A group of financial technology firms has formed the Canadian Web3 Council, a non-profit trade association that will work with policymakers to advance Canada’s position at the forefront of the global digital economy. Bringing together exchange platforms, blockchain projects and tech investors, the association will work to advance blockchain-related policies that balance “innovation, consumer protection, and stability”. The open letter from Web3 Council announcing its launch came out on Tuesday, March 29. At the outset, the association consists of 11 members: Aquanow, Axiom Zen, Chainsafe Systems, Dapper Labs, Ether Capital, ETHGlobal, Figment, Informal Systems, Ledn, Wealthsimple and WonderFi Technologies. Related: …

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has released its Fiscal Year 2023 (FY2023) budget request, seeking $365 million. This marks a 9.9% increase over the previous year and 20% over FY2021. The commission regulates the country’s derivatives market and has been increasingly active in recent years in policing financial products that incorporate cryptocurrencies. According to the agency’s request document, the CTFC focuses on digital asset custodian risk, ensuring secure storage, as well as on accounting. The agency has its own staff of certified public due to the lack of guidance on digital asset accounting from sectoral oversight bodies. …

The Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) cautioned the country’s citizens against dealing with “all types of cryptocurrencies” due to “the high risks” that they pose. This announcement came as a reaction to the increasing interest in digital assets among the country’s population, which has been facing three-digit inflation rates since the 2021 military coup. On March 27, the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) published a short announcement from the CBOS declaring that due to high risks, which include “financial crimes, electronic piracy and the risk of losing their value,” citizens are not advised to use cryptocurrencies of any sort. The CBOS …

Le Minh Khai, the deputy prime minister of Vietnam has issued a notification to the finance ministry, asking them to explore and amend laws to build a legal framework for the digital asset market. In a notice dated March 23, the Deputy PM has instructed the Ministry of Finance to assume the prime responsibility for developing the legal framework for the crypto market. The reported list of instructions includes identifying specific legal documents that need to be amended or supplemented. The Finance ministry would subsequently work alongside the ministry of Justice, Information and Communications and the State Bank of Vietnam …

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said the firm is gearing up for a legal fight if Grayscale’s Bitcoin Spot ETF product is denied by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, March 29, Sonnenshein was asked if he would consider the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) lawsuit option if the application for its Bitcoin Spot ETF was denied by the financial regulator. “I think all options are on the table,” he responded, highlighting the importance of continuing to advocate for investors. The next decision date for the approval or denial of the investment product …

Less than a week after a potential ban on Proof-of-Work (PoW) digital assets was dropped from the EU’s prospective MiCA framework, a new threat to the crypto industry could be emerging in the European Union. This time, it is non-custodial, or unhosted, wallets that are in regulators’ crosshairs. On Thursday, March 31, the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs will vote on an anti-money laundering (AML) regulatory package that seeks to revise the current Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR) in a way that extends the requirement of financial institutions to attach information on the transacting parties to crypto …

Recent weeks saw a massive surge of the so-called privacy coins’ prices — namely Monero (XMR), Dash (DASH), Zcash (ZEC) and Haven Protocol (XHV). As many other cryptocurrencies and the industry at large faced immense regulatory pressure amid the war in Ukraine, one narrative that began taking hold in the crypto space was the potential of such privacy-enhancing assets to provide investors a greater level of financial anonymity. But, can privacy coins deliver on Bitcoin’s (BTC) original promise? A good month for privacy-focused assets Over the past month, Monero has almost doubled its tally. With some minor oscillations, it rose …

The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro will officially start accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments for taxes related to urban real estate within their city limits, a.k.a. Imposto sobre a propriedade predial e territorial urbana (IPTU). As reported by Cointelegraph Brazil, the new pro-crypto tax laws will be implemented from 2023, which was announced by the Secretary of Economic Development, Innovation and Simplification, Chicão Bulhões. Work from anywhere = Rio! Welcome @binance… Rio on blockchain! @eduardopaes https://t.co/NJEArEvEXV — Chicão (@ChicaoBulhoes) March 26, 2022 Supporting this cause led by the Brazilian Mayor Eduardo Paes, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced to open a …

Citing compliance with local jurisdictions, crypto exchange Coinbase announced to soon collect additional information from users based in Canada, Singapore and Japan. Effective from April 1, Coinbase users from Canada, Singapore and Japan will be required to provide additional information while sending cryptocurrencies to a different (non-Coinbase) platform. However, while Singaporean and Japanese investors will be required to share additional information about the recipient for every single off-platform transaction, Canadians sending less than $801 (1,000 CAD) will be exempted from this requirement. As shown in the above screenshot, Canadian users will need to share the full name and residential address …

In Europe, “Bitcoin only” is a growing trend, as more and more consumers and companies are hardening their resolve that Bitcoin (BTC) is the only digital asset worth holding. Bitcoin-only exchanges and brokers are places to stack sats, not “gamble” on Ether (ETH), or trade “garbage” that looks like “venture investments.” That’s according to the CEOs of major Bitcoin-only exchanges and brokers, including CoinCorner, FastBitcoins, Relai, Bittr, Pocket Bitcoin and Bitcoin-lyon. Cointelegraph spoke to the CEOs and founders of these European Bitcoin brokers to find out why they are Bitcoin only, and why you should build a company on this …

The much-dreaded prospect of a ban on cryptocurrencies that use proof-of-work (PoW) consensus is making its way into a key European digital asset directive appears to have blown over. March 24 marked the last day when the European Parliament could stop the current draft of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) from proceeding to further consideration. The proponents of outlawing operations with PoW-based digital assets could not muster enough support to challenge the bill's current version, meaning that MiCa will safely pass on to be reviewed in tripartite meetings between the European Parliament, European Commission and European Council. On March …

United States Senator from New York Kirsten Gillibrand revealed working with Senator Cynthia Lummis on a broad-based regulatory framework for the crypto industry on Thursday during a live event in Washington, D.C. As Gillibrand specified, she and Lummis are undertaking “a very complex and intensive review” of different aspects of the industry, with a future regulatory task-sharing in mind. The framework will see both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) get their share of a regulatory mandate. Speaking of her and Lummis’ motivations for taking up the initiative, Gillibrand said: “Many of the goals …