Veriscope News

Veriscope Regulatory Recap

October 16th - October 30th

Welcome to another edition of Veriscope Regulatory Recap! We bring you some of the most interesting news from the world of crypto regulations, from FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s proposal on crypto regulation to Portugal’s decision to tax crypto profits. So, let’s dive straight into it without further ado.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Proposes Crypto Regulations

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX published a document highlighting the importance of regulatory oversight and customer protection.

He proposed crypto regulation using blacklists or blocklists, where individuals may freely trade unless sanctioned, instead of whitelists or allowlists.

"We need fast, reliable lists of addresses associated with illicit finance," he said. "But peer-to-peer transfers should generally be free as long as they're not going to sanctioned actors."

According to him, allowlists would be a massive burden on commerce and innovation, whereas greenlighting all transfers would be like inviting financial criminals on an all-you-can-do-crime buffet.

Surprisingly, Bankman-Fried's proposal was criticized heavily on Crypto Twitter (CT), which saw his call for governing decentralized protocols under the Bank Secrecy Act as the most concerning aspect of the proposal.

Sensing the growing unease among the crypto fraternity, the crypto billionaire took to Twitter to calm the waters, saying, "I've revised my post some already and will continue to do so."

South Africa Regulating Crypto Assets

South Africa's financial watchdog, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), has classified cryptocurrency assets as financial products, enabling them to be regulated.

In a brief notice posted in the government gazette, the watchdog said crypto assets must be regulated in South Africa from the publication date.

These planning regulations include applying foreign exchange controls and a licensing regime for crypto trading companies. As such, to operate legally in the country, crypto financial companies must apply for a license between June 1 and November 20, 2023.

The declaration will help enable authorities to tackle scams and protect customers, as well as help South Africa, avoid being greylisted by global watchdog the FATF, said the regulator's head Unathi Kamlana.

Portugal to Start Taxing Crypto Gains

Portugal plans to tax crypto gains on purchases held for less than a year. Long considered a crypto tax haven, this is a significant policy shift for Europe's crypto-friendly nation.

Currently, crypto gains are not taxed in Portugal unless they come from business activities. But the country is proposing a new provision to its 2023 budget that would tax gains on crypto holdings held for less than 365 days at a rate of 28%. This also means cryptos held for longer than a year will continue to be exempt from taxes.

Moreover, the State Budget also proposes a 4% taxation fee on free crypto transfers in cases of inheritance, as well as stamp duties on commissions charged by intermediaries.

Now, the ball is in the Portuguese parliament’s court. It will decide whether the proposed crypto tax changes are enforced or not.

Cointelegraph Research Shows Growing Interest Among Professional Investors Towards Crypto

Contrary to popular belief that institutional interest in crypto assets is waning, the ground reality seems to show an altogether different picture, per the latest research report that Cointelegraph Research prepared in partnership with Shyft Network and others.

The report notes that with companies like Microstrategy and Tesla heavily invested in cryptocurrencies, the interest of institutional investors to join the Blockchain Ecosystem remains robust.

Moreover, the who's who of the global banking industry, like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Blackrock, Goldman Sachs, Bridgewater Associates, and DBS Bank, are acutely keen to carve a niche for themselves in the attractive Digital Assets market.

For instance, Blackrock, the largest global asset manager with assets worth $10 trillion, has announced its second blockchain exchange-traded fund amid skyrocketing demand for institutional-grade infrastructure in the blockchain world.

Statistically speaking, the percentage of institutional investors buying cryptocurrencies has grown by 22% from 2019 to 2021.

The Institutional Demand for Cryptocurrencies: Global Survey 2022 report also notes that 43% of professional investors have already invested in crypto assets, and 19% plan to invest in them in the future.

Important Announcement: 10,000 SHFT on Offer!

After Shyft DAO approved the Veriscope VASP grant proposal, an aggregate of 10,000 SHFT has been granted for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) that integrate to the Veriscope mainnet by September 30, 2022. The fund will enable VASPs to pay the Shyft Network gas fees while using Veriscope. This offer will remain valid until December 31, 2022, or till the VASP exhausts its SHFT grant.

Interesting Reads

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