Cyprus SEC gets Tough on International Forex, Bitcoin Traders

Cyprus SEC gets Tough on International Forex BitcoinTraders

Cyprus SEC gets Tough on International Forex, Bitcoin Traders

International Forex trading hub Cyprus has signaled that “comply or close shop” standards will be enforced within nine months, causing uncertainty among FX companies, some of them holding Bitcoin/fiat positions.

 

Retail trading companies located on the island offering clients Bitcoin/fiat pair options have yet to be instructed on Bitcoin options but the latest Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) statements and the Central Bank of Cyprus’ view on cryptocurrencies may put these operations into question.

Cyprus is host to about 80 percent of the world’s retail FX and binary options companies, nestled in the financial district of Limassol. The rising number of complaints risks tarnishing the industry that is still growing at a fast pace.

Abrupt meeting

On Tuesday, CySEC Chairman Demetra Kalogerou lined up the executives of the island’s Forex firms for an abrupt closed doors meeting. Sources presented at the meeting told Finance Feeds that the change is coming to the industry in what may be a make or break phase
 

The retail forex trading industry grew rapidly lately, surviving some scandals. Some firms have already paid heavy fines, already to the tune of over three million euros on the island alone.

Uncertainty

As early as 2014, the Central Bank of Cyprus issued a warning on the risks associated with virtual currencies when certain companies have introduced the dollar/Bitcoin pair.

It still holds a neutral stance, while suggesting traders or holders of virtual currencies take steps to protect themselves as they are yet to be regulated. It is uncertain how the latest development will influence companies offering dollar/Bitcoin pairs.

New regulations aimed at protecting clients might affect the cryptocurrency trading options
 

Call centers to be banned

Calling out the boiler room tactics used via call centers, Kalogerou looks to ban them entirely. Sales staff will be required to change from cold callers into CySEC licensed and examined professionals starting this year. A warning was raised against reports of giving clients financial advice and offices will have to be set up in countries where a substantial number of clients reside to better represent them
 

Affiliate marketing has yet to be called out for a strict ban or not, while Ms. Kalogerou sternly raised concerns as to how to monitor marketers on how and what they advertise to potential clients.

“We do not like introducing brokers at all, we do not like affiliates,” said Kalogerou on the topic of affiliates.

Leverage limits

Leverage limits will now be set to a maximum of 1:50 until clients request and show an aptitude for more. Currently, leverage as high as 1:500 is available to retail clients. The commission already requested a 1:50 cap in November 2016, calling anything above that “excessive leverage.
 

With European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and Markets in Financial Directive II (MiFID II) legislation set forth by the EU, the market it set to get its act together. Furthermore, CySEC has made it clear that the corporate tax efficient environment of Cyprus will not play host to those who cannot or will not comply.

David
Ogden

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Buy Bitcoin at Paybis With Credit Cards, Its Easy

buy bitcoin at paybis with credit cards its easy

 Buy Bitcoin at Paybis  With Credit Cards, Its Easy

 

EDINBURGH, Scotland, April 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Users on the leading digital and cryptocurrency exchange platform Paybis can now buy Bitcoin instantly with their credit card. The new feature makes Paybis one among the few platforms that offer such an option.

 

Paybis accepts credit cards issued by major providers like Visa, MasterCard, etc. on its secure platform. Those making use of the "Bitcoin with Credit Card" option on the platform are assured to receive the cryptocurrency as soon as the card company approves their transaction. Buying Bitcoin with Credit Card is a convenient process where users can simply create an account on PayBis.com and sign in with either Facebook or Google for speed and convenience. Once verified, users will be able to choose the amount for which they wish to buy the cryptocurrency and execute payment.

 

Paybis implements a quick, simple and easy to follow identity verification stage that takes as less as 30 minutes in processing time. The platform has a simple tiered system for those wanting to purchase Bitcoin with other payment methods, where they can increase the spending limits by successfully completing different levels of verification. New users can enjoy an impressive weekly credit card purchase allowance of $5,000 or a monthly allowance of $ 20,000 USD.
 

Other payment methods supported by Paybis in addition to the Bitcoin with Credit Card option includes the likes of PayPal, Western Union, MoneyGram, OKPay, WebMoney, Skrill, Perfect Money, EPay, Yandex Money, Payeer, and Payza. The platform also offers the popular gift card to Bitcoin option that supports a range of gift cards from Amazon, Target, Walmart and other mainstream US vendors.

 

The feature-packed Paybis cryptocurrency platform, with its attention to detail and an easy-to-use interface, provides a 24/7 live customer support for its users. The website's design shares similarities with major online trading platforms to give its customers a familiar feel. Paybis takes its users' security and privacy seriously and ensures adequate protections by implementing state-of-the-art security for transactions happening over the platform. It also has a fast, fully automated payments and transfer process to provide instant delivery of Bitcoin to the customers.

 

Paybis believes in maintaining a transparent operating process with no hidden charges for the benefit of its clients. The fee structure and exchange rates for all payment methods can be directly accessed on Paybis website. All these features make Paybis one of the trusted platform among the community members with impressive feedback ratings to prove it. Paybis has completed over 50,000 transactions so far for more than 20,000 happy customers. It is going to further improve in the coming days with the introduction of few new features and products.
 

About Paybis
 

Started in 2014, Paybis is a fast-growing cryptocurrency and digital currency exchange platform. It is run by a group of experienced professionals from various industries with the aim of solving one of the actual e-commerce problems faced by the cryptocurrency and digital currency segment. Paybis is one of the few cryptocurrency platforms with a valid federal Money Service Business (MSB) license in the United States.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

 

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin Steams Ahead

Bitcoin Steams ahead

Bitcoin Steams Ahead

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts will have noticed that bitcoin’s price has been going up steadily over the past few days. It is always difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for this behavior. Japan’s new cryptocurrency regulation went into effect, and there is a big bitcoin marketing campaign on the /r/place subreddit. Both factors may contribute to future bitcoin price gains moving forward.

BITCOIN PRICE PREPARES FOR ANOTHER MAJOR RALLY

It is impossible to deny the recent bitcoin price gains. Over the past few days, the value per BTC has surpassed US$1,100 once again, after a few weeks of downward price momentum. Enthusiasts always believed this negative price trend was only temporary, though, as there is no reason for the bitcoin price to lose value over time.

That being said, the ongoing scalability debate hasn’t done the bitcoin price any good. Bitcoin Core and Unlimited supporters continue to “duke it out” on the internet, which generates some negative attention for the popular cryptocurrency altogether. However, it would appear even those debates are no longer sufficient to keep the bitcoin price down for an extended period of time.

It is also worth mentioning there is some positive attention on bitcoin right now. Japan recently introduced their new virtual currency regulation, which effectively removes the sales tax on bitcoin purchases. This makes bitcoin more approachable and affordable to everyday consumers in the country. Regulatory developments like these can pave a bright future for bitcoin moving forward.

Moreover, there is a dedicated bitcoin marketing campaign taking place on the /r/place subreddit. Reddit remains a key place to discuss bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Advertising on other subreddits will introduce more mainstream internet users to cryptocurrency as a whole, which can only be a positive thing in the long run. The bitcoin logo is getting some good exposure on this subreddit, that much is certain.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

 

Author JP Buntinx

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Poloniex-Traders-Panic-and-Suffer-Losses-Due-to-System-issues

Poloniex-Traders-Panic-and-Suffer-Losses-Due-to-System-issues

Poloniex – Traders Panic and Suffer Losses Due to System issues

Plenty of cryptocurrency traders are not too amused with Poloniex right now. The popular altcoin exchange suffered from several brief outages yesterday. During the panic, the Ripple price crashed hard and Ethereum lost US$1bn in market cap. It is unclear what occurred exactly, but we do know traders lost a lot of money in the process. It is unclear what will happen to the people who lost money, though.

Trading cryptocurrencies is always a risky business. Money can be earned and lost in a matter of mere seconds. However, if a popular exchange goes down and traders can’t execute orders, something is definitely amiss. Poloniex had a lot of issues last night after Ripple reached a new all-time high. Shortly after this happened, the platform became unresponsive.

Poloniex Suffers From Brief Outages Once Again

It was not just the web frontend suffering from these problems. The Poloniex API, used in tools such as TabTrader, became unresponsive as well. The company acknowledged the outage and trading resumed back to normal relatively quickly. However, a lot of users have suffered from spotty accessibility for several hours. During that time, trading just continued as normal, allowing some people to take advantage of the situation.

To be more specific, Ethereum lost close to US$1bn of its market cap during the trading frenzy. Events like these should not occur in the first place. Moreover, some people feel Poloniex should have halted all trading until the platform was operational again. This goes to show the platform cannot handle increased trading volume for an extended period of time. That is quite disconcerting, to say the least, given Poloniex’s position in the market.

One thing is certain: a lot of people have lost faith in Poloniex for the time being. One Reddit user even calls it an ‘organized scam crime website”, although that may be a too strong sentiment. It is true this is not the first time the exchange suffers from such outages, though. If these problems continue, Poloniex will quickly lose its market position. After all, the company has to provide exchange services around the clock, yet appears incapable of doing so.

It is unclear how much money people lost due to these issues, though. Ethereum’s market crashing and the unexpected Ripple dump raise a lot more questions than answers right now. Poloniex has some explaining to do, albeit it is safe to assume no one will be reimbursed for their losses. Centralized exchanges continue to pose a problem for traders. No exchange is always reliable or accessible, that much is certain.

Many years ago I suffered a significant loss when fiat currency trading, when I loss Internet access to my trading site at a crucial time. These outages underline the importance of setting stop losses.

David Ogden
Entrepeneur

 

Author JP Buntinx

Header image courtesy of Shutterstock

 

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin Recognised as a Currency in Japan

Bitcoin Recognised  as a Currency in Japan

bitcoin recognised as a currency in japan

Bitcoin has finally gained the recognition of a mainstream currency along the lines of other fiat currencies. The privilege follows the implementation of a new law in Japan which categorizes Bitcoin as a legal payment option within the country. The much-awaited law went into effect on April 1, 2017 (beginning of a new fiscal year in many countries).

With the new law’s implementation, Bitcoin exchanges will also come under additional regulatory scrutiny. The recognition of cryptocurrency as a legal tender also means the applicability of regulations governing banks and financial institutions to cryptocurrency exchange platforms. They will be required to comply with strict anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, alongEntrepreneur with annual audits. Other requirements include meeting the stated capital and cyber security requirements to ensure consumer protection.

The recognition of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as legal payment instruments is good news for the global cryptocurrency ecosystem. Adoption of cryptocurrency is expected to increase among people, which will, in turn, drive demand and price.

However, reports indicate that the cryptocurrency platforms are still trying to figure out ways to achieve compliance with the new regulations. Recognizing the exchanges’ needs, the Accounting Standards Board of Japan has announced that it has started working on creating an accounting framework for both user and businesses dealing with cryptocurrencies.

It might take a while before companies and individuals get acquainted with the accounting practices, which has raised concerns about legal implications of inaccurate reporting’s/filings due to lack of understanding. Also, few publications have raised concerns about the volatility of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and how it might impact those making cryptocurrency transactions.

The new developments are expected to drive the cryptocurrency usage in Japan to over $9 billion in the next three years (2020), which is more than five times the 2015’s $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in circulation.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

 

Author: Gautham

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin vs Gold: Which is a Better for Long Term Investment

bitcoin v gold which is the better investment

Bitcoin vs Gold: Which is a Better for Long Term Investment

 

Imagine that you have $100,000 at your disposal. You must spend all of it on either bitcoin or gold – no mixing and matching – and the assets will then be stored in a trust that cannot be accessed again for 50 years.

Which option would you choose?

With the two commodities now in roughly the same price range, it's worth putting aside some of bitcoin's short-term volatility and liquidity concerns to compare them as long-term stores of value side by side.

Sure, you might argue bitcoin is newer and flashier, and that it has arguably more utility in the digital era than gold. But, gold has the indisputable track record, having been a cherished store of value for thousands of years across human civilizations.

However, bitcoin's traits have led to those backing the cryptocurrency to believe it could potentially unseat gold over the long haul.

Spencer Bogart, an analyst with Blockchain Capital and formerly of Needham & Company, told CoinDesk:

"If we think about the qualities that make gold a respected 'money' or store of value, bitcoin is actually superior in many regards."

Inflation vs deflation

Another key advantage bitcoin has over gold is that its supply level is fixed and transparent – eliminating fears of the typical inflationary pressures associated with overproduction that could diminish the value of the asset.

"A well-known characteristic about bitcoin is that it’s on a disinflationary supply schedule. While many people think of gold as being the same, gold is actually a sneakily inflationary asset," said Chris Burniske, blockchain products lead with ARK Investment Management.

Burniske added that the global supply of gold has clandestinely increased by 1–2% annually over the last century.

He continued:

"If you were to ask people what gold's supply schedule looks like over time, they probably wouldn't draw you something that looks like an exponential curve. With gold being sneakily inflationary, it’s not set up to preserve value in the way that bitcoin is."

Such characteristics, in theory, serve to increase bitcoin’s future utility as a means of account, exchange and storing value.

They also suggest that bitcoin's value, usefulness and importance to society will only continue to grow as commerce becomes more digitized.

"As more infrastructure is built around [bitcoin], we think that demand will rise relative to its mathematically metered supply, increasing its price support," Burniske wrote in a recent white paper.

Slow and steady

The clear advantages that gold has over bitcoin are trust and reliability, according to those surveyed for this article. However, a change in consumer preferences, new technological disruption or a crackdown by a government could easily kick bitcoin to the end of the bench.

"Gold has something very important that bitcoin lacks: a more than 1,000-year history of being a decent store of value. This is very important for trust and people's willingness to store value in that particular asset," said Bogart.

Gold has also proven itself to be of value even when governments attempt to restrict its usage or outlaw it completely.

This happened in 1933, when President Franklin D Roosevelt implemented measures to prohibit and criminalize its possession in the US.

"For more than 5,000 years gold and silver have been tried-and-true money. They've lasted basically the duration of organized civilization," said Dave Kranzler of Investment Research Dynamics.

In this light, Kranzler was keen to highlight bitcoin's 'counterparty risk'.

Gold's advantage over bitcoin is that it's not dependent on the operation of the internet, thus affording it a degree of protection from heavy-handed regimes, he said.

"There’s nothing to stop any government from shutting down the internet in their country under the guise of national security purposes or what not,” he said, adding:

"We’ve seen democracies come and go, but totalitarianism always seems to creep back in. And when that happens, the government controls everything."

Elemental value

Gold has also proven itself immune to technological disruption.

According to Burniske, while bitcoin has generated significant cultural cachet, it remains at the bleeding edge and could still be dethroned relatively easily.

"That position is not necessarily going to remain the case if bitcoin is not able to attract new users and provide a happy medium in terms of user experience," he said.

Yet, as asset classes like Dutch tulips, Japanese real estate, dot-com companies and the US housing market have boomed and busted, gold has consistently plodded ahead, withstanding the test of time.

"I don’t think anyone can say with any certainty that any man-made system is going to be valuable 50 years from now," said Josh Crumb, co-founder of GoldMoney and a former commodities strategist at Goldman Sachs.

He continued:

 

"People forget that gold is not a pet rock or a speculative asset, it's an element. Gold is a very low-risk store of value. Fifty years from now it’s going to still be valuable."

While investors like Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have suggested that technological developments as far fetched as asteroid mining could eventually put upward pressure on the total supply of gold (and reduce its scarcity), Crumb reckons that technological creative destruction poses a much greater threat to bitcoin.

"People have been trying to crack gold for 600 years. I think it's much more likely that we're going to have quantum computing that can change cryptography than asteroid mining that's going to bring back loads of gold," he said.

Complementary or substitutionary?

Perhaps asking whether bitcoin will ever unseat gold as the universal store of value isn't quite appropriate, as it's plausible that the two can, and will, co-exist as complementary assets.

"I like bitcoin, particularly in the short-term, so it's kind of like saying 'Do you like gold or do you like investing in Facebook in 2011?'" said Crumb. "To me, it’s two totally different things."

As is standard practice across other realms of investing, the correct answer to the bitcoin versus gold question will ultimately be determined by the risk profile of each particular investor.

"In terms of proper portfolio construction, you want to diversify. You want to have different types of assets that don’t necessarily move together," said Burniske, concluding:

"There's always room for collaboration. It’s sensational to pit [bitcoin versus gold] as a fight to the death."
 

David Ogden
Entrepreneur
 

Author: Aaron Stanley

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Indians Petition Government Demanding Legal Status for Cryptocurrencies

indians petition government demanding leagal status for cryptocurrencies

Indians Petition Government Demanding Legal Status for Cryptocurrencies

The Indian cryptocurrency ecosystem recently woke up to a shocking news on leading media outlets. It was reported that the use of Bitcoin in the country is illegal and could attract penalties under anti-money laundering laws. However, the report was not entirely accurate, and the news platforms were quoting a Member of Parliament seeking the implementation of cryptocurrency regulations by calling Bitcoin a “Ponzi scheme”.

While the confusion was eventually cleared, the incident has sown the seeds of mistrust about the government’s stance on the digital currency. Going by the example of few drastic decisions taken by the government in the past, they have come together to demand some clarity from the government regarding its stance on cryptocurrency. They have started an online signature campaign, petitioning the government to award a legal status for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the country.

The petition is probably the first strong public campaign organized by the recently formed Digital Asset and Blockchain Foundation of India. Addressed to Arun Jaitley — India’s Finance Minister, Urjit Patel – Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and S Selvakumar – the Joint Secretary of the Department of Economics Affairs Room, the petition makes a mention of various benefits offered by Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and how it can be used for the betterment of the country. Also, it asks the government to take steps towards stopping bad actors who misuse the cryptocurrency than banning the technology and its use.

The petition on Change.org also says,

“Cryptocurrencies will be available irrespective and the illegal users do not care about its legal status. Please do not take hasty steps and prevent innovation, economic activity and jobs. This will only stop good uses of cryptocurrencies.”

In a country which has a considerable percentage of the unbanked population and ranks at the top for receiving the highest remittance, Bitcoin can offer an efficient and inexpensive solution. The use of cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology will not only speed up the financial services sector but also a range of other industries. With the adoption of distributed ledger technology, the government can also combat rampant corruption and red tape. But strict cryptocurrency regulations will stifle progress in this regard, preventing the country from keeping up with the global trend.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

 

Author: Gautham

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden