Travelers to Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague can pay for hotel bookings in bitcoin at any of the Holland’s three easyHotels. The easyHotel Holland website offers a ‘pay in bitcoin’ option upon checkout that generates a BitPay invoice, QR code and wallet address included, to settle the payment.

The easyHotel brand has become increasingly popular in Europe, following the success of UK-based easyGroup’s airline and airport transfer brands, easyJet and easyBus.While the easyHotels in the Netherlands have embraced bitcoin as a payment option, other members of the hotel family in Europe and the UK have not as yet.

The easyHotels integration highlights the continuing growth of bitcoin into the hotel and travel industries.

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Last month online travel giant Expedia also began accepting bitcoin payments, but for hotel reservations only. The company has since announced that its bitcoin profits have exceeded expectations. Travel agency CheapAir, which initially began accepting bitcoin for flight bookings, began integrating bitcoin payments into its booking system this February, making the service available to 200,000 hotels and Amtrak rail reservations.

Although the easyHotels franchise is not an intermediary site like Expedia or CheapAir, it is a prominent and trusted name in low-cost travel options in the UK and Europe, and the company could see a lot of the same customers paying in bitcoin. Whether easyJet and the other easyGroup brands will follow suit remains to be seen. The Benelux region easyHotel franchisee acts under the holding company DanZep Hotels.

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US-based company CoinSafe says its new mobile and desktop apps can turn any local business into a ‘bitcoin ATM’, or face-to-face bitcoin exchange. The CoinSafe apps are free to use and allow businesses to trade bitcoins directly with walk-in customers.

After registering their business name for inclusion in CoinSafe’s directory, owners then link the app to a Blockchain, Coinbase or Bitstamp account and can start trading bitcoins face-to-face.

CoinSafe says the software is “designed to be used by someone who has no idea what bitcoin is”, and that a staff member merely needs to confirm that funds have been received before releasing the payout amount in either bitcoin or cash.

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CoinSafe co-founder and CEO Michael Flaxman said the software provided business owners with a less risky, more flexible option for getting bitcoin into their customers’ hands without having to purchase or maintain ATM hardware. He further said that CoinSafe would provide a map on its website showing the locations of businesses who had signed up to the service.

The company will not have access to any user’s private keys and will encrypt all customer information in transit to its services, its website says. It also recommends that businesses keep larger amounts of bitcoin in cold storage. Businesses paying out cash for bitcoins only do not have to give API access to CoinSafe at all, so long as they provide a bitcoin address by which the transaction can be confirmed. The service uses standard transaction fees of approximately 0.0001 BTC (about 6 US cents).

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Following Apple’s controversial removal of iOS bitcoin apps in January, the first of the big-name wallets relaunches on the App Store today. Blockchain, which already provides hugely popular wallets for both desktop computers and Android devices, has unveiled its new-from-the-ground-up iOS wallet, which it hopes will bring bitcoin to users across the globe.

Prior to Apple’s removal of all apps offering cryptocurrency transactions in January 2014, Blockchain was the most downloaded bitcoin wallet for iOS devices. Blockchain’s announcement will likely come as welcome news for the bitcoin community, which protested loudly at Apple’s ban – with some users even shooting their iPhones in an unlikely show of support.

However, for reasons known only to Apple insiders, a new, more open policy was announced at the Worldwide Developer’s Conference in early June, paving the way once more for bitcoin wallets and other apps that transact using cryptocurrencies.

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The App Store has seen the addition of several bitcoin apps, including an unofficial wallet for Coinbase users and Gliph, a messaging service that lets connected users send each other bitcoin. However, Blockchain is the first of the major players to offer wallet services on iOS since early 2014.

Nicolas Cary, CEO of Blockchain, told “The moment Apple signalled a shift in their policy toward digital currency apps, we pulled the iOS project off the shelf and got to work. We wanted to use this as an opportunity to improve the wallet, but we were still apprehensive about dedicating huge amounts of engineering time because it wasn’t clear what types of apps would get through the submission and approval process.”

He added: “Working with Apple has been quick and easy, and we really appreciate their thoughtful guidance – it’s a partnership we really value.”

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The National Assembly of Ecuador has effectively banned bitcoin and decentralized digital currencies while establishing guidelines for the creation of a new, state-run currency.

With 91 votes in favor of the amendments to the country’s existing monetary and financial laws, the National Assembly approved a bill that now goes to President Rafael Correa for signature. The law gives the government permission to make payments in ‘electronic money’, but decentralized digital currencies like bitcoin will now be prohibited.

The proposed electronic money is to be backed by the assets of the Banco Central del Ecuador, the nation’s central bank. The National Assembly will oversee the new currency while the central bank will develop and integrate it into the broader financial system. The electronic money will operate in tandem with the US dollar, Ecuador’s official currency, although it is not certain what exchange rate will be established.

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Following the final tally, the National Assembly issued a statement declaring that the new electronic money would offer benefits to both the underbanked and the broader economy, saying : “Electronic money will stimulate the economy, it will be possible to attract more Ecuadorian citizens, especially those who do not have checking or savings accounts and credit cards alone. The electronic currency will be backed by the assets of the Central Bank of Ecuador.”

Prior to the debate on amendments that instituted the decentralized digital currency prohibition, members of the local bitcoin community sought to shape the final outcome. The amendments laid out the legal framework for those who violate the ban, which establishes the power to confiscate bitcoins or similar holdings. Those who operate businesses using prohibited digital currencies face the risk of prosecution as well.

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Following the dogecoin community’s sponsorship of NASCAR driver Josh Wise at Telledega, bitcoin may soon boast its own promotional racer in the iconic US series. Rookie driver Alex Bowman and his team, BK Racing, have announced their involvement in a crowdfunding campaign called ‘Bitcoin23’ that aims to bring a bitcoin-themed car to the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The campaign kicks off today and runs until 20th August, with the aim to promote bitcoin while supporting the 21-year-old driver. With the support of the bitcoin community, the organisers hope to raise $100,000 for a full sponsorship.

If successful, the team and driver will run the bitcoin-branded car during the Labor Day weekend race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on 29th-31st August.

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“Bitcoin is changing the way people think about how they spend money and pay for things,” said Bowman.”I believe that a technology like bitcoin has a place in the sport. Introducing bitcoin to NASCAR will bring new fans to racing and help drive mainstream adoption.”

Alex Bowman, a native of Tucson, Arizona, started racing at just seven years of age. He made his debut at the national level of NASCAR in 2012, and has since twice won the Nationwide Series pole at Texas. BK Racing is a stock car racing team with a focus on introducing technological innovation to NASCAR. The team competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and fields the No. 23 Toyota Camry for Alex Bowman, the No. 26 Camry for Cole Whitt, and the No. 83 Camry for Ryan Truex.

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