As the new year begins, Qatar’s Financial Center, the nation’s regulatory authority, has issued a blanket ban on cryptocurrency-related services in the Gulf nation. The prohibition covers not only cryptocurrencies but “anything of value” that could substitute fiat currencies. Qatar Bans Cryptocurrencies The Qatari Financial Center, which is also the nation’s regulatory authority, has issued...Read More
The slightly negative attention from institutions towards Facebook’s Libra continues with the German Central Bank’s President Jens Weidmann, saying that they have to slow it down with further regulations. He also notes that banks must improve their payment systems and the E.U. should be more considerate regarding launching e-euro. Weidmann On Digital Euro Ever since...Read More
The case between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the encrypted messaging platform Telegram takes another turn. The latter has reportedly refused to hand over financial details regarding its ICO from two years ago, which was recently requested by the market regulator. Telegram Does Not Want To Share After raising over a billion...Read More
Good news for cryptocurrency traders in South Korea as profit generated from crypto trading will not be subjected to tax, according to a recent announcement from the country’s Ministry of Finance and Strategy. The Ministry clarified that the current tax law does not consider crypto trading gains as taxable income; thus, Korean crypto traders are...Read More
The National Tax Service of South Korea (NTS) has decided to withhold income tax from Bithumb’s foreign customers. The total tax to be imposed on their transactions amounts to more than 80 billion won (over $69 million), the leading Korean cryptocurrency exchange announced. Also read: Poles Hit With Backdated Tax on Crypto Trades Bithumb to...Read More
As digital currencies become a mainstay in society, a great number of governments have enforced strict tax guidelines, severe money transmission rules, and tough regulations. Because of a few nation-states’ harsh rules against cryptos, there are individuals who plan to renounce their citizenship in order to become stateless. Some people will also attempt to get...Read More
Since the inception of Bitcoin, governments have tried to keep track of all the transactions taking place on the public blockchain. As the years progressed, authorities have shown a distaste for cryptocurrency mixing applications like Coinjoin. On Dec. 19, a Binance customer couldn’t withdraw his bitcoin because the exchange told him he used the mixing...Read More
A few days after the first complaints from crypto influencers regarding having their YouTube videos removed, it appears that things are starting to escalate. The number of affected content creators keeps rising since then, and the community wonders on what could be the needed solution in this case. Youtube Bans Crypto Channels The largest content-sharing...Read More
Authorities in Uzbekistan have effectively banned residents from purchasing cryptocurrencies on digital asset exchanges licensed in the country. Crypto holders will only be able to sell their coins and that’s if these have not been obtained through anonymous transactions, amendments to the local regulations postulate. Also read: Poles Hit With Backdated Tax on Crypto Trades...Read More
In times of mounting pressure on crypto companies to comply with expanding due diligence requirements, Poloniex has taken a step in the opposite direction. The exchange is lifting restrictions that applied to unverified users in response to customer demand. New and current accounts will enjoy access to unlimited trading and deposits. Also read: P2P Crypto...Read More
December is almost over, and it’s safe to say that it has been action-packed. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price went on a rollercoaster, dropping to a low of around $6,500 only to correct to approximately $7,200 where it currently trades, leaving many to question whether the bottom was already in. Looking at the bigger...Read More
With stricter new regulations on the horizon for the crypto space around the world, Australians have found that it’s actually their traditional financial institutions that have been breaching well-established anti-money laundering rules and other industry standards this year. Westpac, one of the country’s largest banks, is now under investigation for millions of purported violations of...Read More
Cryptocurrency companies and services based in the EU have less than a month to adjust their business operations to comply with a new set of rules. As of January 10th, The Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) will be in effect, requiring KYC, and monitoring all transactions. 5AMLD In Action From January Regulators across the world...Read More
According to the blockchain analysis firm Ciphertrace, major U.S. banks process roughly $2 billion in digital currency transactions that go undetected every year. Ciphertrace disclosed a slew of financial institutions have not deployed the right KYC/AML infrastructure to detect unregistered cryptocurrency transfers. Also read: US to Strictly Enforce Crypto Rules Similar to FATF Guidelines All...Read More
Bottle Pay, a cryptocurrency payments provider from the U.K., has announced its decision to cease operations by the end of the year. Despite attracting some serious funding and expanding its user base significantly in the past few months, the company has found it unacceptable to continue to work under the upcoming EU regulations. AMLD5, the...Read More
A popular service for tipping social network users has announced that it will cease functioning on New Year’s Eve. BottlePay links social accounts with Bitcoin wallets to allow users to reward each other for agreeable content.The news comes in response to EU anti-money laundering regulations. BottlePay has confirmed that users will still be able to...Read More
The U.S. court has reportedly dismissed the law case for $150 million against the popular cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, FTX. The initial reasoning behind the lawsuit was market manipulation and unlicensed securities sales, but the court has not found any solid grounds to continue with the lawsuit. Cryptocurrency Exchange FTX Exonerated Earlier this year, the cryptocurrency...Read More
The Legislative arm of Ukraine, The Verkhovna Rada, has passed an amendment to legalize crypto payments in the country. The anti-money laundering (AML) law complies with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. The law mainly handles the maintenance of virtual assets and virtual asset service providers (VASP’S). It provides clear guidelines for traders and...Read More
Good news came from Eastern Europe as the legislative arm of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada, has adopted an amended draft law that seeks to introduce cryptocurrencies as a legal means of payment and investment within the country, according to a Monday report. This development is an effort to work in accordance with the Financial Action...Read More
In this regulatory roundup, we cover the U.S. SEC approving a bitcoin futures fund, the new IRS tax form targeting crypto owners, and several more steps taken by the U.S. government toward crypto regulation. We also cover India’s central bank digital currency plan, South Korea’s crypto taxation plan, and the European Commission’s announcement regarding stablecoins....Read More
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, on Thursday, announced that India will soon launch it’s own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Amidst a court case on the Cryptocurrency ban in India, this news comes as a hope for crypto in the future. India is a land of diverse mentality with a constant feud of banning cryptocurrency or...Read More
South Korea’s regulatory authorities have strongly favored backing blockchain-related projects over decentralized cryptocurrencies. Some recent events confirm that the nation’s government is more supportive of distributed ledger technology (DLT) itself rather than speculative tokens. Around 97% of local cryptocurrency exchanges are in danger of being shut down, according to local reports. Most Smaller Korean Exchanges...Read More
Popularly known for investing in innovative companies, Andreessen Horowitz hosted a private event in May assembling the financial watchdogs of Washington in order to persuade them to be more considerate toward cryptocurrencies. Andreessen Horowitz has invested in a number of projects including several blockchain and cryptocurrency-related projects. According to the Wall Street Journal, officials from...Read More
Anti-agorism Congressional Representative Maxine Waters still has misgivings about Facebook’s proposed Libra digital currency, even after meeting with Swiss government officials to discuss the tech last week. The sustained reservations echo the message of July’s open letter from the House of Representatives to Facebook, calling for a halt on Libra’s ongoing development. While many view...Read More
Salaries paid in decentralized digital coins have become a norm across the crypto industry, but there’s really no reason why cryptocurrencies can’t be used for remuneration by businesses in other sectors as well. In many jurisdictions that should be legal even in the absence of dedicated legislation. Switzerland, New Zealand, Japan and Estonia are a...Read More
As crypto businesses have started to make the move into crypto-friendly geographies to avoid risk of shutting down, Switzerland made headlines on the other side of this spectrum by announcing banking licenses to two cryptocurrency-focused banks. According to the official report, “For the first time, FINMA has issued banking and securities dealers’ licences to two...Read More
The opioid epidemic is the new devil Bitcoin is being blamed for inflaming, to be added to the already long list of heinous crimes crypto is supposedly responsible for, like terrorism, money laundering, and trafficking. While it’s painfully clear that the U.S. dollar is a much more common tool for these unethical and illicit activities,...Read More
As regulation continues growing exponentially for cryptocurrencies worldwide, a chasm is yawning ever deeper between supporters. On the one hand, many yearn for massive adoption and clear regulations so they can get on with their trading, and get on with their lives – not to mention the lucrative value gains attendant to such ubiquity. This...Read More
