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 Major Update: Spain Reportedly Cracks Down On Bitcoin Gambling

The Spanish government agency that oversees matters of finance and taxation has issued a new ruling stating that bitcoin should be treated as an electronic payment system, a decision that could have a far-ranging impact on Spain’s bitcoin economy.

El Ministerio de Hacienda y Administraciones Públicas issued the ruling in response to questions from Coinffeine, a Spain-based, open-source bitcoin exchange platform. Abanlex, the company’s law firm, had previously reached out to both El Ministerio de Hacienda and the country’s Congress seeking clarity on two issues in April.

With its response, El Ministerio de Hacienda found that bitcoin-based online gambling companies in Spain must now apply for licenses. Further, the ruling, coupled with new statements from Congress, suggests that bitcoin transactions involving a business may be subject to existing laws that impose a cap on cash transactions of €2,500 or more, even when gambling with bitcoin.

News on Bitcoins

Coinffeine sought clarity from el Ministerio de Hacienda on whether online bets conducted with bitcoin should be considered binding from a legal standpoint. Further, it aimed to solicit a response from Congress as to whether certain financial laws applied to bitcoin.

Coinffeine CTO and co-founder Ximo Guanter told CoinDesk that the rulings represent a significant development in terms of how bitcoin is being regulated globally. “The ‘big-theme’ news here is that Spain is starting to treat bitcoin more like a currency than as an asset, which is the inverse of what the US has done.”

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Richard Atkins
Biotechnology Stockmarket Biotech
BioTech, Finance

Biotech Stock Update: Keryx Falls after Ferric Citrate’s Tests

The FDA has approved Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc’s (KERX) ferric citrate to control serum phosphorus levels in patients suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis. However, the news adversely affected the stock price, which fell more than 5%, as the drug was approved with several warnings. Ferric citrate is not recommended for patients with an accumulation of iron (hemochromatosis) in their body. Treatment with ferric … Continue reading Biotech Stock Update: Keryx Falls after Ferric Citrate’s Tests

Richard Atkins
Finance, Internet

Stock in News: Microsoft (NASDAQ MSFT) Goes into Cloud

Wednesday, before the opening day of the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), Microsoft Corp (Nasdaq MSFT) announced new cloud-first media services, including HD-quality live streaming that supports today’s most popular devices and platforms, end-to-end content protection capabilities, and a new service that simplifies the indexing of audio and video content and makes it easier to search. These new capabilities are part of Microsoft Azure Media Services, … Continue reading Stock in News: Microsoft (NASDAQ MSFT) Goes into Cloud

Richard Atkins
Finance, Mobile

Apple AAPL Stock News: Apple (NASDAQ AAPL) Says Bye-Bye to iPod Classic

It feels like just yesterday Apple Inc (NASDAQ AAPL) first unveiled the iPod as a revolutionary MP3 player. Music buffs could simplify their music collection by storing all their favorite songs in one little device and take it everywhere they go. But since the unveiling of the iPhone and the iPad, the overall demand for MP3 players declined over time. Earlier this week, the Cupertino-based … Continue reading Apple AAPL Stock News: Apple (NASDAQ AAPL) Says Bye-Bye to iPod Classic

Richard Atkins
Finance, Internet

Google GOOG Stock Update: Google Buys Poll Startup

Google Inc (NASDAQ GOOG) has acquired Polar, a mobile and desktop polling company in a bid to enhance the publishers’ and brands’ user engagement. The employees of the start-up will now work for Google and assist in increasing the user engagement on Google+, or help brands that use social network to market themselves. Google seeks to enhance it’s not so popular Google+ service, which holds … Continue reading Google GOOG Stock Update: Google Buys Poll Startup

Richard Atkins
Finance, Internet

Stock Focus: Facebook (NASDAQ FB) Looking to Focus on Videos?

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ FB) has invited content producers to test distribute their videos on the social network, according to the Wall Street Journal. In what may seem as the social networking’s efforts to overshadow YouTube, the company has got in touch, with some of the video site’s biggest content producers, with the offer. Facebook is enticing content creators to test videos on the site, in … Continue reading Stock Focus: Facebook (NASDAQ FB) Looking to Focus on Videos?

Richard Atkins