Regtech Digest (01 December 2020)

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Our Top 5 Articles From the Week

OECD Tax Director Says International Crypto Tax Standards Are Coming in 2021

Pascal Saint-Amans, the director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, has asserted that the 37-nation organization will introduce a common reporting standard, or CRS, for crypto assets in 2021. According to Law360, Amans stated that the crypto tax standard “would be roughly equivalent to the CRS” developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to combat tax evasion. The director attributed the likely development of the crypto tax CRS to a desire to introduce stronger standards surrounding crypto regulations among its member-countries: “The timeline to deliver is probably ’21, sometime in ’21, because there is an appetite by all countries now.” [Coin Telegraph]

Kyrgyzstan’s Central Bank Developing Draft Law for Cryptocurrency Industry

The central bank for the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan is working on a draft law to regulate the cryptocurrency industry in the country. According to an announcement on Nov. 13, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic is developing a draft law that would regulate cryptocurrency exchanges in consultation with industry stakeholders. The bank stated that the draft law would regulate the sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies with the aim of tackling fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes and financial crimes, as well as safeguarding consumer and investor rights. [Coin Telegraph]

New Dutch Law: Clients Must Explain Why They Want to Buy Bitcoin

Netherlands-based crypto exchanges are now required by law to get additional information from clients regarding their bitcoin addresses. As part of the new requirements, which went into effect on Nov. 17, clients must now furnish exchanges with reasons why they wish to buy bitcoin. They will also need to inform the exchange officials of the kind of wallet they use. The new Dutch regulatory changes have gone into effect despite protestations by some of the country’s crypto exchanges. The Dutch Central Bank (DNB), which is enforcing the new regulations, wants crypto service providers to adhere to the provisions of the country’s Sanction Act 1977 just like other “supervised institutions.” [Bitcoin News]

Thailand’s New Rules Help Securities Companies Launch Crypto Exchanges

Thailand has reportedly revised its net capital rules which help securities firms launch cryptocurrency exchanges. The country now has 15 licensed crypto service providers. The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revised its net capital (NC) rules which help securities companies provide crypto services, the Bangkok Post reported Wednesday. “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 publication conveyed, adding that some securities companies have consulted with the SEC to launch a cryptocurrency exchange. [Bitcoin News]

Russia to Recognize Bitcoin as Property With Legal Protection

The Russian prime minister has outlined the government’s plans to amend existing laws to recognize cryptocurrency as property. This means bitcoin owners will have the legal rights to defend and recoup their cryptocurrencies in court. During the government meeting on Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin talked about Russia’s plans for cryptocurrency regulation alongside other initiatives to fight against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. After outlining several solutions the Russian government has come up with, Mishustin said, “Another solution concerns cryptocurrencies.” He added that “This is a relatively new tool, interest in which is constantly growing.” [Bitcoin News]

Merkle Science News

MiCA: A Guide to the EU’s Proposed Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation

A detailed new digital finance package (DFP) was introduced by the European Commission (EC) on 24 September 2020 which, if it is implemented in its current form, would change the European economy over the coming decades. It is known as Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). In this article, Claire Cummings from Cummings Pepperdine has provided an easy-to-understand overview of the upcoming MiCA regulation.

Webinar Alert! AML for Digital Asset Exchanges

Time-consuming, manual AML/KYC processes, siloed AML datasets, and aligning the internal processes with constantly changing regulations across multiple jurisdictions are the key challenges faced by many digital asset service providers. Join our subject matter experts from Comply Advantage, Jumio, and Merkle Science for a live discussion on Dec 2, 2020, 02:00 PM SGT.

About Merkle Science

Merkle Science provides blockchain transaction monitoring and intelligence solutions for cryptoasset service providers, financial institutions and government agencies to detect, investigate and prevent the use of cryptocurrency for money laundering, terrorist financing, and other criminal activities. Merkle Science is headquartered in Singapore with offices in Bangalore, Seoul, and Tokyo and backed by Digital Currency Group, Kenetic, SGInnovate, and LuneX.