Get the weekly summary of crypto market analysis, news, and forecasts! This Week’s Summary The crypto market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $2,17 trillion. Bitcoin continues to trade at around $62,300. Ethereum experiences no changes and stagnates at around $2,400. XRP is down by 2%, Solana by 1%, and Dogecoin by 3%. Almost all altcoins are trading in the red, with very few exceptions. The DeFi sector decreased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around…
Russia Considering Total Crypto Ban
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The Russian Central Bank is seeking to ban crypto investments.
Reports say that Russian monetary authorities are concerned with a growing number of crypto transactions. Namely, they see these transactions as a risk for economic stability. Moreover, authorities are concerned with the supposed use of crypto in money laundering.
For years, Russian authorities spoke out against crypto. The central bank spoke about the risk of its use for money laundering and terrorism. In 2020, Russia gave crypto legal status but banned its use as a means of payment.
Russian central bank is now consulting experts and market makers about the ban. While speaking to the media, they said they are preparing an advisory report. Moreover, insiders said that the bank is currently thinking about all crypto’s “complete rejection”.
However, one source said that the proposed law would only apply to new crypto purchases. It would not apply to anyone that already bought crypto. Currently, Russia’s annual crypto trading volume is around $5 billion.
Russian War On Crypto
The Russian government’s opposition towards crypto goes a long way. Last year in November, the Russian Ministry of Finance drafted a bill to fight crypto tax evasion. The account required that all crypto holders report the value of their digital assets for tax purposes.
Failure to do so would result in a three-year jail sentence. Up to April 30, 2022, Russian citizens still have to declare their crypto holdings for the next tax year. The law also requires crypto miners and exchanges to report all transactions to the country’s financial watchdog.
Russian legislation targeted crypto exchanges as well. New regulations banned websites from posting info about their crypto businesses. Moreover, it made the advertisement of crypto exchanges illegal as well. As a result of the crackdown, multiple Russian exchanges shut down.
On the other hand, Russia also banned public officials from holding crypto. This goal was part of multiple bills that aimed at fighting corruption. The Ministry of Labor issued one such directive on December 16th. It states that all officials have to sell their digital assets by a specific time after taking office.
Officials are obliged to alienate digital financial assets issued in information systems organized under foreign law, as well as digital currency, regardless of the country of issue
Law enforcement also stepped up its crackdown. Last month, authorities arrested Denis Dubnikov in Amsterdam. Dubnikov is a Russian crypto investor, co-founder of crypto exchanges Eggchange and Cayote Crypto. Reportedly, a tip from the FBI contributed to the arrest.
Giants Against Crypto
Russia is not the only major country that is hostile to crypto. China and India, the two largest countries by population, have a similar view.
China outright banned all crypto transactions two months ago. After a crackdown on crypto trading, mining, and exchanges, the decision came. Authorities claimed that the ban was the high energy use of mining, together with concerns for small investors. Cryptos, they said, are risky assets that can lead to significant losses for ordinary people. At the same time, China wanted to promote its digital currency, the Digital Yuan.
On the other hand, India is currently debating a ban on all “private crypto”. This would have likely included all digital tokens not issued by a central bank. India’s prime minister talked about protecting the nation’s youth from the dangers of crypto.
Btc
Bitcoin
$62.547
price
price
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However, a slew of criticism made them rethink their harsh stance. India has 20 million crypto investors with more than $5 billion in holdings.
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