Colleagues, the Cryptocurrency
Academy has written extensively about the need for digital assets to
cross the chasm from early adopter to mass-market adoption. We see several
financial management firms launch crypto trading and custody services for
institutional clients. We would like to offer two potential approaches, which
could dramatically accelerate individual trader transactions and dollar value.
One strategy is to OEM a crypto trading app onto all smartphones, tablets and
laptops – a simple pre-install placing the app on the ‘home’ screen alongside
email, weather, search and IM. Second, a much more challenging approach would
be to embed a crypto trading API pre-installed in Chrome, Firefox, IE and
Safari. This is precisely what the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is considering with regard
to Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. Bitcoin averages
some 275k transactions and $3.7B+ in market value per day (CoinMarketCap). The
implementation of either or both of the above techniques could help Bitcoin,
Altcoin and Stablecoins truly reach escape velocity. We predict implementation
led by W3C along with tier 1 browser and device vendors for industry-leading
BTC within 24 months. Share a comment today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)
Our mission is to provide Training and Certification programs to enable Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and FinTech traders and investors worldwide to achieve their career goals.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Can Blockchain deliver security, performance and dependability for Japan’s new Payment Clearing Network?
Colleagues, Blockchain
technology is about to meet once of its biggest challenges to date – the Japanese Banks'
Payment Clearing Network consortium. The
critical success factors include performance, security and dependability when
processing of low-cost transfer of small-scale transactions using RTGS.for nine commercial banks. Fujitsu has been selected to develop the new Blockchain-based
system. If this test proves successful, it will clearly distinguish Japan as a
“first mover” when it comes to the industrial use of Blockchain technology
among the world’s leading economies. One advantage here is the fact that all
the players are Japanese owned and operated entities and may benefit from both
technological and well as cultural synergies. China, South Korea and the US
will closely monitor this stress test as they seek to implement comparable
systems. Post a comment today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)
Monday, October 29, 2018
Does Blockchain’s DLT hold the key to Central Bank Digital Currency Adoption?
Colleagues, we have written
extensively on the propensity of central sovereign banks to issue their own
cryptocurrencies. The US Federal Reserve and the PBoC appear to be on opposite
ends of the adoption continuum. New research published by the OMFIF (Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum) and IBM point us to the Occam’s razor of CBCD
adoption: Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Download the CBDC report here.
Private sector ICOs continue to rise with no end in sight. While they
understand that their underlying Blockchain technology likely has bugs and
security vulnerabilities, financial institutions in particular – such as JP Morgan,
Fidelity,
BlackRock,
etc. – clearly see the benefits of trans-border remittances, increased
transaction speed and lower OPEX. In aggregate central bankers have major
reservations on the security and dependability of DLT. The report states that the
goal is to “construct a convincing RTGS replacement that
can be properly benchmarked against existing systems and meet the high
standards for security, robustness, efficiency and speed.” The PBOC is hiring staff
to develop its CBDC as we speak, whereas the US Fed is cautiously assessing its
options. Many other central banks are somewhere in between. Our prediction: By 2023,
most G20 nations will have launched their own CBDC. Post a comment today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)
Friday, October 26, 2018
Security Lies in the Balance as Blockchain’s LockBox Wallet Uses the SWAP Crypto-to-Crypto Brokerage
Colleagues, does the global cryptosphere truly need another hardware
wallet? The CEO of Blockchain clearly believes the answer is yes, indeed. The firm has announced
plans to begin shipping its new LockBox device this November. LockBox’s distinguishing features is that it
enables the exchange between different cryptocurrencies in partnership with SWAP brokerage. The value proposition is that traders can exchange Bitcoin for
Ethereum, XRP for LiteCoin, Ripple for Ether … you get the idea. Two key
factors will determine the success of LockBox. First is the Total Addressable Market
from “crypto-to-crypto” transfers. With a global market cap of some $209B we anticipate that roughly 10% of crypto traders will need to make such
a transfer during their financial careers. Second is the infamous security
challenge – how secure is the hardware wallet when connected to the Internet as
well as the security of LockBox’s interface with the SWAP brokerage when making
transactions. Our recommendation: Proceed with caution. Post a comment today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Japan’s Financial Services Agency Grants Third Party to Self-Regulate Cryptocurrencies – Is a Similar Move Likely in the US?
Colleagues, the Financial
Services Agency of
Japan has granted approval for the Japanese
Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) to self-regulate the exchange of
cryptocurrencies. Officially referred to as a "certified
fund settlement business association” (aka the Association of Certified Fund Settlement Business
Operators). The scope of the JVCEA appears to encompass the definition of
crypto exchanges policies, enforcement and impose unspecified penalties on
violators. This surely comes as music to the ears of Coincheck, Bitbank, GMO and other
exchanges based in the island nation. Bottom line: Would Japan’s
self-regulation model be acceptable to the US SEC or CFTC? Answer: Not a
chance. Both US regulatory bodies – while seeing the potential value of
cryptocurrencies – have major reservations regarding the security of crypto
exchanges, illicit activity performed on crypto exchanges (such as money
laundering, contraband and the undermining of economic trade sanctions) as well
as the legal categorization of digital assets as bona fide “securities” or
“commodities”. Post a comment today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Tether and Bitcoin: David vs. Goliath – A Match Made in Hades?
Colleagues, Bitcoin without doubt is the poster children for
cryptocurrencies. Despite its flaws and dramatic price decrease, since December
2017 it commands some 51% market share of the $209B global cryptocurrency value
based data from CoinMarketCap.
By all accounts Tether
is a third-tier Stablecoin pegged to the US dollar …
currently trading at 0.985 cents to the greenback. Tether does rank as the eighth
largest cryptocurrency by weighted market cap with a little over 2B tokens in
circulation. The central issue is whether Tether has been used to manipulate
the value of Bitcoin – a $2B fiat-back Stablecoin influencing the industry
leading BTC weighing in at $112B market cap. In a paper released by a
University of Texas professor entitled Is Bitcoin
Really Un-Tethered? The report makes a compelling case that “Less
than 1% of hours with such heavy Tether transactions are associated with 50% of
the meteoric rise in Bitcoin.” A bevy of articles by respected publications
including the New
York Times, CCN,
Coin
Telegraph, Coin
Desk and CryptoSlate
appear to validate the U of T statistical thesis of Dr. John Griffin. The
unanswered question concerns motive. We will explore this issue further and report
our conclusions. Post a comment today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
What can the US SEC and PBoC learn from the EU ESMA regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies?
Colleagues, while the US SEC has an ongoing debate whether
crypto assets are securities or commodities, the European
Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) central focus is on the
“transferability” of the asset. Transferable assets may fall under the
jurisdiction of the ESMA’s existing Markets in
Financial Instruments Directive II. Herein we have two of the world’s three
geo-economic regions with different approaches to the potential regulation of
digital assets. Which leads us to East Asia – Japan, South Korea and China – which
have be the vanguard of cryptocurrency adoption (ICOs, exchanges and mining). The
PBoC definitely anticipates a sovereign bank-sponsored
cryptocurrency in its future, however, has major reservations about the impact
of digital assets in general on the price of the yuan. The Cryptocurrency Academy
predicts that the world’s three geo-economic regions will resolve the
regulatory ambiguity over the next 24-26 months. The fundamental question
remains: Will the EU, US and East Asia arrive at similar or conflicting
regulation frameworks? We will continue to scrutinize and report on regulatory
developments affecting crypocurrency adoption. Post a comment today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
Colleagues, crypto time warp attacks occur when miners collude to report incorrect timestamps that are farther apart, messing with the ...
-
Crypto Traders, gain a competitive advantage in cryptocurrency and Bitcoin trading with three complementary programs. First, the Certified C...
-
Colleagues, we have written extensively about the CBDC initiatives underway in China (PBoC), US (US Federal Reserve) and the UK (Bank of...