Interview with Jeffrey Smith, the Chief Information Officer of CEX.IO by Barbara Messer for bitcoin.pl

Hi! My name is Jeffrey Smith, I am the Chief Information Officer of CEX.IO LTD.

 -Before I ask you about services, tell us please, how it's all started and when you have learned about bitcoin?

 The founders of CEX.IO have actively participated in the development of the first FPGA mining chips and made substantial progress in this field, however due to technological progress - they moved to ASICs and started developing the exchange platform in early January 2013.

 -What is CEX.IO and what services do you offer?

 Shortly speaking, CEX.IO is a commodity exchange platform, which allows users to buy and sell GHS (the calculating speed of ASIC miners, which are located in our data-centres around the world). While GHS are in your possession - they mine you Bitcoins. The GHS are liquid, meaning they can be sold for Bitcoins, Litecoins and Namecoins at any time at market price. CEX.IO has shared credentials with GHash.IO mining pool, which allows our users to trade and mine simultaneously.

 One of the topics that’s been getting a lot of attention recently is that of women in the Bitcoin community.  It’s certainly an underrepresented population, but one that is growing larger by the day.  It has always been my feeling that women will be the key to broader adoption.  While we may not fit the typical stereotypes anymore of housewives and mothers, we do tend to play a large role in household decisions and we do hold a lot of the purchasing power.  I typically am not a big fan of needless consumerism or of promoting it, but I do understand the role it is going to play as the payment system moves further along.  Pretending it doesn’t matter is a fallacy.   We, as women, will play a very large part in the development of the Bitcoin economy and many of us will shape the businesses and services in the sector.

 That is the part I’d like to focus on in this piece.  The majority of the women who will be entering the community will not be particularly tech savvy nor will they be traders, programmers or developers.  They will be women like me.  I wrote about my introduction to Bitcoin and how it changed my life in an article called The Black Swan Chronicles.  That introduction has rewarded me with some very welcome and very unexpected results.  I am now writing for 2 online cryptocurrency publications – one of which I will be helping to develop, Bitcoinwoman Magazine – Africa .  I’ve also found an amazing network of women who are as eager and excited about promoting Bitcoin as I am.  A fantastic group (Women in Bitcoin) has been put together on Google Plus by Marni Melrose and Pua Pyland for anyone looking for more information.  Stacy Herbert from The Keiser Report is also a member.  I urge anyone with an interest in learning more to check it out.  (Guys, you’re welcome too.)

In case you’ve missed it, the bitcoin ATM business is exploding.

From South Korea to South Boston, bitcoin ATMs (BTC ATMs) are rapidly gaining traction in an industry that is looking to provide consumers with simple interactions that separate the notorious digital currency from its media mystique.

To this end, BTC ATMs are already succeeding, providing users with their first taste of buying (and sometimes selling) bitcoins. So far, hundreds of customers have used the machines to create their own digital wallets and make bitcoin purchases, but the real goal is imparting this experience to millions more.

A couple of weeks ago, we published a piece called ‘Why Regulating Bitcoin Won’t Work‘. Here Bob Swarup provides the counter argument, assessing what regulations could do for bitcoin. Bob has extensive global experience in financial markets, macroeconomics and regulation. He has also recently released his new book Money Mania: Booms, Panics, and Busts from Ancient Rome to the Great Meltdown.

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There is a touch of Messianic fervour about virtual currencies these days, most notably bitcoin.

Newsweek relaunched its print edition on 6th March, with an exclusive scoop on the unmasking of one Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of bitcoin, sparking a Keystone Cops farcical chase of reporters rushing to question him.