The Estonian central bank has denied statements by Deutsche Bank suggesting that the Estonian banking system relies on blockchain technology to secure information; a TigerDirect spokesman said the company has been thrilled with its decision to accept bitcoin, and more top stories for August 10.
Estonian Central Bank Denies that Blockchain is Broadly Used by Banks
The Estonian central bank has denied statements by Deutsche Bank suggesting that the Estonian banking system relies on blockchain technology to secure information. Piret Putko, a representative of Estonia’s central bank, said that while there is activity among the country’s banks to develop products based on the technology, there is no nationwide effort to broadly integrate banking and the blockchain.
Putko:
“I guess that blockchain is expected to be put into operation in Estonia soon because one of our banks is developing new products which will be based on blockchain. But, it certainly does not give us the right to say that Estonian banking infrastructure is secured with a blockchain.”
TigerDirect Reports Fantastic Experience and Continued Growth
Online retailer of computers and consumer electronics TigerDirect has been accepting bitcoin for 18 months through BitPay, beginning in January of 2014. Steven Leeds, the head of marketing at TigerDirect now said the company has been thrilled with its decision to accept bitcoin. Leeds noted that Bitcoin has drawn new users to TigerDirect, with 46% of customers purchasing with bitcoin being new users, while the average order placed with bitcoin is 30% larger than other orders.
BitLicense Drives Kraken, Bitfinex, Polynex and Other Bitcoin Companies out of New York
Over the weekend, a wave of Bitcoin companies has left the state of New York due to the infamous BitLicense regulations. As the deadline to comply with the BitLicense passed on Saturday, several prominent exchanges and other businesses have left the Empire State. Among them are BitFinex, Kraken and Polynex. On the other hand, Bitstamp has indicated it will apply for the BitLicense.
Comedian Louis C.K. Begins Accepting Bitcoin
American comedian and producer Louis Székely, professionally known as Louis C.K., has started to accept bitcoin payments for his comedy show performed at Madison Square Garden. The audio-only show can be purchased with bitcoin through BitPay, and customers can choose the price for this audio album. Louis C.K. is the first comedian ever to accept bitcoin for comedy albums and shows.
New bitLanders Game Lets Users Earn Bitcoin
A new mobile game by bitLanders, Flappig, lets users earn bitcoin by playing. Launched late last week, the Flappy Bird style game revolves around a pig called Foo, who is said to be a golden pig that can fly. To earn Bitcoin users have to sign up for a free bitLanders account. As of January 2015, bitLanders claims to have 500,000 users.
Bandago Now Accepts Bitcoin Citing ‘Very Attractive’ Transfer Costs
National van rental company Bandago has started accepting bitcoin payments for rentals and customizations of vans for events, traveling and entertainment. The rental company started accepting bitcoin just a few days ago, and has already processed a few bitcoin payments for van rentals.
Sharky Laguana of Bandago told Cointelegraph:
“We have been on the leading edge of technology since we got started over a decade ago. We were the first van-rental company to include wifi, video games and power outlets with our van rentals, so it was natural for us to offer bitcoin as well. And frankly speaking the prospect of low transfer cost is very attractive.”
9 Crypto Startups Make BBVA Fintech Startup Competition Final
Nine crypto startups have made it through to the finals of this year's BBVA Open Talent competition, a global fintech startup competition organized by the Spanish multinational banking group. Everledger, Safello and Vaultoro will compete in the European final, while the South American final will include Bitnexo and Bitso among its finalists. Bitwage, Coinalytics, SnapCard and Voatz will compete in the North American final.
Gustavo Vinacua, director of Innovation Centers and Open Innovation at BBVA, said:
“Interacting with innovation ecosystems has always been a priority for BBVA, but on this occasion we want BBVA Open Talent to focus on companies and products that can really be applied to the financial services business or those that are related to pioneering products in the development of the Group's new digital services.”
Windows Ethereum Users Affected by Private Key Bug
A security alert has been issued by the Ethereum team regarding users of the Windows AlethZero and eth client. The bug fails to write the private key of some identities, which could result in lost funds transferred to these “lost identities.” A hot fix update has been published in response.
Jutta Steiner of the ETH team wrote:
“While setting privacy permissions on the keys directory, insufficient error handling can cause the key files to not be written; this may be widespread on the Windows platform. As such, current versions of AlethZero and eth may include identities for which there exists no underlying key. Ether Presale Claim functionality of AlethZero may result in funds automatically being transferred to these lost identities.”
