Good morning cryptonauts. We’re strapped in for a mission to mars but we have no idea when we’re leaving. Let’s hope it’s soon. Also — we only get one email a day and it’s from my girlfriend. So to get you guys involved and make it easy, here’s a (quick) feedback form. Just trying to make sure we’re keeping your inbox happy!
3 things you need to know:
One: Coinbase is coming to Japan. Nao Kitazawa will be the CEO of Coinbase Japan; he brings in experience as former COO of Money Design, and a former Investment Banker at Morgan Stanley. Nao is also a board member of the Fintech Association of Japan. Japan’s regulations have become stricter over time, however, Coinbase is no stranger to dealing with regulations and has always been one of the most compliant exchanges regarding state and federal regulations. Coinbase will likely continue this trend of close government cooperation in Japan.
Expansion: Currently, Coinbase is mainly available in North America and Europe. Singapore is the only supported Asian country, and even that only allows for buying and not selling of any cryptocurrencies. This marks Coinbase’s first major expansion outside of North America/Europe.
Two: South Korean government proposes reversal of ICO ban. The South Korean National Assembly has officially submitted a proposal to allow ICOs in the country again. The committee which made the recommendation went as far as to criticize the government for “neglecting its duty” in regards to fair regulation of the blockchain industry.
Economy: There is no reason that a government should not want legitimate ICOs to be conducted within its borders. Nowadays ICOs are rivaling IPOs in terms of capital raised. Establishing the proper legal and regulatory frameworks for companies to perform ICOs will be critical if countries want to retain talented workers (and taxes).
Three: China has built a blockchain system that replaces paper checks. Yea, all the news is out of Asia today. The rest of the world seems to be napping on blockchain. Well, apparently check fraud is rampant in China, and they have turned to issuing digital checks on the blockchain to help stem the issues. There are a ton of third party check issuers in China that will often issue
According to Di Gang, deputy head of the digital currency research lab at the People's Bank of China, the department has "completed the infrastructure of a system that issues digital checks based on a blockchain with smart contracts technology."
Tokenization is coming: Here is another great example of why blockchain systems are so powerful for finance and banking. Issuing checks on the blockchain brings liquidity improvements, transparency improvements and fraud reductions. All those benefits due to the tokenization thing we like to discuss here on CryptoAM.
What I’m reading today:
For those who don’t know, we have a town drunk of the cryptocurrency space. He has a history of making wild claims (that Bitcoin is going to $1M), tweeting ridiculous things, and charging terrible ICO’s thousands of dollars for a tweet. We’re talking about John McAfee of course.
Well he’s back in the spotlight because of his latest, greatest venture: The Declaration of Currency Independence. It’s exactly as fun as it sounds.
"We are not declaring Independence from State Controlled Currency -- We are declaring Controlled Currencies through fiat have been rendered Obsolete. Our reasons for declaring obsolescence are plentiful. Many deaths and crimes of the previous Century can be traced to unaccountable entities with control of currencies who have gained control of the many levers of power in order to direct the course of Humanity.”
Many choice quotes in this piece. Check out the website, and let me know what you think.
The best part: you can sign the letter on the ethereum blockchain... and McAfee is reimbursing all transaction fees associated.
Also in the news:
SEC Names Valerie A. Szczepanik as Senior Advisor for Digital Assets and Innovation
Binance’s Venture Fund Head Is Waiting for the ICO Bubble to Burst
Around the corner:
Stolen from some nice people on twitter:
All of these are tentative dates!
Market Outlook:
Nothing has changed. See Monday’s outlook or Friday's. Fear and Greed is about the same as well, indicating an uncertain market.
Here’s a piece of non-financial advice: Based on speculation being so low right now, alt coins are going to be hammered when BTC makes movements. I’m moving some crypto holdings away from low-caps and into BNB (why BNB?). If I was more traditional, I’d consider moving to BTC.
Here’s a reminder on what these criteria mean
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