Way back in 2014, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that cryptocurrency is property in Notice 2014-21. That classification as property has some big tax consequences accentuated by wild price swings. Buying and selling crypto can trigger gain or loss and be taxable. Yes, buying something using crypto — a house, a car, a new suit — can trigger taxes. Even paying taxes in crypto can trigger taxes. If you owe $5,000 in taxes, you could pay the $5,000 in dollars. However, if you pay with $5,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC), as long as the crypto is worth …

New York-headquartered fund manager Global X Digital Assets has filed an application for a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Filed on Wednesday, the application indicates that the proposed Global X Bitcoin Trust — a Delaware statutory trust formed in mid-July of this year — would, if approved, trade on the Cboe bZx exchange. The Bank of New York Mellon would serve as the trust’s administrator. As per the filing: “The Trust’s investment objective is to reflect the performance of the price of bitcoin less the expenses of the Trust’s operations. The Trust …

Most crypto enthusiasts are less than pleased with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s past approach to crypto. This is not because legitimate businesses oppose regulation but because of the breadth, complexity and uncertainty associated with the current regulatory regime. Even in the context of general discontent, few actions by the SEC have engendered as much widespread criticism as the Dec. 22, 2020 complaint that initiated a civil enforcement action against Ripple Labs and two of its executives. Not everyone opposed the action. For example, Coin Center, a pro-crypto nonprofit advocacy and research group, declined to argue against the …

The European Commission has submitted a new proposal that would require crypto-asset service providers to collect additional Anti-Money Laundering information from those who utilize cryptocurrency for money transfers. The stated purpose of this proposal is to prevent the further propagation of money laundering activity within the European Union. Under this proposal, service providers conducting transfers must have the name of the originator of the transfer, the account number, where the account exists and where it is used to process the transaction. The originator’s address, official personal document number, customer ID number, or date and place of birth would also be …

The central bank of South Korea has chosen a blockchain subsidiary of local internet giant Kakao as a technology provider for its digital currency pilots. Kakao’s Ground X won the Bank of Korea’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) tender, becoming the principal technology supplier for blockchain-based digital won simulations, local news agency Korea JoongAng Daily reported Tuesday. The central bank announced that Ground X will participate in the South Korean CBDC project in cooperation with United States-based blockchain company ConsenSys as well as other Kakao affiliates like KakaoBank and Kakao Pay. Focused on infrastructure and decentralized applications for the Ethereum …

The ongoing United States-China trade war is in its fourth year. Former U.S. President Donald Trump saw different results from what he initially expected: America has taken a hit from higher tariffs and sanctions against Chinese companies and hasn’t benefited from it nearly to the same extent. It has cost the country up to 245,000 jobs. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce calculated that the situation puts the exports of each state at risk. For example, the damage to Florida’s exports alone has already reached $1.9 billion. At the same time, China was taking a smarter approach: It not only imposed …

Mumbai-based crypto exchange WazirX has been the target of much of India’s regulatory heat as the company continues to attract local investors. In the latest run-in with the government, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) issued a show-cause notice to WazirX for allegedly violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act in relation to transactions worth 2,790.74 crore rupees (~$372 million). As per The Economic Times, the Binance-owned cryptocurrency exchange came into the spotlight after the ED questioned its capability to allow users to make cross-border payments without direct oversight of the government. An official from the ED highlighted: “These were carried out …

The Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance announced that a draft bill to establish a legal framework for crypto assets in the country is ready. Deputy Minister Şakir Ercan Gül announced that the crypto bill would be proposed to The Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the unicameral Turkish legislature, at the start of the next legislative year in October 2021. Noting that Turkey is using a free-floating exchange regime — i.e., the value of the lira is set by the forex market — Gül said the country needs similar but stricter regulation for crypto assets than Western Europe or the …

Japan is strengthening its efforts to regulate digital currencies on a global scale, with related government authorities reportedly looking to expand staff to impose stricter rules. Japanese regulators have expressed fresh concerns over the massive growth of the cryptocurrency market, particularly cautioning against stablecoins, Reuters reported on Friday. Tokyo is willing to engage with global financial regulators to develop stricter rules for private digital currencies, three Japanese officials reportedly said, adding that G7 and G20 group regulators have called for greater regulations for fiat-pegged stablecoins. “Japan can no longer leave things unattended with global developments over digital currencies moving so …

United States’ city of Jackson, Tennessee, continues exploring a potential dive into cryptocurrencies, now looking to accept Bitcoin (BTC) for property tax payments. Jackson Mayor Scott Conger announced late Thursday that the city’s blockchain task force had launched a study on potential methods to accept property tax payments in Bitcoin in the city. The blockchain group will also explore how to allow employees to dollar-cost average Bitcoin, or purchase smaller amounts of Bitcoin over regular time intervals. Dollar-cost averaging Bitcoin purchases are considered to be the best strategy for accumulating Bitcoin, multiple studies confirmed. Conger earlier took to Twitter to …

The U.S. Department of State has announced it will be taking a seemingly more active role in the pursuit of keeping some crypto users accountable. According to a Thursday Bloomberg report, the Biden administration intends to ramp up efforts to trace cryptocurrency payments, particularly when it comes to ransomware attacks. The government plans to address cybersecurity and crypto’s role as payment in such attacks. The report comes as the State Department recently announced its Rewards for Justice program would be offering bounties of up to $10 million for assistance in identifying actors responsible for cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in the …

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) created an 11 million pound ($15.2 million) digital marketing campaign to warn citizens about the risks associated with crypto investments. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, made this known in a draft speech for the agency’s webinar titled “Our Role and Business Plan” delivered on Thursday. Detailing the FCA’s decision to create the campaign fund, Rathi stated that the U.K. regulator is concerned about the increasing adoption of crypto investment among the younger demographic. According to Rathi, “more people are seeing investment as entertainment” and that such irrational behavior may lead to …