- Indian Finance Minister Echoes Central Bank’s Crypto Ban Call, but Says Global Collaboration Is Required
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reiterated the stance of India’s central bank (Reserve Bank of India or RBI) to ban cryptocurrencies in the lower house of parliament but said that no legislation is possible without significant international collaboration.
The written statement was in response to five written questions from Thirumaavalavan Thol, a member of parliament. The questions included whether the RBI had issued any notice restricting the use of cryptocurrency in India during the last 10 years, and whether the government has any plan to legislate any law restricting the use of cryptocurrency in India.
Sitharaman said “RBI is of the view that cryptocurrencies should be prohibited.” The RBI’s stance on crypto has remain unchanged for some time now. On Feb. 14, 2022, T Rabi Shankar, the deputy governor of India’s central bank, said that “banning cryptocurrency is perhaps the most advisable choice open to India.”
- Paraguayan Senate Approves Cryptocurrency Bill
Countries in Latam are seeking to standardize and regulate cryptocurrency to bring more clarity to investors dedicated to the industry in the area. On July 14, the Paraguayan senate greenlighted a cryptocurrency bill that defines several rules that companies and individuals will have to follow to operate with cryptocurrencies.
The bill, which was introduced by Senator Fernando Silva Facetti and others last year, was amended by the deputy chamber, which proposed some changes considered an improvement per Facetti’s statements. The bill established the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the country as the institution with the task of regulating cryptocurrency-related services.
In the same way, the bill defines that crypto mining companies will have to present a power consumption plan to the national power administration, which will be able to cut the power to these companies if they don’t follow it. Also, the payment for the power services will be made in advance.
https://news.bitcoin.com/paraguayan-senate-approves-cryptocurrency-bill/
- Crypto Market Back Above $1 Trillion as Bitcoin, Ethereum Rebound
After weeks of frustration for investors, Bitcoin (BTC) soared to a monthly high of $22,430 on Monday morning, bringing some minor relief to what has been a dramatic crash in prices of late.
Although the leading cryptocurrency has cooled somewhat at the time of writing, trading at $22,280, Bitcoin is still up 3.6% over the past 24 hours and almost 9% in the last seven days, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin’s latest price action also comes amid soaring trading volumes, which rose by 15% in the last day to exceed $31.6 billion.
Ethereum (ETH), which is expected to merge from its current state as a proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain to an energy-efficient proof-of-stake (PoS) network in September, is outpacing Bitcoin with a 7.7% surge over the last day.
After hitting a daily high of $1,486, ETH backtracked to $1,475 by press time, a level last seen on June 12, data from CoinMarketCap shows.
Ethereum, which is now eyeing the next psychological level of $1,500, is also up an impressive 28% over the last week.
https://decrypt.co/105321/crypto-market-back-above-1-trillion-as-bitcoin-ethereum-rebound
- Bitcoin Firm Transacts 14K Bitcoin in a Single Block
With the growth in the inflation prices in US countries officially, Bitcoin rates began to increase too. Although, the outflow by the Bitcoin traders has gone up within the last month.
Kazakhstan, which is a noteworthy territory for the Bitcoin universe, has other plans too. As per the latest release of tax regulations of the country, they are being executed in order to prevent internal crypto mining.
IT experts reveal that Bitcoin has transacted more than 14,000 BTC to a firm in a single block. This transaction from the miner wallet to the exchange is taken as unsupportable for the industry.
Although, as per the statement given by Ki Young Ju, CEO, CryptoQuant, this fund discharge wasn’t merely for the exchange. It might also reach out to a custodial cold wallet. According to him, the info can be bullish or neutral. He commented this via a post on the twitter.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7152600
- Binance fined $3M over illegal operations in the Netherlands
Major global cryptocurrency exchange Binance is facing a penalty in the Netherlands after failing to obtain regulatory approval to operate in the country.
The central bank of the Netherlands (DNB) has fined Binance Holdings 3.3 million euros ($3.3 million) for offering local crypto services without registration with authority. The Dutch central bank officially announced Monday that the regulator imposed the administrative fine in April 2022.
The DNB pointed out that any company offering crypto services in the Netherlands is obliged to register with the central bank in compliance with the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act. The regulator also mentioned that the DNB previously issued a public warning to Binance on Aug. 18, 2021.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-fined-3m-over-illegal-operations-in-the-netherlands
- Coinbase Secures Regulatory Approval in Italy
San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has secured approval from financial regulators in Italy, allowing it to continue serving Italian customers.
According to a blog post, the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM) has added a new requirement that mandates all crypto trading or custody companies to meet the criteria before continuing to offer services in Italy.
“Building a constructive relationship with regulators in every jurisdiction in which we operate is incredibly important as we march toward our mission of increasing economic freedom in every corner of the world,” said Nana Murugesan, Vice President, International and Business Development at Coinbase. “Gaining this regulatory approval is a testament to our close collaboration and positive working relationship with the Italian financial regulators.”
Rival exchange Binance also secured regulatory approval in Italy with the OAM last month.
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/07/18/coinbase-secures-regulatory-approval-in-italy/
- US and UK to Deepen Ties on Crypto Regulation, Says British Regulator
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, outlined the FCA’s regulatory goals Wednesday at Peterson Institute for International Economics.
“One area of global focus is crypto, both opportunities and risks,” the FCA chief said. “Currently, our remit is limited to anti-money laundering rules for platforms. We have applied those strict rules as we would to any other firm that wants to operate in the U.K. market.”
The regulator added:
The U.S. and U.K. will deepen ties on crypto-asset regulation and market developments — including in relation to stablecoins and the exploration of central bank digital currencies.
Rathi proceeded to mention that the FCA held “Cryptosprints” earlier this year, which drew nearly 200 participants. “The objective of the events was to seek industry views around the current market and the design of an appropriate regulatory regime,” the FCA explained on its website.
https://news.bitcoin.com/us-and-uk-to-deepen-ties-on-crypto-regulation-says-british-regulator/
- Yuga Labs Opens Otherside for ‘First Trips’ in Bored Ape Metaverse
Otherside, the much-anticipated metaverse gaming platform from the creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, is open for business. Almost.
On Saturday, the Yuga Labs-developed game invited 4,300 players—so-called “Voyagers”—for a first-look tech demo and tour of the immersive, ape avatar-navigated online platform. All Otherside players will be required to embark on or view one of these “First Trips” to be able to participate in the game, which has still not yet fully debuted.
All 4,300 players who took part in yesterday’s digital excursion to the “Biogenic Swamp’” that constitutes the center of Otherside were owners of “Otherdeeds,” deeds to plots of digital land within the platform. In a litepaper released shortly after yesterday’s First Trip, Otherside’s developers announced that only Otherdeed owners and “selected third-party developers” will be permitted to participate in the game during its first phase.
https://decrypt.co/105314/yuga-labs-opens-otherside-for-first-trips-in-bored-ape-metaverse
- Ethereum Revisited a Key Psychological Level; ETH Prices Up 20% in a Week
Ethereum (ETH) prices have revisited a key psychological level as they close in on the last market cycle peak.
Ethereum has continued to build on weekend gains during the Monday morning Asian trading session. The asset climbed to $1,412 in a move that has added 20% to its price over the past seven days.
ETH is currently outperforming Bitcoin with a 3.6% gain on the day whereas BTC has dropped half a percent in a fall to $21,253 at the time of press.
Crypto analyst and trader ‘Bluntz’ observed that ETH has reclaimed the 200-week moving average which could signal a bottom.
$eth reclaimed its 200 week moving average this week, #btc will probably next week, the time to be bearish has defo to an end imo.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7152703
- Australian central bank governor favors private sector crypto technology
Australian central bank Governor Phillip Lowe said that a private solution “is going to be better” for cryptocurrency as long as risks are mitigated through regulation.
Lowe commented at a recent G20 finance meeting in Indonesia. Reuters reported on Sunday that officials from other countries discussed the impact of stablecoins and decentralized finance (DeFi) on global financial systems.
Recent risks associated with stablecoins can largely be chalked up to depegging events. In May, the Terra USD stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), which has since changed to TerraUSD Classic (USTC), lost its peg and drove down the value of the entire Terra Classic ecosystem. It caused a multi-billion dollar cascade effect leading to Tether (USDT) and the DEI stablecoin briefly depegging.
Lowe suggested that strong regulations or even state backing could help mitigate the risks to the public:
“If these tokens are going to be used widely by the community, they are going to need to be backed by the state or regulated just as we regulate bank deposits.”
