Barclays becomes first major UK bank to accept Bitcoin transactions

     Barclays has announced that it will become the first major bank in the UK to accept Bitcoin transactions later this year.

     He plans to let customers use the virtual currency to make charitable donations by partnering with bitcoin exchanges.

     This consumer platform essentially allows customers to conduct transactions instantly without a bank acting as a middleman.

     The Sunday Times reported that Barclays Bank does not want to be left behind and sees the potential of Bitcoin to reduce infrastructure costs. The bank has established two Bitcoin laboratories in London and is working with some start-ups.

     In Notting Hill and Old Street (near the City of London), about 75 staff are working on bitcoin and its database.

     Barclays is not the only bank to see the potential in the Bitcoin database, which records all Bitcoin transactions. UBS also wants to study this area.

     Barclays also used a refurbished warehouse in Whitechapel, East London, to host meetups among bitcoin enthusiasts.

     The bank’s chief architect and digital manager, Derek White, is aiming to “invite startups, academia, governments interested in bitcoin and the database to collaborate and connect with one another.”

     Bitcoin has political allies, too. This month Cameron placed a bitcoin vendor on a British trade delegation to Southeast Asia.