One of the most fascinating implications of the collision between traditional political institutions and the crypto space is how it can reveal the glaring lack of cohesion within power systems that otherwise look monolithic. Digital assets reside in a parallel policy dimension where neither a centralized consensus nor a clear rulebook exists, leading to a surprising variety of voices and opinions emerging in the absence of a politically coordinated course. Last week, a rare lively policy debate broke out in Russia in the aftermath of its central bank’s attempt to promote a hardline stance on crypto. One does not often …

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has made yet another bullish Bitcoin prediction soon after the International Monetary Fund urged his government to remove Bitcoin’s status as legal tender. Bukele took to Twitter on Monday to predict that Bitcoin (BTC) will ultimately see a “gigantic price increase” due to its limited supply of only 21 million digital coins. The president cited Bitcoin's scarcity case, emphasizing there are “more than 50 million millionaires” in the world, and there is not enough Bitcoin if each one of them wanted to own at least one BTC. “No enough for even half of them. A gigantic …

The United Nations Children's Fund has called for incorporating child safeguards into online child protection initiatives, citing financial and exploitative threats posed by unregulated crypto markets. UNICEF’s “Prospects for children in 2022” report, which examines the impact of global trends on children, anticipates further mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies — “demonstrating both the promise of greater financial inclusion and the need for new child safeguards.” The report shows that digital currencies have gained widespread interest in 87 countries by the end of 2021, with the majority of jurisdictions experimenting on their own versions of a central bank digital currency. UNICEF expects …

Over the last week, regulators in three major jurisdictions across two continents introduced new rules governing cryptocurrency-related promotions and advertisements. Citing consumer risks associated with digital asset investments, authorities in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Spain tightened the requirements around crypto firms’ marketing messaging and customer recruitment practices. While some experts view this emerging trend as a sign of a new global phase of cryptocurrency regulation, questions about the efficiency and universal applicability of this approach persist. New measures In the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Treasury issued a report summarizing the results of a public consultation on crypto-asset promotions, published …

On Jan. 20, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) issued a report summarizing its position on digital assets and proposing a ban on any crypto trading and mining operations in the country. Although the CBR’s strict position on the matter was never a secret, such a bold statement triggered waves of fear, uncertainty, and doubt — otherwise known as FUD — across the board, given Russians’ high rates of involvement in the global digital assets market. Yet, there are reasons to doubt the ultimate effectiveness of the CBR’s hardline bidding, both in terms of its enforceability and its acceptance by …

The cryptocurrency industry is eager to comply with the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) so-called Travel Rule, and appears willing to work with regulators in order to expedite the process, a new survey found. As per a survey conducted by Notabene, a crypto compliance firm based in New York, most of the crypto industry will be Travel Rule-compliant by Q2 2022. Currently, the report claims that about 70% of respondents are either practicing the rule or planning to complete their compliance in Q1/Q2 2022. The advent of cryptocurrencies has presented a fresh problem in the effort to combat money laundering …

In a new twist of the Russian crypto regulation saga, the country's Ministry of Finance has come forward with an initiative that stands in stark contrast with the Central Bank's hardline position. The Central Bank of Russia recently called for a ban on crypto trading and mining activities throughout the country. Citing volatility, environmental impact, and use in illegal activities, the central bank published a report calling regulators to implement a total ban and impose strict sanctions on violators. However, the proposal received opposition from the Russian Ministry of Finance. A few days after the central bank's call for a …

Jerry Brito, the executive director of non-profit crypto policy advocate group Coin Center, suggested U.S. residents call their elected officials over possible privacy and due process concerns in a new bill proposed by House leaders. According to a Wednesday Twitter thread from Brito, the America COMPETES Act recently released by House members contains a provision that he said would be “disastrous” for crypto users from both a privacy and due process standpoint. According to the Coin Center director, a section of the bill on the “prohibitions or conditions on certain transmittals of funds” proposed by Representative Jim Himes would give …

In a letter to the leadership of the United States House Financial Services Committee, ranking member Patrick McHenry took a jab at “inconsistent treatment and jurisdictional uncertainty” inherent in U.S. crypto regulation and called for the Committee to take on its critical issues. McHenry, a Republican representing North Carolina, opened by mentioning that the Committee’s Democrat Chairwoman Maxine Waters is looking to schedule additional hearings addressing matters pertinent to the digital asset industry. He further stressed the need for identifying and prioritizing the key issues and achieving a “broad, bipartisan consensus” on the matters affecting the industry that holds immense …

In 2021, the number of global crypto holders has been estimated to have increased by 3.9% to more than 300 million crypto users worldwide, with more than 18,000 businesses already accepting cryptocurrencies as payment. India is currently in the lead with 100 million users, followed by the United States with 27 million users and Russia with 17 million users. According to data from Triple A, Indonesia has the seventh-largest crypto user base, below Brazil and Pakistan. It is estimated that there are 7.2 million Indonesians who own cryptocurrencies, while according to the Indonesian Blockchain Association, as of July 2021, the …

Decentralized finance, known as DeFi, is a new use of blockchain technology that is growing rapidly, with over $237 billion in value locked up in DeFi projects as of January 2022. Regulators are aware of this phenomenon and are beginning to act to regulate it. In this article, we briefly review the fundamentals and risks of DeFi before presenting the regulatory context. The fundamentals of DeFi DeFi is a set of alternative financial systems based on the blockchain that allows for more advanced financial operations than the simple transfer of value, such as currency exchange, lending or borrowing, in a …

The Central American country of El Salvador has added 410 Bitcoin (BTC) to its central reserve as BTC prices trade below $37,000, a price last seen on July 26th, 2021. The fresh addition to El Salvador’s BTC reserve was announced by President Nayib Bukele, who confirmed that the purchase of 410 BTC was made against $15 million, placing the price at approximately $36,585 per BTC. Nope, I was wrong, didn’t miss it. El Salvador just bought 410 #bitcoin for only 15 million dollars Some guys are selling really cheap ‍♂️ https://t.co/vEUEzp5UdU — Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 21, 2022 El Salvador …