Politics
South Korea to Fast-Track New Crypto Legislations
- The chairman of the Financial Services Commission noted that a task force of private and government experts will “quickly” review pending crypto legislations.
- The statement was made during a meeting that marked the inauguration of a special committee on digital assets, announced in June.
August 11, 2022, 6:04 PM
Republic of Korea’s flag fluttering at a parade, Seoul, Korea, 31 August, 2019. Chintung Lee/Shutterstock
Australia to Explore CBDC Use Cases in Research Project
- The Reserve Bank of Australia will collaborate with DFCRC, a $180 million research program, to explore use cases and potential benefits of CBDC in Australia.
- The research project will also feature a “limited-scale” CBDC pilot, which will operate in a ring-fenced environment.
August 9, 2022, 5:23 PM
The famous Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia, November 2015. myphotobank.com.au/Shutterstock
Crypto Purchases Using Credit Cards Now Banned in Taiwan
- Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has instructed credit card companies to stop signing on crypto firms as merchants in the next three months.
- The financial regulator specified that credit cards are essentially consumer payment tools, and as such should not be used for high risk financial transactions.
July 22, 2022, 12:14 PM
Taipei City Skyline at sunset, Taiwan. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Dubai Adopts New Metaverse Strategy
- Introduced by crown prince Sheikh Hamdan, the new strategy hopes to attract more than 1,000 blockchain and metaverse projects, and support 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030.
- Sheikh Hamdan pointed out that the “two key enablers of the metaverse”, virtual reality and augmented reality, have already created 6,700 jobs in the area, contributing $500 million to the UAE economy.
July 19, 2022, 2:13 PM
Crown Prince of Dubai Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum during a meeting with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 24 February, 2015. Drop of Light/Shutterstock
Jul 18, 2022
Dutch Central Bank Issues €3.3M Fine to Binance
- De Netherlandsche Bank (DNB) noted it had applied a bigger penalty to Binance due to its prolonged violations, from May 2020 to December 2021.
- Binance has now submitted its registration application with DNB, and will soon comply with the bank’s Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act.
Jul 13, 2022
Blockchain, NFT, and Metaverse Included in Shanghai’s 5-Year Development Plan
- One of the main points in Shanghai’s five-year development plan was metaverse, with the government planning to fund more than 100 firms focused on virtual reality.
- The city will also encourage the development and application of “blockchain+” technology, and the promotion of NFT trading platforms.
Jul 13, 2022
US Treasury Calls for Public Comments on Crypto Policy
- The request was made in compliance with President Biden’s executive order from March, which asked government agencies to develop policy recommendations for crypto.
- The public was given until 8 August to submit its comments on what could be the implications of mass crypto adoption for both individuals and businesses.
Jul 5, 2022
Singapore Considering Further Restrictions on Crypto
- The minister in charge of the Monetary Authority of Singapore said the bank was carefully considering placing further restrictions on crypto investors.
- MAS could soon implement “limits on retail participation”, as well as new rules for using leverage in crypto transactions.
Jun 21, 2022
WeChat Bans Crypto and NFT Public Accounts
- WeChat, China’s largest social media platform with over 1.1 billion daily users, has changed its policy and will now ban accounts connected to crypto and NFTs.
- The platform has placed “engaging in virtual currency or digital collection business” under its illegal operations clause, meaning it will be considered as “violating content”.
Jun 20, 2022
U.K. Backtracks Controversial Crypto Data Collection Proposal
- The rule, which was proposed last July, would have required all senders of crypto to collect the personal information of the recipient, even if they were using private wallets.
- Her Majesty’s Treasury decided to not enforce the rule following the feedback it received on its consultation paper, which was also released last July.