Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Swedish crowdfunding platform launches bitcoin pilot

Bitcoin (virtual currency) coins are seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris July 11, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier



Bitcoin (virtual currency) coins are seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris July 11, 2014.


Credit: /Benoit Tessier






- Swedish crowdfunding platform FundedByMe is launching a bitcoin pilot project, allowing investors to use the virtual currency to buy stakes in a bitcoin trading company.

FundedByMe said the project would be the first of its kind to be hosted by a major crowdfunding platform. It will see the trading company, Safello, accept the digital currency from investors during its 45-day campaign that starts on Wednesday.


Crowdfunding allows individuals and small businesses, often start-ups, to raise money from pools of investors who can buy equity in a company or put money into peer-to-peer lending schemes.


Virtual currencies, of which bitcoin is the most famous, have been dubbed the "Wild West" of finance by regulators since they are not backed by a central bank or government like conventional money. They are prone to wild swings in value and can be a target for hackers.


Bitcoin, which is generated by computers and started circulating in 2009, lost as much as 80 percent against the U.S. dollar in a single day last year.


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