Japan’s leading cryptocurrency exchange Bitflyer has launched in Europe after obtaining a license to operate in the European Union. The exchange currently supports BTC/EUR trading, with a plan to add other cryptocurrencies later on this year.

Also read: Cryptocurrency Activities Will Be Legal and Tax Free in Belarus Starting in March

Bitflyer Launches in Europe

Bitflyer announced its European exchange launch on Monday. Its announcement states:

Having been granted a Payment Institution (PI) license to operate in the European Union, it has become the first bitcoin exchange to be regulated in Japan, the US and Europe, making it the most compliant virtual currency exchange in the world.

The company’s European exchange, headquartered in Luxembourg, was launched through Bitflyer Europe S.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Bitflyer Inc. The company has been granted a PI license by the Luxembourg regulator, Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).

Pierre Gramegna, the Luxembourg Minister of Finance, commented, “We’re delighted that one of the most successful Japanese startups chose Luxembourg as their EU platform.”

More Cryptocurrencies Coming Soon

For the grand opening, Bitflyer is offering zero percent trading fees until the end of February. According to its announcement:

The company is initially targeting professional, high-volume traders, an audience currently underserved in Europe.

At launch, Bitflyer Europe will support the BTC/EUR trading pair. The company plans to support other cryptocurrencies such as litecoin (LTC), ether (ETH), ethereum classic (ETC) and bitcoin cash (BCH) later in the year.

Bitflyer Europe plans to market its platform across the EU from its base at the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology Foundation.

“When I set up Bitflyer in 2014, I did so with global ambitions and the belief that approved regulatory status is fundamental to the long-term future of bitcoin and the virtual currency industry,” said Bitflyer CEO and founder, Yuzo Kano.

In Japan, Bitflyer was among the first 11 exchanges to obtain a license from the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) in September of last year. The exchange currently has nearly 1 million users, its website details.

The company opened up an exchange in the US in November after obtaining licenses to operate in 41 states, including New York. Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, West Virginia, and Wyoming are “coming soon,” according to its website.

What do you think of Bitflyer launching in Europe? Would you use it? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Business Wire, and Bitflyer.

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The post Bitflyer Launches in Europe – Now Licensed on Three Continents appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Highlights:

Price analysis of BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC and LTC for January 23, keep your bullets ready, the very moment is coming soon.

BTC/USD

Resistance: $11,000, support: $10,000

Data feed from AICoin

Comments:
BTC slumped by over $1,700 last night and stopped falling further after reaching to the strong support at $10,000. The strength seems weak, which is believed to be caused by the rumored policy about banning C2C trading in China. If price moves up and forms a double bottom pattern after breaking the resistance at $11,000, BTC will keep climbing. Otherwise, BTC is very likely to move down to the previous low at $9,231 after breaking below the support at $10,000.

Suggestions:
The moment when price dipped to the support around $10,000 in the morning is the best entry point for short-term trading, since price is higher than $10,000 now, it’s better to wait to see with your bullets ready.

BCH/USD

Resistance: $1,685, support: $1,500

Data feed from AICoin

Comments:
Even though BCH is following the broad market in price move, it shows weaker strength than that of BTC while it bounces. BCH is expected to find resistance at $1,685, whether price can break above the resistance at $1,685 or not will decide the possibility for a continuous uptrend.

Suggestions:
Though price is very likely to move up from a technical perspective, except when price is near the support level, going long is not recommended considering the potential bearish effects in policy. Otherwise, you can keep your bullets till the very moment comes.

ETH/USD

Resistance: $1,000, support: $870.

Data feed from AICoin

Comments:
The odds are high for ETH to attempt to break above the resistance as we’ve seen no ending signals for current uptrend.

Suggestions:
It’s better not to rush for the possible gains when price moves up before the rumored policy about banning C2C trading in China is released and you can book your profits at high levels.

ETC/USD

Resistance: $31, support: $29 & $22.

Data feed from AICoin

Comments:
ETC is coming to the end of its oscillating mode and will find resistance and major support at $31 and $27. The rumored policy will possibly determine the direction of ETC price in the next few days.

Suggestions:
It seems bears are dominating the market now, making it workable to go short at high levels, for cautious investors, you can book your profits now.

LTC/USD

Resistance: $190, support: $169.

Data feed from AICoin

Comments:
LTC has also come to the last stage of its swing pattern and remains in the oscillating triangle after bouncing from the last wave of slump. Direction will be decided in the next few days.

Suggestions:
Booking your profits can be considered at current level, you can also try to go short near the resistance level if price fails to break above it as we’ve seen no ending signs of the bounce.

Original by Eric Chou from Hashpai, translated by AICoin Jami.

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is not guaranteed, and is strictly for information purposes only. It does not constitute any trading proposal and will not be liable for any loss based on the information herein.

The post 1-23 Price analysis – Keep your bullets ready appeared first on NewsBTC.

BitFlyer has been granted a license to operate in the EU, becoming the world’s “most compliant virtual exchange.” #NEWS

The past few days were not easy for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Any small gain recorded in any market will quickly be pushed back down. This vicious cycle of small gains and steep losses has become rather problematic for most altcoins. Even the NEO price is struggling to find any stable ground whatsoever. Despite a surge to $150 not that long ago, we are now heading back to $115. A very unfortunate turn of events, but the volatility will only increase from here on out.

What Comes Next for the NEO Price?

It is pretty much impossible to find any common sense in the world of cryptocurrency right now. None of the markets are evolving in a rational manner whatsoever, and things are only getting worse. Although this type of volatility is expected this time of year, it’s still a sorrowful sight. Looking at the NEO price, it is evident a new all-time high is further away than ever before. The NEO price did not hold its own at $150 a few days ago, and may very well head back to double-digit territory this week.

To be more specific, the NEo price has fluctuated rather wildly over the past seven days. With the value going from $155 to $86 and back to $151 in the span of three days, it is evident some people make a good profit. Right now, the NEO price is struggling to find any solid support. Some people hoped for the NEO price to remain stable at $125, but that was nothing more than an idyllic dream. Right now, the value is struggling to stay above $115 due to the growing market volatility.

It is a bit unclear where the market will head next. Over the past 24 hours, we saw the NEO price lose 14.35% in USD value and 4.74% in BTC value. It seems as if NEO can hold its own against Bitcoin just fine, for now, but making any notable guns is out of the question. This applies to all other altcoins and digital assets, mind you, as all markets are suffering from Bitcoin’s volatility. This trend will most likely continue for a few more weeks, if not months.

With $299m in 24-hour trading volume, the demand to buy NEO has calmed down a bit as well. Even though this altcoin never notes any major trading volume, it seems the markets will continue to suffer from reduced trading activity in general. With so much negative pressure on the market, it seems fair to assume the majority of trades come from people looking to sell NEO first and foremost. At this rate, reaching a double-digit NEO price will happen a lot sooner than expected.

Upbit is the place to be for the majority of NEO trades right now. With $65m in 24-hour volume, the Korean platform is well ahead of Binance’s USDT and BTC markets. The first non-KRW fiat currency on the list is Bitfinex’s NEO/USD pair, which generates $28.41m in volume. Most traders are converting between NEO and Bitcoin right now, which is not entirely unexpected. As long as the Bitcoin price keeps taking uppercuts, there will be no relief for any of the altcoins whatsoever.

While the NEO price will seemingly remain above $100 for the remainder of the day, it is unclear if that situation will change in the future. More specifically, it is not unlikely Bitcoin will go below $10,000 this week. if that were to happen, it is plausible to assume NEO will drop well below $100 as well. January is never a fun month for cryptocurrency enthusiasts, and 2018 will be no different in this regard.

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Six major South Korean banks including Shinhan Bank, the second largest bank in the country, will officially begin providing local cryptocurrency exchanges with virtual bank accounts.

Virtual Accounts Restarted, Traders Relieved

On South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, each trader or investor is provided with a virtual bank account which can be used to deposit or withdraw large amounts of fiat money, or Korean won. Virtual bank accounts allow traders to execute fiat-to-cryptocurrency trades efficiently, without having to withdraw or deposit using actual bank accounts that can be costly and time-consuming.

Earlier this month, South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges were requested by local financial authorities to overhaul their current Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) systems. Two of the many requirements the government demanded local exchanges to comply with were the prohibition of foreigners from trading cryptocurrencies and the elimination of anonymous cryptocurrency trading accounts.

As a part of the AML system change, banks were asked to shut down virtual banking accounts provided to cryptocurrency exchanges. Kookmin Bank, the largest bank in South Korea, refused to provide services to cryptocurrency trading platforms, leading local investors to fear for a potential cryptocurrency trading ban, which was later refuted by the South Korean government.

Recently, Bithumb and Korbit, two of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the market, announced major changes to their AML systems. By the end of January, the Korbit team stated that foreigners will no longer be able to deposit Korean won to any South Korean exchanges — disabling fiat deposits and withdrawals for foreigners.

The Korbit team also noted that traders with Shinhan Bank accounts will only be able to trade cryptocurrencies starting February. While the newly implemented AML system can be inconvenient for existing users, it is an optimistic movement for the market, since the government will no longer be able to threaten the market with a cryptocurrency trading ban. The Korbit team stated:

“As previously announced, in order to comply with the identification and anti-money laundering regulations being enforced by the government, the current KRW deposit method will be terminated by the end of January 2018.

To use the new KRW deposit method, which is slated to be implemented within this month, you must have a Shinhan Bank account registered under your legal name. Please use this time to create a banking account at Shinhan Bank. We will follow up with further instructions on how to input the new KRW withdrawal account information on Korbit.”

Hence, even though Kookmin Bank has disabled its virtual trading accounts for cryptocurrency exchanges, Shinhan Bank, IBK Bank, NongHyup bank, KDB Industrial Bank, and Woori Bank will start providing services to cryptocurrency exchanges beginning on February 1.

Banning Cryptocurrency Trading Unrealistic

Instead of outright banning the local market, the South Korean government has decided to take a practical approach by regulating and fostering the cryptocurrency exchange market. As Financial Services Commission (FSC) chairman Kim Sang-jo previously stated, banning the cryptocurrency exchange market is unrealistic.

“[Banning cryptocurrency exchanges] is not realistically possible. Based on the electronic commerce law, the government doesn’t even have the authority to close down cryptocurrency trading platforms.

From the viewpoint of an economist, it is not a fair and transparent decision to outright ban economic activity. Whether it is excessive speculation or not, the gain or the loss is the responsibility of the investor.”

The post Six Major South Korean Banks to Support Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Price Surge Imminent? appeared first on NewsBTC.

South Korea’s financial watchdog has set a date for the introduction of a new rule outlawing anonymous virtual cryptocurrency trading accounts.