Crypto Weekly Review - Binance trouble, Trump Petro ban, an Escobar in Crypto & a look at the Market

Time to take a look at some of the Crypto News that has caught my eye.

Japan threaten Binance.
Japan's top financial regulator has issued a warning to cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
The Financial Services Agency confirmed Thursday's reported news that suggested Binance was about to be warned by the financial watchdog given its lack of registration with the regulator.
The exchange told Bloomberg earlier this year that it was working with Japanese regulators to secure a license.
Responding to the FSA statement, Zhao Changpeng, Binance's CEO, confirmed receipt of the warning letter and stated the firm's legal team is in dialogue with the agency.
This news created a bit of FUD and chatter.
It fuelled a bit more doomsday talk but I don't believe there is whole lot to worry about here.
They are in on going talks together and they are both motivated to be in agreement, as centralised exchanges are more preferable for Governments.
Alternatively centralised exchanges like Binance need Government approval to operate in different countries and that means adhering to local security measures and law.
This is a bit of public chest beating by Japan Governing bodies which is fine, as it sends their desired message that they are serious about security and how exchanges like Binance operate in their country.
I expect this to blow over and be resolved very quickly, if it hasn't already.

Huawei is planning to develop a smartphone that will support decentralised applications (Dapp).
Whilst it is unconfirmed at this stage, reports say that they are seeking a license for an open source operating system called SIRIN OS which is developed by Swiss Blockchain company Sirin Lab.
Huawei are the worlds 3rd largest mobile phone manufacturer and will implement the Sirin OS on the Android system which will then allow the use of Dapps.
This is really positive news because if confirmed, Huawei will be the first to bring Blockchain based technology to the mass market. This would mean only a matter of time before other major cell phone makers do the same and is another great step towards mainstream adoption of Blockchain and Crypto.

Will South Korea be legalizing ICO's again?
Last week the Korea times reported that sources within the Government have revealed that financial authorities have been discussing the matter with the tax agency, justice ministry and other relevant Government offices.
Consumer protection remains a chief concern so new rules will need to be put in place and ICO's will need to register their token sales with a security commission.
Not that long ago we were talking about whether South Korea would ban Crypto altogether and now they have softened their stance to the point ICO's could be operating again.
How quickly times change in the Crypto world!
Very positive to see.

I couldn't ignore this one - Pablo Escobar's brother Roberto has launched his own cryptocurrency called 'Diet Bitcoin.'
On a side note god I hate it when new Crypto rips Bitcoin name and trades on an extension of it, fork or no fork.
I wish they could stop that from happening.
Anyways, Diet Bitcoin is available from Escobar inc for $2 a coin and they claim to be a lighter, faster, more addictive version of Bitcoin. (ok i added the addictive part)
If you visit their web page you can also download Roberto's new book for free which sells for $8 on Amazon.
Roberto Escobar seems to still be dirty at the US and claims is his book that Bitcoin was not developed by Satoshi Nakamoto, it was actually done by the US Government via the CIA.
It was done as a massive overall US plot to bankrupt investors globally.
He says Bitcoin and other Alt Coins will all soon go to zero because of this but his coin is safe and will thrive.
If you believe any of this or would like to read more of his book just click on the link below.
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/contact-us

• pic courtesy of news.dinbits.com -

Trump bans US citizens from buying Petro.
US President Donald Trump has banned the Venezuelan Government backed Crypto, Petro.
The ban reportedly comes as part of a campaign to put pressure on the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro. This means all US citizens are banned from engaging in transactions using the oil-indexed digital currency.

The ban frustrates the efforts of Maduro’s government to boost foreign currency reserves.
The token offering is targeted only at foreign investors as Petro is only sold in US dollars and Euros, which means their own Venezuelan citizens could not legally participate as it is illegal in Venezuela for their citizens to purchase foreign currencies.

The Venezuelan Government is currently under sanction by the US.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin recently said
"President Maduro decimated the Venezuelan economy and spurred a humanitarian crisis. Instead of correcting course… the Maduro regime is attempting to circumvent sanctions through the Petro digital currency.”
The Treasury Department further warned investors in January to avoid the Petro, calling it “another attempt to prop up the Maduro regime, while further looting the resources of the Venezuelan people.”
So all in all, that is some serious FUD coming Petro's way not that anyone would seriously consider buying it anyway would they?

Lastly lets take a look at what the Crypto Market is doing on coinmarketcap

We are currently back sitting at 334 billion USD after a drop to 275 billion last Monday.
That early year high of 835 billion seems so long ago now.
Thankfully we are nearing the end of what has been a difficult quarter for Crypto investors and there is a lot of bullish sentiment about what will happen in Q2 this year.
To refresh you all, Q2 last year saw the Total Market Cap increase from 25 billion USD to a high of 114 billion.
Can we repeat a %350 gain like that this year in Q2?
That would increase us to around a 1.5 Trillion US Dollar Total Market Cap!
Who knows, when it comes to Crypto anything is possible.

Thanks for Reading

Keep Chasing that Dragon

• Dahmsy