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People’s Bank of China (PBoC), reports that it is “progressing smoothly” with its development of a government-backed digital currency.
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Telegram will not integrate a crypto wallet into its messaging app, at least until it gets the green light from U.S. regulators. Telegram emphasized that Grams should not be associated with expectations for profits based on purchase or holding of the token. Such an expectation usually defines a security.
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The SEC believes Telegram’s bank withdrawals will prove the company violated the Regulation D standards in its sale to accredited investors. Specifically, the SEC believes Telegram sold gram tokens after the March 29 ICO cutoff and used underwriters to help sell them. This would nullify the Regulation D exemption, making the 2018 sale illegal.
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XRP’s sudden surge higher comes after Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, announced it will be adding Ripple’s XRP and the stablecoin tether as a futures trading pair. Binance adds XRP futures to three other tether-tied contracts—bitcoin, bitcoin cash, and ethereum.
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Signature Bank will be linking its Signet payments platform to Prime Trust’s multi-asset settlement platform, creating a new service offering “real-time” settlements for digital asset trades. The service will allow institutional clients from both companies to make payments directly to one another at any time, without third parties or transaction fees.
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There are good reasons not to implement a gains/losses tax on betting games like roulette, poker, or cryptocurrency. Interestingly, a decision to avoid taxing cryptocurrency gains may actually help promote their usage as monetary instruments. Calculating how much tax one owes after each purchase made with cryptocurrency is a pain. Remove that headache and people may be more willing to spend them.
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Should global leaders come together to create a crypto-friendly global blockchain framework, the DeFi market is poised to become an integral part of the financial industry of the future. Should lawmakers struggle to formulate a conducive regulatory framework, we could still see DeFi flourish in markets where traditional financial institutions have failed large pockets of the population.
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The UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) reported that the share of digital payments in the Philippines has risen to 10% by volume in 2018 (versus 1% in 2013) and 20% by value (8%).