Tag: bitcoin news

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Investment Cryptocurrency Investment Cryptocurrency news Investment News

Institutions Are Moving Into Cryptocurrencies: Retail Investors Beware

As the queue for a bitcoin spot ETF grows longer, institutions are acutely aware that the time to finally get into bitcoin is drawing near. Are retail investors equally aware?

Will cryptocurrencies fall sharply?

A casual glance at cryptocurrency on Twitter or any other social media channel is enough to “confirm” that bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market are going to drop sharply and hit lows again or even go beyond them.

Rottweiler Gensler and his Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may have had some disappointments in their attacks on some of the biggest players in the crypto space, but the regulatory web is catching up and surely crypto can be stifled. enough to stop them in their tracks. …accompany and allow the legacy monetary system to continue its dominance without restriction.

Institutions are not stupid

However, Wall Street may be crooked, but money goes to money and institutions have finally realized that getting into Bitcoin is a no-brainer.

Of course, the likes of Blackrock and its other giants could find some way to try to manipulate bitcoin, just as gold and silver banks have done decade after decade.

Relatively small positions in the futures markets are leveraged to go short and force the price down, allowing banks to buy at lower prices and then rinse and repeat, year after year after year.

However, Bitcoin is a different animal, and manipulators should be careful, as their paper positions, with no ties to the underlying asset and cash-settled, are likely to be wiped out as Bitcoin is steadily bought.

The stars are aligning

Wall Street shenanigans or not, these institutions are still coming, and the SEC being forced to award the cash ETFs could come at the same time the US presidential race gets serious—and just right. when Bitcoin approaches its halving.

A monetary policy easing from the Fed and a bitcoin supply shock are potential factors in a bitcoin price explosion that will take the number one cryptocurrency to the top of its next cycle, perhaps in 2025.

Retail investors may be forced to pull out

No doubt retail is suffering badly as consumer prices remain unbearably high, house prices are falling, mortgages need to be refinanced (in the UK) at what could be 2-3 times current rates and jobs are declining as fast as AI. it is improving.

Bitcoin was created as an alternative asset to fiat currencies, which are controlled by central banks in our indebted monetary system. The mainstream media wants us to believe that all cryptocurrencies will eventually go to zero, and many of them could, but the reality is that “all” fiat currencies will go to zero and there is absolutely no question that this has to happen. mathematically.

On the other hand, Bitcoin is probably totally unstoppable right now. Holding $BTC and averaging is perhaps a good way to go. Time horizons should also be long, as widespread adoption may still take a few years.

Categories
Bitcoin Cryptocurrency news

South Korean City Announces Plan to Seize Crypto Assets from Local Tax Dodgers

The government of the city of Cheongju, located in central South Korea, intends to confiscate virtual assets, such as Bitcoin, from tax evaders.

According to a local media report on Aug. 22, city officials sought the cooperation of seven cryptocurrency exchanges, including Upbit and Bithumb, to punish these violators.

These exchanges were required to report the cryptocurrency holdings of 8,250 people, each of whom owed more than 1 million South Korean won ($747) in local taxes.

Upon completion of this task, the Cheongju City authorities will review the acquired data before seizing and liquidating these assets to obtain the outstanding taxes.

Crypto assets as a tool for tax evasion in South Korea

Due to the anonymity that comes with cryptocurrency, these assets are often labeled as a weapon for tax evasion.

Once again, this notion was highlighted by the Cheongju city government, which claimed that cryptocurrencies are commonly used to hide income in South Korea, hence the reason for this asset forfeiture initiative.

Interestingly, this would not be the first time that such an event has taken place in a South Korean city. In 2022, the Cheongju authorities requested a report on the cryptocurrency holdings of 16,000 people before proceeding to seize 68 million won ($51,000) from 17 investors.

In South Korea, seizing crypto assets to evade taxes is a common practice, as the country’s Supreme Court considers these assets to represent legitimate property interests and therefore subject to confiscation by national authorities.

According to a report on the “State of Seizure of Virtual Assets” submitted to the South Korean National Assembly in September 2022, the Asian country’s tax regulators seized 259.79 billion won ($194.15 million) in back taxes. between 2021 and 2022.

Of these values, the amount of assets seized in Gyeonggi-do province accounted for the highest value, with 53.04 billion won ($39.65 million), followed by the country’s capital, Seoul, with 17.84 million won. won ($23.24 million). .

Crypto regulations continue to rise in South Korea

In other news, the South Korean government continues to introduce more regulations to rid its crypto market of all illegal activities that are supposedly trying to protect the interests of users.

South Korea is considered one of the most formidable cryptocurrency hubs in the world, and data from Coinhills shows that the Korean won is the second most traded national currency for Bitcoin, after the US dollar.

In July, the country’s government established a joint crypto-crime task force made up of 30 people from various agencies, including the National Tax Service, Financial Supervisory Service, etc.

In addition, to improve transparency in the crypto space, the country’s Financial Services Commission recently announced that companies trading cryptocurrencies will be required to disclose their holdings in their financial statements from 2024 onwards.

Categories
Bitcoin cryptocurrency exchange Cryptocurrency news Investment News

Coca Cola Introduces New NFT Collection on Coinbase Blockchain

As soon as the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase launched the Layer-2 Base platform last week, the American multinational Coca-Cola announced its new NFT collection on the platform.

Coca-Cola’s NFT ‘Masterpiece’ collection consists of some iconic artworks by emerging talents in the digital and on-chain art space. Timeless art treasures like “The Scream” by Edvard Munch and “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer share the space seamlessly with modern pieces by expert artists like Aket and Vikram Kushwah.

These works now take on a new dimension as they are made into collectibles on the blockchain, open to art enthusiasts participating in the Onchain Summer event. Using “Masterpiece”, Coca-Cola® acts as a curator, bringing together stories from around the world and celebrating different types of art.

The Coca-Cola® ‘Masterpiece’ is more than just an art collection. It represents how art, technology and people come together in the chain. By bringing it into the digital world, Coca-Cola® is showing other companies how to connect with the digital age. This collection goes beyond the usual art galleries and reaches people all over the world.

French artist Aket said: “Coca-Cola® is a very important generational milestone. Your ads encourage us to live our dreams every day.”

Coinbase Blockchain Base

Last week, on August 9, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase released its main base to the public. The Coinbase Base platform hosts over 100 decentralized applications (dApps) and service providers, while also addressing the challenges that users would face with the Ethereum blockchain network.

The Base platform is based on Optimism’s OP Stack software and works as a stacked network. This allows you to handle transactions separately from the main Ethereum blockchain. The aim is to provide a more efficient platform for dapps, making use of Layer-2 solutions. These solutions aim to address the scalability and expense challenges associated with blockchain backbone networks, reflecting a broader industry trend.

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Wallet Cryptocurrency news Investment News Paypal

Bank of America predicts that PYUSD will not be easily adopted

Bank of America reacts to the launch of PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin, pegged to the US dollar, arguing that the asset is unlikely to be widely used, at least not anytime soon.

PayPal’s recent groundbreaking announcement about the launch of its US dollar-denominated stablecoin PYUSD has sparked much criticism around the world. While it seems like a significant step toward cryptocurrency adoption, some say PayPal won’t be very successful any time soon.

One of the largest banks in the US, Bank of America, outlined the main reasons why PayPal USD is unlikely to see immediate adoption in its recent research report.

Competing against CDBCs

First, Bank of America analysts Alkesh Shah and Andrew Moss explained that PayPal’s stablecoin could face intense competition in the market:

“Longer term, we expect PYUSD to experience additional hurdles to adoption as competition from central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and yield stablecoins increases.”

It is true that several countries are actively exploring Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) that could compete with stablecoins, as both are based on similar technologies and are pegged to fiat currencies. Only this year, countries like Brazil, South Korea, Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, among others, have reported news about the launch of their CBDCs. There is speculation that the US may also be working on its CBDC, although some of the country’s presidential candidates have claimed to be against it.

Competing against other stablecoins

Also, there are many other stablecoins that PYUSD will have to compete with. Profitable stablecoins are now especially attractive to investors, according to Bank of America:

“Investors may have been fine holding non-yielding stablecoins like USDT and USDC when rates were close to zero, but it is likely that yielding stablecoins will become increasingly available and attractive with short-term rates above 5%.” .

Dealing with regulatory scrutiny

Finally, the analysts also suggested that PayPal could face regulatory problems if traditional banks are prohibited from issuing stablecoins:

“Investors are likely to be indifferent to the stablecoins they own, as long as the stablecoins are perceived as safe and accessible on major trading platforms. We do not expect the launch of PYUSD to lead to accelerated regulatory clarity, as stablecoin issuance does not change the systemic risk for traditional markets, but stablecoins could face regulatory hurdles if nonbanks are prevented from issuing stablecoins. ”.

Just one day after PayPal unveiled its stablecoin project, the US Federal Reserve released new guidelines on the use of “dollar tokens” by US banks. According to the notice, to engage in any type of stablecoin-related activity, US banks will now need to receive a written supervisory no objection from the Federal Reserve.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency scammers didn’t wait long to try to cash in on the big news and flooded decentralized exchanges with fake PayPal tokens.

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Investment Bitcoin Wallet Cryptocurrency news

Japan’s New Laws Will Put Limits on Cryptocurrency Taxes

Japan has just established a new level of clarity for its crypto tax agenda. Up until this point, all unrealized gains from crypto assets were subject to the country’s current 30% corporate tax rate, though this now appears to be coming to an end.

Japan Is Ending Some Crypto Fees

The news came from the Japan National Tax Agency (NTA). The agency explained in a statement that crypto assets will be excluded from any company’s asset valuation based on market value if certain conditions are met. For example, a company is required to hold crypto assets for certain periods after obtaining them, in case tax breaks occur. Furthermore, it has been said that all crypto transfers are subject to specific restrictions.

Soto Watanabe – CEO of web development company3 Stake Technologies Pte. – believes that the new tax laws will open all kinds of doors for innovation in Japan, and he believes that he will do wonders to prevent Japanese cryptocurrency companies from exiting. At the same time, he also says that the rules could be extended a bit to ensure that cryptocurrency companies in other regions also benefit. He stated:

   For now, whoever wants to do something... can do it without leaving the country. I would like to continue constructive discussions with politicians and authorities. Next, I would like to do something about taxation at the end of the term of having tokens issued by other companies as a corporation, since it is an obstacle to the national expansion of national projects and projects.

While crypto taxes have not been rendered null and void in Japan, the current rules are seen as much less stringent and a solid step forward for the Asian country, which until this stage was considered one of the harshest with its currency laws. digital, due to this. it was home to the Mt. Gox and Coincheck disasters. Both are considered among the best cryptocurrency exchange hacks ever.

The first, which took place in 2014, saw more than $400 million in BTC disappear overnight, while the second (which took place four years later) saw more than half a billion in various crypto funds disappear. The situation surrounding Japan and crypto taxes begs the question: “If a country that is home to not one, but two of the biggest crypto mishaps can facilitate the industry, why can’t the US?”

The United States is currently using a regulation-by-app attitude when it comes to crypto. Agencies like the SEC are harassing the industry with everything they have, and lawsuits are being filed against some of the biggest cryptocurrency companies, including Coinbase.