Digital Currency

Long confirmation times and hefty transaction fees have pushed some Bitcoin backers to back away from the digital currency in recent weeks, but now there are signs that one of those problems is easing significantly while the other is growing much worse. The median transaction fee stood at $5.69 as …

Bitcoin may have slipped from the near $20,000 price it commanded a little over a month ago, but it’s still selling for around $11,000, nearly a dozen times its value a year ago. That’s drawing in plenty of investors and other high rollers, but it’s also attracting average citizens, including …

As cryptocurrency values increase and draw more attention, individuals with ill intent are looking to hijack smart phones and desktop computers to mine digital currencies. Opera Software AS, a Norway-based browser developer, wants to prevent that for users of its technology. Opera introduced an anti-mining feature to its mobile browser …

In what may be a case of easy come, easy go, Bitcoin and more than a score of other cryptocurrencies are shedding value fast. Since peaking near $20,000 on Dec. 17, Bitcoin’s price has plummeted more than 50%. It stood at $9,650 at mid-morning Wednesday, down more than $2,000 in …

While most payments executives have been fascinated by the spectacular year-long rise—and recent crash—in the value of Bitcoin, merchants that accept the cryptocurrency continue to struggle with a wide range of vexing issues. Overstock.com, one of the first merchants to accept Bitcoin, this week had to fix a programming flaw …

Suburban Cleveland-based merchant processor Electronic Merchant Systems announced it will move its headquarters to downtown Cleveland in mid-2018. The new location offers about 48,000 square feet of space. Point-of-sale equipment maker Star Micronics released PromoPRNT, a service that enables merchants to create printed promotions in addition to receipts. U.S. Attorney …

Bitcoin’s high-flying value has lost some altitude lately, but the cost to perform a transaction is reaching record highs. At the same time, other major cryptocurrencies have also become increasingly expensive not only to buy but to use as a means of exchange. The average fee to perform a Bitcoin …

Shares of the small merchant processor Net Element Inc. surged more than 200% Wednesday morning, apparently for no other reason than the company announced it was creating a business unit to pursue opportunities in the nascent blockchain industry. At about 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, Miami-based Net Element’s stock was priced …

The blockchain, mobile commerce, fraud, data breaches, and authentication were all hot payments topics in 2017. Expect that to continue into 2018 if the prognostications from several payments executives hold true. Much of their outlook centers on identity and authentication, especially as data breaches, large and small, continue to wreak …

With Bitcoin priced near $18,000 Friday morning, and with futures markets already trading Bitcoin contracts or getting set to, investors in the digital currency are riding high. Consumers who want to use Bitcoin to buy things, though, face a market rife with volatility, slow transactions, and high costs. Bitcoin exchanges …