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Dutch Central Bank to develop its DNBCoin Blockchain

According to a recent press release, the Dutch Central Bank planned to develop a new blockchain called “DNBCoin”.
On March 16th, De Nederlandsche Bank published the 2015 annual report where they explained this blockchain project.
For DNB the blockchain technology will be able to improve its business, but the report doesn’t give details on the project, not even a release date or the goals, yet.
DNB only describes the projects as a “prototype coin based on blockchain technology” that “aims for 2016”. 
On the report the blockchain is described as a possible cost-saver in the financial industry, even if the DNB commented that it’s early to say what possible applications it could have in the future.
The report explains:
“Blockchain technologies can affect the revenue models of banking systems, they can also benefit with new ways to generate revenue and reduce costs.”
Payments and banking consultant Simon Lelieveldt commented:
“So when we now see central banks moving forward in the electronic cash domain (now conveniently labelled: blockchain/FinTech) it might be to no longer spin it off to the market, but to create a permanent digital replacement of cash. Therefore, this time it might be different.”

Banks and blockchain: love or hate?

Recently lots of central banks from all around the world are suggesting that the blockchain can be useful to release more centralized digital currencies, even if central banks declared that it is impossible to predict the development of cryptocurrencies without a proper legalization and regulation. 
You can read more about central banks and blockchain by clicking on the titles below.
Also, here you can read the ISITC Survey Results about the the financial services progress which gives also a specific forecast on how the industry will be during the current year.

Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.

Amelia Tomasicchio

Bitcoin’s Monthly Recap of June 2015

Welcome to HolyTransaction sixth monthly recap for the year 2015. This past month of June has has been eventful for Bitcoin due to events within the Bitcoin ecosystem and from the general economic world as well; during that time, the bitcoin price fell from a low of $223.51 to a high of $272.50, according to Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp.
Russia Reverses Stance on Bitcoin Ban, Open to P2P Transactions
According to Russian media Izvestia, the Russian government is expected to reverse its stance on Bitcoin in the coming months. Over the last year, different arms of the Russian government have come forward with different opinions on Bitcoin, with the Central Bank being notably open to the idea of cryptocurrencies. This news comes on the heels of a reversal on a website ban affecting several Russian Bitcoin sites. Around the world, an anti-Bitcoin stance is increasingly becoming more and more unpopular.
Decentralized Marketplace OpenBazaar Receives $1 Million USD Funding
The decentralized marketplace project, OpenBazaar, has raised $1 million USD in funding from names such as Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. OpenBazaar has sometimes been called the spiritual successor to infamous marketplaces such as the Silk Road. Of course, that is not the purpose of the project; however, the applications of a secure and open marketplace software has obvious implications for the black market. The infusion of venture capital money into such a controversial area shows the promise of Bitcoin technology in the world of commerce.
Silk Road Investigator Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering
In the latest drama from the Silk Road drug market takedown, one of two federal agents working on the Silk Road case has plead guilty to money laundering, extortion, and other crimes. Carl Force infiltrated the Silk Road marketplace as the head of the Baltimore-based team that took down the infamous site; however, while leading the investigation, Force stole money from Silk Road and the now convicted Ross Ulbricht. Force even signed a movie deal with 20th Century Fox to detail his exploits. Another agent, Shaun Bridges, also plead guilty to similar crimes.
Nasdaq Private Market Works with Chain to use Bitcoin
In a continued show of interest in Bitcoin technology, the Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. has chosen Bitcoin startup Chain to test a new type of trading. Using Bitcoin technology, Nasdaq hopes to secure the trading of private company shares. The Nasdaq Private Market currently services pre-IPO trading of shares in private companies and blockchain technology will manifest here first. Nasdaq’s CEO Bob Greifeld explained: “As blockchain technology continues to redefine not only how the exchange sector operates, but the global financial economy as a whole, Nasdaq aims to be at the center of this watershed development.”
Greek Economic Crisis Raises Bitcoin Awareness
For the last month, the world has been eagerly watching Greece struggle with the European Union over its debt and a proposed deal to save the beleaguered country. In the meantime, banks, PayPal, and Western Union have all taken a much-felt hiatus from the country, leaving the Greek people to suffer financially. In this economic turmoil, many have started learning about Bitcoin. Bitcoin companies across Europe are reporting increased levels of usage and activity from the Greek area. In 2014, when Cyprus was having similar issues, interest in Bitcoin also experienced a noticeable jump.

Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.

Satoshi
Bitcoin Trends 630x392

How the Bitcoin landscape is evolving in 2014

The bitcoin landscape is evolving so rapidly that it’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through the year.

(CoinDesk) Like any new industry, there are so many areas to explore in the bitcoin space that sometimes make a week’s worth of developmentsit feel like a month or two have gone by.

Bitcoin has certainly seen a lot of action in 2014. The collapse of Mt. Gox, hefty venture capital investments in bitcoin startups and the US government auction of 30,000 bitcoins seized from the Silk Road all generated buzz in the mainstream media.
CoinDesk’s recent State of Bitcoin Q2 2014 report highlights some of the key developments that have influenced bitcoin’s journey over the past few months, providing context for the digital currency’s ever-changing position in society.
While only time will tell what’s in store for bitcoin’s future, a number of trends have emerged in the industry this year that could shape the direction and velocity of bitcoin’s growth.
Here are five bitcoin trends that have emerged in the first half of 2014:

1. Big-name retailers jumping on board

The year started with a bang when Overstock became the first major retailer to accept bitcoin. News of Overstock’s success with the digital currency served as a signal for other large companies to follow suit.
Electronics retailer TigerDirect integrated bitcoin as a payment option by the end of January, and other household names like the Sacremento Kings, Lord & Taylor and REEDS Jewelers got on board soon after.
By the end of June, three companies with at least $2b in annual revenue had begun accepting bitcoin: DISHExpedia and Newegg.
With smaller businesses also continuing to accept bitcoin at a fervent pace, we estimate that around 100,000 merchants will accept bitcoin by the end of 2014:

State of Bitcoin Q2 2014

2. A warming regulatory climate

While it certainly hasn’t been all smooth sailing between governments and bitcoin this year, it seems like tides are changing and regulators around the world are starting to take a more open-minded approach to the digital currency.
In the beginning of 2014, China’s stance on bitcoin was ambiguous at best. By April, China’s Central Bank Governor said that banning bitcoin was “out of the question,” referring to it as more of an asset than a currency.
Russia, after releasing stern warnings about bitcoin early this year, recently reconsidered its stance on the digital currency.
Gerogy Luntovsky, the deputy chairman of Bank of Russia, explained that his agency is going to take time to examine bitcoin as the industry continues to evolve:
“At this stage, we need to watch how the situation develops with these kinds of currencies. These instruments should not be rejected.”
Progress has also been made in places like California, where Governor Jerry Brown has granted bitcoin ‘legal money’ status, and Switzerland, where similar ‘legal money’ regulations are being considered.
Regulators seem increasingly willing to hold off on impulsive legislation in favor of working with the bitcoin community to find the best resolutions to prevent money laundering and fraud without stifling innovation.

3. VC firms keep betting big

Not everybody is as slow as governments to embrace bitcoin.
Serious venture capital investments in bitcoin companies were already taking place in 2013, but VCs have certainly kicked it up this year, with a total of $150m having already been invested in 2014.
With 2014′s Q2 VC investments reaching $73m (up from $57m in Q1), CoinDesk estimates that by the year’s end, 2014 VC investments in bitcoin companies will have surpassed 1995 VC investments in Internet companies:
Bitcoin VC Investment Compared to the Early Internet

State of Bitcoin Q2 2014

The venture capital flowing into the bitcoin space supports the industry’s infrastructure both explicitly and implicitly: startups gain access to resources that allow them to build much-needed products and services around the Bitcoin protocol, and the investors’ confidence in the digital currency brings legitimacy to bitcoin’s reputation.

4. Building on the block chain

Most people who take the time to really learn about bitcoin realize that the true genius in Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention is not the coins themselves, but rather the block chain.
The term ‘Bitcoin 2.0′ is often used to describe applications that use the technology of the block chain to address issues like smart contracts and identity verification that were once impossible to solve in a decentralized way on the Internet.
Jeff Garzik, one of the bitcoin protocol’s core developers, described the significance of the block chain beyond the scope of digital currencies:
“As a computer scientist, and in computer science in general, when you talked about building distributed systems, there tended to be a purely theoretical view about how computers would talk to each other, how to keep them coordinated. Satoshi and the blockchain really solved that problem in an elegant and unexpected way.”
Block chain-focused startups like BlockScore and BlockCypher have already secured funding this year from investors. As 2014 rolls on, expect to see new uses of the block chain technology solving problems in a uniquely decentralized manner.

5. New emphasis on transparency

The collapse of Mt. Gox, once the biggest bitcoin exchange in the market, was a wake-up call to many in the community.
The former exchange’s CEO Mark Karpeles was notoriously opaque in the months leading to its bankruptcy, causing confusion among users who held bitcoins on Gox.
Ultimately many people lost BTC through the course of Mt. Gox’s downfall. Outcries from the community started pouring in, demanding other big exchanges prove their solvency with professional audits.
Exchanges like BitstampKraken and Coinbase all agreed to be audited in the aftermath of Mt. Gox’s liquidation.
The demand for more transparency in the industry doesn’t stop at exchange audits, though. Revered bitcoin evangelist Andreas Antonopoulos recently took to Twitter to announce his departure from the Bitcoin Foundation, citing a lack of transparency as a primary concern:
If the first half of 2014 proves anything, it’s that the technology underlying bitcoin is resilient even under catastrophic circumstances (Mt. Gox), and that the community is willing to rally together in bringing bitcoin to mass adoption.
There’s a reason people call it the “honey badger of money.

Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.

Satoshi

Education to consider for the Bitcoin user

(CoinTelegraph) This month, the number of educational institutions welcoming students who wish to pay using digital currency has increased substantially. This comes as no surprise, however, since the current academic year just ended, registration is opening up for the fall semester.

The King’s College, NYC, US

One of the leading institutions in the United States – The King’s College announced that it will be welcoming students who want to pay using Bitcoin.
The King’s College is a Christian liberal arts college founded in 1938 by Percy Crawford, located in Lower Manhattan, New York.
Now with help of New York’s Coin.co it becomes the first accredited
college in the US to accept digital currency. Dr. Gregory Alan
Thornbury, President of The King’s College stated:

“The King’s College seeks to transform society by preparing students
for careers in which they help to shape and eventually to lead strategic
public and private institutions. Allowing Bitcoin to be used to pay for
a King’s education decreases our costs while simultaneously allowing
our students to be a part of this exciting new technology.”

Team Treehouse

On Thursday June 12, a famous US-based online education provider – Team Treehouse – officially announced that it will be accepting Bitcoin via Coinbase as one of a payment options. The company’s press release stated:

 “As one of the fastest growing payment methods, Bitcoin will give
more people across the world the opportunity to learn with Treehouse.”

Treehouse is a place for people who want to learn how to coup with HTML or CSS, make iPhone apps, start their own business.

University of Nicosia, Cyprus

Once again we mention the University of Nicosia,
which was the first to accept Bitcoin for payment of tuition and other
fees. Dr. Christos Vlachos, Chief Financial Officer for University of Nicosia stated:

“Digital currency will create more efficient services and will serve
as a mechanism for spreading financial services to under-banked regions
of the world. In this light, we consider it appropriate that we
implement digital currency as a method of payment across all our
institutions in all cities and countries of our operations.”

Anyone who wants to advance their education here will probably find a
an area of interest they’re looking for – University of Nicosia offer
schools of business, education, humanity, social science, law,
engineering and arts.
A big advantage of the University of Nicosia is that it is accepting
Bitcoin throughout their whole University network, including affiliated
institutions in London, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and others.

University of Cumbria, UK

In the beginning of the year, the University of Cumbria in the United Kingdom also announced that it will accept Bitcoin for the payment of fees. The founder and director of IFLAS, Professor Jem Bendell, stated:

 “We believe in learning by doing, and so to help inform our courses
on complementary currencies, we are trialling the acceptance of them.
The internal discussions about currency and payment innovation and the
practical implications for different departments have been insightful.”

The acceptance of Bitcoin is limited to the two programs only – Certificate of Achievement in Sustainable Exchange and Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Leadership. Both courses are already in progress as a trial though it shouldn’t be the last one as “the university will learn from this trial and develop its awareness of innovations in complementary currencies and payment technology.

Language centers

Additionally, there are also various private languages studios all over the world happy to accept digital currency.

A2Z School of English could be the first English as a Second Language (ESL) school in the world to accept digital currency. The announcement that it will adopt Bitcoin as a payment method was published back on November 5, 2013. A2Z School of English was founded in 2006 by James and Luciene Taylor and today has locations in Manchester, London and Dublin, offering various English language classes. BairesClases accept Bitcoin for Spanish classes. You can have face to face lessons in Buenos Aires Argentina or classes over the Internet for students anywhere in the World for anyone from beginner to advanced. Ru-SprachStudio.ch offer Russian courses in Zürich or Zug, Switzerland for Bitcoin. Customers may choose one-on-one private lessons or lessons in groups of 3-4 people.  Their teaching approach also uses modern methods to develop your ability to communicate in the Russian language. Cinta Bahasa in Bali, Indonesia, offers Indonesian Language courses to foreigners and they also accept Bitcoin. They have schools in Ubud, Sanur, Kuta, and Canggu, Bali to teach students the language they will need to feel comfortable travelling around in Indonesia.  Educational institutions are a major driver in the world’s progress. By embracing cryptocurrencies, these schools and universities are demonstrating their willingness to prepare students for a world with cryptocurrencies and a better future.

Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.

Satoshi
cointelegraph.com  1

Give $250,000 in Bitcoin, get second citizenship

Lap dances. Horseback rides. Wine tours. A night
with a Las Vegas escort.

You can buy just about anything with
Bitcoin these days.

Now, you can add citizenship to that list.
(CoinTelegraph) Introducing: Passports for Bitcoin, a project
that sets clients up with citizenship to balmy Caribbean island-nation St.
Kitts and Nevis, payable in cryptocurrency. St. Kitts and Nevis has offered a
‘citizenship by investment’ program since 1984 that accepts investment into the
local economy in exchange for a spanking-new passport.
The process, which takes 3 to 4 months,
isn’t cheap. Wannabe citizens must either buy local real estate worth $400,000
or more, or donate at least $250,000 to the Sugar Industry Diversification
Foundation (SIDF) – on top of a nonrefundable application fee of about $60,000
per applicant plus an additional $30,000 for each one of his or her dependents.
For those who can afford it, though,
holding a St. Kitts passport offers a number of benefits. Aside from the
stunning seas, sands, and climate offered by the Caribbean country, St. Kitts doesn’t
take any income, wealth, or inheritance taxes; citizens get visa-free travel to
140 countries and a 10-year multiple-entry visa to the United States. 
For clients from politically tumultuous
countries or ones with invasive policies on individual privacy, the citizenship
process offers more abstract benefits: freedom and privacy.
“Today’s news headlines are filled with
stories from around the globe about upheaval, increased taxes, and governments
exerting more and more control over citizens’ freedoms and privacy,” the
Passports for Bitcoin website says. “Having a second citizenship and passport
in a stable country is now a must in order to hedge against governmental
intrusion and excessive taxation.”
Additionally, the process is confidential –
home countries aren’t notified that their citizens have applied for or received
a second citizenship.
Exactly how many clients have bought a St.
Kitts passport with Bitcoin isn’t clear. The website of the project’s parent company,
International Investments & Consulting, Ltd., says it has processed over
100 applications, though it does not specify how they were paid for.
It’s clear, though, that the option is
popular amongst the rich and famous. Roger Ver, an American Bitcoin
entrepreneur and ‘angel investor’ in Bitcoin startups, has bought himself a
passport to St. Kitts, as has as the so-called “Most
Interesting Man on Instagram” millionaire/poker player/playboy Dan
Bilzerian.
“I became a St. Kitts citizen several years
ago as a hedge against possible world political turmoil which could negatively
affect the United States,” Bilzerian wrote in a testimonial
on the Passports for Bitcoin website. “I value freedom more than almost
anything else and a second or third passport provides me insurance just in case
the U.S. government decides to value security over freedom.”
The founder of Russian social network site Vkontakte, Pavel Durov, also bought
St. Kitts citizenship last month after fleeing the country under pressure from
the government over data protection and privacy.
It is unclear whether Durov paid for his
passport in Bitcoin.

Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.

Satoshi