European Court of Justice: Bitcoin is exempt from VAT October 22, 2015 Europe’s top court, the European Court of Justice, has ruled that transactions made with digital currencies such as bitcoin should be exempt from VAT. The EU court wrote in its ruling that bitcoin transactions “are exempt from VAT under the provision concerning transactions relating to currency, bank notes and coins used as legal tender”. The [...]
Deloitte: Bitcoin isn’t ready to be regulated yet October 22, 2015 Deloitte has said bitcoin doesn’t need to be regulated yet, comparing the digital currency to technologies like the telephone and the internet, which were both given decades to mature before regulation. In its report, “Bitcoin at the crossroads”, the professional services firm said despite the financial industry’s excitement over bitcoin and blockchain, the underlying technology supporting it, [...]
Blockchain platform Setl hits one billion daily transactions – 1,000 times faster than Bitcoin’s blockchain October 13, 2015 Blockchain platform Setl claims to be capable of processing one billion transactions per day – matching every electronic payment made globally. Scaling up to this extent makes blockchain an even more attractive rival to traditional financial systems, as the booming fintech sector is increasingly seen not just as a viable but a cheaper alternative. The company [...]
Capgemini: The finance industry can’t afford to ignore bitcoin technology blockchain November 18, 2015 Blockchain technology is winning new friends by the day, with computer consultancy Capgemini announcing in a fresh report that financial services can no longer “afford to ignore” the distributed ledger technology that underpins bitcoin. Calling blockchain a “fundamental” shift for the finance industry, the report suggests that distributed ledgers will both slash costs and be [...]
A major insurance firm just joined this blockchain consortium August 31, 2016 The blockchain consortium R3 has signed up yet another new member, this time the major US insurance firm MetLife. The addition brings the number of members to more than 60 and it joins the likes of the biggest banks such as Barclays, HSBC and Goldman Sachs. The insurer will work with the other financial services [...]
Bitcoin price: The digital currency just hit a 2015 high October 30, 2015 Bitcoin’s on a roll. The digital currency has been gaining speed all month, and just zoomed past its July peak to hit a new high for 2015 at $320. This puts bitcoin up 37 per cent over the month. Bitcoin prices plummeted over 2014, from a high of $1,150, and 2015 didn’t start much better. [...]
UK business doubles security spend as cyber threat grows October 5, 2016 UK businesses are doubling down on cyber security – literally – as they spend twice as much on protecting themselves in the face of growing threats. Cyber security budgets have more than doubled this year compared to last, rising to £6.2m per business, on average, as the costs of incidents rise amid ever growing threats. The cost to [...]
Bank of England sets 2020 deadline to overhaul interbank payment system September 16, 2016 The Bank of England has said it will aim to overhaul the UK's interbank payment system by 2020 to create a new service that is "resilient but flexible". Future users will pay for the revamp of the "next generation" Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) service through a temporary increase in charges, the bank's executive director Andrew Hauser [...]
Digital defence school to bolster UK’s cyber ranks December 4, 2016 Bletchley Park will again house the nation’s top talent as cyber security threats soar, writes Billy Bambrough Over 70 years since Alan Turing and his Bletchley Park colleagues made history during World War II by figuring out the Nazis’ enigma machine, code breakers are set to return to the now famous site. The National College [...]
Why haven’t you invested in Scotland’s blockchain sector yet? November 16, 2016 Can you hear it? That's the sound of the guys working on the chain. Blockchain to be precise. It's no longer a silent revolution in the UK financial world. It's moving fast. Really fast. In fact an amazing £634 per second fast. Or £70,000 by the time you've read this article. Scotland's rapidly-growing blockchain business is making a big noise in [...]