Dutch cryptocurrency brokerage Anycoin Direct partners with TrustPay to expand to an additional 14 countries in Europe, NETELLER changes its stand and adds bitcoin deposit feature, bitcoin exchange CoinFloor partners with Estonian bank LHV, and more top stories for March 25.
Estonian Bank LHV Partners with Bitcoin Exchange CoinFloor
Bitcoin exchange CoinFloor announced a partnership with Estonian bank LHV to handle customer deposits.
Andres Kitter, Head of Retail Banking at LHV Bank, commented in a release:
"Services based on blockchain have the potential to change the world. We are very glad to start working with the Coinfloor team and helping them with reliable financial services in exploring this potential. It is good to know that Coinfloor sees technological developments the same way as we do. Coinfloor is a strong partner that takes compliance very seriously and for us as a bank this is very important."
LHV had previously signed a deal with Coinbase to bring the company's bitcoin buying and selling services to 13 European countries.
NETELLER Adds Bitcoin Deposit Feature
NETELLER announced it had added a bitcoin deposit feature, reversing its previous policy that explicitly prohibited the "trade, exchange, purchase or sale of bitcoins, or any other virtual currency," reported CoinDesk.
Bitcoin Brokerage Anycoin Direct Expands to an Additional 14 European Countries
Dutch bitcoin and altcoin brokerage Anycoin Direct expands its instant buying and selling service to an additional fourteen – predominantly Eastern European – countries. The move is the result of a new partnership by Anycoin Direct with the European payment institution TrustPay.
Co-founder Lennert Vlemmings, told Cointelegraph:
"By adding TrustPay it is now possible to buy bitcoins instantly in countries where this was not possible before. This brings us one step closer to our goal; making bitcoin instantly available for everyone."
'Gifting' App Itson.me Adds Bitcoin and Alts Payment
Local restaurant gifting app Itson.me, announced its upcoming acceptance of bitcoin, litecoin, peercoin and blackcoin, with more altcoins possible to follow in the future.
Itson.me will reportedly be using the CXC.bid platform, enabling them to accept virtually every cryptocurrency, although support is focused on the four mentioned, for now. They expect integration to be ready in April but stated that in a worst case scenario, CXC integration will go live in “less than 60 days,” Itson.me told Cointelegraph.
CEO of Itson.me David Leiber, stated:
"[W]e are going to be a bridge from crypto currency communities and supporters into the local brick and mortar businesses that make our cities unique. [...] Now a business that is on the ItsOnMe® platform can automatically accept these digital currencies without changing or doing one thing different and that is a pretty big deal."
BitPay Partners With LibraTax
On Tuesday, LibraTax announced the release of a suite of business grade accounting and tax software for bitcoin.
The two new services, Libra Business and Libra Pro, are aimed at helping businesses and CPAs account for digital currency transactions, and are the result of a partnership with bitcoin payments solutions provider BitPay.
Bryan Krohn, BitPay’s Chief Financial Officer, said in a release:
"BitPay adheres to extremely high standards of accounting and regulatory compliance, and we’re pleased to extend Libra Business to our merchants to enable them to keep track of transactions efficiently, as well as encouraging wider public adoption of the platform by simplifying the process of Bitcoin accounting."
Singaporean Bank Organizes Blockchain Hackhathon
DSB Bank, previously known as The Development Bank of Singapore Limited, announces a blockchain hackathon sponsored by IBM.
Dubbed the DBS Blockchain Hack, the event will take place starting May 8, 8:30am to May 9, 8:00pm, at BASH@Blk79, Ayer Rajah Crescent, Singapore.
Interestingly, the main sponsor of the event is IBM while partners include Startupbootcamp, Infocomm Investments, Coin Republic, and Ideator.
9% of Americans are 'Confused' by the Bitcoin Logo
A recent survey conducted by the Digital Currency Council revealed that across all age groups the predominant reaction evoked by the Bitcoin logo was confusion, suggesting that the majority of Americans are still unaware of the digital currency.
According to the survey, more than 9% reported feeling “puzzled” or “confused” by the Bitcoin logo, while nearly 7% said they felt “nothing.” About 5% of respondents recognized the image as having to do with “money” or “wealth,” while roughly 3% noted the image represented “bitcoin,” 2% expressed indifference, and 1% did not know what the symbol means.
New Jersey School District Network 'Held Hostage' For Bitcoin
The Swedesboro-Woolwich school district's computer system network was hacked over the weekend, affecting the district's entire operations from internal and external communications to its point-of-sale for school lunches, reported local media outlet South Jersey Times.
The hackers, which took over the system with a ransomware, have asked the school district to pay a 500 bitcoin ransom in order to free up their system.
Coinkite Bitcoin API BitKit Now on Tor Network
Canadian Bitcoin startup Coinkite, announces it has made its BitKit API available over the Tor network, enabling users to manage their funds more privately.
Coinkite said in an announcement:
"It is not our goal to facilitate illegal businesses, however [...] we see a need for individuals and businesses to protect their privacy while online. Tor is a fascinating technology that, when correctly used, opens a new kind of Internet which is fully decentralized and, well, free as in freedom."
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