Schlagwort: crypto news

• Marcus Sotiriou, a market analyst at UK-listed digital asset firm GlobalBlock, says the SEC is just starting in its crackdown on crypto.
• The analyst said this in a note to clients on Monday following regulatory moves against crypto firm Paxos and the stablecoin BUSD.
• Sotiriou says crypto wants clarity, yet the SEC has so far failed to provide the guidance needed. 

Paxos news undoubtedly impacted markets on Monday as cryptocurrencies largely traded lower. While other market factors could have been at play, one of the negative triggers was reaction to news about Paxos and the stablecoin BUSD.

Bitcoin retreated to test support at $21,500 and Ethereum dipped to lows of $1,470, while Binance’s BNB fell below $300 to a new one-month low. The declines that also pushed the total crypto market capitalization down by more than 2.5%, came as US regulators appeared to shift another gear in their “crackdown” on crypto firms.

GlobalBlock analyst on SEC’s war on crypto: it’s “just starting”

Marcus Sotiriou, a market analyst at digital asset broker GlobalBlock, says the orders against Paxos from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suggests regulators’ war on the crypto sector has only just begun.

The analyst’s comments in a note to clients on Monday pointed to NYDFS’s order stopping Paxos from minting new BUSD and SEC’s reported lawsuit against the same firm over allegations that BUSD is an “unregistered security” as an indicator of what’s likely to come.

As for the regulator’s latest actions, Sotiriou says the accusations are not just “off the mark” but also baffling.

“The actions of the SEC appear to be way off the mark. They have labelled BUSD a security, yet hard pegged stablecoins have no expectation of profit and have a fixed price, like stored value Gift Cards,” the analyst wrote.

The SEC’s reported suit against Paxos follows last week’s announcement that the crypto exchange Kraken had reached a $30 million settlement with the agency and that the platform had agreed to halt its staking-as-a-service product.

“People are desperately trying to figure out how to offer a product legally whilst getting zero guidance,” the analyst noted. 

In his opinion, US regulators have so far failed to provide regulatory clarity for the crypto sector. Instead, the SEC is increasingly taking the “regulation by enforcement” route as shown by the 42% jump in crypto-related lawsuits in 2022.

According to the analyst, the growing number of lawsuits against crypto firms in the US suggests the SEC’s war on the sector is just starting. However, this could be at the risk of pushing crypto innovation offshore, he added.

Indeed, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao says this could be the case for the exchange if BUSD is declared a security. 

“Given the ongoing regulatory uncertainty in certain markets, we will be reviewing other projects in those jurisdictions to ensure our users are insulated from any undue harm,” the Binance chief tweeted on Monday.

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• The Bank of England and HM Treasury published the consultation paper for a Digital Pound on Tuesday, 7 February 2023.
• The central bank digital currency (CBDC) is envisioned as digital money to work alongside, not replace cash and that households and businesses can use in their everyday life.
• Yield App CIO Lucas Kiely says a digital pound could support, rather than pose a threat to crypto.

The UK’s plan to launch a digital pound has entered another phase with the Bank of England and HM Treasury publishing a consultation paper on the project.

BoE’s publication on Tuesday highlighted the digital pound as potentially a “new form of money for households and businesses.” The paper has been presented to parliament by the UK’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

While the central bank acknowledges that the launch of a digital pound could take time, it does note that preparatory work in getting the necessary infrastructure in place is justified.

“A digital pound would be a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) – digital money for use by households and businesses for their everyday payments, issued by the central bank, the Bank of England. The Bank of England (the Bank) and His Majesty’s Treasury (HM Treasury) plan to accelerate our work on the technology and policy architecture for a digital pound,” reads part of the paper released on Tuesday.

CBDCs like digital pound will support, not kill, crypto

The UK’s plans for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) come as the push for creation and deployment of CBDCs continues to gather momentum. It also follows regulatory attention on crypto after a year of a brutal winter and spectacular collapses of several major cryptocurrency projects.

But despite all the up and downs in the sector, the launch of CBDCs like the digital pound does not spell doom for crypto, Lucas Kiely, the CIO of digital wealth platform Yield App told CoinJournal in a commentary.

According to him, CBDCs are inevitable in a world that’s increasingly becoming digitized, with governments keen to benefit from the growing mass adoption of blockchain technology.

“If all payments are made on-chain and governments can track stable digital currency then it solves a number of issues. Tax avoidance becomes harder, welfare payments become more straightforward, and governments can control what those welfare payments are used for.”

Benefits to the public, including things like faster payment systems and accessible credit histories could of course be negated by potential downsides such as the government seizing assets, monitoring private spending, and so forth. But Kiely is optimistic about the positive impact CBDCs could have on the financial sector and crypto.

According to the details in the consultation paper, the digital pound will not replace the UK cash, but be issued and used alongside it.

In particular, the Bank of England sees a digital pound as a project that could help preserve the usefulness of central bank money in a global financial ecosystem that keeps changing. Apart from safeguarding the country’s monetary sovereignty, a digital pound could help bolster competition and innovation within the UK’s payments industry.

“While crypto is making great leaps forward, it is still operating somewhat in the shadows,” the Yield App CIO noted, adding that integration across the broader financial sector could come with even more positives than negatives. He added:

“Rather than pose a threat to the development of crypto, by spurring the involvement of the traditional financial sector in on-chain finance, CBDCs may clear the path to crypto adoption and growth.”

The Bank of England and HM Treasury’s document is seeking public commentary on the project and will form the basis of the next step that includes a pilot phase. Once launched, the central bank plans to limit individual holdings to £10,000- £20,000 to prevent “hoarding” of the CBDC.

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• The crypto landscape in Indonesia could see a national crypto exchange before the end of June this year.
• Indonesia initially planned to launch the crypto bourse before the end of 2022.
• The government says the cryptocurrency exchange will include five active and licensed platforms.

Indonesia is set to roll out its national crypto exchange in the next few months, the country’s Trade Ministry has said. 

As previously reported by CoinJournal, the country indicated it would be launching the exchange this year. The latest crypto news on the subject as highlited by a local news outlet, is that the Indonesian government is looking to have the crypto bourse ready by June 2023. 

Currently, crypto assets trading in Indonesia falls under the purview of the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency.

Indonesia’s growing crypto landscape

The new timeline comes after new developments (authorities suspended the licensing of new exchanges) and other official delays forced the relevant government bodies working on the project to push the launch from the originally envisaged rollout of December 2022. 

But December also saw lawmakers in the House of Representatives pass the Financial Sector Development and Reinforcement Bill.

The bill, referred to as the omnibus law, is now Indonesia’s primary legal reference for the broader financial services industry. Among the areas covered in the new law is the regulatory oversight of crypto exchanges. 

At the moment, a review of digital asset exchanges earmarked to join the national crypto exchange is ongoing. Per the latest report on the matter, the government has identified five active, registered exchanges from a list of 25 for the role.

Commenting on the upcoming bourse, Indonesia’s Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said there’s need for everything to be done to ensure all is set before launch. According to him, rushing the project could end up with a scenario where the public who are still learning about crypto trading get harmed by the very project designed to protect them.

Indonesia is one of the countries with the fastest growing crypto communities. As recent research by CoinJournal showed, the country ranks among the top by percentage of population owning cryptocurrencies.

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• The UK financial services sector wants to be a leader in crypto regulation.
• The consultation paper addresses stablecoins, NFTs and ICOs.
• There however won’t be a separate regulatory system for the crypto space according to the treasury.

His Majestry’s Treasury has published an extensive 80-page consultation paper for the much anticipated crypto regulation in the UK.

The paper covers a wide range of crypto topics ranging from the problems with algorithmic stablecoins to initial coin offerings (ICOs), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It contains proposals for the upcoming crypto regulations in the United Kingdom that aim to position the UK financial services sector at the forefront of crypto regulations globally.

Generally, hardline crypto control measures have been gaining momentum across the globe especially following the rate at which crypto firms and projects are collapsing taking with them billions of dollars of investors’ money. By setting up proper crypto regulation, the UK could soon become a hub for cryptocurrency projects.

No separate regulations for crypto

While publishing the consultation paper, the Treasury also announced that there shall not be a separate regulatory system for cryptocurrencies. The proposed crypto regulations will fall under UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will customize the existing FSMA’s rules to accommodate the digital assets market.

Once the crypto regulations are set into place, crypto market players will be required to register afresh despite having done that earlier under the FCA licensing regime. But contrary to the earlier regulatory regime, crypto firms will not be required to make regular market data reports although crypto exchanges will be required to keep the data and make it available anytime.

Also contrary to earlier speculations, the UK Treasury has decided not to ban algorithm stablecoins. It has instead categorized them as “unbacked crypto-assets” instead of stablecoins. As a result, crypto promotions will have to exclude the term “stable” when marketing the algorithmic stablecoins.

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• Nepal’s Telecommunications Authority has instructed all ISPs to block crypto-related websites.

• The crypto-related activities include websites, apps, and online networks.

• The nation’s central bank banned cryptocurrency activities in September 2021.

Nepal cracks down on crypto-related activities again

Nepal’s Telecommunications Authority has given an order to all internet service providers (ISPs) operating in the country to block all crypto-related activities. 

According to the notification issued on January 8, the authorities are taking the necessary steps to block crypto-related activities in the region. 

The Telecommunications Authority instructed all ISPs to prevent operating and managing cryptocurrency-related apps, online networks, and websites. 

This latest cryptocurrency news comes after the nation’s apex bank banned cryptocurrency-related activities, including trading and mining, in September 2021. In April last year, Nepal’s telecommunications authority sought information from the general public about individuals and corporate entities participating in illegal activities, such as cryptocurrency.

The recent caution threatens to take legal action against ISPs and email service providers that allow crypto-related activities to take place on their platforms. The government agency added that virtual currency transactions, which are considered illegal in Nepal, have increased in recent days. 

The cryptocurrency ban didn’t stop the growing adoption rate in Nepal. According to Chainalysis’s 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, Nepal ranked 16th, ahead of nations like Indonesia and the United States. 

Nepal is one of the nations with an absolute ban on crypto

Nepal is one of the few countries in the world that have instituted absolute bans on crypto. At the moment, Nepal, China, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Morocco, and Qatar, are the nine countries that have completely banned crypto-related activities. 

The ban can be attributed to a wide range of decisions ranging from the governments’ limited knowledge of cryptocurrencies and the lack of proper regulations in various parts of the world.

According to Chainalysis, hackers stole more than $3 billion from January to October last year. In October 2022, hackers attacked roughly 11 DeFi protocols and drained more than $700 million from those platforms.

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