SEP 3 DIGEST: Proposed California Bitcoin Bill Adds New Reporting Requirements and Coinbase Expands to Singapore

The latest version of California's “BitLicense” adds new reporting requirements to licensed businesses, Coinbase expands its services to Singapore, and more top stories for September 3.

Proposed California Bitcoin Bill Adds New Reporting Requirements

The latest version of the AB-1326 bill, dubbed ‘California's BitLicense,’ includes a passage that would add new reporting requirements to licensed businesses beyond existing annual and quarterly financial audits.

The bill reads:

“Each licensee shall file an annual report with the commissioner, on or before the 15th day of March, providing the relevant information that the commissioner reasonably requires concerning the business and operations conducted by the licensee within the state during the preceding calendar year. Each licensee shall also make other special reports to the commissioner that may be required by the commissioner from time to time.”

Coinbase Expands to Singapore

Bitcoin users in Singapore can now purchase and sell the cryptocurrency via Coinbase. In so doing, the popular Bitcoin exchange and wallet service, with around US$106 million worth of investments in its pockets, has marked its entry into Southeast Asia.

Coinbase’s international expansion lead David Farmer said:

“Singapore represents an important market for us. […] To date, more than 15,000 people in Singapore have signed up for a Coinbase Wallet, and by extending our buy and sell service to the country, we’re helping to make their on-ramp to the Bitcoin world as simple and as safe as possible moving forward.”

Swarm Shuts Down as 'Pretty Boy' Co-Founder Blamed for Demise

Decentralized crowdfunding platform Swarm, which enabled companies to offer cryptographic shares with its own altcoin, has ceased operations due to an internal dispute and financial issues. Swarm co-founder and CEO Joel Dietz wrote a blog post in which he explained that the service’s “Pretty Boy” co-founder and designer quit a few weeks after the platform passed the delivery cycle.

Dietz:

“The designer co-founder decided on the way out that he should exit with some cash, something he negotiated with Techstars. Unfortunately the new promised cash never came in from Techstars. That left us US$200k in the hole with one pretty boy gone.”

Paymium Raises €1 Million to Boost Bitcoin Merchant Onboarding

Paris-based Bitcoin payments services startup Paymium has raised €1 million in new seed funding from investors including Newfund and Kima Ventures. However, Paymium president and co-founder Pierre Noizat interestingly suggested the funding round was perhaps lower than it would have been if the company had been focused on the US market.

Noizat stated:

“In the US, bitcoin awareness and venture capital funds are much more available. I think there is a tendency in the press to overestimate bitcoin awareness outside English speaking countries. There's a lot to be done in Europe.”

DarkWallet Developers Go Dark

The developers of DarkWallet, the intentionally controversial and OBPP award winning Privacy Bitcoin client, are believed to have abandoned the project. One of the developers, Amir Taaki, is allegedly busy developing something that requires considerable attention. Meanwhile, others involved with the project, including inventor of the 3D-printed gun Cody Wilson and Chief Scientist Peter Todd, have had trouble locating lead developer Pablo Martin.

Bitcoin Exchange itBit Hires NYDFS Lawyer for Compliance Role

New York-based Bitcoin exchange ItBit has hired former New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) general counsel Daniel “Danny” Alter as its general counsel and chief compliance officer. The three-year veteran of the NYDFS was involved in the formation of the New York BitLicense, before departing in February.

Alter said:

“Over the months it came to pass I had this opportunity with itBit and thought this was a tremendous opportunity to pursue that.”

Wikipedia Bans Hundreds of Editors Who Extorted Bitcoin Casinos

The world’s number one user-edited reference guide, Wikipedia, has suffered an extortion scandal due to “undisclosed paid advocacy.” Working through dozens of persons and companies, including many Bitcoin casinos and affiliates, this ring of hundreds of “editors” has now been banned from Wikipedia.

In an official statement, Wikipedia said:

“Most of these articles, which were related to businesses, business people, or artists, were generally promotional in nature, and often included biased or skewed information, unattributed material, and potential copyright violations. […] The edits made by the sockpuppets are similar enough that the community believes they were perpetrated by one coordinated group.”

Canadian Parliamentary Candidate Wants Bitcoin Recognized as Currency

Alex Millar, a parliamentary hopeful running in Canada's upcoming federal election, says he wants to give Bitcoin an equal footing with the dollar. The former maths teacher and software engineer is running as an independent candidate for Vancouver East, and said he decided to run to highlight an issue the major parties were ignoring: money creation.

Millar:

“Canadians enjoy freedom of speech and freedom of religion, I’m running for for parliament because I believe we need freedom of money.”