The Bank of England’s top economist has suggested that a digital currency based on bitcoin could alleviate monetary policy problems. Andrew Haldane, the UK central bank’s chief economist and executive director for monetary analysis and statistics, spoke at the Portadown Chamber of Commerce in Northern Ireland on 18th September. During his speech, Haldane offered several ways in which central bankers can conduct monetary policy during a period when interest rates are close to or below zero. Haldane suggested that central bankers consider making measures like quantitative easing a permanent part of their policy toolkit. However, he warned that trust in central banking could be marred as a result. One solution, he said, would be for the Bank of England to issue a…
The question of how to best increase the transaction processing capacity of the blockchain may be bitcoin’s current crisis, but that isn’t stopping researchers from working to solve more forward-looking issues. Held last weekend in Montreal, the inaugural Scaling Bitcoin marked the first major conference for developers, and as such, it featured a broad sampling of technical experts working on solutions to problems that may come to light as knowledge of blockchain technology advances. One of the more novel proposals to debut at the event was developed by Cornell post-doc student Ittay Eyal, PhD student Adem Efe Gencer, computer science professor Emin Gün Sirer and research scientist Robbert Van Renesse. Called Bitcoin-NG (the “NG” is short…
Users of bitcoin tipping platform ChangeTip can now send tips in US dollars, a move aimed at capturing users who may be wary of digital currency. Currently, ChangeTip’s service – used across 12 social media platforms – denominates tips in bitcoin, or ‘bits’ (each worth 0.000001 of a bitcoin). However, in a statement today, the company said it is revamping its platform to support US dollar tips, a move that follows credit card support announced in July. Nick Sullivan, founder and CEO of ChangeTip parent company ChangeCoin, said in a statement: “While electronic payments are well-established for online purchases, the concept of empowering everyone on the Internet to express gratitude and appreciation for great people, content, causes and…
IBM is working on a new blockchain project for smart contract creation. The Wall Street Journal reports the company’s research arm is using the basic bitcoin codebase to create a new blockchain system that will eventually be released as open-source software. IBM said that “dozens” of employees are involved in the initiative, and that the project is distinct from ADEPT, a proof-of-concept for the Internet of Things unveiled earlier this year. The Journal spoke with IBM research senior vice president Arvind Krishna, who told the newspaper that the company’s blockchain system won’t have an internal currency and will be designed to “ensure that contract details remain private” while making it easier for companies to “embed business…
A Russian government official has spoken out against a leading domestic payments company’s plan to release its own digital currency sometime next year. Reports by Russian-language news services Kommersant and Pravda suggest that QIWI, a Moscow-based payments firm, is working to develop a bitcoin-like currency that will be a virtualization of the ruble. Sergei Solonin, QIWI’s CEO, told Kommersant in an interview that the concept could be deployed as early as next year. However, a report from state-owned news service TASS suggests that Russian officials aren’t warm to the concept. According to TASS, Russian financial ombudsman Pavel Medvedev dismissed the concept as against the country’s laws, stating during a radio appearance: “It’s…
The US Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has released the final version of its model regulatory framework for digital currencies. The organization, comprised of representatives from state-level banking regulatory bodies, released an initial draft version of its proposed digital currency regulations in December. The draft drew from comments made during a subsequent two-month comment period in which both the digital currency ecosystem as well as financial incumbents were able to weigh in on the proposal. While the framework is only a recommendation – state bank regulators can use it as a basis or to craft rules for the technology – it’s publication will likely play a role in how US states move toward finalizing their approaches to overseeing activities…