If you’ve been following Bitcoin price movement over the last few days, you may have been hopeful because of the bullish five-day moving average of the cryptocurrency. Unfortunately, Bitcoin hit another speed bump as Japan’s Financial Services Agency plans to issue a warning against Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Binance for operating within the country without any registration. In addition to this, child pornography found on Bitcoin’s blockchain also complicated its status recently. This could mean that Bitcoin could even be considered illegal in different parts of the world.
The cryptocurrency hit a low of $8,495.10 and has struggled to recover the $9K level after being able to even hit $11,600 level during the early part of this month. However, it still remains 17% above its lowest of $7,335.57.
A Warning to Binance
Japan’s Financial Services Agency has plans to war Binance, a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange company that operates in Japan without registration. If Binance doesn’t answer to the warning raise by the agency, the cryptocurrency exchange can expect a criminal complaint to be filed against them.
According to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, he mentioned that “We are in constructive dialogue with Japanese FSA and have not received any mandates”.
What Japan wants is for Binance to register with the government. What makes this affect Bitcoin price recently is due to the fact that Binance is among the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.
A Blockchain Round Table
Japan’s Financial Services Agency also mentioned that it held a “Blockchain Round-Table” with policymakers and regulators from different countries including Canada and Singapore. In this closed-door meeting, they were able to discuss the vulnerability issues of blockchain technology.
What Else Affected Bitcoin’s Price?
Aside from the news that Japan’s FSA is possibly going to file a criminal case against Binance, a lot of investors are also worried recently about the possibility that Bitcoin could actually be banned in different countries.
Interpol was able to identify child pornography content being embedded in blockchain systems in 2015. Though there was no presence of malware, there was however discovered random information about included in Bitcoin’s public record.
What this means is that Bitcoin could potentially be illegal in more than 100 countries that have laws against the possession and the distribution of child pornography. In a report submitted by RWTH Aachen University researchers, “our analysis shows that certain content, e.g. illegal pornography, can render the mere possession of a blockchain illegal”.
Regulations and Uncertainties
It is true that the cryptocurrency market is still a grey area for many countries. However, these issues that have recently surfaced on Bitcoin are not really helping the mass adoption of the cryptocurrency to daily use. In fact, Bitcoin’s price is far from the once all-time high last December of almost $20,000.
As an investor, it can be scary to think that there is a chance that Bitcoin can still slide and lose its value further. It has struggled to even get to $10,000 making it difficult for people who invested late in the game.
