Bitcoin Exchange MintPal Taken Over by Moopay LTD in Acquisition

Moopay LTD confirmed rumors and announced today that after long talks with leading altcoin exchange MintPal, they have acquired their business. Mintpal will join the ranks of Moopay’s payment processing service Moolah this August. Moopay plans to make serious security upgrades to the exchange, starting with a full audit and making sure all the back doors are closed.

Founded earlier this year, MintPal has always run a business model of quality over quantity. They have done their best to make sure scam-like coins do not enter their trading platform. The exchange has seen a high amount of success, but was recently the target of a hacking attack where Vericoin was targeted specifically and successfully stolen. The theft caused the Vericoin developers to hard-fork the coin, and Mintpal lost a bit of trust.

Security seems to be the main focus of Moopay in the recent acquisition. Moopay Founder and CEO Alex Green wrote a blog on the acquisition, titled “We’re Taking Over MintPal, Here’s What You Need To Know” where he explained their plans for the altcoin exchange.

“In my opinion they were, and still are, one of the better exchanges out there. They have a great UI, a number of diverse markets and a highly active user base. The exchange has a number of great points, and the entire moolah.io team felt as if we could take it to the next level. With a full revamp in terms of security and performance, MintPal could be taken to new heights.”

 

“Our first action to take regarding MintPal, is to beef up the security, make a number of performance tweaks; do a formal audit and review of operational procedures. Once this is done, we will focus on introducing new features to both platforms. They already have a great platform, we just need to make sure that all the doors are locked, and that none of the windows are open.”

In the acquisition, MintPal will now have the Moopay 24/7 customer support. Along with this, MintPal will have a desktop based trading platform created and a long-anticipated mobile trading interface. The change will happen throughout August, but there will be no down-time according to Moopay LTD.

MintPal vs. Moolah’s Already Existing Trade Platform

 

 

Moopay already has a trading platform integrated with their Moolah platform, but Green plans to make sure MintPal stays separate from the Moolah platform. Before the Moolah trading platform, there was Prelude that saw success, but was eventually phased out to incorporate Moolah Trade instead.

Mintpal will be the “go-to place for divergent altcoin markets with coin based pairings,” Green stated, starting with Bitcoin. He plans to cut out any dead coins on the market and add new coins once they decide on a proper system of decision-making.

Moolah trading will focus on FIAT markets as they already have U.S. dollar markets established. “As a result, we will be removing the coin based pairings from Moolah Trade on August 7th, 2014,” Green said. “Moolah Trade will focus exclusively on making it easier to get involved with digital currencies, which means we will be working tirelessly in order to bring our instant buy, sell and local payment mechanisms online as soon as possible.”

Source: The Bitcoin News

Coinapult Launches LOCKS, a Tool to Eliminate Bitcoin Price Volatility

Bitcoin’s price volatility has long been viewed as one of the biggest barriers to mainstream consumer adoption, but while a long-recognized problem, the issue has yet to be addressed by any specific market solutions.

That is set to change, however, with the introduction of a new service from Panama-based bitcoin wallet provider Coinapult. Called LOCKS, the offering allows users outside the US to peg the value of their BTC to the price of gold, silver, British pounds, US dollars and euros.

Coinapult CEO Ira Miller told CoinDesk that despite suggestions that consumers in the developed world may be less concerned with bitcoin’s volatility, this doesn’t mean that the bitcoin industry shouldn’t move to address this potential pain point in a bid to better court the market.

Miller explained:

“I think that [global consumers] have a higher tolerance for [price volatility] because they have been forced to suffer through a lot more volatility from their own currencies. It’s not necessarily because bitcoin is volatile and that’s something they’re comfortable with, it’s that they look less volatile compared to their national currency and if they had access to something like gold for instance, maybe they’d prefer that over either.”

Of course, Miller sees the solution as broadly appealing, mentioning the potential usefulness of LOCKS for bitcoin businesses that want to better manage their supply chain as well as the growing number of employees that are paid in bitcoin, adding:

“People can’t really afford to hold bitcoin for very long. You’ve got to pay rent at the end of the month in euros or dollars, you may even at this time convince your landlord to pay rent using the bitcoin network, but at at the same time, you may have market action that happens during those 15 days that means you can’t cover that anymore.”

Founded in 2012, the release marks the first new consumer offering from Coinapult in some time. Miller explained that Coinapult has been primarily focusing on B2B solutions, merchant processing and other verticals that position it to better serve Latin America, as well as its SMS and email-based bitcoin sending solutions.

Miller added: “We think that these new consumer-facing services are going to be really big in Latin America and we see Latin America as the hottest emerging market for bitcoin all around.”

How LOCKS works

When users first log in to their Coinapult wallet, they can navigate to the ‘My Locks’ screen for the option to lock a certain portion of their wallet holdings to a selected asset.

Coinapult charges no fees for using the locking service, and does not sell bitcoin to consumers. At the point a user locks in a value or unlocks the value of their BTC, Miller explained, Coinapult quotes the user for a certain number of coins at a certain price.

“If you exercise [locking or unlocking the funds], we’re guaranteeing that we’ll provide you a certain number of coins at that price,” Miller said. “If I lock 0.0085 BTC to the price of the US dollar, I will always have $5 worth of bitcoin to spend. What that specific amount is at the time is dependent on the market, but it will always be the same. It will always be six euros worth of bitcoin.”

All funds are only redeemable in bitcoin, meaning users who peg a certain amount of BTC to an ounce of gold cannot receive an ounce of gold from Coinapult.

Users can also increase or decrease the amount of their lock should they want to access their holdings for expenses or other purposes.

“Let’s say I think the pound is strong and I think I’m going to have expenses in pounds coming up. It takes me to a confirmation page. I click ‘Yes’. At this point it’s made me a quote, it’s giving me a price for this transaction.”

Miller further clarified: “If the BTC-to-pound exchange rate doubles, then tomorrow I get half as much bitcoin back, but it’s £3 worth of bitcoin.”

 

Easing introductory conversations

Though Coinapult does not sell bitcoin to new users, Miller still sees his tool as one aimed at helping to onboard consumers to the bitcoin ecosystem.

For example, he described Coinapult as a service that could appeal to consumers in Kenya who want to settle a debt at a bar or restaurant, saying:

“You buy a drink for your friend and he says ‘I don’t have cash, why don’t I just send you some bitcoin?’. If that guy doesn’t have a wallet already, it can be kind of a challenge to actually get him to accept the payment. Even if he’s willing and curious, he still needs to get set up and you need to work through some logistics to make that initial payment.”

Miller sees LOCKS as a solution to this issue, one that would allow the bitcoin sender in the scenario with a way to introduce the receiver to bitcoin while preserving the value that he paid in the original transaction.

“They can receive their first bitcoin payment and immediately lock it to gold or their local currency, and at that moment they’ve experienced bitcoin the payment network for the first time, and hopefully the locking action will eliminate one or two of the things that will be very new and uncomfortable for them about that experience,” Miller said.

 

First to market

Given that finding solutions to bitcoin’s price volatility could prove integral to increasing adoption, Miller also discussed why he believes his company was the first to come to the market with a solution.

For example, Miller noted that gold-backed bitcoin initiatives have fallen short for consumers due to their inability to find a middle ground between fiat and digital currency.

Miller said:

“The fundamental misunderstanding is that gold is gold and dollars and euros are centralized assets, so you can’t decentralize them, you need a central party to be a steward of whatever the centralized asset.”

The CEO also went on to state that Coinapult’s willingness to operate outside of the US market was a factor, as regulation there, he said, makes it unclear whether such a solution could be provided.

Miller also believes that bringing the solution to market is a testament to what his team has achieved, adding:

“We think we’ve hit a sweet spot on the legal front, nothing like this has existed before. And where we choose to operate from, that’s all very fine balance that we spent a lot of time working out.”

Source : http://www.coindesk.com

Introducing Coinsetter SMS Bitcoin Price Alerts 

 

As major changes in the bitcoin space continue to unfold, it is crucial to stay up-to-date on the bitcoin price when the market begins to fluctuate. To help notify you of important price movements in real time while you are away from your computer, Coinsetter is introducing its premier bitcoin price alerts platform that allows you to receive SMS price alert texts and/or emails directly to your mobile phone. Through Coinsetter price alerts, you’ll never have to miss an important trading opportunity again. Best of all, price alerts are integrated into your Coinsetter account so that you can easily keep track of and modify your outstanding alerts while you trade online. Alerts arrive to you from a dedicated Coinsetter phone number too, so you can add custom text message settings to your phone to make sure you hear Coinsetter alerts even if your phone is on silent.

All Coinsetter accounts now automatically have access to this new trading feature. Our users can set alerts to any bitcoin price, whether it be $1 or $10,000, and Coinsetter will instantly send a message to you when the last traded price crosses the alert threshold. To use price alerts, simply sign into your Coinsetter account and go to the Price Alerts tab at the top of the screen. Once there, you can set your personal alerts for any price, up to a total of five alerts. We believe you’ll love the value this new feature adds to your bitcoin trading strategies.

Source : http://www.coinsetter.com

Atlas ATS Expands Institutional Bitcoin Exchange to European Market

New York-based bitcoin exchange services provider Atlas ATS has announced the launch of its latest international offering, Atlas ATS Europe.

The product of a partnership with Spain-based bitcoin ATM network and exchange specialist Recol Pro S.A., the launch follows the announcement of Atlas ATS‘s Asian market entrance this July. That initiative found Atlas ATS partnering with China-based bitcoin ATM manufacturer BitOcean for a new, yet-to-be launched venture called BitOcean Japan.

Speaking to CoinDesk, Atlas ATS CEO Shawn Sloves and chief marketing and communications officer Rafi Reguer indicated that the European expansion is simply the latest example of the ‘global-local model’ that the exchange is seeking to leverage to expand internationally.

Reguer explained that Atlas has been seeking to partner with experienced local operators in a number of high-interest markets in a bid to ensure regulatory compliance for consumers, saying:

“One of the things that distinguishes Atlas is the idea of embracing regulation and trying to get regulated. For the vast majority of individual investors and institutions out there, if digital currency is going to be a real thing that they invest in, it’s got to be on a platform that’s similar to the existing equities and futures exchanges, all of the bells and whistles that come with that, with all the audit-ability and technology.”

It’s this commitment to the design of its offering and its unique plan for scaling its business that has won praise from top industry analysts such as Wedbush partner Gil Luria.

Luria told Institutional Investor in June that he believes Atlas to be the frontrunner at creating a world-class trading platform, ahead of even existing market heavyweights such as SecondMarket and Kraken.

Three-pronged market approach

Atlas ATS Europe will offer three key components that the firm believes will make it initially attractive to local bitcoin traders – a trading platform, a multi-signature digital wallet, and a bitcoin ATM network.

Ignacio Ozcariz, CEO of Recol, said that the partnership also represents a deeper commitment to the space on behalf of his firm, which has historically specialized in telecommunications and IT offerings, saying:

“Recol is positioning itself to be a global operator in the bitcoin ecosystem and Atlas ATS Europe is a key part of that strategy.”

ATM access will be limited to Spain at launch. However, Recol has promised to expand its network dramatically following the partnership.

Atlas ATS Europe will link to the company’s US order book in order to provide a deeper pool of initial liquidity, and European and US customers will now be able to buy and sell bitcoin in either US dollars or euros.

Global expansion continues

Speaking to CoinDesk, Sloves indicated that Atlas is currently seeking to expand its exchange through more partnerships around the globe, and that a new offering in Dubai could be the next to launch.

Sloves said that, by working with local operators, Atlas is able to expand its offerings in a legally compliant way, a practice that he feels best positions Atlas for long-term market impact. He explained that in Asia, for instance, it sought to work in Hong Kong and Singapore before settling on Japan, highlighting some of the unique considerations his firm made in this market.

Sloves said:

“In Singapore, we were developing local registration for AML and KYC, but the one thing that we look for in a country is partnerships. In Singapore, you need a local operator, someone who has a national ID card and can file a corporation. [...] In other countries, we set up banking relationships. We’re going to have local operators to handle local law and local compliance.”

By building strong relationships on each continent, Atlas ATS aims to bring all the pieces together for a global bitcoin exchange with enough liquidity to attract institutional investors.

Hinting at future plans, Sloves further said: “We’re also launching Africa, where we’re working with another partner firm, and eventually South America.”

Drinking the Kool-Aid

Having worked in the financial industry since the early 1990s, Sloves held positions as a capital markets specialist and co-founded multi-asset trading technology firm Fundamental Interactions in 2011.

After developing an interest in bitcoin, Sloves attended the Bitcoin2013 conference in San Jose and decided to leverage Fundamental Interactions’ technology to launch a digital currency exchange:

“We had a built matching engine for Wall Street firms, so we figured, we’re trading bitcoin, we’re spending millions of dollars on this, why don’t we apply it to digital currency?”

The move was more than savvy business, however, as Sloves also stressed the passion that his firm has for the project:

“One thing that makes us a little different, we believe in digital currency, we want to support it, increase usership, price stability, that’s our main objective. First and foremost, we drank the Kool-Aid, we believe the whole protocol and how it’s going to change everything. That’s what gets us up everyday in doing this stuff.”

Atlas ATS officially launched in March of this year, but has been offering private markets trading since late 2013.

 Source : http://www.coindesk.com

Apple and Bitcoin Make Peace with Blockchain

 

Remember how Apple pulled all the cryptocurrency apps back in January? With the news that Apple would once again be allowing digital currency wallets, Blockchain has been working on re-releasing their wallet app, and it’s finally here.

Those with jailbroken Iphones were able to bypass Apple’s restrictive App Store and download the Blockchain app through Cydia, the App Store-equivalent for jailbroken phones. Those without jailbroken phones were left with a choice to either be left without any bitcoin wallet or jailbreak their phone. However jailbreaking your phone comes with the risk of blocking your phone, and the hassle of having to jailbreak after every Apple update, but now Blockchain is back on the App Store.

 

Blockchain was the most downloaded Bitcoin wallet on the Itunes store and was also the last wallet to be shut down by Apple. Users of the app reacted strongly to Blockchain being pulled from the Itunes store, yet Apple stood by their decisions until March. In March, they reversed their decision and their new regulatory guidelines state:

 “Apps may facilitate transmission of approved virtual currencies provided that they do so in compliance with all state and federal laws for the territories in which the app functions.“

 

Now that the restrictions have been lifted, Blockchain has returned to the App Store with the latest iOS Wallet. This marks the first Bitcoin wallet to be reinstalled in the App Store this year. Nicolas Cary, the CEO of Blockchain, made the announcement and today stated,

“The new iOS Wallet has been completely rewritten from the ground up with an emphasis on security and usability. A beautiful and simple user experience has been designed to make Bitcoin easier than ever to use for new consumers around the world.

‘We’re very excited to continue investing in iOS again and working with Apple to reimagine how the world transacts,’ says Nicolas Cary, CEO of Blockchain.”

Bitcoin having a presence on the App Store not only provides Bitcoin users with a way to take their coins with them, but it goes a long way to legitimize Bitcoin and strengthens the community. Blockchain is the most popular Bitcoin wallet in the world with over 1.9 million users and now will be the first wallet added back to the App Store.

 

Taking into consideration Blockchains success before being pulled, I’d expect their app to be just as widely used as before if not more. The app looks sleek and easy to use, and it’s feeling and appearance mimicking banking apps. It aesthetically pleasing and feels intuitive to use. The added security is a must have when taking into the consideration you might forget your Iphone on the subway.

For those of us who didn’t break our Iphones and purchased Android phones, it’s time to head to the App Store.

Source : http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com

Jon Matonis: It’s Becoming Obvious to Major Businesses That Adopting Bitcoin is a No-Brainer

 Jon Matonis is the Executive Director of the Bitcoin Foundation, a prominent cryptocurrency researcher and advocate, and columnist for Forbes and CoinDesk.

We reached out to Matonis recently to get his thoughts on the foundation, BitLicenses and news about big companies such as Dell accepting Bitcoin payments.

CoinTelegraph: The Bitcoin Foundation has been criticized recently for being insufficiently transparent. What do you say to that criticism?

Jon Matonis: [Editor’s note: The foundation’s head of marketing and communications first replied that Matonis and Gavin Andresen had both publicly responded to that criticism on Twitter here, here, here and here.]

We are actually perplexed by the criticism. Mostly because it is so vague. As reporters, have you asked to clarify what “transparency” even means in this context? Next week, we are launching our new website, which is way more easy to navigate. We’re so excited it’s finally ready.

Source : http://www.thebitcoinchannel.com

The Truth About Bitcoin – Dispelling Common Myths About The Digital Currency

Bitcoin has become frequently talked about in the financial media. Despite this the general public is still relatively under informed when it comes to this digital currency.

In a January 2014 poll it was found that only 25% of US adults were familiar with Bitcoin. This means that there is still significant room to educate the general public about the advantages of using a peer-to-peer digital currency. To address some of those knowledge gaps here are some of the most common myths about Bitcoin as well some of its key benefits.

Myth #1: Bitcoin is no different to any other digital currency
There have been many other digital currencies in the past, including Beenz, Liberty Dollars and eGold. However these digital currencies are not the same as Bitcoin. These digital currencies were subject to control by financial regulators, governments and central banks. As a consequence they could only be issued according to the permission of these third parties. These third parties could destroy the currency or impose their own controls. Bitcoin is decentralised and therefore it is not subject to these types of controls.

Myth #2: Bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme
One of the most common attacks on that coin is that it is some type of Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme uses funds from new investors in order to pay out the original ones. The nature of the Ponzi scheme is that at some point it must inevitably collapse. Bitcoin is different in that any investor in the currency can benefit. Bitcoin is not an investment scheme but a rather a decentralised peer-to-peer currency that is useful both as a store of value and as a means of exchange. As Bitcoin rises in value relative to other currencies both early and later adopters benefit.

Myth #3 : There are no benefits to Bitcoin beyond its investment value
This is quite untrue as Bitcoin has a number of advantages over both fiat currencies and gold. Compared to a fiat currency, such as US dollars, Bitcoin is anonymous, faster to transfer, not based on debt, limited in supply, and not controlled by central authority. As a consequence governments cannot simply print more Bitcoins when they want to stimulate the economy.

Because of the dangers of a Fiat currency many people have called for a return to the gold backed system. However Bitcoin has a number of advantages over gold including being easier to secure, verify and to transfer.

Negatives associated with Bitcoin
Most of the negative press that has been associated with Bitcoin has to do with Bitcoin exchange platforms. These are places where but coins can be exchanged for sovereign currencies and other digital currencies. The largest of these exchanges was Mt Gox which was based in Japan. By 2013 it was handling 70% of all Bitcoin transactions.

In February 2014 it suspended trading and close its website. At the time 850,000 Bitcoins which had the equivalent value of US$450 million went missing. Since that time 200,000 of these Bitcoins have been found but the rest remain missing. It’s important to note that the dangers in the system lay with Mt Gox which was insecure and poorly managed, rather than than Bitcoin itself.

It is important that all citizens understand what Bitcoin is and its implications for the economy. As Nobel Peace Prize nominee Leon Louw has noted:

‘Every informed person needs to know about Bitcoin because it might be one of the world’s most important developments.’

Source : http://bitcoinmagazine.com

SWIFT Institute Offers €15,000 for Bitcoin Research Project

 

The SWIFT Institute has announced it is launching a new research programme on digital currencies, with a €15,000 grant on offer for the author of the winning proposal.

The institute is looking for research on recent developments in digital currencies and cryptocurrencies, but places an emphasis on bitcoin, which it describes as “arguably the most popular” digital currency.

“With bitcoin’s increasing usage, virtual currencies are becoming more of a reality. There are bitcoin ATMs in more than 10 countries worldwide, and the currency is increasingly accepted by mainstream retailers,” the SWIFT Institute says, in a call for proposals titled, ‘Virtual Currencies: What are the “real” risks?‘.

Peter Ware, director of the SWIFT Institute told CoinDesk:

“It is a very topical area impacting the global financial industry and the world in general, and one that is increasingly discussed at conferences, in the media, at the central bank level, etc. For many people, however, it is not a topic that is fully understood.  Through academic research, the SWIFT Institute is aiming to provide some concrete input to the discussion.”

Risks and advantages

In an overview of the subject, the institute points out that there are an average of 40,000-80,000 bitcoin transactions per day, adding that the volume is “expected to rise exponentially” as the currency gains acceptance.

The institute outlines a number of potential potential advantages and challenges associated with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that the research proposals will need to address:

• What is the net economic impact of virtual currencies?
• Do the lower transaction costs outweigh resources expended in mining?
• What is the relationship between virtual currencies and real money?
• How can banks and virtual currencies cooperate?
• What are the risks involved in using virtual currencies?
• What role can or should regulators and central banks play?
• What are the potential impacts of distributed ledger technologies?
• Would pegging/fixing exchange rates help stabilise virtual currencies?
• How can criminal activity be avoided when using digital currencies?

The document also adds that the research proposals can be either theoretical or empirical in nature.

How to submit a proposal

The institute requires all applicants to submit a CV or biography with all relevant information about the applicant, who is also required to submit a 2,500 word description of the research project. The deadline is August 20th 2014. The SWIFT institute told CoinDesk that it currently has a handful of proposals, but the institute typically receives proposals very close to the deadline.

The winning author will receive 50% of the grant immediately, while the remaining 50% will be paid out when the working paper is submitted.

Once the research is completed, the SWIFT Institute will make it available to the financial industry and it will be freely available to anyone who wishes to download it.

The SWIFT Institute is an offshoot of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), which effectively sets the standards for interbank digital transactions and currently works with more than 10,500 banks and other banking organisations.

The institute was founded in 2012 with the goal of researching the current operations and future needs of the global financial services system. Part of its job is to award grants to attract more academics to tackle industry challenges and explore new ideas.

 Source : http://www.coindesk.com

BTC China Upgrades Mobile App with New Trading Pairs, Live Charts

BTC China has upgraded its mobile app, saying it is the first Chinese exchange to allow users to trade in three trading pairs: BTC/CNY, LTC/CNY, and LTC/BTC.

The app, ‘Mobile Exchange 2.0′, is cross-platform and HTML5 based, running in mobile browsers. It now also offers streaming real-time market data and candlestick charts for the aforementioned currencies, giving traders the ability to monitor market trends anytime and anywhere.

BTC China is charging 0% trading fees on its web and mobile platforms, with a 0.38% withdrawal fee being its only charge. Users may still have to pay third-party bank fees to transfer funds into their accounts, however.

 

Mobile Exchange availability and features

The upgraded app now includes some more familiar smartphone and tablet gestures such as ‘swipe to edit’ and ‘swipe to cancel’, plus other features that allow traders to respond quickly to price movements with minimal navigation. Furthermore, Mobile Exchange 2.0 is available in 10 languages.

Aimed more at traders, it is a separate entity to the ‘Picasso’ app, which BTC China calls its ‘wallet and mobile ATM’. Picasso allows everyday users to track prices and set their own commissions to trade bitcoin face to face.

 

Litecoin trading and value

BTC China introduced litecoin trading in March this year. The world’s second-most-popular cryptocurrency, which was the invention of CEO Bobby Lee’s brother Charles, is now traded on several exchanges, but has suffered a price slump lately.

Once tied closely to the price fortunes of bitcoin, litecoin has gone from a high of around $48 at the same time bitcoin reached its zenith in late 2013 to around $7.47 on both BTC China and BTC-e today.

The altcoin’s supporters say litecoin’s peaks and troughs are merely a normal part of a cryptocurrency’s lifecycle, and point out that its fortunes are still connected to bitcoin’s. Charles Lee himself has described litecoin as being “still in the speculator stage” of its development.

 

About BTC China

BTC China, which claims to be the world’s oldest bitcoin exchange, also recently added USD and HKD deposits and withdrawals to its platform as part of its “plans for aggressive international expansion”. At the time of bitcoin’s December peak, it was China’s most popular exchange.

At present, the majority of BTC China’s users are still located in Beijing and Shanghai, although the company said they expect the number of users from other regions to increase significantly soon.

Founded in 2011, the company raised $5m in Series A funding from Lightspeed China partners in September 2013.

Source : http://www.coindesk.com

CoinTerra Acquires Bitcoin Software Developer Bits of Proof

 

Bitcoin mining hardware firm CoinTerra has announced the acquisition of enterprise software company Bits of Proof.

Under the terms of the deal, Bits of Proof CEO Tamás Blummer will join CoinTerra, assuming the position of Vice President of Enterprise Software, while CoinTerra will gain access to BOP assets, including its ‘enterprise-ready’ implementation of the bitcoin protocol.

Bits of Proof (BOP) is a Hungarian software firm that builds business-focused solutions based on block-chain technology. Last year the company launched the BOP Enterprise Bitcoin Server, which it dubbed the ‘Red Hat for Bitcoin‘.

The BOP protocol has already been used to develop BopShop, a merchant payment processor for online retailers and traditional brick-and-mortar shops. The protocol was also used to develop real-time auditable exchange Bullion Bitcoin and the TREZOR hardware bitcoin wallet.

Piece of the enterprise mining puzzle

CoinTerra says Bits of Proof’s modern and modular implementation of the bitcoin protocol will provide its TruePeta architecture with unparalleled reliability, performance and scalability for large-scale bitcoin mining operations.

“By acquiring Bits of Proof, CoinTerra gains enterprise software expertise and solutions that complement our expertise in hardware development and significantly strengthen our offering,” said Ravi Iyengar, CEO of CoinTerra.

“The software solutions developed by Bits of Proof and the expertise of Tamás Blummer represent an important piece of the enterprise mining puzzle that will allow us to grow our operations quickly and [securely] at peak efficiency.”

“With CoinTerra, the Bits of Proof software stack is sure to become the industry standard software stack for bitcoin in enterprises,” said Blummer.

What does this mean for existing BOP products?

The announcement does not shed light on how the news might affect BOP’s existing products and services. The company currently offers BopShop, myTREZOR server and Bullion Bitcoin products. The firm says it has other projects in the pipeline and believes the bitcoin network will cause fundamental changes in the way financial services operate.

Prior to the acquisition, Bits of Proof was an independent, self-funded company based in Budapest, headed by financial services veterans such as Blummer.  It remains to be seen what CoinTerra plans to do with the BOP software stack and ongoing development projects.

 Source : http://www.coindesk.com