Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The Central Bank of Russia has added another entity to its register of authorized issuers of digital financial assets. The platform, called ‘Masterchain,’ becomes the fifth ‘information system operator’ in the country that can legally tokenize traditional assets and organize their trade. Number of Licensed Digital Asset Issuers in Russia Grows to Five The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has included the company Distributed Registry Systems, with its Masterchain platform, to the register of operators of information systems which can be used to issue digital financial assets ( DFAs ), the business news portal RBC reported. Four other issuers have been registered so far. These are the tokenization service Atomyze , the fintech company Lighthouse , as well as Sberbank and Alfa-Bank , the largest state-owned and private bank in the Russian Federation, respectively. Established in April, 2021, Distributed Registry Systems is an IT company specialized in developing blockchain-based solutio...

Crypto exchange Binance has organized training courses for representatives of law enforcement authorities in Ukraine. The leading coin trading platform has been involved in dozens of similar initiatives over the past year, in a number of countries. Binance Provides Crypto Training to Security Officials in Ukraine The world’s largest digital asset exchange, Binance, has provided training to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies in the form of online seminars for their staff devoted to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. A representative of the crypto trading platform informed the participants about Binance’s anti-money laundering policy, the crypto news outlet Forklog reported. Methods developed by the exchange to detect and prevent fraud were also presented. Employees of the Ukrainian Cyberpolice, which is the cybercrime combatting unit of the National Police of Ukraine (NPU), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the Asset Recovery and Management...

It’s been a turbulent week in finance with the so-called crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank announcing its liquidation, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren blaming the event on “crypto risk,” and individuals on social media pointing out that Warren is “terribly misinformed.” Additionally, U.S. Regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank after reports of a bank run and other troubles. In other developments, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s address allegedly sold trillions of airdropped ERC20 tokens, causing negative price moves, and India-Russia oil deals could be challenging U.S. dollar dominance. All this and more, just below, in the Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Elizabeth Warren Blames ‘Crypto Risk’ for Silvergate Bank’s Liquidation, Critics Dismiss Senator’s Claims as ‘Terribly Misinformed’ After Silvergate Bank announced its voluntary liquidation, U.S. senator Elizabeth Warren is attributing the financial institution’s downfall to “crypto risk.” According to Warren, she had previously...

Just a few weeks after tapping its best exchange rate versus the greenback in 2023, the South African rand fell to a new 2023 low of 18.636 local currency units for every dollar on March 7. South Africa’s power shortages as well as the country’s recent grey-listing by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are believed to be fueling the rand’s slide. 10-Hour Power Outages The exchange rate of the South African rand versus the U.S. dollar recently plunged to a new 2023 low of 18.636 units for every dollar on March 7, 2023, the latest data has shown. Before the latest plunge, the rand soared to 16.721 per dollar on Jan. 12, 2023, the currency’s best performance since the start of the year. However, since then, the rand has depreciated by almost 10% making it one of the worst-performing African currencies in 2023. According to reports, the rand’s slide is blamed on South Africa’s unending electricity woes which have seen many homes and businesses go for more than 10 hours without pow...

A draft law designed to regulate crypto mining in Russia introduces harsh penalties for miners failing to report digital assets to the state. In its latest revision, the bill also threatens to punish those who organize illegal trading of cryptocurrencies with imprisonment and hefty fines. Forced Labor Awaits Miners and Traders Who Operate Outside Law, According to New Bill Russian crypto miners will have to report their income and provide tax authorities with detailed information about their digital assets, including wallet addresses, to avoid being prosecuted by the state. That’s according to draft legislation that’s currently undergoing revision in Moscow. A bill meant to regulate Russia’s growing coin minting industry was initially submitted to parliament in November. However, its adoption was later postponed for this year and lawmakers now plan to resubmit it with amendments envisaging serious consequences for miners that don’t abide by the rules. The Russian Ministry of Fi...

Use of cryptocurrencies is increasing in Russia, the head of the country’s financial watchdog has informed President Putin. The agency, Rosfinmonitoring, is following thousands of participants in digital asset transactions with a new blockchain analytics system, the official revealed. Volume of Crypto Transactions in Russia Almost $13 Billion, Financial Authority Says The turnover of crypto assets in Russia is growing, according to Yury Chikhanchin, director of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation ( Rosfinmonitoring ), who reported to President Vladimir Putin about the agency’s current operations. The watchdog is monitoring the activities of over 25,000 participants in crypto transactions, the executive revealed at a meeting with the head of state. The service has also identified around a dozen financial organizations that provide assistance to them. Quoted by the business news portal RBC, Putin remarked that wherever money or new financial instrument...