The National Agency for Prospective Projects of Uzbekistan (NAPP) has announced its intention to increase monthly fees for companies (exchanges) investing in the cryptocurrency market within the country. This decision, communicated on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, aims to double the revenues from this sector once the fee structure becomes operational.
The decision to revise the fee structure follows a previous directive from the Ministry of Justice in September 2022. NAPP has assessed the profitability of cryptocurrency trading and exchanges, leading to the implementation of a new fee system.
Under the updated system, exchanges will be subject to a monthly fee of 740 Basic Reference Values (BRV), equivalent to 251.6 million Uzbek soms (approximately $20,000). This represents a significant increase from the previous fee of 400 BRV, or 136 million soms ($10,819). It's worth noting that BRV is a standard measure used in financial transactions, including taxes and fees.
Cryptocurrency companies operating in Uzbekistan are obligated to pay monthly fees, primarily allocated to the state budget. Despite the country's openness to travelers, it's not exactly a beacon of democracy, given President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's long tenure since 2003, regularly re-elected with overwhelming percentages of over 80% of the votes. In such political situations, it's not surprising that the state's hand reaches into the pockets of those getting rich, in this case with crypto...
According to the new guidelines, 80% of the monthly fees collected from cryptocurrency users and companies contribute to the country's budget, while the remaining 20% is allocated to NAPP's treasury. Non-compliance with the new fee structure can result in penalties, including license suspension.
NAPP Partners with Tether to Boost the Cryptocurrency Market
Through these changes, NAPP aims to boost state revenues from the cryptocurrency sector, expecting a doubling of revenues once the new structure is implemented. The agency assures that the fee increase will not jeopardize the financial stability of service providers.
In addition to addressing these tariff adjustments, NAPP has recently partnered with stablecoin provider Tether. The memorandum of understanding between the two parties aims to promote blockchain-based innovations in Uzbekistan, including stablecoins and digital asset tokenization.
While specific details of the partnership remain undisclosed, Tether intends to collaborate with the nation's regulators to establish a regulatory framework for cryptographic assets in the country.
A New Presale to Watch
Despite the increase in fees for exchanges and traders, the crypto market is still vibrant, both in Uzbekistan and around the world, with several new token presales gaining attention.
An example of this is the Dogecoin20 meme coin – touted as the successor to Dogecoin – whose presale has already reached $4.5 million in just a few days. It's an ERC-20 token that aims to offer an improved and more sustainable version compared to $DOGE, through its stake-to-earn philosophy.
Given its innovative on-chain staking program and community-centric tokenomics, experts believe it's one of the best meme coins to invest in today.
An undeniable flaw in Dogecoin's tokenomics, for example, is its infinite token supply, which could lead to inflation and negatively impact investment value. $DOGE20 addresses this by having a fixed money supply: there will never be more than 140 billion tokens.
But what about Dogecoin 20's tokenomics? 25% of the token supply has been allocated to the presale, allowing investors a fair opportunity to purchase tokens, while another 25% has been earmarked for marketing.
15% is reserved for the staking program, with $DOGE20 distributed as rewards over a two-year period (with 12.5% distributed in the first year and the remaining 2.5% in the second year, at a more conservative rate). 10% of the supply will be used to provide liquidity on decentralized exchanges, ensuring a seamless trading experience. Finally, the remaining 25% will be reserved in the project treasury and used in subsequent phases as needed.
Considering it's a meme coin on Ethereum, it uses the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism – significantly more eco-friendly than Bitcoin's proof-of-work – and is easily compatible with popular wallets like MetaMask, making it easier for new investors to buy, hold, and trade the cryptocurrency.