Korea’s Changing Attitude Towards Cryptocurrency

Despite Korea’s technological advancements, the country has been slow to adapt to the use of cryptocurrency. Korea’s media and government worry that crypto could be used by the public for money laundering or tax evasion. However, Korean officials are now emphasizing that they’re not completely opposed to digital currencies.

In order to allow cryptocurrency to be used lawfully in Korea, the government has appointed a dedicated cryptocurrency exchange panel. As well as this, the Bank of Korea has even released a report about using cryptocurrency as a means of payment.

The government has also spoken about giving ICOs legal status. Hong Eui Rrak of the ruling Democratic Party stated that lawmakers are currently working on legislation that’ll lift the government’s previous ban.

Hopefully, these positive announcements show that the Korean government is willing to make Korea a more crypto-friendly country.

New Crypto Classification System in Korea

Statistics Korea will be in charge of creating a cryptocurrency classification system. They have already begun reviewing the system and are set to publish their findings on the 25th July.

Statistics Korea has reported that:

“Cryptocurrency exchanges such as Bithumb and Upbit are expected to be officially classified as crypto asset brokers after the government’s current title of ‘virtual currency handler’ is removed…The blockchain industry will be managed as a formal industry, starting with the government’s industrial classification, and conducting surveys and statistics.”

Following the recent crypto exchange attacks in Korea, there have been efforts put in place to monitor exchanges and their practices.  The announcement regarding this decision states that:

 “If the technical problems of virtual currency are resolved and the acceptability of virtual currency in the general society is increased, it cannot be ruled out that it can be widely used as an investment asset and payment means.”

In the future, cryptocurrency exchange platforms will use sophisticated management systems like those used by banks.

What About Other Blockchain Related Products in Korea

The new regulations don’t just concern cryptocurrency exchange platforms. The government will loosen the rules for almost all blockchain related products. They plan to distinguish between blockchain related products and cryptocurrency exchanges in their regulations.

The new cryptocurrency regulations in Korea will label exchange platforms as “Cryptocurrency Exchange and Brokerage”. Other blockchain related products, such as dApps, will be classified as “Blockchain Software Development and Integration.”

Hopefully, these new cryptocurrency regulations will allow Korea to truly excel in their major technological industries.

Let us know: What Do You Think of the New Cryptocurrency Regulations in Korea?

The post South Korea Set to Loosen Cryptocurrency Regulations appeared first on Startup Radar.

A blockchain technology was referred to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies once it was introduced in 2008. In addition, it is growing faster and faster by embracing a larger space of industry and service, such as social networks and financial services.  The following list contains top 10 influencers in blockchain industry, however, the list is not ranked in order of importance. Satoshi Nakamoto is considered as the creator of bitcoin by the majority and there is a lot of mysteries surrounding his identity. Therefore, he is not listed here since he was never seen in real life and even was not heard of yet. Maybe he is a real person or not, the list starts without him.

Marc Andreessen

Software Engineer, Entrepreneur

Every tech-geek knows him as he is the co-creator of the very first web browser called Mosaic and the co-founder of famous Netscape. Marc Lowell Andreessen is an American entrepreneur, software engineer, and investor. In addition, he is a member of the director’s board of Facebook, eBay and HP Enterprise. He is one of the bitcoin pioneers and has made successful investments on cryptocurrencies. His famous article was published in New York Times under the title of “Why Bitcoins Matter”. You can read the article via this link.

Don Tapscott

Author, Scholar, Researcher, and Speaker

Don Tapscott is a Canadian business executive, author, a consultant who specialized in business strategy. Being the CEO of the Tapscott Group, he founded the international think tank New Paradigm. Furthermore, he authored more than 15 books written on the digital economy. His recent focus now is on how technology will bring an organizational transformation to not only business but also to society in general.

Alex Tapscott

Executive, Author

Alex Tapscott, the son of Don Tapscott, currently serves as the CEO of Northwest Passage Ventures. Alex and Don, son and father duo, co-authored a critical bestseller “Blockchain Revolution”. Therefore, his work now revolves around the applications of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

Nick Szabo

Computer Scientist, Legal Scholar, Cryptographer

He started researches in digital contracts and digital currency, namely bitgold – designed for a decentralized digital money, earlier than his colleagues in 1998. Even if bitgold was not implemented, the research upon it was crucial for bitcoin development a decade later. Furthermore, Nick coined the term “smart contracts” for the first time in the digital economy. There are claims online about Nick Szabo telling that he might be Satoshi himself, but he always denies it.

Hal Finney

Programmer, Cryptographer Activist

Finney is also a genius pioneer in the bitcoin world. He is the creator of the first reusable proof-of-work system before bitcoin emerged. In addition, Finney was the first ever participant in bitcoin transaction, receiving bitcoins from Satoshi Nakamoto. Bcflick was his last experimental software project to create more secure bitcoin wallets via trusted computations.

Gavin Andresen

Programmer

An American software developer, Gavin Andresen is well known for his involvement with bitcoin. He was originally a 3D graphics and virtual reality software programmer until 2010 when his focus was directed into the bitcoin market. Furthermore, Gavin is the lead developer of the reference implementation for bitcoin client software. In addition, to support and nurture the bitcoin development, he established the Bitcoin Foundation.

Adam Back

Programmer

Adam Back is a British programmer, cryptographer, and crypto-hacker. He has made significant researches on e-cash protocols since 1995. His inventions of hashcash and proof-of-work system are handy manuals for several anti-spam systems. Hashcash is designed to combat blog spams and namespace pollution. Adam is the CEO of Blockstream, a company that seeks further development of bitcoin and blockchain technology.

Patrick Byrne

Executive, Entrepreneur

Patrick Byrne is an American entrepreneur, e-commerce pioneer and CEO of Overstock.com, an e-retailer giant. In January 2014, Overstock was the first major retailer to welcome bitcoin payments for its products long before Microsoft and Dell came along. He has an MA degree from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Patrick is an amazing sportsman too. He has a taekwondo black belt and a professional boxer. More surprisingly, he is a cancer survivor. The blockchain people are happy that he defeated his cancer.

Roger Ver

Investor

Roger Ver is the “Bitcoin Jesus”, an American entrepreneur running his business in Tokyo, Japan. He is the first person to make initial investments in bitcoin startups. Being a prominent bitcoin supporter, he promotes Bitcoin Cash, a hard fork of the cryptocurrency – an intent to reduce transaction time and fee. In 2012, Ver helped the Bitcoin Foundation with a large amount of donation and the Foundation of Economic Education with 1 million dollar worth of bitcoins.

Vitalik Buterin

Programmer

Vitalik Buterin, a Canadian-Russian programmer, is the co-founder of both the Ethereum project and Bitcoin Magazine. This 24-year-old genius boy is the youngest on the list. His cryptocurrency is worldwide number 2 in terms of transaction volume. Buterin learned about bitcoins at the age of 17 from his father. He was listed in Fortune’s 40 under 40 in 2016, and Forbes 30 under 30 in 2018.

The post TOP 10 INFLUENCERS IN BLOCKCHAIN SPACE appeared first on Startup Radar.

Foresting will welcome you all at COEX Conference Room in Samsung-dong. Don’t miss the biggest conference in the 4the industrial revolution – technology revolution!

The conference will be hosted by the Electronic Times, the Korea Software Industry Association and DeCentre.

Daniel Eom, CEO of Foresting, will introduce South Korea’s first blockchain-based SNS platform for economic freedom.

“After an amazing participation from the last BIT Forum 2018 Spring Conference, this time, Foresting is about to rock the social network with its extraordinary platform. The Foresting platform will open a new world with more efficiency and impact of content providers. Additionally, this new platform is faster, easier and more profitable compared to the existing social networks,” says Daniel.

The Latest Trends in Blockchain

This event will present the latest trends in blockchain and cryptocurrency.  As well as new blockchain platforms will be introduced by promising companies that are advancing ahead with their superior technology. Furthermore, at the conference, professionals and experts will touch domestic and foreign issues related to the future prospects of the blockchain technology.

ICO trends have recently been receiving attention from major global countries. Therefore,  Speakers are going to look at recent business trends and other issues.  Mainly, issues are such as regulations, responses, and strategies to use blockchains.

BIT Forum 2018 Summer is based on the 4th Industrial Revolution era. Thus, you will find the answers to your questions on blockchain through the upcoming lectures in a variety of topics from specialists:
–  “How should we look at the blockchain and cryptocurrency?” by Kim Hyeong-Jun, Korea University Professor;
–  “The utilization of blockchain technology in S/W convergence” by Lee Deong-Hyeok, DeCentre CEO;
–  “Travel lodging and blockchain” by Lee Joon-Ho, Jeneum.

Finally there will be a showroom that applies new form of blockchain technologies in security and entertainment fields.  The some prepared exhibition spaces within the event venue are waiting for you. The exhibitions will allow developers a direct interaction with the platforms.

The post Bit Forum 2018 Summer Conference appeared first on Startup Radar.

Is Cryptocurrency a social evil? Or can it be a force for positive change in Korea? If we are to believe some of the narratives from the global mainstream media, cryptocurrency is simply all about Bitcoin and it’s price. It’s about men sitting at home in their pajamas, promising their families they will become millionaires, ruining the lives of those around them, whilst contributing nothing to the world.  The Korean cryptocurrency Market has made a lot of millionaires but has also ruined many lives in Korea.

Viewpoints Outside The Korean Cryptocurrency Markets

Outside of the Korean crypto industry, we can breakdown cryptocurrency commentators into three different groups:

1. Negative viewpoints towards crypto in the political arena.
2. Positive views on Cryptocurrency in politics.
3. The mainstream media.

All three players are exceptionally important when it comes to shaping global opinion on Cryptocurrency markets. Politicians, in particular, wield significant power when it comes to regulation of the space.

We will first examine each of these groups thoughts on crypto, before examining the social good that cryptocurrency can bring to the world.

Negative Views On Cryptocurrency In Politics

On the 14th March 2018, the US Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment held a committee to discuss cryptocurrency. Brad Sherman addressed the committee on behalf of banks. We think that he does a great job summing up all the negative views on cryptocurrencies in the political arena. Mr. Sherman had the following to say about cryptocurrencies:

“Cryptocurrencies are a crock. What social benefit do they provide? Well.. they allow a few dozen men in my district to sit in their pajamas on the couch all day and tell their wives they are going to be millionaires.”

“They help terrorists… and criminals move money around the world. They help tax evaders. They help startup companies commit fraud, take the money and 1% of the time they actually create a useful business. But then again… I dare say that some tiny percent of all larceny and crime helps finance something that turns out to be useful.”

“It hurts the US government in two ways, our control… ability to have the dollar be the chief means of international finance is what has underpinned our ability to impose sanctions and stop tax cheating and furthermore when we have people take the risk, we don’t encourage gambling. We encourage investment in the real economy.

But when you buy a Bitcoin, are you financing a new factory? No. Your gambling on its value for no social benefit. Now I know, this bit… Errr… that these cryptocurrencies are popular. they’re popular with guys who want to sit in their pajamas and tell their wives that they are going to be millionaires. And, they’re popular with those that have read Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead and believe these are the new canons… the new divinely inspired documents of our age. But they are harmful and they are harmful in one other way and that is synergy. Is the benefit that the US government gets by issuing currency. It is the float, it is the fact we do not pay interest on newly created dollars. We lose that as well.”

You may have read Mr. Sherman’s statement and have been nodding in approval or shaking your head thinking he is wrong. Either way, having an open mind and having an informed viewpoint is always a good thing.

Positive Views on Cryptocurrency in Politics

On the 18th of March 2018, the Financial Stability Board (which was chaired by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney) stated that “The FSB’s initial assessment is that crypto-assets do not pose risks to global financial stability at this time.”

The chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission made a statement to the Senate Banking Committee on Feb 6th, 2018. The statement revealed that the CFTC would take a “do no harm” approach when it came to cryptocurrency regulation. J. Christopher Giancarlo continued by saying that this is a “new digital era” for the financial markets and that cryptocurrencies have resulted in a “paradigm shift” in how the world views payments and financial processes. He went on to say that ignoring such innovation “will not make them go away, nor is it a responsible regulatory response.”

Mr. Rounds then went on to ask if Bitcoin was “A commodity? Or are they a security? Or are they both?” Mr. Giancarlo explained that Bitcoin has characteristics of multiple different things. He goes on to say:

“My 30-year-old niece, who has bought Bitcoin years ago and she is a HODL. She says I’m going to own it, I don’t know what’s going to become of it. But I want to hang on to it. She’s not a fraudster or a manipulator, she’s just a kid and believes in it and I was fascinated talking to her. I think she represents a lot of folks that think there is something in this, I want to hold onto it. In that record, from our point of view, it’s a commodity.”

In politics, it is very clear that some do see value in the innovation happening in the cryptocurrency space. Mr. Giancarlo makes it very clear that just because his niece holds Bitcoin, she should not be called a manipulator or a fraudster. Honest “kids” who just believe in Bitcoin, should not be tarnished with the same brush as terrorists or fraudsters.

Maybe you disagree. But many of you will probably know honest, hardworking people who own Bitcoin. Just be aware that if you believe that all bitcoin owners are scammers or terrorists, that you are probably giving this label to some people you know.

Cryptocurrency and the Mainstream Media

Much mainstream media reporting seems to be led by what that will get a lot of clicks or views. Therefore, it is understandable that much of the reporting on cryptocurrency is:

1. Bitcoin is dead.
2. Bitcoin hits a new all-time high. Or here’s our guide to buying Ripple at 30 cents a token.

In both situations, news outlets will get a lot of interest in their stories. However, we must be aware this is their business model and the media cannot be expected to have detailed knowledge of cryptocurrencies. Their job is to simply report the news and stories that will get a lot of interest from the general public. We must accept that clickbait titles and publishing extreme stories are the cost of ‘free’ news.

As the general public consuming this media, all we can do is be aware of the agenda of news channels. If any blame is to be leveled at the media, it is probably that whilst their revenue models incentivize them to create sensational stories, they could give more coverage to proponents of cryptocurrency to give the public a more balanced viewpoint.

To Be Continued…

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Bitcoin traders around the world were holding their heads in their hands over the weekend, as the Bitcoin crash dropped the price below $7,000: facing a two-month low. The futile crash occurred after South Korean cryptocurrency exchange site, Coinrail was hacked and lost 30% of the altcoins traded over their platform. The total value of their losses was 40 billion won ($37 million.)

The Korean state police are currently investigating this incident.

Since the start of this year, Bitcoin has now dropped 50%. However, Sunday saw the largest spike of all: with a sudden drop of 10% and over $500 in value in the space of an hour. Other major cryptocurrencies also reported losses.

On Friday the coin was valued at $7,616 and Monday’s low was reported as $6,694. It’s only slightly recovered since.

The Korean state police are currently investigating this incident.

Security and Regulations for Cryptocurrency

It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first crypto hacking attack in South Korea. Another Korean cryptocurrency exchange site, Youbit, lost 20 billion won worth of Bitcoin over the course of 2 attacks in December and April.

All of this leads us to ask the question: do we have strong enough security and regulations in place for cryptocurrency?

In the first quarter of 2018 alone, there were seven global hacks, totaling in total losses of $670 million.

I think it’s fair to say that Bitcoin holders should make sure that they’re taking the necessary precautions to keep their money safe. There also should be tougher regulations for cryptocurrency trading websites.

What the Bitcoin Crash Means for Crypto Traders

Following the crash, many traders are in dismay and worrying about the future of bitcoin. Will the cryptocurrency ever recover? It’s worth bearing in mind that this isn’t the only time that Bitcoin has suffered a crash. Over the past 9 years since its inception, the coin has seen major peaks and drops but has always had a healthy recovery.

Of course, there are people who believe that it’s time for Bitcoin’s bubble to burst. But has that time come so soon? We don’t think so!

For traders, this isn’t a time to panic. This is the time to sit still and hold onto your coins.

Better yet, if you’ve been considering joining the cryptocurrency revolution for a while, now is a great time to buy- but be sensible and don’t buy any more than you’re willing to lose. It might take a while, but we’re confident that there’s only one way that Bitcoin can go after this crash: straight back up again.

The post The Bitcoin Crash: What it Means and How it Happened appeared first on Startup Radar.

Koreans are more interested in cryptocurrencies than any other country.  This is in spite of the Korean government banning ICOs in Korea as well as regulating cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea.  Many Koreans are even banking on cryptocurrencies as their retirement funds!  Daily trading of cryptocurrencies is very high in Korea so it is good to know which are the best cryptocurrency exchange sites in Korea.  We at Startup Radar have assembled a list of the top 10 cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea.  We looked into many factors, such as the number of users, security features, customer satisfaction, and payment options.  If you are a beginning trader living in Korea, you will definitely find this article helpful.

10)  Youbit

Youbit has made headlines for getting hacked.  They are previously operated by Yapizon.  During that time they were hacked for over 3,000 bitcoins.  Many suspected that North Korea was behind the hacking of the Bitcoins.  Therefore, after that Youbit went offline but this year they re-emerged.  Many thought after they filed for bankruptcy over al this controversy, that this would be the end of Youbit.    However, they are back under new management called Coinbin.

9)  Coinlink

Coinlink is a Korean cryptocurrency exchange company that is listed on Kosdaq.  Therefore, Coinlink is Korea’s first bitcoin exchange run by a Kosdaq-listed company called Accupix.  Accupix’s main business is selling coal but they also construct railway communication systems.

Coinlink will be operated by Fourth Link.  Because Coinlink will be the first cryptocurrency exchange operated by a Kosdaq-registered company, it will have a secure system and reliability.  Fourth Link is looking to build a global network of cryptocurrency exchanges.  The first step will be signing a partnership with Glosfar, which is a Korean company that offers bitcoin transfer services.  In addition, they are also looking to form alliances with partners in China, Japan, U.S., Philippines, Indonesia, and South Africa.

8)  Zeniex

Zeniex opened in February of 2018.  They were created by Korean and Chinese finance and security experts.  Currently, the platform can only buy and sell cryptocurrencies because many major Korean banks are holding off on confirming bank accounts for cryptocurrency trading.  Furthermore, many Korean banks have been refusing to issue real-name accounts citing uncertainties and security concerns regarding cryptocurrencies.

7)  GOPAX

GOPAX stands for Global Online Professional Assets Exchange.  This is a very new exchange.  It was opened by a blockchain company called Streami in late 2017.  Streami is partnered with Korean bank Shinhan.  On GOPAX users can trade the day they register.  It is very easy to register and the exchange platform is very easy to use.  In addition, everything is on a single page and there are no transaction fees.  Most of their trading comes from Bitcoin and Stellar.

While they are a very new exchange there is a lot of buzz around GOPAX.  They have been aggressive in their efforts to increase their users.  Furthermore, they have done many promotional events where they gave away free coins.  They are now trading Ripple!  The drawback to GOPAX and the reason it is 8 on our list is that the site is too focused on the local Korean market.  Therefore, this exchange is for Koreans and you won’t find many English comments or feedback.

6)  Coinnest

Coinnest made headlines for being the first cryptocurrency exchange company to have their employees arrested by the Korean government.  The exchange has over 500,000 members and has the vastest selection of cryptocurrencies.  They offer the Pundi X Pass card which users can top up cryptocurrencies through the mobile app or through Pundi X POS devices.  This will allow people with no access to cryptocurrencies to conduct transactions.

The purpose of the Pundi X Pass and the Pundi POS is to bring cryptocurrencies to the mainstream.  In addition, their public token sale in January sold out in just 90 minutes.  Coinnest’s most traded crypto is Tron which makes up over 50% of its daily volume.

5)  Coinplug

Coinplug is known for their okBitcard service.  This service allows Koreans to buy Bitcoin vouchers at any 7-11 or Mini Stop across Korea.  Therefore, this is a very quick and easy way to buy small amounts of bitcoin.  All you need is your phone number.  You can also purchase bitcoin using your credit card.  They have over 7,000 ATMs in Korea.

Coinplug has made all this possible because of their partnership with Nautilus Hyosung which is Korea’s largest ATM hardware producer.  The goal was to make acquiring Bitcoin easy to the general public.  Coinplug is looking to expand to other countries by the end of 2018.

4)  Korbit

Korbit was the first cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea.  It is our #4 cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea.  The exchange had a solid reputation of being foreigner friendly.  Furthermore, it holds a 6% market share in Korea.  They have very low fees, great security features, and offers a remittance service.  This year Korbit has banned non-Korean citizens from depositing local currency into Korbit.  Therefore, this resulted in Korbit losing a lot of foreign customers.

Korbit has been leading the way in following the regulations set by the Korean government.  In addition, they have taken steps in requiring cryptocurrency exchange users to connect to their bank account for identification purposes.

3)  Coinone

Coinone focuses mainly on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ethereum Classic.  They hold 8% market share in Korea.  In addition, they have gone from a 20 employee company in early 2017 to over 100 employees today.  They have over 600,000 users and does over 20 billion won in monthly revenue.  Furthermore, Coinone has been at the forefront in encouraging healthy trading practices through education.  They have issued statements on the technological aspects of each coin they list.

Coinone made headlines this year for being raided by regulators who wanted to check their ledger.  However, this has not slowed down Coinone.  They are looking to become a global fintech company that does exchange remittance, investment consultation, and insurance services.  They are currently looking to form joint ventures with Southeast Asian crypto exchanges.

2)  Bithumb

Bithumb has quickly become one of the most dominant cryptocurrency markets in Korea.  They continue to add cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Bitcoin Dash, and Ethereum.  All these can be exchanged for Korean Won.  They hold 33% of the market share in Korea and have a daily trading volume of over 250 billion Won.  They are all about the promotion of using digital currencies for everyday life.  Therefore they recently showcased their new kiosks that accept Bitcoin Cash.

In 2018 Bithumb partnered with Korea Pay’s Services to reach Korean brands to try payments in cryptocurrencies.  Furthermore, their focus moving forward is on launching three services for the kiosk venture.  In addition, Touchpad, Touchbone, and Bithumb Cache, all focus on making it easier for customers to use digital currencies.

1) Upbit

The Kakao-backed cryptocurrency exchange comes in at #1 in our rankings.  last year they received close to 200 billion won in commission sales last year.  They hold 53% market share in Korea and has a 24-hour trading volume of 1.3 Trillion Won.  It is operated by Dunamu Inc. which also owns Korea’s top messenger app Kakao Talk.  Upbit is integrated with Kakao Talk and has over 120 cryptocurrencies because of their partnership with Bittrex.

Upbit has plans to launch a new global cryptocurrency index called UBCI (Upbit Crypto Index).  This will set the standard for future coins and make it easier for investors and the public to understand the market trends.  Look for UBCI to play an important role in Korea, especially for future ICO startups in Korea.

The post Top 10 Cryptocurrency Exchanges in Korea appeared first on Startup Radar.

In the 9-year’s development, Bitcoin’s price has climbed with everyone’s enthusiasm for the digital currency and recognition of the blockchain technology, but it also exposed a series of problems such as inadequate transfer privacy protection, long transfer time, and excessive transfer fees.  In order to solve these problems, Bitcoin Diamond emerged.

It added privacy protection functions, users are free to choose whether to hide the number of BCD of their own address and the amount during the transfer process, so as to protect their privacy and security.

So what exactly is Bitcoin Diamond and why is it becoming so popular these days?  The code used for Bitcoin Diamond is similar to Bitcoin Core.  The only drawback right now to this cryptocurrency is that there are not enough wallets to support it.  Bitcoin Diamond brings more anonymity, faster transaction times, and more tokens.

Blockchain in Gaming

BCD (Bitcoin Diamond)  has many partners in media, payment, cloud, storage, game and so on.  For example, the strategic cooperative media of this conference is also one of the important partners of BCD in the field of media.  GAME.COM is our partner in the game field.  With the gradual improvement of game development, BCD will be used to pay for game items.  BCD will even be integrated into the game.  Killing the BOSS in a game will get BCDs!  In the future, all of this will be realized.  In cloud storage, an important partner of BCD is AAC Chain.  BCD will deploy nodes on the hardware of AAC, making the BCD network more stable and secure.

Blockchain in Finance

I think the Blockchain has an epoch-making significance to the financial sector.  All financial products such as stocks, futures, funds, and so on can be implemented through Blockchain, making transactions more secure and transparent.  Blockchain can also make financial transactions more convenient and faster, allowing people from all over the world to participate in global finance through digital currencies.  BCD is also committed to becoming one of the mediums for global value transmission.  In the future, we hope BCD can buy financial products, virtual products, and even real diamonds.

The post Improve Privacy and Speed Up Transactions with Bitcoin Diamond appeared first on Startup Radar.

Digital Currency = Economic Freedom

So why does having economic freedom allow countries to strive?  The answer is simple.  Economic freedom leads to higher income for all, higher life expectancy, higher education, and an overall higher standard of living.

Digital Currency has already brought a lot of economic freedom into the world.  It is a new technology that is not fully being embraced by the Korean government.  However, if they do they will be able to give even more economic freedom to the people.

Digital currencies like Bitcoin, Etereum, etc will make it easier to start a business, enforce property rights, promote trade outside of the country, and gives power to the Korean citizens to have an alternative to the current corrupt systems.

What is the Korean Government Afraid of?

However, there is a reality we need to face.  There are people and financial institutions that do not want to lose control of money.  Also, governments could be scared of their role in all this.  As blockchain technologies develop, people will rely less and less on a middleman.  The government is the biggest middleman of them all.  The Korean government is the perfect example.  They do not want to lose control of their citizens.

However, Korea needs to understand that a digital currency like Bitcoin is a worldwide distributed network.  This means that there is no single place the government can go to, there is no CEO of Bitcoin that they can arrest, and most importantly there is no server that they can unplug.  There is nothing the Korean government can do to stop it.  They banned ICOs in Korea and limited digital currency exchanges in Korea.  This just limits Korea’s economic freedom compared to the rest of the world.  The lessons learned in the past by Korea should hopefully lead them in the right direction when it comes to this new and innovative technology.

The post How Digital Currency Will Change Korea appeared first on Startup Radar.

The biggest news this week is with Ripple and the possible partnership with Coinbase one of the largest digital exchange platforms.  Most of the cryptocurrencies are down this week but not as much as last week.  Also on a fun note the Webster’s dictionary has added cryptocurrency and Initial Coin Offering to their vocabulary.  What kind of trends will we see this week?  Here are the top 20 cryptocurrencies and the amount of movement compared to last week.

1.  Bitcoin (12,484,366 Won) (+7.1%)
2.  Ethereum (919,299 Won) (-3.9%)
3.  Ripple (1,029 Won) (+.6%)
4.  Bitcoin Cash  (1,365,477 Won) (+1.4%)
5.  Cardano   (319 Won) (-11.7%)
6.  Litecoin  (227,399 Won) (-3.9%)
7.  NEM  (379 Won) (-14.7%)
8.  Stellar (378 Won) (-.8%)
9.  EOS (8,654 Won) (-8.1%)
10.  NEO  (120,705 Won) (-21.9%)
11.  IOTA (2,026 Won) (-5.9%)
12.  Dash (661,723 Won) (-.7%)
13.  Monero (401,991 Won) (+19.3%)
14.  TRON (50 Won) (+8%)
15.  Bitcoin Gold (117,472 Won) (-10.1%)
16.  ICON  (3,858 Won) (-9%)
17.  QTUM (30,182 Won) (28,678 Won) (-5%)
18.  Ethereum Classic (28,904 Won) (-25.6%)
19.  Lisk (19,840 Won) (-8%)
20.  Steem (3,763 Won) (3,739 Won) (-.7%)

Top 3 Risers

1.  Monero:  Monero has been having a great February.  The rise in price is likely because of the upcoming hard fork that will happen on March 14. MoneroV will be spawned and holders of Monero will get a 10x bonus of XMV tokens.
2.  TRON:  Their main advantage is in tech and the founder of TRON had announced a few days ago, the main net of TRON will be launched in advance.
3.  Bitcoin: There is news that PayPal might be using bitcoin in the future.

Bottom 3 Fallers

1.  Ethereum Classic:  No real news as to why the price is falling.
2.  NEO:  Focused mainly on apps.  Could this show that blockchain for apps might not work?
3.  NEM:  $530 million in theft has left NEM falling for the second week in a row!

The post Cryptocurrency Tuesday 3/6/2018 appeared first on Startup Radar.

Cryptocurrency in South Korea and the trading of cryptocurrency is a lot more sophisticated than in other countries.  If you are looking for reasons why cryptocurrency prices have been so volatile look no further than South Korea.  Nearly 20% of all cryptocurrency trading happens in South Korea.  This 20 % is not just comprised of institutions but your average Korean citizen.  Most go to exchanges like BitThumb, Korbit, or Coinone.  There are even trading locations that make trading easier than ever with customer service desks where you can buy and sell cryptocurrency.  You can sit on a couch and watch prices on a big board and access ATMs to liquidate your digital currency for cash.

The Rise and Fall of Cryptocurrencies in South Korea

South Koreans are also flocking to trading apps.  This is a powerful trend in a country where smartphone ownership rates are some of the highest in the world.  It is one reason demand and prices have a huge premium in South Korea.  Some premiums went as high as 40%.  This gave global cryptocurrency traders a chance to arbitrage.   A lot of people made millions by taking advantage of the price difference.  But with the boom comes uncertainties such as regulations and rumors of trading bans.  South Korean regulators are grappling with ways to forge a coherent regulatory policy.  This means that for traders it has been one headache after another.  There have been reports of accounts actually being frozen.

South Korean Government Stepping In.

The South Korean government has begun taxing bitcoin profits and requiring more disclosure of account identities to keep underage kids and potential money launderers from trading.  This is a kind of balancing act between encouraging innovation and making sure today’s crypto traders are not doing anything illegal.

The crypto surge is not a US lead phenomenon.  South Korea is a really good example of this.  Most cryptocurrency investors got into it in 2013 or 2014 and they are more focused on the blockchain technology that could potentially one day change commerce.  However, time will only tell if that long-term technology catches up

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