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

The unexpected Bitcoins Growth story in Japan Continues

The number of locally developed, professional bitcoin services launching in Japan recently is a sign of growing acceptance in the country. The latest is a multi-service bitcoin platform called Coincheck, which offers a wallet, exchange and merchant payment system. A new feature aimed directly at the e-commerce industry, called ‘Coincheck for EC’ will launch on 14th September.

Takuro Mizobe, one of Coincheck’s lead engineers, told that the company was in negotiations with several online merchants who had contacted the company, looking for the marketing edge they would potentially gain by accepting bitcoin.

He said: “As you might know, the number of people who have bitcoin hasn’t been scaled in Japan, and they are lacking knowledge of cryptocurrencies. For this reason, [Coincheck’s] all-in-one service and brands are user-friendly and accessible […] Having all of bitcoin ecosystem services in house [is] quite advantageous against competition.”

News on Bitcoins

Mizobe said Japan’s massive content industry, that includes manga, anime and games, offered enormous opportunities for bitcoin – especially in terms of micropayments. According to a report by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), that industry was worth a whopping ¥12 trillion ($111.3bn) in 2012.

Coincheck’s e-commerce platform has a simple and easy-to-navigate design, and merchants will be able to integrate it directly into their site. Like similar merchant services, it will instantly convert bitcoin to Japanese yen to assuage concerns about volatility. As an introductory offer, Coincheck is waiving some of its usage fees.

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Richard Atkins
Finance, Mobile

(NASDAQ MSFT) Exclusive News: Microsoft Sued By Getty Images

Getty Images has sued Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ MSFT) over its new tool, Bing Image Widget, calling it a “massive infringement” of copyrighted images, Reuters news agency reported. Getty images filed a lawsuit against the tech giant in a court in New York. Getty Images has the biggest online repository of photos, comprising of more than 80 million photographs. Bing Image Widget was released by Microsoft … Continue reading (NASDAQ MSFT) Exclusive News: Microsoft Sued By Getty Images

Richard Atkins
Finance, Mobile

(NASDAQ AAPL) Details of Apple Pay Launch in Europe with Visa

Visa Inc (NYSE V) is working to bring Apple (NASDAQ AAPL) Pay to the masses. The financial giant is set to bring the new payment system to the United States in October and the United Kingdom in 2015. Visa Europe’s Head of Mobile Proposition, Pedro Sousa, claims the company does not have any concrete dates yet but they know it will arrive sometime next year. … Continue reading (NASDAQ AAPL) Details of Apple Pay Launch in Europe with Visa

Richard Atkins
Finance, Internet

EBay Clears Air about Google Stake : NASDAQ GOOG stock impacted

eBay Inc (NASDAQ EBAY) was quick to respond to a rumor that Google Inc (NASDAQ GOOG) was considering buying a 40% stake in it. The online auction giant’s stock climbed by nearly 5% in very heavy trading volume earlier this morning after three traders claimed that Google could buy a stake. Shares of eBay shot up after a rumor that Google was about to buy … Continue reading EBay Clears Air about Google Stake : NASDAQ GOOG stock impacted

Richard Atkins
Finance, Internet

Test Facebook (FB) New Feature now live

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ FB) is currently testing the self-destructing Facebook post, a feature that allows users to schedule the deletion of their messages on Facebook iOS app. Facebook confirmed that it is running a small pilot on a feature on Facebook for iOS that allows users to schedule the deletion of their messages in advance. The social network giant released the new feature to a … Continue reading Test Facebook (FB) New Feature now live

Richard Atkins
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