PointPay Crypto Digest

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PointPay have gathered all the important news of the last week.  Among the most interesting are: new Tron blockchain commission model, Binance withdrawal fees increase, SEC and Kraken disputes, and crypto industry regulation in China and UAE. Let's learn more!

Tron's New Blockchain Commission Model

The Tron team has proposed that the community review the existing commission model. Currently, most of the network's resources are focused on a few contracts that offer low commissions.

The developers, on the other hand, have come up with a new dynamic distribution system that will spread the network's resources evenly and also allow them to counter low-value or fraudulent transactions.

Binance withdrawal fee increase

Changes to the Tron blockchain fees have resulted in a subsequent increase in fees. As a result, Binance has increased withdrawal fees for TRC-20 cryptocurrencies. Affected assets include:

  • TRX coin;
  • Stablecoins USDT, USDC, TUSD, BUSD;
  • Tokens BTTC, JST, NFT, SUN and WIN.

Although the price for withdrawing assets has generally been increased, the final cost of the operation will depend on the current load on the network and will change dynamically.

Visa conducted a SWIFT test run of payments in stablecoins

The head of Visa's crypto division announced at the StarkWare Sessions 2023 conference the test launch of crypto payments in SWIFT. According to him, global payments using fiat and cryptocurrencies is one of the areas in which Visa is currently investing.

"This is an area where we want to create 'muscle memory'. Just as we can convert dollars to euros in a cross-border transaction, we should be able to convert digital tokenized dollars to traditional dollars," - said Sheffield.

The tests were conducted on the USDC stablecoin on the Ethereum blockchain. Using the blockchain significantly speeds up money transfers, but there is a limit to the frequency of transfers due to SWIFT restrictions.

Proceedings between the Kraken exchange and the SEC

The SEC has been investigating possible violations by the Kraken crypto exchange for some time. The exchange is accused of improperly offering cryptocurrencies, which the SEC considers to be securities. In particular, the case concerns the exchange's offers to its customers, which offered particularly high interest rates.

The SEC chief said in December 2022 that the goal of cryptocurrency regulation in 2023 is to bring cryptocurrency exchanges and lending platforms into compliance, either through agreements or enforcement actions.

In September 2022, in response to a question about the exchange's registration with the SEC, Kraken's CEO said he didn't see the point. Since Kraken doesn't trade securities, he said, registration is not considered necessary. However, the head of the commission has repeatedly stated that he considers almost all cryptocurrencies to be securities, with the exception of bitcoin.

Nevertheless, a recent court case between the SEC and LBRY (January 30) went against the Commission. During the appeal hearing of LBRY Credits (LBC), the SEC had to admit that the asset does not constitute a security when sold on the secondary market. The court also emphasized that it had never considered the underlying asset to be a security.

Despite this, Kraken Exchange decided to settle with the SEC. As a result of the settlement, Kraken will cease providing services and programs to US customers. In addition, the exchange will pay approximately $30 million in penalties.

The Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement said that the basis of the action against Kraken was the fact that the exchange offered huge profits that were unrelated to the realities of the world, and also reserved the right to pay nothing at all. At the same time, the exchange did not provide data on its financial situation and ability to pay revenues.

Crypto regulation in China and the United Arab Emirates

China, whose economy has been rather closed and restricted to the world, is opening its doors for business. Based on known changes and initiatives, China could be the leader of the crypto rally in 2023.

The first of these initiatives is the launch of the NFT platform, which was announced back in December 2022. This platform will be backed by the government, and anyone will be able to use Web3 services without any difficulty. Regulated NFTs only bring the adoption of cryptocurrency in the country closer.

The second initiative is the introduction of a tax on crypto investments and mining. It amounted to 20%. However, the main idea is to create a legitimate environment for investors and miners in China.

The third catalyst is the National Innovation Center of Blockchain Technology. Its tasks include the study of blockchain technology and its capabilities, in cooperation with think tanks and enterprises in the field of Web3 technologies.

As China moves closer to regulating cryptocurrencies, the UAE's Virtual Assets and Regulatory Authority Bubai (VARA) has introduced full market regulations for virtual asset service providers.

The regulations establish a framework for virtual assets based on the principles of economic sustainability and cross-border financial security to address the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Through these rules, the regulator will build a model framework for global economic resilience in the environment.

The regulations also state that no organization can provide digital asset services in Dubai without obtaining a VARA license. Violations of this clause will initially result in a fine of between $5,400 and $54,000, followed by a fine of $140,000 for each repeat violation.

It should be noted that the existence of the regulatory framework allows Dubai to become a local financial technology hub. This was stated by a UAE politician at the World Economic Forum in 2023.

However, other countries may soon introduce their cryptocurrency licensing regimes, including the European Union, the United Kingdom and South Korea.

Summary

This time the news touched on some pretty notable changes such as the change to Tron's commission model and the resulting correction to Binance's withdrawal fees.

In addition, the case between the SEC and Kraken quickly gained momentum and ended with an agreement that Kraken will no longer offer its services in the US and will also pay $30 million in various fines.

Visa continued to test crypto payments within the SWIFT system. Once this option is available to users, cryptocurrency will be more accessible to the masses, and its regulation will likely only accelerate as the number of users grows.

However, the UAE has already introduced its cryptocurrency regulation, which will make Dubai a regional hub for the development of blockchain and Web3 technologies in finance. The licensing regimes of China, the European Union, the United Kingdom, South Korea and others are also expected to be unveiled soon.

For the latest developments in the news, as well as new developments and changes, come back next week to our traditional PointPay Crypto Digest.

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