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Meta set to start testing NFT on Instagram Stories with SparkAR

Earlier this week, Meta also announced that it would join other tech companies in creating a metaverse standards body.

Instagram parent company Meta announced on Wednesday that it will begin testing NFTs on Instagram Stories using its SparkAR augmented reality platform.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said of the announcement, “We’re expanding our test so more creators around the world can display their NFTs on Instagram.” The company also mentioned in a recent article: “Creators and collectors will be able to share their digital collectibles on Facebook and Instagram after we begin rolling out the feature on Facebook with select US creators at a later date.”

Zuckerberg confirmed that Facebook is set to support NFT in the future:

“Soon we will also be bringing this feature to Facebook, starting with a small group of creators in the US, so people can cross-post on Instagram and Facebook. We will also be testing NFT on Instagram Stories with SparkAR soon."

In May, Meta launched digital collectibles described by the company as “a new way for consumers and creators to share NFTs on Instagram.”

Earlier this week, Meta also announced that it would join other tech companies in creating a metaverse standards body. The group intends to build the next version of the web and develop a shared spirit for Web3 and the metaverse. Some of the companies that have joined the initiative are Adobe, Epic Games, Microsoft, Nvidia and Qualcomm; Apple was conspicuous by its absence in the package.

Meta is not the only company looking to integrate NFT. It followed social media competitor Twitter, which brought NFT to its platform in January. Twitter’s NFT support allowed users to link ether-based wallets to their accounts and display their artwork as profile pictures. eBay recently acquired the Ethereum-based NFT marketplace KnownOrigin, expanding its foray into Web3. Even existing DeFi companies such as Uniswap are beginning to enter the NFT and metaverse markets with the recent acquisition of NFT aggregator Genie.

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Bank of Spain has registered 17 cryptocurrency companies

The Bank of Spain has already included 17 virtual asset service providers in its own registry, in which cryptocurrency exchange and custody service providers must be included in order to operate, according to Spanish law. Three startups were listed last week, but the big names in the cryptocurrency ecosystem are yet to be registered.

CryptoRegistration of the Bank of Spain reaches 17 companies

The Bank of Spain’s Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registry reached 17 companies last week, with the addition of three more cryptocurrency businesses. The registry added several exchange and custody companies in June, including Jobchain Spain, Jobchain Austria, Criptan Trade, Eurocoin Broker, Lemacoin Crypto Solutions, Bitpanda and Vottun.

The registration of these companies accelerated in June, and most registered cryptocurrency exchanges are local companies that want to ensure they comply with Spanish laws. Since the bank opened its registration last year, it has added several crypto companies, starting with Bit2me, which was approved in February. The record now includes C.R. Technology and Finance, Bitcoinreport, Bit Base, Blox, Trade Republic Bank, Globalstar Technologies, Onyze Digital Assets, Bitgo Deutschland and BTC Direct Europe, in addition to the companies mentioned above.

Cryptocurrency registration is mandatory for cryptocurrency companies to operate in the country and was created in a change to a Spanish law that now requires cryptocurrency companies to follow certain guidelines to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

Big names still missing

While the registry has been very successful with local companies, forcing them to register their operations and implementing compliance tools for money laundering purposes, reception by major international exchanges has not been as successful. Names like Binance and other major exchanges are still off the list and are part of a list of exchanges currently in regulatory limbo.

Binance, specifically, has been named to a gray list issued by the Bank of Spain that includes cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country. The company was recently reprimanded by the CMNV, the country’s securities regulator, which ordered Binance to stop offering cryptocurrency-related derivatives, including futures contracts, to Spanish users of its platform.

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South Korea postpones tax on cryptocurrencies for 2 years

The 20% tax on digital assets in South Korea, which was due to apply from 2023, has been postponed for another two years.

Tax announced in 2020

Before the announcement of the 2-year delay, the hefty 20% tax on crypto-asset earnings was due to go into effect on January 1, 2023. However, thanks to strong investor protests, the plan was pushed back to 2025. .on cryptocurrencies was first introduced in December 2020, when the government announced the 20% tax rate on cryptocurrency earnings above KRW 2.5 million ($1974.10). Under the initial plan, the tax was supposed to be imposed from January 1, 2022. However, the Democratic Party and the center-right People’s Power Party decided in November 2021 to defer it for a year.

Investors protest taxes

Despite the many delays, the January 1, 2023 timeline did not please investors, who claimed that the tax could harm a growing cryptocurrency industry in South Korea. Another argument they made was that the tax threshold (2.5 million KRW) was too low, especially considering that the proposed stock tax is levied on capital gains above 50 million KRW ($39,475.76). This was noteworthy as one of the promises made by the country’s president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol during his campaign was to tax cryptocurrencies to the same extent as other financial assets.

Minister defends postponement

Choo Kyung-ho supported the investors’ demand to defer taxes in May 2022, when he has yet to be confirmed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance. During a National Assembly confirmation hearing, Choo stated that a 20% tax on the cryptocurrency industry would be detrimental at this time. He proposed waiting for the market to mature and for legislation to guarantee transparency and investor protection before charging the tax.

Fiscal policies in the world

Taxing capital gains from cryptocurrencies has become a hot topic in many countries. While some countries want to lighten the industry as much as possible and have therefore deferred imposing a tax, others are eager to bank the profits through taxes. Germany, like South Korea, has maintained a more crypto-friendly tax policy after announcing zero taxes on held cryptocurrencies for more than a year. At the end of the spectrum, Portugal, known to be a crypto haven for its zero-tax policy, is reconsidering a tax on crypto profits. Investors in India are also saddled with the 30% cryptocurrency tax announced at the last budget meeting and are choosing to take their business abroad.

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Ukraine joins the European Blockchain Association as an observer

Ukraine has been granted observer status in the European Blockchain Association (EBP). Kyiv officials hope the move will make it easier for the Ukrainian government to implement blockchain technologies and lead to the adoption of more efficient cryptocurrency regulations.

Ukraine moves towards membership of the European Blockchain Association

Ukraine has been accepted as an observer in the European Blockchain Partnership (EBP), an initiative to develop an EU blockchain strategy and build blockchain infrastructure for public services. Observer status is a step towards full membership, which Ukrainian authorities and members of the cryptocurrency community have been pushing.

The push for the country’s accession to the EBP was initiated by Oleksii Zhmerenetskyi, chairman of the Blockchain4Ukraine interfactional association of Ukrainian lawmakers, and Konstantin Yarmolenko, who chairs the non-governmental organization “Ukrainian Virtual Assets”.

In March of this year, they sent letters to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other EU representatives calling for the establishment of a common European blockchain infrastructure based on EBP.

In response to his appeal, the head of the executive body in Brussels confirmed Ukraine’s membership prospects as an observer. The country has now become the third non-EU country to participate in the initiative, besides Norway and Liechtenstein.

“Ukraine’s integration into the European Blockchain Association will strengthen joint work on the introduction of blockchain technology into government records and services,” said Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Alexander Bornyakov, according to his department.

Bornyakov, who represents the Eastern European nation on the EBP, recently attended an online meeting of all members. He added that joining will also promote “a highly efficient regulatory environment, including for the virtual asset market” in the country.

According to the head of Blockchain4Ukraine, Zhmerenetskyi, by joining the blockchain association, Ukraine will be in a better position to boost recognition of its higher education diplomas and driver’s licenses for millions of Ukrainian refugees in Europe.

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Japan’s Largest Bitcoin Lightning Community Partners With Tokyo’s Largest Real Estate Company

Diamond Hands, Japan’s largest Lightning Network community, is partnering with a major real estate company in Tokyo for a joint research project for wider adoption.

Japan's largest Lightning community, Diamond Hands, is teaming up with one of the largest real estate companies, Open House Group, in Tokyo for a joint research project.

Open House will investigate how to leverage the Bitcoin Lightning Network for real estate transactions in the region.

The real estate company will also look to develop infrastructure practices for companies in the area looking to adopt the Lightning Network.

Open House Group Company Limited, a major real estate company in the Tokyo metropolitan area, is sponsoring Japan’s largest Lightning Network community, known as Diamond Hands, in a joint research project, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin. . Magazine.

Open House will sponsor Diamond Hands’ advocacy and outreach efforts in its pursuit of greater adoption of the Lightning Network in the region. The Lightning community will join Open House on internal research and development and community development projects regarding Lightning adoption for individual users and businesses.

In addition, Open House seeks to strengthen its understanding of the ecosystem by exploring full-node business operations for enterprises. This research will include secure data storage on personal devices and cloud databases on full nodes in real estate, leveraging layer two Bitcoin technology for real estate transactions and how to route payments on the Lightning Network.

Previously, Diamond Hands made headlines for its partnership with bitcoin gaming company ZEBEDEE, in which the two organizations, along with Mimesis Capital, joined forces to strengthen Lightning adoption in Asia.

Consequently, Mimesis Capital, being a bitcoin-focused family office, planned to leverage Diamond Hands connections to offer business advice to companies looking to integrate the Lightning Network into their professions. Additionally, ZEBEDEE sought to build infrastructure to enable high levels of bitcoin gaming in the region.

“The Diamond Hands community has played a key role in the adoption of Lightning for individuals and businesses in Japan over the past year, but we look forward to taking this forward by collaborating with businesses and international communities,” Koji Higashi, co-organizer of Diamond Hands had previously stated.