Is regulation and big banks participation the pill that the doctor ordered for Bitcoin companies to flourish?
Barclays and Circle through their path-breaking partnership have demonstrated that banks do not need to fear dealing with BitcoinCT r: 8 companies. One can expect many more cryptocurrency-based companies to enter the financial mainstream in the coming months. UK e-money licence
Circle, the social payment network backed by Goldman Sachs , has launched its services in the UK. It has received an e-money licence and has partnered with Barclays in this initiative.
On 5 April, Circle was granted an electronic money licence by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the U.K. financial regulator.
Barclays Corporate Banking has been chosen as a financial partner by Circle in this venture. Barclays will provide the infrastructure required for transferring sterlings between bank accounts and Circle.
Through this partnership, a Circle user will be able to send across dollars from the United States to another user, who will receive sterlings in the United Kingdom in a matter of minutes. Open to Blockchain and Bitcoin
Banks all over the world are highly regulated and subject to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering laws.
They also play the role of an information gatherer and are supposed to inform financial regulators about any suspicious transactions .The e-money licence granted by the FCA to Circle has enabled Barclays to enter into a partnership with Circle, without being unduly concerned about its counters being used for dubious transactions.Barclays has been one of the earliest banks to acknowledge that it was open to technologies like blockchain and Bitcoin. Blockchain-backed solutions In June 2015, Barclays signed a proof of concept with Safello , a Bitcoin-based startup, to work on a payment platform. SafelloCT r: 167 was earlier chosen to be part of Barclay’s Accelerator, a 13 […]
