The New York Times reports (story is here) that Circle, a Boston-based startup, has gotten a big breakthrough in Britain:
Financial Conduct Authority, Britain’s top financial regulator, has granted an electronic money license to Circle, a company based in Boston that uses Bitcoin, the virtual currency, to enable consumers to make payments to other consumers using a mobile app, or “social payments” as the company puts it. The regulator helped Circle get the license by putting it in the government’s Innovation Hub, which is one of several initiatives Britain has undertaken to encourage experimentation in the financial industry.
The license makes it possible for Circle to establish a banking relationship with Barclays, the British bank. It is the first time that a large global bank has agreed to work with a Bitcoin company
Note that the Times capitalizes bitcoin, but AP doesn’t – so I don’t.
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