At a mostly excellent Inside Bitcoins conference last week in NYC, the major features and flaws of the Bitcoin experiment were on full display. Starting with the keynote of BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem to some excellent panels featuring thoughtful and experienced...
Bitcoin and other virtual currencies have gained plenty of attention from the financial press and blogosphere, the technology press, and to a lesser degree, the media at large. We've read the pros and cons, predictions of both revolution and disaster. And we've...
Bitcoin's volatility continues to swing with the mood of investors, speculators, and the economic travails of countries like Argentina where Bitcoin usage is up sharply as concerns over the peso rise. The btc currency has swung between $70 and $100 since its...
Just before the 4th of July holiday, Felix Salmon, finance blogger at Reuters, wrote an insightful piece, sharply critical of mobile payments and the long anticipated ability of our clever smartphones and wireless communications to improve upon a simple plastic...
Now that the recent fever of Bitcoin speculation that swept up both a worried global constituency and a hype-hungry media has subsided, it's time for Glenbrook to examine the Bitcoin ecosystem in particular and math-based currencies in general. While there is still...
The arrest of eight in New York who participated in a global $45 million ATM cash-out attack revealed, once again, some hard truths about the cyber security posture of financial systems and the enterprises that operate essential payment infrastructure. First, the...
Merchants and terminals were a key focus at two major payments conferences this week: NACHA and CARTES. The issue of EMV in the U.S. and the high cost for merchants to replace their terminals was raised repeatedly. Estimates for the cost of replacement in the...
