A Texas state regulator has officially affirmed that Texas state-chartered banks are allowed to store cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) for their customers. The Texas Department of Banking, a state regulatory agency chartering state banks and supervising financial services, issued a notice on Thursday stating that local banks are permitted to provide crypto services in the state. The agency noted that Texas banks “may provide customers with virtual currency custody services, so long as the bank has adequate protocols in place to effectively manage the risks and comply with applicable law.” The regulator briefly explained cryptocurrencies, stressing that digital currencies do …

At a meeting in London earlier this month, the finance ministers from the G7 — the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada — unanimously agreed to begin creating the framework for a global corporate tax rate. The framework laid out a “two pillar” principle. The first pillar ensures that companies that make a 10% profit margin would be subject to the tax rate. The second pillar ensures that countries will charge a 15% minimum tax rate. Under all of this, the new rules will focus on where the profit was made and not where the company is …

The Fantom Foundation has announced a joint venture with AG Mentors Group headed by former Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Minister Elyar Ganiev. According to the announcement published on the Fantom Blog on Wednesday, the collaboration will use Fantom-based blockchain solutions to modernize the country’s IT infrastructure. Fantom’s partnership with AG Mentors comes amid the Uzbekistan government’s digital transformation agenda. Back in 2020, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev laid out a plan to utilize digital technology to improve public services in the country dubbed “Strategy for Digital Uzbekistan.” Fantom will reportedly provide tailored blockchain-based solutions in areas such as supply chain management, central bank …

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren did not mince words when it came to criticizing crypto, but seemed to consider a federally-backed digital currency as a possible solution to address problems around financial inclusion in the United States. At a Wednesday session of the Senate Banking Committee discussing a U.S. government-backed central bank digital currency, or CBDC, Warren said the recent explosion in cryptocurrencies had helped many people understand the foundational technology on which digital currencies were based. However, she called crypto a “fourth rate alternative to real currency.” “Digital currency from central banks has great promise,” said Warren. "Legitimate digital public …

China’s stance toward decentralized cryptocurrency trading appears to be getting even tougher. Chinese journalist Colin Wu and crypto news site 8BTCNews have both claimed that as of Wednesday, search results for some of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges are pulling up zero results. Cointelegraph’s staff in China have themselves searched for cryptocurrency exchanges on the search engines and confirmed that results are inaccessible. However, a compound search such as “Binance Academy” or “Huobi Research Center” does still seem to be passing through the censors. If the situation continues, this appears to be the latest step in Beijing’s increasing censorship of …

Hester Peirce of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has once again urged regulators to take a step back from attempting to overregulate the crypto space. Speaking to Financial Times, Peirce, affectionately dubbed “Crypto Mom” due to her positive stance on cryptocurrencies, argued against the need for strict regulatory policies. According to Peirce, regulators by nature often have a knee-jerk reaction to emerging market spaces, often at the expense of innovation. The SEC commissioner warned that pursuing stricter regulatory policies eliminates the ability of market participants to carry out peer-to-peer transactions. Rather than emphasizing government regulations, Peirce advocates for …

Internal Revenue Service chief Charles Rettig called out lawmakers for not taking the initiative on addressing the problem of many U.S. residents not paying taxes on crypto. In a Tuesday senate hearing on the IRS’ fiscal year 2022 budget, Rettig said that the agency would likely require a "clear dictate from Congress" to regulate crypto. The IRS has listed $32 million in its budget for “crypto-related enforcement operations” as well as $41 million related to cybercrime in its attempts to address the issue of non-reporting or underreporting taxpayers. "The authority for us to collect that information is critical," said Rettig. …

Cryptocurrencies might be anathema for certain members of United States President Joe Biden's administration, but that has not stopped one staffer from owning a small fortune in Bitcoin (BTC). According to a report by Politico on Monday, Tim Wu, special assistant for technology and competition policy to the president at the National Economic Council, owns over $1 million in Bitcoin. Wu’s BTC ownership came to light after a recent personal financial disclosure that also revealed his ownership of Filecoin (FIL). Wu reportedly owns between $1 million and $5 million worth of Bitcoin as well as between $100,001 and $250,000 worth …

United States President Joe Biden will speak directly about cryptocurrency and its role in the attack on the Colonial Pipeline and other ransomware breaches, according to Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. In a White House press briefing on Monday, Sullivan said U.S. officials, seemingly including Biden, would like to see an action plan regarding ransomware attacks during the president’s visit to the G-7 summit this weekend. The national security adviser said this plan should address the resilience of such attacks, how to share information with other democracies and “how to deal with the cryptocurrency challenge.” Sullivan said crypto “lies …

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has said it will be publishing a consultation paper aimed at banks reducing their risk of exposure to crypto. According to the Switzerland-based Bank of International Settlements, or BIS, the Basel Committee will publish the paper on crypto exposure this week following its decision to hold a public consultation on the matter. The announcement came during a Friday meeting, during which the committee also discussed the impact of the current pandemic on the banking system as well as any proposed policy initiatives: “While banks' exposures to cryptoassets are currently limited, the continued growth and …

Many years ago, I ran hedge funds on Wall Street. With a long pause for philanthropic and government work, I eventually found my way to blockchain, and now, I spend my days writing about decentralized finance versus centralized finance. Some of my old Wall Street friends still run a lot of money in hedge funds, and back in 2018, they would tease me and ask if I was still “doing my crypto thing.” Even today, some of them still think that Bitcoin (BTC) is a Ponzi scheme. One of my dearest friends from my past days in finance recently sent …

China’s Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) have identified four essential application areas for blockchain adoption. The MIIT’s five-point agenda for blockchain adoption is part of a document issued on Monday detailing guiding opinions to accelerate the promotion of the emerging technology for industrial development. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, China’s President Xi Jinping previously called for rapid blockchain adoption back in October 2019. Presenting its argument for blockchain adoption, the MIIT document describes the novel technology as “an important part of the new generation of information technology.” According to …