Your Cryptocurrency Newsletter for 25 November,2020

If you are interested in cryptocurrencies, this newsletter is for you. [img]  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [img]( [FeedBinary Newsletter]( [Developments In Cryptocurrency Regulation And Enforcement]( Canadian regulators continue to take a collaborative and cautious approach to regulating the cryptocurrency industry. Due to the ever-evolving landscape of the industry, regulators have taken it upon themselves to clarify the regulatory framework, to better support businesses seeking to offer innovative products, services and applications, and to protect Canadian investors. This may be a welcome approach insofar as it fosters increased stability and predictability, which will serve the industry well in the long run. By way of example, the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) has published Staff Notice 21-327 Guidance on the Application of Securities Legislation to Entities Facilitating the Trading of Crypto-assets1 (“Staff Notice”). The Staff Notice describes situations where securities legislation will and will not apply to platforms facilitating crypto-asset transactions. In particular, it confirms that securities legislation governs not only trading in crypto-assets that are clearly securities, but also trading in contracts or instruments that are derivatives based on crypto-assets. Securities legislation will therefore apply to platforms that facilitate the trading of crypto-assets as commodities, whereby the user’s contractual right to the crypto-asset may constitute a derivative. Conversely, the Staff Notice sets out the following conditions under which securities legislation will not apply: - The underlying crypto-asset itself is not a security or derivative; and - The contract or instrument for the purchase, sale or delivery of a crypto-asset results in an obligation to make immediate delivery of a crypto-asset, and is settled by the immediate delivery of the crypto-asset to the Platform’s user according to the Platform’s typical commercial practice. Overall, the Staff Notice can be seen as a part of an ongoing effort to help stakeholders better navigate the evolving regulatory regime. As another example and in a further attempt to foster increased transparency, reliability and security in the cryptocurrency space, amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act 2019 now require all dealers in virtual currency that service Canadian customers to register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (“FinTRAC”). These entities are now subject to similar due diligence, record keeping, monitoring, and reporting requirements as other reporting entities. Some of these requirements include identifying all clients, appointing a compliance officer, and maintaining records of clients and transactions. In addition, any “reporting entity” that receives $10,000 CAD or more in cryptocurrency must now identify the sender, record details of the transaction, and report the transaction to FinTRAC. In order to ensure compliance, FinTRAC is authorized to impose Administrative Monetary Penalties (“AMPs”) on any entity that does not comply and can revoke registrations where entities have failed to pay the AMPs. ollaborative Approach with Industry Stakeholders Wealthsimple Digital Assets Inc. has been granted permission to operate Canada’s first regulated crypto trading platform under CSA’s “regulatory sandbox,” an initiative designed to allow firms to test innovative ideas with exemptive relief from securities laws requirements.2 Wealthsimple plans to operate on a beta testing basis and solicit feedback from early users to improve the platform before it transitions to normal operation. Wealthsimple’s successful application to the regulatory sandbox represents another example of the CSA’s collaborative approach to developing regulatory requirements with the input of industry stakeholders. Increased Enforcement Efforts On the flipside to industry collaboration, recent events indicate that provincial securities commissions are using the registration requirement to bring enforcement proceedings against, and protect investors from, fraudulent parties. This approach was adopted by the OSC in the Matter of Miner Edge Inc. et. al.,3 where the accused is alleged to have falsely promised investors that their funds would be used to invest in a crypto mining venture. The OSC has made allegations of fraud, alongside allegations that the accused engaged in trading and distributing securities while not being registered to do so. This approach was also adopted in the Matter of ASBC Financial and Walter Turner,4 where the accused were prosecuted for having engaged in the business of trading and advising in securities of underlying crypto-assets without being registered to do so, rather than the more serious alleged infraction of defrauding an investor out of $190,000. The motivation to adopt this approach is likely due, at least in part, to the significantly less onerous proof requirements involved in prosecuting alleged failures to comply with the applicable registration requirements. We would expect regulators to continue utilizing this approach as the regulatory framework continues to mature and as long as it continues to serve as a uniquely efficient means of enforcing breaches of the Securities Act committed by actors in the crypto industry. [Read Full News]( The post [Developments In Cryptocurrency Regulation And Enforcement]( first appeared on [Feed Binary](. [Read Full Story]( ------------------ You Might Like     [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( ------------------ [These 5 Altcoins are Beating Every Major Cryptocurrency this Week]( XRP, Stellar and Cardano are some of the cryptocurrencies spearheading the rally as traders herald “alt season.”Bitcoin (BTC) has topped $19,000 in a fresh bullish surge, but traders are all about altcoins on Nov. 24.In what many are heralding as the beginning of “alt season,” large-cap cryptocurrencies are seeing their biggest gains in three years. XRP, XLM lead new “alt season” Five of the biggest movers, all of which have returned to at least a $1 billion market cap. XRP Ripple’s XRP token is gaining traction on social media after a curious lull, thanks to its weekly gains that have topped 110%.At press time, XRP/USD traded at $0.62, having reached $0.92 before a sudden 30% crash, which came in tandem with Coinbase experiencing a major technical outage.Nevertheless, the token still remains far from its peak of over $3, or roughly 80% from its all-time high.By comparison, Bitcoin is now just 3% from its all-time high in December 2017. Stellar Lumen (XLM) On the back of XRP’s resurgence, Stellar Lumen (XLM) beat its daily gains to pass $0.18 and deliver over 90% weekly returns.A classic move for the sister altcoin, which tends to follow XRP in bull markets, Lumen returned to its position from November 2018. Its all-time highs lie at just above $0.60. Cardano’s ADA Another major success story this week, Cardano’s ADA topped 50% weekly gains, much of which occurred prior to Wednesday’s altcoin action.With a market cap now above $5 billion, Cardano became the eighth-largest cryptocurrency, clipping $0.16.Against a backdrop of all-time highs above $1, however, much ground remains for investors to see significant returns from previous years. IOTA (MIOTA) The fourth-biggest weekly rises belonged to Iota (MIOTA) on Wednesday, whose weekly gains totalled just under 50%.Currently at 26th on CoinMarketCap’s list of cryptocurrencies, Iota hit $0.36 this week, but the path to new all-time highs remains decidedly uncertain — those lie at close to $5.50. Dash A familiar face among altcoin traders, Dash brought up the rear among the week’s risers, with Dash/USD gaining nearly 40% over the past seven days.At press time, the pair traded at $115, still far from its record of near $1,500. “Bitcoin dominance. In case you were wondering, this is what alt season looks like,” said popular trader Scott Melker, noting that the index failed to break upward this week.Quite reminiscent of 2017. Alts have a brief window to party, then you get back into Bitcoin, it rages. Rinse, repeat,’” he added.Our week of alt euphoria was amazing. [Read Full News]( The post [These 5 Altcoins are Beating Every Major Cryptocurrency this Week]( first appeared on [Feed Binary](. [Read Full Story]( ------------------ You Might Like     [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( ------------------ [Democratizing Bitcoin’s Hash Rate takes Center Stage at Mining Summit]( Bitcoin’s bull market is having a dramatic effect on demand for hardware resources as miners look to ramp up production.Bitcoin (BTC) mining continues to ramp up following the successful May 11 halving, but growing industry concentration could undermine the “democratization of hash rate,” according to a panel presentation at this year’s Mining and Investment Summit.Hosted by Matrixport and sponsored by Bitmain, the 2020 Mining and Investment Summit was held virtually Tuesday morning, bringing together the “leading companies in the fields of cryptocurrency mining and digital asset financial services.” In a presentation called “Bringing Bitcoin Mining to a Broader Market,” Thomas Heller of HASHR8 provided an update on the mining industry, including trends in ASIC demand.Heller indicated that the market is currently experiencing an “ASIC supply squeeze,” with a “large group of eager miners looking to buy.” He indicated that hardware suppliers Bitmain, MicroBT and Canaan are already taking orders for March to July 2021.Commenting on the so-called Bitcoin supply crunch, Heller’s presentation indicated:North American public and private companies continue to accumulate bitcoin, as well as expand their bitcoin mining operations. Leading to a supply crunch for BTC itself. A rush to accumulate Bitcoin by institutions and corporations has contributed to a rise in mining revenue, which, in turn, has caused a surge in demand for new and secondhand ASIC miners. Large miners are ramping up their operations amid the Bitcoin supply squeeze and are looking to bring as much hash rate as possible within their borders.These trends could move the industry’s hash rate further away from democratization as China continues to dominate. As Heller notes, two-thirds of Bitcoin’s hash rate is concentrated in China-based mining farms. China is generally believed to have one of the lowest breakeven rates for miners in the world. As of June, it cost between $5,000 to $6,000 to mine 1 Bitcoin in China, assuming an electricity cost of $0.04 kilowatts per hour. Globally, the Bitcoin mining breakeven rate could be as high as $8,500 in some jurisdictions. Bitcoin mining is generally considered to be less accessible to individual miners due to the costs and resources involved. Over the years, the mining industry has come to be dominated by weighted pools, or groups of cryptocurrency miners that combine their computational resources. Although pool distribution isn’t as concentrated as it was before, in the last 12 months, three pools accounted for 45.3% of the hash rate. Location and individual ownership of hash rate are important considerations when thinking about decentralization, Heller said on Tuesday. HASHR8 recently announced the launch of Compass, a platform that matches Bitcoin miners with verified hosting facilities. The goal of Compass is to democratize mining profitability and bring more small-scale miners into the fold. [Read Full News]( The post [Democratizing Bitcoin's Hash Rate takes Center Stage at Mining Summit]( first appeared on [Feed Binary](. 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