Archive for April 2023

Mastercard, one of the leading global payments firms, has announced a new program to establish common standards and infrastructure for blockchain and Web3 ecosystems. The program, called Mastercard Crypto Credential, aims to enhance trust, compliance and verification among consumers and businesses using blockchain networks. What is Mastercard Crypto Credential?Mastercard Crypto Credential is a set of…

Hong Kong is taking steps to become a leading cryptocurrency center by encouraging banks to provide services to licensed virtual-asset firms. This move contrasts with the growing skepticism and regulation of the digital-asset sector in other parts of the world, especially in the US. According to a statement issued by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority…

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., has filed a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seeking to force the regulator to respond to its petition for clearer crypto regulations. The petition, which was submitted in July 2022, asked the SEC to propose and adopt rules for digital asset securities, and to…

Binance.US, the U.S. affiliate of the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has backed out of its $1.3 billion deal to buy the assets of Voyager Digital, a Canadian crypto broker that filed for bankruptcy in July 2021. The deal, which was announced in September 2021, was supposed to close by the end of March 2023, but…

In a landmark ruling, a Hong Kong court has recognized cryptocurrencies as property that can be held in trust. The decision was made in a case involving the defunct crypto exchange Gatecoin, which collapsed in 2019. Gatecoin was ordered to cease operations and undergo liquidation after losing money in a dispute with a payment service…

The European Union has taken a major step towards regulating the crypto industry by approving two new laws that aim to ensure consumer protection, market integrity and financial stability. The European Parliament voted in favor of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation and the Transfer of Funds regulation on Thursday, April 20, 2023. The…

The U.K. government is planning to introduce specific laws aimed at regulating the cryptocurrency industry in the next 12 months, according to a top lawmaker. Andrew Griffith, economic secretary to the U.K. Treasury, told CNBC on Monday that the government had laid out its plans to regulate crypto assets in February and opened its suggestions…

Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms, may consider moving its headquarters from San Francisco to London in the future, according to its CEO Brian Armstrong. Armstrong said that the lack of regulatory clarity in the US was a major factor that could drive the company to relocate to its second-largest market by…

The move comes amid the government’s efforts to draft a comprehensive bill on crypto regulation that is expected to be tabled in the parliament soon. According to a notice issued by the finance ministry on March 8, 2023, crypto firms such as exchanges, custodians and intermediaries are now classified as reporting entities under the Prevention…

Bhutan, a tiny Himalayan kingdom known for its Gross National Happiness index and its environmental conservation efforts, is also making waves in the crypto space. The country has partnered with Ripple, a San Francisco-based company that provides cross-border payment solutions using its cryptocurrency XRP, to launch a digital version of its national currency, ngultrum. The…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly planning to sue Bittrex, a major cryptocurrency exchange platform, over alleged violations of investor protection laws. The news comes as Bittrex announced its decision to cease all operations in the United States by the end of April 2023. According to The Wall Street Journal, the SEC’s…

Sweden, once considered a stronghold for bitcoin miners in Europe, is facing an uncertain future for its cryptocurrency mining industry. The country is set to abolish tax incentives for data centers in July, which will increase the tax rate from SEK 0.006 ($0.0006) to SEK 0.36 ($0.035) per kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy consumed by…