News Updates December 06, 2022
1. Elon Musk’s SpaceX & Boring Company Show Up As Alameda’s Top Investments
Data from FTX's VC investments show sizeable funding in companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX & Sequoia along with other FTX bets mixed in.
Bankman-Fried may have become synonymous with the collapse of the FTX exchange, but it’s much more than that. Alameda Research, the trading firm of the FTX empire plays a much more crucial role in the whole FTX drama.
Alameda’s Private Equity Portfolio
According to recent reports, data has been gathered that shows where all the missing funds went; a question that SBF has repeatedly dodged in his interviews to answer.
Ten holding corporations hold the dispersed collection of roughly 500 illiquid investments. According to the data, the overall investment value is greater than $5.4 billion.
The private equity portfolio of Alameda Research made sizeable investments into crypto miner Genesis and the artificial intelligence research group Anthropic. Apart from these, investments into Elon Musk’s SpaceX & Boring Company have also come up along with the likes of Sequoia Capital & Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital.
2. Crypto taxes could bring in $2.5 billion for the EU, leaked draft suggests.
Crypto traders beware: the European Union may have a tax surprise in store.
A European Commission proposal for taxing crypto estimates that taxes on crypto assets could raise as much as €2.4 billion ($2.5 billion), a leaked draft obtained by The Block suggests. The proposal, which is scheduled for adoption in the Commission this week, claims to close the “regulatory gap” and remove tax evasion opportunities for crypto investors as well as ensure member states avoid a tax shortfall.
Crypto service providers in the EU will need to report to national tax authorities, according to the draft, which defines crypto assets as those “issued in a decentralized manner, as well as stablecoins, and certain non-fungible tokens.” For rules to apply, a crypto asset must be used as means of payment or investment, with possible exceptions for “a limited network and certain utility tokens.”
A spokesperson for the European Commission said they couldn't confirm or deny any details in the document.
Defining the taxable event in crypto markets is likely to remain a challenge as negotiations on the proposal develop in the EU institutions. But by targeting service providers in the directive, authorities will have easier access to the necessary information from crypto users as the Commission looks to minimize the “administrative burden” for the industry.
Directive not regulation
As the proposal is a directive in contrast to a regulation — as is the case for matters of taxation in the EU — member states will have the freedom to decide how to implement the provisions. It also aligns with internationally recognized standards for reporting on crypto taxation as defined in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development report published in October.
3. S.Korea central bank puts hand up to regulate stablecoins.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) claimed it needs the authority to monitor and supervise stablecoins, according to the South Korean central bank’s report published on Monday as part of the country’s push to establish a comprehensive cryptocurrency regulatory framework.
BOK warned that stablecoins pose a threat to financial stability as they may undermine its monetary sovereignty and policies if the fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies become widespread payment instruments.
The central bank argued that stablecoins pegged to foreign currencies must abide by foreign exchange laws, while those pegged to the local currency, the Korean won, fall under the purview of the BOK.
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that has its prices pegged to that of different assets, often to fiat currencies.
Last month, the BOK completed the second stage of its blockchain-based central bank digital currency (CBDC) research project, which focused on testing out the feasibility of a CBDC for payments.
South Korea has been pushing to establish comprehensive law for the local crypto sector named the “Digital Asset Basic Act” since 2021.
The country’s financial authorities and legislators recently delayed scheduled discussions on preventing unfair trade and protecting digital asset investors, which is intended to precede advancements of South Korea’s comprehensive crypto rule, the “Digital Asset Basic Act.”
The May crash of the South Korea-born crypto project, Terra-LUNA, catalyzed the acceleration of local crypto regulations in the peninsula.
4. UK crypto bill to restrict services from abroad: Report
The regulatory amendments will broaden the powers of the country's financial regulator and put the crypto industry under tighter scrutiny.
Despite the Conservative Party's rhetorical embracement of crypto under the new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the upcoming regulatory framework will reportedly tighten scrutiny over the industry. The legislation updates will broaden the powers of the financial regulator and probably limit foreign companies’ operations in the United Kingdom.
According to a Financial Times report, the FTX collapse has influenced the course of the regulatory regime in the U.K. Reportedly, the Treasury is finalizing a package of guidelines that will enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to monitor the operations and advertising of crypto companies in the country. There also would be restrictions on selling crypto on the U.K. market from abroad.
Although the report doesn’t reveal more specifics on those restrictions, assumably, they’d be enforced to force the companies to register with the FCA. The procedure is tough enough already, as 85% of the applicants did not pass the FCA’s anti-money laundering (AML) tests, according to its chief executive Nikhil Rathi.
The guidelines are being prepared as a part of the financial services and markets bill. The large bill, which includes but is not limited to crypto regulation, has already been introduced to the British Parliament. While the U.K. launched its consultation on crypto in 2021, according to the FT sources, it could slip into 2023 due to “fast-moving events” in the industry.
5. Ledger Taps iPod Creator Tony Fadell for New Crypto Hardware Wallet
The Ledger Stax is a sleek device that features an e-ink display that can show transaction details and even NFTs on its exterior.
Crypto wallet maker Ledger has partnered with Tony Fadell, the well-known creator of Apple’s iPod and the co-founder and former CEO of thermostat company Nest, to create its Ledger Stax hardware wallet.
With the Stax, Ledger was hoping to develop a more stylish and functional device than the previous Nano S – which looks more like a USB thumb drive – and one that can win mass adoption by crypto users, according to Pascal Gauthier, Ledger's CEO and chairman.
“We wanted to do something that is more fun and fits with where culture is going,” said Ian Rogers, Ledger’s chief experience officer, in an interview with CoinDesk.
The wallet is a credit card-sized device with embedded magnets so that multiple devices can easily be stacked. The outside is a wraparound e-ink display that can show transaction details and even NFTs.
The Ledger Stax will retail for $279, compared to $79 for the Nano S Plus and $149 for the Nano X wallet.
It's perhaps a propitious time Ledger has chosen to launch a new hardware wallet as interest in self-custody appears to be picking up following the collapse and asset freeze at centralized crypto exchange FTX and other crypto firms.
