Daily Archives: January 26, 2015

The Verge The Winklevoss twins are looking to legitimise Bitcoin with the Gemini exchange.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss think they have the answer to Bitcoin's rocky 2014 and tumbling value: a "fully regulated" Bitcoin exchange based in the United States. If Bitcoin is to break through as the frictionless payment method many believe it can be, it must evolve into "an ecosystem that is free of hacking, fraud and security breaches," wrote Cameron Winklevossin a blog post announcing the Gemini exchange.

Obviously the cryptocurrency isn't there yet, and the brothers who waged a high-profile legal tussle with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg claim the risks associated with Bitcoin right now are crippling its potential. "A growing number of US investors, traders, financial institutions and businesses wanted to get involved with bitcoin directly, but had no options other than to trade overseas or sit on the sidelines."

So what's the answer? Gemini claims to have assembled "the nations top security experts, technologists, and financial engineers to build a world-class exchange from the ground up with a security-first mentality." So far, that's a team of 14 people (including Tyler and Cameron), with 11 of those spots filled by engineers. Gemini has also picked up the backing of a New York-based bank, though the twins aren't getting more specific than that. "This means that your money will never leave the country," said Winklevoss. And US currency on Gemini will qualify for FDIC insurance, a measure that should have investors confident that funds will be "as safe and secure as they are in your bank account today."

Apparently seeing the total collapse of Mt. Gox and troubles experienced by other exchanges hasn't discouraged the Winklevoss brothers. "The A Team wasnt there, Tyler Winklevosstold The New York Times. "There was a problem here and it needs to be solved. Gemini will be ready to try its hand at fixing that problem as soon as the exchange gains regulatory approval fromBenjamin M. Lawsky, the superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services; a test model of the exchange is already up and running, according to the Times. There's good reason for the Winklevoss brothers to pick up Bitcoin's reputation; they reportedly invested nearly $11 million in the currency back in 2012. For a while,that seemed like a good bet, but now the Winklevoss twins clearly see a need to bring some sense of order in the world of Bitcoin.

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Winklevoss twins look to legitimise Bitcoin

The virtual currency bitcoin is getting a very real boost on Monday, with the opening of the first licensed U.S. exchange.

Coinbase Inc., a startup backed by $106 million from the New York Stock Exchange, banks and venture-capital firms, said its exchange will offer greater security for individuals and institutions to trade bitcoin and monitor real-time pricing of the cryptocurrency.

The exchange could bring needed legitimacy to the currency, which isnt backed by a central government and is traded over virtual exchanges, primarily overseas. Coinbase said it has insurance, offering traders some assurance that their money wont disappear.

Bitcoin enthusiasts have been buffeted by the collapse of Japan-based exchange Mt. Gox last year taking with it around half a billion dollars of investors money and a security breach earlier this month at Slovenia-based exchange Bitstamp. The value of a bitcoin itself, determined by trading on existing exchanges, has fallen to about $240, from a peak in late 2013 of more than $1,200.

Coinbases founders say they have been working for five months to win licenses from state financial regulators. They have regulatory approval in half of U.S. states, including large population centers like New York and California. For now, Coinbase can do business with account holders only in states where it has approval.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

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The Wall Street Journal: First U.S. bitcoin exchange set to open