Day: October 27, 2017

Chinese exchanges spurned by regulations are looking to neighboring countries for a brighter future.

After a strong rejection at US$6200, the Bitcoin price is up 11% from the week’s lows, now with a market capitalization of just under US$100 billion. As the age of the Bitcoin fork is being thrust upon us all, with Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, and on November 16th,SegWit2x, the fundamentals surrounding these forks are murky at best and a disaster at worst.

Every country in the world is pondering over the Bitcoin problem. That isn’t a big surprise as this cryptocurrency can’t be ignored any longer. In Kazakhstan, the government and central bank aren’t exactly open-minded. In fact, it seems the goal is to introduce a rather harsh stance regarding exchanges and mining operations. Proposals have been … Continue reading Central Bank of Kazakhstan Wants to Restrict Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Mining Operations

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Following the crackdown by the Chinese government last month, bitcoin exchanges in China are looking to continue their businesses in cryptocurrency-friendly countries. Nineteen chinese companies are reportedly applying for a license to operate in Japan, while others are considering Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

Also read: Japan’s GMO Plans to Sell 7nm Bitcoin Mining Boards Using Token Sale

Chinese Exchanges Migrating Abroad

Chinese exchanges are reportedly seeking to migrate their operations to other Asian countries that are more cryptocurrency-friendly, following China’s clampdown on crypto trading and initial coin offerings (ICOs). According to Bloomberg:

They’re applying for licenses in Japan — solo or via partners — setting up over-the-counter shops in Hong Kong, or laying the groundwork to operate from Singapore and South Korea.

Hong Kong-based Lennix Lai, the financial market director for Okex exchange, believes that there is enough demand. He said, “as formerly one of the biggest operators in China, we think we have a good chance of competing globally.”

Licenses and Partners in Japan

Japan legalized bitcoin as a method of payment in April. As a consequence of this legalization, cryptocurrency exchanges are required to register with the country’s Financial Services Agency (FSA). The agency granted licenses to eleven bitcoin exchanges in Japan for the first time last month. Out of the Chinese exchange seeking to operate in Japan, Bloomberg noted:

There’re at least 19 companies applying for a Japanese license.

While some Chinese exchanges are applying for a Japanese license, others are looking for local partners. For example, the Hong Kong-based exchange, Binance, is looking for local partners and also considering acquiring an operational exchange, CEO Zhao Changpeng revealed. Beijing-based exchange Bixin has also expressed interest, the news outlet detailed.

Mike Kayamori is Head of Quoine, the Singapore-based exchange with a strong presence in Japan. He commented, “we’re talking to almost all of those guys. They’re all desperate now.” He expects to sign a deal with a Chinese partner by the end of this year, the publication noted, and quoted him saying:

There’s a lot of Chinese retail people reaching out to us, but we can’t handle it. So if a Chinese partner can handle all of those and they connect to us, that will be much easier.

Early this month, ECNC reported that one of Japan’s largest bitcoin exchanges, Coincheck, had received many requests from Chinese companies to list tokens on its exchange following China’s ICO crackdown.

“We are receiving hundreds of requests from Chinese startups and startups around the world asking us to list their tokens, after the Chinese government banned ICOs,” Kagayaki Kawabata, International Business Developer at Coincheck told Global Times. While he said Coincheck is careful about listing ICO tokens, he noted that “if Chinese tokens can meet the criteria that exchanges will set, Japan will be a great place to list tokens.”

Other Friendly Shores

Japan is not the only contender for Chinese exchanges to flee to. Some Chinese investors have “resorted to peer-to-peer trading over messaging apps like Telegram since the clampdown: basically Chinese investors can still buy from individuals who’ve access to overseas markets,” Bloomberg described.

To capture this market, bitcoin exchange Okex is setting up its own over-the-counter trading platform in Hong Kong, which Lai expects to attract customers primarily from China, Russia and the U.K. “They’re now trying to recruit people to act as third-party market makers, who’ll chaperone deals, make money off a spread and then split the revenue with Okex,” the publication detailed.

Additionally, some Chinese exchanges are turning to Singapore as a backup option. Recently, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Ravi Menon, saying the central bank has no plans to regulate cryptocurrencies. The country is working on formalizing the payment services regulation which will affect some activities relating to digital currencies.

What do you think of Chinese exchanges migrating to other Asian countries? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, MAS, Japan’s FSA, and Pixabay.

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Russia’s National Settlement Depository has revealed new details about its planned blockchain-based cryptocurrency depository.

The Bitcoin Cash price has been going up and down by quite a bit over the past few weeks. Especially these past seven days, the market has been pretty volatile, to say the very least. As of right now, the Bitcoin Cash price hovers near the $350 mark, which seems to be the limit for the time being. Things may still improve in the coming hours, though, but no one should be overly excited.

Bitcoin Cash Price Action is in Place

Given the current Bitcoin price trend, it is not entirely surprising to see most altcoins suffer from small to medium setbacks right now. One altcoin making an exception in this regard is Bitcoin Cash, the only Bitcoin hard fork that matters to date. Although it is not even close to displacing Bitcoin anytime soon, Bitcoin Cash has successfully solidified its place in the world of cryptocurrency. Right now, it is still the world’s fourth-largest currency by market cap.

That being said, the Bitcoin Cash market cap has shrunk quite a bit as of late. This is mainly due to the Bitcoin Cash price tanking as well, which is not entirely surprising at this point in time. After its initial all-time high of nearly $1,200 , the Bitcoin Cash price has come down toward more normal levels for this specific altcoin. After all, it is still a “clone’ of Bitcoin without the community support or traction of the world’s leading cryptocurrency.

As of right now, the Bitcoin Cash price sits at $354.83. That is a solid value and represents a 5.3% increase over the past 24 hours. it is also worth noting BCH has gained some value against Bitcoin itself, although this 2.58% fluctuation is not exactly impressive either. At one point, BCH was valued at 0.15 BTC, whereas it is just worth 0.06 BTC right now.

That being said, the current Bitcoin Cash price is being driven by slightly more trading volume than normal. With $342m worth of BCH changing hands over the past 24 hours, things are looking somewhat promising. Then again, a spike in trading volume is often a sign of a 24-hour pump-and-dump cycle. Moreover, it is possible a few miners are unloading their BCH holdings as of right now, although that is mere speculation at this point in time.

Looking at the list of exchanges ranked by trading volume, there are no big surprises whatsoever. Bithumb generates almost seven times the volume of most normal exchanges trading Bitcoin Cash right now. HitBTC is the only other exception in this regard, even though the company has just over half Bithumb’s volume. Both Bithumb and HitBTC combined represent over 62% of all Bitcoin Cash trades right now, which seems to confirm the pump-and-dump cycle theory at this stage.

Whether or not the Bitcoin Cash price will reach $400 in the coming hours, remains to be seen. It almost appears as if the current upward momentum is running out of steam already. It will be interesting to see how things will play out for this altcoin, but it seems the room for price gains is still somewhat limited right now. Bitcoin Cash will not go away anytime soon, but there is only so much one can gain by holding onto this altcoin right now.

The financial services division of Japan’s SBI Group has revealed plans to move deeper into the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

WE’RE GOING TO BE THE JP MORGAN OF CRYPTOBANKS Your team just got back from the CoinAgenda conference in Las Vegas. What were you expecting from the trip, and did the reality meet your expectations? CoinAgenda is a very important event for us. In past years it’s seen the start of such important projects as … Continue reading Interview with Vladimir Gorbunov, CCO and Co-Founder of Crypterium

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From yesterday’s alt coin technical analysis, we note that DASH Price and other pairs are still consolidating or correcting lower. This correction lower was expected as history shows similar trends after a sudden spike in prices.  Let’s review price action of other alt coins as it happened yesterday: ALT COIN LSK PRICE ACTION ANALYSIS For … Continue reading AFTER ALT COIN SURGE FOLLOWING BITCOIN HARD FORK, DASH PRICE NOW CONSOLIDATES

The post AFTER ALT COIN SURGE FOLLOWING BITCOIN HARD FORK, DASH PRICE NOW CONSOLIDATES appeared first on NEWSBTC.

SegWit2x will create legal difficulties with BitLicense, according to the author of an advisory email sent to authorities.

On October, 25 the Token Sale for MyWish, a working platform for asset management solutions based on smart contracts, went live. The system is designed to integrate high technologies into the real sector benefiting from innovations in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Constantly growing interest in smart contracts is due to the fact that they are … Continue reading Platform for Managing Assets in Cryptocurrency MyWish has Integrated Support for Bancor Protocol™

The post Platform for Managing Assets in Cryptocurrency MyWish has Integrated Support for Bancor Protocol™ appeared first on NEWSBTC.

An unusually personal tone from TREZOR as the wallet removes BitPay’s API from its ticker info.

The U.K.Treasury has stated in a report that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin pose “low risk” for terrorist financing and money laundering.