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It takes a while to fully understand how blockchain.info works, and how their wallet is very different from something like Coinbase/Circle/Xapo. Once you do, you realize that blockchain.info is an amazing example of the types of things that can be created with cryptocurrency that weren't possible before. They truly embody the spirit of Bitcoin.
Now if only they would support HD wallets so you don't have to backup your wallet after every transaction...
And how exactly is Blockchain "very different from something like Coinbase/Circle/Xapo"?
The Bitcoin private keys are created and encrypted on the user's machine, in JavaScript (Chrome extension available).
Those companies have custody of the user's private keys, meaning that there exists the potential for government seizure / hacking theft of users' coins.
In other words, exactly like the first Bitcoin wallet ever created (Satoshi's), but less secure (subject to the JavaScript being MITM'd, something breaking out of its JS sandbox and getting your private keys, keys being recovered from de-allocated memory because they can't be wiped by JS, etc.)
I'm just not a big fan of blockchain.info, so I have a strong reaction to midas's gushing above. What does blockchain.info do that "wasn't possible before"? It can't take credit for Bitcoin itself. It's like an online bank? Doesn't seem very innovative in that sense.
Again, the things that might seem like pluses (being able to access your bitcoins from any computer with an internet connection and a browser; keeping your own keys) are also really dangerous. I'd rather just use an actual application that lets me keep my own keys, without being subject to the browser's attack surface.
Heh, just noticed you work for Blockchain Ltd. I may have been a bit nicer in my last comment had I noticed. Anyway, it's worth noting that your users are still vulnerable to a Lavabit-style seizure (or hack from anyone) of your private keys, with the intent of pushing out modified JS to seize coins or track users. It's my understanding that the purpose of the Chrome extension is to prevent tampering[1], but if the authorities are really serious, they could also coerce/compromise Chrome Web Store into putting out a malicious update, signed by your seized private key.
Which authorities and laws is the company subject to?
This is great news, and nice work by Roger and the whole team. Blockchain is the way Bitcoin's lights are turned on so that most of the world can see what's happening, and has awesome potential both for monetization and better reach.
I think someone already said it in another thread I'm not seeing now, but I have to say I've been a bit miffed about the "Blockchain" name. It was OK when they were blockchain.info, literally a few pages with public "info" about the "blockchain". Since they've added wallets in the last few years, and now with whatever they need $30M to do, it's confusing, incorrect, and maybe a bit unfair to call themselves "Blockchain."
It'd be kind of like an American payroll company calling themselves Automated Clearing House. It doesn't make sense, because ACH is actually the shared technology, not created by them, that enables them to do their work. It's unfair because people might hear about ACH transfers and think they can only be done by this one company.
blockchain.info doesn't control the Bitcoin blockchain, and they shouldn't control the name either.
> But despite the failure of some Bitcoin-related sites and new regulatory challenges, more than $250 million has been invested in Bitcoin companies, most of that in the last 12 months, according to Wedbush Securities, a financial services firm.
Interestingly, there's a good chance that the sum of the valuations given to these Bitcoin companies in the past year is equal to a not insignificant percentage of the total value of all the Bitcoin in circulation[1].
Xapo[2] and Coinbase[3] alone were both reportedly valued at more than $100 million in their last rounds, and I wouldn't be surprised if Blockchain received a similar valuation.
From a technical perspective, the current Bitcoin chart[4] doesn't look good, and hasn't for a while[5]. If there isn't a sustained recovery, the sum of the valuations investors have given Bitcoin-related startups could one day exceed the value of all the Bitcoin in circulation.
[1] https://blockchain.info/charts/market-cap
[2] http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/07/08/bitcoin-startup-xapo-...
[3] http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/12/12/andreessen-boosts-bit...
Congrats to the blockchain.info team!
Does anyone know where Blockchain Ltd is registered? In the UK, Nicolas Cary (executive named in article) is the Director of Blockchain-UK Ltd[1], while Blockchain Ltd appears to be registered to someone else[2] not named on blockchain.info.
[1] https://www.opencompany.co.uk/company/08880875/blockchainuk-... [2] https://www.opencompany.co.uk/company/08858277/blockchain-lt...
Is it just me or does anyone else have a tendency to treat all .info TLDs with a high degree of skeptisism?
I naturally assume that a .info site is going to be a scam or of poor quality or fleeting at most.
I wonder if they will buy themselves the .com with all that cash?
They have blockchain.com (and bitcoin.com), but they started out on blockchain.info.