Enterprise blockchain platform Hedera Hashgraph has presented a proof-of-concept, or PoC, to the Texas Secretary of State, showing the potential of blockchain technology to issue, secure and verify documents. The PoC was a collaboration with content services provider, Hyland, and was spearheaded by trade association, the Texas Blockchain Council, who announced the venture on Jan. 11. It centers around a system for issuing electronic Apostilles. An Apostille is a method for verifying that the seals and signatures on documents issued by public authorities are authentic. An Apostilled document is recognized internationally as legally valid in the 118 countries who are …

Kenya’s planned Digital Service Tax, or DST, came into effect at the start of 2021. The DST is part of the country’s 2020 revamped Finance Act that focuses on the digital services market among other sectors. Based on the provisions of the new tax regime, e-market transactions including cryptocurrency payments now attract a 1.5% levy. Reginald Alango, a Kenya country representative at noncustodial peer-to-peer crypto exchange Bitzlato, told Cointelegraph that the new tax policy prescribes a 1.5% tax on the gross transaction value of every crypto sale. Commenting on the potential impact of the policy on crypto adoption in the …

Her Majesty's Treasury requests and requires the crypto industry's input on prospective regulation. In a Thursday announcement of open consultation, the United Kingdom's finance policy department is asking the crypto community to weigh in on a series of proposals: "The government invites views from a wide range of stakeholders, and particularly firms engaged in cryptoasset activities." While Brexit formally came into effect early last year, New Year's Eve was the end of freedom to work and live between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The question lingers in today's consultation as to how much the nation's crypto rules should …

The United States Treasury Department may have accidentally widened the window of opportunity for anyone wishing to submit comments regarding the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's new crypto rules. Last month, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, proposed rules that would require registered crypto exchanges to verify the identity of people using "an unhosted or otherwise covered wallet" for a transaction of more than $3,000. At the time, the regulator stated that stakeholders would have 15 days to respond with comments, later clarifying that the submission period would end on Jan. 4. However, according to Regulations.gov — the website responsible …

Eight states and the District of Columbia are suing the national bank regulator over a rule change that just came into effect. Per a Jan. 5 filing, New York's attorney general is leading the charge against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and current Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks. Back in October, the OCC laid out its "True Lender" rule, which took effect at the end of December. The rule dictates that a loan that includes a national bank as a lender can therefore rely on the OCC's national guidance rather than that of individual states. The controversy here …

Monday evening, the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency told national banks that they are allowed to run independent nodes for distributed ledger networks. Referring to of independent node verification networks, the OCC's interpretive letter says that banks "may use new technologies, including INVNs and related stablecoins, to perform bank-permissible functions, such as payment activities." Coming amid a great deal of uncertainty as to the future of stablecoins, the OCC's announcement is big news. The office, nonetheless, cautions that there are cyber risks inherent to using such technology: "Banks must also be aware of potential risks when conducting …

Despite many objections to the truncated timeframe, public comments are due tonight in response to the U.S. Treasury's proposal to require businesses like crypto exchanges to know the identities behind wallets with which they transact. As of Sunday night, the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, had recorded 5,633 responses to its proposed rule. That number is despite the fact that FinCEN gave only 15 days, rather than the usual 60 for responses. The office dropped its announcement on Dec. 18, a Friday evening a week before Christmas Day in the states. Meanwhile, today, the due date, is the …

A new bill filed on Thursday, H.R.9067, seeks to create an office that will “coordinate” federal applications of blockchain technology. Sponsored by Rep. Darren Soto, a Democrat representing Florida’s 9th district, the bill would “establish an office within the Department of Commerce to coordinate all non-defense related deployment and activities related to blockchain technology within the Federal Government.” As of Dec. 31, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. While the text of the bill has yet to be released, the bill’s sponsor might give some indication of the kinds of blockchain technology applications such …

Nine congresspeople have signed on to a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, telling him to hold his horses. The Thursday letter is in response to the Treasury's recent proposal to make registered crypto businesses hold on to more customer information, especially when transacting with self-hosted wallets. The proposal has been met with widespread outrage from the crypto community. Among grievances, many cite the fact that Mnuchin is pushing this rule out just weeks before the administration of Joe Biden comes into power, and with it his likely replacement, Janet Yellen. Accompanying new proposals for rules are invitations for public …

A number of players are encouraging individuals to speak out against FinCEN’s new crypto rules before comments close next week. Crypto exchange Coinbase and the foundation behind Monero are the latest firms to join in calling for crypto users to share their thoughts on the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s new rules. In a blog post today, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the proposal would represent “too big of an intrusion” on users’ privacy, stating that crypto exchanges would need to collect and share names and addresses for anyone sending or receiving more than $3,000 in crypto in a …

The U.S. Treasury has settled with BitGo over charges that it facilitated users in sanctioned areas to transact using its crypto wallet services between 2015 and 2019. BitGo, an institutional crypto custodian service and wallet operator, did not do due diligence in blocking wallet users based in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, said the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Controls in a Dec. 30 announcement. OFAC said of BitGo: "BitGo failed to exercise due caution or care for its sanctions compliance obligations when it failed to prevent persons apparently located in sanctioned jurisdictions to open accounts and send digital …

As the use of cryptocurrencies continues to spread around the world, a number of countries have established themselves as leaders in adoption. COVID-19 has dominated 2020, and the effects of the ongoing pandemic have stifled many economies. However, the cryptocurrency space has enjoyed a year of resurgence that has seen decentralized finance become a major trend, while Bitcoin (BTC) has finally surpassed its former all-time high of 2017. It is worth noting that governments, policymakers and financial regulators have become far more clued-in on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology over the past two years. This has lent a hand to the …