Will Japanese economy see a Bitcoin-fuelled economic boom?

Summary:

• CEO of financial services giant headquartered in Japan claims the Japanese economy could be about to boom once again thanks to Bitcoin
• Alibaba’s Ma says Bitcoin is ’likely bubble’
• Interest in Bitcoin is expected to increased twofold in Europe based on a new survey

Major cryptocurrencies have not been able to shake off their recent falls as of yet, and in fact some of them are looking to yet lower levels. Meanwhile, over the course of the last hours we were offered some contradictory comments (as it usually happens) with regard to the most famous digital currency. Let’s begin with a positive one coming from Japan where the CEO of financial services giant SBI Holdings Yoshitaka Kitao said during the Japan Blockchain Conference in Tokyo that the Japanese economy could be about to boom once again thanks to Bitcoin and blockchain technology after decades of economic malaise.

Obviously it sounds incredibly, but one needs to be cognizant that the company might be a bit biased as it is investing in companies in Japan and across east Asia through its $460 million AI&Blockchain Fund, established earlier this year. Kitao said at the conference that "There’s a lot of speculative demand around cryptocurrencies, which is why the price is going up so quickly, but people need to think about how these technologies are being used in real life and how they can improve people’s businesses." He concluded that he expects this boom to happen within the next few years.

Looking at the hourly chart of Bitcoin one may notice a bearish candlestick closing below $6020 or so, beneath a lower body of the candlestick drawn on 23 June. It could mean that buyers might struggle to bring the price back above this level for longer. Source: xStation5

Is Bitcoin a bubble or not? Alibaba’s Ma seems to be part of the former group

On the one hand the CEO of Alibaba backs blockchain technology, but at the same time he advises against investing in Bitcoin. Speaking during at a launch event for a new online-payment service for real-time cash transfers between Hong Kong and the Philippines Jack Ma said "technology itself isn’t the bubble, but Bitcoin likely is". While he criticized people who have been speculating on Bitcoin pledging to avoid the asset class, he added that blockchain technology may be successfully used to solve social problems. Alibaba is a Chinese multinational e-commerce, retail and technology company established in 1999.

Dash is getting closer to its strong support area from where more buyers may occur. Is a pullback comes up, cryptocurrency purchasers might run into the first resistance in the vicinity of $285 followed by $440. Source: xStation5

Interest in Bitcoin is expected to increased twofold in Europe based on a new survey

Interest surrounding cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology itself is broadening day by day, and this is especially true when it comes to Europe at least according to a new survey carried out by Ipsos for the Dutch banking giant ING. The survey conducted between 26 March and 6 April revealed high awareness of cryptocurrencies among residents of Europe. Cutting to the case, as much as 66% of them have already heard about virtual currencies, while males outnumbered females. What could be a bit puzzling is the fact that lower income countries have a higher share of people who have already come upon this topic in their lives compared to the European average of 66%. For example, Turkey has its rate at 70%, Romania at 75% and Poland at 77%. In Australia the result was 70% and in Americas just 57%.

People living in lower income countries have heard more often about Bitcoin and the likes of it compared to the European average. Source: bitcoin.com

On the other hand, the share of people already owning any cryptocurrency remains stubbornly low as there was just 9% in case of Europe, 7% in Australia and 8% in the US. Better-off countries such as Belgium or Luxembourg had even lower rates equal 5% and 4% respectively being placed at the bottom of the table. In this case Turkey again beats its rival showing a staggering share of 18%. Romania came off second best, while Spain was third.