Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Regulation news
- Taiwan’s government reportedly wants to block citizens from making crypto purchases with their credit cards. UDN reported that the top financial regulator, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) sent a letter to a Taiwanese banking association on the matter earlier this month. The FSC reportedly told the association’s members that cryptoassets are “highly speculative and risky,” and that it was hard to “effectively monitor transactions” conducted with digital tokens. The FSC reportedly called upon members to cut their ties with crypto-related firms, and requested that banks and card companies comply with its wishes “within the space of three months.”
Investments news
- Uprise, the South Korean crypto investment firm that earlier this month revealed it had lost a staggering 99% of its clients’ funds by taking a short position on LUNAC futures prior to May’s devastating crash, wants to compensate its investors. However, per an exclusive report from Seoul Kyungjae, Uprise will only pay out 40% of investors’ stakes in the form of “damages.” The company has reportedly put aside over USD 7.6m in a fund that it will use to pay its customers.
- Crypto lender BlockFi stated that, as of June 30, 2022, the fair value of their outstanding loans to borrowers was approximately USD 1.8bn. Additionally, the fair value of digital assets transferred to them through various borrowing agreements totaled around USD 2.6bn as of the same date.
- Aptos, a blockchain startup founded by former crypto executives at social media giant Meta, has spoken with investors about a new round of funding that would value the company at USD 2.75bn, The Information reported, citing an undisclosed person with direct knowledge of the matter. The person added that the valuation may have increased as the talks progressed.
- DeFi trading platform Hashflow announced it raised USD 25m in new funding, bringing its valuation to USD 400m.
Exchanges news
- Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin is set to enter the Mexican market by the end of the year, as part of a plan to expand elsewhere in Latin America, Reuters reported, citing the exchange’s CEO Reinaldo Rabelo. The CEO added that talks for regulatory approval in the country are in their final stages.
Legal news
- Randall Crater, the founder of the crypto scheme My Big Coin, was convicted for running this scheme to defraud investors by marketing and selling fraudulent virtual currency. Over the course of the scheme, Crater misappropriated over USD 6m of investor funds for his own personal gain, the US Department of Justice stated.
Taxes news
- South Korean crypto investors may have reason to cheer after the government announced plans to delay the introduction of capital gains tax levies on crypto trading profits. Seoul had previously passed a law that sought to introduce a flat 20% tax on profits above around USD 1,900 per year, but has subsequently unpicked this law. A new proposal, unveiled by the finance ministry in a video presentation, could see the tax rollout pushed back as far as January 1, 2025.
Gaming news
- Video game company Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney stated that his firm “definitely won’t” follow Minecraft developers in banning NFTs. He stated that “[d]evelopers should be free to decide how to build their games, and you are free to decide whether to play them.”
Mining news
- Bitcoin (BTC) miner Core Scientific announced it entered into a USD 100m common stock purchase agreement with financial solutions provider B. Riley, which means it now has the right, without obligation, to sell and issue up to USD 100m of shares of its common stock to the buyer.
Source: Cryptonews
