The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) seized and blocked a cryptocurrency wallet used to fund the Russian military campaign in the country. The agency is working on tracking the funds and transferring them under Ukrainian jurisdiction, according to the SSU.

According to a press release on Tuesday, this is the first time the SSU implemented a mechanism to block the crypto wallets of Russian citizens raising funds for the Russian army.

The SSU arrested a self-proclaimed Russian volunteer, blocking his crypto wallet that held over US$19,500 worth of cryptocurrency.

They claim that the arrest was possible due to evidence gathered by the security service and the assistance of unnamed foreign crypto companies.

The SSU further states that the unidentified Russian citizen used a significant portion of the crypto donations to purchase military gear for the separatist fighters of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republic (L/DNR).

He raised crypto donations by running social media campaigns since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Source https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-seizes-funds-crypto-wallet-093328343.html

Australia's new government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese since May 23, will begin a review of how cryptocurrency assets are managed, with a view toward keeping practices up to date and protecting consumers, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a statement released on Monday:

"Australians are experiencing a digital revolution across all sectors of the economy, but regulation is struggling to keep pace and adapt with the crypto asset sector," Chalmers said in the statement.

"As the first step in a reform agenda, Treasury will prioritize ‘token mapping’ work in 2022, which will help identify how crypto assets and related services should be regulated.

This hasn’t been done anywhere else in the world, so it will make Australia leader in this work.

“As it stands, the crypto sector is largely unregulated, and we need to do some work to get the balance right so we can embrace new and innovative technologies while safeguarding consumers,” Chalmers said.

Chalmers also said that before "token mapping" is completed, the government will release a consultation paper with the sector about a regulatory framework.

Source https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/08/22/australia-to-use-token-mapping-as-framework-for-crypto-regulation/

South Korea is ready to block domestic access to foreign cryptocurrency exchanges with no proper registration to operate in the country and could launch a probe into the companies.

An intelligence unit of the Financial Services Commission has reported 16 foreign crypto businesses to the nation’s investigative body and asked other agencies to block access to the firms’ local websites, according to a statement on Thursday. 

The statement listed the companies as KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, XT.com, Bitrue, ZB.com, Bitglobal, CoinW, CoinEX, AAX, ZoomEX, Poloniex, BTCEX, BTCC, DigiFinex and Pionex and advised prison terms of as much as five years or fines of up to 50 million won ($37,900) for people operating unregistered and illegal business.

Officials intend to report violations to the countries where the companies originate from and will seek to isolate them from the rest of the local cryptocurrency sector if they fail to get the requisite permits.

Last year South Korea mandated that cryptocurrency platforms must receive Information Security Management System certification; since then, more than half of the nation’s crypto exchanges ended operation. Currently, 35 virtual-asset service providers are registered as legal platforms in the country, according to the government. The latter include Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, five exchanges which account for more than 99% of domestic market share.

Source https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-18/s-korea-steps-up-scrutiny-of-unregistered-foreign-crypto-firms?srnd=premium-europe

RUSSIA - A Russian central bank digital currency (CBDC) could be implemented soon; commercial banks in the country are being advised to prepare to handle a digital ruble within the next two years.

According to a document dated August 11 and issued by the Bank of Russia – the country’s central bank – a digital version of the ruble may become available for settlement between individuals and enterprises as early as next year.

Meanwhile, by 2024, the Russian CBDC may be used to connect financial institutions to the digital ruble platform, as well as to “increase the number of payment options and transactions available using smart contracts,” the document said.

According to the central bank, the CBDC is expected to reduce the costs of settlement and transactions compared to currently available methods.

Source https://cryptonews.com/news/russian-banks-start-handling-digital-ruble-by-2024.htm

AUSTRALIA - The financial services regulator sees the rise in crypto investment during the COVID-19 pandemic as a cause for concern, especially among young and new investors. Its Chief Joe Longo has raised the alarm over the sheer amount of people that invested in “unregulated, volatile” crypto assets during the pandemic. After a research conducted in November 2021, which looked into investment behavior following the onset of t COVID-19 pandemic, Longo stated: 

“We are concerned about the number of people surveyed who reported investing in unregulated, volatile crypto-asset products”.

The survey found that crypto was the second most common investment product, with 44% of those surveyed reporting holding it. Of those investors, 25% indicated that crypto assets were the only investment class they were involved in. 

Longo said the research highlights “the appeal of crypto-assets to the market,” but that investors may not know what risks they are taking on:

“According to the survey, only 20% of cryptocurrency owners considered their investment approach to be ‘risk-taking,’ raising concerns that investors did not understand the risks of this asset class.”

Source https://cointelegraph.com/news/asic-chair-troubled-by-sheer-amount-of-risk-taking-crypto-investors

Soon after the official announcement from USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle Pay, stablecoin giant Tether has officially confirmed its support behind Ethereum’s upcoming Merge upgrade and switch to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism-based blockchain.

In a Tuesday statement, Tether identified the Merge as one of the “most significant moments in blockchain history” and outlined that it will work in accordance with Ethereum’s upgrade schedule, which is currently slated to go through on Sept. 19: “Tether believes that in order to avoid any disruption to the community, especially when using our tokens in DeFi projects and platforms, it’s important that the transition to POS is not weaponized to cause confusion and harm within the ecosystem.”

Tether (USDT) is currently the largest stablecoin in crypto, with a total market cap of $66.6 billion, while USDC is relatively close behind at $54.1 billion, according to CoinGecko. 

Source https://cointelegraph.com/news/usdt-issuer-tether-also-confirms-its-throwing-weight-behind-the-post-merge-ethereum-chain

Digital currency platform Crypto.com reveals acquisitions in South Korea, pushing ahead with expansion in a bet that digital-asset markets will recover from this year's rout. The company declared it had acquired South Korean payment service provider PnLink and virtual-asset exchange OK-BIT, securing registrations under the nation's Electronic Financial Transaction Act and as a virtual-asset service provider.

No details were disclosed on the size of the deals or whether Singapore-based Crypto.com faces any other hurdles to be able to offer a full suite of services in South Korea.

"We're trying to be able to bring some of our offerings to the Korean market, and also work with partners here that are at the forefront of gaming and entertainment," Chief Operating Officer Eric Anziani said in an interview.

South Korea is prized by digital-asset firms because of comparatively high levels of crypto adoption. But retail-investor faith in the sector was badly shaken by the US$40 billion wipeout in the Terraform Labs ecosystem, including the unravelling of the TerraUSD stablecoin.

Source https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/cryptocom-expands-in-south-korea-looks-beyond-market-route

FLOW increased its gains to more than 50%: 51.05% in the past 7 days and 50.81 in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin value is facing resistance close to USD 23,500.

Ethereum might rally if it clears USD 1,680, XRP is a check of USD 0.40.

BTC

After a minor decline, the worth of bitcoin was capable of catching on losses and was offered above the extent of USD 23,000. BTC even surged above USD 23,200, but it surely confronted sturdy resistance close to the USD 23,500 degree. A profitable shut above the extent of USD 23,500 may begin a stronger rise. 

ETH

Ethereum worth stays steady and settled above the extent of USD 1,600. ETH even surpassed the USD 1,650 degree. ETH is up nearly 3% in a day and down nearly 4% in every week. Bulls are currently dealing with obstacles close to the USD 1,680 degree. A close above the extent of USD 1,680 may begin a gradual rise within the coming sessions.

Some altcoins markets right this moment

Many altcoins proceed to rise, together with DOT, MATIC, UNI, LTC, ATOM, FLOW, ALGO, VET, MANA, XTZ, AAVE, and AXS. From this, FLOW rallied 56% of Meta and Instagram information and surpassed the USD 2.90 degree, rising its weekly gains to 58%, and has become the perfect performer among the many high 100 cash right this moment and final week.

Source https://cryptonews.com/news/bitcoin-and-ethereum-stuck-in-a-key-range-flow-surges-over-50.htm

ITALY - The Italian high-end fashion colossus Gucci has enhanced its list of digital assets it accepts for payment. Gucci has become the first major brand to accept payments in the form of the Bored Ape Yacht Club – affiliated ApeCoin (APE).

The news was released on Monday and it could push further the ApeCoin project into significant and higher mainstream exposure bringing further utility to the cryptocurrency. 

Gucci customers in the United States will now be able to purchase items in-store with APE, while the payment infrastructure will be provided by BitPay. 

Earlier this year the Italian brand announced the plan to accept 12 crypto assets as payment methods across 111 stores in North America. The list included Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Litecoin (LTC), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE), and five U.S. dollar stablecoins. 

Source https://cointelegraph.com/news/gucci-becomes-first-major-brand-to-accept-apecoin-payments

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