Digital wallet Abra has introduced new features enabling global investors to invest in shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) using Bitcoin (BTC), according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Feb. 6. The United States-based firm has announced early access registration to the platform, allowing investors in more than 155 countries to invest in 50 new traditional investment assets with zero trading fees through the rest of 2019 using the leading crypto. Those assets reportedly include major stocks such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Google, Netflix, commodities such as SPDR Gold Trust, ETFs like Vanguard Growth and the S&P 500, and …

The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance has launched its fiat-to-crypto exchange in Uganda today, Oct. 24, according to an official announcement on Medium. Binance Uganda, Binance’s first fiat-to-crypto exchange in Uganda, has officially launched live trading, enabling users to buy two major cryptocurrencies — Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) — with local fiat currency Ugandan shillings (UGX). The exchange had announced last week that Binance Uganda would open this week. Today’s statement reads that Binance Uganda is also a “first step” to the expansion of crypto exchange markets for a “more inclusive ecosystem that will involve fiat currencies.” According to …

At the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas today Oct. 22, experts in the blockchain field debated the future of the technology and its potential effects on how payments are conducted. Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz and FIS Payments Senior Vice President of Product Strategy Esther Pigg offered competing visions of whether blockchain will benefit payments. According to Schwartz, blockchain technology will replace the world’s current payment systems, the developers of which are “putting bandages on a system that dates back to the dial-up era.” Blockchain will do to payment systems what email did to traditional post, Schwartz said. …

The CEO of world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance said he “hoped others would follow” his decision to donate all listing fees to charity after a sudden announcement Monday, October 8. According to the announcement, beginning “immediately” meanwhile, Binance will not only donate all such fees to charitable causes for the “greater good,” but also allow developers themselves to name the amount they pay, without demanding a minimum fee. “Binance will continue to use the same high standard for the listing review process,” the announcement continues. “A large donation does not guarantee or in any way influence the outcome of our …

An “advanced and robust” trading platform is vowing to help emerging economies embrace cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology — in the hope that inclusion and education will bring economic freedom to the masses. KuBitX claims that there is widespread reluctance to learn about crypto, compounded by a lack of knowledge and resources for those who want to discover more. The company believes this has enabled a small group of traders to dominate the market and even manipulate it at will — resulting in extreme fluctuations in cryptocurrencies. Its white paper cites a study by Cambridge University, which suggests that Africa is …

SatoshiPay has announced that it will be phasing out Bitcoin, and thus Blockchain technology, as its preferred settlement network. Instead, they are partnering with the IOTA Foundation due to faster transactions with much lower fees. Bitcoin has been the original Blockchain technology on which a number of businesses have built their services on. SatoshiPay is just one of those companies to use Blockchain technology, but they are now looking beyond that to a microtransaction Blockchain-less crypto token called IOTA. SatoshiPay began using Bitcoin in 2015 as a system to settle these micropayments, and back then it was a viable option …

Cointelegraph speaks to Canadian Bitcoiner Kyle Kemper about The Social Wallet, a nonprofit that hopes to digitize every aspect of a physical wallet, money, services, and identity. This is the first part in a series of three articles on the Social Wallet. Social Wallet is a tremendous undertaking by its creator, Kyle Kemper, to bring Bitcoin to the masses and create a revolution in both the developing and developed worlds in terms of finance, identity, and information. The project launched on the 4th April and is seeking $21,000,000 in donations to complete the project. The project is only 10 weeks …

Russian citizens can now pay their bills for internet and mobile phones with Bitcoin. Megafon, Beeline and other popular operators now accept Bitcoins through such services as Cryptonator and 7pay.in. Such services can make Bitcoin more attractive for ordinary Russian users. Cryptonator also offers payment options for popular online games, such as World of Tanks, Perfect World and others. Besides, they can use Bitcoins to replenish their accounts in popular Russian social networks and Skype. However, the service doesn’t make Bitcoin payments directly. They take Bitcoins, then convert it to RUR according to the system’s internal rate and only then …