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Arctic Sunrise Enters the Kara Sea Environmental campaign organization Greenpeace has announced it will start accepting bitcoin donations in its USA division via a partnership with payment processor BitPay. The move offers cost savings for the organisation, as well as the possibility of tapping into new sources of funds. Greenpeace does not accept donations from corporations or governments, instead, the nonprofit relies on individual donations. This practice comes with a drawback, however, since the cost of many, relatively small, transactions can easily add up. This largely because credit card companies and other traditional payment providers usually charge nonprofits the same as commercial organisations, about 3–4% per transaction. Bitcoin, though, offers significant savings for charities by doing away with these fees. Bitcoin’s cost benefit BitPay and other payment providers like Coinbase do not charge fees for nonprofits, meaning the entire donation is delivered to the charity. BitPay non-profit account manager Elizabeth Ploshay said the company strives to bring bitcoin to nonprofits like Greenpeace. “For each bitcoin donation, Greenpeace gets 100% of what is being donated, increasing the amount of each donation received,” she said. Ben Kroetz, Greenpeace USA director of online strategy, explained why the organisation chose BitPay to process its bitcoin payments: “BitPay’s reputation as a trusted and secure third-party bitcoin payment processor made it easy for us to begin accepting bitcoin, thus opening us up to new markets and donors.” Unrealised potential Bitcoin’s proponents have long been arguing that digital currencies offer a range of potential benefits for charities. Bitcoin transactions can be cheaper and faster than traditional payments, while at the same time offering more possibilities for charities and donors through various escrow and multi-signature services. However, the promise of bitcoin charities has not been fully realised yet. Although a number of successful nonprofits such as homeless outreach Sean’s Outpost were created by bitcoin enthusiasts, most mainstream charities have steered clear from digital currencies. This is now starting to change, though. Earlier this month, United Way Worldwide, which raised $5bn last year, became the biggest privately held charity to accept bitcoin via Coinbase. Wikipedia and a number of open-source software organisations have also decided to start accepting bitcoin donations. Greenpeace is the most recognisable environmental charity in the world, with more than 2,400 employees and 15,000 volunteers, hence its decision to embrace bitcoin can be viewed as another seal of approval for the concept of utilising digital currencies for low-friction fundraising. Disclaimer: CoinDesk founder Shakil Khan is an investor in BitPay. Greenpeace ship image via Will Rose / Greenpeace BitPayCharityGreenpeace
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic

bit-check RegisterBitbank RegisterJapan’s fast-growing digital currency sector has another new player, a multi-service bitcoin company called Bitbank that aims to capitalize on the country’s existing love of both online shopping and electronic payments in physical stores. The company says its motto is ‘Bitcoin for Everyone’ and its feature list now includes a wallet service, a ‘Bitbank Register’ service for local payments at local restaurants, and ‘Bitbank Pay‘ specifically for online businesses. Fees and accounts Bitbank Pay is available to merchants for payments as low as ¥10 (approx. $0.10), with no monthly fees and transaction fees from 0–1.5%. There are more premium services available on its ‘business’ and ‘premium’ plans. Additionally, many fees for those plans are waived or heavily reduced during Bitbank Pay’s introductory period. There is a quick sign-up without need for documentation, and easy implementation into an e-commerce system even for non-coders. bitbank Pay front pagebitbank Pay front pageFunding and development Bitbank has also just completed a second round of funding, having secured over $1.4m in total. Another round is planned in the near future. A spokesperson from the firm, Emily Liu, said it is important for Japan to “be more international” and that bitcoin acceptance is a path to the future. “Bitbank Inc is built with very experienced people, [who] are definitely bitcoin fanatics. The fact that we are all devoted to bitcoin and each of us experienced in different fields, gives us the confidence that we will accomplish our goal of promoting bitcoin to Japan.” The company’s co-founder and CEO is one of Japan’s leading bitcoin evangelists Hiroki Minematsu, a programmer with a long involvement with bitcoin and who has appeared regularly in the Japanese media to discuss digital currency issues. The firm’s second co-founder, Noriyuki Hirosue, was the first to import a Robocoin bitcoin ATM to Japan, and Bitbank plans to launch its own branded machine soon. bitbank Wallet front pagebitbank Wallet front pageThe need to inform Liu said there is still a need to educate people in the country about bitcoin, but that Japanese people had a head start with a range of well-developed electronic cash systems used for transit fares and throughout the retail sector, which include Suica, Pasmo and Edy. “After the Mt Gox incident, a part of Japan has been doubtful when it comes to cryptocurrency, another part still doesn’t know about bitcoin. People are more accepting when something is used daily or in a more common way. It is the same with bitcoin, which is why we started with these services.” Japanese people have also embraced e-commerce as both buyers and merchants, whether independently or at vast shopping online shopping malls like Rakuten and Amazon.jp. For those without credit cards, convenience stores sell a range of debit card solutions. Customers can also use the stores as payment/delivery points. Images via Bitbank AsiaBitbankJapan
Original author: Jon Southurst

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British precious metal and bitcoin exchange Netagio has received ISAE 3000 standard certification for its bitcoin storage following a review by professional financial services firm BDO LLP. The news makes Netagio the first UK bitcoin company to comply with ISAE 3000. ISAE 3000 is internationally recognized by the International Auditing and Assurance Standard Board (IAASB), and assesses quality of assurance work, report verification, internal compliance, corporate governance and other areas of corporate responsibility. Review success The company said it underwent the review earlier this year, which included the evaluation and testing of various control procedures employed on its platform. BDO LLP found that Netagio had put in place “adequate controls” needed to achieve the review’s control objectives. The control procedures covered by the review were in operation as of 26th May 2014. Netagio launched its exchange a few weeks later in July. Netagio said its bitcoin, gold and sterling exchange was designed to “meet the highest compliance requirements and standards” of other registered financial exchanges. Strengthened commitment The company stressed that it adheres to the European Payment Services Directive, with stringent anti-money laundering (AML) rules, diligent customer on-boarding ‘know your customer’ (KYC) checks and continuous exchange and trade monitoring surveillance. Netagio CEO Simon Hamblin said the company is delighted to announce its positive assessment in line with the ISAE 3000 standard. He said: “This latest recognition reinforces our commitment to growing our secure, peer-to-peer exchange platform on which to trade bitcoin, gold and sterling, and is a stepping stone towards maturity in the community of companies operating in the bitcoin space.” Hamblin also said that the bitcoin economy is developing and prompting jurisdictions across the world to re-evaluate their regulatory frameworks. Any steps that can be taken to achieve internationally recognized standards will give further credibility to bitcoin in both financial and retail industries, he added. George Quiqley, partner at BDO, said it is important for Netagio to be able to assure customers that proper controls are in place and that the company’s bitcoin storage complies with international standards. “It is good to see Netagio leading the way for the industry by commissioning an external assurance review,” he said. Gold bullion image via Shutterstock AuditsNetagio
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic

api Development of comprehensive and free bitcoin APIs is one of the latest trends to emerge in the cryptocurrency industry and, like all new trends, it has its pros and cons. API stands for Application Programming Interface, which is a software component that defines a set of functions and allows developers to standardise various aspects of software design. This enables developers to use off-the-shelf APIs and API libraries rather than code everything on their own. The companies behind these new APIs claim they are making development easier, reducing app lead time and costs associated with creating cryptocurrency apps. Critics claim bitcoin APIs are simply not necessary, as they address issues that could be solved by bitcoin core developers and are, therefore, not the best way to move forward. Bitcoin-related APIs are nothing new – they’ve been employed for years – but they’re usually proprietary designs developed by bitcoin service providers such as cryptocurrency exchanges and payment processors. However, a new breed of all-in-one bitcoin APIs is on the way offering something different. Next generation bitcoin APIs A number of bitcoin APIs are currently in development, including the Chain API, BlockCypher API, Gem API as well as APIs developed by industry heavyweights such as Toshi and PlugChain, developed by Coinbase and CEX.io respectively. For the time being, it is impossible to say which one will come to dominate bitcoin app development and it is too early to talk about the finer points of each API, as they are all in beta. However, the basic idea behind all of them is straightforward – comprehensive bitcoin APIs are supposed to reduce the level of expertise needed for app development and save developers a lot of time and money in the process. Bitcoin APIs could, in theory, take the ‘cypherpunk element’ out of crypto app development and allow bitcoin integration in countless apps with very little overhead for the developer. Some bitcoin advocates tend to compare block chain technology to the TCP/IP protocol, as it could be used by regular consumers without even knowing it, the same way we use TCP/IP while browsing the Internet without giving it a second thought. Bitcoin APIs are somewhat different, but they could be likened to popular APIs such as DirectX or Java APIs. People use them when they play games or browse the net, although they are not entirely sure what they do, but they help developers and publishers save money and develop products much faster. However, the nature of bitcoin is somewhat different. For example, DirectX was developed by Microsoft for gaming on Windows and although it is developed with a lot of input from game developers and hardware makers, it is still Microsoft’s API for Windows. Bitcoin APIs can be developed by anyone, their feature set and quality can vary and depend on a number of factors. Adoption is another concern, as developers will be able to choose from a range of different bitcoin APIs or no API at all, which is usually not the case with APIs such as DirectX. Positive and negative impact The idea of speeding up development and making bitcoin services more accessible to app developers offers a range of benefits. With easy to use bitcoin APIs doing all the heavy lifting, bitcoin developers would have more time to deal with actual app functionality rather than coding for bitcoin. It could also bring bitcoin to mainstream apps whose developers would never integrate bitcoin support otherwise, as it would entail too much effort. The downside is that apps built on bitcoin APIs would have to rely on a centralised infrastructure working in unison with the decentralised bitcoin network. Bitcoin developer and creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin told CoinDesk that growth in API services is necessary in some cases, but that to some extent it is also a “sad and unfortunate” development. Buterin explained: “Bitcoin is meant to be a decentralized system and people really should be running a proper bitcoin client on their own server and getting information and pushing transactions through it. The reliance on centralized infrastructure makes it so that bitcoin-based services end up having no higher reliability than their centralized counterparts (often worse since our industry is newer and thus lower-quality).” Buterin highlighted the lack of features in bitcoind/bitcoin core as being the main driving factor behind bitcoin development. One of the most important features missing is headers-first validation, which would allow clients to grab the block headers and act as SPV nodes until they can validate the full chain. With headers-first implementation, a new bitcoind node would become useful in a matter of minutes, but at the moment it takes about three days, said Buterin. Do the benefits outweigh the concerns? Bitcoin APIs could be used for other operations, to provide price feeds, provide Merkle tree proofs of specific transactions and Buterin argues these use cases are justified. The biggest argument in favour of free all-in-one bitcoin APIs is more down to earth. Money is flowing into bitcoin APIs because they have the potential to fuel more mainstream adoption by allowing people to develop bitcoin apps or add bitcoin functionality to existing applications with relative ease. Google’s Play Store and the Apple App Store now carry more than a million apps each, only a negligible fraction of them have cryptocurrency functionality. This huge market is virtually untapped. Bitcoin APIs are supposed to reduce the threshold for crypto app development and allow more developers to integrate bitcoin functionality into their apps, at next to no cost. This is what bitcoin API developers are trying to do; this is why they expect their APIs will eventually fuel more mainstream adoption. The biggest problem is that bitcoin APIs are being designed to tackle shortcomings that shouldn’t exist in the first place. Many concerns will persist, but until the new APIs come out of beta and start making an impact on app development, it is simply too early to pass judgement. Image via Shutterstock APIChain APICoinplugGem API
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic

btcproblemsolving Though it is increasingly acknowledged by major business, investors and governments that bitcoin has the power to become a world-changing financial technology, fundamental issues are still holding back adoption. One of the most prominent, around the world, is the lack of consumer understanding of the subject. For all its development, it remains difficult to explain to the average person just how bitcoin technology can impact their lives – today. This begs the question: in its current form, is bitcoin, both the technology and the wider industry, evolved enough yet to solve real problems for the mass market? The answer, according to experts in the industry, is not yet, though scores of entrepreneurs and startups are working toward this goal, use case by use. Vinny Lingham, CEO of mobile gift card provider Gyft, for example, enables bitcoin to be spent on gift cards – a mainstream use for the bitcoin currency. Even so, Lingham believes many of the strongest use cases for bitcoin have yet to be developed: “I think there are a multitude of use cases for bitcoin that are going to be very regionally specific. The beauty of this technology is that it’s not a one-size-fits-all technology.” Bitcoin in the United States Bitcoin awareness in the US is growing, with the latest polls showing that more than 50% of consumers have heard about bitcoin. Still, the majority – 65% – said they are unlikely to buy the currency. This statistic doesn’t bode well for US startups, most of which are focused on making buying and using bitcoin easier, not applying the technology to more specific use cases. This problem is further compounded by the competition the industry faces in the broader mobile payments space. For example, Apple recently launched Apple Pay as part of its launch of the long-awaited iPhone 6. Though many industry observers are confident in bitcoin’s open community in the long run, in the short term, enabling mobile payments through more familiar credit card accounts could challenge bitcoin. Lingham said: “I’m not sold on bitcoin as a currency per se in the US just yet, but it may become easier for consumers to use over time with some cost benefits.” With Apple Pay, there’s some compelling benefits, as well. For instance, banks, and not merchants, are being charged fees for using the platform, though it remains to be seen whether this will reduce overall costs like bitcoin conceivably could. Competitive mobile payment platforms are a good thing, and hopefully bitcoin stands to benefit from this in the US market. For one, it could mean the recently announced partnership between Coinbase and PayPal subsidiary Braintree will need to produce an even stronger end product that makes the case that consumers can use bitcoin everyday. “I’m not seeing mass market adoption, but perhaps [things like the] PayPal integration will change that,” Lingham added. applepaybenefits Paul Puey, founder of bitcoin wallet Airbitz, was critical of Apple Pay because it, like many of Apple’s other products, is built on a closed platform. In the long term, he argued, this could give bitcoin an edge, as its open platform could appeal to innovators who will build more compelling use cases for the technology. Bitcoin around the world People in more established financial hubs like the US or the UK see the long-term promise of bitcoin and have, to date, treated it more like an investment or a tool capable of cutting costs associated with payment. Outside of these nations, however, many in the bitcoin and wider payments industry believe there is opportunity for the technology to empower financial independence with new products that tackle problems in ways the industry hasn’t yet conceived. The two most often cited reasons that support this assertion are the power and ubiquity of mobile phone technology and the inflation problems of many countries worldwide. Countries with monetary inflationary problems are good candidates to early adopt bitcoin. Source: Economic Policy JournalCountries with the highest inflation rates for 2014 Source: Economic Policy JournalStill, while bitcoin could ultimately solve real problems in this area, there are more immediate use cases for bitcoin in emerging markets. Brian Gamido, whose company Palarin is focused squarely on the Philippines-based bitcoin market, believes that payments and remittance could be bitcoin’s most compelling use cases. Gamido argues: “One of the major global use cases for bitcoin is the ability to send low-cost, near real-time cross-border remittances. According to the World Bank, it costs 5–8% to send money from the US to the Philippines.” In the end If there’s steadfast belief in the community that the problems bitcoin can solve will be refined by the industry itself, it isn’t for a lack of bravado. This has been fueled by tens of millions of dollars of investment in many different sectors of the bitcoin economy – many of which are working to figure out this issue of converting traditional money into a spendable digital format. Bitcoin's hottest investment sectors. Source: CoinDeskBitcoin’s hottest investment sectors. Source: CoinDeskBut, today, bitcoin arguably has few compelling arguments for consumers who aren’t early adopters. Andy Beal, an attorney with Crowley Strategy and advisor for several bitcoin startups, said the burgeoning bitcoin industry should focus on slowly evolving its platform toward expanding this audience: “First, it can continue to innovate and evolve at a rapid pace, particularly the consumer facing layers; keep pushing the ball down the hill. Second, it can continue to refine the narrative – mainstream adoption is as much about marketing as it is about functionality.” The takeaway for entrepreneurs is that having that mindset, and focusing on a particular problem that bitcoin can solve, may be the best way to get a bitcoin company off the ground. Still, Lingham, like many in the industry, believe these use cases are forthcoming. He concluded: “Some people will make it a currency, others will create the financial internet and even more will use it in yet to be thought of ways.” Puzzle image via Shutterstock currencyInflationRemittanceuse cases
Original author: Daniel Cawrey

College Cryptocurrency Network When Patrick Cines meets a fellow student on the campus of Pennsylvania State University, he’ll whip out his phone to show them how quickly bitcoin can be sent from one account to another. “If they say they can already do that with a credit card, I tell them that they’re paying to use that card, one way or another,” he said. Cines is an officer in the College Cryptocurrency Network, a fast-growing organisation that’s trying to connect bitcoin clubs in universities around the world. The network was formed in March and now has about 100 chapters comprising more than 1,000 students globally, although the majority are located on campuses in the United States, according to co-founder Jeremy Gardner. The network aims to sign up student bitcoin organisations at universities as members for free. The network then organises various educational and outreach events across its chapters, pooling resources, like contacts with bitcoin companies and funding, as it does so. For example, the network is organising an October event at Walt Disney World in Florida called Coins in the Kingdom that includes speakers such as Charlie Shrem and others. Recruitment pipline The idea, according to Cines, is to raise awareness of bitcoin and digital currencies on college campuses. One of the advantages this offers to students is potentially guiding them into jobs in a hot new sector. Cines points to banks, accounting and consulting firms who actively recruit new hires on college campuses through a pipeline of internships and placement programmes. “Accounting firms, they see it because they’ve been around for years. They’re lining [students] up for a full-time job. It’s just a matter of time before the bitcoin industry realises the same thing,” he said. The plan seems to be working. According to Cines, several members from MIT have completed summer internships at Circle, the high-profile startup founded by Jeremy Allaire that has raised $26m in funding to date. The network’s members have scored some high-profile hits already. At MIT, in particular, the club there launched a project to give out $500,000 worth of bitcoin to the student body. Dan Elitzer, who started the MIT Bitcoin Club and is CCN’s treasurer, credits the network for its support. “Even though a lot of students look at the MIT Bitcoin Club as a prime example of a successful CCN chapter [...] if you want to make bitcoin a big thing on your campus, just reach out to CCN for resources created by other chapters to get you started,” he said. Sponsorship praise The network doesn’t collect dues from members, so it raises funding from sponsors. These include companies like BitPay and DigitalBTC, who pay up to $25,000 for top-tier sponsorship, Cines said. In return, their brands get exposure to the student population at CCN events. “DigitalBTC sponsored CCN because we were excited about the opportunity to foster the greater take-up of bitcoin on college campuses [...] and the amazing innovation we can see when college students get their hands on new technology,” said DigitalBTC’s CEO Alex Karis. “So far it is going well [...] we’ve even asked if any of the college participants are interested in working with us part-time,” he added. Gardner, the network’s co-founder, says activity among chapters remains concentrated on campuses in the north-eastern United States. This includes MIT and Harvard in Massachusetts, Rutgers in New Jersey and Middlebury College in Vermont. One of CCN’s focuses in the coming months will be to make bitcoin more visible on campuses. Cines says that ATMs are key to that mission. Cines is already working on getting an ATM placed on Penn State grounds. “There has to be more of a physical element to it. More bitcoin ATMs are crucial,” he said. Featured image via College Cryptocurrency Network College Cryptocurrency NetworkEducation
Original author: Joon Ian Wong

BitOcean title page BitOcean Technology Development Co, Ltd has released Chinese-developed and -made bitcoin ATMs with a feature list designed to compete with popular existing products. The new machines – the second generation developed by the Beijing-based company – are two-way kiosks, meaning they enable users to buy and sell bitcoins, with multi-currency support and compliance capabilities to match various jurisdictions. BitOcean founder and CEO Xiaoning Nan told CoinDesk the company is involved in discussions with several buyer-operators. He said: “Our major market is Asia now, because in this region we can provide the best tech support for all our customers and partners. But we would like to sell the BitOcean ATM all over the world.” Comparing popular models BitOcean installed its first machine in the landmark Wangjing Soho office and retail complex in Beijing. In the next few weeks the company will organize an event that invites customers to use its ATM alongside those by Robocoin and Lamassu, and compare experiences. The customer screen interface is available in other languages including Chinese, English and Japanese. A video demonstration of the Chinese version is below.   Nan said the new ATMs offer more enhanced safety and functionality over the first generation, which BitOcean showcased at the Global Bitcoin Summit in Beijing in May. He said the machines, which the company tested for two months prior to release, offer operators a “bank-level experience” in both hardware and software. Improvements include faster processing times – 30 seconds for a withdrawal – and a new multi-function online dashboard for operators. “We updated the core part of the bill acceptor and cash box to be the best class of security that can avoid any error in [its] operation, and our manufacturer is a professional supplier of ATMs for banks.” They allow for transaction confirmations via email, SMS or telephone and paper wallet printing. Operators can connect to major exchanges via APIs. The BitOcean ATM in Beijing's Wangjing Soho complexThe BitOcean ATM in Beijing’s Wangjing Soho complexOn the hardware side, the second generation also includes know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) facilities powered by Jumio, as well as extensible cash boxes holding up to 3,600 bills total. BitOcean will produce customized designs to suit individual customers’ needs. Physical characteristics and price BitOcean has priced their machine at $10,000 per unit, placing it mid-way between the popular Lamassu ($5,000) and Robocoin ($15,000) offerings. There are extra fees for local or international delivery. The freestanding upright machines resemble those of ‘regular’ bank ATMs in shopping malls and bitcoin ATMs by Robocoin and genesiscoin. They stand 176cm tall and weigh 45kg. Each cash box holds 1,200 bills, and one machine can hold three boxes. There is a printer for paper wallets and BitOcean said all internal parts are easily accessible for service. BitOcean's table compares bitcoin ATM featuresBitOcean’s table compares bitcoin ATM featuresImages courtesy of BitOcean AsiaBitOceanChina
Original author: Jon Southurst

Manila, Philippines Many of those at Geeks on a Beach, a recent tech event in the Philippines, agreed that, two years ago, there was nothing here in terms of a startup ecosystem. Today, it’s pretty clear there are several scenes: Cebu and Manila, to name the two biggest, as well as a comprehensive and very well connected tech scene. Why are the Philippines suddenly appearing on the global map of innovation? It’s a mix of the country being a melting pot of Asian, US and Latin cultures; a fast-growing economy (second only to China in terms of growth in Asia); and a few American entrepreneurs who decided to set up in this overlooked 100 million population country. If the emerging markets are often arguably ‘catching up’ with technology, starting by launching copycats to fill the gaps of real estate, cab sharing or e-commerce apps, they also set trends. As for the Philippines, many agreed it was an increasingly hot scene for bitcoin, as we listened to two panels on this topic at Geeks on a Beach and met with entrepreneurs in Manila after the event. Remittances and social interactions So how is it that the Philippines – a developing country with its share of geographical and economical problems – manages to be leaping to the front of the pack when it comes to bitcoin? Some western entrepreneurs now regularly visit the country to check out the cryptocurrency scene’s progress, including Nick Sullivan from Silicon Valley-based ChangeTip. There are two main ingredients that have brought about this state of affairs. The first is remittances. The Philippines is the third largest recipient of money from its workers overseas, after China and India, with $22bn received in 2013. Ron Hose, founder of bitcoin exchange Coins.ph, adds that “internal remittance, people in the Philippines sending money to family and friends in the country, probably adds $50bn to $70bn on top of that”. Both flows of money can earn the legacy money-transmitting companies up to a 10% cut on average remittances of $200 – an industry that bitcoin companies could do very well in disrupting, lowering fees and still making good profit in the process. The second ingredient is the incredible level of social interactions of the Filipinos. It’s not a myth to say that people are over-friendly and connecting the dots, making it both the selfie capital of the world and one of the most active social media nations. Mobile penetration is already beyond the 100% milestone and, combined with the youngest population of South-East Asia and rapid growth, you have what some call the ‘perfect digital storm’. Addressing the unbanked Even the supposed negative assets of the country can turn it in a field of opportunities. Some 75% of the population in the Philippines are unbanked, “and they won’t be banked”, said Hose, adding: “It’s too expensive for a bank with high fixed costs to enroll customers earning a few thousands pesos a month [equivalent to a few hundred dollars], with little to no saving capability.” Sam Kaddoura, co-founder of bitcoin exchange, BuyBitcoin.ph, said: “Those who do not want to go through the hassle of opening bank accounts or pass the requirements for credit cards will embrace bitcoins.” Most of this segment of the population do consume financial products, they add. Lending is often done face to face, with rates going up to 20%. This high price tag can be explained by the ‘convenience’ offered: the loan is in cash, and is given on the spot. To understand this, one really has to take the point of view of a Filipino with no savings at all, facing an unexpected new cost, such as a treatment for a medical condition. You would first ask friends and families, who can send some money through GCash, the mobile money system from telco Globe (which levies fees of about 10%). Then, you would borrow money at 20%. Bitcoin can bring a faster, cheaper solution, even for micro-payments, which are not penalised by miners for their size. Companies such as PayPal, however, charge a minimum fee that makes small payments uneconomical. E-commerce opportunities Besides providing a financial vehicle for the unbanked, there are a lots of opportunities in e-commerce and retail too. With less than 5% credit card penetration today, the typical purchase goes like this. First, research and initiate purchase online. Take the provided payment slip to the nearest bank or accredited receiver to pay in cash. With the payment confirmation code, go back to the website and finish the purchase, the deadline of which will hopefully still be valid. Then, await delivery. This is an incredibly messy process and demands a lot of steps from the potential customer. That’s not to mention all the running around, which, in a city like Manila, known for its floods and terrible traffic jams, could take hours to complete. Today, it is possible to pay in bitcoin via CashCashPinoy and MetroDeal, two Philippine e-commerce platforms, as well as with Bench, a clothing brand somewhat equivalent to Gap in the Philippines. As more merchants are enrolled by the business development teams of the four local bitcoin exchanges, things will only improve for consumers. Creating new services So what would be the next steps for the bitcoin community, if it is to enroll more users and merchants in what still looks like a highly technical phenomenon? “For bitcoins to take off”, said ChangeTip’s Nick Sullivan, “ATMs, bitcoin-backed credit cards, and bitcoin payrolls would help a lot. I bet that in less than 10 years, a government will choose to go with a digital currency. Iceland or Greece would be interesting candidates”. More new services are also starting to appear  that make the most of bitcoin’s support for micropayments. Sullivan is currently working with the customer department services of big brands, and said that a bitcoin-accepting tip jar could be a great use of the technology, adding: “The space of online advertising could change a lot. We all accepted that ugly ads take a third of our screens to access for free a content. Why if micropayments can help content creators offer another business model?” Antony Lewis, of itBIT, a Singapore-based Bitcoin exchange, said that “financial innovation will come from countries like the Philippines”. “We need a common roadmap for that. Today, bitcoin is still terrible to use, when Western Union is everywhere,” he concluded. Martin Pasquier is the founder and lead explorer at Innovation is Everywhere, a media dedicated to startups in the emerging markets and the understanding of tech ecosystems across the world. With his team, he has covered so far a dozen countries, from Nigeria to the Philippines, and helps government agencies and corporates to better understand disruptive trends and how to make the best of it. Martin is a French national based in Singapore when he is not travelling. You can reach him at www.innovationiseverywhere.com. Manila image via Shutterstock PhilippinesRemittances
Original author: Martin Pasquier
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