Bitcoin-based financial platform Wirex, formerly known as E-Coin, has raised $3 million in a Series A funding round from the Fintech fund established by Japanese financial giant SBI Group.UK-based Wirex, essentially a service provider enabling the use of bitcoin and other digital currencies in popular payment networks like Visa and Mastercard through prepaid virtual and plastic cards.Wirex also provides an exchange platform allowing for the exchange of fiat currencies with bitcoin.The company claims to have over 500,000 members across 130 countries, calling itself a ‘hybrid banking’ platform where prepaid cards can be topped up with crypto or fiat currencies.With the new capital, the company plans on introducing host of new features including new bitcoin-based financial products, contactless bitcoin payments and cards, as well as support for additional currencies.The company also intends to use the funds toward expansion plans in Japan.Wirex co-founder Pavel MAteev stated: Japan is a key market for bitcoin-compatible financial products and services, and one of our fastest-growing customer base…Together, we can push bitcoin adoption in the Asia-Pacific region to the next level.

The SBI group’s investment arm, SBI Investment has made a number of notable investments in bitcoin companies out of its ‘FinTech Fund’, established in December 2015.Aside from announcing its investment in Wirex this month, SBI Investment led a ¥3 billion ($27 million) funding round – the largest ever by a bitcoin or a Fintech in Japan – for Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange bitFlyer last year.SBI Investment also participated as the lead investor in a Series B round of financing for prominent bitcoin exchange Kraken last year.litecoin daily sharesAlthough the terms of the investment are unknown, Kraken revealed it to be a “multi-million dollar” agreement with SBI Investment.litecoin al“The SBI Group has a clear vision and in-depth understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrencies” added co-founder Dmitry Lazarichev underlining the conglomerate’s interest in the cryptocurrency space.bitcoin largest holder

“We have been selective in the process of looking for the right investor, and finding the best possible fit is important for us.Our customers will greatly benefit from this collaboration.” SBI Holdings, the parent company of SBI Investment, is notably a joint-partner in the setting up of SBI Ripple Asia, in association with prominent Fintech firm Ripple.The company spearheads a consortium of 47 Japanese banks, one that recently completed a successful money transfer pilot for domestic and international transfers using Ripple’s blockchain technology.ethereum usd coinbaseSBI estimates remittance costs to be cut by nearly 66% over the blockchain-based remittance platform when compared to traditional wire transfers.bitfinex bitcoinSBI Holdings also announced the establishment of SBI Virtual Currencies Co., Ltd., making it among the first notable financial institutions to launch a digital currency exchange.bitcoin kaufen berlin

Established in November 2016, SBI explained its reasons behind its interest in the bitcoin and blockchain industry.In recent years, virtual currencies, like bitcoin, have attracted plenty of interest and have been covered in major media.It [virtual currencies] are also being traded actively.REUTERS: Bitcoin exchange Coinbase Inc is in talks with potential investors on a new round of funding at a valuation of more than US$1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.It is not clear which investors are committing to the round, which was described as targeting around US$100 million or more, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.how to use electrum bitcoin wallet(/2rtMkk8)That would represent the biggest funding round on record for venture-backed bitcoin companies, the report said.A Coinbase spokesman declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.Coinbase, the world's largest bitcoin company, has seen heavy traffic and trading on its platform in recent weeks as bitcoin reached all-time highs.bitcoin achat en ligne

Demand for crypto-assets has soared with the creation of new tokens to raise funding for start-ups using blockchain technology.Coinbase said in January it raised US$75 million from several major financial institutions including the New York Stock Exchange, USAA Bank and Spanish banking group BBVA.(http://reut.rs/2qKUcRm)Earlier this year, Coinbase received a virtual currency and money transmitter license from the New York Department of Financial Services.(Reportingbitcoin börse kursby Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)Two sequential market crashes in China at the beginning of 2016 forced regulators to intervene in the main stock exchanges.However virtual currencies such as Bitcoin increased in value three-fold, while exposing potential risks, thus raising threat concerns for China.2016 BEGAN in China with two sequential market crashes that forced the regulators to intervene in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

As they did in response to the stock bubble that burst in 2015, Chinese regulators intervened to organise a centrally-planned recovery.Despite the stimulus of US$20 billion that the People Bank of China (PBoC) pumped into the market during the 5 January market crash, the yuan kept weakening.Gold as the usual commodity of refuge for investors during uncertain times started to gain momentum.At the same time, the virtual currencies that employ heavy cryptography and blockchain technology, such as Bitcoin, have increased in value thanks to the Chinese investments.(Instead of a centralised database to store records of all transactions, blockchain diffuses the data all over the Internet with anti-tampering cryptograph protection).Launched in 2009, Bitcoin is an Internet-based crypto currency that enables anonymous users to make instant money transactions around the world, bypassing central bank regulation and supervision.Chinese investors consider Bitcoin to be a highly volatile currency prone to speculation and quick profits, such as the ones delivered by the Chinese stock market prior to the October 2007 crash.

Although Bitcoin is the most traded virtual currency in terms of volume, more than 600 virtual crypto currencies have been created and adopted since Bitcoin’s inception in 2009.In December 2013 the PBoC restricted Chinese banks and virtual payment systems such as Alipay from using Bitcoin in their transactions, labelling the virtual currency a threat to financial stability.The move generated a Bitcoin price drop of 35% in less than one hour.Despite the ban, Bitcoin “mining” in China – high speed computers devoted to add transaction records to Internet public ledger of Bitcoin’s past transactions – is half of the worldwide network mining activities; the volume of Bitcoin traded in yuan accounts for approximately 80% of the total global volume.Crypto currencies – Bitcoin in primis – are poised to increase vulnerabilities and uncertainty in the Chinese economy during 2016.The security concerns for China are a broad threat spectrum.The immediate one is associated with increased capital flight that relies on Bitcoin as a tool to avoid strict Chinese capital controls.

Another concern is over the possible collapse of virtual Ponzi schemes, based on the promise of easy profits in virtual currencies, which are increasingly attracting a cross-section of Chinese society along with their savings.The collapse of one of these virtual pyramid schemes, that take advantage of the grey area in the Chinese financial regulations, could start a domino effect that within a few hours could consume the lifetime savings of un-savvy Chinese investors.The collapse of these fraudulent schemes or even the implosion of more legitimate funds linked to Bitcoin could ignite severe social unrest, greater than that witnessed during the October 2007 stock market crash.Over the long term, several other threats related to the use of Bitcoin are expected to affect China’s security.These threats include the lack of accountability in China’s growing shadow economy as well as providing an additional tool for the financing of terrorism and illegal activities such as kidnappers’ rings.

Just in the last months of 2015, a high-level case of kidnapping involving the Hong Kong tycoon Wong Kwan resulted in a Bitcoin ransom demand.In 2015, the Chinese government’s options in support of the stock market ranged from capital inflow restrictions to jail terms for short-sellers (traders who were betting against the market, thus profiting from the fall).In 2016 these options are more limited due to the dwindling foreign trade account surplus and the risks related to the possible burst of the provincial government and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) bad loan bubble, which could very well absorb the remaining reserves.In parallel with the yuan devaluation, the Chinese online Bitcoin exchanges (such as Okcoin, Huobi and BTC China) are experiencing an increased spread in the Bitcoin–US$ exchange rate.A weaker yuan will attract an increasing number of Chinese to hold assets denominated in Bitcoin.To assuage the concern of several western countries, China needs to take additional measures to address the unregulated use of virtual currency, particularly money laundering and terrorist financing.

The anonymity that is at the base of the crypto currencies is prone to abuse and must be taken into account when framing new regulations and policies.However, Bitcoin does not need to be stigmatised as a “terrorist currency” as it is just a medium for value transfer.In this respect calls to criminalise Bitcoin are not substantiated and could be the same as a demand to stop using the US dollar since it is the preferred currency in global drugs and arms transactions.Considering the role of the yuan with Bitcoin it is also possible to infer that future Chinese regulatory policies will have a greater influence on the Bitcoin’s global value.While PBoC is currently focused on containing the volatility of the yuan, constraining additional capital outflows and limiting the pressure to depreciate the yuan, there is an urgent need for a long-term Chinese approach in dealing with crypto currencies, particularly their use for illicit purposes.Due to the size of its economy, China now has an important impact on the global financial system.