The Weekly Wrap-Up - Friday 24th

The Latest Crypto and DeFi News - Every Friday

China Central Bank Declares Crypto-Related Activity Illegal  

China’s Crackdown on Crypto Continues  Image: Reuters

Today (Sep 24th), China’s central bank (PBOC) announced that all transactions involving cryptocurrencies will no longer be considered legal. Just hours after the announcement, Bitcoin initially fell by 8% - but has since recovered to $42,590 as of 4pm UTC+1 today. Cryptocurrency transactions had already been banned from taking place in China, but now even transitions made through international exchanges will be prohibited. The bank’s official statement described the move as having been made to prevent “financial instability” caused by cryptocurrency trading. However, many consider it closely related to the bank’s development of its own digital currency based on Chinese Renminbi. 

Robinhood Announces New Crypto Wallet Service

The Stock Broker Moves Further Into The Crypto Space

Image: Financial Times

On Wednesday (Sep 22nd), the zero-commision stock broker Robinhood announced that it would be launching its own crypto wallets - bringing the trading platform closer in line with competition such as Coinbase. The platform announced last month that around 60% of its users traded in cryptocurrencies. The wallets, which will facilitate the sending and receiving of crypto assets are initially being rolled out to a small beta-test group, with the full launch occurring next year.

Suex Hit With US Sanctions Over Ransomware

Biden Cracks Down on Crypto Anonymity  

Image: Yahoo

On Tuesday(Sep 21st) the US government announced that Czech OTC crypto broker Suex would face sanctions for its alleged facilitation of ransom transactions for at least eight separate ransomware operations. The sanctions involve banning American citizens from interacting with the company and blocking its access to US property. The precedent set by the move is significant. Until now, no crypto exchange or OTC broker had ever faced sanctions for ransomware involvement. Biden is also currently vetting crypto-critic Saule Omarova for the OCC(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency). The Biden administration appears to be taking a strict approach to crypto regulation and similar moves should be expected in the future. 

Binance Halts Derivative Trading in Australia

 Crypto Exchange Gets Cold Feet

Image: Micky News

On Wednesday(Sep 23rd), Binance announced that Australian users of the service will no longer be able to trade in options, futures or leveraged tokens. Until the ban comes into full effect, users will be able to top-up margin balances but will not be allowed to increase positions. This comes amidst heavy international scrutiny regarding the platform’s legality, with US authorities believed to be currently investigating Binance for market manipulation. The exchange has allowed a grace-period of 90 days for Australian users to close their positions before the derivative-trading portion of the service is shut down on December 23rd.

Indian Crypto-Trading Boom Sparks Tax Speculation 

Increased Crypto Taxation on the Horizon for India

Image: Financial Times

On Wednesday(Sep 23rd), India’s Ministry of Finance announced the formation of a new council to determine the future of taxation for income related to the trading of cryptocurrency. Regulators have yet to reach a conclusion regarding whether crypto-related income can be considered capital gains. Since Summer this year, India’s crypto space has seen an enormous expansion with  the rate of crypto-adoption rising by almost 900%. This momentum can likely be attributed to a ‘vacuum’ of regulation in the country - with comparatively few laws governing the space. The ruling of the council will be brought to Parliament this Winter with potentially significant implications for the future of cryptocurrency in India.