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Did you miss out Ripple and Project Pai? Fret not, here’s a chance to participate in the third Softbank invested project!

Ludos Bounty Program (Part 1)

As part of our appreciation to our early supporters, we will be giving out a Ludos mining machine that will mine up to 200-300 LUD tokens daily*.

Participation in this early bounty campaign will also:

1) Place you in a higher priority for our upcoming Airdrop Bounty Campaign as the airdrop is based on a limited amount of LUD tokens.
2) Be taken into consideration for our public sale whitelist

Programme Mechanism

Ludos invites you to share a favourite game of yours that you would want Ludos to recreate.
We are giving away Ludos private sale token allocation to 10 lucky winners.
Ludos is on a mission to reform the game industry with blockchain technology. By enhancing the
flow of resources, Ludos provides game players with a more transparent gaming environment,
and bring more customer flow and new opportunities to developers.
How to Participate
1. Complete this sentence with your favourite game “I love ____(your favourite game ) and I want
Ludos to recreate it” and post it on your Twitter. Photos are optional but it’ll add a nice touch.
2. Follow @LudosProtocol
3. Hashtag #LudosRecreate, tag @LudosProtocol and 3 people who like games too
4. Invite your friends to like your Twitter post
5. Send your Twitter ID and a screenshot of your tweet to the Ludos’ Telegram group http://t.me/
Ludosprotocol

Prizes
Top 10 most liked tweets will receive Ludos private sale token allocation.
Top 1 most liked tweet will receive Ludos private sale token allocation and a LUD coin mining
machine.
Winners will be notified on Twitter by 5 September 2018.

T&Cs Apply
Terms & Conditions:
1. Prizes are Ludos private sale token allocation.
2. Submissions only qualify if you include the Twitter ID in the screenshot of your Twitter post.
3. Each participant is allowed to submit multiple screenshots throughout the entire period, but
will only be picked once.
4. The contest period is open from now to 31 August 2018 (23:59 pm PST). Winners will be
notified directly on Twitter by 5 September.
5. Entries after 23:59 pm PST of the stipulated contest end date will not be considered and
incomplete entries will be disqualified.
6. All winners will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement to receive the prize.
7. Plagiarism or entries found to not belong to the individual submitting them, will result in
disqualification.
8. Ludos reserves the right to use or modify
.
*calculated based on current consensus mechanism and might vary if there’s a change in the future

LUDOS PROTOCOL TELEGRAM: https://t.me/LudosProtocol
LUDOS OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://ludos.one

This is a demo of how the miner will look like:

MoNoico Airdrop Campaign

MoNoico is starting its official airdrop campaign to reward its supporters with Mono tokens.

Join MoNoico Airdrop now in order to get 5,000,000 MONO tokens.
Please sign up at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd1PN3ntK9yTW0RumyRSAEHOXh7PfM75ti7a_8oo_UTVgTxPA/viewform

NOTE: All participants have to follow the instructions provided in the form

100 Billion tokens will be the total supply. The breakdown will be the following:

Total supply: 100,000,000,000 MONO
Community: 80,000,000,000 MONO
Team: 20,000,000,000 MONO locked 12 months. Vesting 12 months, 10% monthly.
Use case of MoNoico tokens: Airdrop, contests, advertising, review requests, trading, donation

Feel free to invite your friends and family!
Reminder:US residents are not allowed to take part in this airdrop campaign.

MONOICO COMMUNITY TELEGRAM: https://t.me/joinchat/FerGdEhXIktJXJ3QZRIk8w
MONOICO ANNOUNCEMENT CHANNEL: https://t.me/monoico
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: https://www.monoico.com/

SEOUL — The world of bitcoin — rarely free of wild ups and downs of late — has been rattled this week by word that South Korea is preparing a ban on trading in virtual currencies.

The question is how real that threat might be.

South Koreans have taken to digital tokens with fervour. The worldwide virtual currency boom that started last year has swept up savers young and old in South Korea, helping push up global prices.

The government has expressed alarm. Officials, including the prime minister, have voiced concerns about an irrational frenzy. Raids by South Korean tax officials on digital currency exchanges this week have added to unease among investors.

"I am so nervous," said Kim Su-jin, a 50-year-old investor in bitcoin and other virtual currencies who works as a bookkeeper at a women's clothing store in Seoul. "My coins could become trash if the government closes the exchanges."

But South Korea does not appear to be done with cryptocurrencies quite yet. Several political leaders have already aired their opposition to a ban on bitcoin trades, indicating that the public enthusiasm for virtual currencies just might be strong enough to shield them from further government intervention.

WHAT MIGHT SOUTH KOREA DO?

The country's justice minister, Park Sang-ki, said this week that his ministry was drawing up a bill that would include the complete shutdown of virtual currency exchanges, adding that trading in the tokens "has started to resemble gambling and speculation."

The most popular bitcoin exchanges in South Korea process hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of transactions every day. Trades using the Korean won account for around 5 per cent of the volume of bitcoin trades globally.

WILL THE GOVERNMENT PURSUE A BAN?

For now, authorities do not appear to be of one mind on the subject. After Mr Park's comments Thursday, a spokesman for President Moon Jae-in clarified that the Justice Ministry's plan was not final, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Then, on Friday (Jan 12), Kim Dong-yeon, the finance minister, emphasised that other ministries would be expected to confer on the Justice Ministry's proposal, Yonhap reported.

WILL LAWMAKERS SUPPORT IT?

At the very least, a ban would not be passed quickly: Securing a majority of votes in the National Assembly could take months.

More to the point, several lawmakers from major parties signalled this week that they would not support a crackdown. Park Young-sun, a member of the governing party who has no relation to the justice minister, wrote on her Facebook page that closing the exchanges would be like "setting fire to a straw-roofed house to catch a bedbug." Ha Tae-kyung, a legislator with the opposition Bareun Party, wrote on Facebook that criminaliSing virtual currencies would fly in the face of the administration's claims to support new technologies.

South Korean citizens have also voiced their opposition to a potential clampdown by signing petitions with the president's office. The most popular of these has garnered more than 120,000 signatures.

"The power of the individual investor is very huge in South Korea," said Simon Seojoon Kim, chief executive of Hashed, a fund in Seoul that invests in virtual currency projects.

WHAT PROMPTED THE INVESTIGATIONS?

The National Tax Service in South Korea declined to comment on why its representatives visited two major virtual currency exchanges, Bithumb and Coinone, this week. But Shin Won-hee, head of operations at Coinone, said tax authorities had wanted to check that the company had paid proper corporate tax.

Bithumb told local news outlets that it was cooperating with the investigation.

Separately, police in Gyeonggi province, which surrounds Seoul, have been investigating whether Coinone is operating "a gambling site." The company had previously allowed investors to buy and sell virtual currencies on margin — that is, to place bets using borrowed money. But Mr Shin said that Coinone decided in November to stop allowing margin trading as government officials began expressing concerns about market overheating.

WHY IS BITCOIN MORE EXPENSIVE IN SOUTH KOREA?

Mr Park, the justice minister, said this week that the depths of South Korean investors' irrationality was reflected in the high premium — around 30 per cent on Friday — that they paid on bitcoin exchanges in South Korea over those elsewhere.

Experts said that South Korean prices were also higher because the exchanges there did not allow trading by foreigners. That prevents overseas investors from selling bitcoin in South Korea to profit from — and thereby help narrow — the price gap.

South Korea's isolation from the global market leads investors at home to seek better prices elsewhere. "We are seeing Koreans taking loads of cash to buy bitcoin in Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia where bitcoin is cheaper," said Hong Ki-hoon, professor of economics at Hongik University in Seoul.

WHAT DO INVESTORS THINK?

With so many conflicting signals from the government, "I don't think any of us think that these strong measures will actually be implemented," said Hyon Hae-in, a 35-year-old bitcoin investor.

"Longtime investors see times like these as opportunities to trade," she said. THE NEW YORK TIMES
Source

Japan’s ‘Virtual Currency Girls’ Idol Group Performs First Crypto Educational Concert

Japan’s new female idol group “Virtual Currency Girls” performed their first live concert on Friday in Tokyo. Their songs incorporate reminders, advice, and warnings related to cryptocurrency trading. The girls receive their salaries in bitcoin and the show’s tickets and merchandise are also sold for the cryptocurrency.

Virtual Currency Girls’ First Concert

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Japanese 8-member idol group Virtual Currency Girls performed their first concert in Tokyo on Friday. The group was formed last week, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported.

Japan’s ‘Virtual Currency Girls’ Idol Group Performs First Crypto Educational ConcertThe show, which lasted about half an hour, began with each member briefly introducing themselves as a cryptocurrency. They are bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), monacoin (MONA), neo (NEO), nem (XEM), and ripple (XRP). The group’s leader is reportedly Naruse Rara who represents bitcoin cash.

After a round of introductions, the group launched into their opening song called “The Moon, Cryptocurrencies and Me”. It incorporates warning messages of the risks of cryptocurrency trading as well as other basic security reminders such as “Be careful about your password! Don’t use the same one!,” Reuters described. Another line says “It’s hell if you buy at a high price!” and “Don’t underestimate the market,” according to the Financial Times.

The girls wear maid costumes which “aim to raise the group’s popularity with the use of a globally recognizable ‘uniform’,” Naruse explained.

Spreading Crypto Knowledge

The group explained that they are not about promoting investments, but rather to educate people about cryptocurrencies in an entertaining way. “We want to promote the idea through entertainment that virtual currencies are not just a tool for speculation but are a wonderful technology that will shape the future,” the Mirror quoted the girls.

Referring to cryptocurrencies, Naruse said at the concert, “Our brains are fried as we are studying every day,” Arab News reported and quoted her saying:

Quote

They’re so convenient you kind of have to wonder why we didn’t have them [cryptocurrencies] before…We want everyone to learn more about them.

Getting Fans into Crypto

”All merchandise sold at the venue is paid for in bitcoin, as are concert tickets and the members’ salaries,” Reuters noted.

The group also held a “meet-and-greet” event, which is common for idol groups. “Fans could take a picture, shake hands and even chat with one of the performers for 0.001 bitcoin (about $15),” according to Sputnik. After the show, “several fans admitted that they [the group] had given them ‘a good introduction’ to the world of cryptocurrencies,” the news outlet added. In addition, Reuters quoted Kensaku Nagao, a 46-year-old fan of the group, saying:

Quote

I know absolutely nothing about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but I want to make sure I have some on hand for further concerts and to buy merchandise.

Another fan, 43-year-old Hiroshi Kasahara, who runs an ad agency, said: “I have been trading stocks and forex but not bitcoin or other virtual currencies as I was a bit scared of them…But [now] I feel like opening an account” if the group accepts payment only in bitcoin, he was quoted by Arab News.

“I may well give it a try as it can be a catalyst to make life more convenient and fun,” said Makoto Sato, a 42-year-old office worker who said the idol group had given him “a good introduction” to the world of cryptocurrencies.

What do you think of Virtual Currency Girls? Let us know in the comments section below.

Source

2017 saw itself out with the promise of a $20,000 Bitcoin, but then snatched it away, along with lots of new “investors” hoping for an early Christmas present.

It wasn’t to be – so – what does 2018 have in store for this crypto?

Firstly, we think that cryptocurrencies are now going to get serious. The newer investors who dipped their toe into the water, only to find themselves drowning, will be very unlikely to return. If Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, and others, can prove themselves during 2018, even newer investors may be enticed into the market to try their luck. But will that happen?

Banks and other “classic” financial institutions are now accepting fintech, cryptocurrencies, and ICOs, much more earnestly. Governments, too, are beginning to realise that Ethereum, for example, is a real, and powerful tool, capable of far more than simply acting as coinage. The concept of ledgers, smart contracts, and blockchain transactions is now on many more agendas.

Bitcoin has come a long way, even since October, when investors were getting excited because it had reached $5,000, at 1) on the daily timeframe chart above. It continued rising through, to 2) where it experienced a setback, which, at the time, had everyone calling time on Bitcoin.

In retrospect, this was a blip – but it showed, once again – the power of the 21-day EMA (exponential moving average) and the 55-day, and 100-day levels as strong support, just as they proved back in mid-September, mid-July, the end of March, and the beginning of January. What this shows, beyond doubt, is that Bitcoin has never closed below the 100-day EMA. This gives us a benchmark to go by.

After the hype and wishful thinking of us all wanting Bitcoin to reach $20,000 by Christmas, at 3) it came as a shock, for some, to find Bitcoin falling to $14,115 on 22nd December. But, again, the 55-day EMA held, at 7) and saw it climb back.

It is currently bouncing around the 21-day EMA. We see two scenarios here, at 4). The first is Bitcoin rising, at 5) to pass the previous resistance level around $16,409. If it does this – and goes higher than $17,000 – it will signal that the buyers are back in control, and Bitcoin should climb even higher again.

If it does the opposite, at 6) and falls below the previous, lowest high, at around $12,872 – it will show that there is more selling than buying – and the price is likely to drop back to the 55-day, 7) or possibly the 100-day EMA, Cool

.

The remaining indicators on the daily chart are fairly inconclusive at the moment.

The 14-day ADX and DMI indicators, at 9) are flat – with a slight negative edge as the -DMI (red) is above the +DMI (green).

At 10) although the last two indicator dots are red – the first in months not to be blue – the pulse wave is showing a slight upward trend, despite the fact that the color has gone from red to maroon, which would indicate a negative momentum.

Lastly, since showing the start of the recent downtrend, at 11) the divergence indicator has fallen, and we await a red dot signal, which would indicate a potential rise taking place. We would expect this to happen at 12) and probably, quite soon.

As a backdrop to all of this, there is a strong rumor that Amazon is about to accept Bitcoin as a method of payment. Patrick Byrne, the CEO of Overstock, has stated that Amazon will soon have no choice but to start accepting it. He is quoted as saying, “… they have to follow suit. I’ll be stunned if they don’t because they can’t just cede that part of the market to us if we are the only main large retail site taking Bitcoin.” Scott Mullins, an Amazon executive has confirmed that Amazon is, “working with financial institutions and crypto-experts to spur innovation, and facilitate frictionless experimentation.”

If the Amazon rumor turns out to be true – Bitcoin will probably go into orbit! Be prepared…

Source

When Bitcoin plunged close to 40% back in the middle of December, Ripple took off, quadrupling in value in a matter of days to take second position among cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization. Meanwhile, other cryptocurrencies rallied in sympathy. Like Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bytecoin—to mention but a few.

Then, as Ripple and other cryptocurrencies corrected in the last couple of days, Bitcoin rallied.

“I wouldn't read too much into it,” says cryptocurrency expert Kyle Samani. “The crypto market is 99% noise right now. In general, we see rotations between BTC and alts. First half of 2017 was alts, 2nd half was bitcoin, seems like we're back in an alt cycle.”

There’s a good explanation behind the rotation among Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. Some cryptocurrency exchanges require Bitcoins to pay for coin transactions. So, investors who already own Bitcoins have to sell them to execute those transactions.

[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment. Disclosure: I don't own any cryptocoins or tokens).

Rotation from one coin to another isn’t new to investing. It has for years been applied on Wall Street, where investors rotate funds between “defensive” and“cyclical stocks,” at times when interest rates, ie the “opportunity cost” of money, remain low.

That’s bullish for stocks, because it confirms that money is staying within this asset class rather than moving back into money market investments.

And that’s bullish for cryptocurrencies, provided that interest rates remain low, and the hype for this new asset class remains alive for some time to come.

Still, cryptocurrencies are radically different than traditional assets. There’s no cash flow to determine their intrinsic value (though various efforts have been made to calculate the value of Bitcoin by using the Quantity Theory of Money). And that makes it difficult to determine whether a certain cryptocurrency is overvalued or undervalued, in the short-term, and viable in the long-term.

Source

Do you believe John McAfee is right about Bitcoin hitting $500,000 in 3 years? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

Answer by Vladimir Novakovski, 8.5 years in hedge funds, on Quora:

It’s interesting that almost all existing analysis of cryptoassets are from the point of view of fundamentals (or lack thereof). It’s often useful to look at things quantitatively instead.

So here, what we really want to understand is the probability of bitcoin reaching $500,000. There are a few ways to do that.

First, we can assume a completely random process and take a “gambler’s ruin” perspective. What is the probability that a random process will hit $500,000 before it hits $0? Given that the price as of Dec 2017 is about $15,000, we’d get $15,000/$500,000 = 3%.

Another approach is to model price as a lognormal process, which is a reasonable assumption to make for a broad set of assets. See Why do prices and income follow a log-normal distribution?

We’d then need to estimate volatility and expected return of bitcoin. Expected return is harder to estimate — we can use the historical return, but that’s a pretty biased estimate. For example, if you pick a stock that performed the best out of the S&P 500 in the last 5 years, would you expect that stock to have the same expected return going forward? Mostly likely not. Same with bitcoin — unless you already made a prediction of its expected return before the really high realized return we see now, your Bayesian prior should be lower.

With that said, the general methodology of how to estimate distribution with a lognormal process for asset price is described here: John Young's answer to What is the bitcoin price prediction for 2019?

Based on this, depending on how liberal you are about estimating expected return, you’d be looking at a probability in the 1–10% range of reaching $500,000 in the next year.

Further methods would involve looking at option prices. Right now, there’s not a particularly liquid market for options yet, but with bitcoin futures opening today, that may change soon. With option prices, you’d actually be able to trade a call option with $500,000 strike, and the price of this option would roughly be proportional to the probability of reaching that level by a certain maturity date.

So — to summarize, we are probably looking at a range of 1–10% probability of reaching $500,000 in the next year, depending on how you model it. Beyond that, it’s harder to know, with changes happening to the market like introduction of futures, but eventually there may be a liquid market for making such predictions through options.

Source

United States of Bitcoin: Illinois Gives Crypto Love While Other States Hate

THe United States continues to divide over the issue of cryptocurrency generally and bitcoin in particular. Idaho and Alaska issued crypto investment warnings, while Iowa’s Insurance Division cautions against the digital asset’s “high risk,” and Utah announces “scam” scares. Illinois bucks the worrywarts, however, and is instead crafting legislation that would welcome crypto businesses and innovation.

Illinois Wants No Part of New York’s Bitlicense Overregulation

In a trend-bucking move, legislators in the midwest state of Illinois are trying to craft legislation that would help the state welcome what some in their ranks see as an innovation. “New York went in and over regulated [bitcoin] and what ended up happening was a lot of those companies left the state,” representative Jaime Andrade reminded.

Mr. Andrade was responding to a bureaucratic report declaring bitcoin to not be a currency. It just so happens Mr. Andrade is the Chair of the state’s House Committee on Cyber Security. He’s even, with colleague Mike Zalewski, set up a crypto subcommittee to help better educate the public.

Illinois is also home to the city of Chicago, Frank Sinatra’s kind of town. Birthplace of Jazz. The state was the first to use electric street lighting, and it generates more nuclear power than any other in the US. The state knows cool and useful.

With myself and Zalewski working on this together,” he continued, “I think we will be able to make sure we protect the consumer, but at the same time, we work with the companies and all the other organizations to make sure the state of Illinois is an inviting environment for this type of technology.”

For his part, Mr. Zalewski says: “We are under tremendous pressure in this state to make government more efficient,” presumably referencing bitcoin’s blockchain database. “This technology has the opportunity to help remake government. That’s what we’re interested in.”

And Chicago, of course, is home to the first bitcoin futures contracts (Cboe and CME). Illinois is well familiar with cutting edge innovation. “The goal of this is not to regulate it in a way that’s going to make people uncomfortable to use it in the future,” Representative Zalewski urged.

The Usual Cannards and Half Truths

Meanwhile, Alaska and Idaho each issued separate warnings about cryptocurrencies. In Idaho, regulators worry too few of its inhabitants fail to “go beyond the headlines and hype to understand the risks associated with investments in cryptocurrencies” before plunking down their hard earned cash.United States of Bitcoin: Illinois Gives Crypto Love While Other States Hate

Alaska’s regulator believes its citizens are just plain confused. “What exactly do I get for my investments?” the regulator asks. “Will it be tangible? Is it kept in some sort of a blockchain? And if it’s in a blockchain, what is a blockchain and how does that operate with your investments?” That, or there might’ve been a contest for how many times a bureaucrat could weave the word blockchain into a quote.

In Iowa, regulators caution: “Investing in cryptocurrencies is not for the faint of heart,” they insist. Cryptos have “an unproven track record and carry a high risk of fraud that should cause consumers to be cautious.”

Finally, Utah minders urge “Utah’s reputation as a technically savvy and connected state makes our population ripe for crypto-currency fraud,” and yet, while “it’s a compliment to our population for being plugged into what’s trending, internet hype can lead to rash decisions”.

Source

As China’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies broadens to bitcoin miners, some of the industry’s biggest players are shifting operations overseas.

Bitmain, which runs China’s two largest bitcoin-mining collectives, is setting up regional headquarters in Singapore and now has mining operations in the U.S. and Canada, Wu Jihan, the company’s co-founder, said in an interview. BTC.Top, the third-biggest mining pool, is opening a facility in Canada and ViaBTC, ranked No. 4, has operations in Iceland and America, their founders said.

The moves underscore how China’s once-dominant role in the world of cryptocurrencies is shrinking as policy makers clamp down.

After banning initial coin offerings and calling on local exchanges to halt virtual currency trading last year, Chinese authorities outlined proposals this week to discourage bitcoin mining -- the computing process that makes transactions with the cryptocurrency possible. Officials plan to limit the industry’s power use and have asked local governments to guide miners toward an “orderly” exit from the business, people familiar with the matter said.

While the moves are unlikely to have a noticeable effect on bitcoin transaction speeds, they could reshape the cryptocurrency mining industry. Miners have until recently flocked to China because of the country’s inexpensive electricity, local chipmaking factories and cheap labor. They now have little choice but to look elsewhere.

“We chose Canada because of the relatively cheap cost, and the stability of the country and policies,” Jiang Zhuoer, founder of BTC.Top, said in an interview. He also considered locations in Iran and Russia.

Bloomberg News reported the Chinese government’s planned curbs on Wednesday. The People’s Bank of China didn’t respond to faxed requests for comment.

Bitcoin, which surged 15-fold last year, climbed about 6 percent at 5:32 a.m. New York time.

Source

No matter what negative news rocked the community, what hard fork happened or what skeptics stated, bitcoin held strong in 2017.

This is due in no small part to Japan. While the wider community is what breathes life into any coin, Japan is now bitcoin's heart; the country that is at the center of its support. There used to be a concern about the longevity of bitcoin, the safety of using such a novel new invention.

2017 is the year that fear died – and Japan is a big part of that reason.

Where other countries have had knee-jerk responses to bitcoin and blockchain technology, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) expertly analyzed the technology and developed clear and fair laws to regulate virtual currency exchanges. This is no small matter – bitcoin exchanges are the onboard ramp to both bitcoin adoption as well as the future of virtual currencies.

Coming home

With all the positive news this year from Japan, it's only appropriate to acknowledge the country's deep history with cryptocurrency. While we may never know for sure if he (or she) is (or was) Japanese, Satoshi Nakamoto is a Japanese name. Japan is bitcoin's home.

But though bitcoin has always had strong roots in Japan, it was also the center of its biggest controversy.

Some say that Mt. Gox's implosion, now nearly four years removed, was the worst event to ever happen to bitcoin. The numbers were staggering. 650,000 bitcoins, worth around $437 million at the time, were lost when the exchange abruptly closed. The company filed for bankruptcy. This affected over 127,000 customers around the world. Today, those lost bitcoins are worth nearly $9 billion.

Still, this event, while terrible, forced the Japanese regulators to step in and protect consumers.

That disruption, that explosion, is why Japan has become the most forward thinking jurisdiction for bitcoin and virtual currencies. The FSA's understanding of the technology, regardless of the bad or inexperienced actors early in the space, helped lay the foundation on which the rest of the world can begin to understand and fully accept bitcoin and other virtual currencies.

Starting on April 1 of this year, the Japanese government enacted an amendment to the Payment Services Act. These amendments, which BitFlyer helped establish, have been referred to as the Virtual Currency Act and alongside additional tax reform have provided three main pieces of regulation in 2017:

1: Legal clarification of bitcoin

The Virtual Currency Act described and identified what a virtual currency is, clarified that bitcoin is considered an asset and that bitcoin can be considered a payment method.

That act, however, did not declare bitcoin as a legal currency, as some have mistakenly professed.

2: Virtual currency exchange regulation

The Japan Financial Services Authority was granted the ability to both regulate, as well as issue licenses, to virtual currency exchanges in Japan. This cemented bitcoin as an established market in Japan, where the rules are clear and consumers can be protected.

BitFlyer was proud to be granted one of the first licenses of this sort earlier this year in September.

3: One additional piece of regulation from a different act

Lastly, while not part of the Virtual Currency Act, tax reform was pushed forward on July 1, which removed a consumption tax that dissuaded foreign investors from purchasing bitcoins on Japan's market. This opened up Japan’s markets to international investors.

Expanding bitcoin and blockchain usage

But while Japan has led the way, the rest of the world should learn from the regulations and research that has resulted.

Here, BitFlyer has been able to work closely with government organizations to provide research and information about the usability of bitcoin and blockchain technology. The research, just like bitcoin, is borderless and publicly available. BitFlyer has also been hard at work researching and developing a world-class enterprise blockchain called "miyabi." With a top speed of over 4,000 transactions per second, miyabi guarantees immutability, finality, Byzantine fault tolerance, low latency and has no single point of failure.

This work has not gone unnoticed.

The largest interbank clearing network in Japan has selected bitFlyer to demonstrate a proof of concept, utilizing miyabi to show how blockchain can be used to revolutionize the banking industry and create a much faster settlement platform. If adopted, the largest banks in Japan will be connected through blockchain and demonstrate to the world that enterprise blockchain can be implemented securely, creating a better and more united financial world.

These developments are why we believe 2018 will be another spectacular year for bitcoin.

Volume has been growing steadily through 2017, the price has been skyrocketing throughout the year, but most importantly, the last pieces for institutional investors to get involved with bitcoin are close at hand.

Even if a bitcoin ETF doesn't gain approval in 2018, the creation of futures products for bitcoin will allow for much more liquidity to enter the markets. Past just conventional derivatives, dozens of trading firms have sprung up over the last year to allow for boutique hedge funds, family offices, or even large-sized individual traders to access the virtual currency markets.

With all of these developments, bitFlyer has realized an incredible opportunity to harness all the liquidity in Japan to fuel these new marketplaces and service new traders. BitFlyer's bitcoin trade volume (including leveraged trading) is the largest in the world. Regardless of the massive inflow of volume institutional firms can bring through derivatives, trading firms will need to trade actual bitcoin for delivery.

BitFlyer's global expansion (such as the recently launched bitFlyer US exchange) seeks to service these markets directly, by providing institutions and individuals everywhere with the ability to participate with the largest source of bitcoin liquidity in the world: Japan.

Source

Germany joined European governments pushing for global bitcoin regulation amid mounting alarm that the world’s most popular digital currency is being used by money-launderers, drug traffickers and terrorists.

Germany’s Finance Ministry said it welcomed a proposal by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire to ask his counterparts in the Group of 20 to consider joint regulation of bitcoin. The concerns are shared by the Italian government, which is also open to discussing regulation, while the European Union is bringing in rules backed by the U.K. that would apply to bitcoin.

“It makes sense to discuss the speculative risks of virtual currencies and their impact on the financial system at international level,” the Finance Ministry in Berlin said in an emailed response to questions. The next meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors would be “a good opportunity to do so.”

Signs of growing European concern came as bitcoin took another step toward acceptability with the launch of futures trading Sunday night at CME Group Inc.’s venue. That’s a week after Chicago rival Cboe Global Markets Inc. introduced similar derivatives on the volatile cryptocurrency that was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis as an alternative to banks and government-issued currencies. Bitcoin was closing in on a fresh record of $20,000 on Monday.

The Finance Ministry in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, “monitors developments in the financial market very closely,” it said. “This also applies to the current development of bitcoin.”

While Europe’s concerns have been voiced before in select forums about a currency which is stepping further into the mainstream financial world, Le Maire made those worries public in a weekend interview with France’s LCI television.

“I don’t like it,” Le Maire said of bitcoin. “It can hide activities such as drug trafficking and terrorism,” and he has concerns for savers. “There is an obvious speculative risk, we need to look at it, study it,” he said.

Money-Laundering

Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan would be ready to discuss Le Maire’s proposal, according to a government official in Rome who asked not to be named because the ministry has yet to receive any request from Paris.

EU lawmakers and representatives of the member states meanwhile agreed on a revision of the bloc’s anti-money laundering rules Friday, extending the framework to firms that “are in charge of holding, storing and transferring virtual currencies,” according to a statement from the European Commission. These companies “will have to identify their customers and report any suspicious activity.”

Stephen Barclay, Economic Secretary to the British Treasury, told lawmakers on Nov. 3 that new rules would “bring virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers into anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulation.”

For the British government, digital currencies “can be used to enable and facilitate cybercrime,” according to a note from the Treasury. “There is little current evidence of them being used to launder money, though this risk is expected to grow,” the Treasury said. “That is why these regulations will help.”

Two Nobel economics laureates denounced Bitcoin last month. Joseph Stiglitz said it should be outlawed, and doesn’t serve “any socially-useful function.” Robert J. Shiller said the attraction of the currency was a narrative akin to a “mystery movie” that draws in people who want to outsmart the system.

Germany’s financial supervisor Bafin also warned last month of the risks of cryptocurrencies for consumers. Elisabeth Roegele, Bafin’s chief executive director of securities supervision, said in a Nov. 30 speech that regulation at a purely national level was not enough because of digital currencies’ international dimension. “The Internet in particular does not know national borders,” Roegele said.
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From aspirational billboards in Tokyo’s chicest districts to looped videos on commuter trains promising “a bright tomorrow”, the rivalry is intense but the underlying ambition shared. For this boom to keep firing, they need “Mrs Watanabe” — Japan’s semi-mythical household investor — to get trading cryptocurrencies. But who is she, how vital has she been to bitcoin’s price surge above ¥2.0m and will her investment interest survive the rival attractions of a strong run for the yen in 2018?

In a note published last week, Tokyo-based analysts at Deutsche Bank had a shot at answering the first two questions, starting with the observation that an awful lot of the global bitcoin trade is indeed driven by Japanese investors trading on margin. Some exchanges put Japan’s average daily share of global volume at 40 per cent, though on some days it exceeds 60. And, despite the platforms’ all-out efforts to seduce Mrs Watanabe, many report that their most active customers remain 30-49-year-old men — the same investor type that, crucially, already accounts for 54 per cent of the global market in leveraged forex trading.

Other explanations for Japan’s embrace of bitcoin include the observation that, since the government declared that bitcoin profits had to be filed in income tax returns, the Japanese have been reluctant to sell and realise gains. Analysts have also resurrected a 2016 survey by the Bank of Japan suggesting that the Japanese are less financially literate than their US counterparts, particularly among the age group thought to be the biggest bitcoin aficionados.

Less well investigated, so far, is whether Japan’s extraordinary fascination with bitcoin arises, in significant part, because the yen has traded with such boringly low volatility this year after the Brexit-Trump high jinx of 2016. GMO Financial, one of Japan’s largest forex trading platforms, says that between January and the end of November, its margin forex volumes were 20 per cent down on the same period in 2016. Whatever Watanabe’s true age or gender, appetite for leveraged risk-taking is not diminished and as long as the yen is dull, bitcoin may remain the winner.
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As Bitcoin surges above $9,250 on the open this Sunday, I have to admit to having some real trepidation at these levels.

I have been a proponent of the view that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies would benefit from the launch of ETFs and futures. My view is that allowing for easier 'adoption' of Bitcoin will help fuel its growth as it lets new investors participate indirectly. I should not limit that theory to just more traditional ways to invest, like ETFs and futures, but should also include easier ways to establish wallets and to own Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) the 'traditional' way. There are a growing number of 'easy' to use guides to getting Bitcoin (I have glanced at many but haven't followed through to verify how well they work of don't work).

I am convinced that ease of access and the potential for more mainstream products linked to Bitcoin has helped fuel its surge.

But now, I am concerned it has gone too far, too fast.

I have three major concerns that could slow the price rise or even cause it to have a significant correction (yes, I am converting from bullish Bitcoin to at best neutral).

Here are the three concerns:

1- Are all the ETF and Futures launches a 'sell the news' event? Basically the question is, while I believe that easier adoption will lead to inflows, how much of that is priced in? Have speculators loaded their electronic wallets with Bitcoin hoping to capitalize on the expected gains to the point, there won't be more expected gains? Understanding when something is 'already' priced in is difficult at the best of times, let alone with something as complex and growing exponentially like Bitcoin, but, I can't help but wonder. I have felt a switch in discussions I'm having over the last few weeks. A subtle switch, but one where the Bitcoin bulls seem more eager to name ever higher price targets, while the agnostics seem more willing to do work and think about it more, rather than in a rush to get some money into Bitcoin. The sort of behavior that may be indicating a 'sell the news' type of environment.

2- There are becoming too many competing investments which are causing some investors to question how 'real' the existing ones are. Yes, I understand that ICO's aren't necessarily dilutive, if you can purchase them with Bitcoin, but it does start to appear odd when it seems like virtually every day, someone or some entity is announcing some new variation on the theme.

3- Fedcoin, the potential for the Fed could be classified within concern number 2, but is really only part of a larger, separate concern - that governments or central banks will push back. I read this week, along with a lot of other people, an article describing that Bitcoin was now worth more than McDonald's. While that sort of article is designed to 'shock' investors, especially more conservative investors, I think it represents a larger, growing concern that the 'establishment' has surrounding cryptocurrencies. Whether the concerns are more focused on the potential for illegal funds to enter the system, taxation, controlling 'pump and dump' schemes or making your own job more difficult to manage, I'm sensing they are rising to the surface again. I think we have hit another tipping point where to expect a response to attempt to slow down the growth and valuation of crytpocurrencies should be expected. Something that has risen almost a 'ten-bagger' in less than a year is bound to attract attention. Bitcoin rebounded strongly after the China crackdown, so this fear might be over-rated, but a more organized government or central bank crackdown shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The bigger question, in my mind, is whether Bitcoin can withstand that - but that is a question for another day.

I am torn, because my thesis of 'ease of adoption' seems to be playing out and in general it is a long way from being fully played out, which by itself is supportive of greater price appreciation. But, at the moment, my concerns are winning out and I'd be taking some chips, or bits, as the case may be, off the table.

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed are those of Peter Tchir. This info is for educational and/or entertainment purposes only, so use at your own risk. He's not a broker-dealer or advisor of any kind.
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Central bankers say the success of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is just a bubble. But it keeps them awake at night because these private currencies threaten their control of the banking system and money supply, which could undermine the monetary policies they use to manage inflation.

With bitcoin smashing through the US$8,000 level for the first time this week after a 50 per cent climb in eight days, they are also worried they will be blamed if the market crashes.

This is why several central banks are advocating regulations to impose control. Others are even looking at whether to introduce their own digital currency and are testing payment platforms.

“The problem with bitcoin is that it could easily blow up and central banks could then be accused of not doing anything,” said Ewald Nowotny, an European Central Bank policymaker.

“So we’re trying to understand whether bank activity in relation to cryptocurrency trading needs to be better regulated.”

The global cryptocurrency market is worth US$245 billion, which is tiny compared with the trillion dollar plus balance sheets of the Bank of Japan, the US Federal Reserve or the ECB.

These institutions issue yen, US dollars and euros, by creating physical cash or by crediting banks’ accounts, as is the case with their bond-buying programmes.

Cryptocurrencies, however, are not centralised. They do not pass through regulated banks and traditional payment systems. Instead, they often use blockchain, an online ledger of transactions that is maintained by a network of anonymous computers on the internet.

This has raised concerns about their vulnerability to hackers, as underlined by a score of incidents in recent months, and their use to finance crime.

Cryptocurrencies holders also have a claim on a private, rather than a public entity, which could go bust or stop functioning.

For these reasons, and given their low adoption by retailers, central banks have dismissed cryptocurrencies as risky commodities with no bearing on the real economy.

“Bitcoin is a sort of tulip,” the ECB vice-president, Vitor Constancio, said in September, comparing it to the Dutch 17th century trading bubble. “It’s an instrument of speculation.”

China and South Korea, where cryptocurrency speculation is popular, banned fundraising through token launches, whereby a new cryptocurrency is sold to finance a product development.

Russia’s central bank said it would block websites selling bitcoin and its rivals while the ECB told European Union lawmakers last year “they should not seek … to promote the use of virtual currencies” because these could “in principle affect the central banks’ control over the supply of money” and inflation.

Yet Japan in April recognised bitcoin as legal tender and approved several companies as operators of cryptocurrency exchanges, but required them to register with the government.

The ECB, the BOJ and Germany’s Bundesbank are already testing blockchain, admitting it may have a future use for the settling of payments.

The BOJ last year set up a section in charge of fintech to offer guidance to banks seeking new business opportunities, and joined up with the ECB to study distributed ledger technology (DLT) such as blockchain. They concluded that blockchain was not mature enough to power the world’s biggest payment systems.

Commercial banks have so far been lukewarm to existing digital currencies.

But with electronic payments already supplanting cash, they are alert to the danger that they would lose business if their clients decided to switch to them.

For this reason, Swiss banking giant UBS is leading a consortium of six banks trying to create its own digital cash equivalent of each of the major currencies backed by central banks.

This would allow financial markets to make payments and settle transactions more quickly.

This poses risks for central bankers as the guardians of the banking and payment systems.

“(We could) wake up one day and most of the big banks have been eviscerated and most of that activity has moved elsewhere,” the St Louis Fed president, James Bullard, said recently.

This could lead to a financial crisis if regulators lost sight of the activity, he said.

Some central banks such as Sweden’s Riksbank and the Bank of England are also looking at the merits of introducing their own digital currency.

Holders would have a direct claim on the central bank – just like with banknotes but without the inconvenience of storing large amounts of cash.

In Sweden, where most retail payments are electronic, the Riksbank said it was looking into an e-krona for small payments between consumers, companies and authorities.

“An e-krona would give the general public access to a digital complement to cash guaranteed by the state and several payment services suppliers could connect to the e-krona system,” the Riksbank said.

A central bank digital currency could also change the way monetary policy is carried out by allowing central banks to inject liquidity directly into the real economy, bypassing the financial sector, if they want to boost inflation.

This could help make monetary policy more effective, according to a study by economists at the Bank of England.

But it could also be risky if depositors were tempted to convert their bank deposits into central bank money during a banking crisis, accelerating any run on commercial banks.

A senior BOJ official said last week that although technology was revolutionising banking, digital currencies will not replace physical money any time soon.

“It’s too far off,” Hiromi Yamaoka, the head of the BOJ’s payment and settlement systems department, said on the sidelines of a forum on financial innovation hosted by Thomson Reuters.

“It would change the banking system too drastically.”
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Sweden is Evolving into the Next Major Bitcoin Industry and Mining Market

Claire Ingram Bogusz, a researcher at Stockholm School of Economics, noted that Sweden’s bitcoin market is growing at a rapid rate, due to friendly regulatory frameworks for fintech startups and cryptocurrency mining.

“Sweden is among the leaders in the global bitcoin market. There’s a very high-level of knowledge about it here, and a high-level of digital competence in the Fintech space. We may not be the size of Hong Kong or London, but it’s hard to find that level of digital competence in other financial centres,” said Bogusz.

Will Sweden Become the Next Cryptocurrency Mining Hub?

Sweden is already the second largest fintech hub in Europe, with venture capital firms, practical policies, and startup accelerators in place. According to Bogusz, investors in the Swedish fintech market have started to move over to the local bitcoin market, which has seen an exponential increase since the beginning of 2016.

More importantly, an increasing number of bitcoin miners and mining center operators have started to relocate to Sweden, given its cold climate that provides a naturally cool environment for bitcoin miners which tend to overheat, cheap electricity, and low-cost hydroelectric power.

Another region with cheap electricity and cold climate is the mountainous region of Northeastern China. Some of the world’s largest mining centers are already based in that region, due to the cost effectiveness of establishing business in an area in which electricity is cheaply supplied and abundant.

However, Chinese miners have already started to consider relocating to other regions given the uncertainty of the Chinese bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets. Cui, a founder and executive of a major bitcoin mining pool, who asked to remain anonymous in an interview with South China Morning Post due to the current regulatory stance of the Chinese government, stated:

“Many of us have already paid visit to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Russia and the US, negotiating electricity prices with local authorities and buying sites for future use. The business blueprint is bound to go overseas, even if there’s only a 1 per cent possibility that China’s crackdown against bitcoin would extend to mining.”

Cui, who participated in an interview with three other major bitcoin mining pools and their operators declined, further emphasized that the Chinese bitcoin mining industry deals with corrupt grid operators and electricity providers. He noted that bribery is common in the Chinese mining scene, as electricity providers have absolute control over their decision to restrict power supply to certain businesses that fail to comply with their demands.

“No one brags about it because it’s best to make a fortune in silence,” he said.

Liquidity and Cryptocurrency Exchange Ban by China

Liquidity has also become an issue for Chinese miners, as the Chinese government imposed a nationwide ban on cryptocurrency trading in October. It is more challenging for bitcoin miners to sell or distribute bitcoins they have produced.

In regions like Sweden that have electricity that is as cheap as China, colder climate that is necessary to operate mining pools, and friendly regulatory frameworks, bitcoin miners and mining centers can operate more efficiently with freedom, without having to deal with restrictions from local authorities.
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The electricity used to mine bitcoin this year is bigger than the annual usage of 159 countries

. New bitcoin is created by computers solving complex cryptographic problems, a process known as "mining."
. PowerCompare.co.uk says the amount of electricity used by computers mining bitcoin so far this year eclipses the annual usage of countries like Ireland and most African countries.
. Bitcoin's electricity usage is coming under increasing scrutiny.

LONDON — The amount of energy used by computers "mining" bitcoin so far this year is greater than the annual usage of almost 160 countries, according to new research.

Research by energy tariff comparison service PowerCompare.co.uk shows that the amount of energy expended mining bitcoin globally has already exceeded the amount used on average by Ireland and most African nations.

PowerCompare.co.uk used stats from Bitcoin and cryptocurrency data provider Digiconomist, which estimates that 29.05 TWh of electricity was used to mine bitcoin, compared to an estimated 25 TWh of electricity per year used by Ireland.

You can see a full list of the 159 countries whose energy usage is eclipsed by bitcoin here or see it visualised below (the orange countries are those that use less electricity than bitcoin mining):

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that was created in 2009. It is designed to not be controlled by any one party and is underpinned by a system called blockchain, which records transactions.

To ensure transactions are not falsified or records of ownership changed, participants of the bitcoin network must sign off on transactions in "blocks" (hence, blockchain).

To incentivize people to do this work, which involves computers completing complex cryptographic problems, people who verify blocks are rewarded with freshly created bitcoin. Hence, this process is known as bitcoin "mining."

However, the creators of bitcoin designed the system so there would only ever be a limited supply of bitcoins to be mined (a maximum of 21 million). To ensure the longevity of the system, the cryptographic problems involved in the mining get progressively harder, meaning it takes longer to earn them.

Miners are turning to more powerful computers to complete these tasks and earn bitcoin. As a result, mining (and on the flipside, bitcoin transactions) are sucking up greater and greater amounts of electricity. Bitcoin transactions now use so much energy that the electricity used for a single trade could power a home for almost a whole month, according to Dutch bank ING.

The bulk of Bitcoin "mining" is done in China, where energy costs are comparatively cheaper than in places like the UK or US.

"The top six biggest mining pools from Antpool to BTCC are all largely based in China," Mati Greenspan, an analyst with trading platform eToro, said in an email earlier this month. "Some rough estimates put China's hashpower at more than 80% of the total network."

However, there is growing concern about what the environmental impact of all this electric usage could be. Most of the electricity generated in China comes from CO2 emitting fossil fuels. Greenspan said: "We need to be mindful of how that energy is created."
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Just as gold bars are lost at sea or $100 bills can burn, bitcoins can disappear from the Internet forever. When all 21 million bitcoins are mined by the year 2040, the actual amount available to trade or spend will be significantly lower.

According to new research from Chainalysis, a digital forensics firm that studies the bitcoin blockchain, 3.79 million bitcoins are already gone for good based on a high estimate—and 2.78 million based on a low one. Those numbers imply 17% to 23% of existing bitcoins, which are today worth around $8,500 each, are lost.

While others have speculated about the number of lost bitcoins, the Chainalysis findings are significant because they rely on a detailed empirical analysis of the blockchain, where all bitcoin transactions are recorded.

As the graphic above shows, Chainalysis’s conclusions rely on segmenting the existing bitcoin supply based on age and transaction activity. For some segments, the company used statistical sampling to determine the amount lost.

The segment “Mined Coins” reflects bitcoins mined in 2017 (which are presumed not to be lost), while “transactional” refers to those that have moved or spent in the last year—very few of which are lost. Likewise, the category of “Strategic Investors,” who have held their bitcoins for 1-2 years represent a very small share of the losses.

Here’s the data in another format, which shows how “Out of circulation” bitcoins—those mined 2-7 years ago and belonging to long-time investors known as “hodlers”—and those from the early days of bitcoin in 2009 and 2010 account for the vast majority of the lost coins:

These figures reflect bitcoins that are truly lost, and not hacked or otherwise stolen—in these cases, of course, the bitcoin is not lost since the thief has control of them.

Note the numbers above are based on the high estimate, and that the low estimate, which is based on only a 30% loss in “hodler” coins, puts the number of lost bitcoins at 2,767,468. Also, both estimates make a critical assumption that coins belonging to bitcoin’s inventor, Satoshi, are gone for good (more on that below).

In the future, more bitcoins will be lost. But the rate at which they disappear will be much lower than in the past since, now that they’re so valuable, people will be more vigilant about keeping track of them (unlike this poor fellow out who threw away a hard drive with the key to 7,500 bitcoins). Meanwhile, there is a question of whether the Chainalysis findings mean bitcoin is more scarce than people assume—or if the market has already priced the missing coins into the currency’s current value.

“That is a very complex question. On the one hand, direct calculations about market cap do not take lost coins into consideration. Considering how highly speculative this field is, those market cap calculations may make it into economic models of the market that impact spending activity,” said Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin. “Yet the market has adapted to the actual demand and supply available – just look at exchange behavior. Furthermore, it is well known monetary policy procedure to lower or increase fiat reserves to impact exchange rates. So the answer is yes and no.”

Lost Bitcoins and the Secret of Satoshi

Chainalysis, whose clients include the IRS and Europol, has made a name for itself in the bitcoin world because of its abundant data and sophisticated study of blockchain wallets. Law enforcement agencies rely on the company to provide detailed insights into who owns the currency and how it moves around.

Chainalysis’s overall methodology is confidential, but a spokesperson shared certain details about how the company assesses which bitcoins are lost. An important clue comes when there is a “fork” in the blockchain, such as the one this summer which led to the creation of a bitcoin clone known as Bitcoin Cash. Such events can lead to the owners of wallets that have been inactive for years to conduct a transaction, providing an opportunity for statistical analysis.

These sort of clues help inform the Chainalysis figure for the “hodler” category—wallets belonging to people who got into bitcoin before it hit the big time, and which represent the biggest source of uncertainty as to whether bitcoins are lost or just being hoarded.

As for the 2% of “‘transactional” bitcoins that Chainalysis determined to be gone, Levin says this is based on scraping the Internet for reports of lost coins. He added that the estimate of such losses, which can arise from a misdirected transaction or the loss of a private key through death or carelessness, is not based on statistical extrapolation and will be refined further in coming years.

Finally, there’s the question of what became of the bitcoins belonging to Satoshi, the pseudonymous creator of the crypto-currency, who has not been not been heard from since 2011. Chainalysis says wallets associated with Satoshi represent about 1 million bitcoins (the company will provide a more specific figure later this year), and that its model assumes that those coins—which date from a time when it was easy to mine 50 bitcoin with a laptop—are gone forever. This assumption is a big one and, if it proves to be incorrect, the number of circulating bitcoins could suddenly increase significantly and deliver a shock to the market.

Fortune asked Levin about what he found most surprising about the lost bitcoin findings.

“Firstly, we floated our findings to a few people and they all had different reactions about how surprising the figure was. But what I found most surprising/interesting was how when you unpack what it means to be “lost” things get even more confusing.” he said.
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Mark Cuban: Only invest in bitcoin if you're prepared to lose your money

There are some strong opinions when it comes to bitcoin, which has surged seven times in price this year.

Some of the biggest names on Wall Street are starting to embrace the digital currency, including Fundstrat's Tom Lee and value investor Bill Miller, who is running a fund with nearly a third of its assets in bitcoin.

One Dutch family even bet all they have on bitcoin.

Others are not fans at all. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a "fraud," adding "it's worse than tulip bulbs. It won't end well." Billionaire investor Howard Marks called it a "pyramid scheme."

And then there's the camp occupying the middle ground, who don't say it's the best investment, but also don't say it's the worst investment.

Billionaire Mark Cuban seems to be among that group. As he told Vanity Fair, it's OK to invest up to 10 percent of your savings in high risk investments, including bitcoin and ethereum. You've just "got to pretend you've already lost your money," he said, adding that it's like throwing "the Hail Mary."

Tony Robbins has his own analogy for investing in bitcoin: It's "like going to Vegas," he told CNBC's "Fast Money."

Cuban and Robbins advise only betting on what you can afford to lose. If you win, great; if you don't, at least you only lost discretionary funds.

As for the best way to invest your money right now, go with a cheap S&P 500 SPX fund, says Cuban.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/22/mark-cuban-only-invest-in-bitcoin-if-youre-prepared-to-lose-your-money.html

South Korea’s financial watchdog has “no plans” to monitor cryptocurrency trading, according to a new report that circulated in local media. This will continue to be the case until South Korea recognizes cryptocurrency as a legitimate form of money.

FSS Not Likely to Monitor Cryptos
Head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Choe Heung-sik has made it clear that the oversight body has no intent to monitor or regulate the crypto markets. Choe was quoted by the Korea Times stating: “Though we are monitoring the practice of cryptocurrency trading, we don’t have plans right now to directly supervise exchanges. Supervision will come only after the legal recognition of digital tokens as a legitimate currency.”

The watchdog’s position alleviates some concerns that Seoul was planning to clamp down on the digital currency market. South Korea has quickly emerged as a central hub for cryptocurrency trading, but even that hasn’t stopped policymakers from shutting down initial coin offerings (ICOs). Coin offerings are a highly popular but controversial crowdfunding campaign that have generated well north of $3 billion this year.

Despite being one of the world’s most liquid bitcoin markets, South Korea has a track record of charging a higher premium for the digital asset. According to CCN, the premium was as high as $500 earlier this month.
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The country is home to some of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Bithumb, which recently experienced an outage that cost investors billions of won. As CCN states, every single cryptocurrency that was listed by Bithumb has succeeded, including Zcash and Qtum.

Valued at $1 billion, Qtum is the world’s twelfth largest digital asset by market cap. Meanwhile, Zcash clocks in at no. 15 with $836 million. A total of twelve digital currencies are valued at $1 billion or more, according to CoinMarketCap. The total value of all 1,200 or so digital currencies in circulation is more than $250 billion.

Daily trading volumes on South Korean exchanges has reached 2 trillion yuan, which is equivalent to roughly $1.4 billion USD. Industry data shows that the yuan is the third most traded fiat currency following the Japanese yen and U.S. dollar.

Disclaimer: The author owns bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. He holds investment positions in the coins, but does not engage in short-term or day-trading.
Source: https://hacked.com/south-korea-remain-laissez-faire-bitcoin-according-fss/

The global average bitcoin price has surpassed $8,300 earlier today, on November 24, as the South Korean market demonstrated trades with a premium rate of around 5 percent.

Since then, the price of bitcoin has fallen to $8,150, experiencing a slight correction. However, in the South Korean bitcoin market, the third largest market in the world behind Japan and the US, bitcoin is still being traded at a price of $8,450, with a $300 premium.

Premium Emerges in South Korea When Bitcoin Price Rises

Historically, the South Korean bitcoin exchange market has demonstrated high premiums amidst strong bitcoin rallies. A surge in the price of bitcoin usually triggers general consumers and investors on major exchanges like Bithumb to invest in bitcoin, even with a substantial premium.

Last week, when the price of bitcoin plummeted from $7,200 to $5,600 and the price of Bitcoin Cash surged from $1,200 to $2,900, Bithumb processed twice as much as daily trades as the South Korean stock market KOSDAQ.

Although South Korea remains as a leading bitcoin market with high liquidity provided by Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit, a sudden surge in demand for bitcoin initiated by an increase in the price of bitcoin triggers investors to buy bitcoin in a short period of time, causing premiums to appear.

Earlier today, when the bitcoin price reached $8,300, bitcoin was being traded at around $8,500 in South Korea. When the price of bitcoin recorded a slight correction and fell to $8,150, the $8,500 price remained in South Korea, as more traders rushed into invest in bitcoin.

JPMorgan and South Korea

The South Korean finance industry tends to follow the trend established by other leading regions like the US and Japan. For instance, the Wall Street Journal’s report in regards to JPMorgan’s plan to trade bitcoin futures upon the launch of CME’s bitcoin futures exchange on December 11, was relayed by nearly every mainstream news publication within South Korea, further increasing the demand for bitcoin from the public.

JPMorgan is the largest investment bank in the world, with a $341 billion market cap. Previously, when JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon falsely claimed that bitcoin is a fraud and that any trader within the firm who initiates in bitcoin trading will be fired, the South Korean finance industry reacted negatively and the demand for bitcoin decreased, until enthusiastic announcements from CME, Man Group, and other major financial institutions were released.

Hence, when the WSJ report was released, the South Korean finance sector along with its cryptocurrency community demonstrated optimism towards the mid-term growth trend of bitcoin.

More to that, the report of Choe Heung-sik, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), revealed that the South Korean government will not impose strict regulations on cryptocurrency exchanges in the foreseeable future.

“Though we are monitoring the practice of cryptocurrency trading, we don’t have plans right now to directly supervise exchanges. Supervision will come only after the legal recognition of digital tokens as a legitimate currency,” said Choe.

Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-price-hits-new-time-high-south-korea-8450/