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Bitcoin adoption in Africa grows 1,200% in one year

The continent is the third fastest growing bitcoin economy in the world, driven by retail users looking to save and transfer money.

Bitcoin adoption in Africa has exploded over the past year, increasing by more than 1,200%, according to a report from Chainalysis.

The increase in activity in the region has been driven by retail investors who turn to Bitcoin every day to save, send remittances, and conduct peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions.

Artur Schaback, COO and co-founder of the P2P exchange Paxful, told Chainalysis that his platform has seen strong growth in African countries over the past year, especially 57% in Nigeria and more than 300% in Kenya.

In fact, Africa has the highest volume of P2P bitcoin exchanges in the world, as citizens often face banking restrictions at centralized bitcoin entry points.

The ability to buy and use Bitcoin on P2P markets without authorization has also allowed African citizens to bypass government transfer restrictions and move more funds across borders. In 2019, sub-Saharan Africa received at least $ 48 billion in remittances, according to a study by the Brookings Institute. In addition to remittances, Schaback also said that Bitcoin enables African merchants to conduct international business transactions more efficiently.

Users turn to P2P marketplaces to buy Bitcoin and pay for the goods they want to import, which is more efficient than using the traditional banking system. “If you are working with a partner in China to import goods for sale in Nigeria or Kenya, it can be difficult to send enough fiat currency to China to complete your purchases,” Schaback said. “It is often easier to buy Bitcoin locally on a P2P exchange and then send it to your partner.”

The Nigerian government has attempted to respond to the growing awareness and use of Bitcoin on its territory by announcing plans to develop e-naira, its central bank digital currency (CBDC). However, according to Adedeji Owobi, CEO of blockchain consultancy Convexity, citizens have not shown much interest and can continue to use the far superior cash that is Bitcoin. “Last week, at a Nigerian crypto users’ clubhouse, I asked the group if they would use e-naira if the central bank introduced it,” Owonibi told Chainalysis. “

The overwhelming majority of participants said no because they expect the same instability and management problems with Naira today.” Bitcoin and Lightning together have the potential to endow not just Africans, but people around the world with healthy money, financial freedom, and individual sovereignty – achievements that would actually undermine CBDC.

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Crypto Mining Cryptocurrency news

Crypto Mining must be registered and imposed in Russia, said the President of the Financial Markets Committee

Extraction of cryptocokence must be recognized as a company and tax imposing as such, according to Anatoli Aksakov, the Chairman of the Financial Markets Committee of the Parliamentary Russian Federation. The legislator also thinks that the Russian regulation of digital currency must refine.

Changes that can influence mines, taxes, the definition of digital currency.

Discussion on the coming changes in digital currency legislation in Russia, the Chief of the Financial Markets Committee in the State Duma, Anatus Aksakov, expressed his view that Cryiptomoderencia Mining must be added to Russian business activities and to impose more.

The treatment of the mining of the encryption and the taxation of related cryptocurity transactions is one of the areas that will probably be affected by the statutory changes during the fall session of the Russian Parliament. In conversation with the press agency TASS on the limit of the Moscow Financial Forum this week, Aksakov has developed:

As it is a kind of commercial activities, of course, it is necessary to enter the recording, assign a corresponding code and the introduction of taxes.

The member was positive that the changes in terms of digital currencies are to be expected, as Duma has already adopted the first reading law which deals with the imposition of the “Encryptic fact”. At the beginning of this month, the Chairman of the Committee on Legislation, Pavel Kracheninnikov, Interfax said he’s waiting for the law to reach the Underhouse’s soil in the coming months.

Anatoly Aksakov also pointed out that the use of the legal concept related to cryptocurences, as defined, leads to confusion. The concept of “digital currency” to a digital currency of the Central Bank (CBDC), which can be obtained from the Bank of Russia, but it can also be understood as cryptomocurencie, explained the legislator. Aksakov thinks that both must be clearly distinguished.

The Chairman of the Financial Markets Committee emphasized that more discussion, which means “digital currency” needed to determine. Although cryptocurence is known as a digital currency in Russian law, Aksakov stated that it was used as a financial and financial asset instrument for investment purposes and not as a means of payment.

The high-end member of the Russian Parliament added that the Russian Bank should also be set on a digital ruble for the problem and to obtain publishing. The monetary authority announced a plan to digitize the national currency of FIAT last October. The Central Bank will prepare a prototype of the CBDC at the end of this year.

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Crypto Mining Cryptocurrency news

Major Korean exchanges secure name account agreements with local banks

Major cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea have reached agreements with Korean banks to continue issuing real name accounts, media announced.

The agreements, even if they are not yet permanent, will allow trading platforms to register with tax authorities before the September 24 compliance deadline.

Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit have partnerships with Korean banks Banks have reportedly agreed to continue issuing real name accounts on major digital asset exchanges in South Korea.

The agreements have yet to be finalized, but the confirmations received will allow the forex trading platforms to complete their registration with the country’s tax authorities before the regulatory deadline expires at the end of this month. On Wednesday, a spokesman for Nonghyup Bank announced that the institute had agreed to renew agreements to issue real-name accounts for traders Bithumb and Coinone.

According to a report by Korea Jongang Daily, the agent confirmed that the bank will provide the exchanges with the necessary documents to finalize their contracts. The current agreements with the two crypto platforms are expected to expire on September 24th, when the new, stricter industry regulations passed in March are enforced.

While the previous contracts were renewed every six months, this time the bank refused to disclose the terms of the last contracts, the English edition of Joongang Ilbo noted. In this regard, Shinhan Bank announced that it will continue to issue real name accounts for Korbit, another leading Korean exchange. However, the bank noted that the confirmation does not mean that the contract with the crypto company has been officially renewed.

The document was released for the exchange to continue its registration process, a spokesman explained, and further details: The partnership renewal will be announced before the September 24th deadline, but for now we will be canceling it for later.

According to the Korean newspaper, the statement suggests the bank is considering potentially expanding its partnership with Korbit but will likely wait for the exchange to be registered with the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The post cites another source as saying that the final announcement will likely be “last minute”. The current contract expires after September 24th. Korea’s four largest cryptocurrency exchanges will continue to operate under stricter rules Registration with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an anti-money laundering agency under the FSC, is an important requirement for the country’s current crypto regulations.

To enroll, Korean exchanges must not only partner with a bank to implement the real name account system, but also obtain an Information Security Management System (ISMS) certificate from the Korea Internet and Security Agency. The country’s four major crypto trading platforms have now successfully met both conditions. Upbit, the largest volume of transactions, was recorded last month.

The Korean online bank K Bank provides real-name accounts for the platform. However, the entire registration process can take up to three months. During that time, the financial regulators will review the filing and approve the application, the FSC noted earlier this week. In addition to Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit, 17 other exchanges have also received ISMS certification, according to an article in the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

However, small cryptocurrency trading platforms struggled to convince Korean banks to provide them with the necessary services under the revised Special Fund Act. 59 Exchanges have not yet met the requirement and may have to close after the stricter rules come into effect.

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Crypto Mining Cryptocurrency news

Russian government plans to view cryptocurrency mining as a business activity

The chairman of the financial markets committee of the Russian Duma, Anatoly Aksakov, announced that the government plans to consider the search for digital currency in the category of business activities. On the sidelines of the Moscow Financial Forum, Aksakov highlighted upcoming changes in the regulation of virtual currencies, including issues related to mining and emissions caused by trading digital currencies.

Furthermore, by registering all cryptocurrency processes as business activity, you will also be subject to state tax policy. “Since this is a type of business activity, it is of course necessary to enter it into the registry, assign a code corresponding to it as a type of business activity and introduce taxes,” Aksakov told the Russian newspaper TASS.

Russia wants to enlighten through regulatory policy The chairman of the financial market committee of the Duma emphasized the importance of educating citizens about the terminology of the digital currency market. He said that these regulations would draw a clear line between the central bank’s digital currency and the decentralized system’s virtual currencies. Aksakov argues that digital currency is not just a payment method, but a financial company that is used as an investment vehicle. He supports the importance of designing a structure for digital currency differences and their respective values.

“There is a central bank digital currency and there is a digital currency that is actually likely to be understood as a cryptocurrency, and the boundaries of these concepts need to be clearly defined so that there is no confusion … discuss the fact that the currency Digital is actually now, although we call it money, it is used more as a financial instrument, a financial asset that is an investment object, rather than a means of payment, ”added Aksakov.

Cryptocurrency penetration in Russia Crypto regulations are not Russia’s first step in cracking down on the democratic nature of digital currencies. Last month, Russia’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, Rosfinmonitoring in Moscow, ordered the latest tracking system to track cryptocurrencies. This system aimed to analyze the behavior and movements of merchants in order to de-anonymize their identity.