You can still become a crypto and FinTech SuperWriter with Cointelegraph – and win up to 5BTC per month, every month! As part of Cointelegraph’s refreshed mission that sees us covering not only cryptocurrency but the wider world of financial technology, we’ve launched the Cointelegraph SuperWriters Competition. We’re looking for the best undiscovered talent to help bring our journalism to a worldwide audience. Not only could you be regularly published on Cointelegraph.com, you could also win up to 5BTC per month into the bargain! The world of FinTech contains the most exciting, truly innovative companies and initiatives in finance. As …

A 17-year-old jihadist teenager from Virginia faces up to 15 years in prison for blog and Twitter posts about encryption and Bitcoin, Bitreserve has announced that it is dropping fees for currency conversions, and more top stories for June 12. Jihadist US Teen Faces Prison for Blog and Tweets About Encryption and Bitcoin A 17-year-old Virginia teenager faces up to 15 years in prison for blog and Twitter posts about encryption and Bitcoin that were geared at assisting ISIL. The teenager, who contributed to the Coin Brief news site, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of providing material support to …

Today, the UK government has published a report on digital privacy supporting the compulsory mass collection of data for both domestic and “extra-territorial” web traffic. The government tasked David Anderson, an independent UK lawyer, to investigate how the country's anti-terrorism and espionage laws work in practice and what needs to change. The report titled A Question of Trust supports the bulk collection of internet traffic and user data, including information held on servers outside of the UK. An excerpt reads: “Pending a longer-term and more satisfactory solution, the extraterritorial effect in DRIPA s4 should be maintained.” The “extra-territorial effect” is …

If you hadn’t noticed, Cointelegraph has changed to provide a fresh angle on the wider world of FinTech – and now, we’re giving readers the chance to be the face of our resource. FinTech has amazing potential to give a voice to an almost infinite number of innovative markets and communities beyond just cryptocurrency. As a Cointelegraph reader, you now have a unique opportunity to bring your story to a worldwide audience as a CT guest journalist! We’re launching the Cointelegraph Super Writers competition – submit a news or opinion story covering FinTech or cryptocurrency, and you could not only …

American Banker reported that batches of FinTech startups are relocating to London to engage with large financial institutions and banks through connections from accelerators and mentorships, such as Accenture’s FinTech Innovation Lab, or accelerator Level39. Global investments in FinTech ventures have reached US$12.21 billion, a large portion in London. Sir Edward Lister, chief of staff for the mayor of London, told American Banker: "What is most interesting for London is that, as a city, we are leading on the development of specific subsectors that build on London's historical strengths as a financial services hub. Throughout London, more than 44,000 people …

Beyond the business opportunities, financial innovations have a larger socio-economic role to play and could help pull billions of people out of poverty, according to a new report. Both corporate and VC firms have put their bets on the burgeoning fintech industry, which seeks to reinvent the way people bank and transact, all thanks to technological innovation. The growing interest in financial technologies has led investors to pour billions into the space. And the amount is not expected to decrease any time soon, according to a recent report from Accenture. The digital era The attractiveness of fintechs can be explained …

Google Introduces Android Pay, A Replacement For Its Wallet App on Mobile Google is taking another shot at mobile payments. At this year’s I/O developer conference, the tech giant stated that Google Wallet will now be replaced with Android Pay on smartphones. The Verge reported: “Android Pay will power in-app and tap-to-pay purchases on mobile devices. Google Wallet will stick around, but it will power Play Store purchases outside Android, say on the web, and facilitate peer-to-peer payments you can make through the app and on services like Gmail.” Commonwealth Bank of Australia to Integrate Ripple for Instant Settlements Commonwealth …

Unredacted Adult FriendFinder hacked Data is on offer for 70 Bitcoin, a 1959 IBM Model 1401 mainframe can mine bitcoin, and more top stories for May 26. Adult FriendFinder hacked, sensitive data on offer for 70 BTC A hacker going by the username of ROR[RG] has revealed to be in possession of confidential data from Adult FriendFinder, a dating site that helps users find partners who meet their sexual fetishes. The data is up for sale at the price of 70 bitcoins. Given that the information on the site is extremely personal in nature, many of its users have reasons …

Clinkle Implodes As Employees Quit in Protest Of CEO Lucas Duplan, CEO of payment rewards startup Clinkle, allegedly withheld key information from company employees regarding a possible acquisition from Apple. As a result, several employees have left the startup. TechCrunch reported: “As suspicions of a hidden Apple offer swirled, Duplan fired the company’s CFO and VP of engineering, which is said to have been the last straw for quite a few employees. Duplan has tasked the remaining team with stopping development of Clinkle’s debit card product to pivot the company into a business to business API for payment reward.” Google's …

According to the Payments Council, cash transactions in the UK fell to 48% of overall payments last year, down from 52% in 2013. This comes as no surprise, given the international rise of popular social payment services such as Snapcash, Squarecash and Venmo, as well as the already mainstream use of Paypal to shop online. These services, along with debit cards and digital currency trade, have collectively overtaken payments in physical bills and coins as of last year. Crunching the Numbers It is expected that in about a decade cashless payments will account for £28.8 billion, as opposed to £12.7 …

The financial services technologies (FinTech) industry has had over 45 venture capital investments, equivalent to US$3 billion in global ventures in 2013. Kantox reported that the number of deals in 2014 and 2015 is projected to hit around 60-70, as the global growth rate of the industry reaches a 26%. Moreover, Accenture’s “The Rise of Fintech: New York’s Opportunity for Tech Leadership” report on global investments in Fintech is expected to rise to US$8 billion by 2018 in wake of open-source software and cloud technology lowering the barriers to entry for startups. Many startups have emerged since 2013, with new …

The Bitcoin Foundation Board has elected Bruce Fenton to the position of Executive Director; Kaspersky releases a decryption tool in the battle against ransomware and more top stories for April 14. Bitcoin Foundation Appoints Bruce Fenton as New Executive Director In a vote consisting of five ayes and one abstention, the Bitcoin Foundation Board has elected lifetime member Bruce Fenton to the position of Executive Director, replacing Patrick Murck. In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Fenton stated: “The first order of business will be both getting the most accurate picture of where we are [financially] and communicating with members and …