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Santander Group, the Spanish banking giant, has invested several million dollars in Ripple, one of the most prominent startups in the hotly discussed field of distributed-ledger technology.
October 6 -
DD4BC, a group that threatens to knock out corporate websites unless it is paid off in bitcoins, has expanded its denial-of-service attacks on banks.
September 23 -
The digital currency industry reacted warily to a model framework for regulating such firms released Tuesday by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, arguing the language is too vague and treats digital assets like normal money.
September 15
WASHINGTON — Furthering efforts to bring virtual currency mainstream, cryptocurrency companies and trade groups are teaming up to create a forum to aid law enforcement in weeding out criminal activity.
The Digital Chamber of Commerce and Coin Center, two virtual currency advocacy groups, announced the formation of the Blockchain Alliance on Thursday. It will partner with other digital currency and blockchain companies to help address public safety concerns by using their collective knowledge to aid law enforcement.
Bitcoin and blockchain technologies have received praise for being innovative, but they have also received notoriety for being used by criminals who take advantage of the potential anonymity the technology offers to trade illegal goods and services.
"It's no secret that Bitcoin has perception issues, which is a roadblock to mainstream adoption," Perianne Boring, president of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. "Having an open dialogue with law enforcement and policymakers will help reduce anxiety about this transformative technology."
The forum plans on being in regular communication with law enforcement and is already engaged with the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, U.S. Secret Service, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and plans to reach out to more U.S. and foreign agencies.
Jason Weinstein, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, who will serve as counsel for the forum, said, "By helping law enforcement agencies address public safety concerns about Bitcoin and other digital currencies, we can foster an environment in which the full potential of the blockchain can be realized." Industry participants who are already signed up to participate in the forum include: the Bitcoin Foundation's Gavin Andresen, Brian Forde from MIT's Digital Media Lab, BitFinex, BitFury, BitGo, Bitnet, BitPay, BitStamp, Blockchain, Circle, CoinBase, CoinX, ItBit, Kraken, Noble Markets and Xapo.
Jerry Brito, executive director of Coin Center, said the forum will try to expand its network. "We look forward to partnering with the other participating companies and organizations to ensure that the capacity of Bitcoin and the blockchain to benefit so many is not overshadowed by the potential for misuse by a few."
