Bitcoin Is Expected to Surge 165% Thanks to Donald Trump
After surging 75% during the course of 2016, Bitcoin could ramp up another 165% to $2,100 in 2017 thanks to Donald Trump's plan to increase infrastructure spending. The prediction comes from the Denmark-based Saxo Bank in a report titled “Outrageous Predictions for 2017.”
Saxo Bank’s global macro strategist, Kay Van Petersen, wrote:
“Cryptocurrencies are here to stay given the history of booms and busts in fiat money and debt excesses. Bitcoin as the face of cryptocurrencies benefits from this chaos. Emerging market powers eager to move away from being tied to the monetary policy of the U.S. and the banking system as well as to adopt the block chain as a payment system prove willing adherents as they adjust to zero interest rates and the decrease in systematic risk.”
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Bitstamp to Exit Washington State Due to Regulatory Constraints
The first fully licensed bitcoin exchange in Europe, Bitstamp, has recently announced that due to recent regulatory constraints imposed by the State of Washington, it will cease to serve customers from The Evergreen State, effective 20 December. Users from said region recieved a letter that reads:
"We kindly ask you to withdraw your funds by 20th December 2016 by means of bitcoin or international wire. Your account will be closed after the deadline has expired." The letter adds: "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. We are actively working to restart our services within the State of Washington and we will inform you as soon as the situation is resolved."
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Coinbase Launches Legal Framework for Blockchain Tokens
A 27-page legal framework has been recently launched by blockchain startup Coinbase, in collaboration with Coin Center, Consensys and Union Square Ventures in an effort to reduce legal risks when launching blockchain-based solutions.
Reuben Bramanathan, associate counsel at Coinbase, said that while the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have been largely silent on the issue, there are likely to be roadblocks ahead given the lack of public education on concepts such as distributed applications and autonomous organizations.
Reuben Bramanathan added:
"This is most useful for developers of new tokens. Certainly, most developers are aware of the risks and it's only going to get bigger as the space grows."
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Circle Cuts Bitcoin Buying and Selling in Product Pivot
Circle, one of the earliest and best-funded startups in the bitcoin industry, has recently announced that it will no longer allow users to buy and sell Bitcoin on the platform. The startup will instead focus on the soon-to-be-launched proprietary blockchain-based protocol called Spark.
A blog post issued today reads:
"When we founded Circle, we had a vision and belief that it was finally becoming possible for money to work the way the internet works. A big part of that was a long-term bet on blockchain and digital currency technology, which we thought held the potential to provide the missing layer of protocols needed for open value exchange."
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