Author: NBTC

British tax officials have issued new rules that could make it easier for people to use cryptocurrency lending platforms without facing immediate tax bills, according to Aave founder Stani Kulechov. The tax authority HMRC has said that putting digital coins or stablecoins like USDC and USDT onto decentralised finance platforms won’t count as a taxable event at the moment of deposit. This means people who lend out their cryptocurrency, stake it, or borrow money against it won’t face capital gains charges just for placing their digital holdings onto these platforms. Stani Kulechov, who started the DeFi platform Aave, said the…

Ripple Senior Executive Officer/Managing Director, Middle East & Africa, Reece Merrick took the stage at the recently concluded Binance Blockchain Week to discuss financial payment rails. The Ripple executive shared his views on where Ripple is heading, discussing the benefits of XRP and RLUSD on the XRP Ledger in moving value. Merrick joined Christian Rau, SVP Digital Assets and Blockchain at Mastercard, and Nikola Plecas, VP of Payments at TON, in a thoughtful discussion on financial payment rails at the Binance event. Reece Merrick from @Ripple joins Christian Rau of @Mastercard and Nikola Plecas from @ton_blockchain for a thoughtful discussion…

MSCI is considering a new rule that would remove companies from its Global Investable Market Indexes if 50% or more of their assets are held in digital assets such as Bitcoin. The proposal appears simple, but the implications are far-reaching. It would affect companies like Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), Eric and Donald Trump Jr’s American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC), and dozens of others across global markets whose business models are fully legitimate, fully regulated, and fully aligned with long-standing corporate treasury practices. The purpose of this document is to explain what MSCI is proposing, why the concerns raised around Bitcoin…

Ramp Swaps (Ireland) Limited, operator of Ramp Network, has secured Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation authorization from the Central Bank of Ireland. A Single License for 27 Countries Ramp Swaps (Ireland) Limited, the company behind the financial technology (fintech) platform Ramp Network, has secured authorization as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) under the new Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). The approval places Ramp Network among the first firms to be fully compliant and operational under the European Union (EU)’s unified regulatory framework for the crypto sector. The MiCAR authorization is critical because it functions…

Polymarket is recruiting an in-house team of traders and market makers, preparing for the growth of predictions. The addition of market makers may boost Polymarket after a record month of activity in November. Polymarket has grown its team, reportedly adding internal market makers that could trade against customers. The prediction platform is seeking to boost liquidity, so far mostly relying on whales to hold a selection of positions. The market maker feature has previously faced criticism, as it could skew the market by trading against retailers. The hiring announcements arrive at a time when rumors of Wintermute and other market…

Bank of America warned on the growth of retail prediction markets and sports results, warning that it could lead to consumer debt and bad loans. US-based customers have wider access to prediction platforms, due to legislation allowing platforms to be treated as trading services. The expansion of prediction markets is creating credit risk, as the predictions can be just as risky as gambling. Platforms like Polymarket incur losses for 84% of users on average, with only a handful of whales making successful trading streaks. Bank of America analysts warned some users could resort to predictions with consumer debt, as Bloomberg…

India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence says criminal groups now shift from traditional hawala channels to digital stablecoins, creating new challenges for agencies that fight organised smuggling. The agency notes that traffickers move drug and gold proceeds through fast crypto rails that avoid traditional oversight. Criminal Groups Adopting Crypto The new Smuggling in India Report 2024-25 shows how smugglers adopt stablecoins for instant settlement. The report states that crypto offers decentralised movement, pseudonymous activity, and borderless transfers. The DRI writes that digital assets enable “faster and anonymous settlement, minimal oversight, and weak anti-money laundering compliance.” Officials say this shift grows quickly…

Global remittance giant Western Union is preparing to roll out a so-called “stable card” aimed at consumers in markets with high inflation, the firm’s Executive VP and CFO, Matthew Cagwin, said at the UBS Global Technology and AI Conference on Tuesday, Dec. 2. According to a transcript published by Seeking Alpha, Cagwin described the product as part of the payments company’s broader stablecoin strategy. Cagwin said the stable card would be an “increment” to the company’s existing U.S. prepaid card, but with a “a much stickier benefit in a country where there’s high inflation.” He pointed to Argentina in particular…

SEC sets Dec. 15 for its crypto privacy roundtable, aiming to redefine surveillance standards as regulators, developers, and researchers debate data protection and innovation. With rising pressure on crypto platforms, the SEC’s Dec. 15 roundtable will shape future U.S. privacy rules, balancing oversight, user protection, and technological growth. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has set a new date for its long-anticipated crypto privacy and surveillance roundtable. After postponing the original October session, the agency will now hold the event on December 15, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at SEC headquarters in Washington, with a public webcast available. Commissioner…

Self-custody crypto wallet MetaMask has added support for prediction marketplace Polymarket, which now powers MetaMask Prediction Markets, letting users bet on real-world events within the web3 wallet. The integration, first teased in October, allows users to predict outcomes across sports, politics, crypto and culture without leaving MetaMask’s mobile app, the wallet’s team told The Defiant. Users can also earn MetaMask Rewards points for each Polymarket bet, receiving 2 points for every $1 traded. The move comes just a day after Polymarket began its U.S. rollout, launching a mobile app and opening access for waitlisted users in the country. Commenting on…