Coin Bureau Insider

2022-05-17 12:04:16 https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/05/16/brazilian-stock-exchange-b3-to-launch-bitcoin-futures-within-six-months/

Portugal To Lose Crypto Tax Haven Status

According to Portuguese news outlet ECO, Minister of Finance Fernando Medina confirmed on Friday during a working session that crypto assets will be subject to capital gains taxation in the near future.

Currently, Portugal considers cryptocurrencies to be a currency rather than an asset, which means that while firms that provide cryptocurrency services are taxed, people who invest in them are not. According to Medina, this is due to a regulatory gap rather than a deliberate design.

According to António Mendonça Mendes, the nation’s deputy minister for finance and tax affairs, capital gains may just be the first in a list of additional taxations. He stated that cryptocurrency in Portugal may soon be subject to VAT, stamp duties, or even property taxes.

https://decrypt.co/100549/portugals-status-as-a-crypto-tax-haven-appears-to-be-ending

Coinbase Unveils Web3 Mobile DeFi Wallet And Dapp Browser

Coinbase, America's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has rolled out Web3 functionality for a select group of its Coinbase mobile app users. Selected users can now access features such as a hot wallet and Dapp browser within the app.

This will allow users to access DeFi services and NFT platforms through their Coinbase app. However, the Coinbase hot wallet will be co-custodial, unlike decentralised hot wallet apps like MetaMask. This means that the wallet's private key will be kept by the company and can also be kept by the user.

According to Coinbase’s director of product management Rishi Dean, the shared custody of the keys is a security feature designed to protect users from device-related problems. He stated that this allows Coinbase to assist in the recovery of hot wallets through their live support in case of lost or stolen devices.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-unveils-web3-mobile-dapp-and-defi-wallet-and-browser

European Central Bank Explores Anonymity-Focused CBDC In New Report

A newly published working paper reveals that the European Central Bank (ECB) seems to be exploring the possibility of an anonymity-centric central bank digital currency (CBDC).

According to the report,

“While a CBDC with anonymity is preferable to traditional electronic payments such as bank deposits, it may become supplanted by payment tokens issued by large technology firms. This risk would be particularly tangible if those platforms compete with banks in the market for financial services. However, optionality for data‐sharing features may result in a widespread CBDC adoption.”

The paper also states that the introduction of a CBDC with anonymity would enable merchants to prevent banks from “extracting information from payment flows.” Instead, the bank must elicit such information through contract terms. As a result, merchants distribute more goods online, which raises social welfare.

https://www.coinbureau.com/news/european-central-bank-explores-anonymity-focused-cbdc-in-new-report/ Open / Comment

2022-05-17 12:04:15 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (17/05/22)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:

Do Kwon Unveils Latest Revival Plan Involving Terra Hard Fork

Do Kwon has proposed forking Terra into a new chain without UST. Kwon made the announcement on Monday through a post on the Terra Forum and explained his reasoning through an accompanying Twitter thread.

Under the new proposal, the existing Terra chain will be forked into a new chain called "Terra" with the token "Luna" while the old chain would become "Terra Classic" and the original Luna tokens would become "Luna Classic" (LUNC).

The new chain will have a total supply of 1 billion LUNA tokens that will be distributed between developers, UST holders, and those who held or staked Luna or its derivative projects before the price of the stablecoin de-pegged.

The proposal will be put up for governance vote on May 18th Asia Time and if the proposal passes, Terraform Labs will coordinate the fork with validators next Friday (May 27th).

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/147157/do-kwon-wants-to-fork-the-terra-blockchain-as-part-of-revival-plan/

DeFi Lender ‘Scream’ Loses Millions As DEI And fUSD Lose Peg

Scream, a DeFi lending protocol on Fantom, has incurred $35 million in bad debt after failing to adjust the price of two stablecoins that lost their US dollar peg- Fantom USD (fUSD) and Dei (DEI). The protocol kept the price of both fUSD and DEI hardcoded to $1 on its platform.

This allowed whales to take advantage of the situation by depositing large amounts of FUSD and DEI at discounted rates and draining all other stablecoins from the Scream platform. Fantom USDT, FRAX, DAI, MIM, and USDC are among the stablecoins that have been drained from the protocol. Users who claim to have made deposits with these stablecoins are unable to withdraw funds from Scream.

Scream responded to the problem by announcing that it was working with the Fantom Foundation to find a solution to the bad debt. This approach entails liquidating all fUSD debts that are currently in default. Meanwhile, Deus Finance DAO has proposed selling treasury bonds to restore DEI's peg stability. According to the proposal, the platform will offer users treasury bonds in return for USDC, DAI, and FRAX as collateral.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147046/defi-lender-left-with-35-million-bad-debt-after-quoting-depegged-stablecoins-at-1/

Celsius Network's SEC Filing Suggests IPO Plans For Crypto Mining Subsidiary

According to a recent announcement, Celsius Mining, the mining arm of crypto lending platform Celsius Network, has submitted a Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Form S-1 is filed by companies before going public in the US. This suggests that Celsius’ bitcoin mining subsidiary could soon be going public through an IPO.

The process of launching an IPO might take up to six months after the S-1 is filed, which means that we can expect the IPO to go live before the end of 2022. In June last year, Celsius had invested about $200 million in Bitcoin (BTC) mining infrastructure, as well as holdings in Core Scientific, Rhodium Enterprises, and Luxor Technologies.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/celsius-network-s-crypto-mining-subsidiary-sec-filing-suggests-plans-for-ipo

Brazilian Stock Exchange B3 To Launch Bitcoin Futures

Brazilian Stock Exchange ‘B3’, has revealed that it plans to offer its first official cryptocurrency product, Bitcoin (BTC) futures trading. André Milanez, the company's chief financial officer, announced the news on a conference call on Monday. According to Milanez, BTC futures trading can be expected to launch “in the next three to six months”.

B3's head of information technology, Jochen Mielke de Lima, indicated in January that the Brazilian stock exchange would offer numerous cryptocurrencies-related products in 2022, including Bitcoin futures and Ethereum (ETH) futures. B3 currently offers exposure to 10 crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in the Brazilian regulated market. Open / Comment

2022-05-16 20:31:21 Hope you enjoyed that news update!

Over the weekend, I asked you guys on my instagram if there were any questions that wanted to ask me.

There were quite a few so I thought I would answer some of them in a video on Coin Bureau Clips today!

Enjoy!



Open / Comment

2022-05-16 17:23:15

Open / Comment

2022-05-16 17:23:08 Hey Guys,

It's been another wild week in the crypto market, and I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about Terra by now. That's why I kept my Terra tirade to a minimum this week's crypto review.

It's also because I'll be doing an in depth video on what exactly went down later this week once the dust has settled a bit more.

Although Terra is certainly to blame for many of the troubles in the crypto market, it is certainly not the only factor. Liquidations, stock market sell offs in response to inflation, and even Bitcoin miner capitulation are arguably playing a much larger role. It's crazy to think that it's been 7 weeks of sell off in the crypto market.

While I am hopeful that we will see a recovery rally soon, I don't see to many signs that one is headed our way. The macro environment is bearish as can be, but that has historically been a good indicator that a short term reversal is imminent.

I suppose we will just have to wait and see. Hang tight crypto friends, it'll be alright in the end.

Enjoy! Open / Comment

2022-05-16 12:10:09 According to the post, the Terra Validator League (now renamed the "Terra Rebirth League") did not take the decision to halt the chain lightly, and the Terra team had failed to give the proper notification using the word "Confirm" to actually confirm with all validators that they should halt the chain, leaving him feeling "betrayed."

Kim appears to completely disagree with Kwon’s plan to reconstitute the chain and reset token supply to 1 billion LUNA, stating that re-using the Terra chain “is completely making Terra chain’s internal value to 0.”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/major-validator-calls-for-completely-new-chain-to-replace-terra

Goldman Sachs And Barclays Participate In $70 Million Series A By Elwood Technologies

Elwood Technologies, a UK crypto trading platform owned by Alan Howard, has announced a $70 million Series A round co-led by Goldman Sachs and Dawn Capital. The funding round places Elwood at a $500 million valuation.

Goldman Sachs, Dawn Capital LLP, Barclays Plc, units of Commerzbank AG, Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., and other venture firms participated in the round. According to Chief Executive Officer James Stickland, Elwood was formed to satisfy the needs of institutions seeking exposure to digital assets, but it is now moving into a new phase "to provide broader mass market involvement".

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-15/goldman-barclays-invest-in-alan-howard-crypto-trading-platform?srnd=crypto-technology

UK To Go Ahead With Stablecoin Regulations After Queen’s Approval

In new financial legislation introduced by the Queen, the UK Treasury Department indicated it would include proposals to regulate the crypto sector as a payment channel. The Treasury has stated that algorithmic stablecoins like UST do not ensure stability in the same way that traditional reserve-backed stablecoins do.

The announcement stated,

“This will create the conditions for issuers and service providers to operate and grow in the UK, whilst ensuring financial stability and high regulatory standards so that these new technologies can be used reliably and safely. The Government has been clear that certain stablecoins are not suitable for payment purposes as they share characteristics with unbacked crypto assets. We will continue to monitor the wider crypto asset market and stand ready to take further regulatory action if required.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, further stated that it was his goal to make the UK a "global hub for crypto-asset technology," and that the legislative proposals would aid crypto firms in "investing, innovating, and scaling up" in the country.

https://www.coinbureau.com/news/uk-to-go-ahead-with-stablecoin-regulations-after-queens-approval/ Open / Comment

2022-05-16 12:10:08 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (16/05/22)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:

Vitalik And CZ Share Thoughts On Terra’s Action Plan

The recent Terra death spiral has got many important figures in the industry talking.

Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, critiqued the entire premise of UST, stating,

“‘Algostable’ has become a propaganda term serving to legitimise uncollateralised stables by putting them in the same bucket as collateralised stables like RAI/DAI and we need to really emphasise that the two are very different.”

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, critiqued the proposed hard fork plan for the Terra blockchain stating,

“This won’t work. Forking does not give the new fork any value. That's wishful thinking. One cannot void all transactions after an old snapshot, both on-chain and off-chain (exchanges).”

CZ went to further question the transparency of Do Kwon and the Luna Foundation Guard’s accounting for its BTC reserves. Vitalik also called on Terra to prioritise small retail holders over whales in any proposed reimbursement plans, drawing an unrelated parallel to the Singapore Employment Law’s policies as a model.

https://decrypt.co/100461/vitalik-and-cz-have-some-thoughts-on-terras-demise

President Nayib Bukele Announces 44 Countries To Meet In El Salvador To Discuss Bitcoin

On Late Sunday, El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, tweeted

"Tomorrow, 32 central banks and 12 financial authorities (44 countries) will meet in El Salvador to discuss financial inclusion, digital economy, banking the unbanked, the #Bitcoin rollout and its benefits in our country."

The attending central banks and authorities are primarily from developing countries, including but not limited to Nigeria, Egypt, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Paraguay, Angola, Guinea and Madagascar.

This announcement comes just a day after a tweet from ‘Bitcoin Beach’ which stated that several countries are flying to El Salvador. The agenda remains ambiguous on the extent to which Bitcoin will be the focus of the discussion and meeting.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/146995/nayib-bukele-44-countries-bitcoin-el-salvador-meeting/

Indian Central Bank Says Cryptos Could Lead to "Dollarisation" of Economy: Report

According to a Press Trust of India report, top officials of India's ‘Reserve bank of India’, cautioned a parliamentary committee on finance that cryptocurrency could lead to the "dollarisation" of a sector of the economy, which would be detrimental to the country's sovereign interests.

It stated,

"Almost all cryptocurrencies are dollar-denominated and issued by foreign private entities, it may eventually lead to dollarisation of a part of our economy which will be against the country's sovereign interest. It will seriously undermine the RBI's capacity to determine monetary policy and regulate the monetary system of the country. It could replace a part of the monetary system undermining RBI's capacity to regulate the flow of money in the system.”

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/05/16/indian-central-bank-says-cryptos-could-lead-to-dollarization-of-economy-report/

Major Validator Calls For A ‘Completely New Chain’ To Replace Terra

Jiyun Kim, CEO of blockchain solutions company DSRV, urged validators in the Terra ecosystem to reject a hard fork in favour of a brand-new community-driven blockchain, stating,

“The previous Terra chain should permanently vanish. And a completely new chain driven by the community should [be made to] save the Lunatics.”

DSRV runs a validator node on Terra with 9.36% of the on-chain voting power and recently published an opinion post written by Kim which detailed the unfolding of events from the validator’s perspective during the Terra death spiral. Open / Comment

2022-05-15 17:54:43

Open / Comment

2022-05-15 17:54:38 Hey Guys,

Hope you had a great weekend. One away from the crypto markets spent with friends and family! I know I did.

Last week was such a topsy-turvy one with the whole Terra debacle, that you may have even missed some of the other developments. Something that did drop was Coinbase's Q1 earnings results - and “drop” is a perfect metaphor. It dropped like a rock which killed COIN stock.

That's because it was Coinbase's first earnings report as a public company where they made a loss. This was not taken positively by the market and at one point, it was trading at a PE ratio (less than 4x) that is highly unusual for a publicly listed company.

So, is it all bad news?

Well, that's exactly what I will be exploring in my video today. I will be taking a deep dive into the report and analysing exactly what were the biggest drags on the company's earnings.

I also found this report to be quite interesting to dive into because it could help give an indication of how companies in the crypto industry are lining up to survive the bear market. It's also likely that Coinbase's earnings can be used as a proxy for what is going on at all the other large global exchanges.

Enjoy! Open / Comment

2022-05-15 12:02:06 Do Kwon, Terra Labs' CEO, announced on Twitter that documentation for the reserves' use during the depegging event would be forthcoming, but there is no clear timeline on when this will happen.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-14/whereabouts-of-terra-s-bitcoin-reserve-a-mystery-after-transfers Open / Comment