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George Osborne makes a quick buck on £20 Bitcoin buy at Level 39
As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, you might expect George Osborne would like to keep his own pocket money in good old, Bank of England-regulated, sterling. But it’s apparent a trip to trendy FinTech den Level 39 has left Osborne with a sense of adventure – he’s gone where no chancellor has gone before – and withdrawn Bitcoin from a Bitcoin ATM.
As guest speaker at the Innovate Finance conference in Level 39, Osborne spoke of how he wanted Britain to become the global centre of finance innovation, before putting his money where his mouth was and taking out £20 worth of Bitcoin from the nearby dispenser.
Osborne’s punt on digital currency has proven a winner already, at the time of writing the value of Bitcoin has risen by £6 to $585.89. A tidy profit on the notoriously volatile currency… for now.
UPDATE: This article has been modified. Originally it stated that the value of Bitcoin has risen to £585.89. Bitcoin's value has actually risen to $585.89.