1 US Congress hearing about digital money

We reported earlier in the week about the United States Congress Statement that Could Change the Crypto World.

This recent statement from the United States Congress has been titled “The Future of Money: Digital Currency”. Announcing that the United States will begin official hearings on the 18th July, 2018 surrounding the introduction of digital money and the future surfing both cryptocurrencies and digital cash.

“This hearing will examine the extent to which the United States government should consider cryptocurrencies as money and the potential domestic and global uses for cryptocurrencies. The Subcommittee will evaluate the merits of any uses by central banks of cryptocurrencies, and discuss the future of both cryptocurrencies and physical cash.”

While the exact list of attendees for the hearting has not yet been decided, it is assumed that the board will consist of regulators, legislators and cryptocurrency experts. The hearing is going to explore a number of factors and security concerns with cryptocurrencies, including;

Security concerns
Money laundering issues
Black markets
Solutions to any of the above issues.
This is certainly a major development for the cryptocurrency community and outlines just how serious the US is about the future of digital money.

2 Excitement growing around bitcoin ETF’s & institutional money

Earlier in the week CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange) filed an application for the following:

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change to List and Trade Shares of SolidX Bitcoin Shares Issued by the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust

We reported the the SEC are seeking feedback on bitcoin ETF’s, it is since been reported that they had so far received over 90 replies from the public.

This is not the first time an application has been filed to approve bitcoin ETF’s, however, the commission have stated that this is the most responses they have ever had, and the number has far exceeded a previous application made back in April.

One of the major beliefs amongst the cryptocurrency community is the belief that once “institutional money” enters the markets then there is no going back. It is largely argued that once said institutional money enters bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets then is could become a multi-trillion market.

If the SEC were to approve a Bitcoin-backed ETF then it would offer a vehicle for institutional investors to invest as well as providing the security and confidence in a developing market. If the SEC were to approve Bitcoin ETF’s then it would also mean approved third parties were in charge of storing and securing funds, meaning insurance policies would be in place and a huge risk factor may be eliminated from the industry.

Christopher Matta former goldman sachs vice president believes institutional money is coming

3 World’s first bank-owned crypto exchange launches almost 2 years after announcing

Japan are well known for their bullish approach on cryptocurrencies, well now almost 2 years after initially being announced the first bank-owned crypto exchange is being launched.

Financial giants, SBI Holdings made an announcement on Tuesday 17th July, 2018 that they had officially launched their cryptocurrency exchange which will be named ‘VCTRADE‘.

SBI Holdings have now began accepting applications from Japanese users whom are Japanese residents between 20-70 years of age. They are only accepting retail investors with no applications from corporate or institutional investors currently under consideration.

This is major news for the cryptocurrency community, for the first time users will be able to trade fiat-crypto directly from a bank account. This could potentially spark a number of other banks to follow suit.

This week has seen a number of other major developments but we feel the above 3 stories may have had the greatest impact. Other reasons which may have sparked this cryptocurrency bull run include the fact that Mastercard may be about to enable bitcoin transactions. It has also been reported that the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock may be looking into cryptocurrency.

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