Digital currency is a type of currency available in digital form. It exhibits properties similar to physical currencies, but can allow for instantaneous transactions and borderless transfer-of-ownership. Examples include virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies and central bank issued money accounted for in a computer database. Like traditional money, these currencies may be used to buy physical goods and services, but may also be restricted to certain communities such as for use inside an online game or social network.
Coinbase is a digital currency exchange headquartered in San Francisco, California. They broker exchanges of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Litecoin with fiat currencies in approximately 32 countries, and bitcoin transactions and storage in 190 countries worldwide.
Erik Tristan Voorhees is an American startup founder. He is co-founder of the bitcoin company Coinapult, worked as Director of Marketing at BitInstant, and was founder and partial owner of the bitcoin gambling website Satoshi Dice.
LocalBitcoins is a bitcoin startup company based in Helsinki, Finland. Its service facilitates over-the-counter trading of local currency for bitcoins. Users post advertisements on the website, where they state exchange rates and payment methods for buying or selling bitcoins.
The legal status of bitcoin varies substantially from state to state and is still undefined or changing in many of them. Whereas the majority of countries do not make the usage of bitcoin itself illegal, its status as money varies, with differing regulatory implications.
BitPay is a bitcoin payment service provider headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in May 2011 by Tony Gallippi and Stephen Pair. BitPay provides Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash payment processing services for merchants.
A Bitcoin ATM is a kiosk that allows a person to purchase Bitcoin by using cash or debit card. Some Bitcoin ATMs offer bi-directional functionality enabling both the purchase of Bitcoin as well as the sale of Bitcoin for cash. In some cases, Bitcoin ATM providers require users to have an existing account to transact on the machine.
Circle is a peer-to-peer payments technology company. It was founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville in October 2013. Circle's mobile payment platform, Circle Pay, allows users to hold, send, and receive traditional fiat currencies. In September 2015, Circle received the first BitLicense issued from the New York State Department of Financial Services. In April 2016, the British government approved the first virtual currency licensure to Circle. Circle is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
Counterparty is a financial platform for creating peer-to-peer financial applications on the bitcoin blockchain. The protocol specification and all Counterparty software is open source. The reference client is counterparty and a web wallet called Counterwallet showcases all protocol features. The protocol’s native currency, XCP, is the fuel that powers Counterparty. It is slightly deflationary, with approximately 2.6 million XCP having been created by burning Bitcoins in January 2014. Counterparty provides users with the world's first functioning decentralized digital currency exchange, as well as the ability to create their own virtual assets, issue dividends, create price feeds, bets and contracts for difference.
Huobi is a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange. Founded in China, the company now has offices in Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and the United States. In August 2018 it became a publicly listed Hong Kong company.
A BitLicense is the common term used for a business license of virtual currency activities, issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) under regulations designed for companies. The regulations are limited to activities involving the state of New York or a New York resident. People residing in, located in, having a place of business in, or conducting business in the State of New York count as New York Residents under these regulations. The license was introduced and designed by Benjamin Lawsky, New York's first Superintendent of Financial Services, in July 2014.. Chartered entities do not require an explicit BitLicense, but may instead proceed with virtual currency activities via limited purpose trust charters approved by the NYDFS.
BitGo is a Blockchain security company. It is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and was founded in 2013 by Mike Belshe and Ben Davenport.
Blockstream is a blockchain technology company co-founded by Adam Back, Gregory Maxwell, Pieter Wuille and others, and led by Adam Back. Blockstream is one of a number of institutions that provide funding for the development of Bitcoin Core, the predominant bitcoin network client software.
Kraken is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange operating in Canada, the EU, Japan, and the US, and "the world's largest bitcoin exchange in euro volume and liquidity".
Gemini Trust Company, LLC (Gemini) is a digital currency exchange and custodian that allows customers to buy, sell, and store digital assets. Gemini is a New York trust company that is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Gemini was founded in 2014, by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
The Chamber of Digital Commerce is an American advocacy group that promotes the emerging industry behind blockchain technology, bitcoin, digital currency and digital assets.
Abra is a financial services and technology company that operates an all-in-one cryptocurrency wallet and exchange app. The Abra app is available on both iOS and Android platforms and allows users to buy, sell, and hold 25 cryptocurrencies and 50 fiat currencies in one place. It supports some of the most popular cryptocurrency assets including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, ZCash, DigiByte, Stellar and more.
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies. Since early 2018, Binance is considered as the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of trading volume.
CoinCorner is a British-based Bitcoin exchange based in Douglas, Isle of Man. The company facilitates Bitcoin storage and transactions, such as buying, selling and payments via their Bitcoin wallet services.
