Korean Crypto Exchanges Consider Suing Government Over Banking Requirements

All cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea except the largest four may be unable to meet the bank account requirements needed to stay in business. A number of Korean crypto exchanges are considering suing the government and financial authorities, claiming that the country’s crypto law is unconstitutional.

• A number of exchanges are currently considering filing a lawsuit against the government and the financial authorities alleging the country’s crypto law is unconstitutional, Business Korea reported Monday.
• The revised Act on Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information requires cryptocurrency exchanges to submit a document by Sept. 24 showing that they have a real-name account issued by a bank.
• However, banks in South Korea are reluctant to provide a real-name service to cryptocurrency exchanges due to money-laundering concerns.
• Several banks, including NH Bank and Shinhan Bank, are conducting risk assessments on the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit.

• However, no banks are willing to work with smaller crypto exchanges. Therefore, a large number of exchanges are expected to be forced to shut down.
• One exchange told the publication:

These days, banks are refusing to initiate their cryptocurrency exchange verification processes without clear reasons and most exchanges are failing to get a chance to prove themselves. The Financial Services Commission needs to step in right away.

What do you think about Korean exchanges suing the government over the bank account requirements? Let us know in the comments section below.

Indians Hold $40 Billion in Cryptocurrency, Report Suggests

Crypto investments in India have been gaining significant traction over the past year, blockchain data indicates. Despite the ambiguous regulatory situation in the country, more than 15 million Indians have bought or sold digital currencies.

Indian Crypto Investments Increase Amid Regulatory Uncertainty

A growing number of Indians have put money into cryptocurrencies in the past year, which saw major coins hitting all-time market highs. Investments in crypto assets have increased from around $200 million to almost $40 billion, Bloomberg reported, quoting blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis.

The massive growth has been registered despite an unclear future for decentralized digital money in the world’s second-most populous country. The spike in investment interest happens against the backdrop of a generally hostile, but also ambiguous, attitude of the Indian central bank towards crypto.

Over 15 million Indians have been buying and selling cryptos, the publication added, in disregard of a proposed ban on coin trading. Their number is approaching the 23 million crypto traders in the U.S. and far exceeds the U.K.’s 2.3 million active traders.

The remarkable increase in crypto investors is largely associated with Indians between 18 and 35-years-old, according to Sandeep Goenka, co-founder of crypto exchange Zebpay. Goenka, who has been representing the industry in regulation talks with the government, explained that young people find it far easier to invest in cryptocurrency than gold:

You go online, you can buy crypto, you don’t have to verify it, unlike gold.

Indians Find New Gold in Bitcoin

Historically, gold has been a very popular investment in India, where households own an estimated 25,000 tons of the precious metal. However, the latest data from the World Gold Council has indicated that adults under the age of 34 are less attracted to gold than older Indians.

A young entrepreneur who abandoned gold and turned to crypto has invested over 1 million Indian rupees (around $13,400) into bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and dogecoin (DOGE) since December. To acquire the coins, 32-year-old Richi Sood borrowed some of the money from her father.

Sood, who sold a portion of her cryptocurrency when BTC passed the $50,000 mark in February and then bought again when prices dropped, used the profits to fund the overseas expansion of her education startup, Study Mate India. She says crypto has higher short-term returns than gold, elaborating:

I’d rather put my money in crypto than gold. Crypto is more transparent than gold or property.

In the last 12 months alone, daily crypto trading values have shot up almost 900%, the report reveals. At the same time, India is yet to adopt comprehensive regulations for the expanding crypto space, and the lack of clarity has likely put off many potential investors and traders.

In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India issued a circular which banned financial institutions from providing services to crypto businesses. However, in May this year, the RBI advised banks that the instruction was no longer valid, citing a year-old ruling from the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, several commercial banks have recently halted services to customers dealing in cryptocurrencies.

What do you think the future holds for cryptocurrencies in India? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below

Ark Invest Files for a Bitcoin ETF

Ark Invest, the investment company founded by Cathie Wood, filed for approval to offer a Bitcoin ETF yesterday. 21Shares, an investment firm with experience launching related products in Europe, will help Ark to launch the product. Ark Invest is the latest of several funds showing interest in launching a Bitcoin ETF this year.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest Jumps on the Bitcoin ETF Bandwagon

Ark Invest, the famous asset management firm, filed for approval to launch a Bitcoin ETF yesterday. The firm, founded and managed by Cathie Wood, will partner with 21Shares, a firm with experience in this field. The proposed instrument will be called ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF. It will track the performance and price of Bitcoin providing exposure for regulated markets.

While the price of Bitcoin has stagnated over the last month, tech and crypto-oriented funds expect demand to pick up again. Cathie Wood is a big bitcoin proponent and much of Ark’s holdings are based in cryptocurrency companies like Coinbase and also in bitcoin itself.

Wood predicted the price of Bitcoin could reach $500,000 due to its inherent properties, while also stating this might take some time due to the emotional character of the market. In any case, she is very positive about bitcoin’s prospects for the future.

The Race Is On

Ark Invest is the latest of several companies that have filed proposals for a Bitcoin ETF just in the last year. Propelled and inspired to chase an ETF offering by the rise of the bull market were companies like Galaxy Digital, VanEck, Fidelity, SkyBridge Capital, NYDIG, WisdomTree Investments, and BitWise. However, the SEC has not approved any of these proposals and some are already being delayed.

Gary Gensler, the new Chairman of the SEC, made clear that the cryptocurrency sector needed more regulation. About cryptocurrencies, he previously stated:

This is a quite volatile, one might say highly volatile, asset class, and the investing public would benefit from more investor protection on the crypto exchanges

In light of this, experts think the possibility of having a Bitcoin ETF this year is very low. All of the problems the SEC has called out on Bitcoin are still there. Price volatility and market manipulation claims are still present. But asset managers are still trying to grasp the opportunity to be the first to offer this kind of product in America. And now Ark Invest has joined the race.

What do you think of Ark Invest’s Bitcoin ETF filing? Tell us in the comments section below.

Deutsche Börse Group Acquires Major Stake in Swiss Firm Crypto Finance AG

On Tuesday, Deutsche Börse Group, marketplace manager for the trading of shares and other securities, explained the company has acquired a major stake in Crypto Finance AG. The move adds to Deutsche Börse’s extension into the cryptocurrency industry in order to provide custody solutions and a “direct entry point for investments.”

Deutsche Börse Group to Expand Further Into Digital　Currency Ecosystem

Deutsche Börse Group’s latest announcement explains that the company wants to build a trusted and regulated cryptocurrency ecosystem in Europe. The financial institution that rakes in €2.936 billion ($3.5 billion) in revenue annually explained it has obtained a majority stake in Crypto Finance AG.

The Switzerland-based Crypto Finance AG is a digital currency-focused finance organization that offers the storage, investment, and trading of crypto assets to professional clients. As a member of Deutsche Börse Group, the company will scale while also assisting Deutsche Börse’s expansion into new financial territories.

In a press statement, Deutsche Börse explains that it plans to make Crypto Finance AG’s products and offerings more accessible. “The goal is to establish a neutral, transparent, and highly scalable digital asset ecosystem under European regulation,” the Frankfurt-based marketplace manager explained. “Digital assets will transform the financial industry,” Thomas Book, executive board member for trading and clearing at Deutsche Börse remarked.

Crypto Finance AG’s Services Complement Deutsche Börse’s Recent Offerings

The Deutsche Börse executive further added that Crypto Finance AG’s services and products complement the marketplace manager’s recent offerings. This includes 360X, a DLT-based platform for serial marketplace creation, and centrally-cleared crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs). Book said there’s been “increasing demand” for crypto products and trusted partners. The founder of Crypto Finance AG, Jan Brzezek, will remain the leader of the company and still retains “significant personal holdings.”

“Since the beginning, our goal was to bridge the old and new worlds,” Brzezek said in a statement. “This is why we are excited to team up with a neutral partner like Deutsche Börse, who brings trust, reputation, and expertise in traditional financial market infrastructure.” According to the announcement, the acquisition deal was a “moderate three-digit CHF million range” and other terms were not disclosed. Both parties are expected to settle the deal by Q4 2021 if they gather regulatory approval.

“Deutsche Börse will hold a two-thirds majority in the 2017 founded fintech that has received multiple awards,” Deutsche Börse concluded. “The remaining shares stay with existing investors, including CEO and founder Jan Brzezek, who will continue to lead and manage the business.”

What do you think about Deutsche Börse acquiring a majority stake in Crypto Finance AG? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Bitcoin.org Ordered to Take Down Bitcoin Whitepaper Because of 'Copyright Infringement'

A website that played an instrumental role in the launch of Bitcoin has been ordered to take down the whitepaper for the cryptocurrency.

 

Bitcoin.org was originally registered and owned by Satoshi Nakamoto and Martti Malmi, the project’s first two developers.

 

But Craig Wright, an Australian entrepreneur who claims that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, has been accusing the site of copyright infringement for hosting a copy of “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” that was available in the U.K.

 

Wright won the case in London’s High Court because “Cøbra” — the pseudonymous person who now owns Bitcoin.org — opted not to mount a defense to protect their anonymity.

 

As well as taking down the whitepaper, they have been told to pay $48,000 to cover Wright’s legal costs and display a notice concerning the judge’s order for six months.

 

Simon Cohen, a lawyer who was part of Wright’s legal team, said:

“Dr Wright does not wish to restrict access to his whitepaper. However, he does not agree that it should be used by supporters and developers of alternative assets, such as Bitcoin Core, to promote or otherwise misrepresent those assets as being Bitcoin given that they do not support or align with the vision for Bitcoin as he set out in his whitepaper.”

Cøbra Responds 

Unsurprisingly, Cøbra reacted furiously to the ruling on Twitter, writing:

“All your fiat-based assets are ultimately secured by the same legal system that today made it illegal for me to host the Bitcoin whitepaper because a notorious liar swore before a judge that he's Satoshi. A system where 'justice' depends on who's got the bigger wallet.”

They added: “I don't think you could get a better advertisement of *why* Bitcoin is necessary than what happened today.”

 

Cøbra also offered to make a Bitcoin payment to the address associated with Block 9 of Bitcoin’s blockchain, which was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009.

 

The crypto community is largely divided over Wright’s claims that he invented Bitcoin.