MicroStrategy and Michael Saylor settle tax case for $40M

June 3, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Crypto ‘here to stay’ but its role is unclear, Columbia’s Kim Lew says

August 17, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Columbia University isn't quite ready to jump headling into crypto, but those in charge of its endowment are definitely following the industry's development.

Columbia Investment Management Company president and CEO Kim Lew thinks that cryptocurrencies are here to stay.

“I think it will have profound effects,” she said in a recent interview, “There are many different avenues that it can go.”

Lew explained that people could build many new things within the crypto ecosystem, such as stablecoins and nonfungible tokens. “I think clearly it’s going to play some role. Not clear what role it would play,” she added.

Lew said that it’s important for Columbia Investment Management Company, the firm responsible for managing Columbia University’s $11 billion endowment, to dabble wit crypto assets a little, “just so that we make sure that we follow.”

She stressed that it’s important to make ensure that the company has relationships with people who are developing expertise so that “we can leverage that expertise to decide which way to go.”

While crypto is not an asset class that Columbia would invest a lot in at this point due to high volatility and the risks involved, Lew believes that cryptocurrency is one of the roads open for exploration for long-term investors.

After working for 13 years at the Ford Foundation in executive roles, Lew was hired by Columbia University last year to oversee the endowment of one of the wealthiest colleges in the United States.

She is definitely not alone in dabbling crypto, a recent Fidelity survey conducted with the participation of 1,100 institutional investors reveals. The research revealed that almost 70% of participants, including high-net-worth investors, family offices, digital and traditional hedge funds, financial advisors and endowments, expect to invest in digital assets within the next five years.

Uruguay: Senator introduces bill to enable use of crypto for payments

August 5, 2021 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin bill

A Uruguayan Senator has introduced a bill seeking to “establish a legitimate, legal and safe use in businesses related to the production and commercialization of virtual currencies.”

Uruguayan Senator Juan Satori has introduced a draft bill to regulate cryptocurrency and enable businesses to accept crypto payments.

Satori joins a growing list of politicians from South American and Spanish-speaking countries that are seeking to bring crypto adoption into the mainstream. The Senator is not proposing the use of crypto as legal tender as in El Salvador, however.

The crypto-friendly Senator tweeted on Aug. 4 that “today we present a bill, pioneer in the world, that seeks to establish a legitimate, legal and safe use in businesses related to the production and commercialization of virtual currencies in Uruguay.”

The bill proposes that “crypto assets will be recognized and accepted by the law and applicable in any legal business. They will be considered a valid means of payment, added to those included in the Law of Financial Inclusion.”

The Senator belongs to the National Party which is the ruling party of Uruguay and holds 10 of the 30 seats in the Senate. If the bill gains support the government will issue three types of licenses for businesses using crypto. The first enables “companies to trade any crypto-asset such as intermediaries (exchanges) except transactions of non-financial origin.”

The second license allows the approved party to “store, retain or safeguard crypto assets” and the third allows the issuance of “crypto-assets or utility tokens with financial characteristics.”

The country’s National Secretariat for the Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (SENACLAFT) will be tasked with “regulating, controlling and auditing” the license holders.

Satori asserts that “the percentage of people who invest in cryptocurrencies compared to the total number of inhabitants per country is low,” and emphasizes the importance of adopting crypto regulation to “promote investment and protect investors.”

Columbia seeks crypto security

The development is the latest among a number of countries looking to bring crypto into the fold, including Paraguay, which saw a Bitcoin bill submitted last month, Panama which is looking at adopting cryptocurrency on a national scale, and Argentina with a bill calling for workers to be paid in crypto.

Columbia has also thrown its hat into the ring, with Senator Mauricio Toro who introduced a bill on July 27 that targeted crypto exchanges and consumer protection.

Toro highlighted on Twitter that the bill is seeking to “guarantee security” in crypto transactions, stamp out the black market and promote crypto as an alternative to the traditional banking system.

¡Radicamos de nuevo nuestro Proyecto de #PlataformasCripto!

Crearemos una reglamentación integral para transar criptoactivos y:
-Cerrar puerta a mercados negros
-Tener alternativa al sistema bancario
-Garantizar seguridad en transacciones

Léanlo aquíhttps://t.co/1IBI98NH7h pic.twitter.com/zXBu8e1utk
— Mauricio Toro (@MauroToroO) August 3, 2021

If approved, the bill will introduce regulations that require domestic and international crypto exchanges that operate in the country to register with the national commercial register.

Firms will need to comply with anti-money laundering and terrorism financing laws, implement customer awareness and due diligence measures such as reporting unusual or suspicious activity to the Financial Information and Analysis Unit.

In Spain, a crypto bill was also put forward recently by the People’s Party (PP), seeking to legalize the use of crypto and blockchain tech for mortgage and insurance purposes.

The bill calls on Spanish banks to deploy blockchain tech for managing mortgage and insurance by automating related processes using smart contracts.

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