Bitcoin revolution is taking the world by storm and London is fast emerging to be the hotspot for everything related to Bitcoin. This January, London successfully hosted the Bitcoin Expo and will host a new series of workshops for developers, popular as DevCore London, in April. DevCore London will feature prominent speakers such as Bitcoin Foundation Chief Scientist Gavin Andresen, Blockchain’s CEO Peter Smith and Lead Developer Matt Tuzzolo.
The UK government is also making substantial efforts in order to ensure that the residents have access to the latest technological advancements while making payments. Ed Vaizey, UK’s minister for Digital Economy has repeatedly assured the Bitcoin community that the government is keeping an open mind about the digital currencies and has been reviewing them in order to tap the full potential of the e-payment revolution, including “making them faster, quicker and safer.” The UK government has formed a special body for the Fintech sector, called Innovate Finance. The Chancellor of Britain, George Osborne, minces no words when embracing the Bitcoin technology,
“I want the UK to be the world leader in financial technology. That will bring jobs here and give new services to British customers.”
Several Bitcoin startups have mushroomed as growth of investments in financial technology in London dwarf that in the rest of the world. Here is a couple of promising ones:
- Elliptic – The fledgling company has launched Elliptic Vault, which offers cold storage facilities to its users. The company also plans to introduce more projects soon.
- Coinfloor – Coinfloor is a VC-backed Bitcoin trading platform which focuses on security, regulation, and legitimacy. It was founded in 2012.
Major businesses are not too far behind in supporting the Bitcoin industry. Leading real estate company RE/MAX London had recently given its customers the choice of paying rents or buying properties in Bitcoin.
With all this, it can be safely said that growth in the Bitcoin industry can accelerate even further with continued support of the government and with wider, commercial acceptance of Bitcoin as a payment method.