Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Coinbase has announced that the company plans to introduce a number of changes for customers in the Netherlands in order to comply with the 1977 Sanctions Act, a law that recently applied know-your-customer (KYC) guidelines to non-custodial wallets. If the person living in the Netherlands wants to send crypto to a third-party wallet via Coinbase, they must identify the wallet owner’s name, the purpose of transfer, and the full residential address of the recipient. On June 27, Coinbase Says KYC Info Will Be Required in the Netherlands for Outgoing Crypto Transfers Dutch Coinbase customers may have a harder time sending funds to people with a third-party or non-custodial wallet if they don’t provide KYC information. Starting on June 27, 2022, Coinbase will require users from the Netherlands to provide KYC data if they plan to send crypto to a wallet off the Coinbase platform. Coinbase says the new rules are being applied because the company must comply with local regulations. The 19...

Crypto exchange Binance has launched a new platform for VIP and institutional investors. The VIP program allows Binance users to “get rewarded with more discounts and VIP privileges” as their trading volume climbs up VIP tiers. ‘Binance Institutional’ Launched Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced Thursday the launch of “ Binance Institutional ,” a new platform for VIP and institutional cryptocurrency investors. It is one of Binance’s efforts “to upgrade its institutional offerings and services,” the exchange said. Binance Institutional’s services are tailored for all types of institutions, its website describes. They include asset managers, brokers, hedge funds, family offices, proprietary trading firms, liquidity providers, high net worth individuals, and mining companies. The new platform offers a number of services, including direct access to OTC liquidity, asset management, custody, and brokerage. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) commented: Brokerage services are...

British Parliament Member Matt Hancock has called for “liberal” cryptocurrency regulation, noting that no country can stop the crypto revolution. “I hate the patronizing idea of regulators telling people what they can and can’t do with their money,” the lawmaker stressed. British MP Wants ‘Liberal’ Crypto Regulation Matt Hancock, a Conservative member of parliament and former British health secretary, reiterated the importance of having a “liberal” regulatory framework for cryptocurrency this week. The lawmaker explained in an interview with UKTN, published Friday, that the crypto market sell-off has not shaken his confidence in the sector. He told the news outlet: No country can stop this revolution. We can only choose whether it happens on our shores or happens to us from elsewhere. In his keynote speech Wednesday at Crypto A.M.’s fourth-anniversary conference, Hancock called for an “attractive” tax system and “liberal” regulatory regime to help the U.K. become “the jurisdict...

The Central Bank of Russia continues to step up efforts to test and issue the digital ruble, with a roadmap for the full implementation of the new form of the national fiat now expected by the end of 2023. Trials with real transactions and users are scheduled to begin next April, earlier than originally planned. Bank of Russia to Present Digital Ruble Roadmap Next Year The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) will develop a roadmap for the introduction of the digital ruble by the end of 2023, First Deputy Chairman Olga Skorobogatova said in an interview with the Tass news agency, revealing an earlier deadline than previously set. The high-ranking official also noted that the regulator intends to start testing operations with the Russian central bank digital currency ( CBDC ) with real clients as early as April 2023, indicating these plans have been adjusted, too. Skorobogatova emphasized that next year will be very important for the project and elaborated: Testing of real...

Russian law enforcement is looking into the alleged theft of mining hardware valued at around $1.9 million. The powerful computing equipment disappeared from a crypto mining hotel in Irkutsk, the owners of which have been accused of large scale fraud. 100 Russians Lose Mining Machines Worth 100 Million Rubles Police in the Russian Irkutsk Oblast have launched an investigation of the operators of a mining hosting facility suspected of defrauding clients and stealing their expensive coin minting hardware, Tass news agency reported, quoting the region’s Main Directorate of the Interior Ministry. In anticipation of quick earnings, the miners handed over their devices to those who were running the mining hotel, law enforcement officials explained. At some point, the latter stopped all payments to their customers and failed to return the expensive machines. “A criminal case was initiated based on these facts under part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (la...

Authorities in Albania are finalizing regulations that will allow the taxation of income and profits from cryptocurrency investments. The government intends to begin imposing the levy in 2023, after adopting the necessary legislation which has been proposed for public consultations. Albania Set to Impose Crypto Tax as Early as Next Year The Albanian state should begin collecting taxes on income from crypto assets as of 2023 in accordance with a new income tax bill, the local English-language portal Exit News reported on Friday. The government also hopes to pass a number of other laws and bylaws this year in order to comprehensively regulate the matter. The special tax legislation is currently open for public consultations . It introduces the concept of taxing crypto holdings and income derived from virtual assets. The latter have been defined as “a digital representation of a value that can be deposited, traded or transferred in digital form, and that can be used for payment or inv...