Currently, trialogue for the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) and Transfer of Funds (TFR) regulations is underway in the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, which will be concluded in a few weeks. If adopted, the TFR would, according to experts, impose a vast financial surveillance regime on the European decentralized finance (DeFi), nonfungible token (NFT) and metaverse spaces. This could then lead to companies in those sectors moving elsewhere to avoid regulation. The German DeFi community has not remained silent and has written an open letter to EU decision-makers, which supporters can sign. One of …

Birgit Rodolphe, executive director at Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), has called for innovative and uniform regulation of the decentralized finance (DeFi) space throughout the European Union. BaFin is Germany’s financial regulatory body responsible for regulating banks, insurance firms and financial institutions including cryptocurrency companies. BaFin is the issuer of “crypto custody licenses,” a permit required for firms wanting to offer cryptocurrency services within Germany. In an article on BaFin’s website, Rodolphe warned of the risks to consumers of the unregulated DeFi space and called for standardized regulatory considerations across EU member countries: “One thing is clear: the clock …

This week will be remembered as the one when the stablecoins showed an unexpected ability to depeg. Terra’s TerraUSD (UST) dropped to a shocking $0.29 following the general meltdown of both crypto and financial markets, but it was also the headliner of stablecoins’ niche, while Tether (USDT) lost the balance and slid to $0.96 for a short time. The United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen felt it necessary to assure everyone that, given the stablecoins’ market size, depegging didn’t present a threat to America’s financial stability. At the same time, she called on lawmakers to develop a “consistent federal framework” …

Crypto investment giant Grayscale is expanding operations by launching a new crypto-linked exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Europe. Grayscale officially announced its first European ETF, called Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS ETF, on Monday. A spokesperson for Grayscale told Cointelegraph that the ETF will begin trading on Tuesday. The new investment product is getting listings on major European stock exchanges, including the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana as well as Deutsche Börse’s electronic trading platform Xetra. Listed under the ticker symbol GFOF, the ETF will also be passported for sale across Europe. An exciting milestone: Announcing our first European ETF, Grayscale …

The Federal Ministry of Finance (BaFin) published a 24-page document on Tuesday outlining clear income tax rules for cryptocurrency and virtual assets. Tax practitioners, businesses and individual taxpayers now have clear direction on the tax requirements for acquiring, trading and selling cryptocurrencies. The key takeaway is that individuals who sell BTC or ETH more than 12 months after acquisition will not be liable for taxes on the sale if they realize a profit. Parliamentary State Secretary Katja Hessel also addressed questions around the long-term staking of cryptocurrencies: “For private individuals, the sale of purchased Bitcoin and Ether is tax-free after …

In her monthly Expert Take column, Selva Ozelli, an international tax attorney and CPA, covers the intersection between emerging technologies and sustainability, and provides the latest developments around taxes, AML/CFT regulations and legal issues affecting crypto and blockchain. Germany has risen to the top spot of Coincub’s guide to the most crypto-friendly countries in Q1 2022. The European country allows its long-term domestic savings industry to utilize crypto investments, supported by its zero-tax policy on long-term capital gains from crypto, and its number of Bitcoin and Ethereum nodes is second only to the United States. Blockchain adoption In 2019, Germany …

Austrians have “sufficient funds” for more Bitcoin ATMs — that’s the verdict that MediaMarkt, a German electronics retailer, reached following a successful Bitcoin ATM pilot in Austria. MediaMarkt has rolled out Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs in 12 branches across the country, including Seiersberg and Klagenfurt. Confinity and its spinoff ATM company, Kurant, manage over 200 Bitcoin ATMs in Austria, Germany, Spain and Greece. Kurant's Head of Marketing & Sales, Europe, Thomas Sperneder told Cointelegraph: "MediaMarkt stores across the country have been equipped with Bitcoin vending machines. In total, these are now present in twelve markets and enable the simple and secure …

One of the largest banking institutions in Germany has confirmed that it applied for a local crypto license earlier this year, marking the first time a major bank has made a move toward cryptocurrencies in the country. A spokesperson from Commerzbank confirmed to local media outlet Börsen-Zeitung on April 14 that it “applied for the crypto custody license in the first quarter of 2022.” If approved, it would be authorized to offer exchange services along with custody and protection of crypto-assets. Commerzbank serves over 18 million customers and over 70,000 institutional clients, and the cryptocurrency offering will reportedly target its …

In the less than two weeks since the European Commission opened its “Digital euro for the EU” initiative up to public consultation, more than 11,000 individuals and organizations have left their feedback on the website. The feedback section will be open until June 14. Besides the open-ended comments section on the website, there is a targeted consultation questionnaire that aims to collect information from the industry representatives, authorities and experts regarding such aspects of the prospective digital euro as privacy and data protection, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) rules, the impact on financial stability and …

The world’s energy market is rapidly evolving, moving from hydrocarbon plants to a future centered around clean energy enabled by wind and solar power. As such, today’s energy market is shifting to an increasingly decentralized, real-time model based on distributed energy resources (DERs) including battery energy storage systems, solar arrays, natural gas generators and more. Recent findings from Allied Market Research show that the global distributed energy generation market size was valued at $246.4 billion in 2020, yet this number is predicted to reach $919.6 billion by 2030. Web3 technologies for managing energy assets Given today’s advancing energy market, Jesse …

The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs recently approved a draft of its comprehensive Markets in Crypto Assets, or MiCA, crypto regulation package. The new framework covers a wide range of crypto-related subjects, such as the status of all major currencies and stablecoins and the regulation of crypto mining and exchange platforms. Stefan Berger, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is the Parliament’s rapporteur for the upcoming MiCA regulation — the person appointed to report on proceedings related to the bill. In the associated negotiations, the German politician vehemently opposed, among other things, a ban on …

Metaverse events at ancient and historical sites could soon shape up to be an alternate future for tourism. Owners of physical castles and villas who have drafted up augmented reality blueprints of their properties think their ambitious plans to attract visitors in the metaverse will work, as virtual events can help them pay the hefty maintenance bills for their aging properties and also offer a chance to change historical narratives. The metaverse tourism model was expedited by downturns in tourism brought about by COVID-19, but the industry may have already been heading that way. Currently, major metaverse platforms are clunky, …