ECB report suggests that digital currencies can "jeopardize financial stability," Coinnect launches new "rebittance" in Argentina and Mexico, Google announces Android Pay, and more top stories for March 3, 2015.

Digital Currencies Can 'Jeopardize Financial Stability,' Says ECB

The European Central Bank had released an in-depth analysis on "Virtual Currency Schemes," suggesting that digital currencies could be a threat to the ECB's ability to function.

The report reads:

"Although VCS can have positive aspects in terms of financial innovation and the provision of additional payment alternatives for consumers, it is clear that they also entail risks.

[...]

Conceptually, VCS could jeopardise financial stability. However, it was considered that they were inherently unstable, but did not jeopardise financial stability given their limited connection to the real economy (i.e. the exchange rates and the exchange markets), the low volumes traded and the lack of wide user acceptance."

New 'Rebittance' Service to Latin America

Volabit, in collaboration with SatoshiTango, launched a new money transfer service dubbed Coinnect.

Described as a "Bitcoin-powered international money bridge for remittances and global commerce," Coinnect allows users to send and receive funds from/to Argentina and Mexico.

Speaking with CoinDesk, SatoshiTango CEO, Matias Bari, stated:

"[Users] don't need to know anything about bitcoin. We took bitcoin out of the equation and moved it to the back end. So consumers are just paying in Argentine pesos, executing the transaction and someone is receiving Mexican pesos on the other side of the world."

Peter Thiel Comments on Bitcoin

Paypal co-founder and angel investor, Peter Thiel, shares his insights about the state of Bitcoin at the Buttonwood Gathering 2015, an international conference that focuses on the future of finance and global economic growth, reported CCN.

While Thiel believes Bitcoin had succeeded in creating a new currency, the entrepreneur said the digital currency isn't a threat to the US dollar. He stated:

"As long as you have to have dollars to pay your taxes, if you don’t have dollars to pay your taxes, people with guns will come after you and lock you up, or do something bad to you. You can use Bitcoin to pay your taxes. You still have to convert Bitcoins into dollars to pay taxes. So on that level, it doesn’t threaten the dollar as a reserve currency, which is ultimately backed by military/law enforcement power."

Watch Thiel's keynote interview:

 

 

Google Announces 'Android Pay'

Speaking at MWC 2015, Google's SVP of Product, Sundar Pichai, said his company is working on launching Android Pay, a payments framework that will power mobile payments across Android devices, with which developers will be able to leverage as an API framework to build payments into their own apps, reported AndroidCentral.

Furthermore, Pichai said Google Wallet will not go away, as the mobile payment system should leverage Android Pay as a payments source.

LazyCoins Launches CryptoCurrency Trading Platform

LazyCoins had taken its platform out of beta and launched its digital currency exchange in bid to leading the digital currency space.

Danial Daychopan, CEO and founder of LazyCoins, told LazyTV:

"We’ve listened hard to the feedback from users during beta testing and have made huge leaps forward, not least in the visual design and user experience, and we’ve been making our security procedures ever more robust to ensure LazyCoins is the exchange people just trust."

The exchange further said it is expecting to launch its merchant service and mobile app, LazyPay, in a couple months.

LazyCoins Launches CryptoCurrency Trading Platform

SnapCard Opens Beta Testing for Bitcoin Wallet

SnapCard, a digital currency startup launched in 2013, has started to send out invites to test its SnapCard Bitcoin Wallet.

SnapCard Bitcoin Wallet allows users to easily convert, store and spend bitcoins, litecoins and dogecoins.

The service is currently available for US residents, and iOS users can already download the SnapCard Bitcoin Wallet on the iPhone App Store.

iOS Game Allows Players to Earn Bitcoin for Referrals

Uranus Attacks!- a game that consists in saving human kind from a "reptilian alien invasion," was released on iOS on March 1, after a six month period that consisted in finding the appropriate way to implement bitcoin into a gaming experience, developer, Amer Oureshi, told CoinDesk.

Qureshi stated:

"I don’t know what the latest stats are, but there are only 2 million people with bitcoin out there, but think of how many people have games. With all of these people from the gaming side starting to get bitcoin for free, knowledge of bitcoin could grow beyond what it is today and that’s good for everyone."

New Bitcoin ATM in Manhattan

PYC Bitcoin announced on March 2, it had successfully set up a new Bitcoin ATM in Manhattan, New York.

According to Coin ATM Radar, the Lamassu Bitcoin ATM is located at Old Man Hustle bar, 39 Essex St, and is available everyday afternoon until late in the night.

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