Earlier this week, the process of pivoting away from bitcoin as a currency in their payments app.After previously deciding to denominate user accounts in fiat currencies by default, the payments application is now removing the ability to buy and sell bitcoin from their platform.In , Circle CEO claimed the company’s fiat-denominated payments are growing many times faster than bitcoin payments on their platform.Allaire also claimed Bitcoin has not evolved quickly enough to support common, everyday payments, and he pointed to what he perceives as development gridlock among contributors as the main cause of this lack of progress.Although Allaire is frustrated with the Bitcoin Core development community, the reality is that they their main scalability improvement, , this past October.While Circle has continued their pivot away from bitcoin, is doubling down on the digital currency.reached out to Blockchain CEO and co-founder to get his thoughts on Circle’s decision and Bitcoin’s ability to scale to a larger user base.When asked if he sympathizes with Circle’s decision to remove the ability to buy and sell bitcoin on their platform, Smith responded, “Of course – it’s never easy to pivot away from a product.”Having said that, Smith and Blockchain do not intend on making a similar move at any point in the near future.

In Smith’s view, sticking with Bitcoin is the better option because it allows for radical innovation to take place, as opposed to general improvements of the current system.“I believe that radical innovation comes not from incrementally improving the current system but, rather, from building a new system purpose-built for today’s global world,” said Smith.“Digital currencies and block chain technology are the first (and only) credible candidates to enable that transformation within financial services (and beyond).”To clarify, Circle is not giving up on blockchain technology as a whole.Indeed, they stated their intent to “[dive] headfirst into next-gen blockchain technology” in a recent announcement on their customer support page.Exactly what sort of blockchain technology Circle may use in the future is unclear at this point, but it leaves a large amount of room for interpretation due to the way “blockchain” is thrown around as a buzzword these days.Users may also still store, send, and receive bitcoin with their Circle accounts.

The only functionality that has been removed is the ability to transfer between bitcoin and fiat currencies.Circle will also continue to use Bitcoin in the background as a settlement mechanism.Ironically, Blockchain recently made the opposite decision when it comes to allowing their users to buy and sell bitcoin.bitcoin value in 2020The bitcoin wallet provider recently with to allow users to purchase bitcoin directly from within the app.ethereum block liveSmith believes moves like these where bitcoin is made faster and easier to acquire will give the digital currency a greater chance of success over the long term.While Smith believes Bitcoin has the potential to enable radically innovative changes to the way people move money around the world, he also sees the need for the network to increase capacity and allow for more transactions to take place every ten minutes (the average time when a new of transactions is confirmed).“Needless to say, it’s frustrating to see growing demand on our platform against the backdrop of a network that is increasingly overwhelmed,” added Smith.When Smith talks about the network becoming “overwhelmed,” he’s referring to periods of time when the demand for sending a Bitcoin transaction becomes so high that a larger backlog forms and users are forced to wait longer for their transactions to confirm.bitcoin banco de la republica

Earlier this year, Blockchain a dynamic fee structure in their wallet, which improves the user experience during these times of congestion.When blocks are full, all consumer-facing bitcoin businesses have to deal with endless support tickets from pissed off customers.— Roger Ver (@rogerkver) 7 December 2016Having said that, further improvements are definitely needed to help Bitcoin scale to more users.bitcoin in der krise“Dynamic fees have helped our users transact, but they are certainly not a long term fix to the problem before us,” said Smith.As mentioned above, the group of developers behind Bitcoin Core have released the next step in their plan for capacity increases for the network, which is called Segregated Witness.bitcoin satoshi faucetIn addition to increasing the overall capacity of each Bitcoin block, SegWit (as it’s sometimes called) will also enable advanced versions of various layer-2 Bitcoin protocols such as the .While Blockchain is working on their own Lightning Network implementation, called , Smith remains uncertain as to whether these solutions will provide Bitcoin with the capacity it needs to grow over the near term.ethereum coin cap

“SegWit, in concert with Lightning Networks (like Thunder), may help remedy a lot of the current backlog, but we won’t know its impact, if any, until [or] unless it is deployed,” said Smith.“Regardless, I’m hopeful we can work together as an ecosystem to build and deploy long term solutions that will support our ever growing user base.”litecoin mining pool howtoThe best and easiest ways to buy bitcoin in the UK.bitcoin bull or bearBuying bitcoin in the UK has never been an easy task, but it's certainly easier than it was.ethereum record priceEven during bitcoin's price explosion in 2013 you had to wire money to Mt Gox's Polish bank, send a scan of your passport, and face the risk that your pounds or bitcoin might eventually never make it out of the exchange.

Thankfully, things have changed since Mt Gox collapsed.Several UK exchanges have launched so we Brits should finally be able to purchase bitcoin without the cost of wiring money to a European bank.And with US-based Circle finally having its public launch, buying bitcoin just became even easier.One thing you will have to get used to is the price you pay being more than the current global average.This is normal, but for Brits it is a little more than you would pay in, say, the United States.So here are the best ways to exchange your hard-earned money for bitcoin in the UK as of December 2015.The premise here is that you pay an individual bitcoin seller directly, usually by bank transfer.The UK has an advantage over other countries with our Faster Payments network, meaning bank transfers can be made very quickly, often within 10 minutes.From a buyer’s perspective, you initiate a trade and make your transfer into the seller’s account using the details provided by the site.At the same time bitcoin are sent by the seller and held in escrow by the site until the seller confirms they have received your payment.

Bitcoin are then released to your account.The disadvantage is that peer-to-peer sites usually have at least £10-£15 mark-up on the global average price for bitcoin.But keep your eyes peeled on the price and you can pick up some bargains.LocalBitcoins operates similarly to eBay in that you can see a seller’s feedback and trade history and make your own decision whether you deem them trustworthy.Trades are mostly smooth, though some sellers will demand ID such as a scan of your credit card before they will deal with you.If you pay attention to their terms and only use sellers with 100+ positive feedback you should be fine.You can also buy bitcoin with cash by meeting the seller and making the transfer to your mobile phone on the spot.Bittylicious is a well-run site that facilitates peer-to-peer transfers without exposing you to the "wild west" presented by LocalBitcoins.You don't know who your seller is until you've initiated the trade, but all sellers are vetted by the site.Bittylicious won't allow you to make trades beyond a certain value until you've supplied sufficient ID verification, although smaller trades can go through without these requirements.

The site also offers a growing range of other cryptocurrencies and is one of the easiest ways to get started.Coinfloor have recently launched a peer to peer bitcoin marketplace called Coinfloor Market, with prices and liquidity sourced directly from their existing exchange.Unlike other peer to peer marketplaces, they only work with professional bitcoin brokers who have a long track record of successfully selling bitcoins in the UK and have passed through their strict vetting process.Buyers are able to speak directly to the brokers, and all bitcoins are stored in their 100% multi-signature cold storage system.The classic way to buy bitcoin is via an exchange.These operate in a similar fashion to established financial trading exchanges: you make an offer and someone else fulfils it, pushing the price up or down.The problem is that the UK’s financial landscape hasn’t caught up with bitcoin just yet.All UK exchanges have found it impossible to open a British bank account, and despite the best efforts of the Isle of Man, many are now languishing with banks located in the Eastern Bloc.

This makes it pricy and more hassle to transfer money to and from British exchanges because it has to be sent using SEPA, and until Britain’s banks soften on bitcoin it’s difficult to recommend an exchange for casual purchases.If you want to actually trade though - ie.buy and sell bitcoin for profit - these are your best bet.Arguably the exchange with the most liquidity (ie.money coming in and out), Coinfloor has free transfers into your trading account from £500 but charges a £10 fee for a less than £500 deposit.The site is regarded as trustworthy, publishing public audits of its assets every few months, and processing transfers out from its cold storage three times a day.It operates what's called a maker-taker fee model, whereby fees are charged according to whether you add liquidity to the order book ("maker"), or "take" liquidity away.So, if you place an order below or above the market rate you are defined as a "maker" but if you simply place at order at market rate you are defined as a "taker".

Because of its liquidity, Coinfloor's prices are often very close to the global average and they sometimes have fee-free trading periods that you can take advantage of.This means you may be able to end up with a very good rate for your bitcoin, offsetting the price you will have to pay to transfer your pounds into their Polish bank.CoinCorner operates from the Isle of Man and aims to become a one-stop shop for Bitcoin.In addition to the exchange, they offer a ​mobile wallet, as well as eCommerece plugins and a point of sale system for merchants.Deposits can be made via bank transfer and also credit/debit card.Fees depend on a number of factors such as trading volume​ and​ account status​,​ but typical fees start at 1%​ with no fee to deposit or withdraw Bitcoin.Since regulations ​were introduced ​for digital currency businesses​ on the Isle of Man​, CoinCorner ​is the first cryptocurrency exchange in the world to fall under the​ IOM​ Proceeds of Crime Act.Cryptopay allow you to buy bitcoins in the UK via bank transfer.

Before buying you are required to provide basic personal information, proof of ID, proof of residence and verify a telephone number.Cryptopay also offer merchant tools to enable your business to accept bitcoin payments and receive payouts in either pounds or euros.QuickBitcoin offers a quick and easy way to buy bitcoins in the UK.Using faster payments, most orders are completed within 10 minutes of receiving the funds.ID is required for fraud prevention and through their site you can buy up to around £2000 of bitcoin.If you want to sell bitcoin simply contact them for a quote.QuickBitcoin has high levels of liquidity and also runs a brokerage service for larger orders.Contact info@quickbitcoin.co.uk to request a quote for buying or selling over £2000 of bitcoin and they will give you a better price.Orders of over £100k are possible.Safello allow you to buy and sell bitcoins with Euro, GBP and SEK.As of January 25th, Safello lost it's ability to accept money in the UK using faster payments, meaning now money can only be sent to them using international bank wires.

Upon registration they require you to verify your identity by providing basic personal information, an image of an ID card (passport, national ID card or driving license) and a utility bill.After you've verified your identity, all you need to do is confirm your email address and complete the KYC form in order to be able to start buying bitcoins.Safello charges a transaction fee which is stated before you purchase your Bitcoins.The trading fee may vary depending on the frequency of your purchases and the size of your order.More and more bitcoin ATMs are appearing in cities across the UK.These machines allow you to use cash (and sometimes debit/credit cards) to buy bitcoin at a fair price and recieve it instantly into your chosen wallet.Some bitcoin ATMs also let you sell bitcoin and pay out cash.See our page for a map and list of machines available in the UK.Another useful service when looking to buy bitcoins in the UK is BittyBot.BittyBot monitors and compares the UK bitcoin market to help you find the best prices and most reputable traders.