#bitcoinlaw

With the near-term picture cloudy, some analysts are focusing on a longer-term trend that could be surprisingly bullish for bitcoin: the emergence of digital currencies issued by central banks.

It’s not an obvious investment thesis, since bitcoin was invented to be used in an electronic peer-to-peer payment system that would be free of government control and operate outside of the traditional banking system.

And most central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs for short, would, by their very nature, be issued and controlled by governments, and in many cases distributed through banks.

But Jack Purdy and Ryan Watkins of the research firm Messari wrote last week in a report that the “coming digitization of money,” including the launch of CBDCs, could provide a “secular tailwind” for bitcoin.

CBDCs have gained momentum over the past year, as countries consider whether to roll out digital versions of their currencies to keep up with Facebook’s proposed Libra and China’s forthcoming digital currency electronic payment, which is already in testing.

Bitcoin (BTC) is gaining amid a sell-off in fiat currencies and could rise further if the U.S. stock markets track European equities higher.

Technical charts indicate scope for a rise to key resistance at $5,926.

A move higher would confirm a breakout on the hourly chart and may propel prices toward $6,400.

Bitcoin is on the rise Thursday morning (UTC), showing resilience in the face of a global dash for dollars seen in the foreign exchange markets.

At time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading near $5,670, representing a 9.4 percent gain on a 24-hour basis. Bitcoin found bids near $5,260 during the Asian trading hours and has been climbing since, according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index.

While bitcoin is flashing green against the U.S. dollar, most fiat currencies are currently trading in the red. For example, the British pound-to-dollar exchange rate is hovering near 1.1555, the lowest level since 1980. The currency pair has dropped by nearly 8 percent this week.

The Australian dollar fell to a 20-year low of 55 U.S. cents early on Thursday and is currently reporting a 0.6 percent drop on the day.

The greenback has gained in the past six trading days against all major currencies, as noted by macro analyst Holger Zschaepitz.

https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-sees-9-gain-as-turmoil-hits-the-forex-markets

Absolutely. In fact, that’s already happening! We have a course in engineering here at Concordia. The subject is also covered in at least one of our business school’s courses. The University of Ottawa’s law school also has a crypto-related course. The University of British Columbia has offerings for Library Sciences.

Major American universities like MIT and Cornell have dedicated research centers, and Bitcoin/blockchain-related subjects are covered in multiple faculties and departments.

Central Bank acknowledged that virtual currencies are not illegal, but reiterated earlier warnings about their use and exchange.

A year ago, China accounted for 90 percent of all bitcoin trade. But since Beijing banned initial coin offerings (ICOs) and regulators started to crackdown on bitcoin exchanges in September, another Asian powerhouse has swooped in to embrace the crypto movement.

Japan recognized bitcoin as a legal form of payment earlier this year, and bitcoin trade in the country now accounts for about half the volume of global trade, compared with about a quarter in the U.S.

Now big retailers are joining the movement, as the cryptocurrency's legalization has encouraged them to partner with bitcoin exchanges and begin accepting the digital currency as payment.

There's already more than 4,500 stores in Japan that let you pay with bitcoin, and the Nikkei says that number could increase fivefold by the end of the year.