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InfoSys Exec Believes In Blockchain

Posted on by Bob Coiney

One of the reasons that many have been skeptical of the cryptocurrency sector is because despite the fact that Bitcoin and many other projects went on a massive bull run last year – there were still many established figures that seemed skeptical of the entire space.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase

Even though he later backtracked his statements, one of the most important figures in global finance, Jamie Dimon, infamously called Bitcoin a “fraud” in 2017. For those who are unaware, Dimon is the chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase, the second largest bank in the world.

However, it must be noted that many individuals have since spoken about the immense potential of blockchain technology and the ability for cryptocurrency to change the world, and many of them have been respected individuals at high-profile companies. Recently, in an interview, the Senior Vice President (SVP) at Infosys, a world-renowned IT company, praised blockchain, and spoke about how 2019 will be a great year for blockchain adoption.

About Infosys

InfoSys Building, Thiruvananthapuram, India

India is known for its information technology (IT) sector, and Infosys is a major Indian company in the space. In fact, it’s the second largest Indian IT company, with a market capitalization of over $40 billion dollars. It is headquartered in what many consider to be India’s “Silicon Valley”, at Bangalore, in Karnataka, India.

The sector is one of the reasons why India’s economy is growing, and the sector is expected to add a quarter million jobs to the country next year, as well.

Quartz specifically referenced blockchain as a factor in its growth, stating: “Startups will be strong contributors to generating employment in the next two years because of their expanded adoption of AI, robotics, blockchain, and IoT.”

About The Interview

The SVP of Infosys, Gopi KK, was quite specific about where he expects blockchain adoption to take place. In the interview he pointed to certain sectors that will adopt blockchain more than ever continuing into next year.

He said: “We expect blockchain to expand into the following use cases/arenas: trade, supply chain finance and peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, reinsurance, fraud detection, and policy management in Insurance, land/title registry, tax compliance, infrastructure in government/public sector, and food safety and provenance in agriculture.”

He also seemed to acknowledge the various variables involved, such as government regulation and alliances between companies. He seems to be optimistic about this, stating: “There are numerous legislative initiatives in several jurisdictions both at federal and state/provincial levels to incorporate the benefits of blockchain in offering next-gen citizen services.

For example, blockchain is a core driver for the Smart Dubai initiative aiming to transform several inter-governmental and citizen transactions. Similar initiatives are underway in other geos – southeast Asia, Europe, United States and Australia. Overall regulatory environment is expected to affect the industry adoption positively in 2019.”

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Quione CEO Bullish As Ever On Bitcoin

Posted on by Bob Coiney

During the same time this year, the cryptocurrency markets were in a very different place. Many people were more excited than ever about cryptocurrency projects, and retail investors were so excited about the future price of Bitcoin that they were actually taking out mortgages to purchase the digital asset.

However, one CEO believes that the tides will turn next year. Specifically, Mike Kiyamori, the CEO of Quione, a Japan-based cryptocurrency platform, believes that Bitcoin will reach new highs.

Not The Best Year

The cryptocurrency markets have lost 700 billion dollars since January, and Bitcoin – as of press time – sits at a price of under $4000. This isn’t lost on Kayamori, who acknowledged that when it comes to the technical bottom, “nobody knows”. However, he did point out that he believes the “bottom is near” when put in historical context.

He also pointed out the fact that cryptocurrency mining plays a part in truly finding the bottom. He stated, “[That] is exactly the reason why it’s close to the bottom. I think that economies work where, if there’s enough miners going out of business, the equilibrium is near. When you look at how markets overshoot both up and down, you can probably say it’s close to the bottom.”

Bullish For 2019

Kayamori did admit that he was wrong about the fact that he believed in bullish Bitcoin price action late this year. He stated, “Initially, I thought towards the end of the year, there is always a run up.”

He continued, “You can see that last year, you can see that a year ago, and a lot of people predicted that it would go back again later this year, starting November and December. Obviously, November came and passed, and it was one of the worst months for Bitcoin. December, there is no catalyst that will potentially shoot it up, so I would look at it kind of flat.”

He believed that “new sentiment” will come back “starting with the new year”. He pointed to the fact that additional regulation and the influx of financial veterans into the cryptocurrency markets will help the price, as well.

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FATF Encourages More Cryptocurrency Monitoring

Posted on by Bob Coiney

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has stated that the country needs to do more with regards to monitoring cryptocurrency. The report released from the task force essentially states that the country isn’t doing enough with regards to ensuring that cryptocurrency is used as conduit for terrorist financing and money laundering. For those who are unaware, the FATF is an organization formed by the G7 in order to address international money laundering.

Report Details

The report claims specifically that the UK faces severe threats from international terrorism, and that “virtual currency providers are not yet covered by AML/CFT requirements.”

The report elaborates: “The UK acknowledges the inherent vulnerabilities associated with the anonymity of VCs [virtual currencies], and while the risk of ML/TF in this area is assessed as low, the UK acknowledges that there are intelligence gaps and VCs are being used in illicit activity (particularly in online marketplaces for the sale and purchase of illicit goods and services).

It continues: “As a result, the UK intends to regulate virtual currency exchange providers under its implementation of the EU’s fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive.”

Conclusions

The report actually praises the UK in terms of how it deals with financial crime. It states that the U.K. has a “robust understanding” of monitoring and preventative measures with regards to the issue, and noted the fact that it conducted thousands of investigations last year, which resulted in 1400 convictions.

The report does seem to imply that the cryptocurrency sector could be a weakness for criminals to exploit. However, it recognizes that as of right now, the issue is not a central threat to the country. Specifically, the report states: “This is an emerging risk and there is not yet evidence to suggest that broad scale ML/TF is occurring in the UK through this relatively small sector.

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Singapore Crypto Scam Making The Rounds

Posted on by Bob Coiney

A cryptocurrency scam has been circulating among Singapore residents that has involved online advertisements pretending to be cryptocurrency exchange services. The scam has been mildly successful, as various individuals have lost a substantial amount of money. Specifically, victims were duped out of $78,000 between September 2018 and November 2018.

The scams specifically target Singapore residents, and often feature very well-known Singapore celebrities and personalities. The individuals in the advertisement claim to have made a massive amount of money thanks to their Bitcoin investments. Those who offer their personal information are then contacted by a “representative” from the company, that is actually a scammer.

One of the main issues with the scam is the fact that since the investment schemes operate  from foreign countries, it is hard for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to regulate the activity. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, MAS does not regulate cryptocurrency or cryptocurrency investments anyway.

Singapore Separates Itself

Singapore has been hesitant when it comes to cryptocurrency regulation in general, considering that the country seeks to become a technology hub in Asia, where superpowers such as India and China are cracking down on cryptocurrency.

It appears as though Singapore seems to be taking advantage of the fact that its neighbors are not as open to blockchain or cryptocurrency. In fact, when Binance – the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily volume – entered Singapore, it did so with backing from Vertex Ventures, the venture capital arm of state-owned Temasek Holdings.

Recurring Issue

The scam is not new, as online advertisements involving Bitcoin have featured prominent individuals in order to target victims for some time now. In fact, several months ago, in September, the prime minster of Singapore himself – Lee Hsien Loong, took to Facebook about a Bitcoin online investment scam involving his own likeness.

Loong uploaded a screenshot of the scam, warning the Singapore public: “Anyone can be the victim of fake news.”

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Ohio Loves Bitcoin And Blockchain – Startup invests millions into blockchain

Posted on by Bob Coiney

Ohio certainly seems to be more pro-blockchain than ever, as various startup accelerators in Ohio will be investing millions into blockchain firms. The announcement was made by Jumpstart CEO Ray Leach, at the Blockland Solutions Conference in Cleveland. Jumpstart is an Ohio-based nonprofit that describes itself as a “business development service” for entrepreneurs.

Ray Leach, CEO of Jumpstart

Millions More To Be Possibly Invested Long-Term

Specifically, Jumpstart will be investing $100 million into various startups that are seeking to use blockchain to increase productivity in relation to both business and government. An additional business accelerator by the name of Flashstarts, based in Cleveland City, will be investing $6 million, as well. Although unconfirmed, Leach stated that other investment funds will be seeking to invest as much as $200 million into blockchain-related startups over the next few years, as well.

Ohio Allows Bitcoin Tax Payments

The announcement comes shortly after it was announced that Ohio will be the first state in the U.S. to allow companies to pay its taxes in Bitcoin. Businesses can pay various taxes on the cryptocurrency tax portal OhioCrypto.com. The state is not allowing businesses to pay all taxes in Bitcoin, but can pay a wide variety of taxes using the digital currency, such as sales taxes, severance taxes, withholding taxes, municipal net profits, cigarette taxes, and more.

Ohio House Speaker Ryan Smith

The advancements are not completely by surprise, as various persons in Ohio have suggested that the state could become a hub for blockchain technology. One particular vocal blockchain proponent has been Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Ryan Smith, who specifically convened a group in August of lawmakers, business owners, and others, to discuss how the state could attract blockchain-related companies.

There is a caveat, however: the company must be located within one of Ohio’s “opportunity zones” to take advantage of the funds. These zones were created specifically to encourage economic development in poorer Ohio neighborhoods.

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