TronWeekly

Crypto World News

You are here: Home / Archives for News / Fintech

Fintech

Russia To Soon Tax Profits Acquired By Trading Crypto

by

The surge in the value of cryptocurrencies has alarmed a few countries like India. But countries like Russia seem to be steering towards the industry by regulating digital assets. The country has been portraying itself as a crypto-friendly country for quite a while now. With an array of investors diving into the business, the government intends to tax the benefits acquired from trading crypto.

The Russian State Duma recently revealed that a bill pertaining to the taxation of crypto was approved.

Russia Now Recognizes Crypto As Property

The draft bill issued by the Russian Federation to tax cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH], and the others received a thumbs up from the Committee on State Building and Legislation of Duma. The bill which was approved on 15 February 2021 helped crypto assets in being perceived as property in the country. This would mean that all the profits garnered by the citizens of Russia from trading crypto would be taxed.

With the crypto industry currently valued at a high of $1.54 trillion, several have started trading different cryptocurrencies. However, Russians would have to deal with taxes only if their yearly transactions exceed $8,100 or 600,000 rubles.

The announcement further read,

“The authors of the bill point out that cryptocurrency is often used for tax evasion, money laundering and financing illegal activities. And now the tax authorities do not have information about cryptocurrency wallets opened by Russian legal entities and citizens of the Russian Federation and the operations carried out on them.”

Furthermore, pointing out the repercussions of avoiding these taxes or providing false information pertaining to their crypto transactions, the bill announced a 40% fine on the former and a 10% fine on the latter.

While this seems to be taking off, the central bank digital currency [CBDC] aka the digital ruble of the country could be gaining momentum. Prominent wireless service platforms of the country, MegaFon as well as Beeline are reportedly considering including the digital ruble wallets on to the phones of the citizens of the country.

MasterCard To Elevate Its Network By Announcing Support For Crypto

by

Over the last decade, Bitcoin emerged as a prominent asset in the financial world. This notable journey of the asset has lured MasterCard and an array of mainstream companies into its industry. Earlier, accounts that were associated with crypto were outrightly banned. But now, however, banking giants were seen incorporating crypto into their system. After PayPal, MasterCard seems to be spearheading the move towards crypto.

MasterCard To Take A Plunge Into Crypto In 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic limited human contact and made the world realize the importance of digitalization. MasterCard seems to be getting on to the digitalization train with its latest venture. In a recent blog post, MasterCard revealed that it intends to aid cryptocurrencies this year. With the growing demand for crypto, the network doesn’t want to deprive its users of the digital asset world.

While the assets that MasterCard would potentially support is still under the wraps, the network wants to lay its focus on stablecoins. If this plan takes off, the network could spruce up crypto adoption as the network hoards a whopping 30 million merchants. The post further read,

“We are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value — traditional or crypto — however they want. It should be your choice, it’s your money.”

With its latest move, MasterCard hopes to uphold four things, the privacy as well as security of its users and their information, KYC and other regulatory requirements, stability along with compliance with the local laws.

MasterCard’s association with the crypto-verse goes way back. The network even went on to join hands with prominent crypto platforms like Wirex as well as BitPay, last year to formulate crypto cards. Apart from this, the network is reportedly aiding central banks across the globe in the development of CBDCs.

Furthermore, the network made it clear that it wasn’t recommending its customers to start using cryptocurrencies. However, it promises to help its users, merchants as well as businesses to drive digital value.

While Visa is still discussing the potentials of incorporating crypto into its system, PayPal has even aggravated the bulls in the crypto market.

The overall market cap of the crypto industry had hit a high of $1.40 trillion, MasterCard’s latest move is speculated to help the industry achieve $2 trillion.

CBDCs Entail The Potential Of Becoming A ‘Gigantic Flop’

by

Central bank digital currencies aka CBDCs have garnered increased interest from governments across the world. China has been spearheading this evolution in the global financial scene. As the country has already begun distributing the digital yuan among its citizens, other countries have just started their research on these digital assets. Amidst this steer towards digitalization, two economists suggest that CBDCs could fail to meet the expectations it has set.

CBDCs Lack “Obvious Justification” Suggest European Economists

In a recent research paper released by European Economists, Peter Bofinger and Thomas Hass point out a different narrative to the whole CBDC game. While the globe is prepping for an elevated payments method with the launch of CBDCs, the aforementioned economists fail to differentiate the prospects of these national digital currencies from what the private banks are already rendering. Though the European Central Bank [ECB] has been enhancing its effort towards the digital euro, Bofinger and Hass suggest that the ECB should steer in a different direction.

The paper read,

“If CBDCs are designed as new payment objects that are used within existing payment systems, the user perspective implies that CBDCs must compete with existing payment objects (above all cash and traditional bank deposits). If CBDCs constitute new payment systems, their acceptance by private users must be analysed within the context of the existing payments ecosystem. For the reputation and credibility of central banks, it is important that any CBDC solution is attractive enough for potential users to adopt it.”

The economists mostly stressed the objectives that CBDCs pursue. They suggested that these national digital assets would probably succeed if they took a road that private providers do not take. However, they were adamant about central bank currencies being a great store of value as opposed to facilitating payments. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency has been tussling with a similar narrative.

While countries have been putting all their resources to deliver a good central bank currency, the economists pointed out that they should entail multicurrency operability while being open to payment objects that are not specific to a single system. Paypal has time and again rendered unbeatable services to the people, competing with an already established system like that for global payments could be a task. If the central banks fail to address all of this, central bank currencies could be a “gigantic flop” the economists suggested.

Visa Is The Latest Platform To Steer Towards The Crypto Industry

by

After Paypal, Visa seems to be jumping onto the crypto bandwagon.

It took a lot for the crypto industry to shun off its association with the dark net. With the value of the overall industry surging to a high of a trillion dollars, several mainstream companies have been getting into the crypto-verse. Paypal recently won the hearts of several crypto lovers by adding support to an array of digital assets. While that further insinuated a crypto rally, Visa’s CEO recently revealed that Visa could be following the trail of Paypal and adding support for certain assets.

The CEO of Visa, Alfred Kelly recently addressed the fiscal Q1 2021 earnings call of Visa. In the same, Kelly spoke about the crypto industry. He went on to reveal that cryptocurrencies were going to make a debut on the payments platform.

While Visa has already been supporting an array of crypto platforms, Kelly suggested that the payments giant hopes to make cryptocurrencies safer to use. He added,

“In this space, we see ways that we can add differentiated value to the ecosystem. And we believe that we are uniquely positioned to help make cryptocurrencies more safe, useful and applicable for payments through our global presence, our partnership approach and our trusted brand.”

Previously, the payments platform had partnered with Facebook for its crypto venture, Libra [now renamed as Diem]. However, Visa backed out as the regulatory pressure around the project prevailed. Kelly further pointed out that digital assets would have a strong presence in global financial scene. “We think of digital currencies running on public blockchains as additional networks just like RTP or ACH networks, so we see them as part of our network of networks strategy,” Kelly suggested.

Furthermore, Kelly affirmed that cryptocurrencies would eventually make it to the Visa network as it already supports over 160 fiat currencies. He said,

“It goes without saying, to the extent a specific digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, there’s no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports over 160 currencies today.”

Philippines Is All Set To Tackle Money Laundering By Licensing Crypto Platforms

by

The Philippines seems to be steering towards the world of crypto as its value has been skyrocketing. The country revealed that it was going to toughen its laws to hinder potential money laundering violations.

The crypto industry was rolled out as an entity that had nothing to do with the centralized systems or governments. However, the value, popularity, and increase in perpetrators in the industry caused the government to intervene. While governments across the globe have been stepping up their games and making regulations compliant with the crypto industry, the Philippines just jumped onto the bandwagon.

Philippines’ Central Bank To Take Things Into Its Hand

A local news portal revealed that the Southeast Asian country was looking to impose stricter rules with regard to the crypto wing of the region. Just like all the other countries across the globe have been working towards the licensing of crypto firms, the Philippines has now mandated its crypto platforms to register with the central bank of the country.

The central bank of the country, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [BSP] recently pointed out that any platform that carried out services that include cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in the country had to acquire a license. The Governor of BSP, Benjamin Diokno went on to point out how the country has worked towards stimulating the growth of digitalization. He said,

“We have seen accelerated growth in the use virtual currency exchanges in the past three years, and it is high time that we broaden the scope of existing regulations in recognition of the evolving nature of this financial innovation and set out commensurate risk management expectations.”

Crypto platforms operating in the Philippines would be able to continue transfer as well as “safekeeping” along with the administration of digital assets without any hassles. These platforms would further be mandated to live up to regulatory expectations that tackle money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Janet Yellen Lands The Treasury Secretary Position; Will Bitcoin Stumble?

by

Janet Yellen has made women across the globe proud by securing a position as the Treasury Secretary. The USA had its many firsts this year, from Kamala Harris taking over as the first female Asian American vice president to Yellen being appointed as the first female Treasury Secretary. Just as America was celebrating its win, the crypto-verse was reminded of Yellen’s notion towards Bitcoin and other assets. Therefore this didn’t seem to be a favorable choice for the cryptocurrency industry. –

Janet Yellen’s Dynamic Perception On BTC

Nominated by Joe Biden, Janet secured the role of the secretary for the Treasury Department with a vote of 84 to 15. Yellen garnered the support of an array of people including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. While Yellen was overseen by the former President, Donald Trump, she had spearheaded the Federal Reserve for about four years from 2014 to 2018.

Yellen has been giving out contradicting statements on cryptocurrencies. While she started off by suggesting that she wasn’t a big fan of Bitcoin and even proposed that the king coin should be curtailed. However, her thoughts on this seemed to have changed in her written testimony. She wrote,

“I think it important we consider the benefits of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, and the potential they have to improve the efficiency of the financial system.”

While she had previously suggested that cryptocurrencies should be curtailed, she clarified that these assets had to be encouraged “their use for legitimate activities while curtailing their use for malign and illegal activities.”

However, Janet Yellen pointed out that she would join hands with other agencies to roll out innovations pertaining to the fintech industyr. She said,

“[..] to work closely with the Federal Reserve Board and the other federal banking and securities regulators on how to implement an effective regulatory framework for these and other fintech innovations.”

OCC Most Likely To Be Spearheaded By Former Ripple Advisor

by

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency aka OCC had been in and out of the headlines following the appointment and resignation of Brian Brooks, the outgoing head of the OCC. While Brooks was elected as the interim head of the OCC, reports suggest that Joe Biden who recently swore in as the President of the USA has another person who has had connections with the crypto-verse in mind.

OCC To Onboard Michael Barr

Earlier today, The Wall Street Journal revealed that Michael Barr was in Biden’s list to take over as the Comptroller of the Currency. The report suggested that Barr had an array of experience in various fields. While the potential head of OCC currently works at the University of Michigan as the dean of public policy, he had previously served Obama as the assistant treasury secretary for financial institutions. He was best known for aiding the process of crafting the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

Similar to Brooks, Barr also has an affiliation with the crypto industry. Barr was reportedly part of the Advisory Board of Ripple Labs. Barr’s previous association with the crypto industry could aid the adoption and growth of the crypto industry.

Elected by the former President of the USA, Donald Trump, Brian Brooks, had time and again urged the US government to be more accepting of the cryptocurrency industry. Brooks’ association with the crypto-verse dates back to when he was serving as the Chief Legal Officer of the prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase. Brooks even got into trouble with the members of the Congress for being too inclined towards the crypto market.

The value of the cryptocurrency industry is higher than ever. The over all market cap of the crypto industry recently surged past $1 trillion. With the crypto markets prevailing, the adoption of these assets have been on a surge.

Ecuador’s Presidential Candidate Wants To Issue National Crypto Backed By Gold

by

Despite being out and about in the financial world, cryptocurrencies have had a hard time being recognized by government officials. Ecuador, however, seems to be more hostile than in other countries. Over the years. Ecuador has been vocal about its resentment towards crypto. A presidential candidate was seen yearning for a national crypto asset.

Ecuador To Get A National Cryptocurrency?

While the citizens of Ecuador have been prepping for the 2021 general election, presidential candidate, Geovanni Andrade was seen sprucing up the financial scene in the country. The Ecuadorian-Chilean Chamber of Mining who is running to be President of the country appeared in a recent interview pointing out the need for a national virtual currency.

With this, Andrade hopes to carry out transactions within the country in a much easier manner. He hopes to peg Ecuador’s national crypto-asset with gold. He added,

“We are looking at ways to create an Ecuadorian cryptocurrency, this does not mean that we are going to escape from dollarization—we must support dollarization.”

This further affirmed that this potential national currency would be an alternative mode of transaction and would not replace the dollar or the country’s national currency. Andrade revealed that this asset could pose extremely beneficial for the country.

Central bank-issued digital currencies have been making the rounds now. Countries across the globe have been working with their respective central banks to roll out cryptocurrency like assets. While China has been spearheading the whole movement, other countries are jumping onto the bandwagon. These assets have been speculated to cause trouble to the hold that fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies have already established.

Canada’s Former Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, in a recent interview revealed that CBDC’s were inevitable. The ever-growing fast-paced financial world would force CBDCs out of every country. However, dealing with regulatory hurdles would be a given for these assets, he suggested.

Coinbase Now Has Crypto Start-Up Routefire Under Its Wing

by

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase made it to the headlines multiple times this year. The bull run following Bitcoin halving nearly destroyed the exchange as several users complained about issues pertaining to its application as well as the webpage. However, the exchange was back on track and was recently in the news after it announced its decision to go public. While that is still under the wraps, the crypto exchange revealed its latest acquisition of a crypto startup.

Coinbase Acquires Routefire For An Undisclosed Amount

Routefire was rolled out to elevate the crypto trading scene. The platform offers a trading tool that aids in the accomplishment of substantial orders with increased speed. While Coinbase has time and again been called out for its “outages” during the high volatility of the crypto assets, the incorporation of Routefire’s trading tool could pose as beneficial to the exchange. In an elaborate blog post, penned down by Jason Victor, the CEO of Routefire, he affirmed that Coinbase had acquired the startup.

He pointed out that the Routefire platform would no longer function and would be teaming up with Coinbase to execute its mission of incorporating “advanced trading infrastructure” to the dynamic cryptocurrency industry. Victor further revealed that Routefire would aid Coinbase Prime. He added,

“After an incredible journey that began in early 2018, it is with pride and a deep sense of gratitude that today we are announcing we will be discontinuing Routefire’s services and our team will be joining Coinbase to continue developing best-in-class execution services for digital assets.”

Additionally, Victor expressed his gratitude and thanked its users for supporting the platform over the years. While the blog post did not reveal the money involved in the deal, the company’s website affirmed that there were only seven employees including CEO Victor in Routefire.

This deal affirmed that the adoption of crypto on an institutional level was surely high as prominent cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase were boosting their game.

US Congress Urges FinCEN To Take It Slow After Its Latest Crypto Proposal

by

The cryptocurrency world has been subject to an array of regulations as its popularity has been soaring up. Back in December the US financial regulator, FinCEN has urged backs as well as other financial institutions to keep an eye on transactions related to private cryptocurrency wallets. While this rule required the crypto-verse to spruce up their KYC game, a few members of the US Congress wrote a letter to the US Treasury Secretary seeking more time on the rule.

US Congress Writes A Letter To The US Treasury Secretary

A letter signed by nine members of the US Congress including Tulsi Gabbard, Tom Emmer, Darren Soto, David Schweikert, Warren Davidson, Ted Budd, Bill Foster, as well as Susan K. DelBene was sent out to FinCEN director Kenneth Blanco and Steve Mnuchin, the US Treasury Secretary. The letter entailed details pertaining to the FinCEN’s latest crypto rule which required cryptocurrency exchanges to carry out KYC investigations on the private wallets of its users.

All those who signed the letter affirmed that they were as interested in addressing and protecting the national security as the FinCEN was, however, the real problem lies in the time limit given to the crypto platforms. A total of 15 days during the holidays were given to these exchanges. The aforementioned letter urged Secretary Mnuchin as well as Blanco to reconsider the comment period to 60 days. In the letter, the members of Congress pointed out that 15 days wasn’t a “reasonable opportunity” for the American public.

The letter further read,

“This is a highly complex rulemaking as the 24 detailed questions that FinCEN asks in the notice attest. It would be impossible for the public to give meaningful comment with so little time, and a rushed process threatens the legitimacy of this rule. It also makes the new regulations very susceptible to legal challenges.”

At the end of the letter, the members of the US Congress suggested that the rush in the latest rulemaking could affect the community that has been a “cooperative partner with FinCEN.”