January 22, 2020 - Smart Wealth Investments

Regulatory Roundup: New US Crypto Tax Bill, Central Banks Join Forces on Digital Currencies

January 22, 2020 SmartWealth

In this roundup, we cover an exceptionally busy week for crypto regulations around the globe. We start our coverage with the U.S. Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act of 2020, actions by the SEC, Ripple’s lawsuit, India’s supreme court hearings, Australia green-lighting a bitcoin retail fund, Thailand approving a new crypto exchange, and new crypto guidelines in Canada and Malaysia. We also cover the FATF’s progress to ensure countries implement its crypto standards, the regulatory developments in South Korea, China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and six central banks and the Bank for…

Polkadot Will Finally Launch This Year – But Is the Multi-Chain Network too Late to Catch Ethereum?

January 22, 2020 SmartWealth

Remember Polkadot? It’s the multi-chain network that raised $145 million in 2017 and hasn’t been seen since. But unlike many of the blockchain projects from that era, Polkadot hasn’t taken the money and run. Its team, led by Ethereum founder Gavin Wood, has been beavering away at the ambitious task it set itself. Two and a half years on from, Polkadot is finally poised to launch. Can it live up to its promise, or is Polkadot arriving too late? Also read: Bitcoin Cash Miners Plan $6M Development Fund by Leveraging…

Bitcoin Cash Miners Plan $6M Development Fund by Leveraging Block Rewards

January 22, 2020 SmartWealth

A group of Bitcoin Cash mining pool operations have decided to help fund BCH infrastructure development. On January 22, Btc.top founder Jiang Zhuoer revealed that five mining pools are preparing a short-term developers donation plan. Miners from Btc.top, Bitcoin.com, Viabtc, Antpool, and Btc.com plan to give “12.5% of [the] BCH coinbase rewards to a fund that will support Bitcoin Cash infrastructure.” Also Read: Bitcoin Cash Sees Mining Pool Shift and Hashrate Surpass 4 Exahash Btc.top Founder Announces Bitcoin Cash Development Fund Lately, there’s been discussions regarding funding BCH infrastructure development.…

Crypto vs RBI Case Heats Up at Indian Supreme Court as RBI Begins Arguments

January 22, 2020 SmartWealth

India’s supreme court spent all day on Wednesday hearing extensive arguments from both the counsel representing crypto exchanges and the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The counsel for the central bank confirmed again that cryptocurrency is not banned in India, but still justifies the banking restrictions on the crypto industry. Also read: Crypto vs RBI — 3 Days of Intense Supreme Court Hearings All-Day Hearing at Supreme Court The Supreme Court of India resumed hearing the crypto vs. RBI case on Wednesday. Local news and regulatory analysis…

2019 Saw Most Exchange Attacks Ever, With Hackers Becoming More Savvy

January 22, 2020 coinmaker

As cryptocurrency exchanges beef up their security to defend themselves against cyberattacks, hackers are responding in kind by amping up their techniques — and the data shows that they’re finding success. Cryptocurrency exchanges faced more successful attacks in 2019 than in any other year since bitcoin began trading on public exchanges in 2011, according to data compiled for a recent report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. While the 11 attacks recorded in 2019 nearly doubled those conducted in 2018, the total damage ($282.6 million stolen in cryptocurrency in 2019 versus…

Demand for Crypto Derivatives Swells as CME’s Bitcoin Volume Rises

January 22, 2020 SmartWealth

The global markets company Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has seen considerable demand since launching its options contracts in the wake of the firm’s bitcoin futures. On the first day of swaps, CME’s bitcoin options saw 55 contracts ($2.3 million). By the end of the week, the firm’s bitcoin options volume more than doubled with 122 contracts ($5.3 million) sold. Also read: Bitcoin Futures Hit 3-Month High in Frenetic Tuesday Trading CME Bitcoin Options See Steady Growth Regulated crypto derivatives products have seen strong demand and just recently the forex marketplace…

Crypto vs RBI: Exchange Counsel and RBI Take Center Stage at Supreme Court

January 22, 2020 SmartWealth

6 Bankers Accused of Earning €30M in Bonuses From German Fraud, Tax Lawyer Out on €4M Bail

January 22, 2020 SmartWealth

Former bank employees have received bonuses worth millions of euros in an illegal trading scheme that also involved a tax lawyer, prosecutors in Frankfurt revealed this week. The case is part of multiple investigations carried out across Germany, the hardest hit country in a notorious tax fraud scandal known as the Cum-ex Files. Also read: European Banks Struggle With Low Interest Rates and Strict Regulations Frankfurt Fraud Costs Germany €389 Million The six bankers got 29.5 million euros (close to $33 million) in bonuses from the alleged fraud, German prosecutors…

Crypto vs RBI: Exchange Counsel and RBI Take Center Stage at Supreme Court Today

January 22, 2020 SmartWealth

Vodafone Becomes 8th Company to Exit Libra Association

January 22, 2020 SmartWealth

After a spate of big names parting ways with the Libra Association late last year such as Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, and Ebay, British telecommunications giant Vodafone has become the latest to bid the ambitious digital asset project farewell. While Vodafone’s statement notes it does not rule out the possibility of working with Libra in the future, a statement issued Tuesday by the Libra Association confirms the exit. Also Read: EU Finance Ministers Place Defacto Ban on Libra Another Big Name Exits the Libra Association The Libra Association‘s membership continues to…