New York-based bitcoin exchange Coinsetter acquired the Canadian bitcoin exchange CAVIRTEX, Microsoft seems to be working on a smart payments solution and more top stories for April 9.

Coinsetter acquires CAVIRTEX

New York-based bitcoin exchange Coinsetter has announced that it acquired the Canadian bitcoin exchange CAVIRTEX. As such, CAVIRTEX reopened its doors to customers on Wednesday and resumed trading under Coinsetter’s leadership. The two exchanges will operate under their own names, sharing technology, capital, management, and banking access to maximize value to traders. Previous account holders at CAVIRTEX and Coinsetter will continue to be able to use their existing login credentials at the same websites to obtain access to their accounts.

Microsoft Might be Working on Payment Solution

It looks like Microsoft is working on a smart payment solution, which may see the light of day in the coming months. A recent report revealed a license filed by the software giant with the regulatory bodies for a mobile payments company known as Microsoft Payments Inc. while the company also registered with the FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) in the US Department of Treasury.

Overstock Unveils Bitcoin-Only Discounts

Overstock.com is planning to conduct exclusive bitcoin-only customer outreach, including sales and discounts. The firm’s director of communications Judd Bagley explained that “incentives” were part of what was needed to increase consumer adoption of cryptocurrency:

“We’re preparing to do our part to short circuit the cycle by adding additional motivations for customers to use bitcoin. For example, there will soon be bitcoin-only sales and discounts for purchases made with bitcoin.”

Overstock Unveils Bitcoin-Only Discounts

Adam Draper: New York's BitLicense Will Hurt Startup Incubators

Boost VC CEO Adam Draper has launched a petition seeking a number of changes to New York’s proposed BitLicense framework. The petition calls for New York regulators to limit the amount of information they gather on virtual currency startups to what is mandated by federal standards, that the BitLicense avoid using duplicative language already enshrined in federal law, and that regulators give their approval for what Draper calls a “sandbox of innovation in the financial markets”.

Draper:

“The BitLicense framework will definitely impair bitcoin startups from starting, which would impact my business negatively. My business is to drive innovation in technology, and over-regulation stops technology. It will not hurt the companies who have been well funded, or large funds, it will hurt the early staged startups.”

Scammers Accessed Coinbase Backup E-Mail Provider

Coinbase executives have informed alarmed users on Twitter and Reddit that scammers managed to gain access to their secondary e-mail provider, Sendgrid. Both users of Coinbase and non-users received phishing mails from [email protected] Coinbase admins have now taken steps to stop further activity from the scammers.

First Fintech-Only Hub Opens in Sydney to ‘Disrupt Banking’

The Tyro Fintech Hub has opened in the heart of the Central Business District in Sydney. Its main objective is to work with startups working to disrupt or innovate in finance, banking, or insurance - whether it involves with cryptography, personal finance, data analytics, Bitcoin, or innovative market models such as peer-to-peer.

Andrew Corbett-Jones, head of the Tyro Fintech Hub, said:

“Australia is late to the party, but the time has come for financial services to be disrupted and radically improved by a swarm of fintech entrepreneurs.”

First Fintech-Only Hub Opens in Sydney to ‘Disrupt Banking’

Opalcoin Launches In-Wallet Decentralized Filesharing

The developers of the anonymous altcoin Opalcoin recently implemented Opal Drive, a decentralized file sharing system. This works similarly to the encrypted messaging system: by inputting the public address of another Opal Core wallet owner, users can send encrypted files to one another.

International Law Office Offers Bitcoin Expertise

The International Law Office (ILO), a global nexus where financial institutions engage with pre-eminent law firms, is launching a new service that gives counsel subscribers the ability to pose topical questions to an international panel of experts. Interestingly, ILO's first headline topic is Bitcoin.

ILO writes in their new newsletter:

“Despite recent fluctuations in value, the Bitcoin phenomenon shows no signs of slowing. The meteoric rise of the cryptocurrency presents a range of issues that law enforcement agencies, legal regulators and tax authorities must consider in determining how it fits within their existing regulatory frameworks.”

Bitcoin Foundation Discloses Controversial Restructuring Proposal

The Bitcoin Foundation considers splitting into two separate organizations. One of these organizations would effectively be the continuation of the current foundation, but reorganized as a promotional body. The other would be a made up of the core development team, split off to focus exclusively on development of the core protocol — which is currently the Bitcoin Foundation's mission.

Bitcoin Foundation Discloses Controversial Restructuring Proposal

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