Tag: Licenses

Virtual money is regulated in Alaska

by Blockchain News

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In accordance with Alaska’s legislation governing the transfer of money, the phrase “virtual currency” will be implemented on January 1, 2023.

Companies that deal in virtual currencies will be required to get a money transmission license in the state if this bill is passed.

To be able to do business in the state involving cryptocurrency, the enterprises will need to get a new kind of license.

As stated in a report published on December 19 by the legal firm Cooley, the state of Alaska recently modified its legislation governing the transfer of money to include a description of virtual currency.

A person who engages in money transmission activities involving virtual currency will be required to submit an application for a license, as stipulated by an amendment to the local Administrative Code that was adopted by the Division of Banking and Securities (DBS). This change will become effective on January 1, 2018. The most obvious impact of this change is that it will require a person to submit an application for a license.

The concept of monetary value and the types of investments that are allowed under the amendment will be expanded to include virtual currency, in accordance with other provisions of the amendment.

However, based on the findings of the Cooley investigation, loyalty and rewards programs, in addition to the digital tokens used in online gaming, continue to be excluded from the category of virtual money.

Even before the amendment was passed, platforms dealing with cryptocurrencies were required to get a money transmission license in the state of Alaska.

However, a prior version of their Limited Licensing Agreement (LLA) with DBS expressly did not include the concept of virtual money.

As a result, these LLAs will no longer be valid as of January 1st.

Alaska is one of just nine jurisdictions that continue to provide investors with the option of paying no tax on capital gains.

The remaining states are Wyoming, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. Washington, Wyoming, and South Dakota are also included.

However, the most recent analysis carried out by Invezz places it just 36th out of the 50 states in terms of the acceptance of cryptocurrencies.

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Philippines Central Bank to Suspend Issuing Licenses to New Virtual Asset Service Firms

by Blockchain News

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Central bank of the Philippines, announced on Thursday that it would close the regular application window for new virtual asset services providers (VASP) licenses for a period of three years beginning September 1.

VASPs are firms that offer certain services associated with virtual assets or cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

The Philippine Central Bank said it reached the move because it wants “to strike a balance between promoting innovation in the financial sector and ensuring that associated risks remain within manageable levels.”

The regulator stated it would conduct a reassessment based on market developments. In other words, the strategic change would enable the watchdog to monitor the performance of current market players and the risks they pose to the financial industry. The agency further said the move would allow it to assess the impacts of existing digital asset providers concerning the country’s financial inclusion and digital payments transformation objectives.

The Bangko Sentral said that central bank-supervised institutions that intend to expand offerings to virtual-asset services like custody may still apply for a license.

The regulator stated that all applications that have completed stage 2 of the bank’s licensing process by August 31 August would be processed and assessed as normal.

The agency noted that applications with incomplete requirements would be returned and considered closed.

The central bank will no longer accept new applications starting September 1.

Virtual Assets on The Rise

At the end of June, the Philippine Central Bank approved 16 new virtual asset services providers to operate in the local markets.

In December last year, the regulator reminded the public to transact only with central bank-registered Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) as transactions involving digital assets continued to rise rapidly.

The agency advised the public to be vigilant in their dealings involving VAs, which are not considered legal tender and not insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The regulator further mentioned that registered VASPs are mandated to comply with regulations that promote operational soundness and provision of quality services and ensure appropriate consumer protection.

As of June 2021, virtual currency transactions in the Philippines reached 19.88 million, an increase of 362% from the 4.31 million recorded in the previous year. Such transactions translated to P105.93 billion in value, an increase of 71% from P62.12 billion over the same period.

Image source: Shutterstock

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DLT Finance Receives BaFin Licenses to Launch Trading Platform for Digital Assets

by Blockchain News

DLT Finance Group, a financial services company, based in Frankfurt, Germany, announced on Tuesday that it has received nine BaFin licenses that gave its approval to launch a digital asset platform targeting global financial institutions.

With the regulatory approval, the digital asset platform now offers a wide variety of regulated digital asset services, including brokerage, trading, custody, staking, and DeFi protocols.

DLT Finance disclosed that its new suite of digital asset solutions includes the following: prime brokerage, direct market access to a dozen liquidity venues, OTC Trading, deposits and withdrawals of crypto for instant trading, crypto custody, facilitation of relevant compliance processes, staking, and access to DeFi and liquidity mining, as well as borrowing and lending.

DLT Finance stated that it designed the digital asset platform to cater to institutional clients’ needs, such as banks, brokers, asset managers, and crypto exchanges, among others.

DLT Finance revealed that it has already partnered with major firms within the digital asset space, including Kraken, Bitstamp, B2C2, and Bittrex.

DLT Finance empowers its customers with one API to seamlessly integrate crypto products into their platforms through its platform.

The unique BaFin licensing arrangement offers an innovative regulatory solution for digital asset markets. DLT Finance said that its customers no longer need their own license, as they can trade legally and securely with the company.

The digital asset platform acts as an institutional counterparty where clients can trade on leading liquidity venues and choose from financial commission brokerage, OTC and direct market access. Customers can also stake assets directly from their custody and access to liquidity mining pools and the world of DeFi.

Furthermore, DLT Finance mentioned its digital asset platform facilitates regulatory compliance of digital asset custody for its clients, offers custom solutions for crypto derivatives, and issuance and placement for tokenized or traditional securities. The platform is streamlined with API access and direct online banking integration.

While existing solutions only facilitate closed-end systems, DLT Finance empowers its customers to create an open system in which assets can be directly deposited and withdrawn. Such developments are set to improve access and regulatory cover for digital assets significantly, thus attracting new participants into the crypto landscape.

 

Image source: Shutterstock

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DLT Finance Receives BaFin Licenses to Launch Trading Platform for Digital Assets

by Blockchain News

DLT Finance Group, a financial services company, based in Frankfurt, Germany, announced on Tuesday that it has received nine BaFin licenses that gave its approval to launch a digital asset platform targeting global financial institutions.

With the regulatory approval, the digital asset platform now offers a wide variety of regulated digital asset services, including brokerage, trading, custody, staking, and DeFi protocols.

DLT Finance disclosed that its new suite of digital asset solutions includes the following: prime brokerage, direct market access to a dozen liquidity venues, OTC Trading, deposits and withdrawals of crypto for instant trading, crypto custody, facilitation of relevant compliance processes, staking, and access to DeFi and liquidity mining, as well as borrowing and lending.

DLT Finance stated that it designed the digital asset platform to cater to institutional clients’ needs, such as banks, brokers, asset managers, and crypto exchanges, among others.

DLT Finance revealed that it has already partnered with major firms within the digital asset space, including Kraken, Bitstamp, B2C2, and Bittrex.

DLT Finance empowers its customers with one API to seamlessly integrate crypto products into their platforms through its platform.

The unique BaFin licensing arrangement offers an innovative regulatory solution for digital asset markets. DLT Finance said that its customers no longer need their own license, as they can trade legally and securely with the company.

The digital asset platform acts as an institutional counterparty where clients can trade on leading liquidity venues and choose from financial commission brokerage, OTC and direct market access. Customers can also stake assets directly from their custody and access to liquidity mining pools and the world of DeFi.

Furthermore, DLT Finance mentioned its digital asset platform facilitates regulatory compliance of digital asset custody for its clients, offers custom solutions for crypto derivatives, and issuance and placement for tokenized or traditional securities. The platform is streamlined with API access and direct online banking integration.

While existing solutions only facilitate closed-end systems, DLT Finance empowers its customers to create an open system in which assets can be directly deposited and withdrawn. Such developments are set to improve access and regulatory cover for digital assets significantly, thus attracting new participants into the crypto landscape.

 

Image source: Shutterstock

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Estonia Crypto Regulations Delayed Amid Political Upheaval

by Btcmanager

The happenings in Estonia’s political climate has delayed deliberations on a proposed crypto licensing legislation that could significantly impact the country’s cryptocurrency and blockchain technology climate. Once a crypto-friendly nation, Estonia has toughened its laws on virtual currencies leading to many businesses exiting the country.

Estonia Wants to Reorganize its Crypto Regulatory Landscape

According to ERR News, the resignation of Estonia’s former Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, has put a temporary spanner in the works as concerns crypto regulations in the country. Ratas stepped down amid a corruption scandal that temporarily paused the process of forming a new government.

Earlier in Janaury, Estonia’s Ministry of Finance issued a draft piece of legislation detailing wholesale amendments to crypto regulations especially in the area of oversight responsibilities and licensing requirements. As part of the proposed rule changes, crypto and blockchain businesses interested in operating in Estonia would have to pay a registration fee to the Finantsinspektsioon; the country’s Financial Supervisory Authority.

Speaking to ERR News, Erki Peegel, an advice at the Ministry of Finance remarked that the measure was not to chase crypto businesses out of the country. According to Peegel, the government expects between 50 to 100 of the extant 381 crypto firms in the country to apply under the new licensing regime. Indeed, the proposed law stipulates that already licensed firms must reapply with the Finantsinspektsioon.


This provision mandating licensed firms to reapply is occasioned by reports of the previous registration regime not being up to the global anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) best practices. Indeed, a previous Supreme Court ruling called for greater AML compliance in crypto licensing processes.

Apart from licensing, the finance ministry also wants the Finantsinspektsioon to maintain operational control of crypto oversight in the country. This move would mean the Finantsinspektsioon taking over the duties currently being carried out by the Estonian police, more specifically, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the force.

Firmer Crypto Laws in Estonia and Across Europe

The proposed stricter crypto regulations in Estonia are representative of the general tightening of cryptocurrency laws in Europe. In previous years, Estonia was seen as a crypto-friendly nation with the government even considering an initial coin offering (ICO) program back in August 2017.

As previously reported by BTCManager, Estonia’s central bank has revealed that it was researching the possible development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).


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