Latest Blockchain News: Finextra Research

Overstock buys stake in ATS for digital securities push

Online retailer Overstock has stepped up its plans to issue "digital securities" through the acquisition of a 25% stake in alternative trading system (ATS) PRO Securities, according to Wired.

20 May 2015

News/Blockchain

Nyse debuts bitcoin index

The New York Stock Exchange is stepping up its involvement in the Bitcoin ecosystem with the launch of a bitcoin index.

19 May 2015

News/Blockchain

Cryex turns to Cinnober for digital currency trading platform

Swedish digital currency marketplace Cryex has selected Cinnober to supply a hosted version of its trading, clearing and surveillance platform, in a further sign of the collision between virtual currencies and traditional exchange dealing technology.

19 May 2015

News/Blockchain

Ripple scores $28 million funding round

Digital currency outfit Ripple Labs has closed a $28 million Series A funding round that includes IDG Capital Partners and the venture arms of CME Group and global data storage company Seagate Technology.

19 May 2015

Company update/Blockchain

BTCS invests $1.5 million in Spondoolies

Bitcoin Shop, Inc. (OTCQB: BTCS) (“BTCS” or the “Company”), a blockchain technology company that engages in transaction verification services, announced today that it has invested $1.5m into Spondoolies-Tech Ltd (“Spondoolies”), a transaction verification server manufacturer.

18 May 2015

Company update/Blockchain

Nasdaq Stockholm lists bitcoin-based certificate

Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) announced that Bitcoin Tracker One (short name: BITCOIN XBT), a tracker certificate that uses the digital currency Bitcoin as underlying asset, starts trading today at Nasdaq Stockholm.

18 May 2015

News/Blockchain

Live: EBAday 2015, day two

Payments professionals from across Europe are gathering in Amsterdam this week for EBAday 2015, hosted by the Euro Banking Association and Finextra. We're liveblogging events here.

13 May 2015

News/Blockchain

EBA explores digital interfaces and crypto-technologies

The Euro Banking Association (EBA) has published two ‘hot topic’ reports on Digital Customer Service Interfaces (DCSI) and crypto-technologies at its EBAday payments conference today in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with the intention of detailing the electronic payments landscape of the future.

12 May 2015

News/Blockchain

Banks rethinking business models as PSD2 looms - Finextra research

Europe's banks are engaged in a do-or-die effort to prepare for the 2016 introduction of new payments regulations that are expected to usher in a wave of fresh competition and innovation across the sector, according to research conducted by Finextra

12 May 2015

News/Blockchain

Nasdaq OMX embraces the blockchain

Exchange operator Nasdaq OMX is set to start using blockchain technology for the issuance, transfer and management of private company securities.

11 May 2015

News/Blockchain

Swedish startup preps institutional digital currency marketplace and clearing house

A startup with $10 million in funding behind it has applied to Sweden's financial watchdog to become a regulated institutional foreign exchange and digital currency marketplace and clearing house.

07 May 2015

News/Blockchain

ItBit becomes first bitcoin firm to get New York charter; raises $25m

ItBit has raised $25 million in funding and become the first virtual currency firm to receive a charter from New York state's financial regulator, enabling the exchange to open its doors to customers throughout the US.

07 May 2015

News/Blockchain

US authorities throw the book at Ripple Labs

Ripple Labs has been fined $700,000 by the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the first successful civil enforcement action against a virtual currency exchange.

06 May 2015

Finextra TV/Blockchain

Responding to a new wave of change

Daniel Marovitz, president of Europe, Earthport, talks about the pressures of regulatory change, the relationship of banks to new technology companies and the role crypto and distributed ledger technologies will play in the future of banking.

06 May 2015

Company update/Blockchain

Bitstamp integrates Vogogo compliance and risk management tech

Risk management and payment processing specialist Vogogo Inc. (“Vogogo”) (TSX VENTURE:VGO) today announced the integration of its proprietary compliance, risk management and payment processing platform with leading Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp.

05 May 2015

News/Blockchain

Steve Wozniak joins board of blockchain-tapping ATM startup

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has joined the board of a new fintech firm promising to use the blockchain to overhaul the ATM market.

04 May 2015

News/Blockchain

Malawi takes steps to create a digital payments ecosystem

Plans to develop a payments infrastructure in order to address poverty and financial inclusion were announced at an event organized by the Government of Malawi with the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s (UNCDF), Better Than Cash Alliance and Mobile Money for the Poor initiatives.

30 April 2015

News/Blockchain

Goldman Sachs invest in Circle

Circle, a consumer finance provider that allows users to make payments using digital currencies, has announced a new $50 million strategic investment round co-led by Goldman Sachs and IDG Capital Partners.

30 April 2015

News/Blockchain

UBS gets cryptic with crypto job ad

UBS has devised a novel way of weeding out unsuitable candidates for roles at its new London innovation lab: tweeting a cryptic message that sends job seekers on a hunt to the blockchain.

30 April 2015

News/Blockchain

Overstock looks to issue Bitcoin-style stocks

Overstock, the online retailer building a crypto-securities exchange, has revealed that it may issue up to $500 million in stock through blockchain-style technology.

29 April 2015