Top 5 News For Today - 05 Mar 2018
Summary:
Russian officials want local miners to use local exchanges; Japanese top exchanges launch self-regulating body later this spring; North Korea may actually be funding their nuclear program with cryptocurrencies; Belgium on the hunt for local crypto traders to tax them; Coinbase got sued for insider trading.
BONUS Thread of The Day
Pastor Fakes Own Kidnap and Demands 3 BTC.
1.Russian Ministry Proposed Local Exchange for Miners
Over the weekend, Russian Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communication proposed a draft, offering local miners to exchange their coins for fiat on local exchanges. Such a legislation will keep finances produced by miners in the country. These news, however, were not welcomed by Russian Central Bank officials, as they claim that any legit exchange should be able to offer services to miners. But this is a never-ending story between Russian Central Bank and Russian Government.
https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-ministry-offers-set-crypto-exchange-miners/
2.Japanese Crypto Exchanges Launch Self-Regulating Body
Japan is an example of the market trying to regulate itself. 16 Japanese official exchanges are governing a separate body to address cryptocurrency related issues. This body will work on legislation and guidelines for new exchanges. It is not yet clear when exactly but rumors have it sometime during “spring 2018”.
https://themerkle.com/japanese-crypto-exchanges-officially-announce-self-regulating-body/
3.North Korea Funding Nuclear Program with Crypto
North Koreans are proactive in cryptocurrencies. It should not be a surprise though. Cryptocurrencies are a great opportunity for Sanctioned governments to bypass current laws and drive some extra finances to the budget. North Korea is not an exception. Their cyber units hacked and ‘earned’ approximately $200mln over the last year. Some of these funds may indeed have been used to fund their nuclear program.
http://bitcoinist.com/nsa-north-korea-nuclear-crypto/
4.Belgian Tax Authorities Hunt Crypto Investors
The Belgian government is tracing Belgians, who invest in cryptocurrencies. Although crypto in Belgium is not legal or illegal, a 33% tax is expected to be paid by those who participate in trades. It is not straightforward to acquire information from exchanges to define the nation of traders, but this may only be the beginning.
https://news.bitcoin.com/belgian-tax-authority-going-crypto-investors/
5.Coinbase Sued for BCH Insider Trading
A lawsuit was classed by Arizona citizen Jeffrey Berk, and is accusing Coinbase of ‘artificially inflating prices’ by means of disclosing buy and sell orders moments after Coinbase launched BCH support on Dec 19, 2017. That move may have soared the price by 130%, from $1865 to $4300 at peak.
BONUS Thread of The Day
Paster Kidnaps himself and demands 3 BTC
https://cryptoren.com/pastor-fakes-kidnap-bitcoin-ransom/
This is it for today.