Circle, one of the earliest and best-funded startups in the bitcoin industry has announced a curtain call on selling and buying the cryptocurrency.The former bitcoin startup hinted at folding as a bitcoin exchange in a blog late last night.An excerpt from that blog read: [W]e’re making payments more social than ever and diving headfirst into next-gen blockchain technology, rather than the buying and selling of bitcoin itself.While Circle will cease buying and selling of bitcoin, the company will continue to allow customers to hold bitcoin within their registered accounts, as well as receive the cryptocurrency toward a bitcoin address associated with a user’s account.Ironically, Circle is now referring users looking to buy and sell bitcoin over to Coinbase, a former competitor in the space, with which it is now in a ‘preferred partnership’ with.Current users who are looking to pull their bitcoin reserves from their Circle accounts can send it to a different address or cash out to fiat currency, with a linked bank card or account.

The announcement was further confirmed in a blog today by Circle co-founders Sean Neville and Jeremy Allaire, who revealed the decision was taken alongside the launch of Spark, a new proprietary blockchain-based protocol by the firm.Spark will become the company’s focus moving forward, which the startup deems as “a set of protocol additions that provides a way for digital wallets to exchange value using blockchains, including Bitcoin, as settlement layers.” Also read: Circle is Distancing Themselves from Bitcoin Further, the co-founders stated that their vision to make money work as seamlessly as the internet remains and the tools to implement its goals have now switched over from bitcoin to Spark, a “next-generation blockchain technology” as Circle calls it.Elaborating further on the decision to move away from bitcoin as the company’s focus, the co-founders stated: We have never been focused on convincing consumers to replace their familiar native currencies with bitcoin, but instead wanted to bring the benefits of public blockchains and digital assets to consumers without requiring them to know the technical details.

Spark was developed with certain key requirements including adhering to full KYC/AML (know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering) requirements around the world, the startup revealed.bitcoin starter guideAdditionally, conversion to fiat currencies at local exchange rates was also a priority.bitcoin belly upCircle co-founder and chief executive Jeremy Allaire also hinted at another reason as to leaving bitcoin as the chosen currency or tool for exchange of value, seamlessly.bitcoin book andreasSpeaking to the Wall Street Journal, Allaire stated: The story is one of essentially gridlock amongst core developers, while mainstream companies are using this technology.le bitcoin en bourse

We’ve been deeply frustrated with that lack of progress, and we want to move it forward.bitcoin purchase western unionSpark is expected to be announced as an open source project with code to be released this week.bitcoin bangkok postIts implementation will also see Circle gain a presence in two new markets, South Korea and the Philippines, wherein local Fintech startups Korbit – a bitcoin exchange and Coins.ph, a financial inclusion startup, respectively, will be adopting Spark APIs.bitcoin deniedAs a result, users can engage in direct fiat-to-fiat transfers from the US, UK and European countries where Circle has a presence to users in Philippines and South Korea over a blockchain with the benefits of near-instantaneous and low-cost transfers.fbi agents bitcoin

One of the best-funded startups in the bitcoin industry, Circle recently raised $60 million in a funding round toward an expansion effort in China.ethereum data typesCircle is also the recipient of New York State’s first ever BitLicense and an electronic money license in Britain.Images from Shutterstock and Circle.Join our Telegram Channel!Get Bitcoin News stories in Telegram × DismissEthereum is a new form of computer programming; it is a form of digital currency that goes beyond Bitcoin, and others.Ethereum is being used as a tool for revolutionary ideas, it is quite remarkable!On the ProGnost Watch web page, Bitcoin and virtual currencies are mentioned several times.My wife Cheryl and I have been following the evolvement of virtual currencies since 2013.Bitcoin was released in 2009, but to our understanding 2013 was the year when many became more became aware of it.Around the same time, those who were focused on Bitcoin, were focused on a newer version, referenced as Bitcoin 2.0.

One such person was Vitalik Buterin.Born in Russia, and living in Toronto, Canada, Vitalik, just 17 years old in 2011, became interested in Bitcoin and started writing about it, co-founding Bitcoin Magazine.In late 2013, early 2014 he proposed Ethereum as a new type of Bitcoin 2.0, which he described as, “a Next-Generation Cryptocurrency and Decentralized Application Platform."His idea was crowd funded in 2014, with a net investment of about $18.5 million U.S.He also won the World Technology Award that year for his co-creation and invention of Ethereum.Ethereum was released to the public on July 30, 2015.At the time of writing this in May 2016, Ethereum and Vitalik Buterin are coming more and more into the consciousness of society, at an accelerating rate.Ethereum is viewed by many to have the potential to change society and the Internet, including is the upcoming “Internet of Things,” robotics, and who knows what else.Blockchain is a new way of communicating information with “trust” that can be used in society in a variety of ways, from finance, business, communication, which governments and companies are starting to look at.

Yes, there are other Blockchain technologies and software technologies being developed, where to my understanding, Ethereum is gaining incredible popularity and focus.You may ask why I am so focused on this Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum?Vitalik may one day be viewed similar to the founders of Apple and Microsoft, for the evolution of the “Blockchain,” robotics and a new society; one that would have a beneficial effect on life as we know it.Jim Self has mentioned that the younger generations are wired differently.Please check out some short you tube videos of Vitalik Buterin, and Ethereum, and you may see for yourself someone who to me stands out in reference supporting what Jim Self has mentioned.He also has many others supporting and using this new technology, from many generations and ages.Click these links for more information: Ethereum: the World Computer Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Breathes Blockchain – Disrupt London 2015Will Ethereum Beat Bitcoin to Mainstream Microtransactions?Just as with the present 2016 version of the Internet, computers, and smart phones now in use, it seems that we all enjoy the benefits of this technology.