It’s being reported by Sputnik News and other sources that Japan has declared Bitcoin (BITCOMP) to be legal tender. Unfortunately, I have not been able to quickly confirm this through Japanese sources. The use of BTC as legal tender in one of the world’s leading economies is a big plus for Bitcoin, and likely to lead to a much more rapid pace of adoption. Volume is strong on increasing price.

Be aware that volume on exchanges doesn’t necessarily equate to gross transactions. There are OTC transactions and P2P transfers via the blockchain (see Veritaseum.com). There is one thing that is apparent, though. JPY is the new Bitcoin darling, replacing CNY in terms of BTC trade volume on exchanges.

In full disclosure, the blockchain doesn’t show this difference this morning, although it is very clear that CNY not only lost the 90% volume title, but is no more than 25% of US volume after the PBOC clamped down on KYC/AML and margin lending in Chinese bitcoin exchanges..

We will be teaching institutions and serious investors how to:

1. invest directly in Bitcoin;

2. diversify risk and pursue alpha;

3. diversify exposure into other assets and asset classes directly through your bitcoin via smart contracts

4. eliminate credit and counterparty risk

5. and best practices for securing both your behavior and your bitcoin holdings.