Bitcoin

The National Tax Service of South Korea (NTS) has decided to withhold income tax from Bithumb’s foreign customers. The total tax to be imposed on their transactions amounts to more than 80 billion won (over $69 million), the leading Korean cryptocurrency exchange announced. Also read: Poles Hit With Backdated Tax on Crypto Trades Bithumb to Challenge the Move Which Lacks Legal Grounds In what has been described by Korean media as the first such attempt by the government in Seoul, the NTS is preparing to withhold the tax even before the country’s legislation has been amended to allow for the taxation of cryptocurrencies . The new provisions are expected to be adopted next year. Quoted by the Korea Joongang Daily, a notice published Friday through the Financial Supervisory Service’s system by Bithumb’s largest shareholder, Vident, detailed: We confirmed that the NTS will impose 80.3 billion won of withholding tax on our foreign clients. No specific taxation standards for crypt...

U.S. law enforcement filed in November criminal charges against Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith because he traveled to North Korea and taught “his audience how to use blockchain technology.” Griffith was arrested on Thanksgiving Day and has been forced to remain in prison the whole time. On Dec. 26, SDNY Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses refused Griffith’s bail plea citing that he might be a flight risk. Also Read: Harsh Laws Make Bitcoin Holders Consider Renunciation or Dual Citizenship US Prosecutors: ‘Griffith Could Acquire Property Overseas With His Digital Wallet’ A few weeks ago the cryptocurrency community learned about the Ethereum proponent Virgil Griffith’s travels to North Korea (DPRK). Criminal charges are being sought against him which was initiated by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and the FBI. According to U.S. law enforcement agencies, Griffith was told not to go to North Korea but then decided to “[teach] his audie...

The Indian crypto community has had an eventful year, with a bill on the horizon, the RBI ban’s supreme court hearing, and the community’s efforts toward positive crypto regulation. News.Bitcoin.com interviewed Nischal Shetty, CEO of local crypto exchange Wazirx, about what the Indian crypto industry could expect in the year 2020 and a wide range of other crypto topics. Also read: Regulatory Roundup – New US Crypto Bill, France’s 1st Approved ICO, Muslim Crypto News.Bitcoin.com (BC): How did you first get involved in crypto? What attracted you to the industry? Nischal Shetty (NS): I’ve been on and off learning/understanding crypto since 2009. But I got deep into it only in 2017. The “permissionless” aspect of crypto is what attracted me to this industry. Imagine being able to build what you want without needing to rely on any other person or company. This aspect of crypto will lead to innovations in finance and tech that has never been possible in traditional financial systems. ...

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. LONDON, Dec, 2019 – Within just a decade, mankind will be well on the way to ending extreme world poverty. A new, encrypted Wi-Fi network will connect people on Earth. And a near indestructible blockchain financial system and global currency will exist off-world, invulnerable to the effects of war, conflict, solar flares, meteor impact, global catastrophe, cyclones, banking and market collapse and other catastrophic events. This might sound like the premise for a sci-fi novel – and you would be right; it is! The very concept came from SovereignSky/RUON AI Founder Timothy E. Burke’s sci-fi space opera “Planet X,” but what started as a movie premise on a hypervelocity star system far away, is now becoming a reality here on Earth and our own sola...

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for bad news in crypto, with Youtube’s removal of hundreds of videos, Google Play’s removal of Metamask, and now Coinbase mobile wallet users facing an announcement their app is losing its dapp browser, reportedly due to restrictive policy requirements from Apple. Some are calling the announcement “the last straw,” and even Coinbase leadership appears none too pleased. Also Read: Google Bans Crypto App Metamask From Play Store Defi Takes a Hit The great Youtube Christmas purge . Google Play’s banning of Metamask . Recent events have proponents of decentralized finance and cryptocurrencies asking themselves just what exactly is going on. Now it appears Apple’s policy is next to come under fire from the crypto community, as the Coinbase mobile wallet on the App Store appears to be in the process of removing the built-in decentralized app (dapp) browser. In a December 28 Reddit post , one user shared a screenshot supposedly from the iOS mobile app whi...

While dozens of the world’s economic leaders participate in extreme monetary easing policy, central banks have also been hoarding gold. Central banks accumulated over 668 tons in gold purchases this year, which is more than 2018’s record numbers. In fact, the key drivers in gold demand this year stemmed from central bank purchases, most of which were bought (390 tons) during the first two quarters of 2019. Also Read: Germans Rush to Buy Gold as Draft Bill Threatens to Restrict Purchases Central Bank Gold Purchases in 2019 Surpass Last Year’s 50-Year Milestone During the last few months of 2019, economists have been warning of worldwide economic calamity. Moreover, at least 37 developed central banks have participated in significant monetary easing practices like large scale overnight repos and slashing interest rates. Every time one of the banks cuts a nation’s interest rate or fuels the country’s private banks with stimulus, they cite a weak economy, lack of liquidity, and rising...

An investigation launched on the request of a French startup has led to the indictment of a 37-year-old entrepreneur accused of stealing 182 BTC from the company he cofounded. Embezzlement of money is one the charges brought against him by the public prosecutor’s office in Paris. Also read: Russia’s Supreme Court Recognizes Tokens as Assets Like Money and Property Another Case Affirms the Money Status of Cryptocurrencies Most European governments are yet to legalize and regulate cryptocurrencies. The process is starting to take shape and form with the implementation of the FATF standards and the transposition of EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive ( AMLD5 ) into national legislations. Laws that go beyond pure AML rules are also likely to be adopted and some crypto-friendly jurisdictions have already done that. In the meantime, real life events are forcing authorities to deal with the phenomenon and acknowledge some of its basic characteristics. ‘Moneyness’ is one of the...