LedgerX Thinks Bitcoin is Ready for Options (Again)

New York City startup LedgerX has submitted applications to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commisions (CFTC), to register as a "swap execution facility and derivatives clearing organization." If approved LedgerX would be allowed to list physically-settled digital currency option contracts, particularly Bitcoin denominated contracts. Continue reading

FinCEN: Payment Processors, Others may be Regulated Money Transmitters

FinCEN issued two administrative rulings in regards to "Virtual Currency." The first concerns "exchanges" and supposes they may be regulated as Money Transmitters under the Banking Secrecy Act. The second though supposes that payment processors like BitPay may similarly fall under their purview. This shift comes contrary to the expectations BitPay had disclosed anticipating from FinCEN.

PDFs of the rulings are available here: ruling 1, ruling 2. Extracted plaintext is available below. Continue reading

Independent Reserve Becomes Australia's Latest Bitcoin Exchange

Independent Reserve today launched Australia's newest Bitcoin exchange, opening its doors to customers this morning. The Sydney based company, of which Adam Tepper is CEO, claims they will add a valuable source of liquidity to the growing Bitcoin market across the globe. Adam Tepper also stated that their last mover advantage has enabled the company to spend thousands of hours on R&D while learning from the mistakes made by other exchanges. This will enable IR to provide users with a platform that is "completely robust." Continue reading

Bank of England Payment Settlements Offline: Home Purchases Impossible

Large purchases including those of housing and real estate in the United Kingdom have stalled today as the Bank of England's Real Time Gross Settlement Payment System is down. As a result banks in the UK can not settle large transactions between each other, though small transactions are processed with a different system. Continue reading