Original author: Vasilije Markovic
Coin News
This is Part Two of a three-part series aimed at learning more about the merchants who accept bitcoin and support the wider digital currency ecosystem. The results are based on a survey issued 17th March that received more than 200 responses. Part One of this series sought to better define the merchants who are taking part in the bitcoin ecosystem.
In the first installment of our merchant survey, we uncovered that the majority – 59% – of merchants are accepting bitcoin to better support the bitcoin ecosystem. However, the bigger takeaway from this statistic is that the main driver of bitcoin adoption is not its cost-cutting benefits when compared to traditional financial tools.While bitcoin benefits from adding like-minded merchants to the ecosystem, the true expansion of bitcoin as a currency and payment method will likely rest on convincing those who may not believe fully in bitcoin’s underlying political motivations and ideology.As such, it’s arguable that the most important question when it comes to merchant expansion is, if the savings bitcoin provides isn’t a major factor: Do merchants that accept bitcoin see a sales increase for doing so? And if so, do they make enough to convince those who might have reservations about joining the movement?To date, we know that major retailers are achieving this result. Online retail giant Overstock topped $1m in sales in just under two months of accepting bitcoin, and TigerDirect followed suit, passing this milestone in a similar timeframe.What isn’t clear, though, is if smaller and mid-size merchants are achieving similar results.In Part Two of this series, we’ll seek to examine more broadly how merchants are accepting bitcoin and what their success to date has been.25% attribute more than 10% of their monthly sales to bitcoinIn total, our survey found that 24.5% – or roughly one-fourth – of respondents indicated that more than 10% of monthly sales are attributable to bitcoin purchases.It’s important to note that an unknown number of these respondents are likely bitcoin-only businesses, but that we do know that some merchants are achieving similar results even when accepting fiat currency.The majority of merchants (56%), however, say that bitcoin is attributable to 0% to 2% of their total monthly sales.The graph also shows that about one-fifth of merchants see a sales increase of between 3% and 10%,Though, it should be noted that Part One of our survey showed half of respondents have only been accepting bitcoin for under three months, meaning this figure may be due to the initial bump in sales most merchants report.44% say it’s ‘very easy’ to accept bitcoinThe survey also asked merchants to rate how difficult it was to start accepting bitcoin, and in the process debunked a long-standing myth that accepting bitcoin is an onerous process.Overall, 42.7% said it was ‘very easy’ to begin accepting bitcoin, while an additional 35.39% said it was ‘easy’. Just 1.12% reported that it was ‘difficult’ to begin accepting the digital currency.On a scale of one to 10, with 10 representing the highest difficulty, respondents, on average, reported that accepting bitcoin had a difficulty level of 2.44% use BitPayOur survey also sought to examine which business partners are most popular for merchants, and revealed BitPay to be the clear frontrunner in the market, capturing 44% of the vote.Coinbase came in second with 36% of the total vote, while the standard-issue Bitcoin-QT wallet came in third in terms of total responses.Smaller percentages were observed for merchant processors GoCoin and BIPS.
In the first installment of our merchant survey, we uncovered that the majority – 59% – of merchants are accepting bitcoin to better support the bitcoin ecosystem. However, the bigger takeaway from this statistic is that the main driver of bitcoin adoption is not its cost-cutting benefits when compared to traditional financial tools.While bitcoin benefits from adding like-minded merchants to the ecosystem, the true expansion of bitcoin as a currency and payment method will likely rest on convincing those who may not believe fully in bitcoin’s underlying political motivations and ideology.As such, it’s arguable that the most important question when it comes to merchant expansion is, if the savings bitcoin provides isn’t a major factor: Do merchants that accept bitcoin see a sales increase for doing so? And if so, do they make enough to convince those who might have reservations about joining the movement?To date, we know that major retailers are achieving this result. Online retail giant Overstock topped $1m in sales in just under two months of accepting bitcoin, and TigerDirect followed suit, passing this milestone in a similar timeframe.What isn’t clear, though, is if smaller and mid-size merchants are achieving similar results.In Part Two of this series, we’ll seek to examine more broadly how merchants are accepting bitcoin and what their success to date has been.25% attribute more than 10% of their monthly sales to bitcoinIn total, our survey found that 24.5% – or roughly one-fourth – of respondents indicated that more than 10% of monthly sales are attributable to bitcoin purchases.It’s important to note that an unknown number of these respondents are likely bitcoin-only businesses, but that we do know that some merchants are achieving similar results even when accepting fiat currency.The majority of merchants (56%), however, say that bitcoin is attributable to 0% to 2% of their total monthly sales.The graph also shows that about one-fifth of merchants see a sales increase of between 3% and 10%,Though, it should be noted that Part One of our survey showed half of respondents have only been accepting bitcoin for under three months, meaning this figure may be due to the initial bump in sales most merchants report.44% say it’s ‘very easy’ to accept bitcoinThe survey also asked merchants to rate how difficult it was to start accepting bitcoin, and in the process debunked a long-standing myth that accepting bitcoin is an onerous process.Overall, 42.7% said it was ‘very easy’ to begin accepting bitcoin, while an additional 35.39% said it was ‘easy’. Just 1.12% reported that it was ‘difficult’ to begin accepting the digital currency.On a scale of one to 10, with 10 representing the highest difficulty, respondents, on average, reported that accepting bitcoin had a difficulty level of 2.44% use BitPayOur survey also sought to examine which business partners are most popular for merchants, and revealed BitPay to be the clear frontrunner in the market, capturing 44% of the vote.Coinbase came in second with 36% of the total vote, while the standard-issue Bitcoin-QT wallet came in third in terms of total responses.Smaller percentages were observed for merchant processors GoCoin and BIPS.Image credit: Money and financial planning via Shutterstock
Original author: Pete Rizzo
Presented by Robocoin’s management team at the invitation of Representative Jared Polis (D-CO), the Robocoin machine received an enthusiastic response from other members.Polis said:“The innovation of online currency will be an important economic driver for the future that allows people and companies to reduce transaction costs and facilitate international transactions.”He added that it is physical cash, not bitcoin, that presents the easiest opportunity to hide illicit activity.Charleston, SC, USAAnother US Robocoin appeared in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Dig South Interactive Technology Festival. This machine comes courtesy of company Southeast Bitcoin, “the South’s only Bitcoin ATM operator.”Helsinki, FinlandNewcomer Cointter has launched two very utilitarian bitcoin machines in Helsinki, Finland.Looking a little like a cross between a payphone and a hotel safe, the machines are northern Europe’s first two-way bitcoin ATMs, buying and selling bitcoins for cash.One is in Helsinki’s Delish store and the other in the Kynsilaukka restaurant. Both were developed in cooperation with LocalBitcoins.com.
Cointter promises future models with a more refined design, which it plans to ship to other European locations including France and the UK.Quebec City, CanadaTwo Genesis1 two-way ATMs opened in the historic heart of Quebec City this week.The machines exchange Canadian dollars for both bitcoin and litecoin, and are located in the Auberge Amerik Hotel and the nearby Baguette et Cie coffee shop.Genesis Coin CEO Evan Rose said:“Canada has proven itself to be a leader in bringing tangibility to the otherwise digital world of bitcoin … We want individuals to experience bitcoin in its most elegant form: swift, simple, secure.”SloveniaSlovenia, famous for giving the world it’s currently most popular bitcoin exchange Bitstamp, is now also home to one-way bitcoin kiosks of a previously unknown variety. The operator’s company website is short on detail, but it seems the machines are called ‘BTC-O-Matic’ and that there are at least two operating.
ATMsCanadaCongressFinlandSloveniaOriginal author: Jon Southurst
In this week of closures, crashes and heartbleed, here are three of the biggest stories we covered on CoinDesk.
Bitcoin price falls below $400: The price of bitcoin hit a low of $344 this week following deposit freezes at Chinese bitcoin exchanges. The initial drop happened after an announcement from Chinese exchange BTCTrade.com, which was then corroborated by similar statements from Huobi and BTC100.org. This is the lowest the price has fallen since November 2013.
National Australia Bank turns back on bitcoin: NAB has decided to disassociate itself from bitcoin and will be closing the accounts of its bitcoin costumers starting next month. NAB was previously Australia’s most bitcoin-friendly bank and its representatives were actively seeking to build relationships with bitcoin businesses.
Bitcoin Core Version 0.9.1 fixes Heartbleed vulnerability: Bitcoin Core Version 0.9.1 addressed the massive internet security bug, Heartbleed, also known as CVE-2014-0160. The vulnerability was patched by major bitcoin exchanges in a matter of hours.
Not the greatest week for bitcoin, but hopefully, we’ll have some better news next week. Have a good weekend, y’all!
Original author: Roop Gill
The price of bitcoin recovered from a low of roughly $380 and rose past $420 at press time on 11th April, on the news that Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), had issued new statements potentially clarifying the central bank’s position on bitcoin.According to reports, during Boao Forum, Xiaochuan offered his opinion on the nascent technology, saying that China would not seek to ban bitcoin and other digital currencies entirely.Said Xiaochuan:“It is out of the question of banning bitcoin as it is not started by central bank.”Xiaochuan continued his statements, offering a potential new potential classification for bitcoin, and suggesting that the PBOC may be actively considering how to treat bitcoin.Xiaochuan said:“Bitcoin is more a kind of tradable and collectible asset, such as stamps rather than a payment currency.”Boao Forum is a regional economic conference that seeks to address economic problems in Asia, and to promote collaboration on solutions.Price risesAt press time, the price of bitcoin on the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) rose sharply on the news, climbing more than 18% to pass $420.
Likewise, the price of bitcoin on the CoinDesk CNY BPI was up 12.9% at press time to reach ¥2630.70, up from the day’s open of ¥2,329.99.
Uncertainty liftsNews of the statement first surfaced at roughly 7:00 GMT, with the publication of a report by China Securities Network, a news outlet that provides real-time financial reporting, and later resurfaced on a number of similar news channels.Though the remark may simply amount to an informal statement, it seemingly dispels fears percolating since March that China would potentially seek to ban bitcoin altogether.Though, the PBOC is still likely looking to step up enforcement of past rules aimed at separating domestic banks from the alleged risk posed by the nascent digital currency industry.In recent weeks, the price of bitcoin has dropped rapidly, from above $500 to below $400, on the news that China would seek to freeze the ability of major exchanges to conduct yuan deposits. Major exchanges have begun receiving notifications of account closures, and at present, Xiaochuan’s statements do not suggest a change in this policy.CoinDesk is continuing to monitor this developing story.ChinaPBOC
Likewise, the price of bitcoin on the CoinDesk CNY BPI was up 12.9% at press time to reach ¥2630.70, up from the day’s open of ¥2,329.99.Uncertainty liftsNews of the statement first surfaced at roughly 7:00 GMT, with the publication of a report by China Securities Network, a news outlet that provides real-time financial reporting, and later resurfaced on a number of similar news channels.Though the remark may simply amount to an informal statement, it seemingly dispels fears percolating since March that China would potentially seek to ban bitcoin altogether.Though, the PBOC is still likely looking to step up enforcement of past rules aimed at separating domestic banks from the alleged risk posed by the nascent digital currency industry.In recent weeks, the price of bitcoin has dropped rapidly, from above $500 to below $400, on the news that China would seek to freeze the ability of major exchanges to conduct yuan deposits. Major exchanges have begun receiving notifications of account closures, and at present, Xiaochuan’s statements do not suggest a change in this policy.CoinDesk is continuing to monitor this developing story.ChinaPBOCOriginal author: Pete Rizzo
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic
Supporting two communities at once
If a customer were to pay in bitcoin, We Deliver Local would take about a week to remit the shops in Pound Sterling.
“Some of the shops probably don’t even know they are accepting bitcoin,” said We Deliver Local’s director and developer, Lee Parkinson. “Many of them don’t even know what bitcoin is.”
However, according to Parkinson, the decision to accept bitcoin is good for both the local shops, and the bitcoin community. Bitcoiners looking to spend their digital currency now have another outlet, and the local stores just got themselves a new set of customers.
Parkinson said:
“The great thing with bitcoin is that the entire bitcoin community is so passionate. We put a press release out and it started trending on reddit. So that drove a lot of traffic to the site and people were keen just to use bitcoin and buy something in bitcoin. It’s almost like people are looking for an excuse to pay in bitcoin.”
In the last 11 days of bitcoin payment integration, We Deliver Local has received about four bitcoin payments.
A growing company
We Deliver Local was launched in April 2013 and it currently serves many of the major UK cities including: London, Manchester, Bristol and Sheffield. However, the entire network only has 40 stores as of now.
Parkinson said that the company is regularly adding more shops to its network across the UK.
“We are a new company, but we are growing quite quickly,” added Parkinson.
Original author: Roop Gill