Legalization of cryptocurrencies in India and South Korea, bitcoin volatility and other events of the week

In the traditional Sunday digest, we recall fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin, decisions of the South Korean Parliament,The Supreme Court of India and the German regulator regarding cryptocurrencies, as well as Netflix forecast on the future of digital assets and other events of the week.

Bitcoin price

Over the past week, the first cryptocurrency managed toto return to quotes above the level of $ 9000, below which it was since February 20. This happened on Thursday, March 5, but already on Saturday evening, the price of bitcoin again fell below the psychological mark.

CoinGecko Data

Amid growing panic in stock marketsDue to the spread of the coronavirus epidemic outside of China, experts expected that «digital gold» will demonstrate the qualities of a protective asset. However, according to international business professor Campbell Harvey, Bitcoin has not yet become a «safe haven» for investors.

However, financial regulators are already forced to consider the existence of cryptocurrencies as given.

German regulator classified cryptocurrencies as financial instrument

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) first classified Bitcoin and other digital assets, recognizing them as a financial instrument.

The German regulator called cryptocurrencies«digital value that does not have the legal status of currency or money, but is accepted by individuals or legal entities as a medium of exchange and can be transferred, stored and traded electronically».

BaFin noted that the basis for the qualification of cryptocurrencies was the definition of cryptocurrencies of several international organizations, in which they partially coincided.

The Ukrainian National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPK) did likewise.

In Ukraine, the procedure for declaring cryptocurrencies has been established

NACC used the Group's cryptocurrency definitiondevelopment of financial measures against money laundering (FATF). According to him, this is a digital expression of value with the possibility of transmission, trade in digital format and use for payment or investment purposes.

The anti-corruption body decided that it is necessary to declare cryptocurrencies as intangible assets.

Indian Supreme Court repeals central bank ban on cryptocurrency banking

In India, the country's Supreme Court ruled inthe benefit of the crypto industry by repealing the ban imposed by the Reserve Bank (RBI) on reporting institutions serving cryptocurrency trading companies.

The directive adopted in 2018 had a seriousimpact on the country's blockchain industry. Some cryptocurrency exchanges were forced to immigrate beyond its borders, while others decided to cease operations.

After the verdict of the highest court, the survivorsIndian exchanges on the first day began to restore operations with Indian rupees. For example, as stated by CoinDCX, it took her only six hours.

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However, the central bank, which plans to file a motion to review the court decision, did not give up.

Belief in the future of cryptocurrencies was not demonstratedonly representatives of the Indian blockchain community, who have been seeking the abolition of the discriminatory RBI decision for more than a year, but also the creators of the series “Modified Carbon” of the multimedia company Netflix.

Netflix made cryptocurrencies a means of payment in a series about the future

In the new season of the series, Netflix has shown cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in certain markets.

According to the scriptwriters, in 2410 there will still beused Bitcoin, Monero, Zcash, Litecoin and some other digital assets. However, they will serve to facilitate the purchase of smuggling and other prohibited goods, the authors of the series say.

A similar opinion exists now, but it does notconfirmed by numbers. According to Chainalysis, last year, only 1.1% of bitcoin transactions were related to illegal activities. Moreover, this indicator has been steadily falling over the years.

However, it is also impossible to deny the fact of using cryptocurrencies for criminal purposes, which was confirmed by the sensational «miner» government institutions in the Russian Federation.

Unknown, requiring 120 bitcoins from the WEX exchange, threatened to mine aircraft

Extorting 120 BTC, the “client of the WEX cryptocurrency exchange” has submitted new requirements to government agencies in Russia and is now threatening mining airports and airlines.

A series of mines in the territory of the Russian Federationbegan in November 2019, shortly after the publication of a BBC investigation on the possible involvement of entrepreneur Konstantin Malofeev and the FSB in stealing the funds of users of the WEX cryptocurrency exchange (BTC-e successor) for a total of $ 450 million.

But despite such incidents, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly entering the mainstream, as demonstrated by the decision of the South Korean parliament.

South Korea fully legalizes cryptocurrency trading

The South Korean National Assembly has passed legislative amendments that introduce cryptocurrencies into the legal field.

However, local media warn that the new rules will lead to a major restructuring of the country's blockchain industry.

After the entry into force of the adopted standards in 2021, bitcoin exchanges will be required to:

comply with all financial reporting requirements;
use only bank accounts with real names and provide
compliance with KYC procedures together with the partner bank;
certify information security management systems (ISMS).

According to local experts, these requirements will prove financially unbearable for most cryptocurrency companies. As a result, 4 to 6 legal exchanges will remain in the country.