Bitcoin — What’s in store in 2016?

So… 2016 certainly started with a bang for Bitcoin with Mike Hearn’s declaration that the experiment had failed. Where do you go next when one of the most prominent voices in your industry tells you to forget it all and move on? 
 
 One of the most interesting things to us about Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies as a whole, is the potential implications on global financial inclusion. Veridu was started to address the challenges facing online businesses operating in countries or market segments where traditional identity checks (documents, credit reference agencies etc.) lack coverage. Businesses are all too often turning away legitimate, and potentially very valuable, customers because they can’t verify their identity with confidence. In turn, individuals are often being unnecessarily prevented from accessing products and services they really need. Nowhere is this issue more stark than in global payments and remittances. 
 
 We know it doesn’t have to be that way and we started the year talking to cryptocurrency businesses, with a focus on wallet providers, to learn more about their identity verification needs. It’s an interesting sector with some providers having to comply with anti-money laundering regulation, and others free to operate as they want. What is clear, though, is the need for a low-cost yet effective way to identify users who don’t have access to the formal banking system or who don’t have official identity documents. 
 
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