Coin News

The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority has issued a warning about a lesser-known altcoin called OneCoin, to the effect that certain OneCoin promoters are lying about their recognition and relationship with the Belgian authority. A press briefing published on their website reads, in part: Certain people have recently been promoting OneCoin, said to be […]

The post Belgian Authority Warns Against Using OneCoin appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority has issued a warning about a lesser-known altcoin called OneCoin, to the effect that certain OneCoin promoters are lying about their recognition and relationship with the Belgian authority. A press briefing published on their website reads, in part: Certain people have recently been promoting OneCoin, said to be […]

The post Belgian Authority Warns Against Using OneCoin appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin price pushed through an important trendline intersection today. The technical picture biases further toward a bullish outlook. Time for traders to take aim, but don’t loose your arrows just yet. This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3-hour delay. Read the full analysis here. Not a member? Join now. Bitcoin Price Analysis Time […]

The post Bitcoin Price Analysis: Knock Arrows, Don’t Loose appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Blocks on the Bitcoin blockchain have a maximum size of 1 MB. Proof of work difficulty is calibrated so 1 block is created every 10 minutes....

The post Why Do Some Bitcoin Mining Pools Mine Empty Blocks? appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Bitcoin Investment Trust (BIT) and an authorized participant, SecondMarket, to cease and desist violating securities law. The commission has levied a fine against SecondMarket.   The companies have agreed to the cease and desist order, according to an SEC administrative proceeding. The SEC has required SecondMarket to pay […]

The post SEC Issues Cease And Desist Against Bitcoin Investment Trust appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

By Ross Finley and Rahul Karunakar

LONDON/BENGALURU (Reuters) - Optimism about stock market performance this year has wilted, with investors fretting about the global economy and unexpected shocks likely to condemn most key indices to a weaker performance than thought just a few months ago.

The latest Reuters poll of over 250 analysts, fund managers and brokers worldwide taken June 27-July 11 also showed an intensifying pull between stretched share prices - with Wall Street at a record high - and bond markets, with most government bond yields at record lows and vast swathes of them negative.

Strategists at Citi have noted that the gap between the global government bond benchmark yield, just 0.5 percent, and the dividend yield on global equities of about 2.7 percent, is the widest in 60 years, and on that basis, stocks look attractive.

Ten of the indexes polled are expected to be lower by the end of the year when just three months ago the consensus view among forecasters was that they would be up, in some cases significantly. [Graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/29t4c95]

But the poll results do not provide a definitive picture on where forecasters are recommending investors put their money, although hopes remain high once again that next year will be better, particularly for struggling emerging markets.

The Bank of England is set to reverse course in response to Britain's shock vote on June 23 to leave the European Union, with rate cuts and renewed government bond purchases nearly certain in an attempt to limit the damage. [BOE/INT]

The trouble is, even though the vast majority polled don't expect any financial crisis from Brexit, that shock has increased risk aversion, as well as the risk a likely British recession may have ripple effects well beyond its borders.

Expectations for an interest rate rise in the United States have also faded despite a surprisingly strong jobs report last week, triggering a rally in stocks and U.S. Treasuries.

So while in past years the prospect of more central bank cash might have lit a fire under the stock market, there is a clear sense now of pessimism in the latest results about the outlook for European shares, as well as Britain's FTSE 100. [EPOLL/FRDE] [EPOLL/GB]

"The Brexit vote has damaged the outlook for the global economy and EPS (earnings per share). This is clearly unhelpful for global equities. It also drove global bond yields down to unprecedented levels, which has increased the relative income attractions of equities," wrote Citi strategists in a note.

"These two opposing forces are likely to keep share prices trapped in the current trading range. While Citi strategists collectively forecast a 7 percent rise in global equities by mid-2017, investors could probably generate a better return if they wait for the next dip."

Even on Wall Street, where stocks had their worst start to the year ever only to rally back to a record high, in large part on optimism about the economy, many are now cautious, especially ahead of a presidential election in November. [EPOLL/US]

"It's Brexit one day, election issues the next. We've been telling clients to sort of buckle up," said Jeff Mortimer, director of investment strategy for BNY Mellon Wealth Management.

However, with increasing central bank ownership of a government bond market limited in size by fiscal restraint, stock and bond prices are likely to continue rising, simply because the money that's been created has to go somewhere.

The European Central Bank also has both feet on the accelerator, having launched its latest aggressive expansion to its stimulus well before the Brexit vote. Now many are speculating it may have to consider doing even more to make sure the euro zone economy doesn't veer off track as a result.

Perhaps unexpectedly, the most optimistic outlook appears to be for Japan, where stocks have been beaten down by a soaring yen and a moribund economy. [EPOLL/JP]

In addition to a much lengthier and more aggressive central bank stimulus program than in Europe, more fiscal stimulus is in the pipeline there after elections at the weekend where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was victorious.

Indian shares are also expected to perform well on relative stability compared with other Asian economies, although forecasts are markedly less optimistic for the remainder of the year than those taken three months ago. [EPOLL/IN]

For Asia more widely, as well as Latin America, forecasters were less upbeat, looking past the U.S. presidential election and potential near-term trouble as a result of Brexit to peg 2017 for a rebound. [EPOLL/ASIA] [EPOLL/BR]

"There are likely to be more periodic sell-offs in risky assets in the months ahead, but we do not expect these to prevent EM (emerging market) stocks from performing reasonably well," wrote David Rees, senior markets economist at Capital Economics.

"If anything, the vote for 'Brexit' appears likely to ensure that global monetary conditions remain looser for longer," he wrote. "This, along with relatively low valuations, will support EM equities in the next 18 months."

(Poll data: )

(Other stories from the Reuters global stock markets poll:)

(Additional reporting and polling from reporters in Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt, Milan, Moscow, Johannesburg, New York, Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Toronto and Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft)

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Invest in oil and gold? In this episode of the Unchained podcast, the co-authors of a compelling white paper explain why you may soon be investing in digital oil and digital gold instead.

Blockchain firm SolidX has filed with the SEC in a bid to launch a public investment vehicle that would offer exposure to bitcoin.

Musicians are turning their attention to the power of blockchain as a way of generating more revenue in an industry that is experiencing a decline in shares. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), 2015 saw music sales rise by 3.7% driven by the fact that streaming grew by a massive 82%; however, despite this, […]

The post Blockchain Technology Could Help Bring about a Music Revolution appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Release: OpenLedger is offering an array of blockchain based services to provide entrepreneurs with much-needed access to funds and skills essential for their success. After a pre-ICO presale of Blockchain 3.0 platform HEAT to dedicated supporters of the OpenLedger foundation of ecosystems like OBITS, BTSR and ICOO, HEAT will now begin their official […]

The post The Decentralised Conglomerate Launches HEAT – Blockchain-Based Crowdfunding 3.0 Platform to Support Startups appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Release: Cryptocurrency fuelling the blockchain-based game was a key source of funding. As the full launch of EverdreamSoft’s Spells of Genesis (SoG) nears, the blockchain-based token powering the digital trading card game, BitCrystals (BCY), has seen a fairly significant rise in price. After a price-peak in March, BCY saw a period of bearish […]

The post BitCrystals Price Rising as Spells of Genesis Approaches Launch appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Leading Bitcoin payment processor, BitPay, recently endorsed an innovative Bitcoin company, ShapeShift. In a blog post, the company described how one could use ShapeShift to pay for things in crypto-currencies other than Bitcoin through BitPay. ShapeShift CEO Erik Vorhees calls the website, “the Google Translate of crypto-currencies” referring to how easy it is to transfer […]

The post BitPay Gives Vote of Approval To Altcoins, ShapeShift appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Leading Bitcoin payment processor, BitPay, recently endorsed an innovative Bitcoin company, ShapeShift. In a blog post, the company described how one could use ShapeShift to pay for things in crypto-currencies other than Bitcoin through BitPay. ShapeShift CEO Erik Vorhees calls the website, “the Google Translate of crypto-currencies” referring to how easy it is to transfer […]

The post BitPay Gives Vote of Approval To Altcoins, ShapeShift appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Jeff Garzik, bitcoin entrepreneur and founder of Bloq, a code-for-hire service, gave an overview of blockchain’s application to real estate at the International Blockchain Real Estate Association (IBREA) Conference in Newport Beach, Calif. A video of the conference is available on Youtube. He explained blockchain technology’s benefits to the real estate business: automated payments, fraud reduction, no […]

The post Bitcoin Entrepreneur Jeff Garzik Sees Major Role for Blockchain in Real Estate appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

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Coinbase, a US Bitcoin exchange and wallet operator has signed a strategic partnership with Japan's largest bank, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), in order to support future expansion to the country and Asia more broadly.

As part of the partnership, BTMU, the bank's VC arm Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and Silicon Valley's Sozo Ventures have invested $11 million in the firm, according to Reuters. Coinbase currently operates in the UK, Europe, the US, Canada, and Singapore.

Japanese investment could help Coinbase get a foothold in the country. International expansion requires investment, and targeting investors in the region will enable Coinbase to tap into its investors' expertise and knowledge. Having a bank on board could be especially helpful when it comes to dealing with financial regulators, as well.

Japan is trying to rebuild its reputation as a Bitcoin hub. Japan was the site of one of the most famous Bitcoin controversies in 2013 when around 800,000 bitcoins, worth £315 million ($450 million) at the time, were stolen from Bitcoin exchange Mt Gox. Since then, Japan has implemented strict regulatory requirements for virtual currency exchanges. They must now register with the financial regulator, meet Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, and agree to onsite inspections. Clear regulation is designed to improve trust in digital currencies and attract firms working with digital currencies to the country. 

Blockchain technology, which is best known for powering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is gaining steam among finance firms because of its potential to streamline processes and increase efficiency. The technology could cut costs by up to $20 billion annually by 2022, according to Santander.

That's because blockchain, which operates as a distributed ledger, has the ability to allow multiple parties to transfer and store sensitive information in a space that’s secure, permanent, anonymous, and easily accessible. That could simplify paper-heavy, expensive, or logistically complicated financial systems, like remittances and cross-border transfer, shareholder management and ownership exchange, and securities trading, to name a few. And outside of finance, governments and the music industry are investigating the technology’s potential to simplify record-keeping.

As a result, venture capital firms and financial institutions alike are pouring investment into finding, developing, and testing blockchain use cases. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, have begun researching the technology in-house, or have helped fund startups with products rooted in blockchain. 

Jaime Toplin, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on blockchain technology that explains how blockchain works, why it has the potential to provide a watershed moment for the financial industry, and the different ways it could be put into practice in the coming years.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Spending on capital markets applications of blockchain is expected to grow at a 52% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2019, according to Aite Group, to reach $400 million that year.
• Banks and major financial institutions are working both collaboratively and independently to develop blockchain tech. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, like R3 CEV or Chain. And many are investing in the technology on their own as well.
• Putting blockchain to use for real-world transactions is likely not that far off. If working groups' tests are successful, firms could be using it to transact real value as early as the end of this year and we could see widespread industry application within the next few years. 

In full, the report:

• Examines the funding increases that are pouring into blockchain
• Assesses why blockchain is becoming so popular and what factors are driving up increased research and development
• Explains in full how blockchain technology work and what assets make it valuable and vulnerable
• Identifies pain points in the financial industry and profiles how various firms are using blockchain to solve them
• Demonstrates the challenges to mainstream adoption and their potential solutions

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

1. 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
2. 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 blockchain technology.

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The SEC has settled with the Bitcoin Investment Trust and its original issuer following an investigation into a repurchase program.