Tag: Cryptocurrency Exchanges

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Crypto News

Six Brazilian Banks Are Under Scrutiny For Illegally Closing Bank Accounts Of Several Crypto Trading Companies

The Brazilian Administrative Council of Economic Defense opened an investigation against six Brazilian banks for allegedly using their market position to restrict crypto trading operations, putting cryptocurrency exchange platforms at a disadvantage. This inquiry comes following a request filed by the Brazilian Association of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain.

Six Brazilian banks under scrutiny from the Administrative Council of Economic Defense

The Brazilian regulatory agency began investigations on Tuesday, September 18th, alleging that monopolistic practices are being carried out at Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, Itau Unibanco, Santander Brasil, Banco Inter, and Sicredi, according to Reuters.

The association accused the six Brazilian banks of closing accounts related to cryptocurrency trading without offering explanations, which was considered by the authorities as one of the critical elements to initiate the investigation.

In the Administrative Council of Economic Defense’s report, according to Reuters, the institution questions the right of the six Brazilian banks to close accounts for crypto-related operations

“It does not seem reasonable for banks to apply a priori restrictive measures in a linear manner to all cryptocurrency companies, without analyzing the level of compliance and the anti-fraud measures adopted by each crypto exchange individually, which gives a treatment of illegality per se to the activity of crypto trading,” stated the Brazilian Administrative Council of Economic Defence in their report.

The war between banks and crypto trading companies continues in Brazil

The report also cites sources linked to banks that alleged that, in Brazil, there is currently no established cryptocurrency regulatory framework, nor guarantees for cryptocurrency exchanges to apply specific rules to prevent money laundering, for example. The banks point out in their defense that there are “illicit activities that should be avoided” and that “banks should take restrictive measures when there are indications of illegal practices.”

The conflict between Brazilian banks and crypto trading companies continues as, in the most recent case, Bradesco illegally closed the bank accounts of Braziliex cryptocurrency exchange.

With this new investigation, the war between the Brazilian banks and the crypto trading companies across Brazil could settle down.

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Crypto News

Cryptocurrency Exchange Platforms Gathered To Create VCA To Self-Regulate Cryptocurrencies Market Across The US

A group of cryptocurrency exchange platforms operating across the United States created the Virtual Merchandise Association (VCA), with the objective of achieving self-regulation of the cryptocurrencies market in the country, as a consequence of the pressure exerted by regulatory bodies such as the CFTC and the SEC.

Virtual Merchandise Association (VCA) has the primary objective to prevent fraud and manipulation in the cryptocurrencies market

An inaugural meeting of the Association is scheduled for September, bringing together some of the important cryptocurrency exchange platforms in the US, including bitFlyer, Bittrex, Gemini, and Bitstamp. The latter is a company that currently operates in Europe and could enter the North American market through this association.

According to the official press release, the VCA will work with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) which, in June, announced that it would launch an investigation on cryptocurrency exchange companies, including Bitstamp, for possible market manipulation.

In this regard, the establishment of the VCA could respond to the growing governmental pressure on crypto trading companies and controversy surrounding the regulation of digital assets.

The VCA will seek to create a self-regulatory organization (SRO) to monitor the performance of the cryptocurrencies market to develop industry standards and promote transparency in the cryptocurrencies market.

Cryptocurrencies are considered commodities across the US, hence the VCA’s intention to operate in this country

Depending on the legislation of each country in part, specific crypto coins may or may not be considered commodities. It is usual that the main cryptos, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), to be considered merchandise. In other cases, some crypto tokens are deemed financial securities, because they promise a future profit.

After a long controversy to determine under what type of traditional assets cryptocurrencies should be classified and what kind of regulations should be applied across the US, in October 2017, the CTFC recognized cryptocurrencies as commodities, hence the VCA’s intention to operate in the United States.

To date, there is no global agreement on the matter, so the Virtual Merchandise Association (VCA) initiative would only apply in cases where cryptocurrencies are considered commodities.

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Crypto

Verge (XVG) Is Now Listed On The Indian Cryptocurrency Exchange Bitbns

Earlier, Verge (XVG) was listed, in the premiere, on one of the most important Indian cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Bitbns, that posted the listing announcement yesterday, is, now, the only crypto exchange in India in which it is feasible to buy and/or sell XVG.

Bitbns reported that XVG exchange operation would be started at 04:00 EST (or 13:30 Indian time):

Verge (XVG) listing on Bitbns Indian cryptocurrency exchange helps XVG in its recent struggle for worldwide acceptance

The news is noteworthy as an important step in Verge’s worldwide spread.

Whilst the central bank of India, the Reserve Bank of India, has issued an ordinance on April 5th instructing banks to refrain from providing cryptocurrencies payments by any means, it has also given them a three-month deferral period.

Cryptocurrencies trade volumes have been steadily on the rise since the Indian crypto regulation was introduced. This is likely because of two factors.

First, cryptocurrencies investors in India wish to obtain as much as they are able to obtain from the cryptocurrencies market as long as the cryptocurrency exchanges continue to be active (which are usually offering more liquidity and possess lower fees than peer-to-peer OTC exchanges).

In the second place, there is a developing sentiment in India that the government would not ban trading in cryptocurrency and even if the bank decides to ban cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrencies trading will still be possible via peer-to-peer.

While the RBI looks like it’s possessing an extremely negative perception on crypto assets, in general, and on the probable threats these assets present, in special, as reported by The Times of India, the Indian central bank is currently exploring the possibility of introducing its own cryptocurrency.

In the meantime, Verge (XVG) is listed on one of the most important cryptocurrency exchanges in India, Bitbns, and this announcement will most probably help the coin on the long-term. Meanwhile, at the moment of this publication, Verge (XVG) is not doing well today in the cryptocurrencies market as it trades at $0.076, recording a decline of 4.02% in the last 24 hours.

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