Quote from: NEO-PR on February 26, 2014, 10:47:41 PM

OFFICIAL UPDATE FEBRUARY 26, 2014
Also posted here: https://www.lmb-holdings.com/index.php?cID=181

Neo Branch Opening
This weeks branch-opening received a terrific response from the general public. Attendees were amazed with the quality of the space and appreciated how much more educated they became after learning more about Bitcoin from our team. We opened many customer accounts, however, due to the MtGox situation, we withheld the sale of bitcoins temporarily to avoid immediate loss for customers that day and to keep focus on Neo and the benefits of Bitcoin.

This decision is not something that will be repeated in the future, it was a decision taken because we had not commenced operations at the time of the uncertainty surrounding MtGox.

Here are some photos from the event:

http://imgur.com/a/IrZck#0

Videos:

http://youtu.be/9vfWtINsLdk

http://youtu.be/rwVGlVEThjs

http://youtu.be/vTm0LUT_NCw

The Bee Payment Terminal Demonstration http://youtu.be/oRUM75oyI-g

Merchant Interest

Our merchant conferences and marketing efforts have resulted in an overwhelming amount of interest from businesses wanting to accept bitcoins. The variety of these businesses is excellent, and a future where Cypriots will be in a position to only use euros to pay government institutions is within sight.

Many of these businesses want to pass on some of the savings from using Bee payment services to their customers. Some businesses do not want to convert their bitcoins into Euros at the point of sale, this will help us to target those businesses who do not service end users. These are positive steps toward a closed-loop Bitcoin economy.

SoEasy Stores are kiosks (mini markets, convenience stores). They are the largest chain on the island with 40 stores and they will enable Neo wallet holders to buy bitcoins and sell them via a Bee terminal at every SoEasy location. This agreement essentially means that we now have 40 additional locations across the island where people can access our services and Bitcoin.

International Coverage

Many international media outlets have contacted us for interviews surrounding what we are doing here in Cyprus with Bitcoin and we are going to be featured in many upcoming publications.

International Expansions

There is significant interest from individuals and groups to expand the Neo and Bee brand internationally, as well as interest from others who wish to emulate what Neo has started. We are willing to help anyone who wants to build professional services in the Bitcoin space, including those that wish to emulate what we are doing here. More professional businesses aimed at the masses will only serve as good thing for Bitcoin.

Multi-Signature Wallet Implementation

We have had a delay on the integration of the multi-signature wallets. This will be resolved soon with further development. All of our customers will be briefed on this delay. We are satisfied with our level of network security and continued monitoring of this infrastructure and we should have this service available soon.

MtGox Statement

What we are witnessing now with MtGox is further cleansing of the Bitcoin ecosystem. The odds are that MtGox is beyond repair in every aspect. Whether the coins are missing or not remains to be seen, as little solid information has been released. Luckily the Bitcoin space is now witnessing serious investors and business people developing infrastructure to utilize the technology in a more professional capacity. The time of garage companies, shady operators and teenage hackers has passed. The time of seriously funded, professionally operated, responsibly executed, carefully planned and diligently tested businesses is here. This new crop of businesses is more transparent, more secure and more professional than those of the first generation. Here at Neo and Bee and Neo EasyCoin, we are making great progress towards higher levels of transparency and professionalism. The willingness of other businesses such as Coinbase, Bitstamp, Coinkite, Circle and Blockchain.info to provide transparency and accountability is encouraging.

Our customers can always independently verify their Bitcoin holdings on the blockchain. We voluntarily subject ourselves to external audit with one of the Big Four audit firms, and we make painstaking efforts to remain on the forefront of physical and software security to ensure we do not become the next MtGox.

Bitcoin is here to stay and it will only become stronger through more professional infrastructure.

Thank you!

The response from the BitcoinTalk forum, Reddit and Twitter has been amazing. Everyone here fully understands this is just the beginning for us, but we are excited by the future. Your continued support is extremely appreciated and we are all working towards making this a long-lasting business that is beneficial to everyone involved.

I feel a bit slow since I read the e-mail 12 hours ago but congrats