Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• Estonia’s Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) has introduced new crypto legislation.
• 90% of platforms are at risk of losing their license or being forced to relocate under the new laws.
• Among other things, cryptocurrency providers must have a local base in Estonia.

The Estonian-based crypto startup, CryptoWallet, has renewed its virtual asset provider license to conform to the new digital assets legislation in Estonia.

Estonia’s Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) has introduced new laws targeting digital currency platforms after poor management, financial risk, and fraud concerns among crypto service providers especially following the various crypto collapses in the recent past.

New Estonia crypto regulation

Under the previous crypto regulation, more than 55% of cryptocurrency service providers around the world licensed outside Estonia could still practice in Estonia. The crypto services providers were also only required to hold €12,000 in capital reserves.

However, under the new laws, about 90% of the crypto platforms offering services in Estonia are at risk of losing their license or being forced to move out of the country.

The new laws require crypto service providers to have €250,000 held in capital reserves to prevent financial mismanagement. The service providers should also be based in Estonia and should introduce stricter KYC and AML checks besides showing viable business products and strategies.

Commenting on CryptoWallet’s license renewal, the startup’s COO Aleksander Smirmin said:

“This sought-after license, once again awarded by the FIU, is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication by the CryptoWallet team. We are fully compliant, have the required shared capital, and are launching products that will enhance our users’ lives.”

CryptoWallet to launch a crypto card

CryptoWallet aims at leveraging its license to operate in the country to launch a crypto card that will support 800 cryptocurrencies later this year.

The new FIU regulations are aimed at preventing fraud, ensuring compliance and transparency within the crypto space and creating a safer and more competitive industry.

The post CryptoWallet renews Virtual Asset Provider License after new Estonian legislation appeared first on CoinJournal.

Key takeaways

• Florida’s governor has proposed a legislature that would prohibit the use of CBDCs.

• The governor claims that the use of CBDCs would stifle innovations in Florida. 

• President Biden’s administration is currently studying the advantages and risks of using CBDCs. 

Ron DeSantis wants to ban the use of CBDCs

Florida Governor and possible Republican U.S. presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has submitted a new legislative proposal in his state that would prohibit the use of a national central bank digital currency (CBDC) as money within the state. 

In a press release submitted on Monday, DeSantis claims that the use of CBDC in the state would stifle innovation as the Biden administration is seeking to weaponise the national digital currency. 

The governor wrote;

“Today’s announcement will protect Florida consumers and businesses from the reckless adoption of a ‘centralized digital dollar’ which will stifle innovation and promote government-sanctioned surveillance.”

The State Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, added that;

“Governor DeSantis is ahead of the curve when it comes to protecting individual rights. A Central Bank Digital Currency is the cornerstone of a federal government that could track each and every transaction that happens in the world. There would be no privacy, and if there is no privacy, there are no rights. In the same way, Florida is fighting back against the IRS, we need to fight back against this program. It’s how we protect freedom, liberty, and prosperity.”

The US government is studying the risks and uses of CBDC

The proposed law seeks to prohibit the use of a CBDC issued by any central bank in other parts of the world. DeSantis’s statement calls on other states to also adopt similar legislation.

This latest cryptocurrency news comes after President Joe Biden issued an executive order for the federal government to study the possible uses and risks of a CBDC in 2022. 

There are privacy concerns regarding the use of CBDCs. DeSantis also added that the CBDC would diminish the role of community banks and credit unions. 

The United States is not the only state that is currently studying the use and risks of CBDCs. Several countries around the world, including Nigeria, China, The Bahamas, and Sweden, have launched their CBDCs. 

The post Florida Governor Ron DeSantis seeks to ban CBDCs appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Former Coinbase CTO says Bitcoin will hit $1.0 million by June 17th.
• Custodia Bank founder dubs BTC an insurance policy; a scarce asset.
• Bitcoin is currently trading well above its 200-day Moving Average.

Bitcoin will take hardly three months to shoot up to $1.0 million per coin, says Balaji Srinivasan – the former CTO of Coinbase Global Inc.

Why is he super bullish on Bitcoin?

The entrepreneur and investor relates his super bullish view to the recent bank failures that he warns will hyperinflate the U.S. dollar. In a recent tweet, he said:

“Central bank, the banks, and the bank regulators have bankrupted all of us. They hid their insolvency from you, the depositors. And they’re about to print $2.0 trillion to hyperinflate the dollar.

Srinivasan also launched a campaign he’s calling “BitSignal” that promises a $1,000 reward (each) to 1,000 best pieces of content that informs on the impending devaluation of the USD.

BTC is currently trading well above its 200-day Moving Average.

Srinivasan is in a bet with James Medlock

Srinivasan made the forecast on Twitter where he agreed to a bet with James Medlock (pseudonymous Twitter speaker) to whom he’ll have to pay $1.0 million if Bitcoin doesn’t hit his suggested valuation by June 17^th.

You buy 1 BTC. I will send $1.0 million. This is ~40:1 odds as 1 BTC is worth ~26K. The term is 90 days.

The discussion started on March 17^th when Medlock said he was willing to bet $1.0 million that fears of hyperinflation in the United States were merely overblown – a bet that Srinivasan accepted.

Also on Monday, Custodia Bank founder Caitlin Long dubbed Bitcoin an insurance policy; a scarce asset.

The post Bitcoin is only 90 days away from hitting $1.0 million: Pro appeared first on CoinJournal.

• OKX will cease operation in Canada in June 2023.
• The exchange has already sent an off-boarding message sent to Canadian OKX users.
• Canadians will not be able to open new OKX accounts starting on March 24, 2023.

The price of OKB, the native token of the OKX crypto exchange has dipped by almost 6% after the crypto exchange revealed that it will be ceasing operations in Canada in three months’ time.

At press time, the OKB token was trading at $46.01 after a 5.89% drop in the past 24 hours. The token has been on a sharp decline since Saturday, March 18, 2023, dropping from a high of $51.42 to its current price.

OKX to cease operations in Canada

A communication made today by OKX has indicated that the crypto exchange will cease operation in Canada on June 22, 2023.

OKX made the communication via emails to their Canadian users. The email states that the exchange “will no longer provide services or allow users to open new accounts in Canada starting on Mar. 24, 2023, 12:00 AM EST.”

OKX cited new regulations for the decision to withdraw from the country. Existing Canadian customers must close open positions in perpetual, futures options, and margins by June 22, 2023.  The customers must also withdraw their Fiat and token deposits by the same date.

The exchange stated:

“Your funds will remain safe in your account until you withdraw them. You will be able to withdraw dollars to your linked bank account and cryptocurrency to your self-custody wallet or your cryptocurrency account on another exchange.”

OKX however says that the move to exit the Canadian market is temporary as it works with regulators to solve the issue. OKX wrote saying: “We hope to see you again in the future. Stay tuned.”

OKX is not the first crypto exchange to exit Canada. Bittrex Global off-boarded Canadian users on July 29, 2022, after a similar advance notice citing regulatory issues.

Canadian crypto regulations

On February 22, 2023, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published a notice requiring cryptocurrency exchanges to sign new, legally-binding agreements while they await registration with the regulatory. The agreement prohibits “buying or depositing Value Referenced Crypto Assets (commonly referred to as stablecoins) through crypto contracts without the prior written consent of the CSA” among many other items.

All cryptocurrency exchanges must register with Canadian regulators before onboarding Canadian users. KuCoin and Bybit were fined in June last year for allegedly operating in the country without cooperating with the requirement.

The post OKB price dips: OKX to cease operations in Canada appeared first on CoinJournal.

• AllianceBlock builds seamless gateways between TradFi and DeFi through its decentralized and trustless infrastructure.
• ABO Digital is the private digital asset investment arm of Alpha Blue Ocean.
• The two companies have partnered to offer alternative financing for crypto projects.

AllianceBlock has partnered with ABO Digital to offer tokenized structured products for institutions and crypto projects looking for alternative forms of financing. The partnership is another milestone for AllianceBlock in its quest to build seamless gateways between Traditional Finance (TradFi) and Decentralized Finance (DeFi).

AllianceBlock will leverage ABO Digital’s decentralized and trustless blockchain infrastructure together with the Nexera Protocol to tokenize financial instruments.

Commenting about partnership, Rachid Ajaja, the CEO of AllianceBlock said:

“Through this strategic partnership, AllianceBlock is set to revolutionize the industry by leveraging its infrastructure to tokenise traditional financial instruments and new instruments for the digital asset space, taking a giant leap forward in providing institutions with a more compliant and risk-averse way to take advantage of DeFi’s benefits. This partnership marks a significant milestone for both companies and the industry as a whole, demonstrating our commitment to innovation, compliance, and risk management. The future of finance is looking brighter than ever.”  

AllianceBlock and ABO Digital’s structured products

ABO Digital offers a variety of structured financial products including convertible bonds, debt issuance, and warrants/options, providing the capital startups need to grow their customer and revenue base. It is also exploring the provision of alternative financial investments to institutions through tokenization.

The AllianceBlock and ABO Digital’s structured products will provide crypto projects with alternative funding options like issuing tokens to market makers or venture capitalists via a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT), to access additional liquidity from institutional capital providers with full compliance.

How the structured financial products work

Under the agreement, ABO Digital will negotiate and structure financial instruments depending on a project’s capital and liquidity requirements. AllianceBlock in collaboration with Nexera Protocol’s infrastructure and NexeraID’s identity will tokenize structured financial instruments and convert them into Actively Managed Certificates (AMCs) with full compliance for capital providers that do not want to hold digital assets.

Funds from capital providers will be locked into smart contracts and disbursed to projects only after the minimum funding threshold has been raised. The capital providers will receive a traditional AMC, with AllianceBlock managing the assets by holding the convertible bonds, debt or warrants.

ABO Digital will receive a structuring fee based on the amount raised, with AllianceBlock taking the majority of fees for managing the AMC or directly through the tokenized asset.

The post AllianceBlock partners with ABO Digital for structured crypto projects financing appeared first on CoinJournal.