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Wal l S tr e e t runs to Cryptocurrency (Cointelegraph) The recent low volatility in the stock market has led institutional investors to begin researching investments into cryptocurrencies. Traditional assets are reasonably predictable, unlike the crypto market. Institutional investors use their financial literacy, analysis and open information to value assets - this is not possible for the vast majority of cryptos since they do not confer access to, or ownership of cash flows. This volatility is most evident in erratic behaviour of Bitcoin.
Public debate on Bitcoin to be held at 2018 G20 Summit (Reuters) Governments are starting to take cryptocurrency seriously, with France’s finance minister calling for a public debate on Bitcoin at this year’s G20 Summit in Buenos Aires. Despite boasting a more than US $500 billion market cap - cryptocurrencies are still a small market (Consider the stock market, which is worth US $69 trillion). However, their growth has been astounding, and, as cryptos continue to soar, governments are looking to better regulate and understand the use cases for cryptocurrencies. Some governments have started to research how to use Blockchain for government tasks. Furthermore, large, private institutions have began to adopt Blockchain - such as the ASX.
S o uth Ko r ea on the v er g e o f r eg ulation wh ile P hilippines co ns ide rs It (Co in Teleg r aph) Many suspect that South Korea will soon take further actions to ban, or regulate the use of cryptocurrencies. As the adoption of crypto accelerates in South Korea, the government has made a point of reiterating its scepticism regarding the unregulated nature of cryptos. The government has taken a paternalistic stance and believes it necessary to protect their citizens from the risk inherent to these markets. Further regulation could drastically shock the market. In the long term, however, regulation could be central in improving the adoption of crypto usage.
RSK Mines Its Genesis Block – Bitcoin Now Has an Ethereum- Like Smart Contracts Platform (Bitcoin. com) Brazil to w r i te l a w s o n t h e b l ock c h a i n (C o i n d es k ) The Brazilian Government is looking to start processing petitions and writing laws on the blockchain. Brazil would be the second government to adopt blockchain into its government duties. This would allow every citizen to vote secretly without any third party tampering. The application would be a Dapp built on the Ethereum blockchain, allowing the government to ensure security. fintech review
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RSK Labs launched its mainnet in a beta with a limited distribution. Mining their genesis block at 1:41 am CST on January 4, 2018 after nearly 3 years of preparation. The launch of this test mainnet brings smart contracts and side chains to Bitcoin. When speaking about the launch of the main net, Diego Gutierrez said “We’re very excited to share the RSK main net network with the global community.” This comes after the source code for the mainnet was released in early December 2017 for peer review.
The Philippine’s SEC is also currently exploring the best ways to regulate trading cryptocurrencies. Recent policies by Belarus and other relevant nations on cryptocurrency are being taken into consideration. The responsibility for enforcing exchange regulations will fall to the Philippine’s central bank. Ultimately, for cryptocurrencies to be used like fiat currencies are used today, they need to be recognised by legislators.
