Indonesia’s central bank governor, Perry Warjiyo, is mobilizing official supervisors to enforce the country’s ban on financial institutions using crypto assets as a means of payment. During a virtual seminar on Tuesday, June 15, Warjiyo reiterated that local financial firms and payment provided are prohibited from facilitating the use of cryptocurrency to settle payments or as an instrument used in other financial services. The central bank governor emphasized that crypto assets are “not legitimate payment instruments under the constitution, Bank Indonesia Law, and Currency Law,” noting that field supervisors will be sent out to ensure that local financial institutions adhere …

India’s government is reportedly reviewing modalities for banning or regulating cryptocurrencies in the country. According to Bloomberg Quint, reports indicate that the government is in talks with financial regulators and industry stakeholders to examine the provisions of an earlier proposal that effectively called for a blanket prohibition of crypto in India. Back in February, several reports out of India stoked fears of a possible crypto ban that has so far failed to materialize. Instead, the emerging narrative out of the country is that the authorities are considering a more nuanced approach to cryptocurrency regulations, with blanker prohibitions out of the …

A cryptocurrency ban is not the right solution for the Netherlands, the country’s finance minister reportedly said after a local official called for a total ban on crypto. The Netherlands should regulate the cryptocurrency market instead of prohibiting its citizens from using crypto entirely, Dutch minister of finance Wopke Hoekstra stated, according to a Friday report by local news agency NU.nl. The official still admitted to certain risks associated with the crypto market, reportedly saying that he understood the concerns raised by the director of the Dutch Bureau for Economic Analysis, Pieter Hasekamp. The minister stressed that it’s crucial to …

The tide may have finally turned for cryptocurrencies in India as reports indicate a softer stance by the government toward crypto. According to a report by The New Indian Express on Thursday, the government’s hostile stance toward Bitcoin (BTC) appears to be shifting toward more common-sense regulatory policies for cryptocurrencies. According to inside sources quoted by the publication, authorities have dropped earlier plans for a blanket Bitcoin ban in favor of classifying cryptocurrencies as an alternative asset class. The Securities and Exchange Board of India will reportedly be tasked with overseeing crypto regulations in the country in collaboration with the …

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has moved to ban cross trading on crypto exchanges in the country. The move is part of a raft of amendments to the country’s Act on the Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information. Cross trading, an illegal practice in many jurisdictions, involves offsetting buy and sell orders for the same asset (at the same price) without recording the transaction on the order book. However, according to a report by local media outlet Newsis, exchange operators in South Korea have bemoaned the planned prohibition stating that the move would cause significant disruptions to their …

China’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies has reportedly spread to social media. Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging service with over 530 million monthly active users, has reportedly suspended several popular Bitcoin- (BTC) and crypto-related content creators on the platform. According to local reports, at least a dozen crypto influencers on Weibo were unable to use their accounts on Saturday. Weibo greeted other users who visited suspended accounts with a message saying the banned accounts violated Weibo guidelines and “relevant laws and regulations.” A Weibo user nicknamed "Woman Dr. bitcoin Mini," who saw her account was blocked on Saturday, called Weibo’s action a judgment …

Bitcoin’s (BTC) quick run-up above $40,000 during the early New York trading session Thursday lost momentum midway as traders decided to secure short-term profits. The benchmark cryptocurrency shed up to 12.08% after topping out at $40,440 on Coinbase. It reached an intraday low of $36,410 ahead of the London opening bell on Friday, showcasing upside resilience among traders near the $40,000 level. Technicals and looming regulations Concerns about stricter crypto market regulations have created headwinds for an otherwise choppy but solid Bitcoin price recovery. In retrospect, the BTC/USD exchange rate had crashed to $30,000 on May 19 after news of …

At a 279th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in Abuja, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele expressed confidence that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) will be legal in the country, Business Insider reported on Wednesday. Emefiele did not directly mention a decision to reverse the CBN’s February ban of institutions from buying and selling crypto but noted that the bank has been investigating the industry: “We are committed in the CBN, and I can assure everybody that digital currency will come to life even in Nigeria [...] Under cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, Nigeria comes 2nd, while on the global side …

Christopher Hui, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury has defended the recent proposal by the city’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau to ban retail crypto trading. In a speech delivered at StartmeupHK virtual fintech summit on Thursday, Hui said that the proposal was in line with the government’s plan to properly police the emerging crypto market. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the FSTB issued a proposal after months of consultation, calling for a ban on retail crypto trading and the establishment of a strict regulatory regime for cryptocurrency exchanges. As part of the proposal set to …

The recent crackdown on Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto mining in Iran has reached a new dimension, with the government banning the activity over the summer. According to a report by Bloomberg, President Hassan Rouhani announced the blanket ban on Bitcoin mining in the country in an address on state television on Wednesday. The nationwide prohibition will reportedly last until September, with the government keen on ensuring access to electricity for domestic consumption during the hot summer months, which are historically peak periods for power demand. As part of his address, President Rouhani alleged that the majority of the crypto mining …

Hong Kong regulators have moved to ban retail trading in Hong Kong after months of intense speculation about a likely prohibition. According to a report by Reuters on Friday, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of Hong Kong has released the results of its consultation on a possible retail crypto trading ban, which began back in November 2020. As part of its conclusions, Hong Kong’s FSTB called for a comprehensive licensing regime for crypto exchanges while restricting trading only to qualified investors. Per Hong Kong law, only individuals with portfolios worth 8 million Hong Kong dollars (about $1 million) …

For most of the last decade, India’s stance on cryptocurrencies has been uncertain, to say the least. The current soft ban is hurting the country’s potential every day, but recent reports suggest the country is having second thoughts. In March this year, a notification published by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs stated that companies dealing in cryptocurrencies would have to disclose their holdings to the government in financial statements. Crypto-holding companies will also have to disclose total profits and losses, as well as any deposits or advances received from other traders and investors. Just two weeks earlier, there was a …