News on Regulations and Laws relating to Crypto Industry
A local Pakistani news outlet, The Express Tribune has reported that the government of Pakistan will be implementing a new cryptocurrency regulation soon. The local press has quoted an unnamed source, “These regulations will help to combat money laundering and terrorism financing while it will also help regulation of digital currency throughout the country.”
India enters into election season which is set to take place between April 11 and May 19 in 7 phases. Varun Sethi, founder of Blockchain Lawyer explained, “During election time in India, ‘aachar sanhita’ or code of conduct applies. Thereby no new law can be passed. we can’t expect government to officially announce any regulation regarding cryptos or others.”
Japan will be introducing a new set of cryptocurrency regulations after the G20 summit to be held in June 2019. The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe will be addressing the recent amendment made to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and the Fund Settlement Act which also include the cryptocurrencies sector during the summit to be held in Tokyo.
The summary of research on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) was included by the Central Bank of Korea for its annual report. The Central Bank was reportedly conducting the research on CBDC and even considering the launching one even though the idea was later put aside. Apart from that, it also included the set of sets of blockchain-powered solutions.
An international peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency exchange, LocalBitcoins have confirmed that its exchange will soon become supervised by Finland’s financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Finland. The announcement made in their official blog also explained that they’re currently establishing tools in increasing their compliance with regulators.
The plan to start the reading for cryptocurrency regulation bill was postponed in Russia confirmed by the Russian Duma. The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin commented, “In most countries, cryptocurrency is not a means of settlement. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation believes that cryptocurrencies cannot be a means of payment, settlement or store of value.”
The Republic of San Marino has introduced the blockchain and cryptocurrency AML (anti money laundering) decree as an effort in combating illegal activities related to the emerging industries. The Professor at Jean Monnet University, Stefano Loconte commented, “Upstream, maximum transparency is assured and all those subjects that are not in line with San Marino standards are bounced back.”
Giovanni Merlini, a member of the lower house of the Federal Assembly has pushed a motion in favor of putting cryptocurrency on equal footing as traditional assets. Merlini argued: “Cryptocurrencies could be issued to anyone with a decentralized, cryptographic-based peer-to-peer data network. A large part of the cryptocurrencies is completely anonymous, which favored extortion and money laundering.”
In U.S, Missoula County is gathering information from the public on their plan to regulate cryptocurrency miners due to the environmental concerns. Its coordinators for energy conservation and sustainability, Diana Maneta commented, “When you buy existing renewable energy, essentially you are displacing previous customers, who are using other sources. You are then having an impact on climate change.”
The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and Canadian Securities Administrators has released a paper called Proposed Framework for Crypto-Asset Trading Platforms and seeking community feedback. Their major concern is DLT may provide benefits, global incidents point to crypto assets having heightened risks related to loss and theft as compared to other assets.
