The Argentine Chamber of Deputies passed a series of cryptocurrency tax opportunities for citizens holding undeclared assets in foreign countries as part of reintroducing the “Omnibus law.” The bill, which was dropped in February, has now been reintroduced and approved by the lower house and is expected to be discussed by the Senate in the […]
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Russia Warns US of Further Aggravation After Funding Bill Passes Amid Heightened Geopolitical Strife
Amid ongoing global tensions, the price of gold remains robust at ,391 per troy ounce, while bitcoin continues to trade at a 12% deficit from its peak value. Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a series of funding bills for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Following the bill’s passage, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova […]
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Bitcoin Price Pumps After Hitting Key Support While Green Bitcoin Presale Passes $7M
Bitcoin (BTC) has staged a sharp recovery rally after finding crucial support, providing relief for crypto bulls. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is back above ,000 at the time of writing, regaining ground after the recent selloff. Riding bullish sentiment of its own is the Green Bitcoin (GBTC) project, which has now raised over million […]
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Argentine Senate Passes Reform Creating Cryptocurrency Entities Registry
The Argentine Senate passed a law that creates a registry for any institution that offers cryptocurrency services in the country. The CNV, the Argentine securities enforcer, will manage this registry, which also establishes obligations for crypto companies to deliver personal information on their customers and other data to government entities. Argentine Senate Passes Crypto Anti-Money […]
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Latam Insights: El Salvador Passes Bitcoin Citizenship Law, Argentina to Allow Crypto Denominated Contracts
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: El Salvador passes a Bitcoin donation citizenship law, Argentina will allow the settlement of crypto-denominated contracts, and President Milei moves to deregulate Argentina.
El Salvador Passes Bitcoin Citizenship Law
The government of El Salvador has passed a law that allows foreign investors to become Salvadoran citizens. The project, approved with Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party majority in the Congress, offers foreigners the possibility of sidestepping the ordinary requirements to receive Salvadoran citizenship by making Bitcoin donations to social and economic programs in the country, without mentioning a determined number.
Before, the only way of becoming a Salvadoran citizen involved having five years of residence for immigrants from a non-Spanish-speaking country. On December 8, the country announced a program called “Adopting El Salvador,” which would allow foreign Bitcoin millionaires to fast-track their access to a Salvadoran Passport by investing million USDT. However, the program will be available only for 1,000 applicants each year.
Argentina to Allow Crypto-Denominated Contracts
The government of Argentina will allow contracts to be settled in Bitcoin or any cryptocurrency or asset agreed between the parties involved. This is a consequence of the recent deregulation executive order that Argentine President Javier Milei inked this week.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of the Argentine Republic Diana Mondino announced this, stating that contract payments could be settled in currencies and assets different from the Argentine peso. She stated:
We ratify and confirm that in Argentina contracts can be agreed in Bitcoin. And also any other crypto and/or items such as kilos of meat or liters of milk.
President Javier Milei Issues Mega Executive Order to Deregulate Argentina
Argentine President Javier Milei has issued an emergency national executive order modifying dozens of laws to deregulate and free the country’s economy. The order, titled “Decree of Necessity and Urgency – Bases for the Reconstruction of the Argentine Economy,” has over 360 articles and modifies several relevant aspects in the Argentine regulatory framework, including rent, pricing, and work determinations.
The decree also prepares to privatize state companies, converting them into limited companies. Milei defended his actions, stressing that they were touching elites’ interests. He explained:
They complain because they lose privileges. We make markets more competitive and end some privileges. And some who see their interests affected complain.
Due to its size and scope, the order is already being criticized, being labeled as unconstitutional by some experts who believe it could face heavy opposition in Congress, which can repeal it if both chambers decide against it with a simple majority.
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Latam Insights: Colombian President Meets Blockchain Experts, Brazil Passes 15% Tax for Foreign Crypto Investments
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: the Colombian president met with a group of blockchain proponents, the Brazilian Senate passed a law taxing investments in foreign exchanges, and the Fintech Chamber proposed a tokenization framework in Argentina.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro Held a Meeting With Blockchain Experts
Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, recently met a group of blockchain experts to examine the possibilities of adopting this tech in state projects and its benefits.
Different blockchain proponents, including JAN3 CEO Samson Mow, JAN3 Marketing Director Raul Velasquez, JAN3 CMO Edwin Rivas, RSK Labs co-founder Diego Gutierrez, Bingx International Operations Consultant Cristian Quintero, and Tropykus co-founder Mauricio Tovar discussed the implementation of systems leveraging this tech in health billing and land registry applications.
Petro also hinted at utilizing bitcoin to finance free work cooperatives in popular areas, stating that these tools “can be promising for the prosperity of the people.”
Brazilian Senate Passes Law Taxing Cryptocurrency Purchases Made Using Foreign Exchanges
The Brazilian Senate approved Bill 4,173/2023, which defines certain taxes that must be applied to Brazilians investing abroad, including cryptocurrency purchases. The proposal, now pending presidential sanction, modifies the current cryptocurrency income tax gain rate, taking it to 15% for any amount of income perceived.
However, the bill is still somewhat broad in the eyes of experts, who still have doubts about the bill’s applicability and which exchanges will be considered offshore.
Maria Carolina Sampaio, head of the tax area and partner at GVM Advogados, told O Globo that the bill is broad and unclear, given that it does not define which assets will be taxed and does not define what constitutes a foreign investment.
Fintech Chamber Presents Tokenization Regulation Proposal in Argentina
The Argentine Fintech Chamber revealed a set of proposals focused on regulating the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) in the country. In a document presented to Argentine President Javier Milei, the organization proposes to adopt a limited sandbox to test the functionalities of the tokenization approach for several use cases.
In the same way, the chamber proposes to include the processes to confirm that the issued tokens are linked to the promoted assets, letting issuers know the taxes and processes needed to complete the tokenization of these assets. This would include allowing notaries to provide physical examination services for these assets.
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Cardano Passes Crucial Update As ADA Price Prepares For 65% Rally
The Cardano ecosystem is ringing in significant transformations with the Cardano Foundation’s announcement of a pivotal modification to its staking parameters. After a stake pool operator (SPO) poll and thorough deliberations by the Parameters Committee, the foundation decided to update the network to enhance both its competitiveness and user experience.
The Cardando Foundation stated via X (formerly Twitter): “As a result of the Stake Pool Operator [SPO]-Poll and a subsequent evaluation by the Parameters Committee, the Cardano Foundation has successfully submitted a transaction on the Cardano mainnet to lower the minPoolCost parameter from 340 to 170 ADA.”
This development has been welcomed with a mix of anticipation and strategy from different sections of the Cardano community. Cardano staking pool “Stake with Pride” was quick to pivot in line with the new parameters, remarking:
The Cardano min Pool Cost fee has been dropped to 170 ADA from 340. SPOs can drop their fees starting epoch 445 on October 27th. They further pledged to optimize their policies with the recent modifications, firmly anchoring their “minPoolCost to 170 permanently, and Margin to 0% temporarily, as market dynamics are assessed.
The minPoolCost parameter, as explained in a Cardano Foundation blog post from September 13, had twofold objectives since its inception with the Shelley launch in 2020. The primary two goals were to act as a defense against Sybil attacks and to guarantee pool operators a floor income to sustain their server operations.
The Cardano Foundation elaborated, “By potentially halving minPoolCost we don’t enforce but allow the operators to reduce their ‘floor’ income.” The strategic change is anticipated to shift market dynamics favorably for smaller pool operators, providing them with a more level playing field.
Cardano (ADA) Price Poised For A 65% Rally?
The Cardano price has seen a strong uptrend in the past few hours, in line with the overall crypto market. At the time of writing, ADA was trading at .282, up 6.5% over the past 24 hours. The 1-day chart of ADA shows that ADA was able to break out of its 6-month downtrend (black line) this past Sunday. On April 15, ADA marked its high for the year at over .46, since then the Cardano price has been on the decline.
As a result of the breakout momentum, ADA was able to overcome the important 0.236 Fibonacci retracement level at .277. Remarkably, the price has already withstood a retest and established it as new support on the lower time frames. Should ADA manage a daily close above this price level today, the outlook for the Cardano price could turn further bullish.
As then, ADA would have to face arguably the most important resistance at the moment, the 200-day exponential moving average (EMA, blue line), at .299. The price indicator is often referred to as the “bull line”. Accordingly, a breach could maneuver ADA back into bullish territory. ADA last failed to complete a daily close above the 200-day EMA in mid-July.
If a breakout into bullish territory succeeds, the next targets would be the Fibonacci retracement level of 0.382 at .313, 0.5 at .341, 0.618 at .370, and 0.786 at .411. The pinnacle target remains the annual peak of .463, suggesting a prospective ascent of 65% from its present value.
In this context, it is important to mention that ADA has underperformed compared to other altcoins so far this year. For example: While Solana (SOL) is currently trading just below its high for the year and Ether (ETH) is only 15% away from a new high for the year, ADA is still 39% below this level.
On the one hand, this shows the existing potential, and on the other hand, it shows that ADA has not been one of traders’ favorite altcoins so far in 2023. Whether a rise above the 200-day EMA can change this remains to be seen.
Pennsylvania State House Committee Passes Bill on ‘Reporting Requirements’ for Crypto Miners
The Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Pennsylvania General Assembly recently passed a bill which proposes “reporting requirements for qualifying crypto-asset mining operations.” Sponsor of the draft legislation Greg Vitali said the bill “doesn’t prohibit any cryptocurrency operation from operating in any way.”
Reporting Requirements for Crypto Miners
The Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee recently passed a bill on “reporting requirements for qualifying crypto-asset mining operations and for an impact study.” The committee also reportedly voted to remove the two-year moratorium on new mining operations from Bill 1476.
According to a report published by The Centre Square, the bill was passed despite resistance by Republicans on the committee. Sponsored by committee chairman Greg Vitali, the bill will now be forwarded to the full house. Explaining why he pushed for the bill’s passage, Vitali reportedly said:
This bill simply is a reporting and study bill. It doesn’t prohibit any cryptocurrency operation from operating in any way. It simply requires them to report what they are doing. Right now we’re in a situation where many cryptocurrency operations are gravitating towards Pennsylvania and we simply don’t know where they are and what they’re doing.
As per the draft bill, owners of qualifying crypto-asset mining operations will be required to furnish authorities with “the number and geographic locations” of any such operations. The type of mining machines, and their purchase as well as their retirement dates. As expected, the proposed law also requires crypto miners to share with authorities the amount of electricity consumed as well as when it is used.
However, Martin Causer, a Republican from Bradford, who opposed the bill, said the reporting standards proposed in the Vitali-sponsored bill are “burdensome and not necessary.” Concerning crypto miners’ alleged contribution to the State’s pollution legacy, the Republican representative said:
“A lot of these operations utilize waste coal and actually are beneficial to cleaning up waste coal in the commonwealth — which I think is beneficial.”
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US House Committee Passes CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act With Support of 60 Congress Members
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee has passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, the first anti-central bank digital currency legislative effort introduced in the United States. Congressman Tom Emmer detailed that the bill halts the efforts of the Biden administration “from issuing a financial surveillance tool that will undermine the American way of life.”
CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act Advances
U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN) announced Wednesday that the House Financial Services Committee has passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, which he and 50 other lawmakers reintroduced in Congress last week.
“It’s the first anti-central bank digital currency [CBDC] legislative effort introduced in the United States,” Emmer emphasized, noting that he has been working on the bill for over three years.
“Today, this bill has the support of 60 members of Congress and groups ranging from the Independent Community Bankers Association and American Bankers Association to Club for Growth, Heritage Action, and the Blockchain Association,” the congressman detailed, elaborating:
This bill is simple: It halts the efforts of this Administrative State under President Biden from issuing a financial surveillance tool that will undermine the American way of life.
The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act prevents the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly to individuals, including through intermediaries. This will ensure “the Fed cannot mobilize into a retail bank able to collect personal financial information on Americans,” the lawmaker described. Moreover, “the legislation prohibits the Federal Reserve from using any CBDC to implement monetary policy, ensuring the Federal Reserve cannot use a CBDC as a tool to control the American economy,” he added.
Emmer pointed out that in China, the Communist Party is using a central bank digital currency to track the spending habits of its citizens. Meanwhile, in Canada, “the Trudeau administration froze the bank accounts of individuals involved in the 2022 trucker protests. That might work in Canada, that doesn’t work here,” he said.
The lawmaker warned of growing interest in financial surveillance in the U.S. “The White House issued an Executive Order placing urgency on central bank digital currency research and development, and the agency reports to that executive order have made it clear that the Biden administration is not only itching to create a CBDC, but they are willing to trade Americans’ right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style central bank digital currency,” Emmer cautioned.
“Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, a central bank digital currency … is government-controlled programmable money that, if not designed to emulate cash, could give the federal government the ability to surveil and restrict Americans’ transactions,” the lawmaker stressed, warning:
This is not just alarming – it’s downright un-American. We’ve already seen examples of governments weaponizing their financial system against their citizens.
What do you think about Congressman Tom Emmer’s CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act? Let us know in the comments section below.
US House Committee Passes ‘Keep Your Coins Act’ to Protect Right to Self-Custody Crypto
The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services has passed the Keep Your Coins Act of 2023 to protect the self-custody of crypto. “Those attacking self-custody oppose individual freedom. They want someone they control to control your assets,” said Congressman Warren Davidson who introduced the bill.
Keep Your Coins Act of 2023 Advances
The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services passed the Keep Your Coins Act of 2023 (H.R. 4841) on Thursday. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), “would ensure that consumers are allowed to maintain custody of their digital assets in self-hosted wallets,” the committee described.
Congressman Davidson tweeted Friday:
Last night, U.S. House Committee on Financial Services passed my bill to protect self-custody. Those attacking self-custody oppose individual freedom. They want someone they control to control your assets. Defend Freedom.
Keep Your Coins Act of 2023 prohibits federal agencies “from restricting the use of convertible virtual currency by a person to purchase goods or services for the person’s own use, and for other purposes,” according to the text of the bill.
In addition, federal agencies may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise impair a person’s ability to “self-custody digital assets using a self-hosted wallet or other means to conduct transactions for any lawful purpose,” the bill adds.
Many people took to Twitter to thank Congressman Davidson for protecting self-custody. Rep. Davidson “is America’s NUMBER ONE protector of self-custody and a person’s fundamental right to individual financial freedom,” lawyer John E. Deaton wrote.
“The debate on Rep. Warren Davidson’s self-custody bill was important. He speaks powerfully about foundational questions regarding the relationship of the individual & the state & why public policy shouldn’t begin with a presumption of surveillance. We are lucky to have his leadership,” Coinbase’s chief policy officer, Faryar Shirzad, opined.
Besides the Keep Your Coins Act of 2023, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services also passed three other crypto-related bills this week. They are the Financial Innovation and Technology (FIT) for the 21st Century Act, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, and the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act.
What do you think about U.S. lawmakers advancing the Keep Your Coins Act of 2023? Let us know in the comments section below.