Author: Dennis Wafula

Cryptocurrency transactions and investments both involve a lot of risks and this fact is probably the main reason why Ghana hasn’t settled on a decision yet. The Member of Parliament for Juabeng, Ama Pomaa Boateng agrees with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) plans to license and impose a regulatory framework on crypto coins in Ghana. According to her, cryptocurrencies will offer several benefits to Ghana’s economy.

The State of Crypto Coins in Ghana

While other Ghanaian MPs, including Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr Mark Assibey Yeboah are warning citizens against investing in these digital coins, Ama believes that the virtual currency can transform the way Ghanaians bank and make financial transactions.

‘’Mr Speaker, in today’s digital economy, there’s an urgent need for members of this House to expand our knowledge and pioneer legislation that recognises the blockchain technology and virtual currencies,” she said during a parliamentary debate.

However, Ama clearly stated that it is with the right regulatory framework that Ghana’s economy will benefit from cryptocurrencies adding that;

“The government also has to in the absence of legislation set up a register and possibly an exchange platform for the service providers of cryptocurrency to enable the government to oversee these virtual activities and create a stable regulatory environment where cryptocurrency can thrive.’’

Dr Yeboah, however, disagrees with Ama’s statement arguing that;

‘’This is not like a cheque that is being cleared by the central bank. So, if you have money it is digital money and people are trading in this, you are building an asset it can crumble one day. So there’s no legislation governing the trading of crypto in Ghana, it is illegal and you can lose your money.”

The Bank of Ghana Continues to Warn Citizens against Crypto Dealings

The Bank of Ghana also has its take on crypto coins. The Secretary to the Bank of Ghana, Frances Van-Hein Sackey, responded to the recent Global Coin Community Help (GCCH) scam stating that ‘the Bank of Ghana will not be liable for the refund of any deposit lost by a depositor’ dealing with cryptocurrencies. He made it clear that such crypto dealers in Ghana should do so at their own risk.

Crypto Is Coming!

The Iran tourism sector will be welcoming cryptocurrencies as they consider these digital assets to be equivalent to money. The major push behind this bold move is the fact that European tourists are forced to visit other places instead of Iran due to the negative impact Iran’s currency devaluation has on the tourism sector.

Another major push is the fact that the country has an underdeveloped tourism sector which is quite ineffectual in terms of money transactions. Due to lack of access to international payment methods, foreign tourists in Iran have to pay for almost all tourism facilities in cash. The incorporation of crypto coins into the tourism sector aims to ease both travelling and spending for tourists and at the same time offer them a wide range of secure and efficient services.

So Far So Good

It is quite evident that the entire crypto and blockchain technology can tremendously transform Iran’s tourism and travel sector. IranByBit happens to be a startup that offers several services, accepting payments from both Bitcoin (BTC) and cash on arrival. The platform currently offers tours, accommodations, and Iranian debit cards and SIM cards.

IranByBit research and development head Ziya Sadr told Al-Monitor believes that;

“A widely accepted and accessible cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin could help small businesses in the tourism sector to allow a wide range of customers from anywhere in the world to use their coins inside Iran,”
According to him, “A state-run crypto doesn’t have the potential to address any of the problems of accessibility, acceptability, and reliability of the local currency in tourism,”

Another perfect example is the novice crypto exchange platform, Rmoney. Rmoney has its own native cryptocurrency created with the aim of serving the country’s tourism sector. The platform aims to initiate payment processes that will solve ‘foreign payments’ complications.

“As payment challenges in this sector are resolved, more foreign tourists will be attracted to Iran, which in addition to generating foreign currency revenues; will provide employment opportunities for residents,” said Mehdi Naseri, CEO of Rmoney.

Iran has been contemplating on crypto for a very long time now and it has proven again and again that it has the potential to compete against others within the crypto space. All Iran needs is an opportunity.

Crypto is Coming!

Yesterday, the crypto trading and management platform, Caspian released an announcement that it has integrated its platform with Deribit, one of the leading crypto options and futures exchange. Famous for its institutional grade, digital asset and trading portfolio management platform, Caspian offers single window access to major crypto exchange platforms with the following services;

• Pairs trading and smart order routing,
• Integrated compliance engine,
• Real-time and historical P&L and
• Exposure tracking.

Additionally, Caspian is targeting the high-volume clients with end-to-end trade services such as;

• Order and Execution Management System (OEMS),
• Portfolio Management System (PMS), and
• Risk Management System (RMS).

As per the announcement, Caspian has added Deribit to its ecosystem of more than 30 well known crypto exchanges and liquidity provider making it the first institutional platform to offer both options and futures trading. Also, the system will be able to connect to all major crypto exchange platforms and over the counter (OTC) brokers.

About Deribit

Created in June 2016, Deribit’s main aim is to provide a solution to those in search of a professional fully dedicated cryptocurrencies futures and options trading platform. The platform offers services that enable users to build a fully liquid marketplace.

Deribit strongly believes in the crypto technology and is currently the only exchange in the world that offers European style cash settled options on Ethereum (ETH).  The platform also offers crypto traders free deposits and withdrawals, 100x leverage and competitive trading fees.

“We are excited to be working with Deribit to make the trading of crypto options and futures possible within the institutional community…our goal at Caspian is to provide crypto traders and investors the same standard of tools and service that exist in the traditional markets and it’s great knowing that the team at Deribit is working towards the same high standards,’’ said Robert Dykes, CEO of Caspian.

John Jansen, CEO of Deribit also expressed his excitement over the integration saying;

Caspian’s comprehensive trading and portfolio management platform provide institutional investors with the market-leading gateway to the crypto markets,” said John Jansen, CEO of Deribit. “We’re thrilled to be working with the team at Caspian.”

Despite the bear market, Deribit is working towards the creation of more advanced features like; mass quote protection and block trades.

Crypto Is Coming!

Well, it is quite evident that Japan has the most progressive regulatory climate for cryptocurrencies. In 2018, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) commissioner stated that the agency wants the crypto industry to ‘’grow under the right regulation’’ so as to find the balance between consumer protection and technological innovation.

“We have no intention to curb [the crypto industry] excessively. We would like to see it grow under appropriate regulation,” he stated.

Earlier this year, the Japanese regulators sought to curtail highly leveraged crypto derivatives trading and re-define ‘virtual currencies’ as ‘crypto assets’. With this move, the FSA was considering the regulation of unregistered firms investing in crypto coins.

Today, the Japanese financial regulators have introduced new regulations for cryptocurrency margin trading. Reportedly, the Cabinet of Japan, which happens to be the executive branch of the country’s government, made an approval over the draft amendments to Japan’s financial instruments as well as payment services laws.  This approval pegs leverage in digital currency margin trading at 2-4 times initial deposits.

How the New Regulation Work

Apparently, all crypto exchanges dealing with margin trading need to obtain new government registration which will be separate from the existing registry that has focused on cash platforms since 2017. This will in return allow the FSA to introduce pertinent measures when it comes to unregistered cryptocurrency operators.

All crypto operators in Japan will be sectioned into groups so as to determine those who issue tokens via Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and those engaged in margin trading. This move also aims to encourage legitimate companies to practice offerings as fundraising tools as well as secure investors from getting caught up in Ponzi Schemes.  This new rules are to be enforced as from April next year. All margin crypto operators will need to be registered within 18 months before April 2020, whereas the already established brokerages intending to enter the crypto world will need to get re-registered.

“We intend to motivate operators to do what they can to become registered,” a senior FSA official stated.

A few examples of platforms that are operating despite not being on the existing registry include the Tokyo crypto exchange, LastRoots and the Bitcoin platform Rakuten Wallet.

Crypto is Coming!