28, 2015
New York Times Reporter Announces New Book on Bitcoin
New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper has announced the forthcoming publication of his new book titled "Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money," set to be released on May 19.
Digital Gold aims to provide an in-depth telling of the origins of Bitcoin, and features industry leaders from all parts of the world, prominent personalities such as Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, Peter Thiel and Jamie Dimon, as well as an exclusive email communication between Satoshi Nakamoto and Martti Malmi from 2009, a spokesperson told Cointelegraph.
"Believers from Beijing to Buenos Aires see the potential for a financial system free from banks and governments, and a new global money for the digital age. An unusual tale of group invention, Digital Gold tells the story of the colorful characters who have built Bitcoin, including a Finnish college student; an Argentinian millionaire; a Chinese entrepreneur; Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss; Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s elusive creator; and Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road online drug market."
Coinbase Expands to the UK
San Francisco-based Bitcoin startup Coinbase announced yesterday it has expanded its services, including the Coinbase Exchange, to the UK, with the addition of BTC/GBP and BTC/EUR currency pairs now available for trading.
"Our mission at Coinbase is to make payments more open and efficient around the world," the company wrote in a blog post. "Expanding to the UK is an important step towards that goal and will make it easier to access bitcoin in one of the financial capitals of the world."
Bitstake to Provide Crypto-Based Financial Services to 178M Nigerians
Bitstake, a Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange startup, is looking to provide 178 million people with a wide range of crypto-based financial services, including the ability to access and use their digital wallets through SMS.
Bitstake CTO Alexander Christian said that his company was looking to offer an easy way for locals to exchange between cryptocurrencies and naira, the local fiat currency, while providing the Nigerian diaspora with a cost-effective alternative to traditional money transfer services such as MoneyGram or Western Union.
"By creating a wallet on Bitstake, one can send and receive money from anywhere in the world at the cost of 1% of the value moved. Those who choose to have their funds held on the platform will also earn interest. Furthermore, there are options of trading, lending and getting low-cost loans."
Bitcoin Startup Wins 2015 Deloitte Top Tech Talent Competition
TransferB, a Bitcoin startup that is looking to leverage the blockchain to enable efficient and cost-effective global remittances, won the 2015 Deloitte Top Technology Talent Competition, reported Silicon Republic.
Harry Goddard, partner-in-charge of technology at Deloitte, told the media outlet:
"Ultimately, the judging panel members felt that [TransferB founders'] technology could deliver demonstrable value and efficiencies to customers who were transferring funds internationally. In addition to having a revolutionary idea, we were very impressed with the validity of the business plan and sophistication of their implementation strategy."
Bitfinex Completes Integration with AlphaPoint
Hong Kong-based Bitcoin exchange Bitfinex has announced it has completed the first stage of the migration to the AlphaPoint platform, allowing users to access a new WebSocket API for market data, including order book updates and real-time executions.
“This is just the first step in our ongoing process to deliver the most reliable and featurerich trading experience for our users," Josh Rossi, Vice President of Business Development at Bitfinex, said in a release.
"We are actively enhancing and developing features that we expect will be warmly embraced by the trading community. While we take every precaution in this integration, we think this is a major step in that process."
GetGems Now Available on the App Store
GetGems, an instant messaging app that combines messaging functionality of Telegram and a Bitcoin mobile wallet, has released its iOS app now available on the App Store.
Daniel Peled, CEO of GetGems, said in a release:
"Having both iOS and Android versions available much earlier than we anticipated is a testament to the development team's abilities. We are now able to devote our efforts to the attention economy and referral system, within the GetGems app."
Tether Integrates with Rivetz
Tether, a blockchain-enabled platform that allows traditional currencies to be used like Bitcoin, announced on Tuesday it had integrated with Rivetz to provide users with a secure mobile payment system.
Steven Sprauge, founder and CEO at Rivetz, said in a release:
"We're excited to partner with Tether to put real money on a phone. Together, the companies combine state-of-the-art mobile payment systems with the advantages of cryptocurrency, tying them to units of value consumers are most familiar with."