CryptoMarket In India

Once fallen to below $5K, slowly and steadily, Bitcoin is getting its charm back. Riding high on Bitcoin which is currently trading at $8.2K, the cryptocurrency market cap too, is ready to hit $300 Bn.

Meanwhile, in India, amid RBI crypto circular which has banned Indian banks from dealing with cryptocurrency entities, the Law Commission of India in its report submitted to the Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad has recommended cryptocurrency as one of the cashless means for gambling transactions.

Let’s take a look at this week’s development in cryptocurrency!

Law Commission Of India Favours Gambling Transactions In Bitcoin
The Law Commission of India which recently submitted its 276th report to the Union Minister of Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad has favoured the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for gambling transactions.

In its report, the Commission stated, “Gambling transactions should be made cashless, making use of electronic means of payment such as credit cards, debit cards, net-banking, Virtual Currencies (VC – also known as Cryptocurrency), etc. Stringent law(s) should be put in place to control Foreign Direct Investment and at the same time, to prevent money laundering, while also implementing necessary tax reforms.”

The proposal has been made based on the fact that the straight-jacket prohibition on gambling has resulted in a rampant increase in illegal gambling, resulting in a boom in black-money generation and circulation. Regulated gambling could ensure the detection of fraud and money laundering and would create transparency. “Betting and gambling transactions should be linked with operator’s as well as player’s/participant’s Aadhaar card/PAN card, so as to ensure transparency and State supervision. The cap on the maximum amount that can be staked in a wager should be fixed by law and be strictly implemented,” observed the Commission.

G20 Countries Eye For Cryptocurrency AML Regulation Standards By October 2018
After the G20 watchdog the Financial Stability Board (FSB) recently submitted its report to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on the work of the FSB and standard-setting bodies on crypto-assets, the G20 nations now plan to bring in the cryptocurrency market under the purview of international AML standards, said an official statement released during a meeting in Buenos Aires recently.

The G20 forum, in which India is a prominent member, plans to apply the anti-money laundering (AML) regulatory standards for the cryptocurrency sector by October this year.

For its part, the FSB has already developed a framework in collaboration with the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), to monitor the financial stability implications of developments in crypto-asset markets. The report published recently sets out the metrics that the FSB will use to monitor crypto-asset markets as part of its ongoing assessment of vulnerabilities in the financial system.

As per the statement, members agreed to the implementation of the FATF standards and have asked the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – an international body of 37 nations – to clarify in October 2019 how its standards apply to crypto-assets.

South Korea Creates A Separate Department For Cryptocurrency-Related Policy Initiatives
Ina major reshuffle in terms of organisational structure, the Financial Services Commission of South Korea has planned to create a number of new sector-specific bureaus to efficiently manage the policy initiatives and administrative issues.

The Commission in its press note stated that a Financial Innovation Bureau will be created that will be tasked with policy initiatives for financial innovation – e.g. innovative financial services using fintech or big data and responses to new developments and challenges such as cryptocurrencies.

The Commission will also create a Financial Consumer Bureau that will undertake overall responsibility for financial consumer protection, currently scattered around the sector-specific bureaus. The new bureau will also assume responsibility for household debt policy on top of microfinance policy for financially marginalized households.

Iran Turns To Cryptocurrency Post The US Sanctions
As the US President Donald Trump recently took a U-turn from the multi-nation Iran-US-EU nuclear deal and announced fresh Iran-related sanctions which might curb Iran’s oil business, Iran is reportedly working on its cryptocurrency to bypass the new economic sanctions posed by the US.