World’s largest business news website CNN Money recently launched a new and insightful Bitcoin Ticker XBT, featuring a real-time BTC/USD price widget as well as a Bitcoin news feeder.
At press time, CNN Money is sourcing live price updates from BATS BZX — a highly accessed US Stock Exchange. While the news are extracting feeds from multiple sources such as FT.com, Market Wired, and others.
Does it Benefit Bitcoin?
For once, it seems like an interesting development for a website which is accessed by million of users around the world. At the same time, it definitely exposes an emerging technology-cum-currency like Bitcoin before a wider audience. Indeed, CNN’s stamp of approval pushes Bitcoin a little ahead, even if not pompously.
Without a doubt, the news is also being discussed widely on social Bitcoin pages. Users, who once used to feel excited about such integrations, now think them as the things of the past. The focus, as we noticed, is now more on Bitcoin prices and adoption by merchants and users.
Why XBT instead of BTC?
According to the available sources, CNN Money has put Bitcoin under the category of stocks. It simply means that the digital currency is not associated with any government, but is simply an investment vehicle. According to the International Standards Organization (ISO), if an asset holding value is not backed by a nation, then it starts with an “X”. For instance: Gold is internationally denoted as XAU. The term “XBT” for Bitcoin comes from the same ISO.