The Prime Minister of India Comments on Blockchain

While global views remain largely divided when it comes to cryptocurrencies, it seems that almost everyone agrees upon the effectiveness of blockchain technology and how it could help redefine the world as we know it.

Contributing to this pattern, the latest name to join the proponents of blockchain technology is of Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, who did not only identify the technology as a positive advancement but also encouraged its adoption in various sectors within the country.

Blockchain will have a profound impact on our way of life

While speaking at the World Congress of Information Technology (WCIT), Modi expressed his views on blockchain technology along with the Internet of Things.

He stated:

“Disruptive technologies such as Block-chain [sic] and the Internet of Things, will have a profound impact in the way we live and work. They will require rapid adaptation in our workplaces.”

Modi’s action of sharing these views during the WCIT was received positively by the IT industry, since blockchain has lately established its various use cases across multiple industries, and is currently being adopted by global organizations left, right, and center.

While the Indian government has not made any significant new announcements regarding using blockchain technology with this statement, rumors within the local industry suggest that it might do so shortly.

In any case, these positive comments at the WCIT hold great importance, as it is an event that holds participants from over 80 countries and includes sponsors from the likes of Google, IBM, and Cisco.

Blockchain is already being pursued through various initiatives

While Modi’s statement represented the government’s stance which may or may not translate into tangible efforts in the near future, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), a private non-profit organization comprised of institutions from the IT industry, also one of the hosts of WCIT, had previously announced its own plans of working towards the establishment of blockchain technology usage within the country.

Last year, NASSCOM had announced the formation of a Service Interest Group (SIG) focusing on blockchain technology, which focuses on educating the general public about blockchain, and also works for the study and analysis for real-world use cases, especially in the Indian market.

In addition to the above, multiple institutions from the government of India have previously announced various initiatives that are aimed towards the advancement of blockchain technology, including its central bank’s efforts for developing a finance-based blockchain platform, which very recently was close to deployment to be used for multiple applications in the sector.

The comments and recent advancements hold great value for blockchain’s future

The IT community in India has long established itself as having one of the most prominent segments of the global IT movement, which is why the recent statement from the country’s prime minister holds great promise for the technology’s advancement.

While the future of cryptocurrency regulations remains unclear in the country, it would be safe to say that blockchain’s future is pretty clear: it will be thriving within India with various companies adapting it to fit the workings of the local market.

All in all, it will be very interesting to see the use cases developed from such initiatives, since India holds a diverse population from various walks of life when it comes to business solutions, and each of them could have significant suggestions for the usage of blockchain technology.

It would be exciting to witness how the involvement of India within the blockchain industry could revolutionize it further.

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The Cryptocurrency Market Could Hit $1 Trillion in 2018

When the year started, almost everyone in the cryptocurrency industry was ecstatic. Bitcoin was on a bullish run, other established cryptocurrencies were doing very well in their own right, and new tokens were making their way to the market. The cryptocurrency market was incredible.

All in all, it seemed that the only way the cryptocurrency industry could go was upwards, one had to look no further than the kind of progress that it had made in the last two months of 2017.

However, the cryptocurrency community started feeling a few jolts in the structure of those dreams when Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies’ value began to drop following the precarious rumors of a ban from South Korea– which proved to be ineffectual at the end with the country only implementing regulations in its territory.

But those rumors and other factors did leave lasting damage by the looks of it, as only this week, the overall value for Bitcoin dropped to its lowest, below $6,000, since November 2017.

This has caused current and potential investors alike to feel apprehensive. The Bitcoin that they had thought and heard predictions of hitting $100,000 by the end of the year is now not even at the 10 percent of that value, and needless to say, it does not look good for anyone who had high hopes from it.

However, a few experts suggest that not all hope is lost.

According to them, Bitcoin still has the potential to hit at least $50,000 shortly, and the overall cryptocurrency market might go on to hit an unparalleled value of $1 trillion.

And how exactly can this feat be achieved?

Corresponding with CNBC, the experts suggested that various factors would contribute to the next phase of success for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.

According to Thomas Glucksmann, a high official from popular cryptocurrency exchange Gatecoin, new technology updates, the potential for significant future investment, and cryptocurrency institutions operating under regulations and adding credibility to their trade will all contribute towards these predictions coming true.

The technology updates allude towards major improvements in the form of Ethereum’s sharding, Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, and upcoming features of interconnected blockchain networks such as Aion; while the future investments could come from cryptocurrency based financial products.

Glucksmann stated that considering these factors, “there is no reason why we couldn’t see bitcoin pushing $50,000 by December.”

Another expert, Jamie Burke, who is the CEO of a blockchain-centered venture capital company called Outlier Ventures, mentioned that the market is bound to go up, which could start as soon as this month. He further stated that while the rise and pace will be reminiscent of last year’s progress, this one could be more permanent than seasonal.

Burke mentioned:

“We believe after February the market will likely go on a bull run comparative if not greater than last year potentially reaching the trillion-dollar mark before a proper crypto winter sets in where the market becomes more focused on proper market fundamentals.”

While the cryptocurrency community hopes that this is true, no immediate significant rise is being noticed after the end of the first week of February.

That being said, the improvements in some avenues have been noticeable. The recent statement from the Chairman of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) which spoke positively of cryptocurrency helped the community obtain some credibility, and that could work towards increasing the overall value of the market in the future.

It would also be prudent to note that these are not the only experts who are predicting a bullish run for Bitcoin and an overall increase in market value for all cryptocurrencies as a result.

As mentioned above, Kay Van-Petersen, the same individual who had suggested Bitcoin’s unprecedented rise to the top in 2016 when nobody could have thought of it, had stated a few weeks ago that Bitcoin could easily hit $100,000 by the end of this year. It remains to be seen where we could go from here.

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Ukraine To Start Drafting Regulations For Cryptocurrencies

Following the increasing usage of cryptocurrencies in the country, Ukraine has decided to start considering regulations for these digital assets and their trading within its territory.

In an official meeting that was held between multiple government institutions, Oleksandr Turchynov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, directed the institutions to start developing “legal proposals” in order to start regulating the issue of cryptocurrency trading.

The council essentially formed a “working group” of various authorities to look into the requirements of effective regulatory practices, including but not limited to the following.

• Establishing a proper regulatory authority within the country along with defining its hierarchy within the government.
• Identifying the individuals and corporations that take part in cryptocurrency transactions to eliminate anonymity,
• Suggesting ways to monitor cryptocurrency transactions.
• Implementation of tax on cryptocurrency transactions.

The move comes in the midst of growing concerns from various institutions of the country that refer to the lack of taxation, the anonymity of transactions, and the non-existence of any regulations over the cryptocurrency exchanges present within the country.

The financial institutions had their concerns on taxes and how the cryptocurrency trading needs to be regulated for best practices. A bill had been drafted and presented to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, to have cryptocurrency trading regulated by the central bank. However, even though the bill was introduced back in October 2017, it remains to be discussed and passed.

The institutions pointed out how the anonymity of these transactions could help in money laundering by providing easy access to legalizing assets that come from criminal activities.

They also stated that the usage of anonymous transactions does not end there, but the cryptocurrency trading could also be used in trading contraband such as firearms and drugs, which could pose a massive threat to Ukraine.

It was further mentioned how all of these activities could particularly come in handy for terrorist activities originating from the “occupied territories of Ukraine.”

Will Ukraine be as severe as China and South Korea?

Except for a couple of incidents in the past that related to the investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine, the country has so far been ambivalent to cryptocurrency trading. It does not seem that it will follow the same approach as China in cracking down on the cryptocurrency industry, but it is certain that regulatory measures will be taken by the government shortly.

What those regulatory measures will propose is a different matter of discussion altogether. However, the cryptocurrency community in Ukraine expressed their hopes that the country will let them operate their businesses and day to day operations without unnecessary regulations. As with most entities associated with cryptocurrencies, the ones in Ukraine are also willing to abide by regulations as long as they do not get to hinder their justified operations.

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