Buy Bitcoin in Japan

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You'll need a Bitcoin wallet before you buy since some exchanges require one.

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Coinmama

Coinmama allows customers in almost every country to buy bitcoin with a credit or debit card. They charge an

6% fee on each purchase.

Works in almost all countries
Highest limits for buying bitcoins with a credit card
Reliable and trusted broker

Some of the highest fees among credit/debit card bitcoin brokers

LocalBitcoins

LocalBitcoins is an escrow service which also helps to match bitcoin buyers and sellers. The most common method of payment for purchase is cash deposit. However, users may advertise trades for whichever payment method they prefer.

Can be private, fast and easy
In-person trades require no personal information
Purchases of bitcoin can be made quickly via cash deposit

Beware of scams; always follow the rules!
Harder to buy large amounts of bitcoins compared to large exchanges
Slightly to significantly higher prices than regular exchanges; premium for higher privacy

bitFlyer

bitFlyer is the largest Bitcoin broker and exchange in Japan, in terms of users, average daily volume and investment capital. In fact, it is one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the world. You can deposit funds via credit card or bank transfers, with Quick Deposit functionality enabled for many banks.

Business / Corporate May 10, 2018

by Yuji Nakamura, Hideki Sagiike and Takahiko Hyuga

Yuzo Kano is trying to build a global cryptocurrency powerhouse, one former financier at a time. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. alumnus, who turned bitFlyer Inc. into Japan's largest bitcoin exchange, is scooping up traders and bankers from both his old employer and former rivals .

World / Crime & Legal Apr 19, 2018

An Icelandic man arrested on suspicion of stealing about 600 computers used to mine the cryptocurrency bitcoin escaped prison and fled the country on a commercial flight to Sweden, Icelandic state broadcaster RUV said on Wednesday. The same Icelandair flight was also taking Icelandic Prime .

National / Crime & Legal Apr 11, 2018

Seven men in Hyogo Prefecture have been arrested on suspicion of swindling a man out of bitcoins worth around ¥190 million ($1.8 million), police said Wednesday. The police believe the men, all in their 20s, conned a Tokyo marketing firm president in his 40s into .

Business / Financial Markets Apr 4, 2018

Bitcoin investing is popular in Japan, but the nation has also had several high-profile cryptocurrency heists. Now, the central bank has come up with a rather negative Q&A for those seeking answers on cryptocurrencies. The page is called "Let's think about cryptocurrencies!" and was released .

Business Mar 30, 2018

Bitcoin's miserable quarter isn't over yet. The world's biggest cryptocurrency by market value dropped below the $7,000 mark Friday morning in Asia for the first time since early February, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It fell as low as $6,912 before rebounding, trading at $7,094 .

Business Mar 28, 2018

A growing number of internet companies are banning cryptocurrency advertising, fearing reputational damage if their users are duped or left penniless, even as regulators struggle to get to grips with the fast-emerging industry. Twitter on Tuesday began blocking crypto ads, becoming the latest internet giant .

Business Mar 27, 2018

Twitter on Monday announced a ban on ads for initial offerings of cryptocurrency or sales of virtual currency tokens, sending the value of bitcoin diving below $8,000. Twitter followed the lead of Google and Facebook, which earlier this year cracked down on digital currency ads .

Business Mar 23, 2018

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by traded value, is seeking a fresh start in the Mediterranean. The company, founded last year in Hong Kong, is planning to open an office in Malta, Chief Executive Officer Zhao Changpeng said in an interview. Binance will soon .

Business / Financial Markets Mar 20, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday barred U.S. firms and citizens from dealing in Venezuela's new cryptocurrency. Trump issued an executive order proscribing "all transactions related to" the new currency, "Petro," which is designed to compensate for a massive government cash crisis. The Latin American country .

Business Mar 20, 2018

Getting your head around cryptocurrencies was hard enough before governments got involved. But now that policymakers around the world are drawing up fresh regulations on everything from exchanges to initial coin offerings, keeping track of what's legal has become just as daunting as figuring .

Business Mar 17, 2018

The hacked cryptocurrency exchange says it will no longer handle Monero, Dash or Zcash because their anonymity features present a high money laundering risk.

Business / Financial Markets | CURRENCY MARKET Mar 16, 2018

The tea leaves don't bode well for Bitcoin. Traders who look for future price direction in chart patterns are finding more indicators suggesting the world's largest digital currency may have further to fall. Bitcoin's 50-day moving average has dropped to the closest proximity to its 200-day .

Bitcoin Regulation In Japan

Different governments have taken different stances on Bitcoin. For example, Bangladesh has outlawed it and Germany considers it “private money.”

Within the US, different states have different standpoints, as each state possesses respective laws.

Japan has decided to take an interesting stance on it.

Mt Gox, which was based in Japan, went bankrupt in February 2014, reportedly losing some 850,000 bitcoins (332,100,000 USD as of today). This was the first time most Japanese people heard about Bitcoin. Now it’s a familiar term in the country.

Since then, many companies have launched bitcoin related services.

In March of 2014, the Japanese government made a cabinet decision on the legal treatment of Bitcoin. The decision did not rule bitcoin as currency nor as a bond; this prohibited banks and securities companies from dealing with bitcoins.

An 8% Consumption Tax will be levied on sales of Bitcoin because of existing laws. However if bitcoins are purchased from consumers (even if you purchase it through exchange), no consumption tax will be levied.

The Japanese Government ultimately ruled that it is not necessary to regulate sales, purchases, and/or exchanges of bitcoins.

Japan has recognized Bitcoin’s great potential, and, in a gallant act of confidence, has asked members within the bitcoin industry to form a self-regulatory authority.

It is called the Japan Authority of Digital Assets (JADA). JADA is supported by Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP)’s IT committee, and is currently in discussion with Japanese government offices. There is no specific governmental office that regulates JADA.

I met So Saito, the legal council to JADA, at the NYC Bitcoin Center, where he came to speak about Bitcoin regulation in Japan.

“LDP would like to make Japan the most Bitcoin friendly country,” says So Saito.

JADA’s purposes include:

make AML and security guidelines

audit exchanges pursuant to the above guideline

research the bitcoin business

have discussions with governmental offices

have discussions with digital currency companies and digital currency related organizations

hold digital currency events

help new digital currency companies

provide consultation regarding digital currencies

They have announced that they would would like to cooperate with US companies.

Recent JADA press conference in Japan

JADA is in constant discussion with the National Tax Authority (NTA), police agency, and other governmental offices. They are currently discussing the possible removal of the8% consumption tax with the NTA.

The core members of JADA include bitFlyer (exchange), Kraken Japan (exchange), and CoinPass (settlement).

The chief of JADA is Mr. Yuzo Kano, the CEO of bitFlyer. bitFlyer has recently acquired 236K USD in funding. Mr. Kano left his previous job as a trader to found his company after the failure of Mt Gox.

“I believe that starting members will become 10-15 companies although we are still discussing this,’ says So Saito.

JADA is also currently busy drafting guidelines regarding AML/KYC, security and consumer protection especially discussion on level of requirements.

In trying to develop a fully-functioning agency, So Saito outlines one of the main challenges.

“The Bitcoin industry is still quite young and there are many new startups. If we require high standards for entry to JADA, small companies may not be able to join. However, if we require low standards, others (consumers, banks and so on) will not trust JADA, and Bitcoin. Balance is always important.”

“Bitcoin,” he adds, “has huge potential and many new companies enter the industry. I expect more than 100 companies will be members of JADA in three years.”

Visit JADA’s website here.

Which government is correct? It seems as if Bitcoin integration will generally be a trial and error process; different governments can learn from each other in deciding how they will treat it.

In all parts of the world people are working to make Bitcoin work. Different cultures bring with them their own inherent methodologies and cultural codes that, over time, will help to reveal the best way of approaching this new technology.

Japan's Bitcoin Law Goes Into Effect Tomorrow

Japan is set to begin recognizing bitcoin as a legal method of payment starting tomorrow.

The country's legislature passed a law, following months of debate, that brought bitcoin exchanges under anti-money laundering/know-your-customer rules, while also categorizing bitcoin as a kind of prepaid payment instrument.

It's a debate that began in the wake of the collapse of Mt Gox, the now-defunct bitcoin exchange that shuttered after months of growing complications and, in the end, revelations of insolvency and alleged fraud.

According to Japan's Financial Services Agency, that law goes into effect on 1st April, putting in place capital requirements for exchanges as well as cybersecurity and operational stipulations. In addition, those exchanges will also be required to conduct employee training programs and submit to annual audits.

Yet there may be more work to come in this area.

For example, Nomura Research Institute's Yasutake Okano indicated in a May 2016 report that other Japanese laws may need to change to account for the tech, including the Banking Act and Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

Reports indicate that other groups in Japan are moving to plug some of those gaps as well.

According to a report from Nikkei, the Accounting Standards Board of Japan decided earlier this week to begin developing standards for digital currencies like bitcoin. Its work mirrors other efforts being undertaken elsewhere, including Australia, which began pushing for such standards late last year.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Your search engine does not find any satisfactory results for searches. It is too weak. Also, the server of bing is often off

I created a yahoo/email account long ago but I lost access to it; can y'all delete all my yahoo/yahoo account except for my newest YaAccount

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chithidio@Yahoo.com

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RYAN RAHSAD BELL literally means

Question on a link

In the search for Anaïs Nin, one of the first few links shows a picture of a man. Why? Since Nin is a woman, I can’t figure out why. Can you show some reason for this? Who is he? If you click on the picture a group of pictures of Nin and no mention of that man. Is it an error?

Repair the Yahoo Search App.

Yahoo Search App from the Google Play Store on my Samsung Galaxy S8+ phone stopped working on May 18, 2018.

I went to the Yahoo Troubleshooting page but the article that said to do a certain 8 steps to fix the problem with Yahoo Services not working and how to fix the problem. Of course they didn't work.

I contacted Samsung thru their Samsung Tutor app on my phone. I gave their Technican access to my phone to see if there was a problem with my phone that stopped the Yahoo Search App from working. He went to Yahoo and I signed in so he could try to fix the Yahoo Search App not working. He also used another phone, installed the app from the Google Play Store to see if the app would do any kind of search thru the app. The Yahoo Search App just wasn't working.

I also had At&t try to help me because I have UVERSE for my internet service. My internet was working perfectly. Their Technical Support team member checked the Yahoo Search App and it wouldn't work for him either.

We can go to www.yahoo.com and search for any topic or website. It's just the Yahoo Search App that won't allow anyone to do web searches at all.

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I noticed that right after I accepted the agreement that said Oath had joined with Verizon I started having the problem with the Yahoo Search App.
No matter what I search for or website thru the Yahoo Search App it says the following after I searched for
www.att.com.

WEBPAGE NOT AVAILABLE
This webpage at gttp://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geJGq8BbkrgALEMMITE5jylu=X3oDMTEzcTjdWsyBGNvbG8DYmyxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDTkFQUEMwxzEEc2VjA3NylRo=10/Ru=https%3a%2f%2fwww.att.att.com%2f/Rk=2/Es=plkGNRAB61_XKqFjTEN7J8cXA-
could not be loaded because:
net::ERR_CLEARTEXT_NOT_PERMITTED

I tried to search for things like www.homedepot.com. The same thing happened. It would say WEBPAGE NOT AVAILABLE. The only thing that changed were all the upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
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could not be loaded because:
net::ERR_CLEARTEXT_NOT_PERMITTED

This is the same thing that happened when Samsung and At&t tried to do any kind of searches thru the Yahoo Search App.

Yahoo needs to fix the problem with their app.

Yahoo Search App from the Google Play Store on my Samsung Galaxy S8+ phone stopped working on May 18, 2018.

I went to the Yahoo Troubleshooting page but the article that said to do a certain 8 steps to fix the problem with Yahoo Services not working and how to fix the problem. Of course they didn't work.

Bitcoin Soars to Record High of $1,400 Due to High Demand in Japan

(LONDON) — Bitcoin surged to an all-time high above $1,400 on Tuesday, after more than tripling in value over the past year, with its most recent rise attributed to strong demand in Japan, where the digital currency has been deemed a legal means of payment.

Cryptocompare, a data website that analyses bitcoin trading across dozens of exchanges globally, said around 50 percent of trading volume over the past 24 hours had been on the bitcoin/Japanese yen exchange rate.

“The Japanese have recently warmed their approach towards bitcoin by treating it legally as a form of payment – a ratification and bringing into the regulatory fold,” said Charles Hayter, the website’s founder.

“China’s clampdown on exchanges can also be seen as a positive move for the industry too,” he added.

Chinese authorities have increased scrutiny of exchanges this year and have forced them to start charging trading fees, after becoming concerned about bitcoin speculation and its potential use in money laundering.

Bitcoin surged as much as 3 percent on Tuesday on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange, where trading is dollar-denominated, to hit $1,437, its highest since its 2008 launch. That marked a more than 200 percent increase from its price in early May last year.

Its current levels put the total value of all bitcoins in circulation – the so-called “market cap” – close to $25 billion, putting its worth on a par with a large-cap company.

Japan Banking Giant Mitsubishi Goes Crypto With Own Coin

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc, one of the top five banks in the world, announced its intention of testing a proprietary cryptocurrency by 2019. The idea is to roll out its coin initially to a relative handful of customers, hoping they’ll participate in finding inevitable bugs as they make typical retail purchases. For Japan, it’s yet another indication the country’s business culture is betting on a crypto future.

Japan Banking Behemoth to Test Proprietary Coin

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG; 株式会社三菱UFJフィナンシャル・グループ), after a few years of plotting (since 2015), appears ready to roll out its own crypto token, MUFG Coin by 2019. In doing so, it would become the first major bank on the planet to issue a variation on cryptocurrency. The plan involves testing MUFG Coin in 2019 with 100,000 users, hoping they will shop the token through retail outlets, everything from clothing to food.

In early 2016, Asahi Shimbun , Japanese daily, broke the story of how MUFG bundled a trial-trial with an iteration then of MUFG Coin and a smartphone app. “MUFG coin takes advantage of the new technology that is on a network of multiple smaller computers,” a company report at the time revealed. “It is possible to cheaply build a tamper-resistant transaction record of the ledger, otherwise referred to as the ‘blockchain.’”

MUFG Coin’s users in 2019 would indeed have to download an app, converting fiat deposits. The token is supposedly designed for parity with Japanese yen. When the project was hatched three years ago, one rationale was to bring down transactional frictions with regard to remittances and transfers, using a variation on peer-to-peer platforms to lower costs.

Japan’s largest bank’s crypto appetite was probably wet by participation years ago in private consortium, R3. Dozens of international banks collaborated at the time to study crypto-related solutions. Indeed, close to a dozen of those banks tested distributed ledger tech using Ethereum by way of Azure. That four continent experiment proved to bankers such as Mitsubishi crypto tech was for real.

Better than Bitcoin?

Fall of last year, MUFG president Nobuyuki Hirano insisted the bank was trying to “overcome issues of virtual currencies and create a highly useful currency.” The quote revealed two things: an acknowledgment the bank was monitoring cryptos, and how ubiquitous currencies such as bitcoin core (BTC) were becoming in Japan, which ruled BTC legal tender.

MUFG president Nobuyuki Hirano

Various reports also claim MUFG is trying to get cooperation from other banks in its digital endeavor. If such is to come about, MUFG Coin will have to compete with J-Coin, a Mizuho bank crypto shooting for roll out during the upcoming Tokyo Olympic games (2020). And while not a bank, Yahoo! Japan has entered the space as well, and e-commerce group DMM (close to 30 million users) has already launched a cryptocurrency exchange.

Mitsubishi United Financial of Japan Group (MUFG) boasts $2.5 trillion in assets. It also ranks second in the world as a holding company, and is the largest financial group in Japan. For its part, regulators such as its Financial Services Agency (FSA) initiated a half dozen mandates aimed at squashing sketchier alternative coins while protecting the existing market.

Did you think big banks issuing their own coins is good for the ecosystem? Share your experiences in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, MFUG.

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section

Bitcoin acceptance growing in Japan

BI Intelligence

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

Two Japanese retailers announced plans to accept bitcoin payments, potentially clearing the way for shoppers to use the cryptocurrency in 260,000 stores in the country, according to Coin Telegraph.

Recruit Lifestyle announced it will add bitcoin acceptance to its mobile point of sale tool AirRegi, which is used in 260,000 merchant and restaurant locations across Japan. The second retailer, Bic Camera, will begin a trial acceptance of bitcoin at two of its stores, and could expand to more stores pending the program's success.

Recent decisions by the Japanese government will open the floodgates for merchants to accept Bitcoin.

Japan's regulatory bodies have embraced the digital currency. Just over a year ago, in March 2016, the Japanese cabinet approved bills which elevated bitcoin and other digital currencies to the same status as other forms of money. The government took it even one step further on April 1, 2017, when the parliament recognized Bitcoin as an authorized method of payment.
In Japan, bitcoin acceptance has grown from a trickle to a stream. Merchants accepting the currency grew nearly fivefold from 2015 to 2016, expanding from 900 to 4,200 locations, according to a survey by NHK. With AirRegi set to add Bitcoin acceptance to up to 260,000 locations, the stage is set to see whether bitcoin will catch on with consumers. Chinese tourists visiting Japan may serve as a first-adopter base for the digital currency, because China's most popular mobile wallet, Alipay is integrated with AirRegi, allowing the tourists to pay with bitcoin and avoid foreign transaction fees.

Recent global bitcoin developments have been a mixed bag. In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month poured cold water on an attempt to bring bitcoin to the mainstream by opening up an exchange-traded fund for the digital currency. However, there are a few bright spots for the currency outside of Japan: Australia and Switzerland, for example, both recently introduced changes that could drive bitcoin adoption. If the currency proves a hit in Japan over the next year, other countries may be expected to similarly warm to the currency.

John Heggestuen, director of research at BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices.
Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play.
Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified.

In full, the report:

Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond.
Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers.
Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step.
Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more.
Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >>START A MEMBERSHIP
Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >>BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you've given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem.

JAPAN Is The BITCOIN Capital Of The World

Great things are made in Japan!. In case you still don’t know by now, Satoshi Nakamoto is the name of the Japanese programmer cum cryptographer who invented the 8th wonder of the world after the Egyptian Pyramids-Bitcoin. The world’s pioneer cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has quite a following in Japan. Bitcoin is a full-fledged currency, a store of value and everything good in the Asian megacity.

From paying for flight tickets to paying hotel bills to just buying groceries or just having a drink at your favorite Japanese bar, Bitcoin is accepted almost everywhere in Japan.

Although, the integration of Bitcoin into the Japanese finance system did not just happen overnight. China used to have a stronger Bitcoin ecosystem than Japan until the government banned ICO’s and Bitcoin exchanges thereby restricting Bitcoin use. Since then Japan has taken over the mantle of Bitcoin leadership!.

A Total of 15 Exchanges Licensed In Japan Already

The year 2017 has been an excellent year for Bitcoin investors, exchanges and enthusiasts. At the beginning of the year, not even the best Bitcoin analysts would have predicted the Price of Bitcoin to reach where it is right now at over $11,000.

With Bitcoin becoming more and more ubiquitous with each passing day, the Japanese government has now seen the necessity of licensing Bitcoin exchanges. On September 29, the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA), announced the issuance of operating licenses to 11 cryptocurrency exchanges in the country.

The licensing was possible because the Japan payment services law was amended to include cryptocurrency exchanges within its jurisdiction. The payment services law now gave Bitcoin the status of a legal tender in Japan and also laid down the guidelines that all Bitcoin exchanges in Japan must follow.

The FSA made it clear to all licensed Bitcoin exchanges in Japan that they must pay proper attention to Cybersecurity, segregation of customer accounts and also to conduct appropriate know-your-customer- checks(KYC).

Fast forward to December, and the FSA has approved another 4 cryptocurrency exchanges.

The four newly licensed exchanges are Bit Arg Exchange Tokyo Co.Ltd, FTT Corporation, Tokyo Bitcoin Exchange Co and Xtheta Corporation.

It is important to note that the FSA has stated it on its website that, of the four newly approved exchanges, only one firm is allowed to trade Bitcoin alongside other cryptocurrencies. Only Xtheta Corporation is authorized to trade Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Monacoin, NEM, Ripple, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic, and XCP. The FSA did not state its reasons for not allowing the remaining three exchanges trade other cryptocurrencies.

More Exchanges Set to Get Licenses

It is pertinent to note that some exchanges were forced to close shop back in September when the first set of exchanges was approved. Those exchanges could not meet up with the requirements of the FSA at the time. Coincheck- which is Japan’s second-largest Bitcoin exchange is yet to get approval from the FSA, although the Bitcoin exchange has assured its users that its services will continue as usual.

In the coming weeks, it is believed that the FSA will approve even more Bitcoin exchanges. This is a welcomed development as Japan keeps setting the pace in the Bitcoin ecosystem, for other world governments to follow!

YahooFinance

Starbucks dips, Hormel up slightly, Apple sinks

Japan: The New Heart of Bitcoin

Yuzo Kano is the CEO for BitFlyer, one of Japan's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. He previously worked at Goldman Sachs developing settlement systems, and later on equities derivatives and convertible bonds.

The following article is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk's 2017 in Review.

No matter what negative news rocked the community, what hard fork happened or what skeptics stated, bitcoin held strong in 2017.

This is due in no small part to Japan. While the wider community is what breathes life into any coin, Japan is now bitcoin's heart; the country that is at the center of its support. There used to be a concern about the longevity of bitcoin, the safety of using such a novel new invention.

2017 is the year that fear died – and Japan is a big part of that reason.

Where other countries have had knee-jerk responses to bitcoin and blockchain technology, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) expertly analyzed the technology and developed clear and fair laws to regulate virtual currency exchanges. This is no small matter – bitcoin exchanges are the onboard ramp to both bitcoin adoption as well as the future of virtual currencies.

Coming home

With all the positive news this year from Japan, it's only appropriate to acknowledge the country's deep history with cryptocurrency. While we may never know for sure if he (or she) is (or was) Japanese, Satoshi Nakamoto is a Japanese name. Japan is bitcoin's home.

But though bitcoin has always had strong roots in Japan, it was also the center of its biggest controversy.

Some say that Mt. Gox's implosion, now nearly four years removed, was the worst event to ever happen to bitcoin. The numbers were staggering. 650,000 bitcoins, worth around $437 million at the time, were lost when the exchange abruptly closed. The company filed for bankruptcy. This affected over 127,000 customers around the world. Today, those lost bitcoins are worth nearly $9 billion.

Still, this event, while terrible, forced the Japanese regulators to step in and protect consumers.

That disruption, that explosion, is why Japan has become the most forward thinking jurisdiction for bitcoin and virtual currencies. The FSA's understanding of the technology, regardless of the bad or inexperienced actors early in the space, helped lay the foundation on which the rest of the world can begin to understand and fully accept bitcoin and other virtual currencies.

Starting on April 1 of this year, the Japanese government enacted an amendment to the Payment Services Act. These amendments, which BitFlyer helped establish, have been referred to as the Virtual Currency Act and alongside additional tax reform have provided three main pieces of regulation in 2017:

1: Legal clarification of bitcoin

The Virtual Currency Act described and identified what a virtual currency is, clarified that bitcoin is considered an asset and that bitcoin can be considered a payment method.

That act, however, did not declare bitcoin as a legal currency, as some have mistakenly professed.

2: Virtual currency exchange regulation

The Japan Financial Services Authority was granted the ability to both regulate, as well as issue licenses, to virtual currency exchanges in Japan. This cemented bitcoin as an established market in Japan, where the rules are clear and consumers can be protected.

BitFlyer was proud to be granted one of the first licenses of this sort earlier this year in September.

3: One additional piece of regulation from a different act

Lastly, while not part of the Virtual Currency Act, tax reform was pushed forward on July 1, which removed a consumption tax that dissuaded foreign investors from purchasing bitcoins on Japan's market. This opened up Japan’s markets to international investors.

Expanding bitcoin and blockchain usage

But while Japan has led the way, the rest of the world should learn from the regulations and research that has resulted.

Here, BitFlyer has been able to work closely with government organizations to provide research and information about the usability of bitcoin and blockchain technology. The research, just like bitcoin, is borderless and publicly available. BitFlyer has also been hard at work researching and developing a world-class enterprise blockchain called "miyabi." With a top speed of over 4,000 transactions per second, miyabi guarantees immutability, finality, Byzantine fault tolerance, low latency and has no single point of failure.

This work has not gone unnoticed.

The largest interbank clearing network in Japan has selected bitFlyer to demonstrate a proof of concept, utilizing miyabi to show how blockchain can be used to revolutionize the banking industry and create a much faster settlement platform. If adopted, the largest banks in Japan will be connected through blockchain and demonstrate to the world that enterprise blockchain can be implemented securely, creating a better and more united financial world.

These developments are why we believe 2018 will be another spectacular year for bitcoin.

Volume has been growing steadily through 2017, the price has been skyrocketing throughout the year, but most importantly, the last pieces for institutional investors to get involved with bitcoin are close at hand.

Even if a bitcoin ETF doesn't gain approval in 2018, the creation of futures products for bitcoin will allow for much more liquidity to enter the markets. Past just conventional derivatives, dozens of trading firms have sprung up over the last year to allow for boutique hedge funds, family offices, or even large-sized individual traders to access the virtual currency markets.

With all of these developments, bitFlyer has realized an incredible opportunity to harness all the liquidity in Japan to fuel these new marketplaces and service new traders. BitFlyer's bitcoin trade volume (including leveraged trading) is the largest in the world. Regardless of the massive inflow of volume institutional firms can bring through derivatives, trading firms will need to trade actual bitcoin for delivery.

BitFlyer's global expansion (such as the recently launched bitFlyer US exchange) seeks to service these markets directly, by providing institutions and individuals everywhere with the ability to participate with the largest source of bitcoin liquidity in the world: Japan.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in bitFlyer.

пятница, 29 июня 2018 г.

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