October | 2018 | Springalliance

In the past week, a lot has happened around the globe in terms of regulation. In the series “Regulation in the Week in Review” we look back at the end of the week and summarise what was said, thought or decided, when, where and by whom.

Norway: Bitcoin loophole loses lawsuit against Nordea Bank

The Norwegian Exchange Bitmynt AS has lost the lawsuit against the Swedish major bank Nordea. The founder of Bitmynt, Sturle Sunde, had sued the bank because it had closed the Bitcoin loophole. The lawsuit has now been dismissed by the Oslo court. The reasoning said that the risk of money laundering and the financing of criminal activities through Bitcoin loophole trading would be increased. Therefore, Nordea Bank is entitled to close the account.

South Korea: New chief regulator sees positive side to crypto currencies
Yoon Suk-Heun, the new governor of the South Korean Financial Supervisory Authority (FSS), said in his first press conference that he sees “some positive aspects” in crypto currencies. He also said that the FSS will work with other regulators on crypto-regulatory “problems”. Better regulation of crypto currencies would make the financial system more secure and thus more accessible to crypto-related products.

Azerbaijan: Tax ministry wants to tax crypto currencies
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Taxes wants to tax crypto-fiat transactions in the future. This was announced by the responsible minister Nijat Imanov during the second Finance and Investment Forum (FIF 2018) in Baku. Imanov said the tax would be formalised as a profit tax for legal entities and income tax for individuals. The market for crypto currencies in Azerbaijan grew significantly between May and December 2017.

Europe: Crypto Exchanges call for regulation of the news spy

Some European crypto exchanges have called for sensible regulation of the crypto market in order to be able to act more sustainably. These include the British Exchange eToro and the Austrian crypto exchange BitPanda. Both would be concerned that both the inadequate and excessive anti-money laundering and/or know-your-customer (KYC) regulation would not allow them to know where they stand as the news spy companies. EU regulators, including the European Central Bank, support an international effort to standardise the rules.

Ukraine: Securities regulators view crypto currencies as financial instruments
The Ukrainian National Securities and Exchange Commission (SSMCS) is considering the classification of crypto currencies as financial instruments. The head of the Commission, Timur Khromaev, announced this in a Facebook post following the annual conference of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on crypto currencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs). The SSMCS Commissioner underlined the need for the legal recognition of crypto currencies and the adjustment of the position of financial supervisors.

Belarus: Central Bank wants to link ICO investment to conditions
The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) is considering strict requirements for investments in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Qualified investors must meet two out of four criteria. In addition to minimum amounts for annual income (USD 20,000) or accumulated capital (USD 50,000), qualified investors must also have special training or work experience in the relevant area. A similar regulatory framework will also apply to crypto exchanges.

22. October 2018 admin

U.S. agency plans to sell seized Bitcoin

Standard

The United States Marshals Service (USMS) announces the sale of almost 660 Bitcoin (BTC). In total, BTC with a total value of over 4.25 million US dollars will go under the hammer. The auction is scheduled to take place on November 5.

Bitcoin of the news spy review

According to the USMS as seen here https://www.geldplus.net/en/the-news-spy-review/, Bitcoin with a value of 4.25 million US dollars is up for sale. According to the announcement, interested parties will be able to register between 22 and 29 October and place their bid after paying a deposit. If a bid is accepted, the news spy review deposit will be deducted from the bid and retained. Those who are left empty will receive their deposit of US$200,000 fully refunded. The message reads as follows:

“The winning bidder’s deposit will be retained by the USMS and credited to the purchase price. The deposit from a bidder whose bid was not selected as a winning bid will be returned to the original account from which the deposit was received.

The USMS plans to offer said Bitcoin in two tranches. The first round consists of six blocks of 100 BTC each and round two consists of one block of 60 BTC each. The offers are based on current market prices and interested parties must loosen at least 380,000 US dollars for the purchase. It can therefore be assumed that the auction is aimed specifically at institutional investors.

Bitcoin secret scam come mainly from drug-related crime

The 660 BTC offered are confiscated tokens from various criminal and civil cases in recent American legal history like this https://www.forexaktuell.com/en/bitcoin-secret-scam/. The abbreviation DEA is frequently used in the processes listed by name. This stands for “Drug Enforcement Agency”, the US anti-drug agency. This leads to the conclusion that the Bitcoin secret scam majority of the confiscated BTCs originate from the Darknet trade with prohibited narcotics.

In addition, the USMS announcement states that part of the BTCs offered were owned by Thomas Mario Constanzo. In March, a US court sentenced the Bitcoin trader to 41 months’ imprisonment for money laundering activities. The district court also ordered the seizure of 81 BTC, which are now also under the hammer.

Silk road sale still unchallenged
The auction follows a whole series of sales of confiscated Bitcoin by US authorities. We reported in detail on the auction of over 3,800 Bitcoin in January of this year.

The highlight of the long tradition of Bitcoin auctions, however, was the auction of the seized Silk Road Bitcoin. In three attempts in 2014 and 2016, the authorities offered a total of over 144,000 BTC from the property of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht for sale. One of the customers at the time, Tim Draper, has since become a dazzling figure in the Bitcoin cosmos. The billion-dollar venture capital investor made the USMS 40,000 BTC easier at the time and continues to cause a stir with bullish price forecasts. Whether Draper would like itself to participate also this time in the auction, is all

14. October 2018 admin

Bitcoin and crypto currencies – Breakthrough at the 2018 World Cup in Russia?

Standard

Today, Thursday 14 June, the 2018 FIFA World Cup will start in Russia. As in previous years, billions of euros and US dollars will be moved in this tournament as well. But what about crypto currencies? How crypto currencies could make it big in Russia:

Football is a business worth billions. Whether sponsoring, merchandising income or – especially in recent years – TV money: Huge sums are moved every day. A football World Cup, organised by FIFA, is therefore not only a celebration of football, but also of capitalism. It therefore makes sense to look at this major event from a crypto perspective.

The ICO hype reaches football

Just in time for the World Cup, an active football player jumps onto the crypto train for the first time – or is it the other way around? The Blockchain-Startup SelfSell in cooperation with the Colombian national player James Rodriguez launches the JR10 Token on the market. The coin can be purchased via the SelfSell app and is intended to give fans the opportunity to interact with the star player. The Bayern-München player, who is the biggest star in Colombia’s World Cup team, wants to further strengthen his own brand with his token. Crypto currencies have arrived in the football business.

Russia’s attitude to crypto currencies

The Russian attitude towards crypto currencies has always been ambivalent. On the one hand, websites with crypto content were blocked in the early days and a Bitcoin ban was openly considered. Last year, the attitude of the giant empire loosened. Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev announced that he was in favour of the legalisation of crypto currencies, including the legal framework for trade.

In April Russia published ICO guidelines for the first time. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been publicly flirting for some time with the issue of his own, state-controlled crypto currency, the crypto-ruble. After all, the Russian Sberbank is already working on an ICO supported by the Russian government. Since this week the whole world is looking at Russia – time to take the next step.