Bitcoin

Major changes are happening in the cryptocurrency space in Japan as new cryptocurrency regulation enters into force today. Among notable changes are the regulation of crypto custody service providers and crypto derivatives businesses. Japan has 23 regulated crypto exchanges; unregulated platforms have modified their terms of service affecting Japanese residents. Japan Adopts New Way to Regulate Crypto Industry The amendments to the Payment Services Act (PSA) and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) that revise the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency in Japan go into effect on May 1. They were proposed by the country’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), and adopted by the Diet on May 31 last year. The finalized rules were published on April 3 along with the FSA’s answers to public comments. International law firm Morrison & Foerster described: The regulations coming into effect as of May 1, 2020, represent a significant change in the

U.S. President Donald Trump now has an unexpected challenger as the independent congressman from Michigan, Justin Amash, says he plans to run as a Libertarian candidate in the 2020 election. Besides John McAfee and Adam Kokesh, Amash is also a pro-crypto candidate, a believer in free markets, and has spoken positively about bitcoin seven years ago. Is Trump’s Future Threatened by a Libertarian Candidate? Justin Amash is pushing toward a third-party run for the President of the United States in 2020. Many believe Amash could add some heat to the presidential race by taking votes away from both the Democrat Joe Biden and Republican President Trump. After the popular candidate Andrew Yang left, there were only two candidates remaining who support cryptocurrencies; John McAfee and Adam Kokesh . However, with Amash running it would add another person who thinks positively about bitcoin and blockchain solutions. Amash is also well known for his staunch views toward upholding the U.S. co

Genesis Global Trading has reported a 100% jump in new loan originations in the first quarter. The cryptocurrency lender and trading platform added a record $2 billion in new loans in the three months leading to March 2020, up from $1 billion from the previous quarter. BTC accounted for 44.8% of the loans and bitcoin cash ( BCH ) 5.8%. In a recent update , Genesis said new loan issuances soared 354% from a year ago. Active loans outstanding briefly touched $1 billion around the middle of February, before falling to $649 million at the end of the quarter. Quarter-on-quarter, active loans rose 19% from $545 million previously, it said. That’s despite a 50% intra-day drawdown in the price of BTC in mid-March. Altogether, the lender has originated $6.2 billion in loans and borrows since it started operations in 2018. Genesis provides loans to corporate borrowers such as hedge funds and trading firms in the form of cryptocurrency or cash. Most of the funds that the lender provides as

During the last few weeks, the world has been dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. These days, however, many of the world’s citizens are growing more concerned over the government’s reactions than the virus itself. Moreover, with the U.S. economy feeling the hardship of over 30 million unemployed Americans and the petro-dollar on life support, many economists think that de-dollarization is coming and this period marks the end of U.S. monetary hegemony. Following the Covid-19 pandemic and the government’s recent schemes, the well known economist Michael Hudson has been explaining how America’s financial superpower could very well fail in the near future. American Economist Michael Hudson: ‘De-Dollarization–Toward the End of the U.S. Monetary Hegemony’ On April 23, the Global University for Sustainability published a speech that was recorded last year on November 20, and it starred the well known American economist Michael Hudson. The talk called “De-Dollarization–Toward the End of

Telegram has offered to refund investors after its scheduled release of the Gram token failed – again – due to regulatory complications. Investors will immediately receive 72% of their stakes, as first option, or 110% if they choose to wait another year. The second option may be paid in another cryptocurrency in the Telegram messaging application, with an additional 10% bonus. The social network raised $1.7 billion in an ICO in 2018, promising investors the token Gram in return. Telegram made legal undertakings that it would deliver the cryptocurrency to investors initially by Oct. 31, 2019, or give back the money. The latest deadline for the launch of the Telegram Open Network (TON), the decentralized network supporting Gram, is today, April 30. But in the period since its fund-raising, the company has faced serious legal challenges. The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants the Gram project stopped because of alleged illegal activity by the Telegram development team.

Cryptocurrency trading in Malaysia has surged as the country endures an extended lockdown, costing its economy an estimated $550 million a day. Regulated cryptocurrency exchanges are reporting substantial growth in trading volumes and new users as people seek “a good store of value in difficult economic times.” Increased Crypto Trading Volumes and New Users Interest in cryptocurrency has grown significantly in Malaysia amid the extended lockdown restricting travel and nonessential businesses. The country estimates that 2.4 billion ringgit ($553 million) are lost each day that businesses remain shut due to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the worldwide economic crisis, cryptocurrency trading in Malaysia has shown strong growth, according to two government-approved crypto exchanges. Luno, Malaysia’s first fully approved digital asset exchange, told The Malaysian Reserve publication that local trading volumes on its platform grew 33% over the past four weeks. Luno Malaysia manager A

London Stock Exchange-listed bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain Plc said on Wednesday full-year 2019 revenue rocketed 1,000% to £8.62 million ($10.78 million) from £760,000 a year earlier. The company stated that the increase was due to a realignment of operations, from consumer-oriented mining as a service (MaaS) business to a proprietary mining model. Based in London, Argo Blockchain operates at least 17,000 BTC mining machines at three sites in Quebec, Canada, leveraging the region’s cheap hydroelectricity. It listed on the LSE in August 2018, and until recently, mainly operated mining rigs for profit providing MaaS primarily to institutional investors. For the year to December 31, 2019, Argo Blockchain reported it had mined 1,330 BTC thanks to a 306% increase in its cryptocurrency mining capacity. At year-end, the company operated 7,000 mining machines but that has since swelled to 17,000 during the first quarter of 2020. The company, with a market value of £16.12 million ($20.15

Cryptocurrency markets are bullish on April 29, as BTC prices have spiked over 11.8% in the last 24 hours touching a high of $8,740 per coin during Wednesday’s trading sessions. Bitcoin has gained 130% in value since the market rout on March 12 otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday.’ Many believe the cause behind the higher price is due to the pending Bitcoin Halving expected to take place on or around May 12, 2020. Bitcoin Markets Jump Significantly in Value, $1K in a Day The overall market valuation today for all 5,000 crypto assets in existence is roughly around $251 billion (1/4 of a trillion) and BTC ’s market cap captures $153 billion of that number. Slowly and steadily, BTC prices have continued to rise during the last week breaking past a few crucial resistance zones. At press time, the price per BTC is around $8,639 per coin and the crypto asset is up over 11%. BTC is up 21% for the last seven days, 35% for the last 30 days, and 60% for the year so far. 90-day statistics s

The largest oil field in the People’s Republic of China has been a target for individuals and organizations attempting to mine bitcoins with free electricity. After a bunch of mining farm operators allegedly got caught last summer, a dog kennel owner was recently busted for running cable lines in order to siphon free electricity from China’s Daqing Oil Field. The mining farm owner was arrested, as police found 54 ASIC miners stored in an underground bunker with dog kennels on top making it seem like a legitimate operation. Chinese Dog Kennel Owner Caught Running Cables to Daqing Oil Field to Power His Underground Mining Farm Electrical costs in China are cheaper than most places around the world, and that is why there is a high concentration of China-based bitcoin mining operations. To this day, it is estimated that more than 60% of today’s bitcoin miners operate in China. On April 26, the regional publication dbw.cn/heilongjiang published a report that explained a bitcoin miner wa

Europeans are feeling more optimistic about the future of bitcoin. A recent study shows that more than two thirds of them believe cryptocurrency will remain in existence in 10 years time, with some convinced BTC will become a key part of the economy, both as a security and investment. Crypto exchange Bitflyer, which produced the study , said Wednesday Europeans are feeling more upbeat that digital financial assets will remain in use by 2030, perhaps awakened to the reality because of the stringent Covid-19 lockdowns, which forced services to go strictly online. At least 66% of people in Europe are confident of bitcoin’s future, it said. That’s 3% above the number of people who showed similar optimism in 2019, Bitflyer added, citing a poll of 10,000 Europeans across 10 countries. The exchange is one of the world’s largest by trading volume. Italy, which experienced a peak in coronavirus restrictions in March, is the most confident with 72% believing in the longevity of cryptocurren

Cryptocurrency exchanges are online platforms where one can buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrencies. The aim of crypto exchanges is to connect buyers and sellers by creating a cycle of supply and demand in one place. Centralized vs Decentralized Exchanges However, almost every exchange is prone to hacking, has privacy issues, and users could end up losing their funds. Non-custodial exchange services look to overcome these shortcomings of cryptocurrency exchanges. Online cryptocurrency exchanges can be categorized into two types: centralized and decentralized. Centralized exchanges allow you to sign up with your email and password and usually have extra security features like two-step authentication or email verification. Even though they make it easier for everyday users to buy and sell digital assets with their interactive interface, one major downside of such exchanges is that they do not give users full control of their cryptocurrencies. The private keys of your wallets are held

The local government of Ya’an city, in China’s Sichuan province, has announced the region is encouraging bitcoin mining in Sichuan if operations leverage the local hydropower plants. The document released by Ya’an city officials is in stark contrast to how Sichuan lawmakers felt about mining in 2018. Back then the government and China’s central bank called the operation “wasteful” and discouraged the business. On April 20, the city of Ya’an in the Sichuan province of China has published a document that encourages bitcoin mining and blockchain operations to use the region’s abundant hydropower stations. It’s likely that the Covid-19 economy has changed the politician’s minds as Sichuan lawmakers didn’t care for mining operations in 2018. Roughly a year ago today, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in China explained a number of industries it wanted entrepreneurs to encourage, as well as businesses the commission wanted eliminated. According to the NDRC, bitcoin mi