Lawmakers in the United States have called for caution regarding implementing a proposed tax policy that could have significant implications for America’s crypto space. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, an expanded crypto taxation regime was a last-minute addition to the $1-trillion infrastructure deal currently being debated in Congress. According to the proposed amendments, tighter rules on crypto reporting requirements could provide $28 billion in additional funding for the government. However, Senator Patrick Toomey is among a group of senators who have warned of the broad language used in the expanded crypto tax policy. According to a Washington Post article, Toomey …

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) stirred interest among crypto enthusiasts last year after investing $5 million in blockchain-based oil trading company Vakt. While this move aimed to digitize and streamline post-trade processing, Saudi Aramco was also rumored to undertake Bitcoin (BTC) mining activities. However, Saudi Arabia’s state oil company released an official statement to dismiss the ongoing rumors around mining Bitcoin. It said: “With reference to recent reports claiming that the company will embark on Bitcoin mining activities, Aramco confirms that these claims are completely false and inaccurate.” Many governments, including China, have recently unleashed a crackdown on …

South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has denied reports on rumored plans to shut down a dozen local cryptocurrency exchanges due to fraudulent activity. The FSC told Cointelegraph on Aug. 9 that the authority does not plan to suspend operations of several smaller local crypto exchanges due to involvement in operating fraudulent collective accounts. A previous report by local news agency The Korea Herald suggested that the authority was planning to shut down at least 11 mid-sized crypto exchanges in South Korea, citing anonymous sources. A spokesperson for the FSC elaborated that its Korea Financial Intelligence …

The Ukrainian government is moving forward with its central bank digital currency (CBDC) plans, as the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is now officially authorized to issue a digital currency. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law titled On Payment Services, officially enabling the country’s central bank to issue a CBDC, the digital hryvnia, according to a Thursday announcement. The new law authorizes the NBU to set up regulatory sandboxes for testing payment services and instruments based on emerging technologies. The new legislation also requires close collaboration between the Ukrainian central bank and local startups in the payment market, …

Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, has called for greater cooperation between western governments and crypto businesses to better leverage the benefits of the ongoing cryptocurrency revolution. In an article published in the Financial Times on Thursday, the famous economist highlighted China’s unified approach to dealing with crypto and blockchain as against the fragmented handling of the novel tech in the United States and Europe. As part of the article, El-Erian called on western governments to adopt a less dismissive stance on crypto and be more open to embracing the innovations coming out of the cryptocurrency space especially in …

The Israeli government is ratcheting up its efforts to deter tax evasion and close loopholes for would-be money launderers as part of a “war against black capital.” Among the measures outlined in a new draft bill published by the Ministry of Finance this week, a new statutory requirement is being proposed to place cryptocurrency users under increased scrutiny. The proposed law would make it mandatory for cryptocurrency users who have either purchased 200,000 Israeli shekels ($61,000) worth of cryptocurrency or whose crypto holdings are currently worth the same amount and above to file a report with the Israeli tax authorities. …

Senator and former United States presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren believes that the digital asset industry may be a tool to tackle some challenges in the traditional financial system. A known skeptic of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Warren appeared to have softened her stance on the crypto industry in a CNBC Squawk Box interview on Wednesday, stating that digital currencies could be an instrument to bank the unbanked: “There has been an enormous failure by the big banks to reach consumers all across the country. Digital currency and central bank digital currency may be an answer there.” The senator emphasized that …

Tuesday’s crypto hearing before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs also included a call for stricter regulations on cryptocurrency miners. Addressing the committee, professor Angela Walch claimed that miners held “meaningful power” over the way blockchain networks operate. According to Walch, miners can exploit their role of transaction ordering, which could become a “major issue” for cryptocurrencies, as reported by Law360. In stressing the point, professor Walch likened the miner extractable value paradigm — where miners earn more profits from ordering transactions in a certain way — as being akin to a “bribe.” As such, …

The government of Kazakhstan is reportedly planning to officially authorize local banking institutions to open bank accounts for cryptocurrency transactions. Several banks in Kazakhstan will soon be officially approved to service companies and businesses providing exposure to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), local news channel Khabar 24 reported Sunday. Citing executives from the Data Center Industry and Blockchain Association of Kazakhstan, the report notes that it is unclear what financial institutions or banks would participate in the pilot project. Cryptocurrency exchanges will be able to cooperate with banks by signing up for the project at Astana International Financial Centre, a major …

Blockchain Australia, a major association representing the local cryptocurrency industry, has officially introduced its crypto regulation recommendations to the federal government. The association filed a submission to the Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre last Friday, calling the government to provide a safe harbor for local crypto service providers. Pointing out a set of regulatory recommendations, Blockchain Australia stressed the need for a coordinated and graduated approach to adopt a “fit-for-purpose regulatory framework,” ensuring innovation and competition in the country while enhancing consumer outcomes. The crypto advocates emphasized that local industry “cannot afford to wait …

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce has voiced concerns over the United States lagging behind global jurisdictions in adopting cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs). During an online appearance at the Bitcoin (BTC) conference “The B Word,” Peirce pointed out that many other countries such as Canada have already been trading crypto ETFs, while the U.S. is still deciding whether to approve such a trading instrument. She stated: “I would never have imagined that I would be in this situation where we would not yet have approved one and other countries are moving ahead.” The SEC commissioner also mentioned her concern that …

The Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, continues to investigate the issuance of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. T Rabi Sankar, the deputy governor of RBI, said in a speech organized by the Vidhi Center for Legal Policy that private digital currencies could be part of what makes CBDCs ultimately necessary. He felt that the RBI’s development of it’s own CBDC could provide the public with many of the same uses as digital currencies such as Bitcoin, while limiting the average user’s exposure to volatility. He stated: “Indeed, this could be the key factor nudging central banks from …