Autor Cointelegraph By David Attlee

Kazakhstan’s central bank ‘isn’t going to ignore’ the crypto market

While Kazakhstan’s government is catching up with the tremendous volume of crypto mining in the country by introducing new taxes and regulations, the local central bank intends to explore the possibilities that crypto offers. On Tuesday, June 7 during the press conference the chairman of Kazakhstan’s National Bank Galymzhan Pirmatov stated that the nation aims to extract the profit from technologies the cryptocurrency market could provide. He emphasized the attractiveness of innovations and made reservations about the risks to macroeconomic stability. The official doesn’t think that the bank is late to the game:“I don’t think that the National Bank is a latecomer. Like many other banks and financial regulators across the globe, we’re watching closely and researching the question.”Pirmatov didn’t give away any details on the bank’s possible stance on crypto and warned that it is too early to speak about the legalization, although consultations with market participants are planned:“The approach is very simple: we aren’t going to ignore this market. We want to extract the maximum profit from the innovative potential these technologies give us.” Related: Bitcoin miners’ resilience to geopolitics: A healthy sign for the networkThe executive also revealed some news about the central bank digital currency (CBDC) project of the National Bank. According to him, the bank still intends to announce its methodology on a digital tenge by the end of June. The final decision on implementing the CBDC will reportedly be made in accordance with that methodology before the end of the year.On May 25, the Kazakh parliament passed amendments to the national tax code in the first reading. The amendments would tie a crypto mining tax tied to the electricity prices consumed by mining entities. One of the largest mining markets in the world, Kazakhstan generated as little as $1.5 million of state earnings from mining in Q1 2022. According to the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance’s report, a significant amount of the expected fees has not been received as the government had shut down a wide number of crypto mining firms to “ensure energy security.”

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Law Decoded, May 30–June 6: Terra’s aftermath in China, Japan and South Korea

The “long waves” of TerraUSD’s May 7 collapse, which we noted two newsletters ago, are extending even further. Last week brought some notable reactions to the stablecoin’s depegging in the East Asia region. A Chinese state-owned media outlet, the Economic Daily has signaled that the Chinese government may introduce even tighter regulations on cryptocurrencies and stablecoins due to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. It might even mean a complete ban on stablecoins to prohibit ownership, transfer, purchase and sale of the assets, some experts believe. What China plans, Japan does — as a new law will limit the issuance of stablecoins to licensed banks, registered money transfer agents and trust companies. It comes as no surprise that South Korea, the birthplace of Terra’s creator, is also among the first nations to react. Amid signs that Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon was facing legal trouble in South Korea, the country’s ruling party announced the launch of the Digital Asset Committee, whose task would be to oversee crypto until a permanent government entity is established. This is at the same time when the nation’s Financial Supervisory Service is demanding reports from 157 payment gateways about any service related to crypto, its plans for the future and disclosure of digital assets. An open letter from crypto criticsFrom 2018 to 2021, the budget spent on crypto lobbying grew from $2.2 million to at least $9 million, and that didn’t go unnoticed. A group of academics, software developers and technology experts decided to pen an open letter to lawmakers in Washington, urging them to resist the lobbyist pressure and attempts to create a “regulatory safe haven” for crypto. The crypto community did not stay silent and expressed its disagreements with the letter and its contents — sadly, in some cases recursing to calling the co-signers “trolls” and “attention seekers.” Continue reading401(k) will fight for crypto in courtThe United States Department of Labor’s March warning to 401(k) providers to stay away from crypto in their portfolios provoked some serious pushback across the spectrum of industry supporters, from congresspeople to trade associations. But ForUsAll, a 401(k) retirement provider with crypto already accessible to its clients, went even further and sued the Department. The company is seeking the withdrawal of a DOL compliance assistance release, which explained that the Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration may “conduct an investigative program” to target 401(k) plans that contain cryptocurrency.Continue reading One step closer to mining moratorium in New YorkTwo months after it passed the lower chamber, the proof-of-work mining ban bill was approved by the New York State Senate. It means “no” to any new mining operations in the state for the next two years, but anyone using 100% of renewable energy is spared from the prohibition. Will other states follow New York and outlaw PoW mining to save the environment? That is surely not impossible. Though the European Parliament had to remove a similar plan after facing pushback. Continue reading There’s even more in the full version of Cointelegraph’s Law Decoded newsletter. To receive Cointelegraph’s newsletter of blockchain and crypto policy developments straight to your inbox, subscribe below!

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US energy company opens crypto mining facility in Middle East to use stranded natural gas

As the heated up discussion around the ethical aspects of using fossil fuels in crypto mining remains one of the key topics for the industry, an unexpected partnership between a Denver-based mining company and the government of a gas-rich Middle Eastern country sets a horizon for a positive role of crypto in cutting the fossil fuels waste. On Wednesday, June 1 Bloomberg reported that Crusoe Energy, an operator repurposing wasted fuel energy to the computational power of crypto mining, would start its work in Oman, a nation that exports 21% of its gas production and seeks to zero gas flaring by 2030. The American company will open an office in the capital city of Muscat, and install its equipment for capturing gas waste at well sites. It already held a workshop with the Omani largest energy producers, OQ SAOC and Petroleum Development Oman. The first pilot project will be launched by the end of this year or in early 2023, according to Crusoe’s CEO Chase Lochmiller. Oman’s government interest in the partnership is driven by an aim to cut the country’s gas flaring — burning off the excessive flammable gas in the process of extraction. Together with Algeria, Iraq, Lybia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Oman accounts for 90% of flaring in the Arab region, while the region itself accounts for 38% of global flaring. In 2018, by the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia estimate, 10% of all the gas consumption in Oman went for flaring. Related: Go green or die? Bitcoin miners aim for carbon neutrality by mining near data centersIn an official statement, Lochmiller emphasized his company’s mission to set a presence in the Middle East and Northern Africa to help local governments in their fight with flaring: “Having the buy-in from nations that are actively trying to solve the flaring issues is what we are looking for.”In March, media reported that Exxon Mobil partnered with Crusoe to run a pilot project of Bitcoin mining at the Bakken shale basin in North Dakota. However, this information wasn’t confirmed by the companies. Cointelegraph reached out to Crusoe Energy for additional information, the post will be updated later.

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India cooperates with IMF on crypto consultation paper

The Department of Economic Affairs of India is finalizing a consultation paper on crypto currencies, which then will be handed over to the federal government. The implementation of the document could bring the country of 14 billion people closer to the international regulatory consensus on digital assets. On Monday, May 30, during an event hosted by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth revealed that his department is finishing the work on the consultation paper, which would define the nation’s stance on crypto. The document was crafted in cooperation with industry stakeholders, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Seth specified that the paper would strengthen India’s commitment to “some sort of global regulations”:“Digital assets, whatever way we want to deal with those assets, there has to be a broad framework on which all economies have to be together.”Answering the question about the possible outright ban, the official acknowledged that any national-level prohibition wouldn’t work in isolation: “Whatever we do, even if we go to the extreme form, the countries that have chosen to prohibit, they can’t succeed unless there is a global consensus.”Related: Indian government’s ‘blockchain not crypto’ stance highlights lack of understandingIn recent years India has been demonstrating a rather militant posture when it comes to crypto. In 2017 the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Ministry of Finance compared the digital currencies to Ponzi schemes and prohibited any operations with them for commercial banks and lenders. In 2022, long after the ban had been formally lifted, the RBI warned about the threat of “dollarization” that crypto poses, while in his recent virtual speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the prime minister Narendra Modi called cryptocurrency a global challenge that demands a “collective and synchronized action” from all of the national and international bodies.

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Binance gets approval to operate in Italy, will open office in Milan

One of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance, strengthened its European presence by obtaining registration and regulatory approval in Italy. A Binance company had previously registered to operate in France at the beginning of May. On May 27, the exchange’s official blog reported that Binance Italy has received regulatory approval in the country through registration as a Cryptocurrency Service Provider with Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM), as required by Italian legislation. The registration allows Binance to offer crypto products to its customers in Italy in compliance with local regulations, open offices and expand the local team. In his statement, Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao thanked Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance and the OAM for their efforts in “defining and controlling the necessary requirements to operate in Italy in full transparency.”Binance ottiene la registrazione in Italia https://t.co/pNh2VzfcnP— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) May 28, 2022Speaking to Cointelegraph, a Binance representative specified that the company’s headquarters will open in Milan, which is considered a major business hub in Italy. Regarding where Binance plans to obtain a license next, the representative said:“We are committed to obtaining relevant licenses and registrations everywhere we can.”Related: The EU’s approach to crypto balances eco-values with regulatory relevanceBefore the announcements about operating licenses in France in Italy, Binance made a series of moves on the Middle Eastern market. In March, the exchange got the green light from regulators in Bahrain and Dubai, and in April the company obtained an in-principle approval to operate in Abu Dhabi. In November 2021, CZ announced the launch of a $115 million (100 million euro) initiative called “Objective Moon” to develop the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in France and Europe.

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