Coinbase has officially announced the launch of its services in Japan as well. 

BIG NEWS!

We’re excited to be launching Coinbase in Japan, one of the first countries to embrace crypto and one of the largest markets by crypto trading volume in the world.

Details here https://t.co/ZhsYiE3L2a

— Coinbase (@coinbase) August 19, 2021

In the announcement, the company says that, in line with its global strategy, it aims to become the most accessible and reliable exchange to use in Japan, fully compliant with local regulations.

Japan was not only one of the first countries to embrace cryptocurrencies; it is also one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency markets by trading volume. It only allows cryptocurrency exchanges to provide services to Japan’s residents upon obtaining a specific license. 

Coinbase, for the occasion, also announced a partnership with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the largest banks in Japan with 40 million customers. 

The announcement reads:

“Our partnership with MUFG will help millions of people in Japan access our platform quickly and begin trading on our exchange by offering MUFG Quick Deposit for all customers in Japan from day one.” 

By now, it seems that cryptocurrency buying and selling services are increasingly integrating with traditional banking services, which have already been supporting trading services for some time, for example, on the stock or bond market. 

On the other hand, the demand from customers is getting higher and higher, so it is logical to expect that banks will also want to offer them cryptocurrency trading services. 

Coinbase in Japan

Coinbase has stated that this launch is just the beginning of its expansion in Japan, as it will strive to encourage the use of cryptocurrencies among the Japanese by launching other retail services in the future as well. 

It must be said that Japan was, by far, several years ago, the first state in the world to formally and officially recognize Bitcoin as a currency, albeit not legal tender, and that perhaps the creator of Bitcoin did not choose a Japanese pseudonym (Satoshi Nakamoto) by chance. 

Coinbase has even been around since 2012 and has always presented itself as an easy-to-use exchange for anyone to buy and sell BTC. It later added many other cryptocurrencies and many other services, becoming one of the global giants in the cryptocurrency sector, so much so that it went public in April this year. 

To be fair, COIN’s share price on the Nasdaq fell 3% yesterday, but the announcement of the expansion in Japan happened with the market closed, so it might not have affected the price yet. 

 

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Non-fungible tokens have transitioned from niche to mainstream in the crypto and blockchain space. It wouldn’t be erroneous to say that the rise of NFTs was no less than a lull before the brewing storm. The advent of NFTs has resulted in creative juices flowing, showing a popular culture constituting eminent legends from the entertainment, sports, and music industry. The lucrative incentivization schemes around the apparent NFT hype have resulted in broadening the spectrum for mainstream adoption. 

The significant popularity of the NFT space has resulted in the commercialization of digital collectibles and massive economic activity in the crypto sphere. It has pushed the boundaries of the NFT Degens and enthusiasts to venture into the unexplored, resulting in driving fascinating use-cases. Above all, one thing that remains inevitable is the quest for creating fascinating experiences for average users. 

Inside this confluence point, NFT projects like Sweet have been witnessing immense growth by generating seductive experiences, thus driving more patronage. Sweet projects benefit both consumers and businesses in a two-fold model for greater inclusion as strong pillars of the emerging metaverse. 

Transforming NFTs to Physical possessions

It is apparent from the ongoing buzz about how Sweet is positioning itself as an NFT market leader for business and entertainment brands by a strong association with voices of authority in the NFT space. 

With the total NFT sales volume surpassing $2.5 billion in value, the popularity of the fan tokens associated with celebrities and sports stars offers a glimpse of how Sweet’s popularity is growing contributing to the NFT wave. With several competitors in the NFT sphere, Sweet’s blockchain agnostic NFT platform has built powerful partnerships with Dave & Busters, New York Knickerbockers, Spotify, and others to launch limited-edition NFTs. These limited-edition NFTs are some of the most prized possessions that create rare moments for fans and, more precisely, an experience for a lifetime. Just imagine how exciting it would be to witness the ownership of a unique NFT into your wallet, something that you can cherish over the years. 

By launching these uber-rare NFTs, Sweet is on a mission to empower brands to marshal NFTs and create immersive experiences for their consumers. It aims to reduce the crypto complexities involved in purchasing NFTs with its intuitive customer-focused NFT wallet that allows users to buy limited-edition digital merch and facilitates NFT distribution through various avenues, providing a one-shop stop NFT solution for consumers. 

“The future of rare, collectible merchandise is in the digital arena as evidenced by the growing interest in NFTs, and we are thrilled to be the ones giving brands and artists a new way to offer exclusive digital merchandise to their fans and customers,” said Tom Mizzone, Founder and CEO of Sweet.io

On a mission to ameliorate user-experience

The popularity of authenticated blockchain-based NFT assets is showcasing avenues of how digital interactions have been an integral aspect of our lifestyle. With the transition taking place at an accelerated pace, Sweet endeavors to integrate its consumer-friendly wallet into the lifestyle of an average user. Not only does it allow businesses to run funding programs, drive fan engagements or boost revenue but also allows users to purchase, sell, gamify, share, auction, integrate, and drop NFTs. It allows enthusiasts to celebrate and showcase their NFTs as a batch of honor and reputation in the real world. 

Users can quickly set up their wallets on Sweet’s platform without much of a hassle. The current infrastructure is highly intuitive allowing users to sign up with the mobile number and email address. Users can secure their accounts by setting up unique passwords once the registration is completed. To purchase the NFTs, the wallet supports various conventional payment methods such as credit cards, debit cards, Paypal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cryptocurrencies. Its intuitive interface makes it easier for users to navigate and explore various functionalities. The applications are live on both android and IOS. Users can acquire their ERC-721 based limited NFTs through a click. 

One of the significant challenges hindering the massive adoption of NFTs is high transaction costs. To drive increased utility, Sweet is leveraging the Simple Ledger Protocol and Bitcoin Cash Network to ameliorate user experience in terms of speed, scalability, and low gas fees. 

With the fan tokens showcasing a huge potential area, we are witnessing great market validation from the NFT sphere. Apart from scaling adoption, this segment has been a real game-changer to drive NFT volumes especially for hardcore and casual gaming fans, thus reshaping the narrative around NFTs and catapulting it to greater heights.

Dogecoin may have started out as a joke poking fun at an industry that takes itself way too seriously. But 2021 has seen it morph into something quite serious.

In part, this was driven by the dizzy heights it managed to reach in early May, when, for a brief moment, its near $90 billion market cap made it more valuable than established legacy giants including British American Tobacco and General Motors.

But DOGE is currently down 60% from then, and at the height of the recent market dip, lost as much as 78% of its value.

Nonetheless, in a bid to recapture its glory days, the newly established Dogecoin team, which consists of a mixture of old and new faces, including co-founder Billy Markus, is resurrecting the Dogecoin Foundation.

What’s more, in a show of ambition for what they hope to achieve, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin joins as a board advisor.

What does the Dogecoin Foundation hope to achieve?

An often-used criticism of Dogecoin is the lack of formal organization it has, including a poorly resourced development setup.

Input-Output Global CEO Charles Hoskinson, although highly critical of the meme token in the past, calling it a bubble that would likely trigger tough legislation once it pops, more recently said:

“Dogecoin is a reasonable target for someone to fix it up and make it an interesting cryptocurrency.”

With the resurrection of the Dogecoin Foundation, it seems like someone is listening. According to their announcement, the Foundation’s primary intention is to improve Dogecoin’s development structure.

“We are here to accelerate the development effort by supporting current Dogecoin Core and future Dogecoin Developers to work on a full-time basis through sponsorship, as well as providing a welcome landing for new contributors hoping to help with the project.”

They also wish to increase its success through more adoption and better utility. This, they say, will come about by focussing on projects “that increase Dogecoin uptake at a grassroots level.”

Can Buterin make the difference?

In what is a massive coup for Dogecoin, Buterin joins the team as a project advisor. But it wasn’t that long ago when many thought he “feared the Doge.”

Speaking to Lex Friedman, Buterin wanted to set the record straight by saying, he does not fear the Doge. If anything, Buterin said he loves the Doge.

The misunderstanding came about when Buterin gave feedback on Elon Musk’s suggestions to improve Dogecoin. Buterin’s words were something to the effect that it isn’t as easy, from a technical perspective, as Musk described.

Some, including Musk, interpreted this as evidence of fearing the Doge. But Buterin made clear to Friedman that this is not the case at all.

“I definitely feel obligated to correct the record. I definitely do not fear the Doge. No, I love the Doge.”

In any case, with a strong track record in project adoption, Buterin’s experience will be invaluable.

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When Bitcoin price is in an uptrend or a downtrend, it is usually obvious and undeniable due to just how powerful things can move. For example, the cryptocurrency soared from $3,800 to $65,000 during the most recent impulse.

Although there was a large setback, a trend-identifying indicator created by the “Father of Trend Following” suggests that Bitcoin is as bullish as ever, and after a defense of an important conflict line, the cryptocurrency is ready to blast off higher.

The Bitcoin Uptrend That’s Not Yet Ready To End

After Black Thursday in 2020, Bitcoin price went on a year-long uptrend that came to a climax this past April around the same time Coinbase Global (COIN) was listed on the Nasdaq.

The first ever cryptocurrency climbed more than 1,500% and reached more than a $1 trillion market cap. The correction wiped out more than 60% of it, and left the market reeling enough to question if the cycle had concluded.

Related Reading | What Bear Market? Bulls Now “In Control” Over Every Bitcoin Timeframe

Mixed signals are everywhere, with many pointing toward a bear market, with others are saying the integrity of the bull market was never quite broken. Sideways price action following the selloff has made the current trend a lot less clear.

However, zooming out using the Donchian Channels technical indicator on monthly timeframes, the uptrend holding becomes a lot more visible – especially when comparing past market cycle tops.

After defending the median, bulls should make a push higher causing the upper band to rise | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
All About The Donchian Channels And How To Use Them

The Donchian Channels indicator was created by Richard Donchian in the mid-20th century. He was later nicknamed “The Father of Trend Following.”

The tool itself is used to help identify trends. An asset begins trending after making it through the median which acts as a line of conflict between bears and bulls. Expansion of bullish or bearish energy then causes the channel bands to widen.

Related Reading | Proof-of-Work: Bitcoin Back Programs That Put Your Money To Work For You

The median is best defined as a “mean” that assets return to after a period of trending. A successful defense of the median, typically results in another wave to the primary trend. If that trend is up, like what Bitcoin price is currently showing, then the upper channel should theoretically expand as prices rises higher.

Past bear markets in Bitcoin began when the median was lost, which caused the asset to trend toward the lower channel band instead. And past bull markets each had several pauses in the upper channel before another push higher was made. Could the recent pullback just be the first of many more to come as Bitcoin climbs toward the eventual climax to the current market cycle?

Donchian Channel on the monthly says #Bitcoin still plenty bullish after defense of the median. Donchia-say you weren’t warned. pic.twitter.com/LMPwBGR5RP

— Tony “The Bull” Spilotro (@tonyspilotroBTC) August 18, 2021

Follow @TonySpilotroBTC on Twitter or via the TonyTradesBTC Telegram. Content is educational and should not be considered investment advice.

Featured image from iStockPhoto, Charts from TradingView.com