tl;dr
• Australia is cracking down on financial influencers, including those involved in crypto• On The Run may be the largest physical retailer in Australia to accept crypto payments beginning in July• Coinbase is about to make some serious moves in India, including investments• Singapore's iron fist aro...
• Australia is cracking down on financial influencers, including those involved in crypto
• On The Run may be the largest physical retailer in Australia to accept crypto payments beginning in July
• Coinbase is about to make some serious moves in India, including investments
• Singapore's iron fist around crypto just got tighter as DBS announces they are axing plans for a crypto trading desk
• Digihost Technology, one of the first BTC miners to offer dividends, is going to pay in Bitcoin…if you want
• Is there are turf war brewing between the SEC and the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC)?
• DOGE moves because Elon did something that has nothing to do with the coin…ugh!
There is a lot going in India, Singapore and the U.S. Here is what is on my mind today.
1. In a sweeping move Australia has all but put a lot of influencers out of business. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released an information sheet demonstrating how laws governing financial products and services apply to influencers. As you can imagine, it basically means they have to be licensed to give out such information. To take it a step further, ASIC suggests influencers without such licensing “modify old content/minimize investing discussion/not mention any financial products, funds, etc.” I am sure ASIC is not trying to hamper bloggers/influencers as much as they are trying to stop the scammers. I do not envy their job. That said, there is a fine line, and it is going to take adjusting regulations over time to address such concerns.
2. On The Run (OTR) is set to become Australia's largest physical retailer to accept digital assets as a means of payment in partnership with Crypto.com. Customers will be able to pay for food, fuel and services at 170 locations across Australia. This is expected to be completed in July. Going even beyond this move, their parent company, Peregrine Corporation, will do the same at its Subway, Oporto, and Smokemart stores.
3. Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong, is signaling a big move in India with an upcoming visit on April 7th. He will be there to not only push for crypto adoption, but to also invest in crypto and Web3 startups. This is interesting since India has put into place one of the world's highest tax rates for crypto, exacerbating the brain drain the country had already been experiencing.
4. On March 26th I noted that crypto exchanges in Singapore will be required to collect additional transaction information. Well, the once crypto-friendly bank, DBS, is not backtracking on their February announcement that the back would expand cryptocurrency trading. The banks CEO, Piyush Gupta, says the regulators are "rightfully concerned". Plans for a crypto trading desk got nixed. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to think someone got a phone call.
5. In a stunning move, Digihost Technology, one of the first Bitcoin miners to issue dividends, announced plans to pay dividends to its shareholders in either cash or Bitcoin. Each shareholder can make their respective declaration. Their first dividend is expected to be about 10% of net income. They can mine up to 120 BTC per month at their current hashrate.
6. Is there are turf war brewing between the SEC and the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC)? Well, Bahamas-base crypto exchange FTX hopes so. They have stepped up their Capital Hill lobbying efforts to make it a reality. Apparently, Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder and CEO, has all but become a fixture on D.C. He's not the only one. I have been wondering why the SEC has had such a hard push as of late. This could be why. They could be marking their territory, so to speak.
7. Just a quick note about how DOGE moved about 9% for a period following Elon's move to purchase 9.2% of Twitter. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DANG COIN!!!