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Traditional financial institutions do not see eye to eye with cryptocurrency firms, but this is about to change. According to Ethereum World News, the Monetary Authority of Singapore is looking to bridge the gap by helping cryptocurrency firms set up accounts in local banks. The financial watchdog cited that digital currency firms are finding it hard to open bank accounts the world over, and this will only impair the growth of the financial services sector. Despite this, the agency vowed that it would not slacken its rules to favor and entice cryptocurrency firms.
Crypto fintech firms in the Asian country have let their complaints known, and they continue to push the government to set up a regulatory framework that will allow them to open regular bank accounts. On the issue, Ravi Menon, the Monetary Authority of Singapore Managing Director, said that they are not trying to create lax regulations to attract the crypto business, but the aim is to bring cryptocurrency fintech startups and banks together to reach a common understanding.
Cryptocurrency Firms and Banks Collaboration
Ravi adds that due to the obscure nature of cryptocurrencies, banks must establish robust methods of authentication. The fintech startups must also chip in to ensure a strong collaboration in good faith. Ravi adds that the Singaporean banks need to apply caution due to the obscurity associated with cryptocurrency business model.
The main agenda of the Monetary Authority of Singapore is to protect investors from fraud, and curbing money laundering especially when it comes to the cryptocurrency sector. The move to ease the tension between cryptocurrency fintech startups and banks is geared toward creating more jobs and spurring innovation. The country had placed stringent measures that sought to harbor the operations of cryptocurrency firms.
Leading Cryptocurrency Adoption in South East Asia
Other than the lack of regulation, Singapore is the third largest ICO launch pad after US and Switzerland. For example, Line Corporation, which is Japan’s biggest instant messaging platform, launched its cryptocurrency exchange platform, Bitbox, in Singapore in July 2018. Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, also set up its camp in Singapore and promised a fiat-cryptocurrency exchange that would be operational by September 2018.
Singapore is looking to go the Japan way and allow as many cryptocurrency trading and exchange platforms to operate in the country as long as they stick to the rules. Their approach to cryptocurrency regulation is more relaxed than in Japan, and this makes the country a testing ground for new technologies. Crypto.com, a blockchain fintech startup with headquarters in Hong Kong, is looking to issue the first Asian cryptocurrency Visa debit card, and it is starting the rollout in Singapore.
Different Approach to Regulation
Japan remains the ideal model for countries looking to regulate cryptocurrency firms, but Singapore in a bid to pave the way for cryptocurrency adoption is looking to a different supervisory model. They have three categories, utility tokens that pay for computing services and will hardly require any regulation. Digital tokens will be governed by the Securities and Futures Act and payment tokens which the Ravi and the Monetary Authority of Singapore do not have a problem with unless they are securities. Surprisingly, the country expressed interest in becoming the first country that will fully integrate DLTs and virtual currency.
Real-time Cryptocurrency news aggregator
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The news is also categorized based on the content to prevent any form of confusion. For example, if you are looking information about upcoming, active, and ended ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), you can click on ICOS on the left side menu. You can also leverage the Filters to find the information you are looking for quickly. You can subscribe using your email address to receive news straight to your email address as soon a new article is posted on the website.
The website also has a table that displays the values of various cryptocurrencies across multiple exchanges.
Visit Coin Spectator for the accurate and latest news about cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue their relentless march forward. More and more celebrities are embracing the digital currency phenomenon, and this only helps bring crypto-assets and blockchain technology out into the mainstream. Bitcoin is at the same time experiencing the lowest level of volatility since the dramatic rise and fall of the digital token back in December 2017. Experts believe that this is a sign of the market maturing.
Hip Hop Embraces Cryptocurrency
Hip-hop artists have begun to embrace the cryptocurrency phenomenon, Bitcoinist reports. Florida-based hip-hop band !MAYDAY! mentioned cryptocurrency in their song ‘Bitcoin Beezy’ from a few years ago. Since then. More and more hip-hop artists have come out as cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Snoop Dogg performed at Ripple’s company party earlier this year, and Eminem mentioned Bitcoin on his latest album ‘Kamikaze.’ The latest rappers to show Bitcoin some love is Soulja Boy, who is perhaps most famous for his decade-old hit ‘Crank That.’ Although the digital token is largely absent from most of the album, it does have an entire song dedicated to. The song is aptly titled ‘Bitcoin,’ and Soulja Boy goes over his daily routine of checking his funds online in the morning — something most cryptocurrency traders will be able to relate to. The rapper also names drops payment apps PayPal and Cash App, which he uses for managing his crypto-trades. Bitcoin is not the only digital currency that gets a mention on the song, however. Litecoin is also featured in the lyrics, and Soulja Boy has many more plans for digital entrepreneurship by the sounds of it.
The Beginning of A New Phase for Bitcoin?
If you search for ‘Bitcoin’ in Google News, you will find that half the stories revolve around Bitcoin’s price fluctuation. Every day there is another so-called ‘expert’ who is predicting either an immediate surge or a crash. While these predictions probably make good headlines, those of us who follow cryptocurrency on a regular basis can largely dismiss them. This point was recently made by Nigel Green, the founder of the DeVere Group in an interview with Bloomberg. The fact is that Bitcoin’s volatility is at the lowest level it has been since December 2017. With only a few more months of 2018 left to go, it will be interesting to see if this holds up. Green opines that this is a sign of the market for Bitcoin starting to mature.
The cryptocurrency has been around for a decade this month, and as it becomes more mainstream, volatility is bound to go down. Green is not alone: Mike McGlone from Bloomberg Intelligence concurs. McGlone mentions that volatility and trading volume goes hand in hand. A third voice, coming from Naeem Aslam from TF Global Markets UK, is skeptical, however.
Aslam says that low volume and volatility is a sign of market capitulation. As the year 2018 is coming to a close it will be interesting to see who is right — the optimists, the pessimists, or the realists?
What do you think the future holds for Bitcoin? Will we see a similar surge and crash towards the end of 2018 as we did last year? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
No Fork In The Road For Bitcoin Expansion
Cointelegraph reports that the developer behind Bitcoin’s protocol has found a way to expand for upscaling the Bitcoin network without a hard fork. Bitcoin’s expansion has been underway for some time, and the protocol developer Mark Friedenbach believes a soft fork Proof-of-Work solution will be a better alternative. If successful, the move could mean a 3584x increase in transaction volume for the Bitcoin network. Friedenbach has also announced that he will introduce the concept of “sharding” to cull any censorship attempts. Sharding is the practice of dividing the workload of on-chain transactions between several different computers on the network. Bitcoin is not the first network to introduce sharding, however. Ethereum announced their intention to engage in the practice back in April this year. If the attempt to scale Bitcoin’s system is successful, it would mean taking another step towards competing with the big credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard.
BitMEX Hires Industry Watchdog To Help Regulate Bitcoin Exchange
SCMP reports that BitMEX has hired a Hong Kong watchdog to assist with Bitcoin regulations. One of the big scare stories of 2018 has been that of cryptocurrency exchanges falling victim to hackers. The incidents have made many people apprehensive of trading and investing in digital assets for fear of falling prey to criminals. Now, however, BitMEX, one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the world, has launched a brand new partnership with a regulatory watchdog to combat any future attempts at hacking. The new COO Angela Kwan is a certified accountant and has worked for the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing as well as the Securities and Futures Commission. Kwan cites the lack of a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry in Hong Kong as one of the main issues she aims to tackle in her new role. The appointment of Kwan is good news, not only for traders in Hong Kong but the international cryptocurrency community. The more countries that take preemptive steps to regulate their businesses, the faster we will see a reduction in hacking scandals and other criminal activities.
Most Bitcoin Investors Are Young, Rich, and Male
CNN Business recently published the results of a survey that examined the social demographics of the American Bitcoin industry. The study, conducted by Clovr, asked 1,000 American cryptocurrency owners and traders about their background. The results showed that the overwhelming majority of Bitcoin enthusiasts are young men who live in suburban areas and are relatively well off. The average income of the respondents was $75,000 per year, which could indicate that the industry is most attractive to those with money saved for a rainy day. One of the co-founders of Clovr, Mike Cribari, had a few suggestions as to why that might be the case. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency is still a relatively new concept to most people, which leads to a lot of uncertainty around investing. Secondly, the frequents peaks and valleys of the market poses a risk to those who cannot afford to lose money. However, once Bitcoin becomes more mainstream and can be used to buy groceries and other products, then this trend is predicted to change.