Blockchain technology has immense potential to revolutionize the world of financial transactions. However, the technology has also had its fair share of challenges and controversies. Crypto investors and speculators have been defrauded of millions of dollars. There also have been fears that ICOs could be used for money laundering and terrorist financing. Our Cryptocurrency Regulations, blockchain regulation and Bitcoin regulation news will provide you with the latest information on all legislative surrounding cryptocurrencies and more. As the adoption of blockchain becomes more widespread and cases of fraud in the crypto-space become rife, government regulators and political players are looking for ways to keep the rapidly evolving industry in check. DC Forecasts your leading bitcoin news site, explores countries and agencies that have been in the news of late for blockchain and cryptocurrency regulations.

Industry Updates And Bitcoin Regulation Worldwide

The EU has implemented strict regulations that have significant ramifications on blockchain technology. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which became effective on May 25, 2018, aims to harmonize data privacy efforts across the union. The regulation especially mandates that EU citizens have a “right to be forgotten” on the web. This right can potentially contradict the immutability and decentralization that blockchain technology offers its users. The newly enacted GDPR values rest upon the moral foundation that European Union residents should have the fundamental right to control their data. Hence, it is up to blockchain companies to make sure that the EU minimum requirements for data ownership are met sufficiently. Just like cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency regulations, Bitcoin regulation is a common topic internationally - talking about how and where BTC is accepted all around the world.

United States Cryptocurrency Regulations

The U.S. handles about 26% of bitcoin, which is the world’s second largest volume after Japan’s 61%. The legality of bitcoin trade differs between states. In March 2018, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) signaled plans to enact securities laws to govern the digital currency industry, ranging from crypto-exchanges to digital asset storage firms (wallets). The SEC has trained its eyes on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and has increased efforts to police them through various subpoenas. [read more="Read More" less="Read Less"]

Japan

Japan is the world’s largest bitcoin market, hence the importance of the cryptocurrency regulations there. Statistics show that about 50% of crypto’s daily volume is traded in Japanese Yen. Around March 2018, Japan Financial Services Agency issued a warning to Binance, a Hong Kong-based crypto company, for doing business in the country without a license. The country’s crypto market has been marred with hacking and scam cases, prompting it to adopt a regulatory system. Hence, Japan was the first country to set up a national system to control crypto trading. This happened after its exchanges were affected by some highly publicized breaches like the 2014 Mt. Gox fiasco. The country’s regulators also issued punishment notices to several exchanges. The regulators even forced some exchanges to close shop after the loss of $530 million worth of digital currency at exchange Coincheck.

South Korea

Since the beginning of 2018, South Korea has been reviewing its stance on blockchain. The crypto world is still waiting anxiously for conclusive updates on the latest cryptocurrency regulations topics. The country’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has demanded that cryptocurrency brokers restructure their contracts to curb fraud. There were reports that South Korea was planning to impose a 10% tax on cryptocurrency gain by June 2018. The South Korean government later dismissed the report as fake. Nonetheless, any crypto regulations enacted by South Korea would potentially have a notable impact on the crypto-space, as it ranks third after Japan and the US in trading volumes.

Russia

In January 2018, Russia’s president indicated that Cryptocurrency Regulations in the country should go into effect by the beginning of July 2018. This was reported by the official government publication Parlamentskaya Gazeta Feb. 28. In so doing, Putin set the release date for a regulatory package, dubbed the Digital Assets Regulation Bill. This bill first appeared in 2017. When enacted, the bill would end long-standing uncertainties, where cryptocurrency lay in a gray area, and Russian local authorities took various contradictory moves to determine what aspects of cryptocurrency were and weren’t legal. At the end of May 2018, the Russian State Duma (the country’s main legislative body) almost unanimously passed the first three readings of the country’s major blockchain and crypto-related bill dubbed On Digital Financial Assets. The final version of On Digital Financial Assets was scheduled to be passed by July 1, 2018, and it will regulate the entire blockchain in Russia.

Conclusion

While it is hard to predict how the issue of Cryptocurrency Regulations will end by December 2018, one thing is clear – government regulatory bodies and other players in the crypto industry are working on gaining clarity around how to handle fraudulent players in the field. Likewise, international agencies are putting efforts into harnessing the full potential of blockchain technology, but they want to set a clear protocol first. [/read]