China's central bank provided its insight on fintech development initiatives for the country in a recent press conference; the press conference included four of the central bank's government officials including Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China; the central bank reported that it encourages and supports fintech development in the country; it spoke about some of its initiatives including a digital currency and other new blockchain solutions; it also noted its work to strengthen regulation specifically in the areas of unlicensed businesses and third-party payment platforms. Source
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Southeast Asia reported 71 fintech deals in 2016, an increase of 29% from 2015; total deal value was down from $177 million at $158 million; angel and seed investments led for the year with 62% of total financings; in 2016, Singapore continued to be the region's most active fintech innovator with 52% of the year's total deals; the top three venture capital investors since 2012 are East Ventures, 500 Startups and Golden Gate Ventures. Source
While bitcoin's price has been reaching new highs its trading volatility has also been high; market momentum has recently been slowed by a number of factors including exchange regulation and new fees in China and the denial of the Winklevoss bitcoin ETF; Business Insider charts the cryptocurrencies progress and reports a double top with a neckline at $1,100 noting that if the price falls below the chart's neckline, technical analysis would indicate it's likely to fall even further, giving it a new expected average of approximately $900; given recent market factors a significant decrease in China trading volume and the technical analysis, bitcoin's price appears to be headed lower. Source