Japan is one of the most promising countries when it comes to cryptocurrency regulation, the latest cryptocurrency news show. The self-governing Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) has recently asked the country's top financial regulator to change the way cryptocurrency-related earnings are taxed. With this, the Japanese exchanges are demanding new tax reforms from the country's regulators, stating that the financial laws do not see cryptocurrencies in the right way. The JVCEA is a body that represents all of Japan's licensed cryptocurrency exchanges as well as a range of blockchain, banking and legal industry stakeholders. The body said that it has filed an official document with the regulatory Financial Services Agency (FSA) noting that even though it feels much progress has been made with regulations in the industry so far, tax guidelines are still inadequate. The JVCEA mentioned that Japanese exchanges need regulation - and that the law now recognizes cryptocurrencies as bone fide financial assets. The JVCEA proposed the following:

• Citizens who must pay tax on their cryptocurrency holdings should be granted a three-year grace period to obtain necessary documentation/registration information (before fines become applicable).
• Cryptocurrency derivative transactions should be taxed separately, and the transfer of losses should be allowed (as one of the main things Japanese exchanges need)
• Small-scale cryptocurrency transactions should not be subject to taxation.
• Cryptocurrency issuance from initial coin offerings (ICOs) should be recognized as a capital transaction rather than taxable income.
• Special tax laws and tax breaks should be introduced for certain investment deals involving cryptocurrency projects.

The demands by the Japanese exchanges are all over the altcoin news and have taken on a new significance after the pro-crypto tax reform lobbyists saw their political ally losing his seat in the parliament last week. As many best cryptocurrency news sites reported a while ago, the JVCEA is hoping that the recent resignation of its former president (the SBI Group CEO Yoshitaka Kitao) will not diminish its standing as it aims to shape policy on what many Japanese crypto enthusiasts feel that is now a key issue. Meanwhile, the top tax authority in the US, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), will soon update its cryptocurrency guidelines "in the coming weeks" as reported in July.

Circle expands to Bermuda praising the better crypto regulation and the overall regulatory environment. The company announced today they will be expanding services and according to the announcement which we have in our latest cryptocurrency news we can read that:

 “While many governments around the world have not kept pace with the regulatory requirements driven by rapid innovation in digital asset businesses and crypto, Bermuda has leapt forward with an exceptionally well designed and comprehensive regulatory framework: the Digital Assets Business Act of 2018 (“DABA”). […]

The Circle announcement goes further:

“Bermuda’s pioneering approach is the kind of regulatory framework we’ve long advocated to unleash growth in the crypto industry. Moreover, we’ve witnessed first hand that the Bermuda government is prepared to iterate and evolve new regulatory rules alongside the pace of technical innovation in the crypto and blockchain field.”

The Bermuda subsidiary of Circle will offer all kinds of crypto services including custody. The company says it will be the first major company to approach this country since the DABA passage last year. Circle is the owner of Poloniex which is still a popular crypto exchange. The post also notes that the international users will be able to access the exchange via the new subsidiary called Circle International Bermuda. Circle expands to Bermuda mainly because of the great regulatory climate but they say that the upcoming features will not be immediately available for US customers due to the US regulations. Jeremey Allaire, the CEO of Circle, stated that the regulatory climate in the United States is muddy and is the reason why he had to lay off some of his employees. He also stated that the new Bermuda expansion will open 30 new job positions. As noted in some of the best cryptocurrency news sites, the volumes on Poloniex have fallen dramatically over the past few years and in the 24-hour period at press time, the exchange done just over $15 million. Some believe that this is a move to save Poloniex from crashing since its influence dropped after Binance joined the market. Binance had a trading volume which was at least 10 percent higher than Poloniex did in just a day.

In our latest cryptocurrency news, we are giving a full answer to the question 'What makes Switzerland one of the best countries for crypto investors and businesses?' with detailed notes on the crypto laws and regulation in this country. For those of you who did not know, cryptocurrencies and exchanges are legal in the country. In fact, the country adopted a remarkably progressive stance towards cryptocurrency regulations. As the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (SFTA) shows, cryptocurrencies are seen as assets in this country: they are subject to the Swiss wealth tax and must be declared on annual tax returns. When it comes to exchanges, the crypto laws in Switzerland show that the country imposes a registration process on cryptocurrency exchanges - they must obtain a license from the  Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority(FINMA) in order to operate. When it comes to ICOs, there are regulations in place for them too - February 2018, FINMA published a set of guidelines for initial coin offerings across a range of areas. The areas included ICOs present in banking, securities, collective investment schemes and many others. In the future, Switzerland is seen to have even better crypto laws. The country's government has indicated that it will continue to work towards a regulatory environment which is very friendly to cryptocurrencies. One of the hotspots of this industry and crypto laws in Switzerland is the town of Zug. As many best cryptocurrency news sites reported, this town introduced Bitcoin as a way of paying city fees - making it the first initiative of that kind. In January 2018, the Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann said that he was aiming to make Switzerland a "crypto nation." Meanwhile, the Swiss Secretary for International Finance, Jorg Gasser, has emphasized a clear need to promote cryptocurrencies and build crypto laws which do not compromise the existing financial standards. All of this makes Switzerland a heaven for crypto laws - and one of the pioneering countries with such initiatives. The most important part is that this country is seen as one of the most financially stable countries in the world - hence the importance of such crypto laws in the European market.

FINRA prolongs the deadline for companies to report crypto activity after last week’s Facebook and Libra hearing and the potential regulation over the new crypto project. The United States Financial Industry Regulatory Authority quietly decided to extend the deadline in order to encourage companies as we can read in the reports in the latest cryptocurrency news. The regulatory body for brokerages and crypto exchanges had requested last year from the member companies to inform the regulatory coordinator in their company of associated individuals or groups that are engaging or planning to engage in activities related to digital assets. The request included digital assets that are not securities such as cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. With the deadline now being extended until July 30, FINRA posted a follow-up date last week extending the deadline until 2020. The new notice shows:

“As securities regulators continue to provide guidance to members regarding the unique regulatory challenges presented by digital assets – e.g., Joint Statement on Broker-Dealer Custody of Digital Asset Securities – FINRA believes it is important to keep the lines of communication with members open on this important topic.”

FINRA suggests that the activities that should be reported include buying, selling and transacting digital assets, ICOs, and derivatives but also investing in digital assets and opening funds. Among others, the list also offers the advisory services or funds and offering custody services, mining cryptocurrencies and accepting the crypto as a mean of payment. Any other use of blockchain technology should be reported as well as the authority suggests. At the start of this month, FINRA and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a joint statement where they say there are a number of questions to be noted before they can approve crypto companies’ applications to become broker-dealers. One of the factor, why FINRA prolongs the date, is that the brokers need to prove that they engage with crypto in order to provide better regulation. According to a statement which we have in our altcoin news we can read that:

 “The ability of a broker-dealer to comply with aspects of the Customer Protection Rule is greatly facilitated by established laws and practices regarding the loss or theft of a security, that may not be available or effective in the case of certain digital assets.’’