Policy News

The South Korean Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) held a press conference today to report on ways to strengthen the investigation capabilities of unfair transactions, and announced the establishment of a new special investigation team, information collection task force and digital investigation response team.

Among them, the special investigation team is responsible for comprehensive disposal of major unfair trading events involving large losses to investors, the information collection working group is responsible for collecting unfair trading information through online and offline activities, and the digital investigation response team will review virtual assets and tokens Investigative techniques for new digital assets such as securities (STO).

In addition, FSS will hold investment briefings from June 1 to the end of December, accept complaints offline and online, and set up a special law enforcement team to review improper transactions.

Gustavo Moreno, member of the Colombian Senate, held the first debate on Bill No. 139 of 2021, which aims to regulate crypto asset trading services offered through digital platforms.

The bill was unanimously passed by the Colombian House of Representatives late last year. Still, if the bill is not approved by June 20, it will sink in Congress.

The regulatory points of the bill include the need to register in Colombia, identity verification, separation of client funds from the company, compliance with free competition and free market principles, the responsibility of the platform to educate users, and ensuring blockchain security.

According to news on May 23, the Japanese cabinet plans to implement the Travel Rules from June 1 to combat money laundering and other criminal activities.

The rule requires that financial institutions handling crypto asset transfers must pass on customer information to the next institution, which should include the names and addresses of the sender and receiver; target crypto assets include stablecoins or cryptos pegged to currencies such as the U.S. dollar or commodities. Currency; violators face criminal penalties if they do not comply with correction orders from the authorities.

While Japan is one of the few countries with stricter encryption legislation, crypto crimes are still prevalent.

According to Coincub’s 2022 Crypto Crime Annual Report, Japan ranks sixth in terms of crypto crime losses, with losses exceeding $1.2 billion.

The Indian government and central bank have received proposals to restore Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a real-time payment system, access to the crypto industry, sources said.

Two proposals have already been made, and a third proposal by India’s newly formed cryptocurrency policy advocacy group Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) will be presented in the coming weeks, a person familiar with the matter said.

The proposals, while uncoordinated, appear to be the first major push by Indian cryptocurrency stakeholders for policy changes to govern the fledgling industry, as it suffers a series of blows in the form of draconian taxes, a crypto winter and a “shadow ban.” The ban led to Indian payment processors cutting off banks’ access to cryptocurrency exchanges, with UPI services suspended last year.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated at a conference in Bengaluru that India supports blockchain.

But insisting that digital currencies should be regulated, blockchain gives us a lot of options and it can be used in many different ways.

So we’re not against the technology. But when it comes to virtual currencies, we think it has to be promoted by governments or central banks.

Otherwise, it could have huge spillovers around the world like those companies that have collapsed, just like FTX.

U.S. Senators James Risch of Idaho and Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey introduced a bill on May 11 requiring reporting on the adoption of cryptocurrencies as legal tender in El Salvador, congressional records show.

According to a May 12 report by the Washington Examiner, Risch introduced the bill as part of an effort to combat the use of cryptocurrencies as legal tender, claiming that it could weaken economic and financial stability and empower malicious actors.

The bill, if passed, could require U.S. federal agencies to report on El Salvador’s capabilities in cybersecurity and financial stability, and how those capabilities lead to the passage of the country’s bitcoin law.

According to news on May 10, a senior EU official said that EU member states unanimously support sharing data on cryptocurrencies held by citizens with tax authorities, or reach a formal agreement on the law next week.

In 2022, the European Commission proposed to curb tax evasion using cryptocurrencies through an eighth amendment to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation.

Expanded existing laws designed to prevent taxpayers from stashing taxable assets in hidden overseas bank accounts.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) said in a statement on Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden is considering imposing punitive taxes on cryptocurrency mining operations because “they cause harm to society.”

The government has proposed a tax equivalent to 30% of the cost of energy for mining companies, an unusual industry-specific penalty that could threaten such companies’ profits.

The CEA said that currently crypto mining companies do not need to pay the full costs they have caused, including local environmental pollution, higher energy prices and the impact of increased greenhouse gas emissions on the climate.

The ECB is currently considering whether to issue a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) for use by ordinary traders and citizens, including those using the technology underlying cryptocurrencies.

Central banks that use the euro currency (collectively known as the Eurosystem) are “studying how wholesale financial transactions recorded on DLT (distributed ledger) platforms can be settled in central bank currency,” according to a statement from the ECB on Friday.

The aim of the program is to consolidate and further develop the ongoing work of the Eurosystem Central Banks in this area and gain insight into how different solutions can facilitate the interaction between TARGET services and DLT platforms.

A bill aimed at protecting the rights of local crypto miners in the U.S. state of Montana successfully passed the third reading in the state House of Representatives, and will then need to be signed by the governor to become law.

On April 12, Bill 178, which prohibits local authorities from obstructing crypto mining operations, passed its third reading in a vote of 64 to 35. The bill passed the Senate vote in February this year. It will now be presented to Governor Greg Gianforte.

The bill seeks to establish “digital asset mining rights” while prohibiting any discriminatory electricity bills charged to crypto miners. Additionally, it seeks to protect “at-home” mining operations and remove the power of local governments to use zoning laws to impede crypto mining operations.

The bill also prohibits any additional taxes on the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment and classifies cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, as well as “digital assets” including NFTs, as “personal property.”

On April 11, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the purpose of India’s G20 presidency is to develop a common framework for all countries to deal with the risks associated with cryptocurrencies after the recent shocks in the crypto market.

Given that there have been so many crashes and shocks in cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrencies were a very important part of the discussions during the G20 India presidency. We seek to develop a common framework for all countries to deal with this issue.

With India’s G20 presidency ending on November 30, 2023, G20 countries will have about seven months to formulate comprehensive crypto reforms that can be implemented across different jurisdictions.

Singapore plans to create new guidelines for banks to vet cryptocurrency customers, and the central bank and police have been helping banks fine-tune how they vet when opening accounts for all types of digital asset service providers, according to people familiar with the matter.

The project has been in the works for about six months, and an industry report outlining best practices in areas such as due diligence and risk management is likely to be released within the next two months. Stablecoins, NFTs, and transferable game or streaming credits will also be covered by the program.

The plan focuses on companies that provide payment, transaction and transfer services for these assets, and people familiar with the matter said that even with such guidelines, banks will decide whether to accept these customers based on their risk appetite.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has revoked the derivatives financial services license of the Australian division of Binance.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said that after the license was revoked, Binance Australia customers will not be able to increase derivatives positions or use Binance to open new positions from April 14.

Additionally, Binance Australia will require customers to close all existing derivatives positions by April 21, 2023.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen and Roger Marshall has written to Binance asking for details on its money laundering controls and accusing the cryptocurrency exchange of being an “illegal financial institution”. hotbed of activity”.

According to the March 1 letter to Binance CEO CZ, details of the company’s balance sheet, internal procedures and any communications Zhao allegedly made to limit compliance were requested.

The French National Assembly has adopted a set of licensing rules for crypto firms operating in the country as part of a broader bill aimed at harmonizing French law with European Union standards.

The final vote of the National Assembly was 109 in favor and 71 against. The French Senate has passed the bill and is currently waiting for French President Macron to sign it.

The new registration proposal will reportedly subject crypto service providers to higher regulatory standards, such as corporate governance, rules on segregation of funds, and guidelines for reporting to regulators, among others. Companies also need to clearly disclose risks and implement a conflict of interest policy.

The enhanced registration process will apply to companies registered from July 2023, and companies already registered with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) will be able to continue operating under existing anti-money laundering rules until the EU Markets in Cryptoassets Act (MiCA) provides The transition period ends, possibly in 2026.

According to a report released by the U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG), data from the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) shows that as of January 2023, about 136 banks are planning or already participating in various activities related to encrypted assets.

The growing involvement of banks in the digital asset industry points to growing demand for cryptocurrency-related services and reflects the growing popularity of assets such as bitcoin. However, the OIG called on the FDIC to provide banks with appropriate guidelines in accordance with their mandate.

The challenge for the FDIC is to ensure that its policies and procedures take into account the risks associated with digital assets, particularly with regard to deposit insurance. Furthermore, the report warns that given that 16 percent of Americans (52 million people) have purchased cryptocurrencies, there is a growing need for corresponding protections.

A senior official of the South Korean financial authority said: If Binance develops a trading platform business in South Korea, it will be difficult to properly supervise it, and is considering regulating Binance’s business in South Korea.

The country’s financial authorities are reportedly reviewing measures to re-accredit Binance’s newly acquired Gopax as a Virtual Asset Operator (VASP), or to regulate Gopax by not offering real-name accounts at commercial banks.

In fact, Jeonbuk Bank, which currently provides real-name accounts to Gopax, is considering whether to continue to provide real-name accounts after the Binance acquisition becomes official.

Prior to the news on February 3, Binance had acquired a majority stake in the South Korean encryption exchange Gopax through the “Industry Recovery Plan”.

According to news on February 17, the head of Binance’s Asia-Pacific region was appointed as the new chairman of the board of Gopax, a South Korean encryption exchange. Most of Gopax’s board members come from Binance.

India hopes to roll out a CBDC nationwide by the end of 2023, according to people familiar with the matter. Last year, India has launched two CBDC pilot projects, one is the CBDC-W that started on November 1 last year, with the participation of 9 banks, and the other is the CBDC-R that started on December 1 last year, which was piloted in 4 cities. 4 banks participated.

While CBDC-W is limited to financial institutions and aims to improve the efficiency of interbank payments, CBDC-R is suitable for the private sector and citizens of India. While the government has told parliament that India will issue a CBDC-R within the 2022-23 financial year, it is not yet known when it will be implemented.

Legislators of the Arizona Senate are considering a bill designed to allow voters to decide whether virtual currencies are exempted from property taxes. In the legislation submitted to the first session of the Arizona Senate in 2023, Senator Wendy Rogers, Sonny Borrelli, and Justine Wadsack proposed to let the residents of Arizona decide to amend the state’s constitution of the state’s property tax.

If the measure is passed in the legislature, voters can choose whether to exempt virtual currencies in the state in November 2024. According to the Constitution of Arizona, the property of all federal, states, counties, and cities is duty -free. The same is true of public debt, many family supplies and some “raw materials or finished products, unprepared parts, semi -finished products or finished products”.

According to the State State of Arizona, more than 4 million voters in November 2022 were remembered, and the state tended to the Republican Party slightly.

Legislators tried to promote legislation related to cryptocurrencies and taxes at the previous sessions. For example, the 2018 bill allowed residents to submit taxes by encrypted taxes before governor Doug Ducey rejected the bill.