November 23, 2020
- South Africa Unveils New Crypto Rules
- Thailand’s New Rules Help Securities Firms Launch Crypto Exchanges
- Grayscale holds more than $10 Billion worth of BTC Under Management
- Vietnam’s Ministry of Education Employs Blockchain to Record Certifications
South Africa Unveils New Crypto Rules
As cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin surges in usage, South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) unveils new rules and regulations to declare crypto assets as financial products under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS).
As stated by the regulator,
“Globally, there is rapid growing interest by retail investors to purchase crypto assets. South Africa has also experienced an exponential increase in the provision and use of crypto assets.”
The declaration will incorporate regulatory recommendations under the FAIS Act. The new rules will apply to all crypto service providers, including brokers, advisors and crypto exchanges.
“The draft declaration in no way impacts the status of crypto assets in the context of other laws … nor does it attempt to regulate, legitimize or give credence to crypto assets.”
Future policy interventions to be implemented will be announced in due time after broader developments by the Crypto Assets Regulatory Working Group (CAR WG). As stressed by FSCA, the present declaration serves as a draft and demonstrates the initiative to mitigate immediate crypto assets risks.
Source | Bitcoin.com
Thailand’s New Rules Help Securities Firms Launch Crypto Exchanges
To help securities firms provide crypto services, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revised its net capital (NC) rules.
As reported by the Bangkok Post,
“The revised NC rules are expected to help free up liquidity for securities firms that plan to enter new business such as open digital or cryptocurrency exchanges,”
The new rules allow securities firms to calculate its net capital funds according to the value of the cryptocurrencies it holds. Bangkok Post further noted,
“The maximum amount calculable for digital assets to a firm’s NC is 50% of the asset value,”
There are requirements to operate a crypto business, such as maintaining above 1% of cold wallet funds (offline) and 5% of customer’s assets on a separate system such as a hot wallet or online system. A different rule applies to crypto firms that don’t provide crypto custody service, instead of requiring such firms’ equity to be above 500,000 baht.
At present, Thailand has 15 licensed crypto service providers, with some holding more than one license.
Source | Bitcoin.com
Grayscale holds more than $10 Billion worth of BTC Under Management
Grayscale Investments, a crypto investment fund firm in its management, recently surpassed $10 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, with an estimated $8.85 billion held in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, holding more than 500,000 bitcoins (BTC).
Grayscale offers ten crypto products that are single-asset trusts, other than the Digital Large Cap Fund, as shown below:
Grayscale recorded a whopping capital inflow of $1.95 billion in the third quarter of 2020, with an estimate of 81% from institutional investors. Additionally, Grayscale reported that its Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), and Digital Large products have experienced a growth of 10x in inflows compared to the previous quarter.
Source | Bitcoin.com
Vietnam’s Ministry of Education Employs Blockchain to Record Certifications
The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) of Vietnam is employing blockchain technology to issue diplomas in 2021.
The MOET of Vietnam has entered into a partnership with Singapore-based startup, TomoChain, to put national student certs on TomoChain’s blockchain platform and will be effected by 2021. Blockchain technology will allow transparency and immutability in the verification process of students’ qualifications.
Deputy Minister of MOET, Nguyen Van Phuc, states that this new system will replace tedious manual verification processes by recruitment and HR units and firms. Further noting,
“Diploma and certificate management is an issue that needs to be resolved by technology, which is significant for the whole of society and also cost-efficient for the diploma management system in particular, and education in general.”
This is the Vietnamese government’s first initiative to work with blockchain, as stated by Kyn Chaturvedi, the Chief Business Development Officer at TomoChain.
The MOET of Vietnam is not the first educational ministry to ever work with blockchain. Early this year, Brazil’s Ministry of Education has recommended issuing certificates on blockchain in fraud prevention, proving blockchain technology’s versatile capabilities.
Source | Cointelegraph
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