LONDON, 13th November – Coinfirm has a fast glance at the past week’s global compliance and regulatory news affecting our stakeholders.
Sunak Speaks on Stablecoins
Rishi Sunak, the UK’s Treasury Chancellor has in a note on 9th of November set out the UK’s ambition for the future of financial services which touched upon a range of topics.
Sunak mentioned stablecoins, saying that “new technologies such as stablecoins — privately-issued digital currencies — could transform the way people store and exchange their money, making payments cheaper and faster.” And made a brief overture on a potential CBDC – “as the UK takes a leading role in the global conversation on Central Bank Digital Currencies, the Chancellor welcomed work by HM Treasury and the Bank of England to consider whether and how central banks can issue their own digital currencies as a complement to cash.”
Amongst the other topics raised were the effect on cross-channel regulations post-Brexit and green finance.- READ MORE
Russia Finance Ministry Changes Crypto Tax Requirements
Russian citizens must report their holdings if annual transactions exceed 600,000 Russian rubles (~$7,800) according to a package of draft bills. In a previous proposal, the ministry had sought disclosure when transactions pass 100,000 rubles (around $1,300) in one year. The changes follow other legislation around cryptocurrency tax in Russia such as the penalty of imprisonment for failure to report.
The value of the crypto reported will be calculated by the national tax agency based on the prices at the moment of transactions, the bill reads. – READ MORE
Lebanon Latest Central Bank to Raise CBDC Prospect
Lebanon’s Banque Du Liban Governor Riad Salameh has said that the country would be looking to roll out a CBDC in 2021. The country’s financial system has been wracked by instability after the country defaulted in March.
The news follows hot on the heels of a plethora of other central banks exploring or launching their own CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency). – READ MORE
Crypto-savvy former CFTC chair tapped by Biden for transition team
Gary Gensler, a crypto-savvy former CTFC chair, will be serving on president-elect Joe Biden’s transition team. Gensler has been the chairman for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, under President Barack Obama from 2009 until 2014 – cleaning up the then $400 trillion derivatives market in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis. Gensler will be the lead tasked with ensuring as smooth a transition as possible with the Federal Reserve and banking and securities regulators.
Gensler has testified in front of Congress about cryptocurrency and blockchain on numerous occasions, pushing back against comparisons between cryptocurrencies and Ponzi schemes and declaring that the still-unlaunched libra token met the requirements of being a security under U.S. law. At an MIT conference two years ago, he opined there was a “strong case” XRP, the cryptocurrency closely associated with startup Ripple, was a security.
The pick is seen by many in the crypto community as a sign of an administration looking to embrace cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. – READ MORE
