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Coinbase finds no wrongdoing in Bitcoin Cash insider trading probe
Last December, Coinbase halted trading of Bitcoin Cash just hours after it unexpectedly announced the addition of the cryptocurrency to its platform. The company, which initially said it wouldn't support Bitcoin Cash, a hard fork of Bitcoin, reversed its position, later saying it would add the currency by January 1st, 2018. Surprising many, it then announced access to Bitcoin Cash on December 19th, but the currency had already begun experiencing a price surge in the hours before the announcement, leading many to speculate that Coinbase employees who knew about the addition ahead of time had started buying up Bitcoin Cash in expectation of a price increase once Coinbase officially announced its availability. Accusations of insider trading led Coinbase to launch an investigation into the matter, which has now been wrapped up.
Coinbase users can convert crypto into gift cards
Coinbase announced today that it has teamed up with WeGift and customers in Europe and Australia will now be able to convert their cryptocurrency into e-gift cards. Gift cards are available for companies like Nike, Uber, Google Play, Ticketmaster and Tesco and Coinbase won't collect any withdrawal fees when users buy the gift cards with their cryptocurrency balances. Customers will also get bonus credit on some of their e-gift card purchases. Gift cards for Nike, Ticketmaster and Uber offer six percent, three percent and two percent bonuses, respectively, for example.
WikiLeaks loses access to a key cryptocurrency account
This hasn't been the best week for WikiLeaks, to put it mildly. Coinbase has shut off the WikiLeaks Shop's account for allegedly violating the cryptocurrency exchange's terms of service. In other words, the leak site just lost its existing means of converting payments like bitcoin into conventional money. While Coinbase didn't give a specific reason (it declines to comment on specific accounts), it pointed to its legal requirement to honor "regulatory compliance mechanisms" under the US' Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Reddit dumps bitcoin as payment option
Since 2013, you've had the option of paying for Reddit Gold membership with bitcoin in addition to the usual credit card and PayPal choices. However, you now have to do it the old fashioned way: a moderator has confirmed that Reddit has stopped accepting bitcoin. The social site wants to "watch the progression" of Coinbase Commerce (which lets merchants take various cryptocurrencies as payment) and deal with purchasing glitches before deciding whether or not it restores the feature.
Coinbase promises refunds after repeatedly charging crypto fees
A number of Coinbase customers found themselves hit with duplicate charges for a single card-based purchase over the past few days. Some even reported losing tens of thousands after being charged 17, even 50, times. In a blog post updating customers about the situation, the cryptocurrency exchange has promised to "ensure that each affected customer will be refunded in full for any erroneous charge." The company said that after conducting an internal investigation, it has determined that the problem was a result of Visa reversing and then recharging transactions. As you know, it usually takes a while for both debit and credit card refunds to show up.
Coinbase halts trading after volatile bitcoin price fluctuation (updated)
At 11:11 AM ET, the cryptocurrency marketplace Coinbase temporarily disabled buying and selling for all currencies on its site. This came after wild surges in bitcoin's price in the last 24 hours: It plunged from a high of $15,800 late last night down to a low of $10,800 hours ago.
Coinbase halts Bitcoin Cash transactions over insider trading fears
The start of Bitcoin Cash trading on the Coinbase exchange was supposed to be a great opportunity to get into a major new cryptocurrency while its values weren't yet through the roof, but that's... not how it panned out. Coinbase froze transactions just a few hours after they began in order to investigate numerous accusations of insider trading. Observers noticed that the price of Bitcoin Cash rose sharply before news of its availability on the exchange broke, and that there was a sharp selloff virtually the moment trading started. From a cursory glance, it looked like someone knew about the Coinbase move in advance, triggered a flurry of trading that led to a spike in price, and took advantage of this for a massive windfall.
Coinbase must share users' cryptocurrency data with the IRS
Coinbase will be forced to share the financial information of 14,355 users with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), following a California federal court ruling. The move follows a year-long battle between the cryptocurrency company and the IRS, which believes a high number of customers are failing to report holdings on their taxes. Coinbase has some six million users, but fewer than 1,000 have officially declared cryptocurrency activity.
Coinbase unlocks instant cryptocurrency purchases
Want your bitcoin purchases in a hurry? That's doable now that Coinbase has opened up instant purchases for cryptocurrency. Whether you're a fan of ethereum, litecoin or plain old bitcoin, you're covered here. Previously you'd have to wait a few days between the initial purchase and actually being able to spend it. Coinbase says that you can buy up to $25,000 and gain access to it immediately. The functionality is available to "many" customers stateside right now and it will roll out to more people soon. Seeing that this deals with ethereum, if you've been waiting to pick up Ghostface's cyrptocurrency now you can do that with a quickness.
Fidelity lets clients view their bitcoin balance on its site
Fidelity Investments announced in May that it would soon let its clients view their bitcoin and other cryptocurrency balances on its website, provided it was stored on Coinbase. Embracing unregulated cryptocoins was seen as a bold move by the brokerage company, and certainly uncommon among financial institutions. Today, Fidelity made good on its promise: Once users authorize the site to access their data from Coinbase, they can check their bitcoin savings.
Coinbase will support newly-minted Bitcoin Cash after all
Earlier this week, disgruntled members of the bitcoin community successfully split a new cryptocurrency off from the main branch. Bitcoin Cash, as it's called, attempts to speed up transactions, a key problem with bitcoin's aging structure. But the new alternative currency will only survive if users invest in it. Some cryptocurrency exchanges said they wouldn't back it due to its instability, but one of those holdouts, Coinbase, just announced that it's come around and will support Bitcoin Cash.
Shift is a debit card for your bitcoin wallet
Even though the banking industry and US regulators are getting on board the bitcoin train, actually spending your hard-mined bitcoins can be a bit tricky. Luckily, Coinbase debuted a solution on Friday: the Shift debit card. It's the first such bitcoin-based debit card issued in the US and is backed by VISA. With it, bitcoin users will be able to shop at both on- and offline stores -- basically anywhere that VISA is accepted. The card is linked to your Signing up for the card simply requires filling out this form and paying the $10 issuance fee (in bitcoin of course).
Dell now accepts bitcoin in Canada and the UK
In what seems like a relatively short stretch, bitcoin has gone from shady cryptocurrency to legal tender, at least in some parts of the world. Support from a couple of big brands has certainly helped its credibility, and after Dell introduced the option to pay with bitcoin in the US last July, the company has now made it available to customers in Canada and the UK, too. According to Dell, everything from software and peripherals to business computers and even a $50,000 server system have been purchased in the US using bitcoin. Thus, it was only sensible to expand its agreement with Coinbase, the well-known exchange that actually processes the transactions, and make the checkout option available further afield. So, the next time you need a new laptop and have a couple of bitcoins lying around in your virtual wallet, you know where to spend them.
PayPal's new deals let you pay with Bitcoin at more online stores
PayPal has been coy about embracing virtual currencies so far, but it just took a big step toward welcoming them with open arms. As of today, the company's deals with processing firms BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin let you pay with Bitcoin at North American online stores that both use PayPal's Payments Hub and accept digital cash. This doesn't mean your PayPal wallet can suddenly hold Bitcoin; the service says it's only moving "gradually" toward full support, and wants to see how things shake out. However, it should now be easier for many outlets (primarily smaller ones) to accept Bitcoin. Don't be shocked if some of your favorite internet shops flick the switch and give you an alternative to paying with old-school money.
PayPal and Coinbase are partnering to enable Bitcoin payments
Remember that One Touch mobile payment solution PayPal announced last month? It's ready -- Braintree CEO Bill Ready announced at Disrupt that customers with the PayPal app will have access to mobile payments starting today. The mobile payment platform is the first fruit Braintree has borne since PayPal acquired it last year, but it isn't the last: Ready says his company is laying the foundation for PayPal Bitcoin payments, too.
Shift's debit card lets you pay with both real and virtual money
Part of the challenge of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies has simply been the need to juggle different apps and cards to use every payment option at your disposal. Wouldn't it be nice if one card could handle everything? You might just get your wish. Shift Payments is testing a new debit card that can switch between real and virtual money on the spot, such as through an app; you could pay for morning coffee with Bitcoin and after-work groceries using real cash. Loyalty card support is in the works, too.
Dish will soon let you pay your bill with bitcoins
While some companies are steering clear of Bitcoin, others, like Dish, are now getting ready to welcome the digital currency into the fold. Today, the satellite provider revealed that it plans to start accepting Bitcoin later this year, allowing customers to easily pay their bill online using virtual money. Dish is teaming up with Coinbase to handle the processing of these payments, which are expected to begin taking place during the third quarter of 2014. "We always want to deliver choice and convenience for our customers and that includes the method they use to pay their bills," Bernie Han, Dish executive VP and COO, stated in a company release. "Bitcoin is becoming a preferred way for some people to transact and we want to accommodate those individuals."
Bing now shows how much your Bitcoin is worth in other currencies
While some may be opposed to the idea of Bitcoin, others are doing all they can to adjust to the recent digital currency rush. Today, Bing, in partnership with Coinbase, announced it has added support for Bitcoin within its currency-conversion tools. Simply put, you can now use Microsoft's search engine to see what the value of your new-age money is in, say, dollars, pesos, euros or any of the other 50-plus currencies Bing has indexed. And it's all done in real time, too. No Bitcoin? No problem -- there's nothing wrong with entering some random numbers for fun's sake.
One step closer to legitimacy: Bitcoin payment live on Overstock
While it's legal to pay with Bitcoin in the US, the digital currency hasn't been very useful for mainstream shoppers. However, that's changing today -- Overstock has just become the first major American online retailer to accept Bitcoin. You'll still see prices listed in old-fashioned dollars, but you can choose the newer payment method at checkout. CEO Patrick Byrne tells Wired that he made the move for both pragmatic and idealistic reasons: Bitcoin doesn't cost as much to accept compared to credit cards or PayPal, and its nationless nature reduces the chances that a failed bank or country will create problems. It's tough to tell whether other big e-retailers will follow suit, but we can't imagine that competing shops will want to leave that much virtual money on the table.
