Virtual currencies have exploded recently and have been used as investment devices and freely tradeable currency. There has been a growing trend of businesses accepting virtual currencies as payment, despite warnings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. However, virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, have not been regulated by the federal government nor by any of the States. New York is seeking to be the first State to do so. 

Last month, New York's Department of Financial Services released proposed legislation for businesses that provide virtual currency financial services. Notably, this legislation does not apply to merchants and consumers that utilize virtual currency solely for the purchase and sale of goods or services. Instead, the proposed legislation focuses on businesses that provide Virtual Currency Business Activities, which it defined as any one of the following activities involving New York or its residents:

• Transmitting virtual currency or receiving virtual currency for transmission
• Securing, storing, or maintaining custody or control of virtual currency on behalf of others
• Buying and selling virtual currency as a customer business
• Performing conversion services where actual currency is converted/exchanged for virtual currency, where virtual currency is converted/exchanged for actual currency, or where virtual currency is converted/exchanged into other virtual currency
• Controlling, administering, or issuing a virtual currency

Under the proposed legislation, businesses engaged in any of the above virtual currency financial services must obtain a Bitlicense from the Department of Financial Services to operate. The Bitlicense necessitates that the businesses also be subject to a multitude of rules governing:

• capital requirements
• the custody and protection of customer assets
• record keeping
• auditing
• anti-money laundering programs
• cybersecurity programs 
• disaster recovery
• advertising and marketing
• consumer protection measures
• business ownership

One of the most notable aspects of the proposed legislation is the record keeping provision, which requires that information regarding all parties to a transaction (including names, addresses and account numbers) be kept for at least ten years. Such a requirement is instrumental for the regulation of virtual currency as anti-money laundering efforts and protection from theft or fraud require this information to hold people accountable for their actions. However, anonymity had been a highlight of utilizing virtual currency thus far.

As of July 23, the Department of Financial Services' proposed virtual currency legislation is in its 45 day public comment phase. After the phase ends, the Department will revise the proposed legislation and re-release it for further review. It is important to note that the final version of this proposed legislation may be very different than its initial proposal. 

This proposed New York legislation, which can be accessed through a link above, is the first attempt in the United States to regulate virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. As New York moves forward with some form of this legislation (pending revisions and approval) other States will certainly take notice. Of course, the real wild card is that the federal government has not yet regulated virtual currencies. Regulation by the federal government has been much anticipated, as favorable regulations could help virtual currency prices soar or conversely, tight regulations could depress prices. Federal regulation also helps guide states, who may wish to enact stricter regulations as they see fit. 

Whether businesses that provide virtual currency financial services like it or not, regulation is coming. If businesses disapprove of New York's proposed legislation, they should submit their commentary to the Department of Financial Services while the public comment period is still open. 

There has been an interesting trend in recent years of technology being developed for athletes. From simple pedometers, shoes that track your speed and distance, to equipment that monitors how you strike a ball, tech for athletes is becoming increasingly popular and mainstream. 

Perhaps you've seen the new Apple commercial below which has been airing frequently during the World Cup: 

What would a tech trend be without Apple's involvement? This video shows off several examples of how tech is integrating with athletes to help them hone their abilities. More importantly, the ad doesn't use any professional athletes, which highlights the wide reach of this tech trend.  

I admit, I love my Nike Fuelband. It loosely keeps track of my movement throughout the day to lets me know if I've been sitting at my desk for too long and need to hit the heavybag. And although I like to box, I'm not training to be heavyweight champion of the world. That's why this story caught my eye. 

A tennis racket has now been developed by Babolat which transfers to an app the strength of the racket's impact on the ball, the spin, and also counts the number of forehands, backhands, serves and overhands. More importantly, this racket was recently used by Julia Gorges during the French Open.

The tennis player, currently ranked 107th in the world, stated in the article that she is using the new racket because "sometimes you are in the emotions...and you sometimes lose the vision [to see] things." She is hopeful that her new tech will allow her to analyze and improve her game, and ultimately, her ranking. 

This kind of tech is exciting, as its entire purpose is to develop its users' abilities. It is easy to see that widespread accessibility to this 'athletic development' tech can potentially increase the level of competition in a sport. Athletes are continuously looking for an edge over their competition, and similar tech can help them achieve that. On the developer side, tech for athletes can be utilized by a large market, and opens up the possibility of high-profile endorsement with multiple methods of activation. Athlete tech is here to stay, and some of the companies involved in its development could find the area particularly lucrative.

Companies developing tech for athletes could engage professional athletes for endorsement opportunities, as Babolat has with Gorges. Such endorsement frequently occurs with products manufactured for athletes' use. For example, Major League Baseball players generally have endorsement agreements with their bat manufacturers. These professional athlete endorsements can have a marketing trickle-down effect to the athletes' fans.

Athlete tech can allow professional athletes to engage with consumers in new ways. For instance, Babolat's app that works in conjunction with the smart-racket could have a leaderboard for hardest swing or most revolutions on a ball. Or, even a way for people to send challenges or encouragement to one another, utilizing the racket's measurables. 

However, the more professional athlete involvement with the tech desired, the tighter the contract must be. Some things to consider include:

• How frequently must the athlete post content about the tech (whether in an app or social media platform)
• How frequently must the athlete interact with other users through the tech
• The duration of the endorsement
• Whether or not the athlete gets paid per content post
• Whether the athlete receives any commission from the purchase of the tech during promotions under their name
• Whether the athlete must utilize the tech in public

Of course, any time a company utilizes athlete endorsements, the contract should also have a broad morals clause for all the reasons outlined here. 

There have been many exciting developments in tech for athletes, and I expect the trend to continue.  Businesses in this niche industry could find professional athlete endorsements lucrative, but they must be specific in drafting such agreements. 

This week is the E3 Expo in Los Angeles, an annual event that showcases the latest video game tech as well as new games that are in development. Although an exciting time for gamers across the globe (including myself), E3 is extremely stressful for some developers who have spent years creating a product that is not guaranteed success. 

Recently, I watched an interesting documentary which touched on the stress faced by game developers, called Indie Game: The Movie. This documentary followed several game developers as they created their games, and offered some insight as to the psychological costs of their entrepreneurship. One developer went so far as to say that if the game that he spent years making did not sell well, that he would kill himself. 

Much has already been made of the psychological price of being an entrepreneur (see here). However, the psychological costs of working for an entrepreneur can also be harrowing. This past Thursday I met with two gentlemen in the tech industry and discussed the concept of "burning out" within the industry. As they described it to me, its wholly expected for tech employees of entrepreneurs to burn out. This unfortunately makes sense, as the employees of startups and small businesses must oftentimes shoulder an increasing workload while the business is still growing.

Burning out is extremely dangerous to a business and a career, as productivity, efficiency, and happiness plummet. Here are some ways you can avoid burning out:

• Do have an outlet that relieves stress- This will differ based on the person, but an outlet that relieves stress will help calm and relax you.
• Don't stop taking care of yourself- Its easy to lose sleep, skip the gym and eat unhealthy foods when you are stressed. Although this may happen occasionally, making a habit of sleeping well, eating right and exercising will help keep your body and mind going.
• Do find support- Discussing how you are feeling with someone (be it a friend, family member, support group or therapist) can be helpful to those starting to feel burnt out. Additionally, pulling away from a preexisting support group is one of the symptoms of burning out. 
• Don't stop doing what you enjoy- Although it may be difficult to find time to do the activities you enjoyed before high-stress levels set in, engaging in activities that make you happy will keep your spirits up and help fight off that burnt out feeling. 
• Do mix and match these suggestions- Time isn't easy to come by when you're extremely stressed and busy. Change up the things you are doing in your down time to keep them all, and yourself, fresh. The saying "variety is the spice of life" applies to your happiness as well. 

Additionally, when running a business, you should also be paying attention to whether or not your employees are burning out. This can easily be accomplished through meetings, or creating an open door policy where employees can voice any concerns they have. Once its established that an employee is beginning to feel burnt out, appropriate action can be taken. Burnt out employees will eventually harm the business in one manner or another, so it pays (quite literally) to have a feel for the pulse of the employees. 

Neither the business nor the employee benefit from a burnout. Hopefully, you never find yourself in a position like the aforementioned game developer did in Indie Game.  Take care of yourself, and take care of each other. 

This afternoon, I will be attending an event which focuses on the latest iPad solutions for retailers. I have seen several stores around Manhattan which use iPads as point of sale terminals instead of the old-fashioned cash registers, which makes sense as iPads are user-friendly and the apps are flexible in design. However, in a time where there is seemingly a major privacy leak every few months, the use of an iPad in point of sale transactions raises privacy concerns for the consumer and retailer, such as:

• Does the app/iPad store credit card information?
• Does the app/iPad store information about the consumer?
• If any information is stored, how secure is the information in the iPad?
• If any information is stored, how secure is the iPad itself? (i.e. is it removed from the store nightly or placed in a safe, etc.)
• If any information is stored, are there security measures so that all employees will not have access to the consumer's information?
• How is credit card data transferred to the retailers merchant account service?

These are some of the questions I seek to have answered at the event this afternoon, and the questions that your business should consider in choosing a point of sale app for an iPad. The answers to these questions will not only help your business choose an app, but they also should form the basis of your business' privacy policy, which, although dense, explains to the consumer how information is collected, stored and transferred. A well written privacy policy can help your business avoid liability on privacy issues. Given the new ways by which businesses are conducting its' point of sale transactions, privacy policies are no longer exclusive to the online world.