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By Billy Bambrough Japan's economy — which for years has struggled to return to its 1980's growth levels — could be about to boom once again, thanks to bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. At the Japan Blockchain Conference this week in Tokyo (the first of what's expected to become a yearly event) the chief executive of financial services giant SBI Holdings Yoshitaka Kitao said he is betting that blockchain related technologies will fuel the next boom for the Japanese economy after decades of economic malaise. In the 1970s, Japan had the world's second-largest GDP after the U.S. and this boom continued through to the 1980s. However, by the early 1990s Japan's economy had stalled, plunging the country into what has been called the "lost decade" of growth. It has previously been suggested Japan's economy could be kick-started by a "technological boom." Improved mobile connectivity through the lo

 Nebraska operator delivers video, voice, data to 90 communities across state By Mike Farrell Great Plains Communications, the largest privately-owned telecommunication provider in Nebraska, said it has been purchased by private equity firm Grain Management. Terms were not disclosed. Great Plains, based in Blair, Neb., provides video, high-speed data and voice services to business and residential customers in more than 90 communities across the state. The family-owned company has been in business since 1910. “We are enthusiastic about the outstanding performance Great Plains Communications has delivered for its customers, and we are thrilled to partner with the current management team to continue pursuing their vision of being the region’s leading provider of high-quality, fiber-based telecommunications services,” said Grain Management founder and CEO David Grain in a statement.  “Throughout its long history, Great Plains Communications has strategically transitio

By DAVID Z. MORRIS  Bitcoin dipped as low as $5,787 Sunday afternoon, marking the cryptocurrency’s lowest price so far in 2018. Bitcoin’s low had previously been set at $5,947 on February 6th, according to Coindesk’s price index, in the midst of a sharp dip. But the current bear trend, a slower grind driven by global regulatory scrutiny, allegations of market manipulation, and battered investor sentiment, may prove more sustained — despite a bounce that followed the new low. Sunday’s low marked a more than 70% decline in the value of Bitcoin since December of 2017, when the digital token’s value stopped just short of $20,000. Fortune and other observers were quick to call a bubble in the months and weeks leading up to that peak, as retail investors new to digital assets class piled in, afraid to miss out on a boom. But recent research suggests the bubble was fueled by more than mass mania. A study released earlier this month found evidence that market manipulation helped d

Summit Partners veteran Thomas S. Roberts launches Equality Asset Management -- a private equity firm that promises a longer-term approach to investments.  By Joe Panettieri Summit Partners veteran Thomas S. Roberts is well-known in the traditional private equity market. Now, he’s seeking to disrupt that market with a private equity startup that takes a significantly different approach to investments. His newly launched firm, Equality Asset Management, focuses on making long-term investments in durable technology, healthcare, and tech-enabled growth companies. Among the twists: Equality plans to implement a fee structure that reflects the current return environment and more closely aligns General Partner and Limited Partner interests, though the company didn’t disclose deeper details about the approach. The company plans to provide $100 million to $300 million of capital per company for growth equity and buyout transactions, with leverage levels tailor

By  Oscar Williams-Grut LONDON — A Wall Street analyst known for his bullish stance on bitcoin has flagged the possibility that bitcoin futures contracts could be hurting the cryptocurrency's price. Bloomberg reports that Tom Lee, the cofounder of the research firm Fundstrat, said in a note last week that bitcoin futures contracts could be behind bitcoin's recent "gut-wrenching" price declines. Lee said in his report that there was "significant volatility" in bitcoin's price around the expiration date of CME Group and Cboe futures contracts. Both CME Group and Cboe launched bitcoin futures products in December, when bitcoin was trading close to record highs of about $20,000. Bitcoin has tumbled since then. Bitcoin was down 0.35% against the dollar to $6,438.56 a coin as of 8:45 a.m. BST (3:45 a.m. ET) on Monday. Bloomberg reports that Lee wrote that traders who are long bitcoin and short futures could sell bitcoin duri