Nikolai Mushegian, a co-founder of the cryptocurrency lending platform MakerDAO and the decentralized Dai (DAI) stablecoin, was found dead in Puerto Rico last week. Mushegian died due to drowning after being dragged by sea currents on the Condado beach in San Juan, the local newspaper El Nuevo Día reported. Mushegian had no vital signs by the time his body was rescued. The Condado beach is considered one of the world’s most dangerous places for swimmers, reportedly taking the lives of at least eight people in 2021. The unfortunate event was reported to local authorities on the morning on Oct. 28. …

Delving into the world of cryptocurrencies can be extremely intimidating for beginners. On day one, you're confronted with thousands of different coins — and each claims to have their own specific use case. Understanding how blockchain technology works is an incredibly steep learning curve too, and all of that comes before you've even made a purchase. Now, one website has the ambition of becoming a lighthouse in stormy seas for newcomers to the crypto market — giving them the information they need to explore the space with confidence. ClearCryptos offers a plethora of curated educational content — covering everything from …

Prominent economist Peter Schiff, who is well-known in the community for his anti-crypto sentiments, had his bank shut down by Puerto Rico regulators. The revelation, however, led to Crypto Twitter pointing out the “irony” as Schiff’s prediction for Bitcoin (BTC) came true for his own traditional bank. Puerto Rico regulators closed down Schiff’s bank for not maintaining the net minimum capital requirements, which further impacted the customers as they lost access to their accounts following a subsequent freeze. Despite no evidence of crimes, Puerto Rico regulators closed my bank anyway for net capital issues, rather than allow a sale to …

Puerto Rico has become the fourth jurisdiction in America to grant a money transmitter license to Binance.US, the American arm of the crypto exchange Binance. Other states that haveissued operational licenses to Binance.US include Wyoming, Connecticut and West Virginia. Binance.US was launched as a second attempt by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao to cater to investors in the United States as the nation banned Binance’s primary operations, citing regulatory concerns. The new license from Puerto Rico further strengthens CZ's vision “to be licensed everywhere.” According to the announcement, the money transmitter license was awarded to Binance.US by the Puerto Rico Office …

An organization that supports communities in times of need employs the helping hands of crypto to open the doors for a “broader swath of philanthropists.” Powered by charity provider The Giving Block, Corazón Latino is set to accept Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and many other cryptocurrencies to help its goals of reconnecting communities with the environment and providing quick responses to places affected by disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit consistently runs initiatives focused on eco-tourism, conservation and climate resilience. Apart from these, Felipe Benitez, the founder and executive director of Corazón Latino, says that the organization …

Following another corruption scandal, the government of Puerto Rico is reportedly seeking to improve its anti-corruption efforts by adopting blockchain technology. Puerto Rican House Speaker Rafael “Tatito” Hernandez announced that lawmakers will hold meetings with local blockchain enthusiasts this month to discuss the potential adoption of blockchain technology to reduce corruption. The implementation of blockchain and smart contracts could bring more transparency and accountability to the public sector, the official said at a Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association conference, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 6. “We have a real credibility problem and this might be part of the solution,” Hernandez said, …

The United States territory of Puerto Rico is seeing a resurgence of interest among crypto investors attracted by the fact it doesn’t charge federal income tax and eligible investors can pay zero taxes on their crypto gains. Under local law Act 22, those who live in Puerto Rico for at least half of the year are exempt from taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains — meaning they can keep most or all of the profits from crypto or other investments without having to renounce U.S. residency. The popularity of the territory as crypto tax haven was highlighted when news …

As a burgeoning industry less than 13 years old, cryptocurrency has seen its fair share of regulatory crackdowns and changes, especially in the United States. Jake Yocom-Piatt, co-founder of Decred, however, sees the nation as the most crypto-friendly. “Cryptocurrencies are treated as personal property in most jurisdictions, so their tax treatment is relatively uniform,” Yocom-Piatt said. He continued: “Cryptocurrency transactions are a form of speech, so states where free speech is protected are the least likely to restrict cryptocurrencies. While the U.S. currently suffers from many substantial sociopolitical problems, the combination of its freedom of speech with protections against forced …

The United States-based branch of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Binance.US, has opened account registration and verification services for residents of Puerto Rico. According to an official announcement published on Sept. 30, Puerto Rico residents have the same levels of access as U.S. residents from those states already permitted to use the platform. The launch of Binance.US As reported, Binance.US went live on Sept. 24, offering 13 fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-crypto trading pairs. These include major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Binance Coin (BNB) and the Tether (USDT) stablecoin. Just as with its U.S. …

Puerto Rico-based Medici Bank, founded by a direct descendant of the Italian Medici dynasty, launches private beta testing in October. Medici Bank will be piloting digital onboarding procedures, application programming interface and web portals with five global firms, two or three of which represent crypto businesses, Coindesk reports Sept. 26. Crypto clients Medici Bank CEO Ed Boyle elaborated that those firms are expected to demonstrate the bank’s ability to scale to accommodate trading volumes. According to the report, Boyle pointed out the high-performance nature of crypto-related companies, revealing that the bank’s plans have up to a third or half of …

Some in the crypto community have embraced Puerto Rico, which seems to have done a good job of promoting itself. But is it for you? I can only address the tax issues, not anything else. To a large extent, the tax issues depend on what kind of income you will generate, whether personal or business, from where you generate it, and when the income — or even the appreciation in assets — occurs. Ideally, you want all income and all gain to come from Puerto Rico, and all the income and even the appreciation in assets to occur after you …

Puerto Rico-based cryptocurrency trading platform San Juan Mercantile Exchange (SJMX) has launched banking operations via a new subsidiary, the company announced in a press release on April 2. SJMX, which exists as a membership-based exchange for digital asset traders, is seeking to expand the scope of its operations for institutional investors. The new venture, dubbed San Juan Mercantile Bank & Trust International (SJMBT), received a banking license from Puerto Rican regulators last month. With the receipt of its first deposit, the bank is now officially open for business, offering institutional clients more of an all-round package of services for their …