tl;dr

• Mastercard and Visa are both raising rates for large merchants. Major impacts on inflation. I wonder when they will both raise rates for the rest of their merchants• President Biden is very close to signing an Executive order that will have an all hands on deck approach to researching cryptocurren...

• Mastercard and Visa are both raising rates for large merchants. Major impacts on inflation. I wonder when they will both raise rates for the rest of their merchants
• President Biden is very close to signing an Executive order that will have an all hands on deck approach to researching cryptocurrency regulation
• Thailand scrapped the idea of charging a 15% tax on crypto transaction and seem to be settling on 7%. They are also contemplating allowing Russian tourists to pay via crypto. This flies in the face of global sanctions against Russia
• India is pleased with the progress toward introducing the digital Rupee and is looking to accelerate development
• Effective Wednesday, Binance will not accept any transactions in Russia for cards issued by Visa and Mastercard and the same for those cards involved in transactions initiated outside of Russia

There is always news and there is always something you can learn that can directly affect your investment decisions. However, today struck me with several major news events! Here is what is on my mind

1. Mastercard and Visa are about to raise merchant fees for their large merchants. This is going to be another hit on inflation and it couldn't come at a worse time. Energy prices are soaring and there is a major war going on in Ukraine that is wreaking havoc across the globe. My question is how much more profit do these companies need? My real question is why would you want to do that with cryptocurrencies gaining momentum every day? Take my company, Rebel Reach, for instance. We are about to offer merchants the ability to accept crypto online introduce more cost-effective services. I realize the rate hikes will hit large merchants, but it's only a matter of time before those increases hit every merchant. By accepting crypto, merchants would not have to increase their prices. Perhaps, we can work with those merchants and all they would do is directly charge a fee for accepting credit cards and share with their customers why. That is going to push people to cash or crypto fairly quickly.

2. So, it looks like we are much closer to President Biden issuing an Executive Order directing his agencies to perform extensive research into cryptocurrencies. The goal would be to create a regulatory framework that would provide adequate regulation for the space. Too many people think of this as a bad thing. I think this is the first step toward having sound and federally uniform regulation. I believe we should be looking at this as a good thing since we currently have makeshift state-by-state regulation for states that even bothered to create any.

3. Looks like Thailand is settling on a 7% tax for crypto trading on authorized exchanges. This is a big deal since it brings uniformity and is far less than what had been announced previously. Keep in mind Thailand is the second largest economy is southern Asia, second to India. Something else Thailand is doing, which is a bit of a surprise to me is, they are contemplating offering crypto payments to Russian tourists. This would fly in the face of the global sanctions against Russia, for the war they have brought to Ukraine. If this comes to fruition, I think they and any country siding with Russia should be met with the same sanctions.

4. India is closer to realizing its plans on offering a CBDC (central bank digital currency), the "Digital Rupee" and their Finance Minister is happy. The Reserve Bank of India is looking to accelerate efforts. Couple that with a 30% tax on cryptos and you may have fast adoption.

5. Effective tomorrow, Binance will stop accepting cards issued by Mastercard and Visa in Russia. Transactions initiated even outside the country will be unavailable in the country. This should not really be a surprise given both card issuers have stopped transactions in Russia.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed by the writers at Grow My Bag are their own and do not reflect the official stance of Grow My Bag. The content provided on our site is not intended as investment advice, and Grow My Bag is not an investment advisor. We do not endorse buying or selling any cryptocurrencies or digital assets mentioned in our articles. High-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and digital assets require thorough due diligence, and all transfers and trades made are at your own risk. Grow My Bag is not responsible for any potential losses and participates in affiliate marketing.
 20 Dec 24
 20 Dec 24
 20 Dec 24