Category Archives: Crypto News

Binance Joins Kazakhstan’s Regulators to Fight Financial Crimes

Crypto News

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – Binance – signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Both parties expressed an interest in creating a safe crypto environment and reducing financial crime in the area.

AFSA

Less than two months ago, the Binance exchange fulfilled its goal by obtaining regulatory approval from the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA).

An announcement was recently made that Binance has signed an MOU with the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This mainly aims to grant domestic investors enhanced protection when investing in digital assets within the territory.

The partners will also monitor for any illicit activity involving cryptocurrencies, such as money laundering and terrorist financing, and block such assets if identified.

Tigran Ghambaryan, the Vice President of Global Intelligence and Investigations at Binance, said that the platform has the most robust compliance program in the industry and is capable of detecting suspicious activity and halting fraudulent cases.

“We are grateful to the financial monitoring agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for their cooperation in solving problems in the rapidly growing cryptocurrency industry,” he said.

Kazakhstan Eurasian Bank

The signing of the memorandum is part of Binance’s global training program that aims to reduce monetary crime and create a safe ecosystem for people who want to be part of the digital asset sector. 

The project has already occurred in Italy, France, Canada, the UK, Norway, Brazil, Paraguay, and Israel.

Kazakhstan Eurasian Bank

The president of Kazakhstan said last week that the country is willing to turn itself into a global hub for cryptocurrencies.

He said that the authorities might conversion of digital assets to cash and vice versa in a regulated and secure manner. Currency conversion is already happening at the Astana International Financial Center. 

Kazakhstan’s focus on cryptocurrencies could be due to the recent influx of Russian migrants. 

It is estimated that nearly 100,000 Russians have entered the southern neighbor since Vladimir Putin ordered a “partial” mobilization. 

Will the Kazakhstan Eurasian Bank be a direct competitor to the Russian government or there lies a future partnership as the two governments look at making legalizing cryptocurrency?

Pro-Russian

$400,000 Raised by Pro-Russian Paramilitary to aid Sanctions

Crypto News

Pro-Russian groups are raising funds through crowdfunding campaigns, and have raised a significant amount in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

According to research by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, this is likely in an attempt to evade U.S. sanctions and to support paramilitary operations in war-torn Ukraine.

“Last week, we noticed about $400,000 raised since the onset of the invasion far back in February,” Head of global investigations at TRM Labs, Chris Janczewski said.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the “Task Force Rusich” last month for allegedly committing horrible atrocities against Ukrainians, as well as two of its leaders and five crypto addresses linked to the group.

https://twitter.com/MrOuda/status/1497238738602237952?t=2dwhFqgEMLtB3oQEmVlJxQ&s=19

Funding Community

TRM labs discovered that this group was looking to raise money to buy thermal imaging devices and radios, which would help them communicate better and see in the dark.

A Telegram channel highlights Romanov Light has raised over $174,000 in cryptocurrencies for Special Rapid Response Unit (“SOBR”), an elite Special Forces unit in the Russian military. The Items purchased by this group included general combat and survival equipment.

The Novorossia Aid Coordinating Centre is another pro-Russian group that turned to cryptocurrencies to raise funds. It is reported that they raised $21,000  in Bitcoin to purchase drones.

Development

According to TRM Labs, the likelihood of further adoption of cryptocurrencies is high amongst Telegram channels that raise funds in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

This is due to the sanctions and observed service disruptions to the Russian electronic banking infrastructure. Of note, read about the Bank of Russia moves on legalizing cryptocurrency.

This new development and adoption might raise eyebrows to ask; is the war at its brim and is Russia close to making bitcoin a legal tender?

UAE Ministry of Economy opens up new headquarters in the Metaverse

Crypto News

UAE Ministry of Economy opens up new headquarters in the Metaverse

The UAE Ministry of Economy is pushing into the Metaverse with the announcement of a third address where anyone in the world can visit the Metaverse.

The announcement was made on September 28 by UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri during the Dubai Metaverse Assembly, with the minister stating, 

“This is not a proof of concept, this is our third address”.

The headquarters will feature several stories, serving different purposes. Guests will need to gain a ticket, thereby prompting a security agent at the customer service center to visit the Metaverse and participate in the visitor’s experience.

The new headquarters will not only complement the nonprofit’s existing offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai but also the agencies’ two previous locations. 

These locations will enable the ministry to place digital services at the forefront of its operations as a result of directives that emanated from UAE leadership.

Visitors can log in to the headquarters’ website to sign legally binding documents, which eliminates the need for them to visit a physical location for their signatures.

The headquarters includes an auditorium with videoconferencing capabilities that will help hold virtual conferences and other events and rooms that can permit viewing of a screen by multiple individuals.

On July 18, Dubai’s government announced that its Metaverse strategy aims to create 40,000 new roles by 2030, supporting the government’s objective of tripling the number of blockchain companies.

The big question now is; whether will Dubai be diverting its investments from tourism and recreation to decentralized web3 spaces and metaverse projects or there will be a balance?

Crypto Regulations speculated for Bitcoin Bullish move

Bitcoin

Behnam believes that Bitcoin would thrive if financial professionals were more familiar with the unregulated jurisdiction.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Rostin Behnam said on Thursday that Bitcoin might “double in price” if it traded in a CFTC-regulated market.

The chairman added;

“the crypto industry had a massive opportunity for institutional inflows that will only occur if there’s a regulatory structure.”

Rostin Behnam

The skeptics have intensified their scrutiny of the crypto market internationally, from South America to Brazil. USDT’s legal troubles stateside have also become more widely known as well.

Gladly, Japan and the UAE among other governments also appear to be interested in embracing crypto and Web3 as a gateway to new development.

CFTC and Regulation

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) current funding model and resources protected it against pursuing wider regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, which helps weed out scammers.

The chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission once said that the number of cases investigated by the CFTC depended on whistleblowers, consumer complaints, and tips, as a result of insufficient funding to pursue its investigations.

The chairman stated that in addition, he supported a bill introduced to the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee which designates the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the principal regulator of cryptocurrencies.

The big question now is whether this bill will be adopted or swept under the carpet like in previous cases.

Wintermute Copaly

How Market maker Wintermute lost $160M in Crypto Theft

Crypto News

Wintermute CEO, Max Coats has acknowledged that it’s probably not solely ethical to attack Wintermute as a hacker, but that he would engage in a conversation with the black hat hacker so that they may resolve the infiltration directly.

At the time of this writing, Wintermute, a cryptocurrency market-maker based in the United Kingdom, was the latest target of digital finance hijackers, losing approximately $160 million. Subsequently, the company’s founder and CEO, Evgeny Gaevoy, this heist occurred when Wintermute fell victim to a web interface vulnerability.

According to Etherscan, more than 70 different tokens have been transferred to Wintermute exploiter, including $61,350,986 in USD Coin (USDC), 671 Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), which is roughly $13,030,061, and $29,461,533 Tether (USDT). Although, the largest amount appears to be USDC.

Centralized Finance Secured

Gladly, the company’s over-the-counter and centralized finance operations were not compromised, as the hacker(s) drained funds from its decentralized finance operations only. Nonetheless,Gaevroy tweeted that Gaevroy Dollars are deemed solvent, as the funds of the users are not affected.

Wintermute is an algorithmic market maker that specializes in asset markets such as cryptocurrencies. The company is a chartered company in the United Kingdom, located in Cheshire, and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Companies House states that Evgeny Gaevoy is Director with “more than 25%, but not more than 50% shares”.

According to Ajay Dhingra, head of research and analytics at smart exchange Unizen, “The nature of the exploit suggests that Wintermute’s hot wallet was compromised.” Dhingra told Cointelegraph that “The attacker cleverly manipulated the bug in the smart contract.”

A Security Deal

However, in the short thread of the social media post, a Dutch national described that the alleged hack could be treated as legitimate hacking. The hacker can contact Wintermute to disclose the vulnerabilities they discovered to stop future illegal hacking.

Cryptocurrency markets frequently use white hat hackers. Token exchanges, market makers, as well as numerous companies have to reward hackers with cash or job positions.

As the Ether (ETH) address for the Wintermute Exploiter is public, the address has been spammed by crypto enthusiasts, stating messages like “Please. I’m very poor. Even $5k would be amazing.” 

Conclusively, the puzzling question now is, will the hacker help the Market maker resolve this glitch or ghost out and leverage on the vulnerability n the future?

Nasdaq

Nasdaq Starts Crypto Custody Services for Clients

Crypto News

Nasdaq (NDAQ), the second-largest U.S. stock exchange operator, is launching a cryptocurrency exchange hosting service to cater to the demands of institutional crypto investors.

The company has hired Ira Auerbach, who previously managed prime brokerage services at Gemini, to head its digital assets office.

NASDAQ’s move into the field follows a wider trend on Wall Street. Last month, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced that it would offer cryptocurrencies to its institutional clients.

Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., which processes essentially all U.S. stock market trades, released its ledger as it hopes to speed up the settlement of those trades.

Nasdaq

According to data published by Nasdaq, there has been an extraordinarily increasing demand for investment firms to get involved in digital assets over the past year or so.

Nasdaq is particularly well-suited to help this trend advance.,”

Tal Cohen, head of North American markets at Nasdaq, said in the release.

Nasdaq will try to compete at the national level with Coinbase and crypto custodians Anchorage Digital and BitGo by storing bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) for institutional clients in the U.S.

Nasdaq welcomed applications from crypto-native start-ups, though it won’t consider new acquisitions, for now, a Bloomberg report revealed.

One question worth asking is, will this new development make CeFi safer?

Why Filecoin Moved Its HQ To Singapore

Crypto News

RRMine Global, a Filecoin service provider that offered global cloud-based asset management, announced that it is shutting down operations in China and will move its headquarters to Singapore.

RRMine’s change of brand name to RRMine Global sparked the rule change that influenced their decisions to migrate countries and roll out upgrades to the system.

RRMine Global Evades China

RRMine Global is halting its operations in China to cover the central bank’s clampdown on cryptocurrencies. This indicates that the Chinese government intends to heavily regulate the Web3 industry. Steve Tsou, the Global CEO of RRMine Global, shared:

“Very much like other entrepreneurs, we want the best for our company, employees, and community. The decision has been made after a profound examination and multiple discussions”

Singapore looks like a sensible choice for the project, as many Chinese people Web3 companies have already made their way to the country. Singapore provides a generally free market atmosphere in regulating the emerging crypto industry and is known for being one of the open economies in the world.

Integrating R-Datacap

The new service called R-Datacap is expected to cut costs and increase yield performance at Metabolic’s new facility.

CEO, Steve Tsou shared, “We are taking the lead in Web3.0 technology research and development to create a more efficient system for tackling the issue. Data storage providers will receive ten times the output incentive under the FIP-0012 proposal, which Filecoin approved. 

Ethereum Merge

How the Ethereum Merge will impact Blockchain

Ethereum

The price of ETH – whose current market value near $200 billion makes it the second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin (BTC) – was largely flat after the Merge.

The update, which ends the network’s reliance on the energy-intensive process of cryptocurrency mining, has been closely watched by crypto investors, enthusiasts, and skeptics for the impact it is expected to have on the wider blockchain industry.

The Ethereum Merge

The Merge is Ethereum’s multi-year planned transition for the altcoin’s blockchain. Ethereum’s objective is to move from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake and reduce the blockchain’s carbon imprint by 99.95%. The launch of the Beacon chain in 2020 was the first step towards this transition and the completion of the last shadow fork was the pre-final one. 

The massive overhaul of Ethereum known as the Merge has finally happened, moving the digital machinery at the core of the second-largest cryptocurrency to a vastly more energy-efficient system after years of development and delay.

Ethereum Merge

POS & POW

It was no small feat swapping out one way of running a blockchain, known as proof-of-work, for another, called proof-of-stake. “The metaphor that I use is this idea of switching out an engine from a running car,” said Justin Drake, a researcher at the non-profit Ethereum Foundation who spoke to CoinDesk before the Merge happened.

When the Merge officially kicked in at 6:43 a.m. UTC, more than 41,000 people were tuned in on YouTube to an “Ethereum Mainnet Merge Viewing Party.” They watched with bated breath as key metrics trickled in suggesting that Ethereum’s core systems had remained intact. After about 15 long minutes, the Merge was declared a success. 

Mark Cuban, investor and billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, told CoinDesk he would be “watching [the Merge] with interest like everyone else,” pointing out that it might make ETH, the network’s native token, deflationary.

Ethereum Merge

A Transition for Stakers

The idea was there from the start that Ethereum would eventually make the switch to proof-of-stake. But the transition was a complicated technical effort – an endeavor so risky that many doubted it would happen at all.

“There’s a part of me which hasn’t completely realized that this is actually happening,” Drake said. “I’m somewhat in denial, you know because I’ve trained myself to just expect it to happen in the future.”

The update’s complexity was compounded by the fact that it may have been one of the largest open-source software endeavors in history, requiring coordination across dozens of teams and scores of individual researchers, developers, and volunteers.

Tim Beiko, an Ethereum Foundation developer who played a key role in coordinating the update, said to CoinDesk, “I think the Merge can genuinely get those people who were interested in Ethereum, but skeptical of the environmental impacts, to come and experiment with it.”

The Merge retires Ethereum’s proof-of-work system, where crypto miners competed to write transactions to its ledger – and earn rewards for doing so – by solving cryptographic puzzles.

The future of ETH Merge

Ethereum’s new system, proof-of-stake, does away with mining entirely. Miners are replaced by validators – people who “stake” at least 32 ETH by sending them to an address on the Ethereum network where they cannot be bought or sold.

These staked ETH tokens act like lottery tickets: The more ETH validator stakes, the more likely one of its tickets will be drawn, granting it the ability to write a “block” of transactions to Ethereum’s digital ledger.

Ethereum introduced a proof-of-stake network in 2020 called the Beacon Chain, but until the Merge, it was just a staging area for validators to get set up for the switch. Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake involved merging the Beacon Chain with Ethereum’s main network.

For Buterin, the Merge is just the beginning. “To me, the Merge just symbolizes the difference between early stage Ethereum and the Ethereum we’ve always wanted … to become, “he said on Thursday’s live stream. “So let’s go build out all of the other parts of this ecosystem and turn Ethereum into what we want it to be.”

Reference

Coindesk

FxStreet

Crypto Industry braces new rules from Uruguayan Central Bank

Crypto News

Uruguayan Central Bank has been given the power to regulate the crypto sector, according to the recent regulatory bill.

A new cryptocurrency bill project was introduced by the executive power of the Parliament of Uruguay. 

The bill seeks to clarify how crypto assets will be regulated in the country, giving the Central Bank of Uruguay authority over cryptocurrency assets, modifying its organic charter, and introducing the Superintendence of Financial Services as the entity in charge of overseeing virtual asset service providers.

Uruguayan Central Bank

The Uruguayan government recently submitted a bill to the parliament that was meant to enhance government oversight of cryptocurrencies in the country and establish the country’s central bank as the regulatory authority for handling them.

The September 5 bill aims to define the country’s regulatory guidelines for cryptocurrency assets, stating that all companies that provide digital asset-related services, including initial coin offerings (ICOs), fall under the supervision of the Excluded Supervisory Authority of the Superintendency of Financial Markets (SSF), a central bank entity.

https://copaly.com/bank-of-russia/

Anti-Money Laundering Regulations

Cryptocurrency exchanges, custody businesses, and other financial services relating to digital assets should abide by Anti-Money Laundering regulations and best practices. Moreover, the document outlined four kinds of digital assets that are stablecoins, governance tokens, tradable assets, and debt tokens.

“If the activity carried out with these instruments involves the exercise of financial intermediation or financial activity, it will be subject to the regulation and control of the Central Bank of Uruguay.”

Currency Commercialization 

Last year, Senator Juan Sartori launched a draft bill to legislate cryptocurrencies and permit businesses to accept digital payments, seeking to establish a legal and legitimate use of businesses in industries related to the production and commercialization of virtual currencies.

Legislators in Brazil and various countries have been pursuing this development as part of a wave of ongoing legislation or regulations related to digital assets and securities. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil has been spearheading the effort to legally recognize tokens as assets or securities.

In August, Paraguay’s president vetoed a bill that would have recognized cryptocurrency mining as an industrial activity, arguing that mining’s high electricity consumption could hinder the development of a sustainable national industry.

Bank of Russia moves on Legalizing Crypto

Crypto News

The Bank of Russia has openly contemplated permitting crypto transactions to function as a long range payment medium, a move showing departure from its longstanding prohibition against such actions and adopting cryptocurrency.

Adoption Decentralization

The country’s central bank and the Ministry of Finance have agreed that cryptocurrencies will not be viable without cross-border settlements under current geopolitical conditions.

Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said crypto payments will soon be legalized. However, the focus was on citizens using foreign platforms to open crypto wallets.

Instead of the official cash payment gateway, he highlighted the need for allowing domestic crypto services in Russia which will be monitored by the central bank itself, which must comply with AML and know-your-client (KYC) requirements.

“Since our plan will require fiat currencies to be used in cross-border settlements, we must first legalize them in some way. Also, give people the opportunity to do it and control it so there is no laundering, paying for weapons, and so on.”

Clearly, the Deputy Governor of Russia’s Central Bank, Ksenia Yudaeva, stated that the authorities are open to allowing the use of cryptocurrency for international payments.

Why Reform?

This possible cause of the change in heart may be the result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, have found broad use among both nations.

The Ukrainian government has received a considerable amount of philanthropic donations from cryptocurrency investors who are using the money to buy weapons and medic kits.

For Russia, on the other hand, reports say that the country engages in economic activity with other countries by leveraging digital currencies and circumventing international sanctions.

With sanctions already in place, does adopting cryptocurrency put Russia a step ahead?

Crypto Scam Promoted with hacked South Korean Government Channel

Crypto News

A new Crypto scam struck again. The official YouTube channel of the South Korean government was compromised by hackers who used it to promote a cryptocurrency scam with the image of Elon Musk, the electric car magnate and Dogecoin enthusiast.

The crypto scam started by hackers changing the name of the government media outlet Yonhap News channel to SpaceX Invest. This was to pretend it was related to the U.S. aerospace manufacturing and space transportation services company owned by Musk.

Elon Musk Impersonated

As soon as the criminals executed the hack, they posted videos of Elon Musk talking about cryptocurrencies on YouTube. However, the government quickly got wind of the situation and began investigating the source of the intrusion. They suspended the account in question for the rest of the day while they proceeded to discover the start of the flaw.

A spokesperson from the South Korean government’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, charged with overseeing the government’s YouTube page, said that Google Korea is working with the ministry to investigate the hack, but suspects that channel’s user identification and password may have been stolen.

Crypto Scam Trends

This is the third official hack of the government in recent weeks; on Thursday, a public-content YouTube channel managed by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) was also hacked, which caused the channel’s suspension indefinitely.

Separately, a group of hacktivists identified as “Belarusian Cyber-Partisans” publicly announced that they would sell an NFT with the passport data of Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, obtained after hacking into a government database containing the information of all passports of the country’s citizens.

With these alarming hack attempts on profiles and big government organizations, is the crypto space a safe place or another virtual war zone?

Thailand SEC to apply Strict Guidelines on Crypto ads

Crypto News

Thai cryptocurrency advertisements are going to have to adhere to strict guidelines formulated by the SEC as they seek to conform to comparable standards.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission will tighten regulations for cryptocurrency firms operating in the country by October 2022.

The Thai SEC instructed cryptocurrency businesses operating in the country via email that advertisements about digital currencies should contain clear investment warnings to customers on September 1. The statement was later posted on the SEC website.

Advertisements Standard

The Securities and Exchange Commission has implemented new standards for cryptocurrency-related ads in response to several advertising campaigns that failed to warn customers concerning their specific investment risks adequately.

The new standards will prohibit advertisements from making false, misleading, or exaggerated claims and include investment warnings. The correspondence from the Securities and Exchange Commission also requests balanced advertising. 

This would require mentioning both positive and negative aspects of the products or services being presented.

To better protect themselves from regulatory-related fallouts, companies will have to restrict influencer marketing that displays cryptocurrencies in their publications to “official channels” like their own website. 

Furthermore, they’ll be compelled to reveal all available information regarding advertisements and expenditures to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Advertisers

Bitkub and Zipmex, a few of the more prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, advertise their products and services to prospective clients on increasingly large billboards and in public transport stations. 

More traditional services might be advertised in public locations provided that they’re not within road rolling stock, per the SEC’s directive.

The Thailand SEC has mandated that all businesses adapt their marketing approaches until the bureau develops the necessary frameworks. 

This includes updating or amending existing ads in print, online, and real-world platforms.

Stringent Regulations

August 2022 was a busy month for the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission as it granted licenses to four new cryptocurrency-related businesses.

The SEC concluded the move was in-line with other standards established in other jurisdictions, such as the UK, Singapore, and Spain, which had previously established more stringent regulations for cryptocurrency advertising.

In addition, the watchdog additionally fined Bitkub chief technology officer Samret Wajanasathian for the alleged insider trading of its KUB token. Will this new development allow crypt projects to flourish in Thailand or its another impending market loss for Crypto Companies in their territories?

Dubai Sets New Regulatory Guidelines to Protect Crypto Investors

Crypto News

In March this year, the UAE’s authorities created an autonomous agency called the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).

Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) reportedly instructed local cryptocurrency-related firms to require a license before engaging in promotional activities in the areas of licensing and consumer protection. 

This initiative may protect investors and consumers from misleading cryptocurrency marketing campaigns.

Dubai and Crypto

Over the past several months, Dubai has emerged as a global cryptocurrency center where numerous companies and leading players set foot. Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX Trading established a regional headquarter in the city, while CryptoCom and OKX were licensed for services in the Middle East city.

While Dubai gives many examples of its pro-crypto attitude, in recent years, the city’s authorities allowed Binance and CryptoCom governments to operate their businesses within their limits while granting permission for FTX to establish a local headquarters in the capital.

In May, Emirates Airlines, headquartered in the UAE, announced its intentions to enable individuals to pay for flights using bitcoin. 

CEO Adel Ahmed Al-Redha stated that the company called on the plane company to track aircraft and engine information using blockchain technology as well.

VARA’s Safety Concerns

In March this year, the UAE’s authorities created an autonomous agency called the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).

The United Arab Emirates, and more specifically Dubai, have been making gradual steps toward the digital asset industry recently. 

“Our step is a leap towards the future aimed at developing this sector and protecting all investors in it,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said at the time.

According to Gulf News, the entity doubled its cryptocurrency-related duties by introducing regulatory rules on organizations that advertise crypto services and products, including search engines, media sites, and online or offline publication platforms that urge people to engage in crypto.

Such businesses now need to get a license from the VARA to ensure their business operations are not detrimental to investors.

“These regulations specifically address marketing and communications activities ahead of operationalizing the MVP licensees so that any mass-market information dissemination and consumer solicitation are designed to safeguard community interests,” the statement reads.

Advance Adoption

Subsequently, the city hosted somewhat bizarre events in the crypto world. Three months ago, the French Florian Ughetto and the Paraguayan Liz Nunez got married in the Metaverse (the first such event for Dubai). 

The couple explained they wanted to gather all their friends and family for the wedding and virtual reality was the only spot where this could have happened.

Amidst news of central Africa republic, Thailand, United States, Paraguay, Venezuela, Anguilla, and the long list of Crypto Legal Tenders, UAE is standing out in notable ways as it makes waves and ensures security for its community investors. 

On the other hand, some countries are clamping down on the use of cryptocurrencies in their territory, such as Afghanistan, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, and many more. The big question is, Will UAE turn around in the future or this is the journey to the future?

Afghan Police Clamps on Crypto Exchanges to Enforce Ban

Crypto News

The Afghan Central Bank declared trading in foreign exchanges un-Islamic and unlawful last year, and the law was publicized the following month.

At least 16 crypto exchanges located in the Herat province of western Afghanistan were closed by the police in the last week, according to Ariana News, an independent news outlet. A local official was quoted as saying that the arrests made during the closures aided the overall effort to dismantle the illegal exchanges.

The closures were the result of the cryptocurrency trading ban imposed by the Afghan Central Bank for about three months, which was reported to be the reason for their execution. In a bid to sound justified, a Central Bank spokesman said;

“There is no instruction in Islamic law to approve it [online forex trading]. As a result, we have banned it.”

Head of Herat Money Exchangers’ Union Ghulam Mohammad Suhrabi told Ariana News, 

“Digital currency accounts are outside the country and are purchased from the companies. Our people are not familiar with it, so it is better not to use it.”

Ariana News reported in July that the Afghan central bank would begin prosecuting Afghans who had violated financial sanctions. According to the central bank, it had not issued permits for online stock trading, making all activity of this kind unlawful.

Startling Development

Crypto use increased significantly in Afghanistan after the Taliban conquered the country in 2021 and Afghanistan’s unstable economy made the value of cryptocurrencies skyrocket. 

Transacting during the country’s breakdown became increasingly complicated, encouraging residents to seek out a convenient means of sending remittances. 

According to an Al-Jazeera report in March, there was a WhatsApp group devoted to cryptocurrency trading that had 13,000 members in Herat.

Afghan Central Bank

Crypto has also proven to be a useful channel for the benefit of the Western assistance Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Organizations such as Women for Afghan Women have utilized crypto to fund humanitarian work within the country.

The common question now is, will crypto be completely wiped out of Afghanistan or will this closure of exchanges be a camouflage to support their financial economy?

Indian blockchain Forum

Newly-Launched Blockchain Forum Aims to Make India a Global Web3

Crypto News

The Indian Blockchain Forum just got formed by a group of leading Indian blockchain influencers with expertise in trading, NFT, Metaverse, and cybercrime, among others.

Hyderabad is the second-largest tech hub in India, after Bengaluru. The India Blockchain Forum will open membership to all stakeholders with a mission to create the world’s largest web3.0 community.

It was launched by Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industry & Commerce and Information Technology, Government of Telangana.

The forum has more than 40 influencers and is setting up Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in areas such as CBDC, Metaverse, Policy framework and NFTs for blockchain and Web3.0 adoption.

IBF Backed by Collaborative Support

The Indian blockchain Forum said its vision is to make India the global hub for Web3, Tech and Blockchain. It promises to adopt a collaboration model and work with the official regulators, the Indian Government, Industries, and Research Institutes to promote web3.

To affirm its goals in making India stand out in the tech and decentralized community, the Indian blockchain Forum adopted a 10-point plan which included building an India Blockchain Stack, accelerating the startup ecosystem, supporting blockchain tech brands, and creating a talent hunt opportunity to sustain it Blockchain Ecosystem.

The State Decision on Web3 

Jayesh Ranjan, the Principal Secretary, Industry & Commerce and Information Technology for the Government of Telangana said the state government would prepare to release a regulatory sandbox promoting Web3 applications. 

This will allow startups to embrace the Indian space, and build blockchain solutions around NFTs, tokens, and other applications.

“This sandbox will help create a meaningful dialogue amongst all the stakeholders including regulators, startups, and policymakers to arrive at a nuanced approach in evolving an effective web 3 framework,” he said.

The Indian State is completely backing web3, its innovations and Blockchain technology adoption.

Indian Policy and Crypto

The launch of the Indian-focused cryptocurrency advocacy forum believes it will maintain relevance due to the growing popularity of digital currencies. However, there lies an underlying point of consideration, the Indian State Crypto Policy.

India on a greater scale is one country with strict regulations and crypto monitoring policies regulated by the governments.

On April 1st, India began levying a hefty 30% capital gains tax and, from July 1st, a 1% tax deduction at source for all crypto transactions. 

These moves have severely impacted the trading volume and also set the tech community on alert for impending policies.

Recently, the Indian Enforcement Agency, the Directorate of Enforcement, froze the bank accounts of WazirX on grounds of money laundering charges.

Does the Indian Blockchain Forum (IBF) have anything to worry about as it’s not an exchange but a crypto community?