News of the blocking and crypto-currencies over the past week
ECB urges to introduce a Bitcoin-transaction tax, a prohibition on bitcoin investments from Merrill Lynch, a hidden mining that is masked for advertising, a search for a solution to the scalability problem of Ethereum.
Member of the Governing Council of the ECB and head of the National Bank of Austria Ewald Novotny believes that bitcoin needs not only regulation but also in taxation.
In an interview with a German newspaper, he said that everyone involved in financial transactions should be identified, first of all, with the help of value added tax.
Recently, Novotny has already spoken about the need to regulate the crypto industry and, in particular, the problem of money laundering. He also feared that when the bubble of bitcoin burst, a blast wave will affect central banks.
SEC considers CBOE application for listing of stock investment funds based on bitcoin futures
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires public comment on the two proposed changes to CBOE, which will allow the launch of the first exchange-traded funds based on the futures prices of bitcoins.
CBOE wants to list four investment funds and release them from the rules regarding market manipulation. According to current standards, consultants of the company's fund management should not contact brokers and dealers of subsidiaries.
It is also forbidden to use insider information to raise the value of funds. CBOE insists that these rules are not applicable to bitcoin: it is not a commodity that can be manipulated on an equal basis with other goods. As the exchange notes, manipulating the price of bitcoins requires that the attacker invade the blockade itself.
CBOE also finds it inappropriate to regulate insider trading because of the scale of the Bitcoin network: "The nature of bitcoin allows permanent arbitrage transactions on all trading floors. It is impossible for one attacker to take over the dominant market share. "
As a public comment, the SEC will receive both e-mail messages and letters within three weeks of the publication of CBOE applications in the Federal Register. At the moment, the SEC has not approved any application for listing an exchange investment fund associated with bitcoin futures.
The British Central Bank pondered the creation of a digital currency tied to the pound sterling
The research group, created by the Bank of England, is considering the introduction of its own digital currency. The results of the analysis should be announced in 12 months. With this innovation, the British will be able to hold the digital currency in the central bank, without using intermediary banks. Also, the system will allow you to execute transactions in the UK currency almost instantly.
The head of the Bank of England Mark Carney said that he discussed the launch of a digital currency with the main securities and recalled the successful testing of the blocking project that the Bank of England carried out last summer. Several Central Bank has already thought about such a project. The ideas of the digital currency were shared by Riksbank of Sweden, and in Russia at the initial stage of development, there is a project of a cryptorubl.
While it is known that the Russian digital currency will be issued by the state and it can not be mined. And the other day the presidential adviser on economic issues Sergei Glazyev expressed the opinion that the cryptorable will help circumvent the sanctions and will have a positive impact on the country's economy.
Investment bank Merrill Lynch has forbidden clients to invest in bitcoin-fund
The ban concerns financial consultants and clients trading through the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) exchange fund, headed by investor Barry Silbert. The veto is superimposed on recently launched futures contracts.
As reported in the internal document, sent to about 17,000 consultants, the decision was made in connection with doubts about the "suitability and acceptability of the standards of this product." It is also assumed that it is impossible to continue working in existing bitcoin funds through consulting accounts on a fee basis, but you can keep brokerage accounts.
Silbert commented that the GBTC "is going to talk with Merrill Lynch and answer any questions or doubts related to the Bitcoin Investment Trust." The investor stressed that GBTC is not aware of such measures with respect to other brokerage firms.
Vitalik Buterin announced two financing programs to solve the scalability problem Ethereum
Each program will be allocated from $ 50 thousand to $ 1 million. In the official blog of the company, the creator of the broadcast, Vitalik Buterin invited to participate "independent development teams, companies and university groups" and promised comfortable conditions for all formats of teams.
Buterin noted that Ethereum network conducts about one million transactions a day, and increasing the number of transactions processed is a "key technical task". The main current scalability solutions are shading (load sharing between nodes) and a second-level protocol that is built on the blockbuster.