VIDEO: Details on Circle’s Recently Unveiled Bank Account for Bitcoins
Bitcoins just got their first bank account — almost.
Circle, a Boston-based bitcoin startup, emerged from stealth today at Bitcoin 2014 in Amsterdam with a consumer-facing bitcoin app that is built to resemble an online bank account. Co-founder Jeremy Allaire (of Brightcove fame) explains the service in the video below, emphasizing Circle’s compliance and security chops. Indeed, Allaire has been criticized in bitcoin circles for his perceived enthusiasm for regulation.
Circle is betting that the days of bitcoin volatility are past, and the days of bitcoin utility are here.
Circle offers offline “cold storage” and what it describes as military grade security — both crucial in the wake of Mt.Gox‘s recent implosion. The newer bitcoin services, such as Circle and the Google Venture-backed Buttercoin, tellingly avoid calling themselves exchanges and even wallets, and instead take the appearance of user-friendly payment accounts. But they serve the same function — to turn your dollars into bitcoins, and spend them. Circle avoids the term “trading” as well, and emphasizes bitcoins’ potential as a person-to-person payment vehicle for your friends and a traditional account. Unusually for a bitcoin service, it will offer, as American Banker points out, phone support.
Users of Circle, which is accepting requests for invitations here, can also easily incorporate their Circle wallets into site that accept bitcoin payments, such as Gyft and Overstock.com. The entire focus of Circle seems to be put the sometimes confusing terminology of virtual currencies in the background and make it as smooth and user-friendly as possible. Judge for yourself from the video below whether it succeeded.
These are odd, hectic times for virtual currency. The past few weeks have seen a bitcoin debit card called Xapo announced, the largest bitcoin fund raise ever — $30 million — for BitPay, and an anti-bitcoin lobbying effort launched by MasterCard. There is also the inevitable Google Glass app for paying with bitcoin, by nodding, naturally.
Circle has raised a cool $26 million to date, which allows it to offer its services for free. That’s great for getting things rolling, but it can’t be free forever.
