Ukraine legalizes cryptocurrencies, banks can open cryptocurrency accounts

Countries responded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s appeal to donate Ukrainian bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for military spending, enabling Ukraine to raise more than $100 million in cryptocurrency donations in less than a month. Ukraine officially passed the cryptocurrency legalization bill on the 16th, local banks can open cryptocurrency accounts, and institutions providing services for cryptocurrencies can also register under specified conditions. The outside world said that Ukraine’s legalization of cryptocurrencies would make it easier to circulate cryptocurrency donations received.

The official Twitter of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine on the 16th stated that President Zelensky signed the law on the legalization of cryptocurrencies, foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrencies can be legally operated in Ukraine, banks can provide cryptocurrency accounts, and institutions providing services for cryptocurrencies can also be registered in Ukraine. Registration under specified conditions describes the New Deal as a milestone in the development of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine.

The statement stated that the bill establishes the legal status, classification and ownership of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine, and the cryptocurrency market will be regulated by the National Securities and Stock Market Committee of Ukraine (NSSMC) and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). The NSSMC will be responsible for formulating and implementing cryptocurrency-related policies, ensuring the orderly circulation of cryptocurrencies, and issuing regulatory and financial oversight licenses for institutions that provide services for cryptocurrencies. The bill signed by Zelensky will take effect on the date the amendments to the tax code take effect.

The Ukrainian parliament unanimously approved a draft legalization of cryptocurrencies in September last year, but Zelensky refused to sign it at the time, citing the lack of transparency in the regulator and its inability to protect investors. The final draft was reconsidered in February this year.

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Crypto assets are not safe havens, NFTs seized for the first time

The Metaverse is red, driving the prosperity of NFT. Due to the non-fungible currency based on blockchain technology, the uniqueness and traceability of NFTs allow people to have unique digital assets, which are quickly favored, especially in the various art markets that are always plagued by “copying”.

The rapidly “hyped” NFT has not only attracted more and more people to join, but has also become a tool for “intended people” to commit crimes. NFT sales will reach $40 billion in 2021, but there are more and more thefts and scams in the NFT market, and many people who intend to enter NFT are worried that transactions may be involved in money laundering.

HMRC has caught three suspects in its recent investigation into 250 fake companies worth £1.4 million in scams, seized £5,000 worth of crypto assets (approximately $6,762) and three unvalued assets. NFT artwork (worth about $1.8 million), becoming the first law enforcement agency in the UK to seize NFTs.

HMRC does not have actual control of the digital assets on the blockchain, but obtained a court order to prevent the continued sale of the seized digital art. HMRC said the arrested suspects used sophisticated tactics to hide and cover up their illegal activities, including the use of fake IPs, prepaid phone cards, VPNs and fake identities.

Nick Sharp, deputy director of HMRC’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “The government is constantly adapting to new technologies to ensure it keeps up with the way criminals and tax evaders hide their assets, and this seizure is a warning to anyone who thinks crypto assets can be used to hide funds.”

In addition to the United Kingdom, other countries have also used NFT scams or other illegal acts. Cent, the NFT issuance and trading platform, suspended all transactions due to the discovery of illegal NFTs.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently seized a large amount of bitcoin stolen from a cryptocurrency exchange in 2016 when a hacker attacked it, arresting two money laundering suspects. More than 94,000 bitcoins were seized. According to the price at the time of the theft, these bitcoins were worth about 70 million US dollars. However, the price of bitcoins has soared in recent years. Now the total value of this batch of bitcoins is about 4.5 billion US dollars, and less than 80% of them are recovered. , worth about $3.6 billion.

David Carlisle, director of policy and regulatory affairs at cryptocurrency firm Elliptic, said that law enforcement agencies can track criminals’ transactions and seize crypto assets involved in illegal activities. This NFT seizure means that criminals cannot hide in the cryptocurrency world.

The UK case shows that crypto assets are not a safe haven for criminals, but countries also need to be wary of criminal activities in crypto assets such as NFTs.

From salted chicken to John Legend, Taiwanese NFT platform OurSong goes global

Taiwan’s new startups are marching toward the global stage, and there is another new force. The NFT platform Oursong recently held a global launch conference to announce its entry into the US market. At the same time, it hired well-known singer John Legend as the chief influencer, hoping to give creators a new opportunity.

NFT plus well-known artists sounds like another routine of “cutting leeks”, but this time it’s different. OurSong, a newly established NFT trading platform in Taiwan, recruited John Legend not to send a wave of NFTs and prepare to harvest and leave, but to invite him to serve as a co-founder and Chief Impact Officer. What is the goal?

“My purpose in joining OurSong is to help singers, songwriters, photographers and various other creators gain new stages.” Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy winner John Legend said that NFTs can change how creators are seen Ways to expand their understanding of fans, and even have the power to change the structure of the entire music industry.

In fact, singers like John Legend are very aware of the cruel reality of the music industry. There are a lot of talented people around him, but they may not be able to get their own stage for various reasons. NFT allows these amateurs to get rid of the industry. Rules and directly challenge the market with works, this is also the goal of Wu Bocang, the co-founder of OurSong for many years.

“Owning NFTs is like a music fan collecting vinyl records.” Wu Bocang, the lead singer of the Echo Band and co-founder of iNDIEVOX, Street Voice, and OurSong, is not only a creator, but also a software engineer. For the past ten years, he has been working hard to make independent Bands and amateur singers can “make money from their works” without being restricted by contracts, record companies, and unspoken marketing rules.

NFT has given a huge opportunity. OurSong hopes to use the influence of John Legend to attract more amateur content creators, including writers in various forms such as painting, animation, music and video, who can obtain reasonable income by issuing NFT. remuneration.

Unlike large NFT platforms, OurSong hopes to allow users to issue NFTs without buying “coins”, and the process is as simple as posting content on YouTube or Instagram.

OurSong has assisted many amateur creators in Taiwan to “money content”. At the end of last year, Shiyuan Salted Crispy Chicken also joined the ranks of NFTs, which caused a lot of discussion. If you also like independent bands and amateur creation, I hope you can support their creation and collect early works, then NFT might be an option worth trying.

Russian finance minister contradicts central bank: ‘Suggest banks sell cryptocurrency’

“Cryptocurrencies should be treated like gold and other assets.” In an open letter, the Russian Finance Minister suggested that the Russian government adopt a positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies, but just a short time ago, the Central Bank of Russia said that it would ban cryptocurrencies altogether, so how can the two-headed carriage run this new crypto track?

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has repositioned the Russian government’s attitude toward cryptocurrencies from a total ban to one of regulation, and has even proposed legislation to allow banks to trade in cryptocurrencies.

Contrary to the Central Bank of Russia, the Finance Minister believes that banks should become cryptocurrency exchanges and assume regulatory responsibility, thereby establishing an authentication mechanism to combat unauthorized and illegal trading platforms.

Both the finance minister and the central bank believe that illegal cryptocurrency trading should not be allowed to exist, but the means to deal with it are very different. Syrouanov pointed out that Russia has about 2 trillion rubles (about NT$740 billion) worth of cryptocurrency assets, which are already a small and negligible part of the total amount of Russian citizens’ deposits, and that legislation could turn these funds into new momentum.

In addition to cryptocurrencies, he believes that cryptocurrency mines and overseas trading platforms also need regulatory intervention, and roughly estimates that a reasonable regulatory and taxation system could help Russia increase its tax revenues by about 180 billion rubles, or about 60 billion NT, which is definitely better than the current unregulated state.

Several ministries in the Russian government have agreed that they must come up with a concrete response to cryptocurrency-related issues by the end of this year, with the Central Bank of Russia issuing an investigative report that suggests a total ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining. Russian President Vladmir Putin asked government departments to find a consensus with the Central Bank of Russia, while he also mentioned that Russia is currently in a unique position to take advantage of the global mining market.

It seems that Russia’s attitude towards cryptocurrencies could be reversed, not forgetting that after China’s crackdown on mining, Russia is now the third largest bitcoin producer in the world, with the latest data showing that 11.2% of the world’s computing power comes from within Russia, just behind the US and Kazakhstan, which has great potential for growth.