Crypto Currency

SBI Securities’ trading revenue surged 19% in 2019 due to the inclusion of SBI VC Trade crypto affiliate in July, SBI Holdings says. SBI Securities’ trading revenue surged 19.2% in 2019, largely due to the inclusion of the company’s crypto investment wing, which turned a $7.1 million loss into a $30 million profit over the year. Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings released its new financial report on Oct. 30. The report analyzed results for the six-month period ended Sept. 30, 2019 and witnessed major growth of SBI’s crypto-heavy venture capital arm in 2019 amid a general decline in SBI’s revenue. SBI VC Trade profits grow over $30 million over a year According to the report, SBI VC Trade’s profit before income tax expense has seen a considerable increase in the first half of the fiscal year (FY) 2019. The number has surged from 765 million Japanese yen ($7.1 million) in losses in H1 FY2018 to as high as 3.2 billion yen ($30 million) in profits in H1 FY2019, the firm s...

Security token platform Harbor has just received a transfer agent license from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Harbor, the digital platform for alternative assets, has received a transfer agent license from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ). On Oct. 31, Harbor CEO Joshua Stein told the Block that his blockchain-enabled platform is “now the first blockchain company to receive both a transfer agent license and a broker-dealer license.” Transfer agent license will compliment broker-deal license The transfer agent license will enable Harbor to maintain financial records of security token ownership, track account balances and pay out dividends while attracting blockchain companies that are looking to conduct Reg A+ offerings. The SEC requires companies to engage with transfer agents for Reg A+ offerings. Regulation A+ is an initial public offering alternative geared towards startups in need of early funding. Regulation A+ funding was introduced...

Do you have a diverse portfolio that contains digital currency? The United States Internal Revenue Service also wants to know your answer. On Oct. 9, 2019, the United States Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Ruling 2019-24 and a series of frequently asked questions, identifying rules governing U.S. taxation of digital currencies. Taxation in the U.S. is unbelievably complex, but the new IRS guidance takes a step-by-step approach to address some of the most common issues facing holders of digital currency. The basics are as follows: If you hold digital currency and you sell or exchange it, you are subject to U.S. tax. If you are granted digital currency in the form of salary or as a result of a hard fork, you have taxable income. If you receive digital currency as a result of a gift, there is no immediate tax.  U.S. taxation of digital currency is limited to U.S. persons. Who is a U.S. person? U.S. citizens, U.S. green card holders and individuals who spend more than 18...

Keeping track of your crypto transactions can be crucial for some much-needed peace of mind. How can I be informed of what’s happening with my crypto transactions? Some crypto exchanges are aiming to deliver full transparency to their users. This attitude toward openness can be especially beneficial for users who are using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for the first time. HitBTC , which bills itself as one of the most advanced crypto exchanges on the market today, has created a System Monitor that delivers live statistics concerning incoming and outgoing transactions for each of the cryptocurrencies it supports. Processing times for the last 100 transactions are provided — detailing the slowest and fastest execution times as well as the average for the group. Information about maintenance operations also offers updates about any improvements being made to the platform that might briefly affect transactions. Learn more about HitBTC Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse...

Futures trading volumes creep up on spot trading in crypto, with futures now amounting to half of the value of more traditional buy-sell trades. Crypto futures trading volume now reportedly amounts to nearly 50% of the value of spot trading on crypto markets, according to Bloomberg. 13 exchanges analyzed Citing volume data from 13 major global crypto exchanges, Bloomberg reported on a massive growth of cryptocurrency futures markets Oct. 31. The analyzed exchanges include institutional digital asset platform Bakkt , the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group ( CME ), Binance , Bitfinex, the Huobi Derivative Market ( DM ), Kraken, FTX , Bitz, Deribit, CoinFlex, Bybit, OKEx and BitMEX . First ever Bitcoin futures launched in late 2017 Spot trading is simply buying or selling a commodity or, in this case, a crypto asset at the moment of the trade. Prior to the launch of the first Bitcoin ( BTC ) futures platform back in 2017, spot trading was the principal option available for crypto...

Oxford students will be invited to participate in the Zilliqa's $5 million Ecosystem Grant Programme. Singapore-based blockchain firm Zilliqa launches blockchain workshops in collaboration with Oxford University to encourage diversity in the industry. Together with Zilliqa, the Oxford Women in Computer Science Society ( OxWoCS ), an Oxford society that aims to support women in computer science, will carry out a series of interactive workshops called Blockchain A-Z, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Oct. 31. Winners to apply for grants to Zilliqa's $5 million Ecosystem Grant Programme According to the announcement, Blockchain A-Z will be conducted on-site at the University of Oxford and will be open to all students currently enrolled at the University of Oxford. Limited to 20 students, the workshops will take place between Oct. 31, 2019 and Nov. 21, 2019. The workshops will cover a wide variety of topics associated with blockchain fundamentals, inclu...

Bitcoin price charts reveal an inverse correlation to the S&P 500 index over the past two years at times, and particularly during summer 2019. In many ways, Bitcoin ( BTC ) and the crypto markets as a whole live somewhat independently from traditional markets. The global crypto space never sleeps, operating at all hours of the day on a global scale. Traditional market price movements and conditions, however, may still have an impact on Bitcoin. If the economy is healthy, seeing rising prices for traditional market indices such as the S&P 500, it makes sense that people might be more willing to take risks by putting money into Bitcoin, an asset that is still speculative at this point in its history. Crypto-Twitter has hosted many discussions on Bitcoin’s potential reaction to an overall market recession, which the digital asset has not yet truly seen since its creation in 2009. The jury is still out on how the asset and its surrounding blockchain industry might react to su...

Canada’s volatile history of mainstream adoption and fraud is directly impacting the future of cryptocurrency in the country. Recently, Canada’s central bank has been leading working groups with global partners exploring a blockchain future. Their crypto presence has soared with Ernst & Young’s announcement that it is using Toronto to test its public government expenditure blockchain. But what is the cryptocurrency landscape currently like in Canada ?  The history of crypto in Canada may seem as volatile as a token with a small market cap, yet mainstream use and adoption have been on a consistent incline since 2013, when Canadians started pushing mainstream adoption. Now, the Canadian government is leading working groups. What else has the country been up to in the blockchain space? The first thing that comes to everyone’s mind when it comes to the Great White North is that the founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin , grew up in Canada — but Etherum isn’t all the country h...

Bitcoin is digital freedom because it allows making the transactions that others don’t want you to make, Blockstream CSO says. Hostility to Bitcoin ( BTC ) from the global regulators is a double-edged sword that can hurt authorities if they lose their power, the Blockstream Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) warned. During a panel at a Liquid meetup at Litecoin Summit on Oct. 29, Blockstream CSO Samson Mow predicted that regulatory restrictions to Bitcoin could have both favorable and unfavorable consequences for the regulators themselves. Regulators should be careful while enforcing Bitcoin regulation The panel is a part of the event hosted by BTC technology firm Blockstream and BTSE exchange in Las Vegas, BTSE’s global marketing director Lina Seiche shared on Oct. 31.  Alongside Mow, the panel also featured Litecoin ( LTC ) founder Charlie Lee and industry Twitter personality WhalePanda. During the discussion, Mow pointed out that Bitcoin really solves a lot of issues in the ...

Here are the basic steps to success when making your first cryptocurrency investment. Investing in Bitcoin ( BTC ) can be quite intimidating if you’re only just learning about its existence now. In fact, taking the plunge and entering the cryptocurrency sphere is a risk for anyone, with or without investment experience. This is because the crypto space has no centralized authority to guide investors. Rumors, hype and horror stories dominate the internet, and separating fact from hearsay can be difficult at times. Like any other business venture, you should never get your feet wet until you have all the facts straight. Many Bitcoin investors who have taken losses will agree that they didn’t do their own research. Riding on rumors and hearsay is setting yourself up for failure. However, the cryptocurrency community does come in handy for inquiries. You’re better off talking to people who are already in the crypto space. As a college student, you’ve got all the time and resources to f...

Nobuaki Kobayashi repeats extends the deadline for the same reasons as before — the number of “fully or partially disapproved” claims. The trustee in charge of refunding users who lost money in the implosion of Bitcoin ( BTC ) exchange Mt. Gox has again extended the submission deadline for claims.  New claims deadline March 31, 2020 In a statement released on Oct. 28, Nobuaki Kobayashi said that the high volume of problematic requests for money meant that a five-month extension was inevitable.  Kobayashi confirmed the plan just one day before the current deadline arrived. That, too, was the result of an extension which the trustee agreed in April.  “A large amount of rehabilitation claims that the Rehabilitation Trustee fully or partially disapproved remains undetermined for being subject to claim assessment procedures and appeals against a decision on a petition for claim assessment,” he explained. Kobayashi’s statement concluded: “In light of the foregoing, ...

Understanding the new IRS guidance for cryptocurrency. The United States Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) is continuing to focus its efforts in cryptocurrency. After sending a recent enforcement letter, the IRS has released two new pieces of guidance for taxpayers who engage in transactions involving digital currency. The new guidance includes Revenue Ruling 2019–24 and FAQs , including guidance for using the specific identification method. Additionally, the IRS has published a new draft for form 1040 Schedule 1 , including a broad declaration regarding crypto holdings or trade. Here is a breakdown of these publications. Revenue Ruling 2019–24: airdrops and hard forks So, what are airdrops and hard forks, and what do they mean for the tax obligations of crypto holders?  In short, an airdrop occurs when a company distributes its tokens to a user’s wallet, free of charge, in order to raise funds, and in certain other cases, such as after hard forks. A hard fork is when nodes...

Russia is one of the top 10 markets on Binance exchange, CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed as the platform just added support for ruble trading. Major global crypto exchange Binance has silently launched Russian ruble trading on Oct. 30 allowing users to deposit and withdraw in RUB. Binance Ruble trading goes live according to the plan Less than two weeks after announcing Binance’s plans to launch fiat trading starting with Russian ruble, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) revealed that ruble trading is live in a tweet on Oct. 31. CZ noted that the launch of Russian ruble was released silently and in conjunction with his interview on Coindesk stating that Russia is one of the biggest markets of Binance exchange. CZ first announced the ruble trading launch speaking at a Russian government-sponsored event, the Open Innovations Forum in Moscow on Oct. 21. At the time, Binance said that the exchange was expecting the launch in about two weeks. Russia is among the top 10 markets on Bina...