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Could malware be injected into the blockchain and be used to steal user’s private keys? Cyber security firm Kaspersky Labs seems to think so.

Investment in financial-technology companies grew by 201% globally in 2014, according to a new report from Accenture. The consultancy firm named blockchain technology to be one of the keys that legacy banks need to “reimagine” themselves in order to keep up with innovation.

The second annual Texas Bitcoin Conference opened its doors in Austin on March 27 and will run through March 29, 2015. Cointelegraph had the chance to speak with Paul Snow, the organizer of the event and President of the Texas Bitcoin Association.

The Washington DC-based organization Cato recently announced some “good news:” that civil asset forfeiture – that is, state seizure of a person’s home, car, and bank accounts – has been “abolished” in New Mexico.

Council on Foreign Relations describes Bitcoin as ‘the craziest thing since the 1630s’; PayPal fined US$7.7 million for allowing transactions to countries covered by the United States’ sanctions policy and more top stories for March 27.

Barry Silbert’s Bitcoin Investment Trust, the eagerly awaited gateway to opening up Bitcoin investment to major markets, has gone live, beating out the Winklevoss twins’ Bitcoin ETF.

On Thursday, March 26, 2014 Bitcoin Shop, Inc. announced that it has acquired an additional 2% equity ownership in Coin Outlet, reducing Coin Outlet CEO Eric Grill’s shares by 701,966 while increasing Bitcoin Shop’s to 4.2%.

In a marketing effort, 7-Eleven Mexico announces the launch of its own virtual currency dubbed “Big Coins.” The company is looking to retain customers and build its online presence by rewarding engaged consumers.

The European Parliament has passed a deal to cap the fees at 0.2% that banks charge retailers to process payments in a move that could undermine one of bitcoin’s main competitive advantages in the EU.

Italy is set to debate a powerful new amendment to its anti-terror laws, which would allow authorities to obtain any digital data from any computer system. Cryptoine digital exchange closes after a hack drains the company’s hot wallets with 60% of their funds. Vaultoro and Factom team up to offer transparency and security to the BTC-Gold market, and more top stories for March 26.

New regulation to be enacted in the UK could see Bitcoin exchanges and related services enjoy access to faster payments and considerably increase liquidity as the United States is also considering similar incentives in an attempt to foster emerging payment systems.

NeuCoin, an extensively modified proof-of-stake cryptocurrency based on Peercoin, released its 39-page whitepaper Wednesday, following a year of development.

A successful Coinfest event took place on March 20 in Kumasi, Ghana attracting crypto enthusiasts from all over the world. Similar events are also scheduled to be held in Tanzania and Botswana on March 27.

Announced March 25, Bitwage is partnering with Xapo to create the world’s first international bitcoin payroll debit card. This is a big step forward for bitcoin practicality in the workplace, and in everyday life.

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group and its affiliated online payment service AliPay, presented their prototype of using facial recognition instead of passwords for authentication.

Swedish bitcoin exchange BTCX, has been requested by the local Tax Authority to disclose transaction history of the company’s 20,000 customers. The exchange is taking the Swedish Tax Authority to court, arguing that by doing so, all its clients’ identities would be disclosed.

Secretary of the Financial Services of Hong Kong, Professor KC Chan announces no intention to specifically regulate cryptocurrencies.

Dutch cryptocurrency brokerage Anycoin Direct partners with TrustPay to expand to an additional 14 countries in Europe, NETELLER changes its stand and adds bitcoin deposit feature, bitcoin exchange CoinFloor partners with Estonian bank LHV, and more top stories for March 25.

The last few months have demonstrated that Bitcoin is really, really not anonymous. Take, for example, Aleš Janda’s website WalletExplorer. Janda’s site claims to accurately identify not only individual addresses, but the entire wallets (composed of hundreds or even thousands of addresses) used by big names like BTCJam, Silk Road and Silk Road 2, Satoshi Dice, BitPay, BitcoinFog, and dozens more.

Itson.me allows users to pay for literal drinks, coffee or food at local restaurants from anywhere in the world. Soon, it will be incorporating cryptocurrencies.

In light of Alibaba’s success story, the chief administrative authority of the People’s Republic of China, the State Council, is looking to boost entrepreneurship and attract venture capital funds to lift Chinese startups.

The US Dollar, which has been in a massive uptrend since July 2014, has been sliding in recent days after last week’s Federal Reserve meeting. It is now being assumed by market pundits that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates later than expected.

NASDAQ has agreed to provide the New York-based startup Noble Markets the core technology to power a marketplace for trading bitcoins, Russia’s Ministry of Finance is expected to take measures against the usage of monetary surrogates such as bitcoin, and more top stories for March 24.

Dutch bitcoin and altcoin brokerage Anycoin Direct expands its instant buying and selling service to an additional fourteen – predominantly Eastern European – countries. The move is the result of a new partnership by Anycoin Direct with the European payment institution TrustPay.

Paybase and GAW Miners founder Josh Garza has defended accusations his exchange has “gone full Mt Gox” after withdrawals were suspended without notice for a week.

Cointelegraph launches a dedicated site for Greek crypto news as the importance of digital currencies grows around the world.

Cyber•Fund says that Bitcoin will lead to a new cybernetic economy. In a quirky new report, the fund explores how far along this new economy has come and makes some interesting predictions.

A global trading competition with a 20 BTC funded trading account as a prize begins 23 March

Once upon a time, transactions between people were more or less done in person. The druggist you bought methamphetamine from at the pharmacy (yes, meth) had a name and a face. The chap you bought a car from had a name and a face, too. So did the florist, grocer, doctor, mechanic, and everyone else you might transact with.

Speaking at the All-Russian Banking Conference, Deputy Minister of Finance Alexey Mioseev stated that the bill proposing penalties for using “monetary surrogates” will finally become law this year.