Regulation

Paraguay is viewed by many as a potential hot spot for cryptocurrency adoption due to low electricity costs and relatively soft taxation. The government has recognized this opportunity by pushing forward new legislation around digital assets.  On May 25, a bill that regulates cryptocurrency trading, mining and custody was approved by the Paraguayan Congress on

Crypto miners account for two percent of the total electricity consumption in Russia, according to the latest government estimate. The energy consumption share of the crypto mining industry has exceeded the country’s agricultural sector, showing signs of recovery after Russia fell out of the top three in the global Bitcoin (BTC) mining hash rate share.

Crypto volatility is nerve-wracking, and it may not be over yet. The turmoil may make crypto investors and crypto-related businesses less enthusiastic than when prices seemed ever to be climbing. With the market falling off a cliff, there will be big losses to claim on your taxes, right? Not necessarily. As your United States dollars

Regulators from Europe, the United States and elsewhere are busily hammering out details on how to designate decentralized exchanges (DEXs) as “brokers,” transaction agents or similar entities that affect a transfer and cooperate with each other. The U.S. called for multinational cooperation in its executive order on responsible digital asset development, as did the European

Further cementing India’s decision to introduce an in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2022-23, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed a three-step graded approach for rolling out CBDC “with little or no disruption” to the traditional financial system. In February, while discussing the budget for 2022, Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about

“The Metaverse” and “Web3” are the buzzwords of the moment, with their concepts permeating across the worlds of fintech, blockchain, and now even mainstream media. With decentralization thought to be at the core of the Web3 Metaverse, the promise of a better user experience, security and control for consumers is what’s driving its growth. But

The decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem continues to struggle with the ongoing market volatility and after-effects of the Terra ecosystem collapse. Over the past week, major DeFi protocols showed signs of increased trading activity, with Uniswap breaching the $1 trillion trading volume mark. Terra remained the focus of most of the discussions around blockchain and crypto

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) maintained its perfect record for rejecting Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications Friday when it disapproved a rule change to allow cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund One River Digital to offer the One River Carbon Neutral Bitcoin Trust on the New York Stock Exchange Arca. The decision comes

The collapse of the Terra ecosystem, which subsequently depegged its algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) value and crashed it to an all-time low of $0.30, has cast doubt over the future of not just algorithmic stablecoins but all stablecoins in general. UST’s success and stability were intertwined with its sibling, LUNA, which creates arbitrage opportunities that,

Lawmakers in the United States are moving to protect the country from the potential undesirable impacts of the global adoption of China’s national digital currency. Three ​​Republican senators, Tom Cotton, Mike Braun and Marco Rubio, introduced a bill on May 25, aiming to limit the use of China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the United States.

United States Federal Reserve vice chair Lael Brainard submitted a written statement in advance to the Financial Services Committee virtual hearing on the benefits and risks of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) that took place Thursday. That was a sound strategic move considering that more than 25 legislators lined up to ask questions. 

ARK Investment Management, an investment firm founded by veteran investor Cathie Wood, is taking another try to launch a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. ARK Invest submitted on May 13 yet another application for its physical Bitcoin ETF, the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, according to a filing with the U.S.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried did a lot of talking at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) staff roundtable on non-intermediation Wednesday. He fielded questions and issues from 31 industry professionals about the FTX.US application to offer clearing of margined products, including crypto-based products, without a futures commission merchant (FCM) intermediary.  Many participants felt

Brazil’s Federal Reserve (RFB) has declared that Brazilian investors in the crypto-assets market must pay income tax on transactions that involve the like-kind exchange of cryptocurrencies; for example, Bitcoin for Ethereum. The RFB’s declaration was published in the Diário Oficial da União and was the result of a consultation made by a citizen of the

Shortly after approving Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in the Central African Republic (CAR), the local government is moving to provide the digital currency infrastructure. CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera took to Twitter on May 24 to announce the upcoming launch of the country’s first major crypto initiative dubbed “Sango.” The creation of the CAR’s crypto

On Tuesday, the European Central Bank, or ECB, published the results of a new survey conducted in six eurozone areas; the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, France, and Germany. Together, approximately 10% of respondents from the surveyed countries said they own cryptocurrencies. Out of this group, only 6% of respondents said they own digital assets worth

In April, the United Kingdom’s Economic and Finance Ministry, also known as Her Majesty’s Treasury, announced its intention to put the United Kingdom at the forefront of technology by bringing stablecoins under the country’s payments regulation — a bold move that looks especially intriguing in contrast to the recent shock, caused by TerraUSD’s (UST) depegging.

Crypto exchanges in South Korea have been issued notices from police requesting the sequestering of funds related to the Luna Foundation Guard.  On May 23rd, 2022, Korean authorities sent a request to the top crypto exchanges in the country to prevent funds from being withdrawn. Specifically, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency asked to prohibit the

It’s been two weeks since the shock of the TerraUSD (UST) depegging, but the long waves of this event are still coming in. The Congressional Research Service described the UST crash as a “run-like” scenario and claimed that the crypto industry has not reached the same level of “adequate regulating” as the traditional finance market. 

The recent privacy-focused MimbleWimble upgrade on the Litecoin (LTC) blockchain has prompted two of Korea’s largest crypto exchanges to issue investment warnings about the fifth-largest cryptocurrency. Bithumb and Upbit, which together account for the majority of trading volume in South Korea, released statements on Monday, advising investors about the risks associated with the privacy-enhancing upgrade.