Cryptocurrency
Japan remains a friendly environment for cryptocurrencies but growing AML concerns are drawing the FSA’s attention towards further regulation. In December 2021, the FSA indicated that it would propose legislation in 2022 to regulate issuers of stablecoins in order to address risks to customers and limit opportunities to use stablecoin tokens for money laundering https://casinosus-games.com/. The legislation will likely include new security protocols and new obligations for crypto service providers to report suspicious activity.
On May 4, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-9-22 to “to Spur Responsible Web3 Innovation, Grow Jobs, and Protect Consumers.” The order itself does not impose any new regulations. Rather, it calls for further research and engagement on the topic of cryptocurrency and blockchain to eventually create a transparent and protective regulatory framework.
The regulatory landscape constantly shifts as the authorities try to set clearer rules. SEC Chair Gary Gensler considers the majority of cryptocurrencies subject to the existing securities rules and regulations. As a result, enforcement actions have also increased, and the number of cryptocurrency-related cases has been up more than 50% in 2023 compared to 2022.
Delaware allows corporations to maintain their records on a blockchain or blockchain-like technology. 8 DE Code § 224 states that “Any records administered by or on behalf of the corporation in the regular course of its business, including its stock ledger, books of account, and minute books, may be kept on, or by means of, or be in the form of, any information storage device, method, or 1 or more electronic networks or databases (including 1 or more distributed electronic networks or databases).” 8 DE Code § 219 and 8 DE Code § 232 provide rules for the transmission of shareholder notifications when corporate records are stored on an electronic network or a blockchain. SB 194, signed in 2018, amends Delaware’s code to allow blockchain technology to be used by statutory trusts. 12 DE Code § 3801 states that beneficial interest in a statutory trust may be evidenced electronically by “1 or more electronic networks or databases (including 1 or more distributed electronic networks or databases).” 12 DE Code § 3806 states that beneficial owners and trustees may “may vote…by means of electronic transmission” including by use of distributed electronic networks or databases. 12 DE Code § 3819 states that “A statutory trust may maintain its records …by means of…1 or more electronic networks or databases (including 1 or more distributed electronic networks or databases), if such form is capable of conversion into paper form within a reasonable time.” SB 183, which was also signed in 2018, makes similar provisions for LLCs and limited partnerships. SB 89, SB 90, and SB 91 were enacted in 2019, and collectively amend the Delaware Revised Uniform Partnership Act and Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, among other statutes, to allow the use of blockchain technology to maintain certain records and facilitate certain electronic transmissions.
Cryptocurrency is encompassed in existing money transmission statutes. Ala. Code § 8-7A-2 defines monetary value as “A medium of exchange, including virtual or fiat currencies, whether or not redeemable in money,” and money transmission as “Selling or issuing payment instruments, stored value, or receiving money or monetary value for transmission.” Ala. Code § 8-7A-5 states that “A person may not engage in the business of money transmission” unless they are licensed.
Cryptocurrency market
The two major changes are the introduction of the Merkelized Abstract Syntax Tree (MAST) and Schnorr Signature. MAST introduces a condition allowing the sender and recipient of a transaction to sign off on its settlement together. Schnorr Signature allows users to aggregate several signatures into one for a single transaction. This results in multi-signature transactions looking the same as regular transactions or more complex ones. By introducing this new address type, users can also save on transaction fees, as even complex transactions look like simple, single-signature ones.
Bitcoin is becoming more political by the day, particularly after El Salvador began accepting the currency as legal tender. The country’s president, Nayib Bukele, announced and implemented the decision almost unilaterally, dismissing criticism from his citizens, the Bank of England, the IMF, Vitalik Buterin and many others. Since the Bitcoin legal tender law was passed in September 2021, Bukele has also announced plans to build Bitcoin City, a city fully based on mining Bitcoin with geothermal energy from volcanoes.
Over the past few decades, consumers have become more curious about their energy consumption and personal effects on climate change. When news stories started swirling regarding the possible negative effects of Bitcoin’s energy consumption, many became concerned about Bitcoin and criticized this energy usage. A report found that each Bitcoin transaction takes 1,173 KW hours of electricity, which can “power the typical American home for six weeks.” Another report calculates that the energy required by Bitcoin annually is more than the annual hourly energy usage of Finland, a country with a population of 5.5 million.
The two major changes are the introduction of the Merkelized Abstract Syntax Tree (MAST) and Schnorr Signature. MAST introduces a condition allowing the sender and recipient of a transaction to sign off on its settlement together. Schnorr Signature allows users to aggregate several signatures into one for a single transaction. This results in multi-signature transactions looking the same as regular transactions or more complex ones. By introducing this new address type, users can also save on transaction fees, as even complex transactions look like simple, single-signature ones.
Bitcoin is becoming more political by the day, particularly after El Salvador began accepting the currency as legal tender. The country’s president, Nayib Bukele, announced and implemented the decision almost unilaterally, dismissing criticism from his citizens, the Bank of England, the IMF, Vitalik Buterin and many others. Since the Bitcoin legal tender law was passed in September 2021, Bukele has also announced plans to build Bitcoin City, a city fully based on mining Bitcoin with geothermal energy from volcanoes.
Cryptocurrency prices
For those seeking the latest crypto news, we make sure to provide daily and weekly articles covering the most important happenings in the market, ensuring that you’re always informed of breaking updates and changes.
Ethereum has pioneered the concept of a blockchain smart contract platform. Smart contracts are computer programs that automatically execute the actions necessary to fulfill an agreement between several parties on the internet. They were designed to reduce the need for trusted intermediates between contractors, thus reducing transaction costs while also increasing transaction reliability.
The Shanghai/Capella (“Shapella”) Upgrade is a hard fork that will implement five EIPs — the most anticipated being EIP-4895, which will enable withdrawals. Shanghai is the hard fork’s name on the execution layer, while Capella is the name on the consensus layer.
For those seeking the latest crypto news, we make sure to provide daily and weekly articles covering the most important happenings in the market, ensuring that you’re always informed of breaking updates and changes.
Ethereum has pioneered the concept of a blockchain smart contract platform. Smart contracts are computer programs that automatically execute the actions necessary to fulfill an agreement between several parties on the internet. They were designed to reduce the need for trusted intermediates between contractors, thus reducing transaction costs while also increasing transaction reliability.
The Shanghai/Capella (“Shapella”) Upgrade is a hard fork that will implement five EIPs — the most anticipated being EIP-4895, which will enable withdrawals. Shanghai is the hard fork’s name on the execution layer, while Capella is the name on the consensus layer.