• Bitcoin Rupees
    Two things the Reserve Bank of India says shouldn't go together: crypto and rupees (via Shutterstock)
    Asia & Australia,  Europe,  Regulation

    As India bans cryptocurrencies, Thailand, South Korea, Switzerland, and the EU embrace them

    India’s Supreme Court upholds Reserve Bank of India’s crypto ban

    July 3, 2018 /

    India is thought of as a tech giant but there’s one technology it doesn’t like, even while other parts of the world do: crypto. India’s Supreme Court has decided to keep in place a cryptocurrency ban on regulated financial institutions announced by the country’s central bank three months ago. This basically dries up a large portion of the crypto market in the second-most populous nation in the world. On April 5, the Reserve Bank of India issued at statement saying, among other things: “In view of the associated risks, it has been decided that, with immediate effect, entities regulated by RBI shall not deal with or provide services to any…

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  • Malta
    Malta, birthplace of the late, great Robert Palmer (via Pixabay).
    Cryptocurrencies,  Europe,  Innovators

    Binance shines light on Malta as crypto’s new tax haven

    Now all you have to do is move there

    March 23, 2018 /

    Good news for European Binance customers: The one-year-old cryptocurrency exchange based in Hong Kong is looking to set up shop on Malta The prime minister of Malta personally welcomed the crypto behemoth to the Mediterranean island nation between Sicily and Tunisia. The move may be good news for the EU’s wealthy, too. On Thursday, , the exchange got a slap on the wrist from Japan for operating without registering first. A few hours later, the company’s CEO, Zhao Changpeng, told Bloomberg that Binance will start a “fiat-to-crypto exchange” on Malta instead. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat personally tweeted his greeting to company: Welcome to #Malta 🇲🇹 @binance. We aim to be…

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  • Bitcoin pieces on a stack of Russian rubles
    Bitcoin pieces on a stack of Russian rubles (via Shutterstock).
    Bitcoin,  Cryptocurrencies,  Europe

    Russia’s biggest bank opens a cryptocurrency exchange in a country notorious for secrecy

    What could go wrong?

    February 6, 2018 /

    Russia’s love affair with cryptocurrency is being consummated in Switzerland. Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, is planning to use Swiss arm Sberbank Switzerland AG to open a formal exchange for trading cryptocurrency. Despite having no cryptocurrency legislation at present, Russia’s regulatory environment is so far extremely favorable. There is a proposed framework in place for how the country might regulate cryptocurrency trading. But it’s got nothing on Switzerland, notorious for its history of banking secrecy. Where Russia merely hasn’t outlawed crypto, Switzerland has formally legalized it. By operating its exchange in Switzerland, Sberbank gets more money privileges to flex for its soon-to-be crypto-customers. “We wish to serve our customers’…

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  • Paying cash in Sweden may soon be a thing of the past (via Shutterstock).
    Cryptocurrencies,  Europe,  Innovators,  People,  Regulation

    Sweden is edging toward issuing a national cryptocurrency

    The Scandinavian nation may take its love for electronic money one step further

    January 19, 2018 /

    One of the first European countries to print paper money may also be first to phase it out. According to an HSBC analyst report, Sweden is the next nation to emerge as straight-up pro-cryptocurrency. Cash is dying there, with most Swedish residents perpetuating the well-established culture of paying for things via card or app. In 2015, bills and coins represented just 2% of Sweden’s economy. In 2016, the country’s central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, announced it was investigating issuing a formal Swedish cryptocurrency called the e-krona. A lot of pieces fit in the hypothetical jigsaw puzzle of Sweden-as-cryptocurrency-haven. The Swedish population already has a lot of experience with financial technology, thanks…

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