Cryptopay Blog

The block size debate has been going on for months now. It has been protracted, unpleasant and at points seemingly impossible to solve, but the broad strokes are clear: the bitcoin network has finite capacity and the increasing volume of transactions means it has just about reached its limits. Without an upgrade to allow for larger blocks, new transactions will be badly delayed, or else higher fees will be required to ensure a transaction is included in the next block.

There have been endless proposals to solve the problem, but so far none have attracted the support required to implement them. Back in the summer it looked like there was consensus around 8 MB blocks (up from the present 1 MB) with Gavin Andresen’s Bitcoin XT. Block size would then double every two years, to a maximum of 32 GB. Unfortunately, there was fierce opposition to this so-called unilateral attempt to fix the problem, with the effect that the big mining pools held back, hoping for a solution that would keep everyone happy, including the core developers who had not had any say in it. More recently, Bitcoin Classic has attracted some support — at the time of writing, more than a fifth of the network is running it, some 1,350 nodes. However, these nodes represent a minority of overall hashrate, and there is no chance of Classic being activated as things stand.

More promisingly, a recent meeting between key bitcoin stakeholders in Hong Kong seems to have thrashed out a deal. Come April, a new release will enable support for Segregated Witness or SegWit — essentially a clever sleight-of-hand that will allow more transactions to be squeezed into 1 MB blocks without the disruption of a hard fork. In July, a further release will raise total block capacity to 4 MB, with 2 MB for ‘non-witness’ data — a substantial increase overall. Assuming enough miners get behind this, the hard fork will activate in July 2017.

Whilst consensus of any kind represents progress, critics have claimed it is ‘too little, too late’. The need for greater block size is now: transactions are already being delayed, forcing senders to pay higher fees if their transfers are urgent. Bitcoin businesses are hamstrung by this problem, which reduces the quality of the service they are able to offer and undermines two of the key benefits of bitcoin in the first place — fast, low-cost transactions. At times of peak use, transactions that might have been accepted in a few minutes a year ago can now take hours.

There is also the question of sustainability. The changes proposed multiply the capacity of the bitcoin network by perhaps 3 or 4 times, but it’s entirely possible we will find ourselves back at deadlock in another couple of years if adoption continues to increase at the present rate, or faster.

We’re thrilled to announce that our Cryptopay Virtual Debit Card is now available to users. Those of you who’ve already got a physical Cryptopay card will know how handy they can be and the virtual cards are aimed at giving even more of our users access to this easy method for spending their bitcoins.

The Virtual card functions in a similar fashion to our plastic debit card. You’ll simply be provided with all the necessary card details through your Cryptopay account, instead of having the physical card. This makes the virtual card perfect for online spending; It’s easy to use with any e-commerce site that accepts VISA payments! Simply use the card details from your Cryptopay account when you reach the payment pages of any VISA-enabled e-commerce site.

A Cryptopay account provides so much more than just a Bitcoin wallet! Our platform seeks to expand the capabilities of a bitcoin wallet, by integrating with fiat currencies and focussing on ease-of-use.

As an all-in-one digital wallet, a Cryptopay account can be used to store bitcoins, pound sterling and euros. With facilities for both consumers and businesses, your Cryptopay account can help you use bitcoin in a way that is familiar and relates to your existing financial life. Cryptopay provides an exchange function; you can buy and sell bitcoins, direct from your Cryptopay account. We are based in London and serve a user-base across Europe. To make life easier, customers can take advantage of UK Faster Payments or SEPA when sending funds to Cryptopay. This ensures funds reach the platform quickly and are ready to be used as desired without delays. The same is true for withdrawals; users can usually expect funds to arrive in their bank account by the next day.

Our number one priority is our users; the Cryptopay platform is designed around being easy to use, and on the rare occasion where users experience issues, we are on-hand to help 24/7 via online chat. To make sure our users get the best possible experience, we’re always striving to add new features; we recently introduced Bitcoin debit cards and have more new products to announce!

It is very easy to exchange both euros and pound sterling for bitcoins using Cryptopay. We offer an extremely competitive exchange rate, so you can always get the most for your money! Hate waiting days for fiat funds to transfer? We use both SEPA and UK Faster payments, to ensure all our users can send funds to Cryptopay quickly.

Let’s go back to our friend Sam as an example again:

Sam wants to buy some bitcoins as an investment for his child and he knows that Cryptopay offer one of the best rates in the UK & Europe. After logging into his account, Sam navigates to his GBP Flex account and hits the “Add Funds” button, just below his account balance. The next screen provides Sam with the bank account details he must transfer his GBP to. As Sam has completed verification he has a £1000 daily limit. He logs into the digital banking app on his phone and transfers £100 to Cryptopay, using the details provided. Just over an hour later, the funds have been credited to Sam’s GBP Flex account and are ready to be exchanged for bitcoins. Sam now navigates to the “Exchange” page, where he chooses to move funds from his GBP account to his Bitcoin wallet. After entering an amount of funds to exchange and pressing the “Transfer Money” button, Sam is shown a transfer confirmation screen with an accurate exchange rate. Once confirmed, the exchange is complete and the funds are visible in Sam’s Bitcoin wallet! He can now save bitcoins in his Cryptopay account or send them to an alternative wallet, where they can stored as an investment for his child.

The process is the same when using Euros; you’ll just be provided with details to set up a SEPA bank transfer, as opposed to UK Faster payments!

Hey!

Follow the link to read Cryptopay Debit Card Review published by Fooyoh.

There are many benefits to completing account verification and we have tried to make the process as straightforward as possible. In order for Cryptopay to be compliant with “Know-Your-Customer” regulations, we are required to collect certain information from our users. If you are intending on using Cryptopay solely as a Bitcoin wallet, then verification may not be necessary for you. However, to take full advantage of all our services we recommend all our users complete the verification process! Verification will allow you to utilise quick and easy bank transfers to buy bitcoins, as well as giving you increased daily transaction limits with your Cryptopay debit card. The process is easy and can be completed in as little as ten minutes!

To get complete verification, you must upload the following evidence:

Proof of Identity, in the form of a government-issued ID.

Proof of Residence, in the form of a recent Utility bill or Bank statement.

To successfully complete verification, it will be important to have access to a scanner, such that you can provide high quality, full colour images of your documents. Proof of Identity can be provided in the form of an International Passport, Driving License or National ID. A double page scan of your passport is needed, and Identity cards must be scanned on both sides. Proof of Residence documents should have been issued within the last 3 months, and you must provide a copy of the original paper documents; Electronic bills and screenshots cannot be accepted.

Once you’ve prepared your scanned documents, you just need to login to your Cryptopay account and navigate to your profile settings. There is an option to upload verification documents here. Once your documents have been uploaded, it will normally take 24 hours for your account verification to be confirmed, provided you have submitted images which meet our requirements. Users who are providing documents with non-latin characters, may wish to provide a certified translation of their documents to help speed up the process!

We know how hard it can be to run a small business. You always keep thinking about how to cut costs, pay your employees, or differentiate among your competitors. We've been there too!

Cryptopay Debit Cards can be a great solution for payroll services. At Cryptopay, we want to make it easier for everyone to use the power of Bitcoin and modern financial technology. Using our platform, it’s easy to create accounts for employees, which can then be used to pay their wages, without extra bank charges. This can be especially helpful for the growing number of companies with an international workforce, with employees located in multiple different places. Traditional means of transferring salaries to international members of staff can be costly. Cryptopay provides an innovative means of avoiding many of the excessive costs involved with paying any workforce. There is also a growing appeal in taking advantage of the disruptive Bitcoin technology; employees will likely enjoy experiencing the innovative payment system provided by Cryptopay!

Websites and companies which assist freelancers may also be interested in integrating Cryptopay services. We’ve found that many freelancers are particularly interested in being paid with bitcoins. The cryptocurrency has low transfer costs for employers, which usually means a better take-home wage for freelancers. 

For those of us with access to traditional forms of banking, it can be easy to forget the difficulties faced by those who are unable to utilise such services. Huge numbers of people all over the world do not have a bank account; Cryptopay can provide a means for such people to access modern finance, without the barriers often subjected by the banks.

We return to our friend Sam… Sam has been living in a nation which doesn’t have a great banking infrastructure. He is highly-skilled and university educated, but unable to move abroad to work and access financial services. The growing ease of internet access has empowered Sam to try to start working freelance online, but without access to a bank account he is worried about finding employment. Cryptopay provides a great solution for Sam and his potential employers. Bitcoin makes it easy for companies to work with talented freelancers all over the world. Sam found an employer who was open to utilising bitcoin; the lower costs involved with paying international employees through bitcoin has meant that Sam can work at a rate which works for both him and his employer. Sam can take advantage of a Cryptopay debit card, as an easy way to spend his hard earned cash.

Blockchain technology seems to be a causing quite a stir across multiple industries, as the potential applications for the innovative technology are being more throughly investigated by every-one from government agencies to international auditor Deloitte.

Follow the link to learn more about banks and blockchain in George’s recent guest post for WeUseCoins.