PaymentsJournal
SUBSCRIBE
  • Analysts Coverage
  • Truth In Data
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Industry Opinions
  • News
  • Resources
No Result
View All Result
PaymentsJournal
  • Analysts Coverage
  • Truth In Data
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Industry Opinions
  • News
  • Resources
No Result
View All Result
PaymentsJournal
No Result
View All Result

Bitcoin Makes a Connection with Mainstream Financial Services

Mercator Advisory Group by Mercator Advisory Group
January 4, 2013
in Analysts Coverage
0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

In December, a French Bitcoin currency exchange became the first to operate within the European financial system. Bitcoin-Central, and parent company Paymium, partnered with French financial firm Aqoba to enable Bitcoin enthusiasts to open a Bitcoin-based payment account attached to a debit card. Account holders can be use Bitcoins to buy products online, at the point of sale with the card, or trade Bitcoins for their market value in Euros.

Bitcoin use is still limited, but growing quickly. More than five million transactions were settled using Bitcoins during the first nine months of 2012, more than twice as many as during the entire year of 2011.

The two primary benefits of Bitcoins are anonymity and a lack of fees, including interchange, currency exchange or taxes (as a result of the anonymity). From Maclean’s article:

Instead of bills, Bitcoin’s software keeps a public ledger of every transaction among users. If a buyer and seller are running the software on their computers, they can directly exchange Bitcoins, anonymously and with no taxes or bank fees. Others can pay a company to process the payment. Bitcoin accounts are listed simply as a string of letters and numbers with no names attached, giving a level of anonymity impossible with debit and credit cards or even PayPal accounts.

Because of this focus on anonymity, much of Bitcoin’s popularity has come from illicit activities such as illegal drug sales and gambling rings and explicit purchases such as adult entertainment. This new attachment to a legitimate financial system could potentially serve as a step towards legitimizing Bitcoins. But more likely, given the severely limited number of consumers willing to undergo the inconvenience of converting their national currency into digital coins, this will only serve to alienate the few supporters it currently has.

Click here to read more from Maclean’s.

0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

    Analyst Coverage, Payments Data, and News Delivered Daily

    Sign up for the PaymentsJournal Newsletter to get exclusive insight and data from Mercator Advisory Group analysts and industry professionals.

    Must Reads

    eCommerce On Social Media, social commerce

    The Rise of Social Commerce and Social Payments

    February 3, 2023
    Electroneum AnyTask; ETN Crypto, sales enablement

    Ethical Financial Selling: The Role of Compliance Technology and Sales Enablement

    February 2, 2023
    direct deposit

    Nacha Launches Campaign to Reach Millennials on the Benefits of Direct Deposit

    February 1, 2023
    Equinix Helps UK-Based Payments Provider Enable Faster, More Reliable Payments Processing

    Equinix Helps UK-Based Payments Provider Enable Faster, More Reliable Payments Processing

    January 31, 2023
    credit card tumbling

    How to Detect, and Prevent, Credit Card Tumbling

    January 30, 2023
    Why Businesses Need to Adopt Real-Time Payments as a Competitive Differentiator

    Why Businesses Need to Adopt Real-Time Payments as a Competitive Differentiator

    January 27, 2023
    faster payments

    Faster Payments Are Set to Revolutionize Modern Digital Payments

    January 26, 2023
    How AI can Help Manage Payments Risk in 2023

    How AI can Help Manage Payments Risk in 2023

    January 25, 2023

    • Advertise With Us
    • About Us
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Subscribe
    ADVERTISEMENT
    • Analysts Coverage
    • Truth In Data
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Industry Opinions
    • News
    • Resources

    © 2022 PaymentsJournal.com

    • Analysts Coverage
    • Truth In Data
    • Podcasts
    • Industry Opinions
    • Faster Payments
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Events
    No Result
    View All Result

      Register to download the Equinix report - Dojo Delivers Fast, Reliable and Secure Card Payments to Businesses on Platform Equinix