TOKYO – Cryptocurrency operators such as Facebook must comply with regulations on money laundering and risk management, Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya said on Friday.
They must act responsibly and comply with various regulations to take root as providers of safe and secure payment settlements, Amamiya told a Reuters Newsmaker event.
While details of Facebook’s cryptocurrency plan remain sketchy, central banks must be vigilant to the impact such moves could have on their country’s banking and settlement systems, he added.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo, Japan July 5, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato
“As for Libra, we must bear in mind that the potential global user-base could be enormous,” Amamiya said.
“If central bank digital currencies replace private deposits, that could erode commercial banks’ credit channels and have a negative impact on the economy.”
During the Asia Blockchain Summit in Taipei, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao gave audience members a sneak peak of the company’s upcoming futures trading interface.
“Binance will be launching a futures platform very soon,” stated Zhao.
“I don’t have the exact date yet. The simulation test version will be live in a few weeks.”
Discussing a screenshot of the interface displayed on stage, Zhao added:
“This is an actual screenshot of the working system. So Binance futures is coming.”
Leverage up to 20 times will be offered on just bitcoin (BTC) initially.
Last month, Binance released their margin trading platform, which will be rolled out to all users on July 11, with the futures testnet coming approximately one week after.
With this launch, a division of Bitcoin IRA has become BitGo Trust’s retail administrator for retirement accounts.
Since 2016, Bitcoin IRA has processed over $350 million in digital asset transactions for self-directed retirement accounts.
In 2019, its new self-directed client’s saw significant growth due to the increase in the value of cryptocurrencies in the first half of the year.
Bitcoin IRA’s clients will now have their digital assets stored with BitGo Trust Company, the first qualified custodian purpose-built for digital assets.
BitGo Trust’s cold storage carries $100 million in insurance where the offline private keys are held 100% by BitGo or BitGo Trust.
Additionally, Bitcoin IRA is able to reduce wallet holding fees by 30% and reduce client transaction fees. Bitcoin IRA and BitGo Trust Company will also be waiving the first year’s account fee for a limited time.
Chris Kline, COO, Bitcoin IRA said:
“Our partnership with BitGo Trust provides our clients with faster account funding, lower fees, as well as significantly increased insurance protections. This establishes us not only as the premiere digital asset retirement platform, but also expands us to a leading full-service solution for businesses with a large number of retail clients looking to easily invest in digital assets safely and securely.”
Mike Belshe, CEO, BitGo, said:
“Bitcoin IRA delivers an innovative retirement platform and, with our industry-leading technology and practices for security, custody, and compliance, we have built the industry’s best offering for retail investors who want to make digital assets a part of their retirement investment strategy.”
Bitcoin IRA’s Digital IRA division will be handling all administrative responsibilities including retirement plan administration, transfer application process, BSA/AML compliance, and transaction monitoring.
Bitcoin IRA, available at bitcoinira.com, is the world’s first, largest and most secure digital asset IRA company that allows clients to purchase cryptocurrencies and other digital assets for their retirement accounts.
The company provides a trading platform for self-directed retirement accounts which allows clients to set up a qualified digital asset IRA account, transfer funds from an existing IRA custodian, execute trades in real-time 24/7 through a leading exchange and then move the funds into an industry-leading multi-signature digital wallet from BitGo, Inc.
Since 2016, Bitcoin IRA has processed over $350 million in investments, gained over 4,000 clients and received more than 400 5-star client reviews. The company has been featured extensively in the media, with coverage in Forbes magazine, CNBC, and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications.
Bitcoin IRA is a financial services technology provider and as such is not a financial adviser, cryptocurrency, exchange, custodian, wallet provider, initial coin offering (ICO), or money transmitter. Bitcoin IRA is privately funded and based in Los Angeles. It is currently exploring investment capital.
“With banks and credit card companies shying away from the cannabis industry, customers are forced to pay in cash. That’s really inconvenient. We have a better way,” said Ken Breese, Director of Operations.
“By allowing members to pay with crypto, we’re able to keep our promise: SpeedWeed is the safest, most convenient way to have cannabis delivered.”
AJ Gentile, Chief Executive Officer, is no stranger to technology.
“Before entering the cannabis industry, I was developing enterprise applications for the United States Congress,” said AJ Gentile, CEO.
“I used solutions deployed for my government clients to help SpeedWeed scale. When you’re managing a database of 200,000 consumers, you have to exceed expectations. If our members ask for it, we build it. As soon as Bitcoin approached $10,000, our phones lit up with customers wanted pay with crypto. Deploying technology into our platform is easy for us. It’s what we do.”
Launched in 2011, SpeedWeed gained notoriety for delivering medical marijuana to the homes of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Earlier this year, SpeedWeed began providing their expertise to other dispensaries seeking to build and scale their own delivery operations.
“SpeedWeed literally wrote the book on cannabis delivery,” continues AJ Gentile.
“During legalization, SpeedWeed was the only retailer on California’s Stakeholder Panel for Delivery and Transportation. Many of our SOPs are part of California cannabis law. We provide a safe, professional consumer experience that makes newcomers comfortable and keeps people coming back. As we improve our existing services and deploy new ones like pay-by-crypto, we share this knowledge not only with our clients, but with the entire industry.”
Launched in 2011 as a family business, SpeedWeed has become the largest cannabis delivery platform in America with over 200,000 members and growing.
Innovative technology, activism, and leadership have made SpeedWeed synonymous with legal, on-demand cannabis.
SpeedWeed is California’s only fully legal marijuana delivery platform and has been featured in the New York Times, LA Times, GQ, Bloomberg, Inc., Cheddar, and CNBC.
In a recent interview, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stated he has not spoken with Facebook about its recent cryptocurrency, but it was “very possible someone in the company did.’
“I think competition is real. We’re going to have competitors, whether its a cryptocurrency competitor or another FinTech competitor. I tell our people, don’t guess, you know they’re there, you know they’re coming, you know they want to eat our lunch. Assume it.”
Dimon went on to say he believes there are real concerns regarding the future of fiat currency, including banking regulations, know-your-customer KYC laws, the bank secrecy act, and anti-money laundering laws.
They must act responsibly and comply with various regulations to take root as providers of safe and secure payment settlements, Amamiya told a Reuters Newsmaker event.
