TouchLess Solutions by GreenMaps, Sacramento, CA (2026)

11/10/2022

The Central Bank of Russia is proposing to introduce tax incentives for long-term holders of digital financial assets. The idea has been circulated with a consultation paper published for public discussions on the development of the digital asset market in the Russian Federation.
Bank of Russia Talks Regulation in New Report Devoted to Digital Assets Market
Russia’s monetary authority has published a report on the future of the Russian digital asset sector. The document explores the development of the market for digital financial assets (DFAs) and utility digital rights (UDRs), and legal terms partially covering cryptocurrencies and tokens — those with an issuing entity, in particular.
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) believes that additional regulations are needed to improve the DFA framework and harmonize it with the rules that govern the traditional financial industry. According to the regulator, this would increase investment, circulation, and liquidity while ensuring better investor protection.
Taxation is one the aspects reviewed in the consultation paper. The Bank of Russia proposes to offer tax incentives for investors holding long-term DFAs and UDRs, suggesting the adoption of a mechanism similar to a special tax regime that applies to holders of individual investment accounts. The latter was introduced with the aim to attract citizens’ free funds to the securities market.
The CBR believes its proposal would create new opportunities for Russian citizens and businesses, simplify transactions with digital assets and digital rights, and reduce operating costs. However, it notes that additional discussions with relevant government institutions and market participants are needed before approving such tax incentives.
Russia’s Central Bank Pushes for Better Identification of Digital Asset Investors
The Russian central bank also wants to see improvements in the identification procedures applied to DFA holders. Quoted by RBC Crypto, the monetary policy regulator explained this would allow the country to let foreign DFAs enter its market, adopt regulations designed specifically for smart contracts, and develop necessary accounting procedures.
Among the other proposals for which the CBR is seeking feedback in the next month is the idea to facilitate the tokenization of various assets such as securities and bonds, precious stones and metals, property rights in the form of non-fungible tokens, and claims secured by mortgages. The Bank of Russia also wants the public discussions to cover the listing of digital assets on existing exchanges and digital asset transactions through intermediaries.
Russia has been looking to expand its regulatory framework for DFAs and the institutional debate over the status of decentralized assets such as cryptocurrencies has been going on for months. While the central bank called for a blanket ban on crypto activities in January, it later agreed with the finance ministry in Moscow to legalize cross-border crypto payments. The change in its stance came amid increasing sanctions pressure over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which started in late February.
Do you think the Russian government will adopt tax incentives for digital asset holders? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

The Central Bank of Russia is proposing to introduce tax incentives for long-term holders of digital financial assets.

11/10/2022

FTX Token plunged by over 70% in today’s session, as sentiment surrounding Binance’s potential buyout of FTX continued to raise market eyebrows. Following speculation that FTX could be insolvent, Binance’s Changpeng “CZ” Zhao moved to acquire the firm, pending due diligence. Solana is also significantly lower, due to FTX’s sister company Alameda currently holding large amounts of SOL.
FTX Token (FTT)
FTX Token (FTT) continued to sink on Wednesday, as the token lost over 70% of its value in today’s session.
Following yesterday’s high of $19.51, FTT/USD plunged to an intraday low of $3.15 earlier in the day.
The move came as markets continued to digest Binance’s decision to agree to an acquisition of the firm, pending due diligence (DD).
Many believe that the DD could show the true significance of FTX’s balance sheet, which some expect could intensify the current sell-off.
As of writing, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) is at 11.98, which is its weakest point on record, eclipsing yesterday’s record reading of 23.79.
Despite prices already in the depths of bearish territory, there could be more still to come, should 1) an acquisition not be completed, or 2) damning news be revealed about FTX.
Solana (SOL)
In addition to FTT, solana (SOL) was another notable loser on Wednesday, as the once top 10 cryptocurrency fell by nearly 40%.
SOL/USD dropped to a low of $16.47 on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after residing at a peak of $31.06.
This decline in solana comes as traders believe that FTX’s sister company Alameda could move to sell its holdings of SOL, to obtain liquidity.
Looking at the chart, SOL is now down for a fourth straight day, with its RSI currently tracking at 26.95, close to a floor of 27.00.
In addition to this, the 10-day (red) moving average looks set for a downwards cross against its 25-day (blue) counterpart, which could trigger even more declines.
As of writing, SOL has marginally rebounded, as is currently trading at $18.70.
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Do you expect solana to fall below $10.00 this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

FTX Token plunged by over 70% in today’s session, as sentiment surrounding Binance’s buyout of FTX continued to raise market eyebrows.

11/10/2022

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is “actively looking” to create a regulatory framework that allows crypto futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs), an SFC official reportedly said. “We have come to believe that some initial concerns about virtual asset futures ETFs have become manageable and can be addressed with proper safeguards.”

Rising Demand for Crypto ETFs in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s top financial regulator is “actively looking” to set up a regulatory framework that allows retail investors to trade exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to cryptocurrency futures, Ignites Asia reported Monday. The publication cited Julia Leung, deputy chief executive officer and executive director for the Intermediaries Division at the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
Leung reportedly said last week during her keynote speech at Hong Kong Fintech Week that the SFC is “actively looking to set up a regime to authorize ETFs that provide mainstream virtual assets with appropriate investor guardrails.”
She explained that initially, the Securities and Futures Commission will only allow ETFs that invest in bitcoin futures and ether futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) exchange.
The SFC published a circular on Oct. 31 outlining the requirements under which it “would consider authorizing exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that obtain exposure to virtual assets (VAs) primarily through futures contracts (VA Futures ETFs) for public offering in Hong Kong,” the regulator detailed, elaborating:
A broad range and larger number of investment products providing exposure to VAs, including VA-related ETFs offered in various markets globally, are now available to both retail and professional investors and have become increasingly popular. Similarly, demand for such products has increased in Hong Kong.
The circular further states that the SFC “is prepared to accept applications for authorization of VA Futures ETFs.”
A regulatory framework for crypto assets was first issued in November 2018 restricting access to professional investors. Defending the decision to disallow retail investors to trade crypto, Leung said: “Given the novelty of our framework and the high volatility of crypto assets, we believed it was prudent to impose an overarching ‘professional investor’ restriction.”
However, the executive director emphasized that Hong Kong’s crypto ecosystem had made “substantial advancement” in the past four years. During this time, the SFC had gained more experience in regulating crypto trading platforms and fund firms, she detailed, elaborating:
We have come to believe that some initial concerns about virtual asset futures ETFs have become manageable and can be addressed with proper safeguards.
“It is now an opportune time to review the ‘professional investor only’ requirement,” she added, emphasizing that the SFC is preparing to adjust its “regulatory response and allow retail access” to security token offerings with certain safeguards in place.
What do you think about Hong Kong looking to establish a regulatory framework to allow crypto futures ETFs for retail investors? Let us know in the comments section below.

Hong Kong is looking to establish a regulatory framework that allows retail investors to trade crypto futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

11/09/2022

PRESS RELEASE. Hong Kong, 9th Nov 2022 – Bitget, the leading global crypto exchange with a core focus on social trading, launches another innovative social trading feature, Strategy Plaza. The new feature provides users with the option to follow a series of automated trading strategies and allows the system to automatically execute the strategies after subscription, facilitating trades with convenience and flexibility.
Strategists could create their unique automated trading strategies and share them on Strategy Plaza. At the same time, regular users could review each strategist’s profile and performance contributed by their strategies, and choose to subscribe to their favourite strategists and follow those strategies. After subscribing to strategists, the trading strategies will be automatically executed for the users over the following 30 days, including the actions to start and end strategy taken by the strategists, as an addition to copy trading with manual ordering.
Strategy Plaza will not only benefit the users with the variety of trading strategies set by experienced and excellent traders, but also help strategists profit from sharing, as a subscription fee may be needed for some strategists. Together with other social trading features such as One-click copy trade and Bitget Insights, Strategy Plaza could further enhance Bitget as a one-stop trading platform, with seamless integration of opinion sharing, social interaction and copy trading, providing well-rounded social trading services to better suit everyone’s needs.
Gracy Chen, Managing Director of Bitget, says, “Bitget focuses on providing users with the best social trading experience. The additional feature, Strategy Plaza, diversifies the platform’s offering and further optimizes users’ trading portfolio, as well as improves the benefits of being an experienced trader. We hope that, with our continuous effort in developing new tools and innovation to upgrade our social trading products, users will be more capable of achieving their goals.”
Bitget’s flagship product of social trading One-Click Copy Trade has received massive popularity in the industry since its launch. The exchange recently also developed another social trading tool “Bitget Insights”, to better educate traders with insights and learnings from their more experienced peers, further bridging the knowledge gap between beginners and expert traders.
For more information, please visit here.
About Bitget
Bitget, established in 2018, is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange with innovative products and social trading services as its key features, currently serving over 8 million users in more than 100 countries around the world.
The exchange is committed to providing one-stop and secure trading solutions to users and aims to increase crypto adoption by collaborations with creditable partners, including Argentinian legendary footballer Lionel Messi, Italian leading football team Juventus, PGL Major’s official esports crypto partner, and the leading esports organisation Team Spirit.

This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

PRESS RELEASE. Hong Kong, 9th Nov 2022 - Bitget, the leading global crypto exchange with a core focus on social trading, launches another innovative

11/09/2022

On Nov. 9, 2022, a day after the news broke regarding Binance planning to purchase the exchange FTX, the crypto economy dropped 11.17% in 24 hours. The crypto economy has slid under $900 billion for the first time since January 2021. The Binance and FTX news has come as a shock to a lot of people, and FTX’s financial troubles caused a number of executives from well known crypto trading platforms to discuss a concept called proof-of-reserves.
FTX Frontman Falls From Crypto Savior Status to Needing an Emergency Lifeline

People are not too pleased with the situation surrounding FTX, and there’s a lot of unanswered questions right now, and nearly everyone has been searching for answers. While the exchange FTX did not showcase crypto reserve transparency, people did have the perception that FTX was a financially solid company.

In fact, during the start of the crypto winter after the Terra blockchain fallout, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was perceived as a savior. For instance, the FTX chief executive officer spoke with Bloomberg at the end of May, and Bankman-Fried said his firm was a “profitable company,” and he further added that FTX was ready to spend billions on acquisition deals.

After the exchange Voyager revealed it was suffering from financial hardships, Bankman-Fried said that FTX would help Voyager customers access liquidity. On July 22, during an interview with CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Bankman-Fried remarked that FTX was willing to deploy “hundreds of millions beyond what we have thus far” to crypto firms suffering from the downturn.

FTX also helped the crypto lender Blockfi, and FTX had an “option to acquire” Blockfi at a price of up to $240 million. In addition to the aforementioned moves FTX made after the Terra fallout, at the end of June 2022, Bankman-Fried warned that more crypto company insolvencies were coming.

Sudden Shift in Narrative Jolts Crypto Investors, FTX’s Financial Troubles Spark Proof-of-Reserve Discussions

With all that in the backdrop, it seemed as though FTX was financially strong and Bankman-Fried was working to help troubled crypto companies. Then on Nov. 6, 2022, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) explained that Binance would be dumping FTX’s exchange token FTT.

The news caused a significant amount of speculation on whether or not FTX was solvent, and the crypto token FTT plummeted in value. Two days later, reports disclosed that onchain data had shown FTX had stopped processing withdrawals. On the same day, it was revealed that Binance has plans to acquire FTX, after the trading platform FTX sought help from Binance.

The conversation sparked greater interest in another topic (and rightfully so) called proof-of-reserves, a concept that highlights true transparency by companies sharing proof that the firm has all the reserves it claims to hold. Bitcoin proponent Nic Carter discussed the importance of proof of reserves in an editorial that highlights “the equation is simple (in theory.”

“Proof of Reserves + Proof of Liability = Proof of Solvency,” Carter’s article details.

After CZ revealed Binance would acquire FTX, the Binance CEO said that Binance would start to provide proof-of-reserves soon. “All crypto exchanges should do Merkle-tree proof-of-reserves,” CZ said. The Binance CEO added:
Banks run on fractional reserves. Crypto exchanges should not. Binance will start to do proof-of-reserves soon. Full transparency.

Kraken executive Jesse Powell responded to CZ’s tweet and said: “We look forward to your arrival, ser.” In a separate tweet, Powell remarked that consumers should start to demand regular proof-of-reserve audits. Kraken is listed on Nic Carter’s web portal that shows Merkle tree verified audits of specific crypto companies. “Kraken continues to increase the frequency and scope of our audits. It’s not 100% foolproof but the more often you have to prove it, the harder it is to hide a problem,” Powell remarked.

While the Crypto influencer Cobie said he found it “difficult to believe FTX is insolvent,” he added, “All exchanges should have transparent proof of reserves, w transparent dashboards linking to on-chain data/wallets.”
OKX Reveals Plans to Share Proof-of-Reserves — Coinbase, Cumberland, Circle, Tether, and Deribit Deny Material Exposure to FTX

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told the crypto community that Coinbase “doesn’t have any material exposure to FTX or FTT (and no exposure to Alameda).” In a blog post, Coinbase stresses that people can review the company’s publicly filed, audited financial statements that note Coinbase holds “customer assets 1:1.”

Coinbase’s blog post insists “there can’t be a ‘run on the bank’ at Coinbase” and the company further added that Coinbase is “in a strong capital position.” The exchange OKX also tweeted about sharing proof-of-reserves (POR), and said it is important for exchanges to share such information.

“It’s critical for all major crypto venues to publicly share their auditable Merkle tree proof-of-reserves or POR,” OKX tweeted. “We plan to publish ours in the coming weeks (within 30 days). This is an important step to establish a baseline trust in the industry,” the exchange added. OKX director of financial markets, Lennix Lai, further explained to Bitcoin.com News that the exchange plans to release a POR via Merkel tree.

“This type of disclosure is crucial, as it provides much-needed transparency and decentralisation to the industry at this particular point in time. Releasing our proof-of-reserves via Merkel tree is one of the best ways to provide clarity on just how many funds we hold,” Lai detailed.

The exchange executive added:
The OKX reserves are going to be audited and verified though an advanced cryptographic accounting procedure. This will provide a greater degree of transparency than is offered by traditional financial institutions.

Circle Financial CEO Jeremy Allaire told the public that Circle has “no material exposure to FTX and Alameda.” The well known over-the-counter crypto business Cumberland also said it had no exposure to FTX. “While we had virtually no exposure to FTX and our operational controls enabled us to provide deep liquidity to a market in search of it, the exchange consolidation we saw was unfathomable 60 hours ago,” Cumberland tweeted.

Tether, the issuer of the stablecoin USDT told the public it had no exposure to FTX. “Tether does not have any exposure to FTX or Alameda,” Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino said. “0. Null. Maybe is time to look elsewhere. Sorry guys. Try again.” Additionally, the crypto options giant, Deribit, told the crypto community that the firm has no exposure to FTX. “Deribit does not have any special terms for Alameda or large & risky positions,” Deribit tweeted.

Prior to the slew of crypto executives explaining that their companies had no exposure to FTX, one individual stressed: “If your crypto exchange / bank doesn’t provide proof-of-reserves or deposit insurance, don’t deposit funds.” Currently, according to Nic Carter’s POR web portal, only eight crypto businesses have declared POR with a Merkle tree approach. A great number of well known exchanges are not represented on the POR list.

The platforms showcased on the POR list, at least as of today, include companies like Kraken, Nexo, Coinfloor, Gate.io, HBTC, Bitmex, and Ledn. The platforms Revix, Bitbuy, and Shakepay have provided partial validations, the website details. It remains to be seen if a large influx of exchanges will start to offer proof-of-reserves with a Merkle tree approach. But the troubles surrounding FTX have definitely forced a number of exchanges to proclaim that they will offer some sort of POR solution in the near future.

What do you think about the proof-of-reserves conversation? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

FTX’s financial troubles pushed a number of executives from well known crypto trading platforms to discuss a concept called proof-of-reserves.

11/09/2022

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has shared where his company is at on the deal with FTX. “We did not master plan this or anything related to it,” he told the Binance team, reminding them not to trade the FTX token (FTT) as the due diligence for the acquisition is still ongoing. He further stressed that “FTX going down is not good” for anyone in the crypto industry, warning that regulators will “scrutinize exchanges even more.”
Binance’s CEO Informs Employees About FTX Deal
The CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), tweeted Wednesday a note he sent a few hours prior to all members of the Binance team globally. “Given the events that transpired over the last couple of days. I want to reiterate a few points,” he began, emphasizing:
We did not master plan this or anything related to it.
Zhao explained that FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) called him less than 24 hours ago. “I was surprised when he wanted to talk. My first reaction was, he wants to do an OTC deal … But here we are,” CZ detailed, claiming to have “very little knowledge of the internal state of things at FTX” prior to the call.
The Binance boss proceeded to remind his team not to trade the FTX token (FTT) right now, elaborating:
As the due diligence for the deal is on-going, I want to remind everyone: DO NOT trade FTT tokens. If you have a bag, you have a bag. DO NOT buy or sell.
He noted that immediately after finishing the call with Bankman-Fried, he asked all members of the Binance team to “stop selling as an organization,” adding: “Yes, we have a bag. But that’s ok. More importantly, we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard than even in banks.”
The Binance chief also reminded his team not to comment on the FTX deal both publicly or internally. “If you are not directly involved, don’t ask. We have got a good team handling it. Things will play out,” his note reads.

Zhao further warned:
FTX going down is not good for anyone in the industry.
“Do not view it as a ‘win for us.’ User confidence is severely shaken. Regulators will scrutinize exchanges even more. Licenses around the globe will be harder to get. And people now think we are the biggest and will attack us more,” the Binance executive cautioned.
“But that’s OK, we are used to being open and leaning into headwinds. In fact, we embrace scrutiny. We must significantly increase our transparency, proof-of-reserves, insurance funds, etc.,” he stressed.
The crisis at FTX unfolded when CZ announced via Twitter that Binance is dumping all of the FTT tokens on its books due to “recent revelations.” Zhao then announced a couple of days later that FTX asked Binance for help due to “a significant liquidity crunch,” adding that his exchange intends to “fully acquire” ftx.com and “help cover the liquidity crunch.”
What do you think about CZ’s note to the Binance team? Let us know in the comments section below.

Binance's CEO has shared where his company is at on the deal with FTX. "We did not master plan this or anything related to it."

11/09/2022

Meta, the social network company, has announced that it will cut 11,000 jobs, letting go of 13% of the employees in its workforce amidst a “cultural shift” in the company. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the company, explained this decision was made due to a need to become more “capital efficient,” and described the next steps the company will take moving forward.
Meta Fires 13% of Workforce
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, the company previously known as Facebook, announced today the company would cut jobs for 13% of its workforce, letting go of more than 11,000 employees in the coming days. The decision comes after a determination to take the company in a “leaner and more efficient” direction, as the CEO explained in a blog post detailing the measure.
Zuckerberg said the company had believed the growth fueled by the coronavirus pandemic would be permanent, and that’s why it ramped up its investments. Zuckerberg acknowledged this has been a mistake, and also included the current macroeconomic conditions and increased competition as aggravators of the situation caused by a drop in revenue. Zuckerberg stated:

I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.

‘Cultural Shift’ Announced, Metaverse Commitment Reinforced
As part of the measures taken to increase the efficiency of the company, Zuckerberg stated that the layoffs are part of a “cultural shift” that will affect how the company operates. As an example, Meta will be sharing desktops amongst employees that are partially employed and will continue the current hiring freeze throughout Q1 2023. Furthermore, he added that more cost-cutting measures will be rolled out in coming days.
Some teams of the company will be more affected than others, Zuckerberg stated, with Reality Labs, the metaverse-focused division, also being mentioned among the affected divisions. However, Zuckerberg remarked that his “long-term vision for the metaverse” will continue to be considered one of the “high-priority growth areas” for the company. The employees affected by these layoffs will enjoy a series of benefits that include severance, career services, and immigration services support for employees working with immigration visas.
The market reacted in a positive way to the announcement, with the price of Meta’s stock gaining almost 5% in the premarket, at the time of writing. Meta’s stock price has been pummeled this year, going from $331 in January to $96 this week, in part thanks to the lukewarm reaction that investors have had regarding the pivot the company is making to the metaverse and to the losses that the Reality Labs division, responsible for metaverse developments, has registered thus far.
What do you think about the more than 11,000 employees to be laid off by Meta? Tell us in the comments section below.

Meta announced that it will cut 11,000 jobs, letting go of 13% of the employees in its workforce amidst a "cultural shift."

11/09/2022

Convinced that cryptocurrencies are affecting the tasks performed by monetary authorities around the world, the Dutch central bank has urged for comprehensive international regulations. The call comes after research into the development of crypto assets and policy responses.
‘Proper Regulation Indispensable for Risky Cryptos,’ Dutch Central Bank Insists
Bitcoin, tether, and other digital coins are affecting many of the tasks and objectives of central banks and supervisory authorities, according to Steven Maijoor and Olaf Sleijpen, members of the Executive Board of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). The two presented a new study, “Crypto-assets: evolution and policy response,” into the rapid development of cryptocurrencies.
“While the crypto markets have become somewhat less hyped over the past six months due to global interest rate hikes, investment fraud and cybercrime, cryptos are here to stay, and international financial authorities simply cannot afford to look the other way,” the Dutch central bank said in a post titled “Proper regulation indispensable for risky cryptos.”
The DNB is emphasizing the importance of swiftly agreeing on international rules for cryptocurrencies. The bank believes that effective regulation would help to leverage their innovative added value, in terms of potential for storing and transferring value without a central party, while avoiding stifling innovation due to the risks associated with their speculative nature.
Unbacked Coins Not Suitable as Money, DNB Thinks Stablecoins Are Better
The authors of the research conclude that “clearly, unbacked cryptos like bitcoin are not suitable for use as money” as their prices are too volatile to allow them to function as a means of payment, store of value and unit of account. Besides the lack of underlying assets, they also highlight the great number of digital coins which, as they say, can be confusing when it comes to pricing.
Stablecoins, on the other hand, should prevent such volatility as they are backed by euros, U.S. dollars, or other assets, adding to the benefits of decentralized transaction settlement, the DNB elaborates. These crypto assets can contribute to cheaper cross-border payments, for example, but without appropriate regulation their widespread use could also pose risks to financial stability.
New EU regulations, such as the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) package, differentiate between backed and unbacked cryptocurrencies and introduce requirements for issuers and market participants, the Dutch central bank points out. However, “laws, regulations and supervision will never mitigate all risks, if only because of the international nature of cryptos,” De Nederlandsche Bank notes and vows to contribute to international standards in that area.
What do you think about the De Nederlandsche Bank’s conclusions regarding cryptocurrencies and stablecoins? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Dutch central bank has urged for comprehensive international regulations for cryptocurrencies that it says affect central bank tasks.

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