[2017-10-02] Japan is poised to become the leading bitcoin market

[cybersofts]

Japan is poised to become the leading bitcoin market after China fucked up!

First, China banned initial coin offerings (ICOs), a red-hot new method for blockchain-based startups to raise money in a token sale; then officials ordered Chinese bitcoin exchanges like OKcoin and Huobi, some of the biggest exchanges by volume in the world, to halt trading of fiat currency (yuan) for cryptocurrency (crypto to crypto trading is still permitted).

They were crippling blows to what was previously the leading global market for bitcoin activity. And last week, South Korea followed suit in banning ICOs.

In their place, look for Japan to become the leading bitcoin market.

In April, Japan officially recognized bitcoin as legal currency and will regulate it accordingly. That boosted the price globally and boosted bitcoin trading volume on Japanese exchanges. (In May, Australia followed suit.) Meanwhile, Japanese internet giant GMO Internet is investing $3 million to launch a bitcoin mining operation next year.

China crackdown boosts Japan

As bitcoin mining (the process of uploading “blocks” of transaction records to the bitcoin blockchain, a public ledger) became more and more prohibitively expensive, requiring large machinery to compute quickly, China became the leading country for mining. (And to be clear, there has not yet been any ban on bitcoin mining in China.) Chinese investors also ramped up bitcoin buying since last year, when the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) tightened capital controls. Bitcoin is thought to be a “safe haven” for when a nation’s currency is faltering and a hedge against general market uncertainty; with the yuan falling, bitcoin took off in China. Until now.

Japan is already pulling ahead in the aftermath of China’s crackdown.

Look at the below chart of trading activity by currency in the past 30 days: the biggest slice has been bitcoin trading in the Japanese yen (45%) vs. the U.S. dollar (30%). Note also how the biggest exchanges by activity have been Coincheck and bitFlyer, both in Japan. (It helps that the yen has dipped vs the dollar in the past week.)

Bitcoin price still cruising

To be sure, the China crackdown has hardly crushed the price of bitcoin overall. After an initial drop, it has rallied: The currency is down 5% in the past 30 days, but up 16% in the past week. And it’s still up more than 600% over the past 12 months.

The coin has been so resilient as a speculative investment that Goldman Sachs is now considering launching a bitcoin trading operation. On the other hand, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon insists that bitcoin is a “fraud… worse than tulip bulbs.”



Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-poised-become-next-bitcoin-market-leader-174825798.html

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[BitHodler]

I don't really like a particular country to be the 'main' crypto hotspot, because if something is going to happen in that country, it will take the market in its entirety down, which has been the case with China as well in the recent years.

China has never been a contributing factor. Instead, they time on time again have developed themselves as an obstacle for Bitcoin's growth each time this market was about to break through.

Positive difference is that Japan has been very open minded and greatly contributing. This is the perfect example of how governments should treat the crypto industry in general ~ there is no need for an aggressive stance.

[cyberpitstop]

I agree with the remark above, but anything to cut into the big hands of China is fine with me.

[Spaffin]

The Chinese government has several times taken various actions with respect to the crypto-currency, which led to a sharp drop in their rate. At the same time, Japan has always pursued a consistent and friendly policy with respect to the crypto currency. Therefore, I am for the leading country in the trade of the crypto currency was Japan, and not unpredictable China.

[iamTom123]

Even before the Chinese government eventually decided to ban ICOs and Bitcoin exchanges, I have been saying all along that I am uncomfortable with the fact that China is the leading country for Bitcoin, Bitcoin mining and volume of trading. Why? It is because I know how different is the mindset of their government. And it is not just cryptocurrency actually but also other important matters like the islands they are trying to claim their own (these islands are located so far from the mainland China and considered to be beyond their exclusive economic zone).

Japan, now as the leading country for Bitcoin volume and activity, is something I am happier about. Although Japan had been acting as the world's bully in WW2 it has already repealed its ways and these people can be negotiated on the same level unlike with China who already considered itself above all other countries.