Japanese cryptocurrency and blockchain technology FinTech Lab, Tech Bureau Corporation, recently launched a new bitcoin investment service, the Zaif Coin Reserve.Customers simply authorize a fixed monthly debit, and it’s automatically invested in bitcoin.Brave New Coin spoke with Tech Bureau CEO, Takao Asayama, who explained more about the new service.“This is a fusion of Japan's domestic payment method and crypto products, into a very interesting crypto investment program.” Tech Bureau is a Japanese blockchain technology company that operates a bitcoin exchange, Zaif, and a permissioned blockchain platform, Mijin.Last week, Tech Bureau announced that it has raised ¥720 million, or about US$6.6m in a Series A funding round to further develop Zaif and Mijin.The trading platform, Zaif, boasts more than a 20 million yen in daily turnover, and is one of Japan's largest bitcoin exchanges.The product is also the first of its kind in Japan.“I've never seen this before in other countries,” Asayama shared, adding that this is a “Bitcoin investment program you rarely see.” The new service uses an investment technique called dollar-cost averaging (DCA).

“We automatically buy bitcoins for all the buyers,”  Asayama explained, “the timings and amount are automatically dispersed.” There is a minimum monthly deposit of 1,000 yen (~US$9.1), and maximum of 1 million yen (~US$9100).Deposits are automatically debited from client accounts on the 27th of each month.“Direct debit in Japan is the most powerful payment method I know of, and very popular,” Asayama said.DCA is a common investment strategy, where a fixed amount is invested on a regular schedule, regardless of the asset price.Consequently, more assets are purchased when the price is low, and fewer are bought when the price is high.- The US Securities and Exchange Commission This method is typically employed in volatile markets.JP Morgan Asset Management states that “volatility may, in fact, work for you if you follow a disciplined, regular savings plan under which you invest a fixed sum of money at regular intervals,” referring to the DCA method.- JP Morgan Asset Management In some cases, investors may even realize better overall returns with DCA.

According to leading online trading brokerage Fidelity Investments, “the average price per share of your investments may be lower than if you invested all your money at once.” In addition, the temptation of trying to time the market will be avoided, the firm added.Many investors are tempted by market timing, making buy or sell decisions while predicting short term market movements.Sharp declines often scare investors into selling, while quick bumps can draw in new buyers.“That could prove a costly mistake,” states British multinational banking and financial services company Barclays “our trouble with market timing is due to human nature.” A study commissioned by Barclays, conducted by the Cass Business School, found that the typical investor lost 1.2% a year moving in and out of funds, compared to a buy-and-hold strategy.An independent report from Charles Schwab Corporation, an American brokerage and banking company, showed that the best strategy for most investors is to avoid timing the market.

The firm looked at different time periods, going as far back as 1926, and concluded that on average, for every 30, 40 and 50 year period, perfect timing was the most profitable, but as likely as winning the lottery.ethereum highest hashrateInvesting immediately or dollar cost averaging, came in second, with bad timing and never buying stocks trailing behind.litecoin europe exchange- Mark Riepe, Head of Charles Schwab Corporation Center for Financial Research Mark Riepe, the Head of Charles Schwab Corporation Center for Financial Research, explains that DCA prevents procrastination when investing, minimizing regret should a large lump-sum investment suffer a short-term drop in value, and avoiding market timing.bitcoin core over torThe strategy is also beneficial “if you like the discipline of investing small amounts as you earn them,” he wrote.

For investors who have the option of investing lump-sum amounts, research from American investment management company Vanguard revealed that Lump-Sum Investing (LSI) outperforms DCA on average.The firm compared the historical performance of DCA with LSI across three markets: the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.However, they also noted that DCA may be preferable for minimizing downside risk and potential feelings of regret, should an investment precede an immediately market downturn.While there are potential benefits, DCA investing does not guarantee a profit, and does not protect against loss in declining markets.American global investment management corporation, BlackRock, warned its clients that “all financial investments involve an element of risk.The value of your investment and the income from it will vary and your initial investment amount cannot be guaranteed.” Whether DCA is right for an investor depends on their investment goals and risk tolerance.Emphasizing that this service is not for everyone, Zaif states in its press release that their new service is “not aimed at high-risk high-return” investors, but for those seeking “a stable income.” There is also the fee structure to consider.

Zaif's new service starts at 100 yen for deposits between 1000 and 2000 yen.Other fees range from 1.5% to 3.5% based on deposit amounts, with the largest fee tier being 1.5% on deposits of 5000 yen upward.For example, a monthly deposit of 10,000 yen incurs a 2.5% fee.10,250 yen is debited from the account owner's financial institution each month, and 10,000 yen is deposited into the client account.Bitcoin is then purchased, and credited to the Zaif account owner the day after.The account owner can then simply hold the bitcoins in the account or withdraw them at any time.“We will be adding more popular cryptos such as ETH or XEM very soon.People can invest in growing cryptos while spreading their risk,”  Asayama adds.Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to represent the performance of any particular investment or constitute investment advice.by James Hickling, Investment Commentator at Fidelity International Three years ago, a little-known digital currency called Bitcoin erupted on a bull-market run that boosted its value from around US$15 (A$20) a coin to just under US$1,000 in 12 months.

Fortunes were made by the anarcho-capitalists who saw bitcoin as a way to revolutionise the economy by sweeping away government-controlled money – riches that in many cases were lost in the subsequent price collapse, all the way down to about US$220 by early 2015.Bitcoin’s volatility remains an impediment to its widespread adoption as money.But it has left a legacy in the form of hype around the “blockchain” – the encrypted, distributed or public ledger on which Bitcoin is based.The excitement is tied to hopes that distributed-ledger technology could lead to big cost savings for businesses, especially those in financial services.Venture capital is flooding in and estimated spending on this technology is expected to reach US$400 million by 2019.The blockchain innovation is that its architecture allows for instantaneous sharing of centralised, encrypted information.At the moment, databases are logically decentralised and physically centralised.Firms maintain physically distinct databases, protected by perimeter security, but store unencrypted information.

Independent servers mean that when they share information – in order to process financial trades, for example – they must independently verify data.Reconciling different sets of the same data costs global financial players billions of dollars each year.In contrast, a blockchain – or distributed ledger – is logically centralised and physically decentralised.Information is accessible in a central ledger, via multiple nodes.Data can be accessed more or less instantaneously and can be replicated instantly between parties.It is encrypted, meaning it’s protected by mathematical proofs that make it impossible to corrupt the record of ownership and transactions.Blockchains can be public – as with the Bitcoin chain – or private, whereby permission to access the database is given only to select participants.Amid the frenzy about the blockchain’s potential, investors need to consider the long time-horizons and technical challenges surrounding a theme that carries the risk of being overhyped in the short term.

But the blockchain’s potential is real enough.It’s likely a major 21st century investment theme.Trading in many securities still relies on old-fashioned systems of negotiated contracts between buyers and sellers.It still takes almost 20 days on average to settle syndicated loan trades.The total cost to the finance industry of clearing, settling and managing post-trade environments is around US$65 billion to $80 billion a year.Using decentralised networks for payments and settlement could help banks save potentially US$15 billion to US$20 billion a year from 2022 according to Santander[1] by improving and outsourcing back-office settlement.Blockchain startups are likely to emerge outside of core capital markets in the next 18 to 24 months to capitalise on the hype.But collaborative efforts to overhaul core capital market data infrastructure are likely to take far longer to come to fruition – more than 10 years seems likely.Regulatory encouragement, however, could speed up development, given regulators’ interest in market infrastructure that reduces costs for consumers and limits operational and systemic risk.

Investment opportunities in successful financial adopters need to be considered in the context of these time frames.Successful blockchain development could result in profit gains across the financial sector and, potentially, gains for consumers in the form of lower prices for popular financial products.But distributed ledgers could have ramifications for other markets too.Online retail has gained tremendous market share over the past 20 years, but the blockchain could refine the process further by allowing instantaneous sharing of information and buy-sell transactions on a host of goods and services.Distributed ledgers could open the internet to many low-value products that had previously been excluded, because it would have cost more than the product was worth to collect payment.For example, if people had the option of an instant payment of five cents to read an online article, this could help solve the problem the media has had in monetising online content because it would do away with the hassle and cost of signing up for annual subscriptions.

Similarly, the music industry has struggled to adapt to the internet.But blockchain technology could facilitate the development of music exchanges, where payment for songs could be made directly to artists, instead of media platforms.This could serve the creative community and consumers by redistributing money away from intermediaries. of the US is examining integrating the blockchain into its retail business.Others companies are sure to follow.Some potentially promising start-up examples include Bitproof, an online notary that provides blockchain-based certification of intellectual property and other digital assets.Then there is Otonomos, which allows people to incorporate firms by opening a digital share wallet.Shares can then be transferred peer to peer, creating a market for non-listed shares.Another one to watch is Factom, a developer of a proof of concept for next-generation land title registry – aimed at stopping criminality surrounding land titles in the developing world.Look out, too, for Filament, which is seeking to market the “Filament Tap” – a sensor device that allows devices to communicate with phones, tablets and computers at distances of up to 14 kilometers.

Synergies with the internet of things could be particularly significant.Samsung and IBM unveiled a proof of concept earlier this year for ADEPT, a system that uses elements of bitcoin’s underlying design to build a distributed network of devices – “a decentralised internet of things”.ADEPT included an example of how a washing machine could become a “semi-autonomous device capable of managing its consumables supply, performing self-service and maintenance, and even negotiating with other peer devices”.[2]Blockchain-connected devices could be the next exponential leap in computing technology.The blockchain could help to create decentralised energy markets.A US startup called TransActive Grid has pioneered peer-to-peer sales of solar electricity – allowing those who don’t have solar panels to buy electricity from those who do.Again, disintermediation is the theme: with the middleman – in this case, traditional utility firms – disappearing as energy consumers buy directly from producers.

Realistically, this could only work in the short term in small residential and industrial grids, given that the vast majority of power generation will likely remain centralised for decades to come.But the seeds for developments in this field have been sown and could lead to exciting investment opportunities; in the short term, perhaps most clearly in off-grid providers in developing countries offering pay-as-you-go supplies of electricity.Blockchain does face obstacles, however.Increasing network capacity is likely to be a challenge for blockchain developers.The closed-system ledger that underpins Bitcoin works reasonably well, as shown in part by the steady growth in the size of the Bitcoin blockchain.While trading and settling other securities via this type of ledger is possible, the complexity of doing so – while admitting millions more participants – would require a serious leap in network capacity.The US credit-card company Visa handles on average around 2,000 transactions per second; in contrast, the Bitcoin network is restricted to seven transactions per second, on account of the one-megabyte limit on block sizes.

Exchange costs are another question.The bitcoin community is debating whether bitcoin should have a greater role as a medium of exchange – hence the need for greater transaction capacity – or as it remains: an ultra-secure, scarce store of value, with limited utility as a medium of exchange.Scaling up the network and adding different assets to the mix could entail significant new costs and complexities.And while big banks and clearing houses appear to be embracing the blockchain, this may be more of a defensive measure designed to contain a competitive threat rather than a whole-hearted embrace of the concept.As Wired magazine points out in relation to the US Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) – the body which oversees the US stock-settlement system, and which is co-owned by the biggest entities on Wall Street and beyond – it and the broader industry it represents “are embracing a technology that could potentially overturn them”.Carried far enough, the blockchain could after all eliminate the DTCC.[3]