The NYDFS deputy superintendent hints at BitLicense’s imminent release, Rand Paul is set to appear at a digital currency-focused event in New York City this weekend, and more top stories for April 17.

US Presidential Candidate Rand Paul to Appear at Bitcoin Event

Kentucky Senator and the first presidential candidate in the 2016 race to accept bitcoin donations Rand Paul is set to appear at a digital currency-focused event in New York City this weekend. The event will be hosted by Blockchain Technologies Corp, a startup incubator associated with Bitcoin Center NYC, on April 19 at the private venue Union League Club.

BitLicense Coming 'Very Soon'

According to the deputy superintendent for public affairs of the New York Department of Financial Services, Matt Anderson, the final BitLicense proposal should be published “very soon”.

Anderson:

”We take some time to review the comments for potential changes or modifications, and hopefully will publish a final rule soon.”

Coinbase Says North Carolina Bitcoin Regulation is Sensible and Innovative

Coinbase gave some positive comments on the legal framework designed by North Carolina. The bitcoin wallet provider and exchange acknowledged North Carolina for improving a done-to-death Money Transmission Act that, in its latest form, would promote innovation and regulatory efficiency.

Coinbase:

“Reasonable states can disagree on whether regulation of certain virtual currency businesses is necessary in the first place, and if it is necessary, how to implement that regulation and with respect to whom. But to the extent states view money transmission regulation (or similar substitutes) as the right avenue for regulation, here’s why North Carolina’s approach is a good one.”

Australia’s Biggest Telecoms Telstra Eyeing Bitcoin

Amid a challenging regulatory environment, Australia’s biggest telecoms operator Telstra indicated it is considering Bitcoin as a future payment method. Head of the company’s digital operations Monty Hamilton said he is keen to keep in touch with consumer trends with the company having integrated PayPal for payment in 2013.

Hamilton:

“If we see demand from customers these are things we will actively consider […]. The scale of our customer base is representative of society - we see trends so much earlier.”

Australia’s Biggest Telecoms Telstra Eyeing Bitcoin

SecondMarket Rebrands as Genesis Trading

Barry Silbert's Digital Currency Group rebranded the broker-dealer division of SecondMarket as Genesis Trading. Genesis Trading focuses solely on buying, selling and holding bitcoin and some other digital currencies for institutional clients such as hedge funds and alternative asset investors.

Genesis Trading CEO Brendan O' Connor said:

"Our goal is to become the partner of choice for large institutional buyers and sellers who are beginning to recognize the economic potential of digital currency.”

SecondMarket Rebrands as Genesis Trading

Africa Sees Record VC Funding in Q1 2015

Africa has achieved yet another milestone in the world of cryptocurrency as the first quarter of 2015 drew to a close. The continent saw the highest amount of venture capital backing so far according to the State of Bitcoin report, which covered the trends of cryptocurrency in the period; though it should be noted that Bitpesa, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, was the only African cryptocurrency startup to make it into the VC investment section of the report.

Africa Sees Record VC Funding in Q1 2015

Bitcoin Consumer Fair Debuts in Atlanta

The first Bitcoin Consumer Fair comes to the Loudermilk Conference Center in Atlanta today and tomorrow. The educational and trade event addresses consumers and merchants who are interested in expanding the use of bitcoin in the Atlanta area, as well as those interested in working on the business and technology side of Bitcoin.

According to co-organizer Jason Cronk:

“Our goal is to reach a new audience for bitcoin […]. We want to teach as many people as possible about its benefits and answer questions for people who may have heard about bitcoin but don’t know that much about it.”

BlockTrail Enables Default Multi-Sig in New Product Release

Bitcoin API-provider BlockTrail launched its new webwallet this week, including distinguishing features such as sub-wallets, hierarchical deterministic (HD) capabilities and multi-signature security by default. The most interesting of these is arguably the multisig setting, as BlockTrail itself only has access to one of the required seeds for each wallet, meaning the company can never run off with any funds, while users can retrieve bitcoins even if BlockTrail would – for whatever reason – vanish.

BlockTrail Enables Default Multi-Sig in New Product Release

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