News updates March 16, 2022

1.Federal Reserve's March Meeting to Conclude Tomorrow.                          Key Takeaways
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this month that he would push for a 25 basis point interest rate increase in March’s meeting.
The Federal Reserve has noted the need for it to remain “nimble” when it comes to monetary policy, especially given the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Fed will also update its projections for economic growth.    The long-awaited Federal Open Market Committee meeting began today and ends tomorrow at 2:00 EST with some important decisions expected to emerge. 

2. India Will Began Taxing Crypto from April 1. The past few years observed a hot & rising investment topic amongst many - cryptocurrency. The 2022 Indian Fiscal Budget acknowledges cryptocurrencies. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a tax of 30 percent on an income from cryptocurrencies and is categorized under Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) for taxation purposes.April 1, 2022, onwards India’s new cryptocurrency tax rule will be implemented and many crypto enthusiasts have begun discussing the drawbacks as well. Leading crypto exchanges believe that small investors will be heavily impacted by tax rates. 
As per the data collected from various crypto exchange firms, India has a total of $3 billion as crypto assets, however, many investors only have a portfolio size of Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 Lakh and this bracket is the most impacted. 

3. Nepal Begins Crypto Crackdown

Nepal has started its crackdown on cryptocurrency trading.
Regulators ordered internet providers to shut down websites and apps that dabble in crypto trading.

 
On the other hand, countries like the US, Bahrain, and UAE revealed a more crypto-friendly approach.

4. Ghana Proposes Hardware Wallets To Support New Digital Currency

The Central Bank of Ghana said inclusiveness would be a major factor for its upcoming digital currency, the eCedi, and will attempt to bring the currency to citizens without a bank account, or even internet access. In a design paper released on Tuesday, the bank proposed the use of hardware wallets and other devices for use with the eCedi.

Ghana’s central bank outlined the key aspects of its plans for a retail, token-based central bank digital currency (CBDC). Mainstreaming digital payments is expected to help formalize the African economy, the bank said.  To this extent, it will make adoption of the eCedi as seamless as possible.

5. India’s Crypto Players Ask Government to Rethink 1% Tax:

India’s cryptocurrency players have called on the government to rethink its planned 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on all crypto transactions gains ahead of the passage of the Finance Bill by Parliament.

The Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), the Internet and Mobile Association of India, and startup industry body IndiaTech have called on the country’s finance ministry to rethink the proposed legislation.

1) India crypto industry publishes own proposals:

Crypto platforms have recommended a range and urged the finance ministry to consider it. Even if things are not resolved before the next financial year begins, the industry is hopeful that the TDS requirement may reduce in the next two to three quarters,” said an insider familiar with the discussions between the government and the crypto players.

BACC has suggested lowering the TDS to 0.01%, the report added.

For its part, IndiaTech wrote a letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj echoing BACC’s proposal.

While we raised many issues that require clarification from the finance ministry, however, what needs to be immediately looked at is the manner of treatment … The 1% tax at source also makes it unviable, and if track and trace was the intent, a 0.01% could serve that intent,” he added. 

Kailasam recommended a tax on virtual digital assets (VDAs) similar to investment class assets and ultimately a pushback on the TDS requirement. It also wants a more specific definition of VDAs.

2) Tax board hunts 700 alleged tax dodgers:

Earlier today, India’s Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) said it was looking for nearly 700 high-net-worth individuals who had failed to file their income tax returns, particularly their crypto investments.

We have a long list of people who were transacting in crypto assets but were not paying tax. Initially, we have shortlisted about 700 transactions where tax liability is very high,” said a spokesman for the CBDT.

6. Bitcoin wakes up to pass $40,000 before going back to sleep;

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, crossed the US$40,000-mark on Wednesday morning Asia time after a sudden surge before returning to its pre-surge price in less than two hours. 

* Bitcoin’s price has remained steady for the past five days, and its sudden surge on Wednesday morning was one of the only notable price actions for the volatile asset in this timeframe. 

* Bitcoin has since dropped back to US$39,065, which is a lower trading price than the cryptocurrency’s sudden surge. 

* Excluding stablecoins and Waves, all top 50 cryptocurrencies ranked by CoinGecko mirrored Bitcoin’s sudden price action in this two-hour window.

Waves is a Web 3.0 development toolset, and its crypto was trading at US$30.39 at press time, up 16.5% in the past 24 hours, which is second only to The Graph’s 22%.