The healthcare industry is paradoxical. On the one hand, treatment technologies represent some of the most advanced science known to humankind, while some administrative tasks are still performed using paper and fax machine. Studies have shown that the administrative costs of healthcare can represent up to one-third of the total cost of care. Also, as diagnosis, treatment, and care, becomes increasingly data-driven and patient-specific, the industry needs to adopt more secure and robust technologies to manage patient data and communications between the patient and the different participants in the healthcare supply chain.
We are joined by John Bass and Corey Todaro, who are respectively CEO and CPO of Hashed Health, an innovation firm focused on accelerating the meaningful development of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies for the industry. Hashed Health works to build solutions which leverage blockchain to solve some of the most important challenges facing this sector.
The post appeared first on .
Cryptocurrencies were a tough pill to digest even before the governments got involved. Now, the policymakers all over the world are trying to take control of the digital currency. Right from exchanges to ICOs, keeping track of what’s legal has become just as daunting as figuring out which new-fangled token might turn into next big thing.
Owing to the lack of global coordination among authorities, the rules vary wildly. There’s a possibility of that changing after finance chiefs discuss digital assets at the upcoming G20 meeting in Buenos Aires. Until then, there’s a wide range of opinions on how to best regulate this space.
What Major Countries Think About Cryptocurrencies
U.S.A.
Generally, the two federal agencies that serve in the U.S., that is the SEC and CFTC primarily serve the American cryptocurrency market. Unfortunately, both agencies have differing views on the matter, despite working towards a similar goal of cryptocurrency .
While the SEC defines ICOs and cryptocurrencies as “,” and therefore illegal unless registered as a security, the CFTC differs and defines cryptocurrencies as “.”
As highlighted by the nation’s top two market watchdogs, in accordance with a testimony to the Congress in February, most cryptocurrency trading in the U.S. is taking place in a legal gray area. Now, it is to be seen how exactly it goes about cracking it down.
Recently, the US state of Wyoming declared cryptocurrencies as a type of “.”
Canada
Regulators in have stated that ICOs are to be treated as securities and there should be a consideration of ‘high-risk’ with all products linked to cryptocurrencies. At the same time, the country’s stock exchanges have become popular destinations for crypto-related stocks and exchange-traded funds.
Japan
Asia, as known by all, is one of the most tech-savvy places to be, with Japan playing a captivating role after its introduction of a licensing system for digital-assets last year. It recently led a at this year’s G20 meeting, asking for regulations to avoid cryptocurrency money laundering.
Hong Kong
Regulators in have implemented more of a hands-off approach while maintaining the stringency of crypto platforms to avoid trading anything that qualifies as a security without permission. This is exactly why most of the world’s cryptocurrency trading takes place in this hub of sorts.
Singapore & Taiwan
Termed as an ‘experiment’ by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, cryptocurrency according to him, is not a strong case to completely . Playing it safe, authorities are taking a wait-and-see approach.
China
China has very openly digital asset exchanges and Initial Coin Offerings, shut down all means of online connectivity to foreign trading platforms and moreover in a shocking move, cut off the power supply to bitcoin miners.
This comes as a major whammy for the world as was once considered to be a global hub for cryptocurrency trading – but is now leading everyone in cracking down.
However, the Chinese are rapidly working behind the scenes on cryptocurrency regulations and blockchain technology. What remains to be seen is if they pull off a “back with a bang” in the near future.
South Korea
South Korea, which turned into a breeding ground of cryptocurrency activity hubbub last year, is also tightening its oversight sears as it operates on a set of , though it has granted the circulation of cryptocurrency to keep , at least for now.
India
In the South Asian country of , where crypto-mania has been relatively somber and hushed, the government has that it doesn’t consider digital currencies to be legal tender and will take measures to curb their use.
Europe
The bloc’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies for the European Commission is still under a review. The European Securities and Markets Authority, which coordinates standards across member states, has proposed restrictions on derivatives tied to virtual currencies for retail investors and is also assessing how the EU’s new MiFID II rules apply to digital assets. One regulation that’s already as good as implemented – platforms that exchange virtual currencies for conventional, physical money will soon have their customers’ identity verified.
Meanwhile, several countries have welcomed and are actively pursuing blockchain businesses. Most notably; France, , and .
Germany has, on a national level, cracked down on trading venues that lack permission to offer brokerage services and French authorities have said that online platforms for crypto-derivatives should face tough reporting and business conduct standards. However, the French minister of finance recently was in favor of cryptocurrencies, and wishes to make France a “.”
U.K.
In the U.K., a parliamentary committee is churning out ways on how to police . The UK is also one of the last havens for ICOs, with accommodative policy ensuring that London does not lose it’s status as the global center for financial innovation.
Russia
’s finance ministry unveiled draft legislation in January that would ban cryptocurrency payments while allowing ICOs and the exchange of virtual currencies into the traditional sort. However, in order to make these rules permanent, the ministry may have to overcome the opposition from the nation’s central bank.
The African Continent
Major African economies remain in the gray area of the cryptocurrency regulation. Although ’s markets regulator doesn’t oversee virtual currencies or digital-asset exchanges, the central bank has promised to investigate an “appropriate policy framework and regulatory regime.” , being one of Africa’s most tech-savvy nations, is also facing hindrance on its way to digital currency. There, and other have grown in rebellion even as officials have warned them to stay away from dealing in them.
We can confer one thing about the cryptocurrency domain with the help of this entire scenario; the nations may hate it or love it, but they definitely cannot ignore it!
The post appeared first on .
There seems to be a correlation between the , the cryptocurrency with the biggest market capitalization, and the forward price to earnings ratio of stocks listed in the S&P 500. As , the valuation measure peaked on the same day in Dec. 2017 for and the .
The famous Morgan Stanley analyst, , published a report about his observations, highlighting an interrelationship and similarity in their movements. The forward price to earnings ratio is calculated by dividing the total market capitalization of a stock to the projected company earnings for the next fiscal year.
Wilson wrote in his report, “While we do not expect this relationship to continue to hold so tightly we do think it will be hard for price-to-earnings to move significantly higher or lower without a commensurate move in the digital currency.”
bitcoin may be in its nascent stage at the moment, but analysts have already begun comparing its movement with the stock market. Importantly though, the two assets could not be any different. bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, while the S&P 500 is an index of the top 500 traded public companies. Equity researchers have pointed out how bitcoin and S&P 500 both hit highs around the same time in Dec. 2017 and then also underwent a major correction since the start of 2018.
Similarities in the Price Charts (bitcoin/Stocks)
However, there could also be completely different reasons for their rise and correction. Buoyed by the corporate tax rate cut announced by , stocks began rallying as investors expected better earnings and more efficient allocation of saved capital. The excitement didn’t last long though, as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and flushed out some of the capital in the equity markets. bitcoin, after a tremendous rally in 2017, has since cooled off and is down by more than 50 percent from its record high.
A major reason for the correction of the cryptocurrency market can be the action of financial regulators across the globe. Despite that, world finance leaders at the in Argentina stated that there was a need to regulate cryptocurrencies.
Nevertheless, investors need to be cautious as reports indicating a relation between cryptocurrencies and the stock market grows with each passing day. Speaking about the similarities in the price charts and other observed patterns between bitcoin and the stock market. Fundstrat Global Advisors’ Tom Lee :
“It (bitcoin price graph) could easily look like a chart that looks like the S&P because both had a parabolic move and then subsequently gave back some of these gains.”
His remarks came to light in the wake of a big sell-off that occurred in the equity markets Feb. 2018. He also acknowledged that “the connection between the two is really limited.”
“Cryptocurrencies have their own economy based on activity on that blockchain. Equities have their own economy based on earnings per share multiples. The institutional overlap is essentially zero,” Lee continued. He concluded by warning investors to be cautious and not invest in cryptocurrencies or the stock market expecting them to move in the same direction all the time.
The post appeared first on .
