Digital currencies

Christine Duhaime, an anti-money-laundering attorney in Toronto, lays out the reasons banks should become early experts (and assist) in initial coin offerings. She also lays out the risks, especially in the wake of the SEC’s report suggesting some ICO tokens are really securities.

Acting Comptroller Noreika says he will defer to Congress to determine whether the rule requiring mandatory arbitration should be killed; Bitcoin Cash to start trading but is causing confusion in the digital currency market.

A task force convened by the Federal Reserve released its evaluations last week of 16 proposals to build a faster U.S. payment system. What follows is a brief look at some of the plans that received high marks.

Companies planning to raise money by selling electronic tokens for cryptocurrencies said they won't be put off by SEC warning of regulation; soaring costs trigger exodus from traditional coastal financial hubs.

A task force convened by the Federal Reserve released its evaluations last week of 16 proposals to build a faster U.S. payment system. What follows is a brief look at some of the plans that received high marks.

Citigroup hopes to return $60 billion to shareholders by 2020 while earning $20 billion a year; SEC says companies that raise money by selling their own electronic tokens for cryptocurrencies may be subject to federal oversight.

Hub brand requirements are modest compared with retail systems. They communicate reputation and trust to a relatively small set of sophisticated firms they hope to serve.

The move will explore the risks and opportunities of the new technology, and the group membership allocation across agencies and stakeholder groups seems to be a reasonable way to include a range of opinions, writes Rob Viglione, co-founder of ZenCash.

Large outdoor events were among the earliest proving grounds for mobile point of sale technology. Will this environment be as welcoming of digital currency?

Removing restrictions on companies such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon could have clear repercussions for the payments industry.

The OCC says banks face growing “strategic risks” from trying to compete and team up with fintech startups; U.K. investor group wants banks to provide more nonfinancial information about their conduct and culture.

Transaction laundering is gaining steam, and since it uses familiar payment technology, it can be easier to use than virtual currency, writes Ron Teicher of EverCompliant.

Toronto-based nanopay Corp. is making MintChip, a digital currency it acquired in 2015 from the Royal Canadian Mint, available to merchants looking for a lower-cost payments channel by leveraging digital cash.

The exchange is adding Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash, Monero, Zcash and dozens of other cryptocurrencies in exchange for U.S. dollars.

Bitcoin sank as much as 19 percent, putting the digital currency on pace for its worst week since January 2015, as volatility climbs following a record-setting surge in the price.

Currency fluctuations and government policies in countries such as Venezuela are boosting the virtual currency market and putting traditional players on notice, writes Sergey Ponomarev, CEO of SONM.

The world needs faster and cheaper international payments, but more than that it needs censorship-resistant ways to transact.

The vast majority of financial services executives surveyed by Cognizant predict open systems like bitcoin will gain greater prominence over the next five years — slightly more than said the same for private blockchains.

Dan Morehead’s Pantera Capital Management, which calls itself the first U.S. bitcoin investment firm, is buying other digital coins.

American Banker reporter Brian Patrick Eha shares stories and thoughts from his new book, "How Money Got Free: Bitcoin and the Fight for the Future of Finance," and two fintech leaders explain why Charlotte is destined to be the next big fintech hub.