Tmobile Poland announced yesterday that they have begun accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for pay as you go phones. Why would anyone transfer currency to Bitcoin just to pay a silly bill? How about a 20% discount on your bill?!! Tmobile will not be actually holding any Bitcoins. They are using a third party processor after each sale and transferring them to government based currency. Tmobile is in a three month trial and will evaluate how things are going at the end of it.

IBM is throwing around the idea of adopting technology that runs Bitcoin. They are looking to create a blockchain system to create a digital cash/payment system for current world currencies. Their goal, to allow people to pay bills or transfer money instantly all without using a bank or a clearing party. Which similar to Bitcoin would save immensely on transaction costs!

“We are at a tipping point right now. It’s making a lot more sense for some type of digital cash in the system, that not only saves our government money, but also is a lot more convenient and secure for individuals to use.”

People had reached out to IBM for more information but the haven’t responded.

California has proposed a bill to ban all unlicensed Bitcoin businesses. What does that even mean? Their definition….

“prohibit a person from engaging in this state in the business of virtual currency, as defined, in this state unless the person is licensed by the Commissioner of Business Oversight or is exempt from the licensure requirement.”

Banks, Financial based firms, and local government would be excempt under this new law which will end up making it extremely difficult for a new start up company to make headway. Typically California is a state that supports and even pushes for technological advancement and adoption. This law at this point is extremely vague and left a lot of room for interpretation. I will keep you guys up to date with the development of this law.

The last bit of news we have is left to a Silicon Valley startup company by the name of 21 Inc. Somehow they have figured out how to collect secretly a total of $116 million in funding for its blockchain technology. It’s funding has been in the works for the last year and a half. Once confirmed it will be a new record for funding totals for the digital currency. There is not a lot of information on the company but that is all expected to change very soon.

“Bitcoin is going to change the way that people and businesses and even machines interact with each other. But for bitcoin to realize that vision we need mass adoption. It can’t just be for Silicon Valley.”

As I finish writing up this article, Bitcoin’s price is sitting at @290.04

Have a great week everyone!