May 1, 2018

Japanese Forex Giant GMO to Launch New UK Crypto Trading App

Japanese brokers already dominate the global online retail FX and CFD market by trading volumes. And it now looks like they will try to leverage their country’s receptive regulatory environment to expand internationally with crypto too. The latest example is an app in the UK created by two groups headquartered in Tokyo.

Also Read: Bitcoin in Brief Tuesday: IOTA Ditched, Bitcoin Taking Over Popular Culture

Pipster

Z.com Trade, the international brand of Japanese forex giant GMO, has announced it will launch a new FX and cryptocurrency mobile trading application in partnership with Finatext UK. Named “Pipster,” the app is expected to be released for Android and iOS in the coming months.

The developers say that the concept behind Pipster is to provide simplified, smarter trading platform to a new generation of traders. It is said to include price indicators based on technical analysis, upcoming events, news and social sentiment. The app will also focus on building a community and offer a range of learning materials including videos, interactive quizzes and diagrams designed to easily explain the basics of trading.

“With Z.com Trade’s capacity to provide the best trading technology for retail FX traders, the Pipster app will be able to provide a simplified and smarter trading experience that we believe is essential to engage a new generation of traders,” said Rob Brockington, CEO of Finatext UK.

Japanese Collaboration

Z.com Trade is a member of the GMO Internet Group (TYO:9449), of which its internet securities provider GMO CLICK Securities Inc., is considered as one the world’s largest online retail forex providers by trading volume. The group has offices in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok, and offers FX, CFD and securities trading services worldwide. Earlier this year it announced the expansion of its cryptocurrency business with a new cloud mining service.

Finatext UK is the British branch of Finatext Ltd., a Tokyo based fintech firm, specializing in financial education apps, customized big data services and ‘Brokerage-As-a-Service’ solutions. It is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under registration number 806585.

“I believe that this collaborative initiative, with a reputable fintech firm such as Finatext, is a stepping stone that will enable us to extend our trading services to a wider audience,” said Masahiro Funada, CEO of Z.com Trade.

Are Japanese companies eventually going to dominate regulated crypto trading volumes? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Pipster.

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The post Japanese Forex Giant GMO to Launch New UK Crypto Trading App appeared first on Bitcoin News.

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bitcoin Outperformed by 11 Altcoins

When one thinks of cryptocurrencies or blockchain, one usually thinks of bitcoin. It’s the oldest, most used and most secure blockchain out there. However, many fail to realize that there are actually hundreds, if not thousands, of cryptocurrencies out there – and some of these are gaining too much traction on the market to ignore.

Bithub.pl has composed a list of the 20 best performing cryptocurrencies for January 2016, yet bitcoin came in only at number 12.

Weeding out rogue appearances, the list left out some of the smaller market cap coins, which may have risen considerably on thin volumes. Bithub.pl did however give honorable mentions to Pascal Coin (PASC), which grew by 10,765.08%, Byteball (GBYTE) — that’s up 244.64%, — and Golem (GNT) with a 192.09% increase.

The list is diverse and points to no one specific trend within the space. There are privacy-centric coins such as Dash and Monero, Smart Contract platforms like Ethereum and Lisk, and even in-game assets like BitCrystals.

Who’s Winning The Crypto Race?

Looking at the top three cryptos on the list, we can see a diverse set of coins that serve multiple purposes. The first, CounterParty (XCP) is an asset-issuing platform that embeds data into regular bitcoin transactions. Using CounterParty, anyone can issue assets or tokens that reside within the bitcoin blockchain. One of these tokens issued on the CounterParty platform is, in fact, the second on the list, BitCrystals.

BitCrystals (BCY) is an in-game asset that acts as the currency in EverdreamSoft’s free-to-play mobile game Spells of Genesis, a trading card/arcade-style game that leverages blockchain technology both in its in-game economy and the game’s storyline.

The third-highest mover is MaidSafeCoin (MAID), the asset that fuels the MaidSafe network, where users can create and host websites, store private data and share public data through a decentralized mesh network of computers.

bitcoin Weathers January Storm

January was a turbulent month for bitcoin. Despite massive volatility and game-changing developments in the industry, bitcoin has managed to end on a positive note, the price even continuing to grow into February, currently sitting at around $1,030.

Looking at charts showing how bitcoin started the month at $963 and ended at $970, it is easy to forget that bitcoin has dropped to as low as $760, following exchange inspections carried out by the People’s Bank of China, only to bounce back after those involved introduced precautionary measures.

What About Fiat?

As we have come to expect, fiat currencies haven’t done nearly as well as cryptocurrencies. Their inflationary nature combined with the fact that they are easily influenced by geopolitical developments has made some big losers this month.

Following the inauguration of President Donald Trump, and the various policies announced and applied by his administration, the USD dropped 2.6% in January, the biggest monthly drop of the currency since March last year.

Do these altcoins have a standalone future or are they heavily dependent on bitcoin to raise all ships? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of CryptoCompare, Bithub.pl, Shutterstock, Bitwala

The post These 11 Cryptocurrencies Outperformed Bitcoin in January appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.