🇷🇺Russian Crypto Industry Queries Government About Proposed Criminal Liability for Miners

The organization representing Russia’s crypto sector has asked the government in Moscow to clarify a proposal to introduce criminal liability for “gray” miners. The draft legislation seeks to punish those who fail to report their income to the state and share information about their digital assets.

🟢The Russian Association of Cryptoeconomics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain (Racib) has asked Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to explain a proposal made by his department to introduce penalties for cryptocurrency miners violating the law.

🟢In a letter addressed to Siluanov, the industry organization requests an opportunity to get acquainted with the respective draft amendments to the Criminal Code put forward by the Ministry of Finance, which provide for the prosecution of miners for tax evasion, for example.

Racib is referring to a package of texts sent by Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev to the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Justice, the Federal Tax Service, the Central Bank of Russia, and other government institutions in February.

The provisions oblige mining companies in Russia to report their income and provide tax authorities with detailed information about their digital asset holdings, including wallet addresses, in order to avoid criminal liability. Penalties for failure to do so include hefty fines and even prison time. Quoted by RBC Crypto, Racib’s letter states:

This document has caused a lot of confusion and questions in the digital economy business community.

The association is asking Anton Siluanov to share the proposals with it so that its experts can study them. Furthermore, Racib insists that the minister includes its representatives in the working group drafting the legislation that will regulate cryptocurrencies in Russia. A bill devoted to crypto mining is to be resubmitted to the State Duma along with the amendments to the Criminal Code.

📌Argentine Tax Authority AFIP Detects Irregularities in 184 Digital Wallet Tax Statements

💎The Argentine tax authority (AFIP) is increasing its scrutiny when it comes to digital wallets. The institution recently revealed it found irregularities in at least 184 tax statements that include digital wallets and cryptocurrencies. These taxpayers did not include their wallet holdings as part of their 2021 tax statements, leaving close to $7.6 million in such assets undeclared.

✖️The Argentine tax authority has ramped up its vigilance for digital and cryptocurrency taxes. Recently, the institution announced that it had discovered a series of irregularities that involved at least 184 taxpayers, who failed to refer to their digital and cryptocurrency holdings in their tax statements.

➡️The scrutinized tax statements, corresponding to fiscal year 2021, involve a difference of close to $7.6 million in assets undeclared, which will have to be paid according to rules for existing estate taxes.

➡️The AFIP explained this was the result of cross-referencing the data provided by taxpayers with the information available in the databases of the institution, which let it know some individuals underreported their holdings in crypto and digital wallets, while others did not report their holdings in their entirety.

🟢The findings of the Argentine tax authority are possible due to the information that both digital wallet providers and cryptocurrency exchanges must deliver to the institution in order to comply with national laws. Part of this information delivered includes the ID data of the owners of the accounts, their account balances, and a detailed list of movements, including the destination of the transacted funds.

🟢While some users have moved their transactions to P2P exchanges, the common movement of funds, and the amounts moved can also bring the attention of the AFIP to them, according to national analysts. Roberto Sanchez, of PWC Argentina, told Iproup about the rise in this kind of transaction. He stated:

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💲💲💲Nigerian Digital Currency Transactions up 63% Says Central Bank Boss💲💲

📈According to the 🇳🇪Nigerian central bank governor, central bank digital currency or e-naira transactions have gone up 63% to $47.7 million, while the number of downloaded wallets since Oct. 2022 is around 13 million.

The value of Nigeria’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions surged by 📈 63% to $47.7 million (₦22 billion) while about 13 million e-naira wallets have been downloaded since Oct. 2022, the Nigerian central bank governor has said.

After the Nigerian Supreme Court ruled against the demonetization process, the CBN relented and now has said the previously demonetized banknotes will remain legal tender until the end of the year.

Emefiele claimed that more than 4 million e-naira wallets had been opened as a result.

🗣“The e-naira has emerged as the electronic payment channel of choice for financial inclusion and executing social interventions,” Emefiele added.

➡️Although the CBN is thought to have minted more than ₦10 billion of the digital currency, according to the governor only ₦3.4 billion of the CBDC is in circulation.

💲Analyst Predicts Gold Prices Might Exceed $8,000 in the Next Decade as Central Banks Lose Confidence in Foreign Currency

Jan Nieuwenhuijs, a gold market analyst, has predicted that gold might exceed prices of $8,000 during the next decade.

Nieuwenhuijs states:

🗣️Central banks in aggregate have an unusual faith in foreign exchange, as gold’s percentage of total reserves accounted for 16% in 2022, against a historical average of 59%. These central banks, however, are starting to lose confidence in the currencies issued by their peers.

According to his model, if central banks stockpile 51% of their reserves in gold, the price of gold would reach $10,000 per troy ounce.

Central banks have been stockpiling gold in recent times. In 2022, central banks purchased a record amount of gold, with reserves going up by 1,136 tons, while reserves held in the form of foreign currencies went down by $950 billion. In Q3 2022 alone, close to 400 tons of gold were purchased by central banks, according to reports from the World Gold Council.

🇹🇷Turkey was the country that purchased the most gold, acquiring 23 tons.

Other personalities have also alerted about the rise of gold and other scarce assets, such as bitcoin. Robert Kiyosaki, author of the best-selling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, predicted in February that gold could reach $5,000 by 2025, also signaling the possibility of bitcoin reaching $500,000.

🟢Crypto Exchange By bit Partners With Innovation Growth Hub to Launch Blockchain Education Program

By bit has said it is inviting African youths that wish to attend a blockchain education training program to submit their applications.

The training program is expected to help young people learn and understand the fundamentals of blockchain, as well as how this creates new opportunities.

According to a local report, experts in the blockchain field are expected to lead or oversee the interactive discussions and online lectures. An unnamed spokesperson for Bybit is quoted in the report highlighting the importance of the training program.

🗣️“Our goal is to give young people the knowledge and skills they need to understand and engage with blockchain technology. Hence, we will work together with Innovation Growth Hub to create a unique learning experience for participants,” the spokesperson said.

🔔Bitcoin Profits Deemed Taxable by Denmark’s Supreme Court

Profits made from the sale of bitcoin are taxable in 🇩🇰Denmark, the country’s Supreme Court has decided in two separate rulings announced on Thursday.

The Supreme Court assumes that bitcoin is generally only acquired with a view to being sold and, to a limited extent, to be used as a means of payment.

The rulings that profits made from the sale of the cryptocurrency are taxable are likely to set a precedence for the tax treatment of crypto investments in the Scandinavian country.

National authorities in the 🇪🇺European Union have been taking steps to clarify the taxation of crypto holdings and related profits.

‼️ECB Member Fabio Panetta Claims Rising Profit Margins Could Be Fueling Inflation

Fabio Panetta, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB), has stated that companies increasing their profit margins could be helping to fuel inflation.

The current headwinds the world economy is facing could lead companies to raise their profit margins if they are expecting a rise in their costs, which can come from different sources, according to Panetta. He stated:

🗣️“We are probably paying insufficient attention to the other component of income — that is, profits. The situation which prevails in the economy, there could be ideal conditions for firms to increase their prices and profits.”

However, Panetta explained that his statements did not imply that the European bloc would act to control these prices.

Preliminary numbers issued by the European Union indicate that March finished with a 6.9% inflation rate, cooling down from the 8.5% reached in February.

📌This means that the ECB will likely keep raising interest rates in the foreseeable future, as it embraces its data-dependent approach.

On March 16, the ECB raised interest rates by 0.5%, with President Christine Lagarde stating that inflation was “projected to remain too high for too long,” with levels being still very far from the 2% goal proposed by the institution.

🔝Trustwave Spiderlabs Researchers Warn of New Strain of Malware That Drains Crypto Funds

According to researchers at Trustwave Spiderlabs, a strain of malware known as Rilide is believed to be helping cybercriminals steal funds from cryptocurrency exchanges. Although the steps being taken to tackle this malware are likely to make life more difficult for cybercriminals, two researchers — Pawel Knapczyk and Wojciech Cieslak — said this alone may not be enough to “solve the issue entirely.”

Researchers at Trustwave Spiderlabs recently said they discovered a new strain of malware which clandestinely draws funds from crypto wallets. According to the researchers, the malware, known as Rilide, is thought to disguise itself as a legitimate Google Drive extension. Besides giving cybercriminals the ability to monitor the browsing history of their targeted victims, Rilide enables the injection of “malicious noscripts to steal funds from cryptocurrency exchanges.”

In their blog post published on April 4, the two researchers Pawel Knapczyk and Wojciech Cieslak concede that Rilide is not the first malware to use malicious browser extensions. However, the researchers said they have seen how the malware tricks users before it drains funds from their respective crypto wallets.

🗣️ “Where this malware differs is it has the effective and rarely used ability to utilize forged dialogs to deceive users into revealing their two-factor authentication (2FA) and then withdraw cryptocurrencies in the background,” the researchers argued.

While steps such as the pending enforcement of the so-called manifest v3 are expected to make life a little more difficult for cybercriminals, Knapczyk and Cieslak assert that this alone may not be enough “to solve the issue entirely as most of the functionalities leveraged by Rilide will still be available.”

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✔️Strategist Expects US Recession by Year-End, Fed Tightening to Drag Down Economy

Investment bank MPS Capital Services has warned that the U.S. economy will be in a recession by year-end.

MPS Capital Services is an Italian corporate and investment bank, part of the banking group that includes Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA. The strategist was quoted as saying:

🗣️We expect the recession in the U.S. by year-end … The tightening of the monetary policy will drag down on the economy.

Mannucci predicts that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by an additional 25 basis points, while the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to increase rates by at least two quarter-points.

The MPS strategist further warned that the failure of several regional U.S. banks, along with the issues faced by Credit Suisse, could result in tighter credit conditions and hurt the economy.

CBDC Debate Heats Up: BIG Project Sparks Controversy Among Critics; Lynette Zang Warns of Dangers of CBDCs

During the weekend, discussions about central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, trended on social media as many people believe the idea will result in increased financial surveillance and a totalitarian monetary system. In a recent interview, Lynette Zang, the chief market analyst at ITM Trading, warned that CBDCs will

🗣️“take the world into a full surveillance economy that can be controlled directly by the central bank.”

During the weekend, discussions about central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, trended on social media as many people believe the idea will result in increased financial surveillance and a totalitarian monetary system. In a recent interview, Lynette Zang, the chief market analyst at ITM Trading, warned that CBDCs will “take the world into a full surveillance economy that can be controlled directly by the central bank.”

🔥African Blockchain Business Funding Rose 4️⃣2️⃣9️⃣🔤 in 2022 — Report

In 2022, African blockchain businesses raised a total of $474 million, a 429% increase from what was raised in the year earlier, the latest CVVC African blockchain funding report has revealed.

According to the latest CVVC Africa Blockchain funding report, blockchain businesses from the continent raised $474 million in 2022, a year-on-year funding increase of 429%.

➡️Regarding individual countries with the biggest share of the total funding, the report showed that South Africa (37.3%) and Seychelles (43.9%) alone received more than 80% of the total. Nigeria, which accounted for the second-highest share in 2021, had nine deals with a total value of nearly $16 million, just 3.4% of the total funding.

Besides Nigeria and Egypt — the only countries from the continent to have recorded a decrease in the value of funds raised — the report data indicates that the rest of the tracked countries recorded significant funding increases.

‼️China Warns of Global Financial Instability From US Economic Policies

China has urged the U.S. and other developed nations to assess the spillover effects of their economic and financial policies. “The economic and financial policies of the U.S. pose the biggest challenge to global financial stability,” according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed concerns over the state of the global economy at a press conference Thursday.

Commenting on the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) Global Financial Stability report pointing out that the turmoil in the U.S. banking sector has increased the risk of global financial stability.

Wenbin stressed:

🗣️Many in the international community shared the view that the economic and financial policies of the U.S. pose the biggest challenge to global financial stability. The massive interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve since last year have significantly increased global financing costs and exacerbated disorderly international capital flows.

♾Crypto Has Evolved From Being Seen as an ‘Anti-Establishment Rebellion Asset’ Says FCA Executive Director

🟢From being seen as a small “anti-establishment rebellion asset” more than ten years ago, crypto has grown to “become more widespread,” says Sarah Pritchard, an executive director at the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Pritchard said while the FCA has routinely warned consumers of risks associated with crypto, the watchdog has “always been open to innovation.”

👑According to Sarah Pritchard, an executive director of markets at the Financial Conduct Authority, crypto has evolved from being seen as “an anti-establishment rebellion asset” more than ten years ago, to one that “has become more widespread.” However, Pritchard insisted in her April 25 speech that just a few “consumers know what it is, how it works and what they are getting into.”

The executive director also suggested that as “this once alternative investment becomes more popular,” stakeholders will eventually be forced to sit down and “debate about risk, mitigation and the limits of regulation.”

Although the FCA has routinely issued warnings to individuals dealing with cryptocurrencies, according to Pritchard such a stance should not imply that the watchdog is against innovation.

🗣️While we have been relentless about warning that consumers need to be prepared to lose all their money if buying crypto-assets – and actually issued a warning a week before FTX collapsed about its unauthorised operation in the UK – we have always been open to innovation - the executive director said.