Bitcoin Regulation
Bitcoin price rally provides much needed relief for BTC miners
Bitcoin mining powers network transactions and BTC price. During the 2021 bull run, some mining operations raised funds against their Bitcoin ASICs and BTC reserves. Miners also preordered ASICs at a hefty premium and some raised funds by conducting IPOs. As the crypto market turned bearish and liquidity seized within the sector, miners found themselves in a bad situation and those who were unable to meet their debt obligations were forced to sell the BTC reserves near the market bottom or declare bankruptcy Notable Bitcoin mining bankruptcies in 2022 came from Core Scientific, filing for bankruptcy, but BTC’s early 2023 performance is beginning to suggest that the largest portion of capitulation has passed. Despite the strength of the current bear market, a few miners were able to i...
Bitcoin price rally over $21K prompts analysts to explore where BTC price might go next
After Bitcoin (BTC) hit a yearly high of $21,095 on Jan. 13, where is it headed next? Bitcoin is currently witnessing an uptick in bullish momentum after the positively perceived Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was followed by a strong rally across the crypto market. The recent rally in Bitcoin is creating increased volume levels and higher social engagement on whether the price is in a breakout of fakeout mode. Is the Bitcoin bear market over? While the market is still technically in a bear market compared to last week, investor sentiment is improving. According to the Fear and Greed Index, a crypto-specific metric that measures sentiment using five weighted sources, investors’ feelings about the market hit a monthly high. Bitcoin Fear and Greed index. Source: alternative.me Bitco...
Belgian MP receives Bitcoin salary for a year: Here’s what he learned
At the end of January 2022, member of the Belgian parliament Christophe De Beukelaer became the first European politician to convert his salary to Bitcoin (BTC). Celebrating the anniversary of this experiment, Cointelegraph reached out to a lawmaker to know more about his experience. Back in 2022, Beukelaer, who represents Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH) party, cited the example of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and how American politicians are working to make their native states or cities Bitcoin hubs to justify his decision. The Brussels MP’s monthly salary of 5,500 euros ($6,140) was to be converted to Bitcoin using the Bit4You crypto trading platform. Related: Belgium says BTC, ETH and other decentralized coins are not securities “I did this political act of paying in Bitcoin to...
Models and fundamentals: Where will Bitcoin price go in 2023?
Bitcoin (BTC) had a bumpy ride throughout 2022, along with the rest of the digital asset market. The cryptocurrency began the year exchanging hands around $46,700 and is currently trading over 64% down at $16,560 at the time of writing. Consequently, the coin’s market capitalization took a tumble from around $900 billion on Jan. 1, 2022 to end the year at around $320 billion. Bitcoin Price Trend in 2022 While Bitcoin’s drop in price could be attributed to the extraordinary circumstances that the entire cryptocurrency market has been through this year, it is important to reevaluate the 2022 price predictions made by various market entities. One of the most popular predictions was that of analyst PlanB’s Bitcoin Stock-to-Flow (S2F) model. The S2F model predicted BTC to be at nearly $11...
U.S. delays crypto tax reporting rules, as it still can’t define what a ‘broker’ is
A key set of crypto tax reporting rules is being delayed until further notice under a decision made by the United States Treasury Department. The rules were supposed to be effective in the 2023 tax filing year, in accordance with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November, 2021. The new law requires that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) develop a standard definition of what a “cryptocurrency broker” is, and any business that falls under this definition is required to issue a Form 1099-B to every customer detailing their profits and losses from trades. It also requires these firms to provide this same information to the IRS so that it will be aware of customers’ incomes from trading. However, more than 12 months have passed since the infrastructure bill became law, but ...
Data shows the Bitcoin mining bear market has a ways to go
Bitcoin (BTC) mining is the backbone of the BTC ecosystem and miners’ returns also provide insight into BTC’s price movements and the health of the wider crypto sector. It is well-documented that Bitcoin miners are struggling in the current bear market. Blockstream, a leading Bitcoin miner recently raised funds at a 70% discount. Current mining activity shares similarities to historic BTC bear markets with a few caveats. Let’s explore what this means for the current Bitcoin cycle. Analysis shows that based on previous cycles the bear market may continue Bitcoin mining profitability can be measured by taking the miner’s revenue per kilowatt hour (kWh). According to Jaran Mellerud, a Bitcoin analyst for Hashrate Index, a BTC mining bear market has a sustained period of revenue per kWh of les...
Canada crypto regulation: Bitcoin ETFs, strict licensing and a digital dollar
In October, Toronto-based Coinsquare became the first crypto trading business to get dealer registration from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). That means a lot as now Coinsquare investors’ funds enjoy the security of the Canadian Investment Protection Fund in the event of insolvency, while the exchange is required to report its financial standing regularly. This news reminds us about the peculiarities of Canadian regulation of crypto. While the country still holds a rather tight process of licensing the virtual asset providers, it outpaces the neighboring United States in its experiments with crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), pension funds’ investments and central bank digital currency (CBDC) efforts. An era of restricted dealers Coinsquare, which...
FTX collapse could trigger ‘appetite’ for harsher regulation, says Andrew Yang
Calls for harsher regulations around cryptocurrencies and digital assets will likely grow louder in the aftermath of FTX’s collapse — something former United States presidential candidate Andrew Yang said isn’t conducive to making America a hotbed for blockchain innovation. Speaking at the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin on Nov. 18, Yang acknowledged that the bankruptcy of FTX and sister company Alameda Research would make common sense crypto regulation harder to pass in the short term. “I’ve always been in the camp that some intelligent regulation is a good thing. I think it would help the industry mature and make it more mainstream. But, unfortunately, we missed a beat — like a major beat,” he said, referring to the collective failures of FTX, FTX US and Alameda Research. “...
Nayib Bukele announces Bitcoin prescription for El Salvador: 1 BTC a day
As the world’s first nation to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender in September 2021, El Salvador is going back to its BTC buying days after a pause for months amid bearish market conditions. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced on Nov.16 that the Central American nation will start purchasing BTC on a daily basis starting from Nov.17. The announcement comes nearly three months after the nation made its last BTC purchase in July 2022. We are buying one #Bitcoin every day starting tomorrow. — Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) November 17, 2022 El Salvador started buying BTC in September 2021, right after making it a legal tender. At the time, BTC was in the mid of a bull market and every purchase made by the nation looked lucrative as the price was hitting a new all-time high every other...
Crypto adoption via regulation: Setting rules for centralized exchanges
Centralized cryptocurrency exchanges have become the backbone of the nascent crypto ecosystem, making way for retail and institutional traders to trade cryptocurrencies despite a constant fear of government crackdowns and lack of support from policymakers. These crypto exchanges over the years have managed to put self-regulatory checks and implemented policies in line with the local financial regulations to grow despite the looming uncertainty. Cryptocurrency regulation continues to occupy mainstream debates and experts’ opinions, but despite public demand and requests from stakeholders of the nascent ecosystem, policymakers continue to overlook the rapidly growing sector that reached a market capitalization of $3 trillion at the peak of the bull run in 2021. Over the past five years...
Binance signs MoU with Kazakhstan to fight financial crime
Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan as a part of its global law enforcement training program. The program, which involves officials from regulatory and law enforcement organizations worldwide, aims to strengthen industry cooperation with national and international law enforcement in the fight against financial crime and cybercrime. The program further aims to identify and block digital assets obtained illegally and used to launder criminal proceeds and finance terrorism. Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the leading crypto nations for Bitcoin (BTC) mining and in recent times, the Central Asian nation has also beendeveloping favorable crypto regulations such as allowing crypto...
Why this tiny country is adopting the Bitcoin Lightning Network
Cointelegraph reporter Joe Hall visited the country of Gibraltar to explore Bitcoin (BTC) adoption on “The Rock,” as the peninsula is known locally, and how the adoption of Bitcoin for shopping in the territory is impacting business. The visit was also an opportunity to visit Xapo Bank, the world’s first private financial institution to combine traditional banking with Bitcoin. Coinbase acquired its custody business in 2019, making the American exchange the largest crypto custodian in the world. The British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar is known for its pioneering crypto regulations, support for blockchain development and Bitcoin adoption, with many retail businesses using the Lightning Network — a layer-two network that enables off-chain transactions — to accept Bitcoin as payment...
