By Jon Matonis Forbes Monday, May 13, 2013 http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2013/05/13/6-new-bitcoin-educational-resources/ In the fast-moving Bitcoin world, it’s crucial to stay up to date with the latest in educational resources and new media. The last two months have seen an explosion in media attention and a desire for new users to learn as much as possible about the global bitcoin economy. It is within this spirit that I present the latest Bitcoin educational resources to hit...

By Jon Matonis PaymentsSource Monday, May 13, 2013 http://www.paymentssource.com/news/cardflights-tech-may-someday-give-lift-to-new-payment-systems-3014106-1.html Typically, I don't cover or analyze so-called payments innovations that merely embrace and extend the legacy infrastructure, but a new middleware startup, CardFlight, could actually operate as a payments "air traffic controller" because its code sits directly between the consumer and the processor. CardFlight announced the...

By Jon Matonis American Banker Tuesday, May 7, 2013 http://www.americanbanker.com/bankthink/money-laundering-is-financial-thoughtcrime-1058902-1.html When people hear the term money laundering today, they envision the most evil of acts, in which gangsters process satchels of cash through a fabricated company to show it as business revenue. Words and semantics are very important in this post-9/11 world, and as far as creating a negative connotation, that parlance has been extremely...

By Jon Matonis Forbes Saturday, May 4, 2013 http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2013/05/04/bitcoin-on-the-paypal-network/ PayPal has recently entertained the notion of accepting and clearing the bitcoin unit on its pervasive platform. It’s a bit like the prince joining the revolution. Is this a good thing? Naturally, some bitcoin businesses will see this as PayPal moving in to usurp bitcoin’s popularity and momentum in the marketplace. But, depending on your outlook, it may not be...

By Jon Matonis American Banker Monday, April 29, 2013 http://www.americanbanker.com/bankthink/the-elephant-in-the-payments-room-bitcoin-1058703-1.html The payments industry has been ripe for disruption for as long as I can remember. Historically conservative and non-experimental, banking and financial services always appear to be the laggard for any new technology. But none of that has stopped recent innovators from pursuing things like Square, Stripe, Dwolla, FaceCash, ZooZ, Affirm,...

By Aaron Lasher Real Virtual Currency Saturday, April 27, 2013 https://chralash.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/bitcoin-provides-an-opportunity-to-expose-financial-regulation-as-political-favoritism-and-not-consumer-protection/ Bitcoin is, at present, almost entirely unregulated, save for a few vague guidelines from FinCEN.  The only real regulations imposed upon the exchange markets are those of supply and demand, at least for now. This is not the case regarding the large conventional markets...

General Counsel at the Bitcoin Foundation and VP of Business Development and General Counsel at CoinLab, Patrick Murck, recorded a podcast on April 26th, 2013 with the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists, a group connecting the global financial crime community. The talk was entitled: "Bitcoin’s promise and perils: What financial institutions should know about the new virtual currency." From the ACFCS website: Until recently, the virtual currency of Bitcoin may have had almost...

By Jon Matonis American Banker Thursday, April 25, 2013 http://www.americanbanker.com/bankthink/fincen-regulations-choking-bitcoin-entrepreneurs-1058606-1.html More than a decade ago, regulators nearly suffocated PayPal. Now it looks like they’re trying to squelch another disruptive, innovative payments system. At least three exchanges in the U.S. that traded the digital currency Bitcoin have shut down, apparently as a result of guidance issued last month by the Financial Crimes Enforcement...

By Jon Matonis Forbes Monday, April 22, 2013 http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2013/04/22/bitcoin-foundation-expands-global-media-opportunities/ The Bitcoin Foundation is an excellent template for a decentralized nonprofit project and I am proud to serve alongside the other dedicated board members on such a historic effort. Established seven short months ago, the foundation has recruited bitcoin’s lead developer (transparency of compensation is important), launched a grant program...

By Jon Matonis PaymentsSource Monday, April 22, 2013 http://www.paymentssource.com/news/bitcoin-pros-to-talk-merchant-acquisition-banking-opportunities-3013882-1.html With bitcoin in the media spotlight, everyone seems to have an opinion on the price. Few recognize the profound implications of decentralized money for the monetary system, society and government – not to mention the emerging business opportunities. The timing could not be better for the inaugural conference of the newly-formed...