Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, one of the lawmakers who supported amending the language around crypto in the recently passed infrastructure law, said the United States should lead the world in the adoption of a central bank digital currency. In a Nov. 23 interview with Bloomberg's David Westin, Toomey said the U.S. dollar should have “the most sophisticated capabilities of any currency in the world” as the country could benefit from a digital dollar. However, the senator said the rollout of any U.S. central bank digital currency should not rely on the Federal Reserve as a traditional bank for retail accounts, …

The United States Federal Reserve is planning to address ambiguities that they feel are plaguing digital asset regulation in the country following rapid analyses between government agencies. In a Nov. 23 announcement, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System said it recently worked with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on a series of “policy sprints” aimed at addressing regulatory clarity in the crypto space. The interagency effort included building a greater understanding of the terminology surrounding crypto assets, identifying potential risks, and analyzing existing regulatory frameworks to determine if any …

The Indian government will be considering a bill which would create a digital rupee starting as early as next week, but may also ban certain cryptocurrencies in the country. According to a Nov. 23 publication, India's lower house of parliament, Lok Sabha, will consider The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill as one of 26 new bills when the government body convenes for its winter session on Nov. 29. The document states that lawmakers could vote on legislation that creates “a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency” issued by the country’s central bank, the Reserve …

Matt Comyn, the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), said that the bank is more concerned about the risks of missing out on crypto than those associated with its adoption. The CBA is set to become the first of the “big four” banks in Australia to offer crypto-based services, after the company announced on Nov. 3 that it will support the trading of 10 digital assets directly via its banking app. Speaking with Bloomberg TV on Friday, Nov. 19, Comyn was questioned on the CBA’s take on the crypto sector, with the CEO noting that: “We see risks …

With crypto regulation reportedly set to ramp up in Australia over the next 12 months, Kraken Australia’s Managing Director Jonathon Miller thinks that a strict crypto regime could stifle local competition. The Senate Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Center, led by crypto-friendly Senator Andrew Bragg tabled 12 extensive recommendations for regulation of the digital asset and Fintech industry last month. The proposals included a new licensing regime for crypto exchanges, new laws to govern decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and an overhaul of capital gains tax in decentralized finance (DeFi) to name a few. In an exclusive interview …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been on an impressive price run since the announcement of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of ProShares’ Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) early in October, hitting a new all-time high of over $69,000 on Nov. 10, as per data from TradingView. However, the financial watchdogs soured the mood by rejecting VanEck’s proposal for a spot ETF on Nov. 12, which acted as a trigger for the price of the flagship cryptocurrency to drop to a 30-day low of $55,705 on Nov. 19. The token is trading in the $56,000 range at the time of …

As 2021 comes to a close, Bitcoin (BTC) has had a tumultuous ride this year, with wild price swings that have seen the pioneer cryptocurrency hit all-time highs only to retrace to lower prices — including a 50% drop that shook the market. Now, Bitcoin is once again back and stronger than ever, even recently going past its previous all-time high. Bitcoin’s dizzying market price swings aside, it seems some politicians have recognized Bitcoin’s potential, with a wave of mayors across the United States expressing bullish sentiments. From Florida to New York, there is a seemingly growing trend of politicians, …

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has warned Aussie investors about speculating on digital assets as it casts doubt over the entire crypto sector. During a Nov. 18 address to the Australian Corporate Treasury Association, the RBA’s head of payments policy Tony Richards offered an overview on distributed ledger tech, crypto assets, stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). In his speech, Richards raised questions over crypto’s validity and growth in 2021 as he took aim at the amount of capital invested into memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB): “The recent boom in this area is perhaps …

A bipartisan group of United States lawmakers has introduced legislation to change the tax reporting requirements that will go into effect due to the recently signed infrastructure bill. House Representatives Patrick McHenry and Tim Ryan introduced the Keep Innovation in America Act which would change the definition of broker as defined in HR 3684, the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15. The bill proposes pushing back the mandated reporting requirements — which includes digital asset transactions worth more than $10,000 to be declared to the Internal Revenue Service — from 2024 to 2026. …

Tim Massad, who served as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission until 2017, said the United States is too slow in developing a plan to modernize its payment systems. In a Wednesday hearing of the Joint Economic Committee on the role of digital assets in government, Massad said a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, could be one solution for the United States to improve its existing payments systems, which he referred to as “slow” and “expensive.” In addition, the former CFTC chair said while stablecoins could be used for this purpose, they also presented some of the most …

Michael Hsu, the acting head of the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, hopes to address gaps in supervision for companies dealing with cryptocurrencies. In published comments before the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Tuesday, Hsu called for consolidated supervision for crypto firms in which regulators or an authorized group could conduct oversight of a company and its subsidiaries to mitigate risk. According to Hsu, the current landscape allows holding companies engaging in crypto activities to potentially avoid regulations through subsidiaries. “No crypto firm is subject to comprehensive consolidated supervision,” said Hsu. “This means that there …

Miami is quickly becoming the crypto capital of the United States. In August of this year, the Magic City was the first state in the U.S. to launch MiamiCoin (MIA), its very own cryptocurrency used for civic engagement. A few months later, Mayor Francis Suarez announced that every Miami resident with a digital wallet will be eligible to receive a Bitcoin dividend. While such a proposal would make Miami the first city in America to provide a Bitcoin (BTC) yield to its residents, Mayor Suarez told Cointelegraph that the City of Miami does not actually own or hold MiamiCoin, or …