BitDigest – Friday September 17, 2021
- ECB President Lagarde calls for regulatory separation between speculative cryptocurrencies and the proliferation of new stablecoins
- South Korea looks to delay crypto tax code until 2023
- Salvadorian court to investigate government action in legalizing bitcoin
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| The Headlines |
| ‘Cryptos Are Not Currencies, Full Stop’ECB President Christine Lagarde says that “cryptos are not currencies, full stop,” calling them “ highly speculative assets that claim their fame as currency…but they are not.” Largarde suggests that a clear delineation needs to be made between speculative, occasionally suspicious, and high-energy consuming cryptocurrencies and stablecoins “which are a different animal and need to be regulated…with oversight.”www.bloomberg.com |
| South Korea Potentially Delaying Crypto-Taxation PlanSouth Korean authorizes appear to have postposed a decision to impose a 20% crypto tax by a year with local reports saying the new tax code will only now go into effect on January 1, 2023.ambcrypto.com |
| El Salvador to Investigate Government’s Bitcoin PurchasesEl Salvador’s Court of Accounts will investigate a complaint filed by a human rights organization concerning the authorization process used by the government to purchases bitcoin and construct cryptocurrency ATMs.www.reuters.com |
| Turkey to Develop CBDC PilotThe Central Bank of Turkey is launching the “Digital Turkish Lira Collaboration Platform,” a public-private partnership, to facilitate the research, development, and testing of a digital lira to complement Turkey’s existing payment infrastructure.news.bitcoin.com |
| Crypto and Defi Innovation Should Operate within “Trustworthy” Banking SystemActing Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu is calling on “financial regulators [to] work together to ensure that… [the] explosion in cryptocurrency activities and decentralized finance (defi)…take[s] place within the banking system or [is] facilitated by banks are trustworthy.www.occ.gov |
| Senator Wants Increased Efforts Against Crypto Use in Ransomeware AttacksSenator Margaret Hassan (D-NH) wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland expressing “concern over the rise in the use of cryptocurrency for criminal purposes,” and requesting that the Department of Justice take steps to prevent and prosecute the anonymous use of digital currencies for ransomeware attacks.www.hassan.senate.gov |
| Cuba Officially Recognizes the Use of CryptoOn Wednesday, the Cuban law licensing digital currency businesses and recognizing the use of cryptocurrencies for investment and commercial transaction went into effect on the Caribbean island nation.cointelegraph.com |
| South Korean Exchanges May be Forced to CloseOver 50 South Korean digital exchanges are under threat of closure unless then can provide regulators with a security certificate and partner with a bank to ensure real-name account by next week; the exchanges are required to notify customers of this potential suspension by the end of business today – a full week before the new regulations comes into effect.www.reuters.com |
| El Salvador’s Credit Rating Under ThreatS&P Global warned that El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender could threaten the Central American nation’s hopes of securing a support program from the IMF, increase fiscal vulnerabilities, and hurt local banks by creating currency mismatches in the lending process andwww.reuters.com |
| Revolut to Pay for New Office Space Using BitcoinAccording to WeWork, UK fintech platform Revolut has become the first enterprise customer to pay for office space using bitcoin.www.wework.com |
| Daily Cartoon |
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