Regulations

Draft Law About NFTs Submitted to Russian Parliament

21/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

Lawmakers have filed a bill with the State Duma aimed at introducing the term NFTs to Russian legislation. The authors of the draft say the rights of those who own non-fungible tokens need to be protected as Russians are currently dealing with NFTs at their own risk.

Russian Deputies Propose Amendments Legally Defining NFTs

Members of the lower house of Russian parliament, the Duma, have put forward a draft law that will incorporate the term “NFT-tokens” into the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The sponsors of the bill, Vladislav Davankov and Anton Tkachev, are from the parliamentary group of the liberal New People party.

The explanatory note to the bill, Tass news agency reported, states that the initiative aims to “recognize NFT-tokens as non-fungible tokens of unique digital assets (images, videos or other content) in the form of non-fungible data stored in a distributed ledger system (blockchain system).”

“We need to protect the rights of NFT owners,” said Tkachev, quoted by the party’s press service. He pointed out that at present the legal concept of non-fungible tokens does not exist in Russian law and people continue to make transactions with NFT tokens at their own risk. He further elaborated:

Things have moved forward with cryptocurrencies, but an NFT is not a digital currency but a digital certificate of ownership, that is, an object of intellectual property, which is why we propose to regulate NFTs as intellectual property.

While Russian authorities have been taking steps to comprehensively regulate the country’s crypto space, Russia’s current and upcoming legislation does not explicitly mention NFTs. The term digital financial assets (DFAs), introduced with a law which went into force in January 2021, partially covers cryptocurrencies and some types of tokens.

A new bill “On Digital Currency,” which was submitted by the Ministry of Finance in February, is expected to be adopted this year. It has been designed to fill the remaining regulatory gaps in the nation’s legislation. It has already won the support of the federal government in Moscow, while the Central Bank of Russia remains opposed to the legalization of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

Do you think the State Duma will approve the new legislation for non-fungible tokens? Tell us in the comments section below.

Cyprus Drafts Crypto Rules, May Introduce Them Before EU Regulations

20/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

Cyprus has prepared its own legislation to regulate crypto assets and is likely to adopt it before Europe finalizes a common regulatory framework, a government official has indicated. The authorities in Nicosia welcome the “careful” use of cryptocurrencies, he added.

Government of Cyprus to Submit ‘Attractive’ Crypto Bill

Cyprus has an “enviable position” in the EU when it comes to innovation, with the second-best progress last year, according to the European Innovation Scoreboard, the country’s Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Kyriacos Kokkinos stated at a meeting with the local fintech community. The event was devoted to digital assets, entrepreneurship and financial technology.

Commenting on the future of digital assets in Cyprus, including cryptocurrencies, the minister walked a fine line between embracing innovation and having to pay heed to laws, the Cyprus Mail wrote in a report on Thursday. Quoted by the English-language daily newspaper, Kokkinos elaborated:

I can tell you that Cyprus welcomes the use of digital and crypto assets, but we still need to be very careful and respect not only the regulations currently in place but also the absence of any regulations.

The government representative gave an example with Malta, the regulatory framework of witch attracted many crypto companies and investors but also led to increased scrutiny and investigations into some of its companies and banking institutions. “We have to be careful of the frameworks of the European Union since we are a member state,” Kokkinos emphasized.

The deputy minister then revealed that the Cyprus government has already drafted a “very attractive bill on crypto assets.” The legislation has been published and interested parties can review it, he pointed out. The executive power has also commissioned a New York-based firm to assist the island nation with the implementation of the regulations.

“Our challenge is not being aligned with the EU, it’s about the dilemma of whether to wait for the ECB to finalize their own regulatory framework or do we go alone on our own, with the former scenario also involving the possibility of that framework being overregulated,” Kyriacos Kokkinos remarked. “My answer is that we will go at it alone while respecting the rules,” he added.

The deputy minister acknowledged that certain challenges exist, including some disagreements between the government and the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC). “We must remember that the CBC is subject to the ECB and central banks tend to be conservative, so our job is to challenge them through the debates we are having with them,” he told the audience at the event which took place in Larnaca.

Do you expect Cyprus to introduce crypto regulations before the European Union? Tell us in the comments section below.

An Overview Of The Stablecoin Market

18/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

The U.S. dollar accounts for nearly 100% of stablecoin value and a window of opportunity for policymakers has emerged with the collapse of UST.

In this excerpt from Bitcoin Magazine Pro, we will take a more in-depth look at the redemption mechanism of USDT, and cover why the concerns about the stablecoin and the apparent risks it presents to the bitcoin/cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Before digging in, it should be said that the advent of bitcoin on a long enough timeframe obfuscates the need for a “stablecoin,” which is really just a blockchain-based IOU held by a counterparty. A digital bearer asset that is completely stable on the protocol level and from an issuance and absolute supply perspective that can be held with no counterparty risk is the innovation. With that being said, the natural demand for dollars in the “crypto-economy” does make sense given the dollar’s incumbent status as the world reserve currency.

With today’s release and focus on stablecoins, as well as the recent collapse of UST, an interesting window of opportunity for policymakers has emerged to provide guidance and clarity to stablecoin issuers, which would result in a rising demand for monetizing U.S. Treasury debt. After all, in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, USD stablecoins account for nearly 100% of stablecoin value. Given the dollar’s role as the world reserve currency today, this makes intuitive sense.

*The U.S. dollar accounts for nearly 100% of stablecoin value.*

The main takeaway from the rapid growth of stablecoins over the past two years is that despite the emergence of a digital monetary bearer asset with a fixed supply (bitcoin), there still is demand for a bearer instrument form of dollars, even if accompanied by trade-offs. All in all, a vibrant market for stablecoins ultimately will lead to smoother rails to bitcoin itself for those without access to the walled garden Western financial system, without offering the assurances of bitcoin’s monetary policy or decentralization.

The is an excerpt from a recent edition of Bitcoin Magazine Pro, Bitcoin Magazine’s premium markets newsletter. To be among the first to receive these insights and other on-chain bitcoin market analysis straight to your inbox, subscribe now.

Apartment Sold for Bitcoin in Portugal After New Regulation Allows Property Deals in Crypto

08/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

An apartment in Portugal has changed hands, with the buyer paying directly in cryptocurrency in a reported first for the country. The home was purchased for 3 bitcoins without conversion to euros, under a new regulation permitting real estate deals with digital currencies.

Buyer Pays With Bitcoin for Apartment in Braga, Portugal

A three-room (two-bedroom) apartment in the Portuguese city of Braga has been bought with cryptocurrency without any conversion to fiat money. Local media reports have described the deal as a first in the history of the country’s real estate market.

The new owner paid 3 bitcoins (BTC) for the home, worth around 110,000 euros at the time the purchase took place. The title deed was transferred in Porto’s Póvoa de Varzim district this past Thursday, May 5, the business news portal Idealista unveiled.

The purchase was made with the help of real estate agency Zome, the law firm Antas da Cunha Ecija, and partners from Switzerland’s Crypto Valley. The Chairman of the Portuguese chamber of notaries also participated.

Buying property directly with cryptocurrency is now possible in Portugal thanks to a new provision recently adopted by the Order of Notaries, the body which regulates notary activities together with the Ministry of Justice.

In the past, the coins had to be converted to euros before a payment to a seller was made. Now, the real estate acquisition can be a 100% crypto operation, in which the digital money is exchanged for the rights to the property.

Certain procedures must be followed to conduct such sales, to comply with anti-money laundering rules. The source of the fiat funds — a bank account — with which the digital assets were purchased, has to be indicated and the public address of the crypto wallet presented, before the coins are transferred.

News of the crypto-funded property deal comes after a recent report by the Bank of Spain revealed that Portugal’s share in the volume of crypto transactions in the eurozone exceeds the weight of its gross domestic product (GDP) in the single currency area’s economy.

With relatively affordable costs of living and a crypto-friendly tax regime, Portugal has become a hub for tech innovations, a home for digital nomads and most recently for refugees from Ukraine’s crypto sector. Gains from the sale of bitcoin and the like are not subject to income tax in the country.

Do you expect other European nations to allow real estate purchases through direct cryptocurrency payments? Let us know in the comments section below.

Belgium Introduces Registration for Crypto Exchange and Wallet Service Providers

03/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

Authorities in Belgium have obliged providers of some crypto exchange and wallet services to register with the country’s financial watchdog. Targeted platforms that fail to comply with the new regulations will face fines, among other penalties, including prohibition to carry out their respective activities.

Financial Regulator Imposes Mandatory Registration for Crypto Exchange Service Providers in Belgium

Starting from May 1, 2022, any legal entities established and operating in Belgium that want to provide exchange services between “virtual currencies and legal currencies” are required to register with the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), the country’s financial regulator. The same applies to companies offering custody wallet services, the agency announced.

Cryptocurrency platforms falling under these two categories, which had been working in Belgium before the specified date, should notify the FSMA of their activities before July 1, 2022 and apply for registration prior to a Sept. 1 deadline, the watchdog said. They will be granted “provisional authorization” allowing them to continue operations until the FSMA reviews their registration requests.

The affected service providers are Belgian or European companies. The registration is subject to a minimum capital requirement of €50,000 ($53,000), a FAQ section on the authority’s website details. The FSMA also wants to know the identities of the shareholders and the persons in control of the platforms who must have the necessary management qualities.

The FSMA notes that by exchange service providers it means entities carrying out purchase or sale transactions using own capital. That’s when the provider acts as a counterparty to a deal, just like traditional currency exchange offices.

Platforms that serve as intermediaries in transactions between a client and a third party are not targeted with the new rules. However, operators of automated teller machines (ATMs) for crypto-fiat exchange, will be considered as providers of exchange services for the purposes of the new requirements.

The regulator also defines custodial wallet services as services for the custody of private cryptographic keys on behalf of clients for the purpose of holding, storing, and transferring virtual currencies. Persons offering customers such services will be viewed as custodial wallet service providers that need to register with the FSMA.

Do you think most crypto service providers in Belgium will be able to meet the new requirements and register with the country’s financial watchdog? Tell us in the comments section below.