Lawmakers in Japan Move New Crypto Regulations to the Upper House: Rules for Margin Trading Added

Andres Chavez
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Lawmakers in Japan Move New Crypto Regulations to the Upper House: Rules for Margin Trading Added

The law is one of the most complex elements of the society. It is, or needs to be, in constant change, to adapt to modern times and include more items and things as they appear. That is why cryptocurrencies are so difficult to regulate: the way they are viewed, used, stored, and traded differs from country to country.

Japan has long been one of the nations that have showed the most advances regarding the regulation of these assets. In a recent development reported by news site Nikkei this week, the country’s House of Representatives passed over a new crypto regulation to the upper house of the National Diet.

To the House of Councillors

The lower house, according to the report, passed crypto related amendments to the current law that functions in the country to the House of Councillors, at a plenary session that took place in the last few days.

The two proposed amendments to the existing legal instruments, which are Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and Payment Services Act, are looking to strengthen Japanese regulations on the cryptocurrency trading process, at various stages. Most specifically, the amendments in question will add rules for cryptocurrency margin trading, an otherwise unattended area.

The proposed legal document comes with a slight modification when it comes to terminology: the phrase virtual currencies will be now called crypto assets, which has a more inclusive connotation.

Crypto Assets and Not Virtual Currencies

Last month, Taro Aso, who is the current Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in Japan, was the one that prompted journalist and specialists in the industry to stop using the term “virtual currencies” and replace with crypto assets, a newly introduced concept in the country’s regulations.

If you think that the way the term is known in the country has no importance, consider that this week, it was reported that Russia was delaying the adoption of cryptocurrency regulations because the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering stated it was required to legislate the words “cryptocurrencies” and “Bitcoin,” and not the more global term “digital assets.”

Examples like the one showed above may sound overly strict, but in an up-and-coming global industry such as cryptocurrencies, and especially when it involves trading of these assets, concept clarity is crucial for achieving success.

More Changes Coming

Japanese legislators have been discussing the possibility of introducing regulations regarding cryptocurrency margin trading since the month of March. The local government’s executive organism, which is the Cabinet of Japan, gave the green light to draft amendments to the nation’s financial instruments and payment services regulations. Among the changes was the limitation of leverage in crypto margin trading at two to four times the initial deposit.

For reference, margin trading refers to the use of borrowed funds from a broker with the objective of trading any financial asset, forming what is known as”collateral” for the loan in question.

By Andres Chavez

Coinbase Announces that its Educational Program “Coinbase Earn” is Available for More than 100 Countries

Maria Rodríguez
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Coinbase Announces that its Educational Program “Coinbase Earn” is Available for More than 100 Countries

The educational platform of Coinbase ensures that it will soon incorporate more cryptocurrencies to obtain them, turning into something more attractive for its users

In a recent press report, published last Friday May 17th, it was announced that Coinbase, one of the most important exchange companies in the world, has just made official that its educational program related to cryptocurrencies, Coinbase Earn, will now be available for more than 100 countries around the world.

About the educational program, it is mentioned that it has received a great reception by users who did not know many things about blockchain technology or cryptocurrencies, as well as already knowers who seek to explore and learn even more about cryptocurrencies.

The press release also mentions that now more countries join the list of authorized for the educational program of the company of crypto-exchanges. “From today, we are opening Coinbase Earn to a much larger number of users, specifically, users from The United States, The United Kingdom, many countries of the European Union (Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden), Canada, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan”.

The Coinbase Earn program was launched last December of 2018, and its main objective is to educate users in a simple and efficient way about cryptocurrencies, their uses and how to obtain them. In addition to being a powerful educational tool, the platform also allows users to earn cryptocurrencies through simple questionnaires, which will be prepared to measure the learning and the receptivity of studies, as well as completing specific tasks that generate a direct income to users.

The company is motivated to create this educational program based on reliable information that many people do not invest in this sector due to the lack of knowledge about how this type of technology works. In this sense, the idea emerged as a simple tool that would help more and more users to educate themselves about cryptoactives, and at the same time it would be a starting point for users to adopt the new financial methods offered by blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

For this reason, Coinbase Earn now expands its compatibility to more countries where there are great potentialities for the development and growth of this alternative. “With this international expansion, anyone with a smartphone in a compatible country can now earn cryptocurrencies while learning about cryptocurrencies just by setting up a free Coinbase account”.

Now, with the new compatibility in more countries, many users can benefit from this alternative offered by Coinbase. Once the user is in one of the countries mentioned in the list, he or she will only have to register on the platform, pass the identity verification process and pass the eligibility criteria. Then, it will only be in the hands of the user to begin their studies on the platform. At the moment the users would obtain any of these cryptocurrencies as payment: ZCash (ZEC), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Stellar Lumens (XLM) and 0x (ZRX). Despite this, the announcement also mentioned that the incorporation of other cryptocurrencies will be guaranteed later.

In other previous news, Coinbase had ensured the expansion of its products and services to more than 50 countries around the world. Therefore, this recent announcement exceeded expectations reaching 103 countries in total. Giving to understand that the growth of the crypto-exchange platform of Coinbase is in a vertiginous and sustained rise.

By María Rodríguez

Investing in Startup in AI Technology for Healthcare

Willmen Blanco
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Investing in Startup in AI Technology for Healthcare

AICoin uses gains from crypto trading to acquire capital participation in Al startups. Sevamob provides artificial intelligence platforms enabled for healthcare

AICoin, a tokenized group that uses the gains from cryptocurrency operations to acquire capital participation in artificial intelligence (AI) startups, has just completed its first investment in Sevamob Ventures USA Inc.

AICoin, through Tessier-Ashpool PTE Ltd, is the main investor in this financing round of US $2,000,000 and it will gain a seat on Sevamob’s Board of Directors. Other participants in the round include USA-based Sorenson Impact Foundation, Impact Assets, and HNIs.

About Sevamob

Sevamob, an AI platform provider for organizational healthcare that is part of the Innovations in Healthcare program of Duke University, is one of the new companies using technologies like artificial intelligence and telemedicine at emerging asset-light clinics to provide superior primary healthcare to marginal populations at a discount of up to 50%.

Sevamob receives incomes from charging the delivery of software services and licenses. Sevamob currently executes 163 full-time and part-time units in India, South Africa and Georgia, USA, most of which are sustainable. More than 86 organizations are paying for their software and services.

Sevamob Model

Sevamob’s model B2B includes customers like schools, employers, ONG, corporate CSR, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and the local governments. These customers, like Fullerton and Indian Oil, are associated with Sevamob for providing medical assistance to employees, communities and other beneficiaries. This assistance includes consultations, diagnoses at the point of care, and derivations for problems ranging from health in general, sight, dentistry and nutrition, to cardio-metabolic, infectious and ENT diseases.

Sevamob’s strength is the convenient onsite service, the coverage in urban and rural areas, with a lower cost due to its technology and live panels to monitor health results.

Gavin Smith, founder of AICoin and the CEO of the Panxora Group, stated:

“Sevamob is a good first investment as most of its units are already sustainable with a greater cost and scalability efficiency incorporated in its DNA. Its model is to establish a referential point of care for quality assistance with a medical team, and then use technology to increase efficiency and profitability of the services provided.”

Shelly Saxena, founder and CEO of Sevamob, has spent over 4 years refining the AI platform provider’s delivery model for a broad range of needs within the community since its creation.

Shelley has encountered major obstacles for providing direct medical services. This type of direction, together with innovation, is what increases a company’s probability of success.

The founder of AICoin, Marcie Terman, said:

“Investing in Sevamob marks the start of AICoin, acquiring capital participation in startups, focusing on the quality rather than on the quantity of investments.

When the founders and subscribers became involved with AICoin, it was not because they wanted to ‘become rich fast’. They did it be part of an experiment in which Artificial Intelligence Technology for making money is matched with “mass knowledge”, and its members have a voice to redirect the way money is invested.

It is not about a prejudiced risk capitalist that becomes part of a group that decides how to select investments, but about a group that benefits from a diversity of perspectives, knowledge and unique experiences.”

In this way, opportunities that venture capital (VCV) companies would normally overlook are identified.

By Willmen Blanco

Crypto Winter’s End Confirmed

Willmen Blanco
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Crypto Winter’s End Confirmed

Thomas Lee considers that the bullish trend in Bitcoin transactions indicates the end of Crypto Winter. The growth in the volume of transactions also suggests a bright future for this cryptocurrency

Bitcoin’s restless bullish moves have led the Co-Founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, Thomas Lee, to believe that Crypto Winter days have been left behind. In a recent Tweeter post he shared an image with details of the confirmation of his belief. There are 13 confirmations chronologically organized since the beginning of Crypto Winter in November 2018. Covering the events of the last six months, the confirmations indicate that the bearish market has ended and a brighter future should be expected.

In a Twitter post Lee indicates that the recent decrease in Bitcoin’s price and its subsequent rise to previous maximums is another indicator that the trend of the bullish market is in full effect. There he referred to the sudden plummeting of Bitcoin´s price on Friday at Bitstamp, a Luxemburg-based cryptocurrency wallet that saw Bitcoin’s price fall US $1,700 in minutes and recover to US $7,000 as other exchanges registered losses of 8-12%. However, Bitcoin’s price rose throughout the weekend to reach the previous maximums of US $8,000 on Sunday.

The last confirmation mentioned by Lee is the recent Blockchain Week and the Consensus event held last week. With an uncomfortable feeling of meekness compared to last year’s Consensus conference, this year’s shows the return of hope and the expectation for a bright future. The number of attendants was also notably smaller than last year, which led some analysts to demand a mature audience and the market conditions.

According to Lee, other confirmations include the Bitcoin Misery Index (BMI) owned by Fundstrat, which surpassed 67 on March 27th, for the first time since August 2015, as a supposed bullish signal. Besides that, on January 23rd transactions with the Bitcoin Blockchain became positive, for the first time in more than 12 months since the historical maximums of December 2017.

It is needless to mention that, in early April and early May, the cryptocurrency space was impacted by Bitfinex/Tether FUD about the fact that the General Prosecutor of New York accused the two affiliated companies of losing an amount close to US $1,000 million and using the stablecoin Tether in order to hide the loss. This FUD did not have any impact on Bitcoin’s price, which notably showed the level of maturation of the leading cryptocurrency.

Tom Lee has come to be known for his extravagant predictions about the prices of Bitcoin, most of which have not yet occurred. The recent one, made at the end of last April 29th, establishes that Bitcoin will continue surpassing its 2017 ATH price by 2020. It seems to be an achievable objective and something that most cryptocurrency defenders are waiting to see, now that the bearish market seems to be after users.

Once more Bitcoin demonstrates that it is the most robust cryptocurrency in the market. It has recovered from drastic falls in a matter of minutes to reach historical maximums in its volume of transactions. The information provided above may help expert users and novices feel confident to invest in this pioneer crypto asset.

By Willmen Blanco

Dutch Bank ABN AMRO Canceled Its Crypto-Wallet Project because it is “Too Risky”

Maria Rodríguez
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Dutch Bank ABN AMRO Canceled Its Crypto-Wallet Project because it is “Too Risky”

Even though the bank has canceled the idea of ​​offering its customers a cryptocurrency wallet, it does not impede to execute the businesses that are profitable although they involve blockchain technology

With this new technology there are uncertainties and fears for the simple fact of thinking about the incursion into the blockchain world. This is due to the fact that there are many factors that are harming the sector: Cyber-attacks by hackers, the low stability of prices in the exchange market and, in most cases, the lack of legal support with little regulation for this matter.

It is for this reason that many actors who seek to get involved in the development of these new processes must have a sense of vision in accordance with the new times, and take risks.

Recently, the Dutch bank ABN AMRO has decided to cancel the development of its own cryptocurrency wallet, a project that had been announced since January of this year. The main reason that lead to the definitive cancellation of the plan is to consider this technology as “dangerous and unsafe”.

Jarco de Swart, who is the bank’s senior press officer, informed through an email that the institution has taken the decision not to continue after “concluding that cryptocurrencies, due to their unregulated nature, are, at this moment, too risky assets for our company”.

The wallet project was called “Wallie” and in the first instance it would only serve to provide the service of safeguarding digital assets, but not as a tool for transactions. The cancellation was made even when the bank had conducted a survey to its customers about how the tool should look like and if they would want the bank to create the cryptocurrency wallet.

It was known that although the project did not come to light, there were great plans for its implementation. Also, it is known that the tool would only serve to safeguard cryptocurrencies within the banking institution, without it involving, in a way, other operations. The operation of Wallie would be through the use of private keys in which only the bank would have custody.

It Is Not the Only Blockchain ​​Project

It should be mentioned that it is not the only project related to blockchain technology that is involved with the Dutch bank, since in the middle of last year, the port of Rotterdam (the largest and most important in Europe), had an alliance with the ABN AMRO Bank and with an extension of the South Korean company Samsung to develop a project to help prove blockchain technology in their shipments, as well as to reduce transfer times and simplify all financial transactions.

In addition to all of this, the bank developed a register of its customers using blockchain technology, as well as it has been included in macro investment projects related to mineral, gas and oil extraction businesses using blockchain-based tools for their extraction, and administrative and financial processes. Perhaps, in a near future, this financial institution surprises again with the development of new blockchain projects thought for the needs of its current users.

By María Rodríguez

Bitcoin to Reduce Block Reward by Half in a Year

Willmen Blanco
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Bitcoin to Reduce Block Reward by Half in a Year

The halving will occur when the mining of block 630,000 of the blockchain is completed. This will be the third halving in the history of Bitcoin

In about a year, Bitcoin’s halving event will occur, so users will see the next reduction in the BTC reward generated by each block added to the chain. Currently, each block is equivalent to a reward of 12.5 new BTC, while in the next reduction it will go to 6.25 BTC. This division occurs every 210,000 blocks.

In this way, the protocol ensures that BTCs are not issued before the stipulated time, thus mathematically controlling inflation. In addition, this mechanism guarantees the progressive increase of the cryptocurrency’s total supply, whose limit is 21,000,000 BTC.

This new reduction, which will occur upon completion of the mining of block 630,000, will be the third in the history of the Bitcoin blockchain.

Until now, a total of over 577,000 blocks have been mined. In other words, almost 53,000 are missing to reach the division of the reward, known as halving, which occurs every 4 years, and that is expected for the next days of this month, depending on the fluctuations in processing power.

From the Genesis block, mined by its creator Satoshi Nakamoto, each block mined amounted to a total of 50 BTC. Then, when reaching the first halving in 2012, the figure was reduced to 25 BTC. The second halving occurred in 2016, with which the amount was divided to the current 12.5 BTC per block.

Among the portals that track the progress toward the next event, most agree that the final date will be next May 23rd, 2020, depending on the mining rate and the processing power.

However, despite this, some anticipate an earlier date, citing the increase in the Hash rate, which already exceeds 50 EH / s, according to BitInfoCharts data. Among those who make such predictions are the developer Jameson Lopp and bitcoinclock.com. Even so, the possible difference in the date would not be greater than a few days.

Variation in the Price of BTC

To date, every Bitcoin halving has preceded an increase in the cryptocurrency’s value, which helps maintain the levels of profitability for the miners.

In 2012, the price went from US $12.35 on the day of the division to US $127 150 days later, according to BitcoinClock data. Then, in 2016, BTC’s value was US $650.63 on the day of the halving, while in the following 150 days it reached US $758.81.

While the circulating supply of BTC approaches its maximum, the rate of issuance of the cryptocurrency decreases. This, added to the growth in its adoption and demand, has generated increases in the cryptocurrency’s price.

It is difficult to predict what will happen after the mining of block 630,000 is completed next year and, even less, how much increase there will be in the price. However, despite this, until now each event has been followed by an increase in BTC’s value.

Regardless the fluctuations that Bitcoin might have, this crypto asset has demonstrated a high level of popularity among network users. Before its last block is mined, it remains the first alternative for those who wish to venture into the cryptocurrency business.

By Willmen Blanco

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