This is NOT financial advice
Market Analysis
- The markets seem to have recovered slightly from monthly lows over the weekend, off the back of the comments made to G20 members by FSB Chair Mark Carney, saying that “crypto-assets do not pose risks to global financial stability at this time”
- BTC is now at around $8,350 and ETH has also recovered to around $520.
- Volume has been steady over the past 24 hours, at just under $18 billion.
Daily News
- Incoming PBoC Governor Has Spoken Positively On Bitcoin
https://www.ethnews.com/incoming-pboc-governor-has-spoken-positively-on-bitcoin
China's National People's Congress voted to approve President Xi Jinping's nominee for central bank governor on March 19. Yi Gang, who had previously served as deputy governor at the People's Bank of China (PBoC). He is suspected to play a supportive role in the direction of the county’s economic policy.
As the central bank's deputy governor in November 2013, Yi described bitcoin as "inspiring" while addressing a forum. He also noted that while the bank did not presently recognize the digital asset's legitimacy, there was the possibility that the PBoC's perspective on the matter could evolve. With all the news coming out of China these past few weeks about utilizing blockchain technology in the future, it seems that China’s stance on cryptocurrency has softened since the ICO ban of last year.
- U.S. Congress Officially Supports Blockchain Technology
https://www.astralcrypto.com/2018/03/19/u-s-congress-officially-supports-blockchain-technology/
https://www.congress.gov/115/crpt/hrpt596/CRPT-115hrpt596.pdf
The March 2018 United States Joint Economic Committee Report officially endorses the future of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in the U.S. The report discusses blockchain, and is titled “Building a Secure Future, One Blockchain at a Time.” Chapter 9 begins by saying Blockchain is “not only nearly invulnerable to cyberattack but is revolutionizing the way the world conducts commerce and shares information.”
Conclusion
The conclusion on pages 225 and 226 makes four recommendations:
- Policymakers and the public should become more familiar with digital currencies and other uses of blockchain technologies, which have a wide range of future application.
- Regulators should continue to coordinating with each other to guarantee coherent policy frameworks, definitions, and jurisdictions.
- Policymakers, regulators, and entrepreneurs should work together to ensure developers can quickly deploy blockchain technology to protect Americans from fraud, theft, and abuse, while ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.
- Government agencies at all levels should consider and examine new uses for blockchain technology to help make the government function more efficiently.
Overall, this is an enormously positive endorsement from the U.S. Congress. We will likely see cryptocurrency and blockchain technology flourish throughout the United States. It is a bright future for Americans involved in blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency marketplace.
- DOJ, SEC Argue Vague Laws No Excuse for ICO Fraud
https://www.coindesk.com/doj-sec-argue-vague-laws-no-excuse-ico-fraud-new-filings/
The filings are notable given the growing footprint of the U.S. government - and the SEC in particular - in the cryptocurrency space. The SEC has adopted an increasingly active approach since it first publicly declared that tokens issued in conjunction with The DAO, the now-defunct ethereum-based funding vehicle, were securities.
The Department of Justice's filing strikes a decidedly dismissive tone toward the argument that SEC regulations aren't clear enough when it comes to the question of cryptocurrencies and ICOs.
- SFC’s regulatory action halts ICO to Hong Kong public
http://www.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/gateway/EN/news-and-announcements/news/doc?refNo=18PR29
The Hong Kong SFC has stopped Black Cell Technology’s ICO on the grounds that the offering constituted an unregistered Collective Investment Scheme (CIS). Black Cell must now refund Hong Kong investors of their investments in the token, which would support a mobile app call “Krops,” a marketplace for listing agricultural products.
Black Cell promoted its ICO on its website, telling investors that their investments would finance the development of the mobile app and give token holders the rights to equity shares of Black Cell, a practice that the SFC considers a CIS and thus a “security”, thus needing prior registration with the regulator before being sold to investors.
Other News
First day of Token2049 conference in Hong Kong
https://www.token2049.com/
Russian Government Resolves Disagreement on Draft Crypto Law
https://www.coindesk.com/russia-government-resolves-disagreement-on-draft-cryptocurrency-law/
Israeli Regulator: Utility Tokens Shouldn't Be Deemed Securities
https://www.coindesk.com/israel-regulators-utility-tokens-not-securities/
UK Government Announces New Cryptocurrency Research Effort
https://www.coindesk.com/uk-government-announces-new-cryptocurrency-research-effort/
US President Trump Bans US Citizens From Buying Petro
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-president-trump-bans-us-citizens-from-buying-petro
Northern Trust Partners With PwC To Make Real-Time Equity Audits Via Blockchain
https://cointelegraph.com/news/northern-trust-partners-with-pwc-to-make-real-time-equity-audits-via-blockchain
India’s Bitcoin Trading Volume Plummets amid Banks’ Blockade of Exchanges
https://www.ccn.com/indias-bitcoin-trading-volume-plummets/
US Regulatory Climate Continues to Be Hazy for ICOs
https://www.ccn.com/us-regulatory-climate-getting-better-for-startups-but-still-hazy-for-icos/
Coca-Cola, US State Department Consider Blockchain For Labor Registry
https://www.ethnews.com/coca-cola-us-state-department-consider-blockchain-for-labor-registry