Bitcoin Remittance Service 37coins Closes Shop

Bitcoin remittance startup 37coins is closing its doors. In a new blog post, the company said it was shutting down its service and its SMS-based wallet. However, users have until 30th December to withdraw their balances. More information about the withdrawal process can be found here. The closure marks the end of a process that saw the startup take part in Plug and Play's bitcoin startup group. 37coins aimed to use low-cost cell phone technology as a means to enable cheap transactions, but according to the team, development ran into headwinds that ultimately proved insurmountable. The post....

Harborly, a bitcoin exchange in North America, has decided to shut down operations due to a shrinking market share. After all, there have been several startups focusing on this aspect of the industry these days, leaving smaller companies with fewer clients and lower trade activity. "When we first launched Harborly just over a year ago, we had the vision of giving our users the simplest, quickest, and safest way to buy and sell bitcoin globally using their local currency," indicated the farewell blog post by the bitcoin exchange. "Our team has had an incredible and exhilarating journey as a....

Asian Bitcoin company BitSpark announced the temporary closure of its bitcoin exchange earlier this month so the company could focus on its pioneering bitcoin remittance service. The company also recently expanded into mainland China through a partnership with Chinese Bitcoin company Melotic. Melotic recently shut down its own crypto-currency exchange, citing a lack of demand for the service. A company blog post read, "Simply put, we did not experience enough growth in this product to justify the ongoing costs of development, maintenance, and support." According to BitSpark CEO George....

Startup 37Coins has created a universal bitcoin wallet that can be used on any cellphone, aiming to provide people around the globe with better access to financial resources. The service allows consumers to pay in bitcoin from any mobile device with SMS functionality via a 'gateway' in the user's country of origin. This means that the benefits of the digital currency can be accessible to people who arguably stand to benefit the most, like those in poorer regions of the developing world and areas without advanced communications infrastructure. As Jonathan Zobro, one of the company's....

As new U.S. government measures that impose restrictions on remittances to Cuba becomes effective after November 22, Western Union, which has been operating in the island nation since 1999, will close shop. The new rule, which was published on October 27, gave Western Union 30 days to implement new restrictions. The new rule is likely to increase the appeal of crypto assets as Cubans are now expected to find a suitable alternative in a very short space of time. Targeted Sanctions At the time of the initial U.S. government announcement, the global remittances giant had promised to find a....