A high-ranking Russian official says that the nation is considering accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for its fuel exports. According to a new report by the BBC, Zavalny, who is the Chairman of Russia’s Energy Committee, says that nations that are considered “friendly” toward Russia can pay for oil and gas using their own currencies. […]
The post Russia Open to Accepting Bitcoin in Exchange for Oil, According to Energy Commissioner: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The survey of 1,031 female Americans between the ages of 18 and 65 discovered that 15% of women are interested in a career in crypto.
Even though female investors are increasingly interested in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, there is still a significant knowledge gap when it comes to these topics, a new study reveals.
BlockFi noted that a third-party survey panel conducted the study on Jan. 28, 2022, and included 1,031 female-identifying Americans between the ages of 18 and 65.
According to a recent study by BlockFi focused on the shifting attitudes toward cryptocurrency, 92% of the women surveyed have heard about crypto, with almost one in four (24%) already owning some. In contrast, 80% still find it difficult to understand and 72% believe investing is too risky.
Per the study, over one-third of women intend to purchase cryptocurrency in 2022, with 60% of respondents saying they would buy crypto in the next three months.
The study points out that while wider cryptocurrency adoption is still low, the majority of female crypto owners are purchasing and HODLing. In 2022, the crypto market has already seen a lot of volatility. Still, women's confidence in long-term crypto investment is unwavering, with most women purchasing Bitcoin (BTC) (71%), Dogecoin (DOGE) (42%), and Ether (ETH) (18%), the survey notes.
Twenty-four percent of the participants own cryptocurrencies, according to the survey. Of those who do, 70% are HODLers, having acquired the asset but never selling it, compared to 55% for the market as a whole. Per the survey, almost 45% of women said they knew how to buy cryptocurrency, up from about 23% six months ago.
During an interview with Cointelegraph, Casper Labs chief technology officer Medha Parlikar said that she hopes regulators will continue to allow for more women in blockchain entrepreneurship "moving forward." She noted that:
"With respect to women in tech, I think it might be a longer tail than just immediately women emerging in technology. I see that there's a strong trend towards supporting girls who code right."
Last year, a study revealed that gender equality in the crypto and blockchain industry is still a long way away. According to the April 2021 Global Gender Gap Report by WEF, it will take almost 135.6 years to close the gender gap as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, this hasn't deterred these women, who used blockchain technology and crypto to tackle various social problems. As reported by Cointelegraph, a study published in Dec. 2021 found out the number of Australian women who invested in crypto had doubled over the previous year.
Related: 10 women who used crypto to make a difference in 2021
A recent survey by KuCoin indicated a more even distribution between male and female crypto users in Turkey. KuCoin found out that female investors in Turkey account for 47% of investors and 63% of crypto-curious.
Ankara University has become the first higher education institution in Turkey to organize a course on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The freshly-launched lecture has been attended by high-ranking government officials, local media reported. Leading University in Turkey Begins Course on NFTs Ankara University has added a course on NFTs to its curriculum, becoming the first Turkish […]
The first stop for Bitci’s international expansion, also a first for a Turkish crypto exchange, is Brazil.
Turkish blockchain provider Bitci is seeking to establish local crypto exchanges in Brazil and Spain in a bid to lure local crypto investors.
A Bitci spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Bitci is planning to open new crypto exchanges in the countries where the company has sizeable deals and assets, as Reuters reported. The first stop for Bitci’s international expansion, also a first for Turkish crypto exchanges in general, is Brazil.
Bitci CEO Onur Altan Tan said in an interview that the Turkish blockchain provider aims to open its first exchange outside of Turkey in February in Brazil. Spain would see the second international Bitci exchange in March. By opening local crypto exchanges in said countries, Bitci aims to provide better service to local investors, a spokesperson told Cointelegraph.
Starting with its Brazilian exchange, Bitci also wants to strengthen its connection with local soccer clubs. Being a blockchain provider, Bitci helped more than 25 soccer teams to launch their fan tokens.
Speaking to Reuters, Bitci's CEO said that the exchange has valuable assets in Brazil. “We have released fan tokens of Brazil's national team and we have agreed with six other clubs,” he added. Exclusive fan token deals with soccer clubs would help Bitci to jumpstart its growth in Brazil, according to Tan.
Related: Turkish and Salvadoran presidents meet, Bitcoiners left disappointed
Bitci saw aggressive growth over the last year, signing partnership deals with a number of renowned sports entities like Brazilian and Spanish national soccer teams as well as the Formula 1 team McLaren Racing.
As the coronavirus pandemic has diminished profits for the sports industry, fan tokens quickly became a trend among sports clubs looking to generate new revenue streams. The unclear regulatory framework surrounding cryptocurrencies in Turkey can also be seen as a key driver for Turkish crypto companies to look for growth opportunities around the world.
Separating blockchain from crypto leaves all the exciting opportunities out, legal expert Elçin Karatay told Cointelegraph.
Blockchain can’t be separated from crypto in a progressive manner because extracting blockchain from crypto diminishes the former to a glorified database, leaving all the exciting opportunities out, Turkish law expert Elçin Karatay told Cointelegraph.
As a country that saw Bitcoin (BTC) hit an all-time high on a very different date than the rest of the world, Turkey’s efforts on establishing a regulatory framework while the population flocks to cryptocurrencies as a way to hedge against double-digit inflation can help understanding how to manage crypto regulation in unstable economies.
Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s confirmation that a crypto law is in the works, the Turkish Parliament hosted a delegation of local crypto experts in a bid to better understand the expectations of the ecosystem. Cointelegraph reached out to Elçin Karatay, who was among the group, to get a lawyer’s perspective on the meeting held in Ankara. Karatay is a founding member of the Fintech Association Turkey and works as a managing partner at Solak and Partners law firm.
Defying the popular ”blockchain-is-good-crypto-is-bad” narrative, she argued that blockchain by itself does not require a comprehensive legal assessment as it would be diminished to an essential database technology if crypto is removed from it:
“All the opportunities created by this industry, just like all the risks, manifest themselves in the fields where crypto and blockchain go hand in hand.”
When the governments don this narrative, it results in either total crypto bans or a legalized, “lite” version of crypto that doesn’t have any of the soul of decentralization left in it, she added. Balance is of utmost importance when it comes to establishing a regulatory framework around crypto, Karatay said:
“If you only focus on eliminating risks associated with a specific industry in regulatory efforts, you would also eliminate any potential benefits and opportunities that would otherwise be offered by the same industry.”
The Turkish blockchain ecosystem, as with any other international business hubs, needs regulation that encourages innovation while protecting individuals’ rights, Karatay said. During the meeting, each participant shared the necessary steps from their own perspective. Lawmakers avoided sharing any commentary as the aim of the session was to hear the opinion of the crypto ecosystem.
Related: Crypto and NFTs meet regulation as Turkey takes on the digital future
Karatay presented real examples of establishing balanced regulation for cryptocurrencies during the meeting. She explained to lawmakers how the European Union’s draft legislation handles crypto-related funds and how to distinguish between security-, utility- and asset-based tokens.
She also used this opportunity to explain why limiting and “extreme” regulation would not be efficient. Seeing the lawmakers’ invitation to crypto experts as a positive step toward a balanced regulatory approach, Karatay stressed that the overall atmosphere of the meeting, which might be the first of a series, was optimistic.
For a quick recap, there’s no official regulatory framework in Turkey despite President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s harsh criticism of crypto. Since they are treated as assets and not monetary instruments, cryptocurrencies have been banned as a payment method since April 2021.
The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has reportedly instructed the country’s ruling party to conduct a study on cryptocurrency and the metaverse. “It is a sensitive subject, a good and meticulous study should be done,” said President Erdoğan. Turkish President Wants the Ruling Party to Study Crypto and the Metaverse Turkish President Recep Tayyip […]
Turkish officials have recently identified the metaverse as a priority area for policy development.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and ruling Ak Party officials met earlier this week to discuss the metaverse, with the president calling for comprehensive research on the subject.
Erdoğan has reportedly urged the Ak Party to study the metaverse, cryptocurrencies and how transactions are made using them, according to a Daily Sabah report.
At a meeting on Tuesday, party leaders were instructed to research the phenomenon with significant ramifications for the future. The economic aspects of the metaverse, cryptocurrencies and social media are likely to be addressed at a forum that will be organized by the ruling party.
In Turkey, the metaverse is gaining interest. According to some reports, thousands of virtual territories in Turkey, most of which are located in the historic former capital of Istanbul, have already been purchased in game-based metaverse platforms.
Ak Parti olarak #Metaverse üzerinden ilk toplantımızı gerçekleştirdik. pic.twitter.com/19Xfd6sIWR
— AK Parti Bilgi İletişim Teknolojileri (@AKbilgitek) January 17, 2022
As Cointelegraph reported, the Turkish government recently met in the metaverse to discuss cryptocurrency legislation. Grand National Assembly of Turkey chairman Mustafa Elitaş then said, “I believe that metaverse-based meetings would be improved expeditiously and become an essential part of our lives.”
Related: Crypto and NFTs meet regulation as Turkey takes on the digital future
While the Turkish government is open to blockchain technology, metaverse and a state-issued digital currency, President Erdoğan is notorious for his harsh opposition to cryptocurrencies. Last year, during a public Q&A session, he "declared war" on cryptocurrencies, implying the country had no interest in adopting them.
From Bolivia to China, governments sought to restrict crypto-related activity for various reasons and with different tools.
Last week, Pakistan’s Sindh High Court held a hearing on the legal status of digital currencies that might lead an outright ban of cryptocurrency trading combined with penalties against crypto exchanges. Several days later, the Central Bank of Russia called for a ban on both crypto trading and mining operations. Both countries could join the growing ranks of nations that moved to outlaw digital assets, which already include China, Turkey, Iran and several other jurisdictions.
According to a report by the Library of Congress (LOC), there are currently nine jurisdictions that have applied an absolute ban on crypto and 42 with an implicit ban. The authors of the report highlight a worrisome trend: the number of countries banning crypto has more than doubled since 2018. Here are the countries that banned certain cryptocurrency-related activities or announced their intention to do so in 2021 and early 2022.
The Bolivian Central Bank (BCB) issued its first crypto prohibition resolution in late 2020, but it was not until Jan. 13, 2022 that the ban was formally ratified. The language of the most recent ban specifically targets “private initiatives related to the use and commercialization of [...] cryptoassets.”
The regulator justified the move by investor protection considerations. It warned of “potential risks of generating economic losses to the [...] holders” and emphasized the need to protect Bolivians from fraud and scams.
Cryptocurrency transactions have been formally banned in the People's Republic of China since 2019, but it was last year when the government took steps to clamp down on crypto activity in earnest. Several official warnings of the risks associated with crypto investment were followed by a ban on cryptocurrency mining and forbade the nation’s banks to facilitate any operations with digital assets. But the crucial statement came out on Sept. 24, when a concert of the major state regulators vowed to jointly enforce a ban on all crypto transactions and mining.
Apart from the common notions of money laundering and investor protection, Chinese officials played the environmental card in their fight with mining, which is a bold move for a country that contributes up to 26% of global carbon dioxide emissions, of which crypto mining represents a marginal share.
On Nov. 11, 2021, The National Ulema Council of Indonesia (MUI), the nation’s top Islamic scholarly body, proclaimed cryptocurrencies to be haram, or forbidden on religious grounds. MUI’s directions are not legally binding and as such it will not necessarily halt all cryptocurrency trading. However, it could deal a significant blow to the crypto scene of the world’s largest Muslim country and affect future governmental policies.
MUI’s determination mirrors a common interpretation that has been shaping up across jurisdictions influenced by the Islamic legal tradition. It views crypto activity as wagering — a concept that arguably could be used to define almost any capitalist activity.
On Jan. 20, the religious anti-crypto push was furthered by several other non-governmental Islamic organizations in Indonesia, The Tarjih Council and the Central Executive Tajdid of Muhammadiyah. They confirmed the haram status of cryptocurrencies by issuing a fatwa (a ruling under Islamic law) that focuses on the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies and their lack of capacity to serve as a medium of exchange by Islamic legal standards.
On Sept. 9, 2021, the Nepal Central Bank (Nepal Rastra Bank, NRB) issued a notice with a headline “Cryptocurrency transactions are illegal.” The regulator, referencing the national Foreign Exchange Act of 2019, declared cryptocurrency trading, mining and “encouraging the illegal activities” as punishable by law. NRB separately underlined that the individual users are also to be held responsible for violations related to crypto trading.
A statement from Ramu Paudel, the executive director of the Foreign Exchange Management Department of the NRB, emphasized the threat of “swindling” to the general population.
A U-turn in Nigeria’s national policy on digital assets was cemented on February 12, 2021, when the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission announced suspending all plans for crypto regulation, following a ban by the central bank introduced a week earlier. The nation’s central cank ordered commercial banks to shut down all crypto-related accounts and warned of penalties for non-compliance.
CBN’s explanation for such a crackdown lists a number of familiar concerns such as price volatility and potential for money laundering and financing of terrorism. At the same time, CBN governor Godwin Emefiele stated that the central bank was still interested in digital currencies, and that the government was exploring various policy scenarios.
On Apr. 20, 2021, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled 5% after Turkey’s central bank declared that “cryptocurrencies and other such digital assets” could not be legally used to pay for goods and services.
As the explanation went, the use of cryptocurrencies could ‘cause non-recoverable losses for the parties to the transactions [...] and include elements that may undermine the confidence in methods and instruments used currently in payments’. But that was just the beginning — what followed was a series of arrests of crypto fraud suspects, as well as Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan personally declaring a war on crypto.
Related: Turkish and Salvadoran presidents meet, Bitcoiners left disappointed
In Dec. 2021, Erdoğan announced that the national cryptocurrency regulation had already been drafted and would soon be introduced to the parliament. In a thriller twist, the president remarked that the legislation was designed with the participation of cryptocurrency industry stakeholders. The exact nature of the regulatory framework remains unknown.
In a Jan. 20, 2022, report intended for public discussion, the Central Bank of Russia proposed a complete ban on over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency trading, centralized and peer-to-peer crypto exchanges, as well as a ban on crypto mining. The regulator also advanced the idea of imposing punishments for violating these rules.
In the justification part of the report, CBR compared crypto assets to Ponzi schemes and listed concerns such as volatility and illegal activity financing, as well as undermining “the environmental agenda of the Russian Federation.” But perhaps the most relevant of the justifications was the concern over the potential threat to Russia’s “financial sovereignty.”
It is hard not to notice that many of the countries on this list represent some of the most vibrant crypto markets: China does not need an introduction; Nigeria was the biggest source of Bitcoin trading volume in Africa; Indonesia was on Binance’s radar as an expansion target; and Turkey saw a rising interest in Bitcoin amidst the lira’s freefall.
When crypto awareness and adoption reaches such levels, it is hardly possible to outlaw the technology whose advantages have already become known to the general public. It is also worth a mention that in many cases the authorities’ messaging around crypto has been ambiguous, with officials publicly voicing their interest in digital assets’ potential before and even in the wake of the ban.
Caroline Malcolm, head of international policy at blockchain data firm Chainalysis, noted to Cointelegraph that it is important to be clear that “only a very few cases is there in fact a full ban.” Malcolm added that in many casesgovernment authorities have limited the use of crypto for payments, but they are allowed for trading or investment purposes.
Regulators’ motivations to outlaw some or all types of crypto operations can be driven by a variety of considerations, yet some recurring patterns are visible.
Kay Khemani, managing director at trading platfrom Spectre.ai, emphasized the degree of political control within the countries that seek to establish crypto bans. Khemani commented:
Nations that do engage in outright bans are generally those where the state holds a tighter grip on society and economy. If larger, prominent economies start to embrace and weave decentralized assets within their financial framework, more likely than not, nations who erstwhile banned cryptos may take a second look.
States’ major anxiety, often concealed behind the stated concerns for the general population’s financial safety, is the pressure that digital currencies put on sovereign fiat and prospective central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), especially in the shaky economies. As Sebastian Markowsky, chief strategy officer at Bitcoin ATM provider Coinsource, told Cointelegraph:
A general pattern suggests that countries with a less stable fiat currency tend to have high crypto adoption rates, and thus end up with bans on crypto, as governments want to keep people invested in fiat [...] In China, the wide rollout of the digital yuan CBDC is rumored to be the real reason for the crypto ban.
Caroline Malcolm added that drivers behind governments’ crypto policies can shift over time, and therefore it is important not to assume that the positions that these countries take today are going to remain unchanged forever.
The hope is that at least in some of the cases reviewed above, strict limiting measures against digital assets will eventually turn out to be a pause that regulators will have taken to create a framework for nuanced, thoughtful regulation.
The Turkish President welcomed Nayib Bukele to Ankara for an official state visit. Anyone expecting a Bitcoin talk left disappointed.
Bitcoin (BTC) took more than just a beating in the markets. The orange coin got the cold shoulder as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed his Salvadoran peer Nayib Bukele in the capital of Turkey to talk about a number of topics. While Bitcoin failed to be a talking point, it did not stop the Twitter rumor mill from going into overdrive.
As part of the state visit, Bukele and Erdoğan kicked off with an official ceremony. Shortly afterward, they inaugurated the new Salvadoran embassy before agreeing on six deals covering the economy, trade, defense, diplomacy and education.
The trade deals seek to increase trade volume between the two countries Turkey to $500 million in 5 years. Trade volumes for 2020 and 2021 were $27 million and almost $50 million respectively.
Mainstream media outlets watched closely to see if Bukele would attempt to orange-pill Erdoğan. However, there was no mention of Bitcoin or cryptocurrency during Thursday proceedings.
That did not stop Twitter from speculating and deceiving audiences about the nature of the encounter. A coordinated news burst made by fake Twitter accounts imitating popular accounts @Deltaone, @Zerohedge, and a Bukele parody account @LaDictatore simultaneously announced that Turkey would announce Bitcoin as legal tender by February 2022.
The announcement was false. LaDictatore’s account has since been suspended but the screenshot of their announcement lives on:
In the hours following the fake news, the Bitcoin bulls regrouped to pump the price to within touching distance of $43,000 before falling off a cliff to $38,000 this morning.
Related: El Salvador explores low-interest loans backed by Bitcoin
As the Turkish Lira continues to struggle, analysts expected Bukele to make the case for Bitcoin. Given that the Turkish ruling party recently held a meeting in the metaverse, the tide may be turning. And if any discussion did happen Thursday, it happened behind closed doors.
Turkey’s governing political party has discussed the upcoming crypto regulation in its first metaverse meeting.
Ak Party, Turkey’s governing party, held its first metaverse meeting on Monday wherein it discussed upcoming crypto regulation.
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) hosted its first meeting in the metaverse, Cointelegraph Turkey reported. Attending the virtual meeting were TBMM group deputy chairmen Mahir Ünal and Mustafa Elitaş along with Ömer İleri, the vice president of Ak Party responsible for information and communication technologies.
Physically, Elitaş attended the meeting from the parliament building, while Ünal and İleri were at the Ak Party (AKP) headquarters. Crypto regulation was the highlight of the meeting, Ünal told state-run news agency AA, adding that crypto assets require both financial and legal regulations.
Elitaş, who recently hosted a meeting with representatives from the Turkish crypto ecosystem at TBMM, stressed that it’s impossible to stay out of the virtual world. “I believe that metaverse-based meetings would be improved expeditiously and become an essential part of our lives,” he added.
Elitaş is also expected to meet with Binance Turkey on Thursday. As reported before, Binance Turkey was fined 8 million Turkish lira (about $600,000) after failing an audit for monitoring Anti-Money Laundering compliance.
As blockchain technology made digital ownership possible, Turkey has sped up its metaverse efforts, Öİleri said. Seeing the metaverse as a nascent yet quickly developing field, he predicted that it could impact many industries in the future.
Ak Parti olarak #Metaverse üzerinden ilk toplantımızı gerçekleştirdik. pic.twitter.com/19Xfd6sIWR
— AK Parti Bilgi İletişim Teknolojileri (@AKbilgitek) January 17, 2022
The metaverse is open for development in virtual reality, product management and innovative business models, İleri noted, adding that AKP wants to pave the way for a metaverse ecosystem.
Related: Turkey’s crypto law is ready for parliament, President Erdoğan confirms
İleri argued that digital and technological advancements have legal, economic and social aspects. The AKP is striving to develop policies regarding crypto assets and social media to protect the citizens while empowering Turkey’s innovation capabilities, he concluded.
While the Turkish government is keen on blockchain technology and a central bank digital currency, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is known for his stern stance against cryptocurrencies. Last year in a public Q&A session, he “declared war” on crypto, saying, “We have absolutely no intention of embracing cryptocurrencies.”
