Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Will Indonesia’s decision to tax crypto stifle local adoption?

Indonesia is the latest Asian country to announce intentions to impose a tax scheme on all crypto transactions and income tax on capital gains from such investments, Reuters reported,　　Indonesia has chosen to place a 0.1% VAT — deducted at the source — on every cryptocurrency transaction. The new regime will come into effect starting May 1st, Reuters reported, citing a government tax official Hestu Yoga Saksama.Indonesia, India and crypto　　With the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies and crypto trading activities, several countries around the world are considering how they can tax and regulate the virtual asset industry.　　Crypto adoption in Indonesia has grown significantly since the end of the pandemic with as many as 11 million Indonesians holding at least one digital asset at the end of 2021.　　The Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency estimated that the total value of cryptocurrency transactions in the commodity futures market reached 859.4 trillion rupiahs ($59.8 billion) in 2021. This is almost a 10x rise in transactions compared to 2020.　　Indonesia is the second Asian country to introduce taxation on crypto assets in recent weeks. India has also implemented a tax scheme on crypto which came into effect on April 1. After months of deliberating on whether crypto should

2022-04-03Deep Dive

With Over 90% of BTC's Supply Issued, Bitcoin's Mining Difficulty Reaches a Lifetime High

Since Thursday, It Has Never Been More Difficult to Find a Bitcoin Block, Difficulty Adjusts 4.31% Higher　　Bitcoin has hit yet another milestone this week, as the networks mining difficulty is the highest it has ever been, and that means it is currently the hardest point in history to find a bitcoin (BTC) block. Satoshi Nakamoto created the mining difficulty to ensure that block times were around ten minutes apart and the difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) readjusts every two weeks.　　Bitcoins mining difficulty reached an all-time high on March 31, 2022, at 28.59 trillion, which means it is currently the hardest time in history to find a BTC block reward.　　The term “mining difficulty” refers to how difficult it is for mining participants to find a block subsidy, otherwise known as a block reward. Bitcoins mining difficulty is very important and keeps the network as consistent as possible. When new mining participants join the network and the hashrate increases, the DAA readjusts higher and it becomes more difficult for miners to find a block reward.　　If the opposite happens, and hashrate subsides, then the DAA will decrease lower making it easier for the aggregate of mining participants. The 4.31% increase on Thursday, was the

2022-04-03Deep Dive

Defiance CEO 'Completely Bullish on Bitcoin' — Says It's 'a Good Time to Get in'

CEO of Defiance ETFs Bullish on Bitcoin　　Sylvia Jablonski, chief executive officer, chief investment officer, and co-founder of Defiance ETFs, explained her bullishness on bitcoin despite recent price declines in an interview with CNBC Thursday.　　Defiance ETFs is an exchange-traded funds (ETFs) sponsor and registered investment advisor focused on thematic investing.　　Jablonski told the media outlet:　　I remain completely bullish on bitcoin. I think the short-term activity is just noise.　　She noted: “It looks as though, in terms of what weve seen for the last six months to a year or so, is that bitcoin is correlated with risk assets and equities specifically.”　　The executive explained that when investors see the crypto market rallying for a couple of days, they pile back into bitcoin, ether, and some of the other cryptocurrencies. Similarly, “when you do see pullbacks, they seem to be hitting bitcoin too,” she pointed out.　　Regarding bitcoin as an inflation hedge, she admitted that “a couple of years ago, a lot of us thought that bitcoin was going to be this great inflation hedge and it was going to react in a similar way to gold and it was going to be this safe-haven inflation trade, but I think its trading more like a Nasdaq

2022-04-03Deep Dive

Central banker conference to examine 'safe DeFi' and CBDCs next week

A group of central bank officials is set to discuss decentralized finance and CBDCs during a virtual event on Monday.　　The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) will livestream a conference from Zurich called “Does Safe DeFi Require CBDCs？” The event will examine how DeFi markets may evolve and what roles central banks and Central Bank Digital Currencies may play in creating a secure environment.　　The Basel, Switzerland-based BIS, which is owned by central banks, will host seminars explaining DeFi, recent developments and projections for the future, stablecoins as settlement assets, and the possible use of CBDCs or a stablecoin/CBDC hybrid model.　　Scheduled speakers include Agustín Carstens, general manager of the BIS, and Thomas Jordan, chair of the Swiss National Banks governing board.　　The event will also feature representatives from the crypto world. These include Centre CEO David Puth, Polygon head of DeFi research Chaudhary, and Crypto Valley Association board member Ekaterina Anthony, among others.　　The BIS gathering comes as numerous aspects of the crypto industry, including DeFi, draw scrutiny from global regulators, including central bankers.　　Indeed, the BIS issued a critique of DeFi in December, calling for greater safeguards to mitigate stability risks. The organization argued that there is a “decentralisation illusion” within the ecosystem.　　The Block

2022-04-03Deep Dive

Sanctions Motivate Russia to Create Own Crypto Market Infrastructure, Finance Ministry Says

With sanctions cutting off Russia from global finances, Moscows motivation to establish a domestic market infrastructure for digital assets grows, a top official at the Russian finance ministry has noted. The comment comes as Russians are losing access to foreign crypto platforms.　　Russia Recognizes Need for Local Crypto Assets Market　　Amid expanding international sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been turning its attention to cryptocurrencies while concerns in the West are growing that the country may use them to circumvent financial restrictions. The penalties have also affected the crypto space, and Russians are finding it harder to cash out their digital holdings.　　The incentives to build the Russian infrastructure for the cryptocurrency market have increased, as sanctions have led to restrictions for Russian nationals on foreign exchanges. The remark was made by Ivan Chebeskov, director of the Financial Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance, during the International Banking Day conference, Tass reported.　　It has become very difficult for Russians who have invested in cryptocurrencies abroad to withdraw their funds and convert them into fiat money, the high-ranking official pointed out. Russian citizenship now worries foreign regulators, money is being blocked, and new accounts are denied, Chebeskov elaborated and stated:　　“Therefore, the motivation

2022-04-03Deep Dive

Why The Latest Correction Is Good For Bitcoin

Bitcoin has finally corrected downwards after being on a bull rally for the better part of this week. This is an expected development for a digital asset that has grown so much in such a short time. However, while some in the market lament this downtrend, it is important to look at what a correction like this might mean for the digital asset. Because it may do more good than harm in times like these.Is This Correction Bad？　　For any upward recovery, there is bound to be a correction. This can be either good or bad depending on the circumstances surrounding the market movements. This time around, bitcoin has begun a recovery trend after making significant gains earlier this week. Now, for the present market, this looks to be more of a good thing for the digital asset given where the price has landed.　　Bitcoin had been able to hit as high as north of $47,000 during its last rally. This had helped to cement the cryptocurrencys place in the bull trend. However, after building up so much momentum, there was bound to be a drawback and the result of that has been a declining value.　　These kinds of corrections during bull rallies

2022-04-02Deep Dive

19,000,000th Bitcoin has just been mined – only 2 million left

The 19,000,000th Bitcoin has just been mined at block #730003. This leaves just 2 million for the rest of us. It seems that some outlets were reporting the news a little prematurely to start the party early. Running your full node is the only way to ensure you use up-to-date information. However, we are now officially over the line and we have had enough confirmations to report the news. You cant blame people for wanting to celebrate early as it is a momentous day. Miners will not mine the 20,000,000th Bitcoin until around 2026, so it is a day to commemorate. Bitcoin certainly is enjoying the moment as the price rallies back above $46,000.　　There were 3,158 transactions in the block that broke the barrier, totaling 42,043 BTC. It was mined by a mining pool called viaBTC. There is a debate online about which block mined the 19 millionth coin as different nodes appear to show contradicting information. Until we receive more confirmations, we may not know exactly which block it was, but it is in a range between 729998 – 730007 by my calculations.Where are we in Bitcoin history？　　If you‘re wondering where we are in the Bitcoin timeline, here’s a

2022-04-02Deep Dive

OpenSea taps MoonPay to enable NFT purchases via bank cards

Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has teamed up with crypto-focused payment solutions provider MoonPay in order to integrate direct credit and debit card payments on its platform.　　In a press release published on April 1, MoonPay CEO and co-founder Ivan Soto-Wright noted:　　“MoonPay‘s mission is to unlock ownership and onboard the world to Web3. To be successful, we have to make the process as simple as possible. MoonPay has done that for crypto. And now, in partnership with Opensea, we’re doing it for NFTs as well.”　　Per the announcement, the partnership would allow OpenSea customers to purchase NFTs via MoonPays NFT Checkout service using payment methods such as MasterCard, Visa, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.　　The integration of these new payment methods will be implemented in several phases, MoonPay explained, and will allow OpenSea users to “easily purchase an NFT using a debit or credit card, sidestepping the need to first acquire cryptocurrency.”Catching up to competition　　MoonPays NFT Checkout service went live on January 27 and was touted as the “industry-first NFT plug-and-play solution that allows users to purchase an NFT instantly with a credit or debit card.”　　“By expanding the reach of NFTs to anyone able to pay with a card, we‘re not only drastically

2022-04-02Deep Dive

Turkey wants crypto scammer jailed for life

Turkish prosecutors are asking courts to jail suspected crypto scammers in the country for thousands of years, per available information.　　According to reports from local media, the suspects are part of those involved in the $108 million scams involving the Thodex crypto exchange. The prime suspect in the case, Faruk Fatih Özer, founder and CEO of Thodex, is currently at large and declared wanted.Thodex crypto exchange CEO is on the run　　Last year, we reported that Thodex informed users that it was going offline for 4 – 5 days due to a sale process. The platform, which handles millions of dollars in transactions daily, was one of the major crypto platforms in the country.　　Users expressed concerns on Twitter when they couldnt access their accounts or withdraw their funds, leading to police raids all over the country. As a result, there were allegations that about $2 billion of investor money was lost. At that time, about 62 people were arrested and detained during the investigation process.　　At the time, Özer claimed he only traveled to discuss deals with foreign investors and would soon return to Turkey. But prosecutors alleged that he fled to Albania and issued a red alert for his arrest through Interpol.

2022-04-02Deep Dive

Polygon Announces Zero-Knowledge Identity Platform for Web3

Polygon Reveals ID Protocol Powered by ZK Technology　　Polygon has introduced a new identity platform called Polygon ID that aims to bolster zero-knowledge identity for Web3 applications. In the vast world of cryptography, a zero-knowledge (ZK) proof allows a user to leverage a cryptographic verifier that enables the user (the prover) to prove something is true without revealing unnecessary information. During the announcement concerning Polygon ID this week, Polygon said the team has made ZK tech a “centerpiece of its strategic vision and has committed $1 billion to related projects.”　　According to Polygon, the protocol Polygon ID utilizes the Iden3 protocol and Circom ZK toolkit. The team says that in the future, both of the projects will be sponsored by Polygon in order to bolster open source initiatives across the entire ecosystem. Mihailo Bjelic, Polygons co-founder, explained during the announcement that Polygon ID is a great way to highlight the benefits of ZK tech.　　“Polygon ID is private by default, offers on-chain verification and permissionless attestation,” Bjelic said in a statement on Tuesday. “There is nothing in the digital identity space now that ticks all these boxes. It is also a great showcase for how zero-knowledge proofs can help us create a better

2022-04-02Deep Dive

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