using Bitcoin to cross Africa
In January 2013 we set off from Reykjavik Iceland with 15 passengers
in an ex army 4×4 truck, headed for Cape Town. This was the first ever
Expedition tour from Iceland, 66° North to 33° South. It was a epic 6
month adventure via West, Central and Southern Africa. mostly camping
and cooking together as a group.
We started off the tour in Iceland spending time on the South Coast
for a few days and visiting the glacier lagoon and passing through
volcanic landscapes until we came to the ferry port Seyðisfjörður, from
there we sailed to the Faro Islands which is a small Danish autonomous
island in the middle of the Atlantic and then we made our way onto
Denmark to start the journey across Europe. We spent a cold and wet week
driving across Germany and France staying some nights in old medieval
towns and arrived in the sun in Spain were we spent time getting a few
emergency food supplies for our journey through Africa, mostly pasta and
ketchup.
From Spain we sailed past Gibraltar to Morocco and visited the market
towns of Marrakesh and Fes then headed south to the Sahara, spending
time in a Bedouin camp and also an ex French foreign legion fort in
middle of the desert (pretty amazing).
We continued south for the next couple of months,across the vast
deserts and sand dunes of Mauritania to the jungles of Senegal/Ivory
coast, eventually we arrived at our halfway point in Ghana. There we
found an amazing unspoilt beach and camped there for a week, going
skinny dipping in the nights and making a BBQ of a whole local goat.
Afterwards we spent the next few weeks in the capital cities of Ghana,
Togo and Benin sorting out visas and enjoying some last few luxuries’s
before we headed into the more difficult parts of our journey.But before
this we had time to visit some local fetish markets and participate in
voodoo ceremony’s.
We entered Nigeria, which is large and has good roads but has a bad
reputation for corruption and security, because of this we drove across
fast and instead of our normal camping in the bush or on the beach we
only stayed in places that had secure compounds and guards,but strangely
this meant that we often stayed in 5 star hotels,with big pools and
fancy bars,but surprisingly camping in the back for free.
After the stress of Nigeria, we stayed a while on a few different
beaches in Cameroon,taking time to go visit a Pygmy village were the
locals introduced us to there traditional instrument and dances. then
onto the national parks of Gabon that host wild elephants, while
sleeping the nights in jungles with monkeys jumping over our tents in
the trees . Our most difficult roads were to come after this in the
Congo’s and Angola.
At this point we were happy to be driving a 4×4 ex-army truck, no other vehicle would be able to cross such bad roads and difficult terrain. Other tour company’s had to cancel continuing because they were in to big trucks or send the vehicle on a ship, but we just kept driving through… it got rough, but by this point in the trip we were all working well as a team and being in extremely remote areas was not a worry to us all as we were well equipped with our own water, food,gas, tents,fuel, tools and spare parts i case anything went wrong.
We were rewarded after the rough roads with Namibia, a very developed
country. Everyone was smiling as we were greeted by a shopping mall and
able to go instantly on-line (emails etc). It’s the little things you
miss . We visited one of the best national parks in the world, the
Etosha park. We saw every animal possible, watching lions get chased
away from the waterholes by rhinos, as well as elephants, giraffes
,zebra, and wildebeests. At night we could hear the lions roar as we
went to sleep,fortunately we had a fence around us to keep the lions
out.
From the national park we began our journey to cross into South
Africa, travelling along the western coastline and spending the last few
days together .We sat together watching the remaining sunsets thinking
back on the last 6 months of travelling together.
We had finally arrived to our final destination, 20,000km, 20
countries with a whole lot of fun and friends for life… In Cape Town we
said our goodbyes.
Sound like your idea of travel ? …….. we’re organising another one.
Reykjavik to Cape Town, leaving Iceland in January 2015 taking 6 months
to travel through 20 countries. Through Europe, West and Central Africa
and South Africa, we’ll be mostly camping and getting to some real
remote and unforgettable areas.
Source : http://thebitcoinnews.co.uk
It’s been quite an amazing journey with Bitcoin. What started as a
desire for personal search for financial freedom turned into a passion
to help and unite my continent.
Using Bitcoin is amazing. My experience using Bitcoin has been simple
and easy. For example, when Word Press started accepting Bitcoin, I was
able to update my blog from http://bitcoinladybotswana.wordpress.com to what it is now at http://bitcoinladybotswana.com. Also, when I was at #Bitcoin2014 I was able to purchase merchandise using bitcoin via my mobile phone.
Since #Bitcoin2014 in Amsterdam, I realised that I have a lot of work
to do in not only Botswana, but also in Africa at large to mobilise
people into the Bitcoin ecosystem. So far I have been able to speak
with several computer science graduate students from the University
of Botswana, including Oarabile Modogo who is thinking of developing
projects that are related to the Bitcoin protocol focusing on mobile
money. My hope is that Oarabile and his team will be able to do just
that. I have also connected with several other Bitcoin enthusiasts
throughout Africa, who have contacted me to help them set up Bitcoin
campaigns for their respective countries. I have been working with Nana
Philip Agyei from Ghana as well as Kathrine Atuhaire from Uganda.
I intend to show people in Botswana how quick and easy it is to trade with Bitcoin at our next meetup on October 4th.
We are expecting anywhere from 50 to 100 attendees and will partner
with a company to host this event. Since many people from our meetup
group will not have Internet access, we will be sending invitations
through SMS. More information will be posted on our website. There
are a lot of projects brewing for Bitcoin Botswana and my hope is by
the end of November these projects will be finished. You can follow our
progress on my blog.
Alternatively, since we understand that some will not be able to
attend our meetup due to distance or limited Internet access, I have
designed informational brochures which I aim to deliver at least 30,000
all across Botswana. These brochures will act as a tool for people to
better understand Bitcoin and will also have the opportunity to contact
me directly in a group or in private if they have any additional
questions. Satoshicenter, an
education hub for digital currency in Botswana that opened in May 2014
will be able to provide more tools for Bitcoin Botswana under
Satoshicenter Pty Ltd. This will be the beginning of many great things
coming to Botswana and we’re excited to see what Bitcoin can do.
Source : https://bitcoinfoundation.org
Coinbase Names Aon as its Bitcoin Insurance Broker
Coinbase has revealed that its users’ online wallets are being insured through top broker Aon.
The news came in a surprise blog post in
which the company announced it has been insured against the theft or
loss of bitcoin since November 2013, stressing that its users are not
being charged for the cover.
The wallet and merchant services provider said it teamed up with Aon, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, to further protect its users’ bitcoin funds.
Aon uses underwriters with high credit ratings, Coinbase explained,
such as an Standard & Poor’s rating of ‘A+’ or AM Best rating of ‘A
XV’ or higher.
Protected against theft and hacking
The company said its policy provides sufficient insurance to cover
the company’s average online holdings at any time and protects against a
variety of potential causes of loss:
“Coinbase is insured against theft and hacking in an amount that exceeds the average value of bitcoin we hold in online storage at any given time. The insurance covers losses due to breaches in physical or cyber security, accidental loss, and employee theft.”
There is one significant caveat, however:
“It doesn’t cover bitcoin lost or stolen as a result of an individual user’s negligence to maintain secure control over their login credentials.”
The policy comes with industry standard policy exclusions that apply
to most policies around the world. Additional details are available on
the Coinbase FAQ page.
Coinbase vs the competition
Coinbase went on to warn against claims made by some other companies in the bitcoin industry.
The company pointed out that some bitcoin wallets claim to be fully
insured, but in reality are not working with accredited carriers or are
self-insuring. Others claim to be fully insured currently, but only
because they hold very few bitcoins which can be covered by a small
policy. Once the operator grows, the cover would not be adequate,
Coinbase said.
Although blog post did not specifically name the bitcoin companies in
question, there are relatively few operators offering insured bitcoin
services.
Elliptic Vault launched in January, with insurance underwritten by Lloyd’s of London. However, the company’s deal with Lloyd’s broke down and it was forced to look for a new insurance company shortly after it launched. It has since made a deal through broker CBC Insurance.
Xapo is another bitcoin company claiming to have insurance cover, stating that all bitcoins in its vaults are covered. However, the company is insured by Bermuda-based Meridian Global Insurance Limited, which is wholly owned by Xapo.
CoinDesk took a closer look at the issue of insurance in a recent feature which examined why insurance companies are reluctant to cover bitcoin operators.
Source : http://www.coindesk.com
Should Bitcoin Groups Be More Transparent?
How
much transparency should bitcoin users demand from their local
representative groups’ decision-making processes, and how far should
those groups go to win and maintain their members’ trust?
The Israeli Bitcoin Association
(IBA) says it has a model it would like to see spread around the world,
in which board meetings are completely open and published for all to
see.
The IBA says it’s the best way to ensure decisions are made in the
best interest of its members, and bitcoin itself. But it’s a
controversial move that others aren’t rushing to embrace.
Critics say it could prevent participants from speaking openly and
honestly, or reveal sensitive or confidential information about
individual business concerns.
At the very least, the Israeli group would like to stir some debate
among bitcoin advocacy groups over standards of openness, even if their
own radical example isn’t followed.
Proliferation of bitcoin organizations
There are now numerous
local not-for-profit bitcoin advocacy groups worldwide, with new ones
appearing every month. At least seven have official affiliations with
the original Bitcoin Foundation, while the Global Bitcoin Alliance lists 19 member groups on its site.
There are countless other groups ranging from independent officially registered organizations representing whole countries and continents, to physical ‘embassies‘ and interest groups gathering via meetup.com or social networks.
As well as coordinating outreach and educational campaigns, the major
groups are expected to lobby and liaise with local regulatory
authorities and step in when actions of members, individuals or others
might adversely affect bitcoin’s image.
Transparency showcase
However, transparency of bitcoin groups has not always been a high
priority, something that has brought occasional criticism from the
community. Meetings are often held behind closed doors, with the
publishing of minutes being a route that not all follow.
The IBA however, video records its meetings in their entirety, after which it posts the results on its public YouTube channel. That way there can be little confusion about what the body stands for or its motives.
IBA chairman Meni Rosenfeld and board member Ron Gross
spoke to CoinDesk about the initiative. According to Gross, public
openness has been one of the organization’s promises right from the
beginning.
He said:
“The point is to showcase this as an example of transparency, how these organizations run themselves.”
The IBA has always published notes immediately after board meetings.
While the meetings were initially held in private offices, after the
founding of the Bitcoin Embassy in Tel Aviv, the group decided to conduct the meetings there and also allowed guests to listen in.
“Pretty much anyone who walked in the door could listen to the meetings. So the next step for us was to videotape and release the meetings.”
‘Nothing to hide’
The original plan was to conduct discussions off-camera for one hour,
and then record the decisions. In the end, however, the IBA decided to
just video and release the entire meeting.
The IBA also recorded two more board meetings.
While the videos are over an hour long and have only been viewed about a
hundred times each, Gross said the actual content of the meetings was
less important than the act of recording them.
He added:
“Basically, it’s saying that we’re all here, we’re all present, we have nothing to hide.”
The group’s finances are also an open book, which was again part of
the original plan but needed to be cleared with the IBA’s accountants
first. It includes a complete (English language) live report of revenues and expenses, at a per-transaction level of detail, including employee salaries.
Shift in balance
Not all board members thought the video idea was a good one, and
Gross said it took the IBA a while to get to the position where it
recorded everything.
Objections included the fact that some discussions are just easier
when specific people are not held acountable for every detail of
everything they say. Objectors wanted to create an environment where
confidential information could be more easily shared.
For that, though, Gross continued, there were other more confidential
communications channels outside of meetings that could be employed when
appropriate. As it turned out, though, almost all the group’s
communications have been out in the open.
“We’re still getting used to the format – it’s not easy having everything you do and say being made public on such short notice, and sometimes there are slip-ups. We do reserve the right to censor the video after, but we haven’t had to use it yet.
“There was a shift in balance between ‘everything is confidential, except what we choose to make public’, to ‘everything is public, except what we choose to make confidential.’ The defaults really matter.”
The Bitcoin Foundation
Bitcoin Foundation Executive Director Jon Matonis said video-recording meetings “is a great idea for the IBA”.
The Bitcoin Foundation, he said, also recorded its own annual meeting
in Amsterdam in May. While live recordings currently aren’t planned for
regular board meetings, the board already produces transcripts.
In the spirit of transparency, Matonis continued, the Bitcoin
Foundation board voted late last year to make its member-only forums
open and readable by the general public.
Open-door policies
Richard Kohl is a board member of the Netherlands Bitcoin Foundation,
which is formally affiliated with the international Bitcoin Foundation
and also a member of the Global Bitcoin Alliance. The group organizes
‘Bitcoin Wednesday’ meetings on the first Wednesday of every month,
which are open to the public.
Kohl told CoinDesk that one of the central goals of Bitcoin Wednesday
is to bring the community together to raise awareness, and encourage
free debate from all sides on all developments related to
cryptocurrency.
An open door policy really helps, he added. National journalists,
policymakers, and representatives of the city’s economic board have
already attended.
“We’ve experimented with audio and video coverage, and plan to shift to live streaming of every event just as soon as we have enough volunteers and sponsors. Members of all bitcoin foundations and associations are invited to speak and conduct their business here live and in front of the camera, so this is a trend we’d definitely like to encourage.”
Why the need for transparency?
For all the talk of decentralization and cryptographic proof
replacing the need to trust humans, whether as individuals or in
organisations, the fact remains that many key decisions affecting
bitcoin’s future rest with small handfuls of influential and technically
capable people, whose integrity is relied upon.
Endorsements and recommendations coming from certain names who have
worked hard to build a reputation still carry far more weight than those
of outsiders or newcomers. Furthermore, perceived misdeeds by senior
organization members may attract unwanted attention for the organisation
or even bitcoin itself from the mainstream media.
Source : http://www.coindesk.com
Banking Survey: 65% of US Consumers ‘Unlikely’ to Buy Bitcoin
A new study suggests that many consumers remain cautious about the prospect of purchasing or using digital currency.
The report
was written by the Massachusetts Division of Banks (MDB) in conjunction
with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), who canvassed
more than 1,000 consumers with an online survey that focused on digital
currency.
The CSBS, which is a national organization of bank regulators, previously held a hearing on the topic of digital currency in May.
The survey data shows that while a slim majority of respondents
(51%) have heard of digital currency, 65% stated that they are
“unlikely” to ever buy or use a technology like bitcoin.
Eighteen percent of participants indicated that they were “likely” or
“very likely” to use a digital currency, and only 3% of those who had
heard of bitcoin said they had actually bought some.
Research phase
According to the CSBS, the Emerging Payments Task Force – the
organization’s working group that focuses, in part, on bitcoin – will
use the data as it continues to develop its policies for digital
currency.
In a statement, the chairman of the task force and Massachusetts
Commissioner of Banks David Cotney said that the study fits into the
broader research phase currently taking place.
He explained:
“State regulators welcome innovations that lead to greater choice and lower costs, but we also want to understand any consumer and marketplace risks as we evaluate the overall benefits of virtual currencies.”
Concerns highlighted
Fears regarding security and regulation, as well as concerns
regarding the lack of consumer protections afforded in the traditional
financial system, were highlighted in the study.
Sixty-one percent said that the overall security of their bitcoins
would factor significantly into whether or not they used or purchased
some, while 43% of study participants stated that bitcoin’s tax status
would be a major factor. Forty-eight percent reported that concerns of
insurance might stop them from buying bitcoin.
The report highlighted answers from roughly 350 participants who gave
additional comments on the topic of digital currency. Twenty-five
percent suggested that, because of their concerns, they would never buy
bitcoin. The overall safety of the process was questioned by 13% of
respondents, while 14% suggested that they didn’t know how digital
currency might be used.
Age and affluence a factor
The data also highlighted how knowledge and perception of digital
currency breaks down by age demographics. Overall, younger respondents
expressed far greater levels of enthusiasm for bitcoin than older
participants.
Forty-three percent of those in the 18–24 age bracket stated that
they were “likely” or “very likely” to purchase or use digital currency.
Only 8% of those over the age of 55 shared that sentiment, and 75% of
respondents who were at least 65 years old said they would most likely
not use or buy bitcoin.
The MDB report also showed that affluence has played a role in how
consumers learn about digital currency. In the study group, 70% of those
who made more than $100,000 annually had heard of bitcoin, while 43% of
respondents from lower-income households said they knew about or had
used digital currency.
The study also noted that those who had graduated from college were
more likely to know about bitcoin compared to those with a high school
diploma or lower qualification.
Source : http://www.coindesk.com
Which Nation Will Lead South America’s Bitcoin Revolution?
Many bitcoin proponents share the belief that digital currency and
its underlying technology can radically transform how the world
transacts.
They believe the technology can remove the restrictions that have
long prohibited economic development in emerging markets: high
remittance costs, volatile government-issued currencies and capital
controls.
One area that has been of particular interest to the community is
South America, where supporters say bitcoin can offer real utility to
consumers and business owners. Both groups have long sought alternatives to local fiat currencies and better ways to spend money online, given the region’s relative lack of bank card penetration.
However, despite the community’s hopes that digital currency will thrive in South America, real challenges to bitcoin’s long-term success in the region remain.
Furthermore, unlike the US on the global stage, none of the region’s
14 member nations have yet emerged as a clear leader in terms of setting
official policy and promoting job creation by supporting the industry.
Analyzing adoption
One way to determine the frontrunner in the region’s ecosystem would
be to assess overall bitcoin adoption, and publicly available data on Bitcoin-QT wallet downloads reveals that Argentina and Brazil have emerged as the clear leaders.
The free wallet has been downloaded nearly 90,000 times in Brazil,
where bitcoin penetration is twice as high as in Argentina. Chile,
Colombia and Venezuela also show small, but notable, bitcoin user
populations.
Although these figures sound impressive, combining recent population
estimates together with this data reveals a market penetration rate of
less than 1% in both Argentina and Brazil.
However, it’s important to take into account that this data does not include all of the many bitcoin wallets available so the currency’s overall penetration may be higher.
The case for Brazil
Regardless of the high number of wallet downloads in Brazil, leading
bitcoin community members believe that the region’s lone
Portuguese-speaking nation could be poised to lead the local bitcoin
movement, both in terms of adoption and on matters of regulation.
Steven Morell, chief programming officer for Moneero,
is one local entrepreneur that sees a bright future for bitcoin in
Brazil, although his stealth bitcoin startup is based in Uruguay.
Morell suggested that bitcoin could solve real problems for Brazilians, telling CoinDesk:
“Brazil has one of the worst situations for people with their money. Brazilians cannot send money abroad without being taxed horrendously.”
Matías Bari, co-founder of Argentina-based bitcoin brokerage SatoshiTango,
similarly believes the country’s sheer size and economic power will
make it a market leader in the region. Although Brazil’s forecast for
economic growth has seen setbacks in recent months, it remains a regional powerhouse and the seventh-largest global economy.
“Brazil will have more influence because they are 200 million people
and one of the largest economies in the world. Internet penetration and
e-commerce volume are growing really fast in this country as well,” Bari
told CoinDesk.
Still, others aren’t so certain. In addition to the lack of overall
bitcoin news that has emerged from the region, some experts have pointed
to the current economic situation in Brazil as cause for concern.
Ana Pereya, who offers financial advisory services for local bitcoin startups through her firm AMP & Associates, for example, cites the influence of the country’s traditional financial institutions as a potential roadblock.
She told CoinDesk:
“Because of the power of the financial entities [in Brazil], I don’t think it will be possible to trade bitcoins unless the banks participate in some way. It is just my feeling from experience. Countries sustained in the exchange control are never safe.”
Argentina’s early lead
Although Brazil may be the region’s sleeping giant, so far Argentina
has been the most prominent country in Latin America within the bitcoin
community. This is, in part, due to the number of startups seeking to
serve the Argentinian market.
Notable businesses targeting the area include Bitex.la, BitPagos, SatoshiTango
and Unisend, though not all are based in Argentina due to concerns
about working with local banking partners. For example, Unisend, the
region’s only order-book exchange, had its accounts closed this July.
Given Argentina’s traction, however, a number of experts in the
region believe that the country will lead the charge for bitcoin use.
Furthermore, many in the industry believe Argentina will have the
biggest effect on regional policy.
BitPagos CEO Sebastian Serrano went so far to suggest that Argentina
is already serving as a successful model for its neighbours. In
particular, he noted how the country’s community was able to educate
local lawmakers about bitcoin early on, thereby avoiding the kind of
restrictive policies passed in Ecuador and Bolivia.
Serrano said:
“Argentina’s central bank didn’t ban it because they noticed that the community was big and they got educated from the community.”
Still, there are those who aren’t as optimistic. Bitcoin investor and
part-time Ecuador resident Paul Buitink suggested that “things look
more grim every day” in Argentina, citing the issues Unisend reported.
Unlike his peers, Moneero’s Morell was emphatically opposed to the
idea that Argentina could become the region’s digital currency leader.
Calling it “a crazy idea,” he told CoinDesk:
“They’re taking away economic freedoms not by the day, but by the hour. They’re confiscating accounts and money, they have an artificial exchange rate, it’s a highly restricted country.”
Such concerns aside, consumers in the country are turning to bitcoin
for economic protections, meaning the people may have the final say on
bitcoin’s future. On 21st August, the Argentine peso hit a record low against the US dollar, and the currency is devaluing quickly.
Venezuela’s ALBA influence
Although much conversation is centered around the countries that
could positively impact Latin America’s bitcoin ecosystem, Venezuela is
often cited as a force of the opposite effect, influencing countries to
adopt bitcoin bans.
Rodrigo Batista, CEO of Brazil-based bitcoin exchange Mercado Bitcoin, noted that Venezuela could greatly influence the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) nations, which include Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and six others.
Batista explained that the cultural and historical differences
between these countries and others in Latin America are vast, and that
this could have a stifling effect on bitcoin adoption, saying:
“[ALBA] countries have high level of government intervention in the economy and companies, so they surely feel threaten by bitcoin and any other type of decentralized technology.”
He also pointed to the region’s virtual currency, the SUCRE,
as evidence of its economic controls. In the late 2000s, the SUCRE was
introduced to replace the US dollar as a medium of exchange, and Batista
cited it as a contributing factor to bitcoin bans observed in Bolivia
and Ecuador.
Given this history, many of the experts CoinDesk spoke to said they
believe Venezuela is a country that could soon ban bitcoin, though
Argentina, Colombia and Peru were also cited.
Notably, however, the nation received its first exchange, SurBitcoin, earlier this August. The country’s central bank has also yet to adopt a formal stance on bitcoin.
Regulation far from certain
Of course, while the local industry speculates about future
regulatory decisions, regional central banks have already begun to weigh
in on the subject, issuing warnings that echo the sentiment of many
other governments around the world.
For example, amid fears that Colombia’s central bank would ban bitcoin, the central bank issued a warning against digital currency use. Argentina and Brazil have also issued consumer warnings this year. Bolivia and Ecuador, on the other hand, have moved to ban bitcoin’s use entirely.
Serrano noted that Argentina’s policy is still in its early stages,
and that it remains too early to tell just how the nation’s lawmakers
will regulate bitcoin. Two more local government organizations are
expected to soon issue opinions on the matter that could influence the
nation’s eventual policy, he said, adding:
“I don’t think they are happy that bitcoin exists. There is going to be regulation but not a complete ban.”
Still, Morell notes the larger issue is that it remains unclear what
authority the region’s central banks have to ban bitcoin use, suggesting
its too early to say whether any country in South America has yet
closed the door to bitcoin entirely.
He concluded:
“The central bank of Bolivia is not a lawmaker. Is their opinion an opinion? Or is this a directive? Does it have the force of a law? I doubt so. Laws are made by lawmakers. Banks sometimes think they are lawmakers, but they are not.”
Source : http://www.coindesk.com
More Merchants to Accept Bitcoin Payments Via BitPay Deal
Bitcoin
payments processor BitPay has announced a new partnership with
Demandware, Inc, an enterprise cloud e-commerce solutions provider.
The deal means BitPay will provide the company with bitcoin
integration for its e-commerce platform, giving merchants that use
Demandware’s Link Technology system the capability to accept the digital
currency.
Demandware
senior vice president of corporate development Tom Griffin said that the
move offers its customers the chance to tap into a youthful but growing
payment method, adding:
“The BitPay integration gives Demandware customers access to another innovative solution to effectively meet evolving consumer demands. With BitPay, our joint customers can offer another payment option to their customers, further enhancing the consumer shopping experience.”
‘Simple’ bitcoin integration
Demandware’s service is built on the provision of pre-built
integrated e-commerce systems, an arrangement that would allow
participating merchants the ability to quickly onboard bitcoin payments.
BitPay co-founder and executive chairman Tony Gallippi said the company’s partnership with Demandware puts simple bitcoin integration into the hands of more merchants.
He explained:
“Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for merchants around the world to add bitcoin into their payment systems. Our Link cartridge offers retailers a quick and easy way to accept bitcoin as part of their payment options.”
The move suggests a trend among merchant-facing services providers
that have integrated bitcoin. In recent months, companies like Square and Digital River have added support for the digital currency.
About Demandware
Demandware, founded in 2004, focuses on the public enterprise cloud
market. The Burlington, Massachusetts-based company posted $36.1m in
revenue for the second quarter of 2014, according to recent data published by the company.
The past year has been a period of significant growth for the
company. The data shows that as of the end of June, the company
increased the number of its merchant clients by 40%. Additionally, the
number of websites utilizing Demandware’s service rose 39%,
increasing from 667 to 924 sites.
The company has more than 200 enterprise-level customers in its
network and derives much of its income from platform subscriptions.
Customers include German toy brand Playmobil and famed New York-based food store Zabar’s.
Source : http://www.coindesk.com
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