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The Federal Reserve increased interest rates once more, making it the third time in a row that central bankers have chosen to make such a large increase this year, exacerbating headwinds in the crypto market. On the other hand, Ripple’s token, XRP has soared by more than 18% as the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filed a lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020 over allegedly selling more than $1.3 billion worth of unregistered securities. XRP is surging after Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs, slammed the SEC in a televised interview today.
Here are a few big stories from the past week.
The finance ministry in India is reportedly working on a comprehensive goods and services tax (GST) regime that could apply to crypto transactions.
According to reports, a Financial Stability Board (FSB) report that is expected next month will help the government take a call on whether to ban cryptocurrency transactions through wallets and will provide a legal framework for dealing with crypto trade in India.
The report will contain recommendations on how cryptocurrency commerce will be governed under the law in the country.
Cryptocurrencies are unregulated in India but in Budget 2022, the government announced a flat 30 percent tax on gains from cryptocurrency transactions as well as a tax deducted source (TDS) of 1 percent.
American stock exchange, Nasdaq, is preparing to take advantage of the growing interest in digital currencies among investors by making its first significant foray into the space.
The exchange is set to enter the market of institutional Bitcoin custody as it aims to become a service provider in the cryptocurrency space. Nasdaq’s new service is set to bring the company into direct competition with well-established businesses.
Nasdaq is enhancing its anti-financial crime technologies in tandem with the custody service to screen out money laundering, fraud, and market abuse in digital assets. However, Nasdaq’s new institutional custody offering is pending regulatory approval.
The biggest companies on Wall Street are getting more involved as institutional investor interest persists despite a downturn and depressed prices.
Bahrain’s central bank has given nod to a partnership between EazyPay and Binance enabling 5,000 online payment gateways to accept crypto.
Major local merchants and firms, including Lulu Hypermarket, Sharaf DG, Al Zain Jewelry, and Jasmi’s, will be able to accept more than 70 cryptocurrencies as payment by scanning the QR code from Eazy’s Point-of-sale using Binance App.
Besides, Binance also offers convenience for businesses such as EazyPay and the merchants who choose to leverage the platform by enabling instant fiat conversions for the merchants.
Bahrain recently began testing bitcoin payments through the central bank’s financial services testing platform. The country has been actively experimenting with crypto and blockchain technology since adopting crypto regulations.
Delio, a finance company with a focus on cryptocurrencies, has teamed up with Blockdaemon to introduce retail-focused staking services, providing users a more convenient option to earn rewards on their holdings of digital assets.
Delio's staking services enhance its current crypto-banking services, which include lending, deposits, and deposit accounts. The new service offering is powered by blockchain infrastructure provider Blockdaemon, which provides a suite of institutional staking products.
While the company has not specified which crypto property will likely be included within the new staking companies, Blockdaemon now helps integrate with over 60 blockchains.
Delio is planning to expand its crypto-finance offerings after receiving a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit. The company claims to be the first crypto company in South Korea to receive a VASP for lending and deposit services.
The Vasil Hard Fork upgrade for the Cardano blockchain, which is the most ambitious Cardano upgrade, went live on September 22.
Vasil is part of Cardano’s third development cycle and is regarded as the most extensive upgrade attempted for Cardano to date. The upgrade is expected to lower transaction fees, boost speed and enhance decentralized application (dApp) development.
The upgrade is designed to drastically improve the network’s scalability by increasing throughput, script efficiency, and reducing latency in block transmission.
The latest update also attempts to ensure long-term viability and facilitates the ecosystem’s growth. However, the new developer features will not be accessible until September 27.
According to a recent report, the Cardano network has completed 50 million transactions overall.
Disclaimer: This article was authored by Giottus Crypto Exchange as a part of a paid partnership with The News Minute. Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Please do your own research before investing and seek independent legal/financial advice if you are unsure about the investments.