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Japan will create SWIFT-like network for digital currencies

Ray Buckler
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Japan will create SWIFT-like network for digital currencies

The Japanese government is trying to develop an international payment network for digital currencies very similar to SWIFT to combat money laundering. Reuters reported the news on Thursday.

As per the anonymous source familiar with the report, said the platform would be overseen by FATF team, inter-governmental body and the government of the island nation is planning to launch the network within next few years. Plan for the new system is approved by FATF in June this year. It was proposed by FSA and the Finance Ministry of Japan.

Japan is trying to confirm the safety of digital currencies to push the economic growth and development of the fintech industry. Japan became the leading nation of the world in 2017 to regulate digital currencies at the national level. They are the first country of the globe to welcome Bitcoin as a lawful tender. When it is about cryptocurrencies Japan has always shown a progressive mentality.

SWIFT is utilized by financial organizations everywhere in the globe to send sensitive financial information and transactions. On the contrary, cryptocurrencies can be directed to anyone around the globe by merely knowing the receiver’s wallet address. It remains indistinct how digital currencies will work in the network like SWIFT. How the decentralized blockchain network gets implemented into the highly monitored system remains a matter of interest.

It remains a matter of speculation how users will react to this kind of monitored network after experiencing the decentralized system of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies have become widely accepted across various sectors. It is very important to select a reliable and trustworthy platform like  Bitcoin Loophole Trading Platform. To know more about this promising platform traders should go through  Bitcoin Loophole Trading Platform Review, before investing.

Although this lack of regulation is the main reason or worries for the banks and the central government. After the massive hacking attack at cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, the Japanese government has tightened the security guidelines for the trading platform and has issued a notice to many exchanges for the security breakdown.

The companies willing to offer trading services for the residents of the nation have to acquire a license from FSA. More than 100 companies have applied for a permit to start a trading platform in Japan. So far, the agency has approved a license for three exchanges.

In the G7 meeting of Finance Ministers in France this week digital currencies are most likely to remain a topic.

Trinidad and Tobago MP Complains About Unfair Foreign Exchange Distribution

Felicia Learned
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Trinidad and Tobago MP Complains About Unfair Foreign Exchange Distribution

 

When it comes to emerging economies, foreign investment, and effective distribution of foreign exchange to different corners of the economy is regarded as one of the most important aspects of policymaking. However, if a Member of Parliament in Trinidad and Tobago is to be believed, then that is not happening in the country. In a new development, the MP in question has now made a complaint against commercial bank about the unfairness of the foreign exchange distribution process. Dr. Surujrattan Rambachan, who is the MP from Tabaquite, has stated that the commercial banks in the country, are unfair with their distribution of foreign exchange.

He went on to state that he became aware of the issue after coming across a notice that had been published by the First Citizens Bank, which is owned by the state. According to the notice issued by the First Citizens Bank, limits have imposed on how much foreign exchange an individual can purchase. If an individual is a customer of FCB, then he can buy at most $300 worth of foreign exchange, while for noncustomers that limit has been revised to only $150 and if the individual in question is a foreign national, then he can only buy $50. Needless to say, this issue caused a stir with many, and soon enough, Dr. Rambachan took up the issue. In this regard, it is also important to add that many individuals on social media had also criticized these new limits.

The MP stated that such limits are an affront to many citizens in the country who are going to go on overseas holidays. However, he went on to add that while the banks have placed such limits on all citizens, there are other sets of influential citizens in Trinidad and Tobago who are able to get as much foreign exchange that they had demanded. He added that such practices could also result in the creation of an unregulated black market for foreign exchange, and that could only be a damaging development for the country at large.

When it comes to emerging economies, foreign investment, and effective distribution of foreign exchange to different corners of the economy is regarded as one of the most important aspects of policymaking. However, if a Member of Parliament in Trinidad and Tobago is to be believed, then that is not happening in the country. In a new development, the MP in question has now made a complaint against commercial bank about the unfairness of the foreign exchange distribution process. Dr. Surujrattan Rambachan, who is the MP from Tabaquite, has stated that the commercial banks in the country, are unfair with their distribution of foreign exchange.

He went on to state that he became aware of the issue after coming across a notice that had been published by the First Citizens Bank, which is owned by the state. According to the notice issued by the First Citizens Bank, limits have imposed on how much foreign exchange an individual can purchase. If an individual is a customer of FCB, then he can buy at most $300 worth of foreign exchange, while for noncustomers that limit has been revised to only $150 and if the individual in question is a foreign national, then he can only buy $50. Needless to say, this issue caused a stir with many, and soon enough, Dr. Rambachan took up the issue. In this regard, it is also important to add that many individuals on social media had also criticized these new limits.

The MP stated that such limits are an affront to many citizens in the country who are going to go on overseas holidays. However, he went on to add that while the banks have placed such limits on all citizens, there are other sets of influential citizens in Trinidad and Tobago who are able to get as much foreign exchange that they had demanded. He added that such practices could also result in the creation of an unregulated black market for foreign exchange, and that could only be a damaging development for the country at large.

Binance plans to extend its services to South Korea; To Launch New Exchange

Timmy Murphy
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Binance plans to extend its services to South Korea; To Launch New Exchange

Binance, Malta-based largest cryptocurrency exchange of the world by trading volume plans to offer its services in South Korea by launching a new exchange.

The development news was recently revealed by the top crypto exchange firm, Binance.

CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao unveiled its exchange plan to extend its services into a new market and to simplify the process it is currently collaborating with local associates, local news outlet, Block In-Press mentioned about the news on Tuesday.

Binance CEO Zhao stated,

“We do not know the details related to the establishment of the Korean branch. We are working with local partners, but we do not know the details.”

Later Binance spokesperson informed that Binance exchange is thinking of working with a blockchain FinTech company, BxB and is discussing with the firm, it has not taken any particular decision on it. We have not considered whether to establish a branch in South Korea or not.

Zhao told that the exchange firm is doesn’t know about the establishment details of its new headquarter in South Korea.

Binance Exchange is working on its plan

One of the crypto sources reported that the top cryptocurrency exchange of the world has set up Binance LLC, the local entity in South Korea.  Binance crypto exchange has recruited Jiho Kang of BXB, as the director of the new Binance office. BXB is a fintech company that provides Korean won-backed stablecoin.

Spokesperson of Binance spoke to Block In Press and said that the exchange is speaking with BXB fintech firm, but the proper decision has not been taken.

Earlier Zhao indicated significant expansion of its services in South Korea, during the Blockchain Partners Summit held at Seoul in July last year. During the summit, Zhao emphasized on the significance of the South Korean market. He also mentioned that the exchange will invest in helping its cryptocurrency exchange to scale.

Binance seeking to hire a compliance officer

On the other side, the cryptocurrency exchange is seeking a compliance officer in South Korea. This indicates the firm’s possibility of launching a new office in South Korea.

The new job post was mentioned on Binance’s website, that reads as follows,

“We are seeking a Compliance Officer to support our expansion into all global frontiers, including KYC, Client Onboarding, and AML/CFT. The role is based in Seoul, South Korea.”

The candidate applying for the post should meet the qualification criteria and should have additional qualities; the exchange stated the additional qualities,

 “Good knowledge on provisions of local laws, directives, regulations, and otherwise standards applicable to subject persons and knowledge of upcoming regulation of virtual currency policies is a strong plus.”

Binance’s other developments

Binance is expanding its services to other parts of the country. In June, Binance successfully launched its crypto exchange platform in Singapore. It further continued with its development plan by launching similar kind of fiat-based services in Uganda and Jersey.

Earlier, the news was circulating that Binance is planning to open a crypto-based trading platform in the peninsular nation; however, the report was declined by the exchange spokesperson.

Addition to this development, Binance is working to include new services to its crypto trading platform.  Binance is also considering joining the crypto futures market with a fresh platform.

Nigeria’s I&E Forex Window Brings in $18.7 Billion in Just Seven Months So Far

Robert Hill
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Nigeria’s I&E Forex Window Brings in $18.7 Billion in Just Seven Months So Far

For almost all developing nations, foreign investment is regarded as the best ticket to economic growth, and for investors, placing bets on emerging economies is universally regarded as the best way to generate hefty returns. As far as economic prospects in Africa are concerned, then no other nation quite comes close to Nigeria, because of the country’s oil reserves and mineral deposits. It can prove to be one of the most attractive investments for investors from all over the globe. Although millions of dollars have flooded into the country’s economy over the years, Nigeria made another concerted effort to attract even more foreign investment by establishing the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Foreign Exchange window.

While many thought that it was going to end up being a success, no one really thought that it would end up attracting as much as $18.7 billion in just seven months since it was first launched. It not only shows that the initiative is an unqualified success but also demonstrates the fact that Nigeria remains one of the most attractive investment opportunities for global investors. Although it is true that no official figures have been revealed, the figure was published by a study that had been conducted by research analysts at the Coronation Merchant Bank.

The function of the I&E Forex window has proven to be a huge benefit for foreign investors and exporters. Godwin Emefiele, who is the head of the Coronation Merchant Bank, stated that the goal of the exchange was to allow exporters and investors to buy and sell foreign exchange at the current rates. The report states that as much as 65.40% of the inflows into the exchange have come in from overseas sources. However, Emefiele stated that he is hopeful that the exchange will also attract substantial inflows from domestic investors in the near future. He said, “In this regard, the Federal Government budgets were readjusted to adequately address priority infrastructure needs that would support improved investments by the private sector. This was complemented by various Presidential initiatives on improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria, dismantling regulatory bottlenecks, enhancing competitiveness and industrialization.”

Wells Fargo Does Not Allow Customers to Purchase Bitcoin

David Pender
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Wells Fargo Does Not Allow Customers to Purchase Bitcoin

Most financial institutions have started developing a positive stance towards emerging technologies such as cryptocurrency and blockchain. Some have even started implementing these technologies within their organizations to offer advanced services to customers while allowing them to trade with cryptocurrencies.

While on the other hand, a popular traditional bank Wells Fargo, established in 1852 has a different view towards Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Wells Fargo offers banking related services to its customers. It also offers mail delivery service via the Pony Express. Recently, Wells Fargo shared its stance by mentioning that the traditional bank will not allow its customers to buy Bitcoin by using their own cash.

The decision of Wells Fargo is different from other popular financial institutions. More and more banking institutions are trying to use crypto-based technology. For instance, CEO of Nasdaq, Adena Friedman trusts digital currency value and also claims that Bitcoin, the top cryptocurrency in the world, will become the ‘global currency of the future.’

CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon for years did not have a positive approach towards Bitcoin and strongly criticized it. He even attributed digital currencies as a scam. But his perspective regarding cryptocurrency seems to have changed. Interestingly, JPMorgan Chase is now preparing itself to release its first digital currency.

Back in December 2017, when the CME Group began trading with Bitcoin futures contracts, it noticed the promise of Bitcoin.

Wells Fargo, however, seemed to be moving in the other direction. Wells Fargo shared its anti-Bitcoin view of not permitting its customers to transact with digital currencies on Twitter. It replied to a customer’s question saying,

“Thanks for contacting us. Wells Fargo does not permit transactions relating to cryptocurrency.”

The ban imposed by Wells Fargo is different from its vision, which says, “Customers can be better served when they have a relationship with a trusted provider that knows them well, provides reliable guidance, and can serve their full range of financial needs.”

By prohibiting its customers from purchasing Bitcoin, Wells Fargo is restricting its customers from a wide range of the needed financial services.

Bitcoin and other digital currencies are unsafe

Wells Fargo decided to impose a ban on buying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies back in June 2018. Customers were prohibited to purchase Bitcoin with its credit cards.

Bank’s spokesperson responded over the ban in a statement saying,

“Customers can no longer use their Wells Fargo credit cards to purchase cryptocurrency. We’re doing this in order to be consistent across the Wells Fargo enterprise due to the multiple risks associated with this volatile investment. This decision is in line with the overall industry.”

Wells Fargo believes Bitcoin and other crypto assets are dangerous and variable. Wells Fargo earlier experienced several financial scams, but the US taxpayers had saved the bank.

Wells Fargo became the foremost traditional bank to receive bailout funds- huge amount given in one shot: $25 billion US tax dollars.

In order to fulfill the requirements of its customers, Wells Fargo should change its approach and join with other leading financial institutions over the new economic model to offer decentralized, fast and secure services to its customers.

IMF Approves $5.4 billion to Argentina after completing Fourth review of Standby Credit Deal

Ray Buckler
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IMF Approves $5.4 billion to Argentina after completing Fourth review of Standby Credit Deal

 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board successfully completed the fourth examination of Argentina’s economic performance within the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) of 3 years that was sanctioned on June 20th, last year.

This completion of the fourth review will allow officials to ship around $5.4 billion to Argentina through a loan program that will help secure the economy of Argentina.

On Friday, the IMF mentioned that it would release SDR 3.9 billion in cash to the country.

Earlier, in June 2018 IMF financing contract sanctioned around $57 billion and this new installment is part of it.

Managing Director of IMF, David Lipton in a statement mentioned, “The Argentine authorities continue to show a strong commitment to their economic policy program, meeting all applicable targets under the Fund-supported program.” Adding: “While it has taken time, these policy efforts are starting to bear fruit. Financial markets have stabilized, the fiscal and external positions are improving, and the economy is beginning a gradual recovery from last year’s recession. The Fund is strongly supportive of these important policy efforts.”

The new installment might help President of Argentina, Mauricio Macri to embattle as he aims to cool markets and increase investors trust before the first round of presidential elections, scheduled in October. Macri is looking for the second term as President.

He further mentioned the economy is starting to recover from the 2018s recession.

The government of Argentina has regularly shown its dedication towards fiscal and has overcome its fiscal targets of March and June. He stated:

“The officials have asked the IMF to support raising the end-September primary balance targets as a signal of their priority of ensuring that Argentina’s debt-to-GDP ratio is placed decisively on a downward path.”

Lipton added, the Argentine government managed to fulfill its fiscal targets, simultaneously safeguarded social programs and used fiscal tools to protect the most unprotected from the recession impacts. The officials have also asked the IMF to help in promoting social spending floor to include assistance programs meant for adults having no children and women having less income. These efforts will boost the scope of social safety and promote gender equality.

Argentina President Macri has been under immense pressure for economic failure and was forced to implement tough steps as officials faced difficulties in stabilizing the currency and check inflation to guarantee IMF funding access.

The consumer inflation in May reached at 3:1 percent and has increased by 19 percent till July 2019.  In 2018, unemployment reached more than 9 percent, and the poverty rate increased to 32 percent.

The present government of Argentina hopes inflation to end in 2019 within 40.3 percent. In May the inflation reached at 57 percent.

Moody- American based credit rating agency on Friday changed the view of Argentina from steady to negative.

Moody’s decision was according to growing uncertainty that the country would introduce policies that would balance its currency and economy, in a statement Moody mentioned.

Lipton stated more measures are required to restructure tax system, to grow competition within local markets, and in-depth measure to improve governance, and address corruption. Such amendments will have significant potential to increase the growth potential of Argentina, create more employment, decrease poverty, and enhance the living standard of all people across Argentina.

Ethereum Price Analysis: Will Bear Momentum Bring Ethereum (ETH) Price Further Down?

Robert Hill
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Ethereum Price Analysis: Will Bear Momentum Bring Ethereum (ETH) Price Further Down?

Ethereum is a blockchain platform which can be used by developers to build different applications. It is the largest and the most active community on the blockchain network. The price of Ethereum has been on a downslide for the past days due to the bear sentiment looming large over the crypto market. The last 24-hours was also not good for Ethereum, and the price was fluctuating in the range of $266 -$278 showing that though Ethereum is trying to get its price on the upward trend, the bears are continually pulling it down.

Latest Statistics of Ethereum

As on July 13, 2019 at 2:39:35 UTC, current statistics are as below:

  • ETH price is trading at $274.144
  • Current market cap is around $29,359,941,903
  • 24 h volume is at $29,359,941,903
  • ROI is > 9000%
  • Circulating supply is at 106,875,375 ETH

 ETH to USD Price Comparison

Over the past 24 hours, the price of Ethereum has fluctuated mostly in the downward range. Ethereum price was trading at $274.513 during early hours of July 12, but within 3h 30m, the price went on a downslide to 266.236 indicating a slide of 2.99%. The ETH price managed to gain an upsurge within 6h 18m, the movement being to the extent of 4.61%. Again, in 4h 51m, the price went downhill to $271.503 to the extent of 2.49%. It found some respite when the price went up to $278.395 upward movement was to the extent of 2.54%. Today, the price of ETH coin is trading at $274.144, which is lower to the tune of 1.53%.

Ethereum Price Prediction

 The price of Ethereum has been fluctuating over the past few days due to continuous market volatility. It had gone as high as $315 on July 09, but then the bear momentum set in and brought the price down to today’s price of $274, which is lower by 13.01%. It looks like bears have decided to make hay for some more time. Even with this market sentiment, analysts predict the Ethereum price should target around $480 – $500 by the year-end.

Conclusion

Investors are advised to have a cautious outlook and not invest in the current market sentiment. Nothing can be predicted at this time as to which direction the prices will be headed.

Sources Claim – Verizon Company Searched Buyers for Yahoo Finance

David Pender
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Sources Claim – Verizon Company Searched Buyers for Yahoo Finance

In 2019 beginning, Verizon communication, one of the largest communication technology firm was searching buyers for one of its leading internet financial news hub ‘Yahoo Finance,’ three people familiar with the news informed Reuters over this week.

However, the communication company managed to end its search recently, and refused to reveal the buyers’ names as the matter was private.

On Thursday, Verizon media firm made a statement and said,

“We do not comment on rumors and speculation. Yahoo Finance is integral to Verizon Media’s growth strategy. We continue to invest in the expansion of live programming, audio programming and the recently launched Yahoo Finance Premium product.”

Yahoo has become an integral part of the Verizon Media communication firm and also the main focus of its plans. Verizon plans to save Yahoo Finance, considered as one of the dominant set of internet assets which has been shrinking from 2000.

The two biggest brands under Verizon Media are Yahoo and AOL. Verizon Media also acquires Techcrunch and Engadget – the technologies based news websites and HuffPost-news publication, it also acquires Tumblr – a social media website.

US-based wireless service carrier never introduced a formal sales process but secretly emphasized willingness in Yahoo Finance despite restructuring its media section. Earlier the company was named as Oath and recently changed its name to Verizon Media.

Yahoo Finance was once considered as the most visited website by users across its business and finance news section in May 2019. Yahoo Finance attracted more than 100 million users across the world in 2019 and a strong competitor to its rivals. It outperformed leading financial news and business websites such as Forbes and CNBC, comScore- a media analytics firm revealed the information.

Despite the tremendous loss of value and usage of Verizon’s businesses, Yahoo Finance still holds a powerful position in the market.

The sources say, Verizon received spontaneous interest in Yahoo Finance business but failed to consider the discussions.

Earlier in 2015 and 2017, Verizon Media invested around $9.2 billion to acquire Yahoo and AOL.  Verizon Media faced difficulties with decreasing usage and revenue. Back in 201 Verizon net book value of its media assets was $4.6 billion.

Yahoo was founded in 1995 and was the beginning of the internet world. The company’s value during its highest level in the 1990s was estimated to more than $125 billion.

AOL revealed deal to purchase Time Warner by paying $165 billion in 2000 and the combined value of ALO after the announced was estimated to more than $340 billion.

It’s not clear how much Verizon was planning to get through Yahoo Finance sale. However, other publication deals might offer a standard for evaluation.

In June 2019, Yahoo Finance introduced a premium subscription to customers that will provide enhanced portfolio features, investment plans, and research report. Customers can avail this service by paying $50 every month.

An analyst, Walt Piecyk mentioned, Verizon is dedicating more towards its wireless business and less towards is media section ever since Verizon appointed new CEO in 2018, Hans Vestberg.

Piecyk stated,

“Whatever Verizon is able to sell (Yahoo Finance) for will not move the needle for the business.”

NEO Price Analysis: NEO down to $14.74, Will It Manage To Outsmart The Bears?

Felicia Learned
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NEO Price Analysis: NEO down to $14.74, Will It Manage To Outsmart The Bears?

Over the past month, NEO’s performance has been sluggish with the bears dominating the coin most of the time. NEO price reached a low of $11.08 on 6-June-19 as per 18:00 UTC. The movement of the coin was more or less stable from 6-June-19 till 22-June-19. Since 22-June, the prices saw a sharp rise and reached a level of $20.84 as per 00:45 UTC time. It could not survive its performance at this level, and prices slowly started to decline, and while writing, the movement of the coin was bearish.

Let us have a look at the NEO to USD price comparison:

Current Statistics of NEO:

  • Market Cap of NEO was $1,036,433,902 at 06:59 UTC.
  • Price of the coin is $14.77.
  • 24-hour volume is $484,842,241.
  • Circulating Supply is 70,538,831 NEO
  • NEO offers ROI of 8031.11%.

NEO Price Prediction and Conclusion:

Comparing the data of 26-June-19 and today, NEO price, which was $20.84 on 26th June and today the coin is reflecting a downward trend by 29%. The coin may reach to the highest level of $14.98 today but would not be able to sustain it before seeing a fall in the prices. After a week’s time, NEO will more or less gain stability and prices would be around $16. By the end of 2019, NEO can reach optimum levels of $25.

MACD indicator also confirms that the current movement of the coin reflects a downtrend. The coin was an overbought a couple of times in the month of June. NEO coins have been oversold yesterday and today in the early hours. Now the number of coins being traded in the market seems to be on the neutral area. Experts suggest waiting for a week’s time before you wish to invest in NEO as the coin will manage to bounce back from the current scenario by then.

Fresh Startup Boom Arrives in India as Tiger Global Goes on Deal Making Spree

Marisol Contreras
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Fresh Startup Boom Arrives in India as Tiger Global Goes on Deal Making Spree

The Indian startup ecosystem used to be one of the most vibrant in Asia even a couple of years ago, but in recent months space has gone through a bit of churn due to a range of factors, starting from drying up of investment capital to changes to the tax structure. However, it seems that things are now changing for the better as startup investment major Tiger Global Management has gone in aggressively into the Indian startup ecosystem and decided on investing in a range of companies as it tries to broaden its footprint in one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The hedge fund, which has investments worldwide, is known to be extremely secretive in nature and the startups in which it has invested is still unknown.

That being said, there are certain reports which state that some of the investments are in the enterprise software solution and Fintech space. In this regard, it needs to be said that the tech industry in India has been a target for investment from globally renowned investment vehicles for quite some time, but Tiger Global Management has actually made a series of deals and that makes these developments so important.

It is also important to note that the prospects of investing in startups in China have deteriorated considerably over the course of the past months due to a slowdown in the local economy and the trade war. In such a situation, it is only prudent for investors to bet on the second biggest economy in Asia. There is also a belief among investors that the Indian economy and the investment climate have matured considerably over the past few years. As a consequence, the country has now become a far more promising investment destination for many overseas investors. The Chief Executive Officer of one of the Indian startups stated,

“Investors are excited to see India’s transition from an IT services powerhouse to a rising B2B solutions hub. Not just Tiger — other global investors too are waking up to the exciting surge of B2B startups coming out of India.”

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