Trading Platforms

Restrictions on Crypto Trading to Deprive Nation of Opportunities, Iranian Fintechs Warn

18/05/2021 by Idelto Editor

Startups have spoken out against government attempts to curb the operations of crypto exchanges in Iran. Cryptocurrency trading is not illegal, Iranian fintechs insist, calling on lawmakers and regulators to develop rules that would allow the sanctioned country to continue to take advantage of decentralized money transfers.

Iranian Fintechs Insist There Is No Ban on Cryptocurrency Trade

Recent statements by various authorities in Teheran have prompted a response from the Iran Fintech Association (IFA) which represents companies working in the sector. In a letter to the speaker of parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and the head of the central bank, Abdolnasser Hemmati, the independent industry body stated:

Resorting to restrictive measures is the simplest, but not the best response to the issue. Doing so would deprive the nation of potential opportunities and create grounds for underground business.

Amid growing interest in cryptocurrencies, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) issued a warning earlier this month against unrestrained crypto trading and reminded Iranians about the ban on transacting with coins minted outside the Islamic Republic. Then the Majlis leadership called on financial regulators to adopt a cautious approach to dealing with the controversial aspects of the matter.

“There are no regulations per se barring the work of crypto exchanges,” IFA now says, quoted by the Financial Tribune. “Government regulations only ban using cryptocurrencies for purchasing goods and services. It is explicit that trading cryptos is not illegal though traders are accountable for the ensuing risks,” the organization emphasizes in its address to government institutions.

Businesses Bypass Economic Blockade Using Cryptocurrencies

In March, the CBI ordered Iran’s domestic payment settlement network, Shaparak, to block online payment gateways owned by coin trading websites. Last week, Abdolnasser Hemmati said that crypto trade will be limited only to selected exchanges processing cryptocurrency transactions for commercial purposes. Iranian lawmakers, however, are not satisfied with merely a ban on crypto trading and have urged the central bank to develop precise rules.

The IFA agrees and says that “all the decision-making bodies need to pool minds to develop regulations that are comprehensive and efficient.” It proposes the establishment of special working groups including representatives of the industry that will be tasked to examine the complicated issue, in all its dimensions, in order to avoid repeating mistakes from the past.

IFA also points out that businesses have benefited from the use of cryptocurrency in their international transactions. Iranian companies have managed to bypass the economic blockade imposed by the U.S., circumventing restrictions on various industries, banking, shipping, and insurance services. “Several businesses have either used the technology for meeting their needs or have invested in cryptocurrencies without any particular risk,” emphasized the trade association.

Where do you stand on the debate over crypto regulations in Iran? Let us know in the comments section below.

Bitcoin’s Smallest Unit: Billionaire Mike Novogratz Wants Crypto Exchanges to Quote Satoshis

10/05/2021 by Idelto Editor

Mike Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital, wants exchanges to start listing in the smallest unit of bitcoin otherwise known as “satoshis”. On May 8, Novogratz tweeted out to a number of crypto exchange executives and asked “which exchange will be first to quote in SATS?”

Novogratz Asks Top Exchange Execs to List Satoshis

Bitcoin bull and investor Mike Novogratz is interested in seeing crypto trading platforms list the smallest unit of bitcoin (BTC) called “satoshis” or “SATS.” One can think of satoshis as the “cents” from dollars; they represent the fractional term of a portion of bitcoin. A satoshi is approximately 0.00000001 BTC. With BTC above the $57k handle at the time of writing, a single satoshi is worth $0.0005711 USD.

On Saturday, Novogratz tweeted:

It is time to switch to Satoshis. Too many people telling me at $58,000 BTC too expensive. Which exchange will be first to quote in SATS?

His tweet further tagged the crypto exchange CEOs from Binance, Coinbase, Gemini, and FTX Exchange. Following the tweet, Kraken’s Dan Held asked the Kraken CEO Jesse Powell what he thought about the idea. The crypto exchange executive from Kraken responded to the thread, and said the exchange would have to think about the decision.

“Have to think through the UX, discoverability,” the Kraken CEO remarked. “99% of new users coming in will be looking for bitcoin/BTC and have no idea what a satoshi/sat is. Don’t want to confuse them,” Powell added.

Some People Are Ready to Price Goods With Bitcoin’s Smallest Unit

The statement about satoshis was a popular tweet for Novogratz, gathering close to 10,000 likes and over 1,100 retweets. Moreover, the popular crypto market aggregator coinmarketcap.com has created a space for satoshis, showing the current value against the U.S. dollar. Satoshis tapped an all-time price high on April 14, 2021, at $0.000642 per satoshi.

The Bitcoin community has been a fan of calling the cryptocurrency’s smallest unit a satoshi for quite some time. Many have advocated for pricing goods in satoshis, which could be easier than BTC’s 5-digit territories value. Some believe, however, that it is too early to price things in satoshis right now. Others have also clamored for the use of the terminology “sbtc” to price things in satoshis.

It remains to be seen if crypto exchanges will decide to list the smallest fraction of bitcoin, but it is becoming a topical conversation again thanks to Novogratz.

What do you think about the suggestion from Novogratz? Do you think exchanges should list satoshis? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Bitcoin Balances on Exchanges Are Draining, Leading Platforms See $10 Billion in BTC Withdrawn in 4 Months

09/03/2021 by Idelto Editor

Bitcoin prices have regained momentum during the last two days as the price per coin touched a March 2021 high at $54,822 on Tuesday morning (ET). Back in December 2020, it was noted that bitcoin on exchanges dropped to a three-year low and this year bitcoin exchange balances continue to plummet. A whopping 189,000 bitcoin was withdrawn from the top five leading cryptocurrency exchanges since October 2020.

Bitcoin Exchange Balances Plunge on a Myriad of Popular Crypto Trading Platforms

The price of bitcoin (BTC) is doing well this week and at the time of writing, the leading crypto asset is currently exchanging hands for $53,820 per coin. Last week, the price was much lower hitting a low of $43,171 per unit on Bitstamp on February 28. Meanwhile, onchain data shows that bitcoin exchange balances held on popular trading platforms are continuing to deplete.

On March 7, the sophomore finance major, William Clemente III tweeted about bitcoin balances on exchanges taking another dive. Clemente shared a chart from the onchain crypto analysis web portal Glassnode.

#Bitcoin Balance on Exchanges taking another dive pic.twitter.com/F20tohfXsu

— William Clemente III (@WClementeIII) March 7, 2021

The onchain analysis aggregator Glassnode stats show that popular trading exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, Huobi, and many other platforms lost 20% of bitcoin balances during the last 12 months. As usual, bitcoiners believe that the data suggests investors are accumulating, rather than selling the bitcoin on exchanges. For instance, news.Bitcoin.com noted that exchange balances were sinking in December 2020 and draining in October 2020 as well. On October 16, 2020, our newsdesk reported that 187,000 BTC had been withdrawn by customers since June 2020.

During the Last Four Months, the Top Five Crypto Exchanges by Bitcoin Balance See 189,000 BTC Withdrawn by Customers

144 days ago in mid-October, Coinbase was the leading exchange with the most bitcoin under the hood, and still is the leader to this day. At the time, however, Coinbase held 908k BTC and today, stats show Coinbase only holds 870k BTC. That’s 34,000 BTC that’s left the San Francisco exchange in the last 21 weeks. This was also after the exchange saw 36,000 BTC in withdrawals leave Coinbase since June 2020.

At that time, Huobi Global was the second-largest holder, in terms of crypto exchange balances. However, today Huobi has been pushed down to the third position and replaced by Binance. Huobi had 345k in BTC, but approximately 93,000 bitcoin left the exchange since then. The top five cryptocurrency trading platforms, in terms of transparent bitcoin balance rank, are pictured in the screenshot below. Exchange Balance Rank data stems from the Bituniverse exchange market statistics.

Binance is now the second-largest holder in terms of crypto exchange balances of BTC, according to a combination of Bituniverse, Peckshield, Chain.info, and Etherscan statistics. The exchange currently holds a supply of 215,000 BTC at the time of publication, but four months ago, Binance held 266k BTC as it lost 51,000 BTC to customer withdrawals.

Back then, the San Francisco exchange Kraken was the seventh-largest bitcoin exchange balance holder and today, Kraken has captured the fourth position. Today Kraken holds 137,000+ bitcoin in reserves, but four months ago that aggregate number was 132k BTC. It means that Kraken has gained some lead in the bitcoin exchange balance race since October of last year.

The fifth positioned top BTC holding exchange is Okex and the trading platform held the fifth spot back in October 2020 as well. Still, back then Okex had 198,000 BTC in reserves and it now holds 187,000 BTC. This means 11,000 BTC has been withdrawn from Okex since October 16, 2020. Bitmex saw 3,000 BTC withdrawn since our last study on the significant exchange withdrawals taking place during the last year.

The combination of BTC exchange balance data indicates that since mid-October, the top five leading exchanges lost 189,000 BTC or more than $10 billion using today’s bitcoin (BTC) exchange rates. The stats can be seen leveraging Glassnode’s BTC exchange balance data and by looking at individual exchanges using Bituniverse’s Exchange Balance Rank.

Billions of dollars in bitcoin leaving centralized cryptocurrency exchanges suggests that people want to keep their coins safe in a noncustodial fashion and to many observers, it also means they don’t want to sell those coins in the short-term.

What do you think about the depleting bitcoin exchange balances and the top five exchanges losing 189,000 bitcoin to customer withdrawals? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

South African Taxpayers Who Fail to Disclose Income From Cryptocurrency Trading Face Possible Jail Time

04/02/2021 by Idelto Editor

According to a report, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has sent out audit requests to taxpayers asking them to disclose their cryptocurrency trades and purchases. Taxpayers that fail to correctly disclose their income from bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies may be “liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to two years.”

SARS Tracking Non-Compliant Taxpayers

In the report, which is based on statements made by Tax Consulting South Africa, cryptocurrency traders are now required to state the purpose for purchasing the digital assets. In addition, crypto traders must submit a “letter from the trading platform(s) confirming the investments and the relevant trading schedules for the period and bank statements.”

However, as Tax Consulting South Africa observes, this changed approach by SARS could spell trouble for taxpayers. According to the tax consulting firm, “it is no longer material whether the taxpayer concerned had justification for such non-disclosure or false statement made.” Further, this change to the audit request process means “SARS is actively cracking down on non-compliant cryptocurrency traders in South Africa.”

“It is feasible to understand that SARS is in the process of ensnaring culpable taxpayers who have not disclosed their cryptocurrency-related trading profits and/or losses,” says Tax Consulting South Africa.

The organisation surmises that the audit requests are the “primary weapon in SARS’ arsenal and the walls are closing in on non-compliant cryptocurrency traders.”

New Paradigm Needed

Meanwhile, in his reaction to SARS “giving cryptocurrencies their due attention”, Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit, a leading crypto derivatives exchange, says this approach “leaves something to be desired.” Zhou explains:

The decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies represents the future of money and requires a paradigm shift from current thinking. Proposals of a crypto regulatory framework should incorporate regulatory technology (Regtech) and crypto-native solutions such as smart contracts, and not default to the old standard that is showing its age in the age of digital payments and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).

In the meantime, Tax Consulting South Africa is urging the country’s crypto traders who may not have disclosed their purchases to seek guidance. The organisation adds that “even if you have not purchased cryptocurrency in the past, you should proceed with caution when responding to an audit request.”

What do you think of SARS’ new cryptocurrency taxation approach? Tell us what you think in the comments section.

Hip-Hop Star Soulja Boy Examines Crypto, Considers Creating His Own NFT Collectibles

20/01/2021 by Idelto Editor

On January 19, the American hip-hop star and rapper DeAndre Cortez Way, otherwise known as “Soulja Boy,” asked his 5.2 million Twitter followers to tell him the best way to purchase crypto. Following the initial tweet, Soulja Boy continued to discuss cryptocurrencies for the rest of the day, and also asked people’s opinions about the rapper creating his own crypto.

Another hip-hop artist is joining the cryptocurrency bandwagon after numerous rappers and musicians have been flocking toward the decentralized economy. DeAndre Cortez Way, known by his stage name “Soulja Boy,” discussed cryptocurrencies on Tuesday with his 5.2 million social media followers. Soulja Boy is best known for his track “Crank That,” a track that hit the number 1 Billboard spot in 2007. The song was also self-published on the internet beforehand and Soulja Boy got a lot of notoriety for the method of release.

On Tuesday, Soulja Boy tweeted about cryptocurrencies to his followers seemingly looking for an avenue to purchase. “What’s the best way to buy Crypto? Robinhood? Coinbase?” the rapper asked his fans. Of course, a number of cryptocurrency proponents shilled their favorite exchanges during the Twitter conversation.

Following the tweet, a number of exchanges responded to Soulja Boy’s question as well and recommended that he use their trading platforms. The hip-hop star re-tweeted many of these recommendations from crypto firms like Binance U.S., Etoro, Blockchain.com, Cash App, Voyager, Okcoin, and others. “Just want to make sure I’m using the best platform while I’m in investing mode,” Soulja Boy added. Following the succession of crypto-related tweets, Soulja Boy then asked his fans about creating his own cryptocurrency. The rapper asked:

Thoughts on me creating my own crypto?

Of course, a number of people said it was a bad idea, while other digital currency supporters told Soulja Boy he should do it. One BCH supporter recommended that Soulja Boy leverage mint.Bitcoin.com in order to create a Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) token built on top of Bitcoin Cash.

A few other people warned the rapper that he shouldn’t create his own coin due to the recent U.S. regulatory crackdown on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and unregistered securities lawsuits. “Don’t do it,” Neeraj K. Agrawal from the organization Coincenter tweeted. “You will get in trouble,” he added.

Moreover, other digital currency fans recommended that Soulja Boy should create a non-fungible token (NFT) series. Soulja, if you really wanna do something cool and not shallow or potentially drawing the attention of the SEC, drop some unique NFTs,” one user responded to the rapper’s question about starting his own crypto.

“Wow,” Soulja Boy responded. “That actually looks dope, anyone can assist me with this? I would like to release something as well.”

What do you think about Soulja Boy’s recent discussions on Twitter about crypto and NFTs? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.