Coinbase Official Says Banks Are Standing In The Way Of Financial Innovation

Blockchain technology, the underlying innovation behind digital currencies including bitcoin was under the spotlight during the 3rd Fintech Forum held by Japan’s central bank. The Bank of Japan’s Third Fintech Forum, saw officials from the central bank’s payments department admit that central banks around the world were researching the technology. According to a report by Nikkei, the hot topic of the day was blockchain technology with private banks and financial institutions reportedly showcasing mock-ups of potential blockchain applications during the event. In December, BOJ governor....

The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, the country’s central bank, has stated that central banks around the world “will and have” to watch the progress and developments concerning digital currencies like Bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain. Hiroshi Nakaso, a deputy governor of the Bank of Japan was speaking broadly about the financial market’s infrastructure in an age when innovation through financial technology is bringing about changes in payments and settlement systems. The recent speech [PDF] was heard during the ‘Conference on Retail Payments’ in Japan. Pinning....

A senior Bank of Japan (BoJ) official has stated that bitcoin and other Fintech innovation isn’t a threat to the fiat money central banks print. According to Hiromi Yamaoka, head of the BoJ’s payment and settlement systems department, central banks need to maintain the public’s trust. This is because the growth of FinTech provides people with a substitute to cash, reports Reuters. This year, Hiroshi Nakaso, the deputy governor of the BoJ, stated that central banks would have to watch the progress and developments relating to bitcoin and blockchain. In a speech, he stated that the financial....

Financial planning firm Mint has added bitcoin support to its service, following a deal with wallet provider Coinbase. Following the move, Mint's popular finance app will allow US users to keep track of their bitcoin investments, alongside more traditional investments. Hard to ignore. Mint product manager Vince Maniago told Venture Beat that there are already 12 million bitcoins in circulation, adding that 60,000 merchants are already accepting the digital currency via Coinbase. He said: "We felt like it was something we couldn't ignore anymore, and this is a good time to go out and....

A healthy dose of skepticism is well, healthy. As for The Economist, their opinion is pretty much in lockstep with much of the world’s biggest industries that have been predicted to be ripe for adoption of blockchain technology. With specific mention of the financial and banking industry, the editorial goes into why blockchain technology may be a slowly adopted innovation. In the editorial, the author points to the hyper-competitive nature of financial firms and banks as being a hindrance to the proliferation of blockchain technology. Due to the lack of cooperation between the world’s....