Bitcoin (BTC) hodlers need to watch the central banks of China and Japan as well as the United States as BTC/USD battles “huge” resistance. That was the opinion of trading firm QCP Capital, which in its latest crypto market research piece, “The Crypto Circular,” warned that Bitcoin faces risks far beyond the Federal Reserve. Bitcoin "most direct global liquidity proxy" Having survived the latest flood of macroeconomic data from the U.S., Bitcoin is nonetheless flagging right below $25,000 as bulls run out of momentum. For QCP Capital, there is now reason to believe that risk factors for price performance will …

Japan, a nation where foreign stablecoins like USDT are prohibited, plans to begin its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot in April 2023. It will aim to include private businesses and test an ecosystem. On Feb. 17 the Bank of Japan (BoJ) released the opening speech of its executive director Shinichi Uchida at the CBDC committee meeting. In it, Uchida announces that the Bank decided to launch a pilot program for “digital yen” in April, after finishing its Proof of Concept testing, that has begun in 2021. The pilot test will continue the work on the technical feasibility of “digital …

Bitcoin (BTC) faced a potentially volatile day on Jan. 18 as multiple macro triggers began to unsettle the outlook. BoJ refuses to hike Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD holding firm above $21,000 on the day. The pair remained cool amid news from Japan, where the central bank, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) had decided to keep ultra-easy policy in place, defying expectations of an interest rate hike. In so doing, both the yen and U.S. dollar took a hit, the latest chapter in a saga being keenly watched by crypto commentators. "In keeping its key rate …

Japanese regulators are reconsidering some major cryptocurrency restrictions related to the use of stablecoins like Tether (USDT) or USD Coin (USDC). The Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan will lift the ban on the domestic distribution of foreign-issued stablecoins in 2023, local news agency Nikkei reported on Dec. 26. The new stablecoin regulations in Japan will allow local exchanges to handle stablecoin trading under condition of asset preservation by deposits and an upper limit of remittance. “If payment using stablecoins spreads, international remittances may become faster and cheaper,” the report notes. Allowing stablecoin distribution in Japan will also require more …

Bitcoin (BTC) recovered from an overnight dip on Dec. 20 as Japan’s central bank sparked chaos on global financial markets. Analyst likens BoJ policy to FTX Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD returning to near $17,000 after falling over 3% through the course of Dec. 19. The largest cryptocurrency benefitted from flash U.S. dollar weakness, this coming on the back of a surprise policy tweak from the Bank of Japan (BoJ). Long a deflationary environment with ultra-low interest rates, Japan woke up to a sea change on the day as policymakers lifted the cap on bond yields. …

Despite Japan’s uncertainty on whether to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Bank of Japan (BoJ) continues experimenting with a potential digital yen. The Japanese central bank has started a collaboration with three megabanks and regional banks to conduct a CBDC issuance pilot, the local news agency Nikkei reported on Nov. 23. The pilot aims to provide demo experiments for the issuance of Japan’s national digital currency, a digital yen, starting in spring 2023. As part of the trial, the BoJ is expected to cooperate with major private banks and other organizations to detect and solve any issues …

Japan Credit Bureau (JCB), a Japanese analog to international payments systems like Visa or Mastercard, announced the start of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) infrastructure testing. The project will assumably prepare the payments platform for a national CBDC, which is currently being tested by the Bank of Japan (BoJ). The infrastructure project, announced by the company in local media, will come under the title JCBDC and aims at adjusting the JCB’s existing credit card infrastructure for CBDC payments. The France-based provider of facial recognition technology IDEMIA and Malaysian Softspace will collaborate with JCB in the platform’s development. The platform …

Bitcoin (BTC) dipped further below $19,000 on Oct. 21 as rumors circulated over the United States Federal Reserve. Fed still on track for major November rate hike Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD abruptly dropping before the Wall Street open, hitting lows of $18,660 on Bitstamp. A recovery took the pair higher, and it was attempting reclaim $19,000 as support at the time of writing. The action came as commentators claimed the Fed was softening its policy on rate hikes ahead of the Nov. 1-2 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Citing mainstream media quotations from Fed …

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has said that its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the digital yen, will not be used to help attain negative interest rates. The BoJ’s Executive Director, Shinichi Uchida made the announcement in his most recent public speech. “While the idea of using such a functionality as a means to achieve a negative interest rate is sometimes discussed in academia, the Bank will not introduce CBDC on this ground.” Japan initially adopted negative interest rates in 2016 in an attempt to combat decades of deflation by encouraging borrowing and spending. Negative interest rates are only used …

A senior official from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has warned G7 nations that a common framework for regulating digital currencies needs to be put in place as quickly as possible. G7 refers to the Group of Seven, an inter-governmental political forum made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The statement comes in response to the continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as cryptocurrencies and their potential applications for skirting economic sanctions falls under increasing scrutiny. The head of the BOJ's payment systems department, Kazushige Kamiyama, told Reuters that using stablecoins makes …

A former Bank of Japan (BOJ) official who reportedly headed the digital currency research is now advising against its use. According to a report published in the Japan Times, Hiromi Yamaoka, the former head of the BOJ’s financial settlement department, advised against using the digital yen as a part of the country's monetary policy. Yamaoka’s biggest concern lies with the negative interest rates and believes once the digital yen becomes a prominent tool for mass payments, the common public would have to bear the brunt of the depleting value of the fiat currency. He went on to warn that the …

A consortium of roughly 70 Japanese companies, including the country’s biggest financial institutions, have joined forces to trial and launch a new yen-based digital currency in fiscal 2022, sending a strong signal that the private sector was embracing blockchain-based payment systems. The new digital currency, dubbed “DCJPY,” will be backstopped by bank deposits and rely on a common platform to expedite large fund transfers and settlements among the participating companies, according to Kazuhiro Tokia, the chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange DeCurret. DeCurret is leading the consortium, which includes banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial …