Cryptocurrency regulations seem to be gaining traction across the globe with the latest to call for regulation being the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors. The ministers and governors have asked the Financial Stability Board and the global standards-setting organizations to collaborate in the monitoring of cryptocurrency risks.
Lawmakers in India have proposed a crypto bill that is considered by many to be ludicrous. The country is clamping down on cryptocurrency with an extreme proposal that would make Bitcoin and crypto ownership completely illegal. Those caught holding, mining, owning, or trading any digital asset could face a prison sentence of 10 years.
This week, some are focusing on the recent fire that broke out in Notre-Dame cathedral, while others are looking at Bruno Le Maire, the French Finance Minister. According to Le Maire, EU member states should implement the same crypto regulations the French parliament approved last week.
Lawmakers in California have introduced a new bill geared towards cannabis companies. Assembly Bill 953 was introduced on February 21st. This new piece of legislation would allow cannabis-related businesses to pay taxes and fees in digital currency—more specifically, in stablecoins.
In 2018, ICOs raised over $7.8 billion USD—up $1.6 billion from the year 2017. Most of these 2018 funds were raised in the first three months of the year. Cryptocurrencies have been on the decline ever since. Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released their new guide to ICOs. This new SEC ICO guide seems oddly timed, considering the fundraising tactic has decreased dramatically.
Kik, a Canadian-based cryptocurrency social media startup, has warned the SEC that it would fight back against alleged securities infractions. As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, Kik is fighting back regarding its 2017 initial coin offering (ICO).
Malaysia regulates cryptocurrencies as of today. The new rules affect both digital coins and ICOs (initial coin offerings). Though welcomed by many, the repercussions for those who don’t comply are deemed particularly harsh.
There’s no getting around Denmark’s tax agency, Skattestyrelsen, so don’t even try. The agency is pursuing Denmark crypto taxes with vigor and is leaving no stone left unturned!
It seems China really wants to give cryptocurrencies a hard time. The country has always been strict against the blockchain and crypto industry, and now it’s taking that to another level. Beijing has just declared Security Token Offerings, or STOs, illegal.
China does not like cryptocurrency. The country has repeatedly imposed strict sanctions against its use and relative businesses. Now the central bank of China is adding to its list by banning crypto airdrops.
Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges have been given full license to create their own regulations.
China’s ban on crypto continues across the country as the Guangzhou Development District is next to be hit.
India has been weighing its regulations on cryptocurrency for the past few months and it seems the government will finally come to a conclusion about blockchain and digital currencies by the end of 2018, Quartz India reports.
Malta blockchain regulations: Last night, four bills surrounding the blockchain sector in Malta were approved by Parliament, according to Malta Today. Will Malta become the first blockchain island?
The EU on cryptocurrencies: The European Parliament has just published an in-depth analysis of virtual currencies.
India crypto ban: According to various media outlets, the Reserve bank of India (RBI) will succeed in its ban on cryptocurrencies starting July fifth.
Three crypto bills have been passed by the Maltese parliament through their second reading. This further cements the tiny Mediterranean islands ambition to become the “Bitcoin continent of Europe”.
The IRS may be cracking down on crypto bought on foreign exchanges as part of a technicality involving overseas holdings. Americans who hold more than $10,000 abroad are required to file Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) reports each year with the U.S. Treasury Department. They are also required by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to describe their overseas accounts on Form 8938 of their IRS tax forms. The penalty for non-compliance? A potential $100,000-plus fine, plus prison time.
Canada Crackdown – The Canadian government just announced that going forward it will regulate any businesses “dealing in virtual currency” as Money Services Businesses (MSBs). This move is aimed at protecting Canada’s financial ecosystem from potential terrorist financing activities and money laundering.
South Korea – Yesterday, South Korea’s National Assembly proposed to allow domestic initial coin offerings (ICOs) again. Back in September of last year, the government banned all ICOs and since, the country has taken a hit. Due to the ban, South Korean companies have been moving to other countries to launch token sales – specifically crypto-friendly Singapore and Switzerland.
Operation Crypto-Sweep – The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) just announced that they sent out 70 cease-and-desist letters to operations they believe to be scam crypto companies. The operation is being called ‘Operation Crypto-Sweep’ and it has first reached 40 jurisdictions in both Canada and the United States.
A total of 16 Japanese crypto exchanges have joined together to form a new crypto association. The goal? To self-regulate cryptocurrencies in order to regain the public’s trust of the crypto industry as a whole.
Members of the European Parliament decided to vote in favour of tighter crypto AML regulations. These anti-money laundering reforms will include closer regulation for cryptocurrencies. 574 members voted in favour of this, with only 13 votes against and 60 abstentions, according to an EUP press release.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) entered uncharted waters by dealing a ban on cryptocurrencies which has caused outrage and confusion among the crypto investment community in India. This ban applies to all transactions related to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and the embargo effects the transfer of money form designated bank accounts to cryptocurrency wallets.
The India Crypto ban isn’t being wholly accepted across the country. The community of cryptocurrency users and blockchain technology enthusiasts have decided to speak out against the decision by the Reserve Bank of India that could endanger crypto trading across the country:
Taiwan Bitcoin Regulations: The Taiwanese government has carefully monitored the behavior of Bitcoin price in order to determine how its fluctuation affects the lifestyle of the Taiwanese people. It is trying to establish actions to protect the locals and safeguard the interests of the nation against possible criminal activities that could be committed through the use of cryptocurrencies.
Telegram App – a messaging service used by 40 million users and most blockchain projects, just concluded its record-breaking second round initial coin offering (ICO) and Iran’s government isn’t the least bit happy. The app is extremely popular in the authoritarian country and has played a large roll in enabling its residents to organize protests.
Crypto investors aren’t exempt from taxation: The U.S. tax authority has already provided a guideline for cryptocurrency taxation; they believe cryptocurrency transactions are taxable and these currencies should be treated as an intangible asset. When anyone buys crypto coins and sells them in a market, the investor is liable to pay capital gain tax if he realized any gain.
The Chilean government seems to be moving in the same direction as certain countries such as China, Russia, and Kazakhstan – de facto banning the operation of crypto exchanges. According to local media, this Thursday, the three main exchanges operating in the country: OrionX, Buda (formerly known as SurBTC) and CryptoMKT received a statement in which BancoEstado (officially: State Bank of Chile) announced the closure of their checking accounts in 10 days.
Cryptocurrency selloff intensified after Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) imposed an advertisement ban on cryptocurrencies and related activities. Following in the footsteps of Google (NYSE:GOOG) and Facebook (NYSE:FB), Twitter management also see advertising of token sales and initial coin offerings (ICOs) harmful to consumers. The Twitter ban will also cover ads related to cryptocurrency wallet services and cryptocurrency exchanges.
First, Facebook banned crypto ads. Then, Google announced it would be banning them as well – many coins dropped when the news was released. Add Snapchat and Twitter into the mix and out comes an internet cocktail that is surprisingly light on crypto ads.
Bitcoin price (BTC) has lost more than 60% of its value since hitting the all-time high in December; BTC price traded in the range of $6,000 to $12,000 over the last two months. However, the market pundits don’t see a downside in bitcoin price volatility in the long-term. They expect BTC price to move higher once regulators settle on laws for crypto markets.
Crypto markets are reacting negatively to increasing regulatory pressure from key players. The price of bitcoin reversed some gains that it had generated early in the week; BTC price plunged below $8,500 level today after Japan has issued a warning to Binance – which is the largest cryptocurrency exchange based on trading volume of over $1.6 billion.
A bill to Abolish BitLicense in New York?
President Trump has officially signed an executive order forcing sanctions against Venezuela. The country holds a “petro” cryptocurrency that is even controversial within its own countries’ government. Earlier this month, Rafael Guzman, chairman of the Economic and Finance Commision, said in a statement.
Will the G20 Summit give support to cryptocurrencies?
Thai crypto regulations are on the horizon. Find out what has been discussed so far.
When it comes to the blockchain, Russia is a very complex country. The political positions on this matter depend on who talks to the media. A few days ago, Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin mentioned in a meeting of his high-ranking cabinet (in which Herman Gref, president of the most significant Russian bank: ‘Sberbank’ participated) the position he sustains regarding the use of blockchain technologies for the development of the country:
Cryptocurrencies must work with government regulators in order to sustain the crypto revolution, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an interview with CNBC today.
The SEC has released a statement proclaiming that crypto coins should be labelled as securities and crypto exchanges, therefore, need to register with the SEC.
To regulate or to ban? Everyone is talking about the cryptocurrency mania and the future of it; some are calling crypto a complete fraud, while others consider it a reliable medium of exchange and the most significant innovation in the financial world. The unexpected growth in Bitcoin (BTC), Ripple (XRP) and other digital currencies stunned investors and regulators, forcing them to look at the factors that are driving prices higher.
Cryptocurrencies continue to trade in the narrow range over the last week; Bitcoin traded in the range of $10,000, while Ethereum and Ripple are trading in the range of $870 and $0.92 – small trading range suggest that traders apprehensive about how cryptocurrencies will behave in the days to come.
The man has spoken. On Tuesday, the president of the European Central Bank joined the conversation regarding cryptocurrency regulation. More specifically, the ECB president discussed the bank’s viewpoint on whose responsibility it is to regulate bitcoin. Unfortunately, it might not have been what people were hoping to hear from the former Italian central banker.
On Tuesday, Agustin Carsten gave a speech in which he discussed cryptocurrency regulation. He, of course, is not the first public figure to come forward to discuss more regulation on virtual currencies. Recently, UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the UK plans to create new cryptocurrency rules. As for Carsten, the BIS general manager not only called for more regulation, but he also said Bitcoin is a mixture of a bubble and a Ponzi scheme.
Another day, another discussion on crypto regulation. That’s not an exaggeration, either. Both BIS general manager Agustin Carsten and members of the parliament of Singapore discussed regulating virtual currencies this week. As for this article, we are going to focus primarily on the latter.
China cryptocurrency ban has wreaked havoc on the market! This weekend the cryptocurrency market began to rebound after it had a rough couple of days. However, that day of green is far gone as China has added more to its country-wide firewall. The South China Morning Post reported this morning that the country has officially blocked all websites related to cryptocurrency both domestic and foreign. Sunday night, a representative from the People’s Bank of China said, “To prevent financial risks, China will step up measures to remove any onshore or offshore platforms related to virtual currency trading or ICOs.”
To regulate cryptocurrencies or not to regulate cryptocurrencies? That is the question that will be in focus at the next G20 Summit in March. It seems that most countries will have something to say about the regulation of it. In fact, last week UK Prime Minister Theresa May disclosed that the country is going to implicate some new cryptocurrency rules. This week, Steven Mnuchin, who is the U.S. Treasury Secretary, joined the conversation.
Woody Allen once said the world is divided into two groups of people: good and bad. There is a part of me that feels I could make the same argument in regards to the cryptocurrency market. Cryptocurrencies, in general, are both good and bad. For the most part, we’ve seen a lot of good come out of the cryptocurrency market, which has caused the vast majority of the world to forget about the downside to the market. Or, we simply choose to ignore the various discussions happening, like the topic of cryptocurrency regulation.
Last month former U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chair Sheila Bair announced that she believes that there should be more regulations on digital currency like bitcoin, but she doesn’t necessarily believe that there should be bans against it.
Prices all across the cryptocurrency market are plunging today in what many reports are calling a cryptocurrency ‘bloodbath’. As coinmarketcap shows, almost every coin is down by double digits with only Neblio and Tether managing to stay in the green.
