Cryptocurrency round-up: Google developer reveals reason for firm's refusal to adopt bitcoin

• Bitcoin price: $225.38 (£147.31, €202.54) via CoinDesk.com

The price of bitcoin has stabilised following seven days of falling prices, holding firm at the $225 mark.

Other major cryptocurrencies saw prices rise over the last 24 hours, with litecoin, dogecoin and dash (formerly darkcoin) all experiencing gains of between 3% and 5%.

Google developer speaks out about bitcoin

Former Google employee Mike Hearn has blamed bureaucracy for being one of the key reasons for bitcoin not being adopted by the search giant.

In a Q&A session on Zapchain, Hearn said that a nameless middle manager at Google was able to stand in the way of cryptocurrency adoption.

"Google and bitcoin hits problems with their internal politics, I'm sad to say," Hearn said. "You'd think Google would like bitcoin because it's a crazy risk taking potentially-10x project, which is exactly what Larry Page says he wants Google to do.

"But one middle manager there (who shall remain nameless) hates bitcoin and has the ability to veto most kinds of work Googlers could do on it."

Karpeles proposes bitcoin exchange solution

Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of the collapsed bitcoin exchange MtGox, has warned that other exchanges face a similar fate if reforms are not made.

Karpeles proposed either a decentralised exchange that would negate the need for one company to hold on to customer's funds, or to use settlement third parties.

"I know how difficult it can be for an existing exchange to switch to a new process in terms of settlement of trades, however the current situation is nothing but another disaster waiting to happen (and that's the last thing anyone wants)," Karpeles said in a blogpost titled Didn't We Learn Anything?

"There are various available solutions, so I am a bit surprised no exchange has moved in that direction yet. Securing customer's funds has a huge cost, and so much can be gained by providing these kind of services to the whole community."