Author: Richard Atkins

Richard Atkins is a senior contributor at Tech Insider covering online media, online travel, and video games. Richard has been with Tech Insider covering companies in these industries since 2011 and has authored numerous industry reports, including "Internet Video: Field of Dreams or Nightmare on Elm Street," "The Next Leg of Online Travel," and "Pwned: How Casual Games Changed The Gaming Landscape." Atkins was recognized as the No. 2 stock picker and earnings estimator in the 2011 Financial Times / StarMine Internet & Catalog Retail category and was ranked in the 2010 Wall Street Journal "Best On The Street" for the Leisure Goods & Services category.
Finance, Software

Bitcoin Update: KnCMiner Embraces Bitcoin

KnCMiner has become the latest bitcoin company to join the ecosystem’s ongoing debate over how bitcoin prices should be displayed. The Sweden-based bitcoin mining company announced on Twitter today that it will now allow users the option to view bitcoin prices in bits on its KnC Wallet app.

The news plays into a growing debate on how bitcoin’s value should be expressed in order to best appeal to mainstream consumers. The price of bitcoin has increased tremendously since bitcoin was introduced five years ago, and as such, early adopters of the digital currency have had to express its values in much smaller units – millibits, microbits or satoshis, for example. 1 BTC is the equivalent of 1,000,000 bits.

As bitcoin has become more and more prominent in the mainstream, some of its users and advocates believe that having a simpler, more comprehensible and more established representation of value could lower the adoption barrier and help put bitcoin skeptics’ fears of price volatility at ease.

News on Bitcoins

In early May, Georgia-based payments processor BitPay announced its plan to introduce prices expressed in bits on both its website and for its merchant customers.

Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik indicated on the BitPay blog that the transition would make displaying prices more intuitive for consumers and users new to bitcoin, saying:”At a higher level, people are more familiar with prices expressed in numbers extending no more than two decimal places […] This assumption is built into cash registers, spreadsheets, amount input dialogs and basic, person-person real-world transactions.”

Coinbase made the same move the following month, announcing its decision in a June blog post. The San Francisco-based bitcoin financial services startup cited its desire to ensure its platform remains user-friendly as a key reason for the move.

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Richard Atkins
Finance, Internet

Stock Focus: Facebook (NASDAQ FB) Up Against Click-Baiting

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ FB) announced some News Feed improvements on its blog today. The social network said it is targeting click-baiting headlines and making it easier for people to see shared links in the best possible format. The term “click-baiting” refers to when publishers share links with a headline that convinces people to click without really sharing enough information about what they’ll see. Facebook said … Continue reading Stock Focus: Facebook (NASDAQ FB) Up Against Click-Baiting

Richard Atkins
Finance, Mobile

Apple AAPL Stock Boost: Company Introduces Apple Timer

Apple Inc (NASDAQ AAPL) fans are a patient bunch but they still love counting down the days to the next big unveiling or Apple event. This is why the Cupertino-based tech giant unveiled Apple Timer, which is similar to last year’s WWDC timer. Apple fans will appreciate the new countdown page that counts down the days until Apple unveils iPhone 6. The timer is really … Continue reading Apple AAPL Stock Boost: Company Introduces Apple Timer

Richard Atkins
BioTech

Biotech Stock Report: Reviewing InterMune, Advaxis, Inc & Amgen, Inc

Here in this article, we take a good look at three upcoming Biotech Stocks, namely, InterMune, Advaxis, Inc & Amgen, Inc. InterMune Inc (NASDAQ ITMN) listed its shares as a big mover previous session, as its shares jumped over 35% after Roche AG’s declaration it would buy the respiratory-drug maker for $8.3B, in spite of InterMune’s relatively small array of drugs in its pipeline. According … Continue reading Biotech Stock Report: Reviewing InterMune, Advaxis, Inc & Amgen, Inc

Richard Atkins
Finance, Software

Bitcoin News: Bitcoin Startup Offers Prepaid Mobile to 100 Nations

Reaching the millions of unbanked consumers worldwide has long been a goal of the wider bitcoin industry, but to date, it has struggled to gain users outside of more developed countries. Crossing this awareness gap is the driving force behind Piiko, a prepaid mobile phone top-up service that currently serves consumers with select phone plans in more than 100 countries worldwide, including major markets such as the US, China, Brazil and India.

Launched in April as the first product from Dubai-based bitcoin startup Umbrellab, Piiko is part of the company’s larger plans to court consumers by allowing them to harness the power of bitcoin for everyday utility purchases.

Umbrellab co-founders Tarik Kaddoumi and Sergey Yusupov said, “We started with mobile recharge as there was already a necessity, and the market was ripe in terms of the bitcoin community spending on various services and products worldwide. The plan is to extend into other services such as TV, Internet providers and other types of utility and bill payments that can be paid online, but are currently not accepting bitcoin.”

News on Bitcoins

Despite its founders’ ambitions, Piiko has faced its share of difficulties, which saw the mobile top-up service relaunch just a few weeks ago after a lengthy blackout period.

Kaddoumi and Yusupov indicated that a third party had previously acted on its behalf, serving as the formal legal partner to the cellphone service providers it works with. In June, however, Umbrellab decided it was time to forge these relationships directly in a bid to cut costs.

With this objective complete, Kaddoumi is optimistic that the service will be able to continue to cater to its already dedicated user base.

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Richard Atkins
Finance

Stock To Buy: Google (NASDAQ GOOG) Remains Undervalued

Google Inc (NASDAQ GOOG) is really an undervalued growth story, says a recent research note from Bernstein Research. Google has so many promising ventures unrelated to search they are almost too numerous to count. Bernstein is infatuated with Google for good reason. The firm bestowed on the tech giant its “Best of Bernstein” label, making it a top pick at the firm. Bernstein notes that … Continue reading Stock To Buy: Google (NASDAQ GOOG) Remains Undervalued

Richard Atkins