Blog post: The Rise of Bitcoin

Back in March 2013, Bitcoin reached an all-time trading high of more than £21. At that time, this was seen as a major development for the alternative currency which was launched in 2009, largely unnoticed outside the crypto-currency world. Since then, the situation has changed dramatically. What was seen as hype in March has now developed into a frenzy.

By the beginning of April, one Bitcoin was already worth £150. And since a US Senate committee hearing in November backed Bitcoin as a legitimate financial service, its value really took off: following a peak of £755 on 5 December, it is currently trading at around £550.

Why has Bitcoin some attractive so quickly? How exactly does Bitcoin work? And how do regulators see the currency? Here are some facts which describe what Bitcoin is - and what it’s not.

Published 13 December 2013 on entrepreneurcountry.com, read the full article here: http://www.entrepreneurcountry.com/united-kingdom/item/the-rise-of-bitcoin

Blog post: Perception is bitcoin’s biggest battle

Along with the general media attention bitcoin has attracted in recent months, there’s been much talk about whether bitcoin is merely a tool for financial speculation … or is a currency as real as any other, capable of being used to buy and sell goods, as well as for investment purposes.The media frenzy accompanying the bitcoin roller-coaster of late has resulted in a surge of demand. Transaction volumes are steadily increasing and more online outlets now accept bitcoin payments. Consequently, players in the bitcoin ecosystem have fared well: With $120 million (US) in trading volumes in March 2013 (as reported by Mt.Gox, the largest bitcoin exchange) and a trade commission of 0.6 percent, this equates to revenues of around $1 million per month.With low operating costs, that means substantial profits. This has led some to speculate that the bitcoin marketplace could create billion-dollar businesses. Even if this might be exaggerated, bitcoin – and bitcoin exchanges in particular – could in fact become attractive investments for venture capital firms at some point.


Published 8 May 2013 on coindesk.com, read the full article here: http://www.coindesk.com/how-investment-worthy-can-bitcoin-be/

Blog post: 7 things you thought you knew about Bitcoin (but that are wrong)

Bitcoin has made headlines again yesterday, reaching an all-time trading high of more than £21. This is a significant development for the fairly new alternative currency, which started at Zero in 2009. Bitcoins has slowly and quietly become a global phenomenon which is featured prominently in the media, and has started to attract the special attention of global regulators.

So how exactly does Bitcoin work? Here are seven myths which describe what Bitcoin is, and – more importantly – what it not is.

Published 01 March 2013 on whiteboardmag.com, read the full article here: http://www.whiteboardmag.com/7-things-you-thought-you-knew-about-bitcoin-but-that-are-wrong/

Blog post: Amazon Coins proves that virtual currencies (real threat or not) are here to stay

Amazon’s announced today that it will launch Amazon Coins in May 2013. Clients will be able to purchase apps on Kindle Fire with Amazon’s proprietary virtual currency. Amazon Coins, which are planned to be launched in May, will be pegged to the US dollar and can be bought using existing Amazon accounts.It’s a move that breathes new life into virtual currencies. At last, as some may say who believe that an alternative money system will make commercial transactions easier and smoother.

Published 6 February 2013, read the full article here: http://www.whiteboardmag.com/amazon-coins-proves-that-virtual-currencies-real-threat-or-not-are-here-to-stay/

Mention: Top 10 influencers in European emerging payments

I am mentioned as one of the top 10 influencers in European emerging payments by Terrapinn.

Published 4 January 2013, read the full article here: (Archived)

http://blogs.terrapinn.com/total-payments/2013/01/04/top-10-influencers-european-emerging-payments/

Blog post: Digital Currencies: No Threat to Their Real Counterparts - Yet, PYMNTS.COM

There has been much speculation about the fate of the Euro over recent months. Maybe a bit too much as it is difficult to predict (and tiring to hear) what will or will not happen to a currency which is still in its youth, in historical terms. These recent developments in the currency arena however have prompted a renewed focus on alternative currencies, so let’s take a look at these – their future may be easier to predict too, after all.

Published 24 April 2012, read the full article here:

https://www.pymnts.com/news/2012/digital-currencies-no-threat-to-their-real-counterparts-yet/

Blog post: "Cash in or cash out?"

Once everyone’s darling, the fall of cash has been spectacular. Take last year’s announcement from a telecoms provider and supermarkets in the Netherlands stopping accepting cash payments, for example. Or the survey commissioned by the UK Payments Council that concludes that “by 2050, using cash could well be a minority activity [... and] a progressive move away from cash could hold many benefits.”
There is a point to this. Reports claim that cash costs every person in Europe 130 EUR a year for creating, distributing, collecting and destroying coins and notes. There are other downsides: 25 per cent of employees in Swedish retailers have been victims of violence during robberies, and there are calls to end the use of cash for theft prevention purposes. And obviously cash is a non-digital asset which cannot be spent on online purchases.
Mobile payments are therefore seen as the “new cash” and the way forward to bridge offline and online worlds. With more than 4 billion mobile phone users globally and only 1.6 billion bank accounts, the market opportunity is huge. Juniper predicts that 50 billion USD in worldwide sales revenue will be generated by Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile payments by 2014. PayPal expects that its volume of payments processed via mobile devices will exceed 3 billion USD this year. The company also predicts that by 2015, consumers will be able to leave their wallets at home as digital currencies replace traditional payment methods.
However there is some way to go. Research found that 90% of UK consumers have not heard of NFC, and more than two thirds have not come across the term “mobile wallet”. The technology and business case may be in place, but whether it’s time to cash out or not is still up for debate.

Appeared on MHP blog: http://www.mhpc.com/blog/cash-or-cash-out

Shake your moneymaker

Amidst much hand-wringing over the slump in sterling over recent months, perhaps it's worth taking a slightly broader view of currency. A good while ago, our ancestors were looking for a medium of exchange to trade goods, and experimented with various things such as furs, stones, iron bars and blocks of salt. All proved to be fairly unsuccessful until gold evolved to be the most practical medium. For many years, most currencies were backed by physical gold, and the price of gold determined the value of a currency.
In today's society, the basic act of commerce has not changed, but entrepreneurs try to find new alternative ways to facilitate transactions. With the help of their new own currency, local retailers in Brixton hope to boost spending in the area, and this is just a recent example of a long list of micro-money and local denominations. There are more than 2,500 different local currency systems worldwide. All for a reason, probably.
The Internet has also created a range of digital currencies to be able to sell and pay for goods online. The Wall Street Journal recently produced a video covering this new world of peer to peer finance which also features our partner Hub Culture’s Ven, the only digital currency that can be used both online and off.
Whether this is the future of currencies, and the future of money indeed, remains to be seen. Clearly, the way we're going to pay for goods in the future is tightly connected to the way we'll interact and communicate in the future. And as far as this can be assessed today, there is an irreversible trend towards an even more digital life as we know it.