The operation led to the arrest of three citizens. The suspects had created at least 250 fake companies.

The UK tax authority has moved to approach non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Three NFTs and at least $6,000 in cryptocurrencies got seized.

 According to investigations led by the government agency, three British citizens reportedly tried to defraud the IRS out of £1.4 million. Those involved got also placed under arrest for alleged fraud.

The suspects had created a scheme involving 250 companies and false identifications, false addresses, unregistered prepaid mobile phones, virtual private networks (VPN), as well as false invoices; all to avoid paying taxes, according to the BBC news agency

The authorities applied the seizures to warn those who intend to evade taxes or launder money through the collectibles. Nick Sharp, deputy director of economic crime, highlighted that they are constantly learning about new technology to update their teams on how criminals and evaders get to hide their assets.

These Coins Came from Illegal Procedures in that Country in the Last Five Years

Although the authorities did not reveal how the scammers did confiscate the NFTs, they explained that they did seize assets related to cryptocurrencies before. Last January, the police reported the seizure of at least 9,000 BTC.

The United Kingdom has been strengthening the regulation procedures of the cryptocurrency industry in various areas of the sector. The most recent was the ban on advertising linked to a football team’s fan token for taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience or gullibility.

The country did the same with bitcoin advertising deployed throughout the London transport network, considering them misleading.

The United States of America is Already Worried About Money Laundering with NFTs

A few days ago, the Treasury Department expressed concern about using art in NFT format to carry out money laundering activities. According to the US authorities, the collectibles could serve that purpose; it is the method traditional art has historically been doing for years.

The authorities think it is easier to move digital art than traditional art. In this sense, they presented a series of regulatory measures for the NFT sector.

One of these measures implements VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers) to these networks, which would make any user who desires to register and use it go through an identity verification procedure.

It is worth considering that NFTs are some kind of cryptographic token that represents a unique asset, unrepeatable and limited. Ethereum is the blockchain that counts on the most prominent market for non-fungible tokens.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Despite the recent growth, the figures are much lower than in October, when 116,139 millionaire Bitcoin addresses held at least USD 1 million. Various studies indicate that there was significant support around USD 35,000, but traders trust in the bullish momentum on the blockchain.

Data from the Finbold platform indicates that 96,399 Bitcoin wallet addresses recently held more than USD 1 million. The Wayback Machine web tool makes it possible to determine that the figure increased by 1,368 in the last 30 days.

Around 7,815 Bitcoin addresses had a combined balance of more than USD 10 million. Meanwhile, each of the other 88,584 addresses held USD 1 million.

Although those wallets have grown, the numbers pale compared to those of October 28^th, 2021. On that date, there were 116,139 millionaire Bitcoin addresses, of which 105,820 had a balance sheet of at least USD 1 million. Another 10,319 held no less than USD 10 million.

Between October 28^th and January 26^th, Bitcoin millionaires dropped dramatically. There were 87,953 addresses with a balance sheet greater than USD 1 million in that period. Data indicates that the figure fell by 28,186 between the two dates, representing a reduction of 24.24%.

The anonymous nature of the pioneering cryptocurrency makes it impossible to identify the owners of the above Bitcoin addresses.

An Analysis of the Bitcoin Network Shows a Potential Upward Trend Start

There has been a recent shift in the bearish market sentiment for the pioneering cryptocurrency. That has sparked interest in seeing whether the number of Bitcoin millionaires continues to rise along with the price. Glassnode recently conducted an analysis of the Bitcoin blockchain, which shows that BTC could start a bullish run soon.

Glassnode metrics indicate that Bitcoin has effectively passed the first phase of the short squeeze. For that reason, the market has shown bullish behavior towards the cryptocurrency created by Satoshi Nakamoto.

A short squeeze is a surprise rise in the price of an asset when many short sellers must liquidate their positions.

Various studies and metrics show significant support around the USD 35,000 level. However, the change in the market trend has led traders to trust in the bullish momentum on the blockchain. They expect that to drive the trading price of Bitcoin higher in the coming weeks.

Bitcoin is trading at around USD 42.635 and has accumulated a 0.6% gain in the last 24 hours. Its trading volume is above 18.04 billion, and its market capitalization is about USD 808.29 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Bitcoin addresses with a balance of more than USD 1 million could have a direct relationship with large investors or institutions. Those holders have massive flows of capital in the cryptocurrency market.

The pioneering cryptocurrency plays a relevant role in the economy, evident thanks to the increase in addresses over the last month. Bitcoin has been through other crises before but has recovered to exceed its all-time highs. Various renowned analysts like Willy Woo believe that its price may reach USD 100,000 this year.

By Alexander Salazar

The whales transferred 25,086 BTC from unknown wallets to exchanges while moving 14,888 BTC in the opposite direction. Most transactions occurred at a price between USD 41,000 and USD 41,500, but there could be a pullback towards USD 38,500.

The Bitcoin whales introduced capital into the market during the second week of February, amid moderately quiet activity. Those long-term holders moved a total of 64,885 BTC through 62 transactions in that period.

In contrast to the previous week, there has been a very significant increase in the activity of the whales. The following summary explains the details and the influence that this may or may not have on the pioneering cryptocurrency.

Contextualizing the activity of the whales makes it easier to investigate their status and that of the whole market. The following data is just a micro approach to one of the factors that can influence the performance of BTC.

A Summary of the Activity of the Bitcoin Whales

During the second week of February, the most prominent trend was the introduction of liquidity to the market. The whales moved 25,086 BTC from unknown wallets to exchanges, equivalent to 38.68% of the weekly total.

The second-highest trend was accumulation, as 14,888 BTC passed from exchanges to unknown wallets, representing 22.96% of the weekly total.

The transfer between exchanges was the third-highest trend, as the whales moved 13,881 BTC, equivalent to 21.40% of the weekly total. Finally, there was only one operation for 11,000 BTC between unknown wallets, representing 16.96%.

The Performance of Bitcoin over the Last Week

Bitcoin is trading at around USD 44,241 and has accumulated a 4.2% gain in the last 24 hours. Its trading volume is above USD 20.89 billion, and its market capitalization is about USD 838.78 billion, according to CoinGecko.

The price of the pioneering cryptocurrency recently fell due to major international events. For example, US President Joe Biden called on Americans to leave Ukraine immediately. Furthermore, he warned that an invasion of the Eastern European country could start at any time. For the time being, the United States has ruled out sending troops despite the military activities of Russia.

Cryptocurrency analyst Jason Pagoulatos from Delphi Digital said that the highest number of BTC transactions occurred at a price between USD 41,000 and USD 41,500. However, he explained there could be a pullback towards USD 38,500 if the price breaks below that level.

The above scenario has led the Bitcoin whales to decrease their accumulation gradually. They do not seem very convinced the value of the leading cryptocurrency will recover any time soon.

Various factors have affected the price of Bitcoin in the last four months, causing its price to drop significantly. However, the cryptocurrency has already been through other crises in the past, exceeding its previous all-time highs. Renowned analysts such as Willy Woo have predicted that its price might reach USD 100,000 in 2022.

By Alexander Salazar

The opinion of Undersecretary Davidson is in line with that of Senator Lummis in 2021. The Treasury Department will contrast the definition of digital assets with that of traditional stocks.

Jonathan Davidson, the undersecretary of the US Department of the Treasury for legislative affairs, recently spoke about Bitcoin miners located in the country. He said they should not be accountable to the IRS as if they were exchanges or brokers.

A group of US senators recently received the observation of Davidson in a letter. The official raised his concerns about the tax responsibilities of those who work in cryptocurrency mining and staking.

According to the document, the Treasury Department considers that Bitcoin miners cannot access the information required by the IRS. For that reason, the government agency believes that they are not subject to the reporting requirements established for stockbrokers.

In August 2021, the US Senate passed the Infrastructure Bill, defining cryptocurrency exchanges and miners. They describe them as transmitters of value exchanges, so they must pay taxes for that activity. In addition, that legislation also requires them to collect and make data about the users of their services available to the IRS.

Bitcoin Miners Do Not Fit Under the Infrastructure Bill, According to Lummis

Most members of the US Senate did not consider the comments of Cynthia Lummis and other senators when approving the Infrastructure Bill.

Lummis proposed an amendment seeking to correct the definition of brokers to avoid referring to Bitcoin miners, nodes, and developers, among others. However, the Senate did not accept the change and approved the above Bill, which will enter into force in two years.

The concerns of the Treasury Department and the perspective of Senator Lumis are in line with each other.

Cryptocurrency miners and stakers find the process of collecting information from their users much more cumbersome, if not impossible. Meanwhile, that is a more routine procedure to exchanges, which have the necessary tools.

The US Treasury Department is also reviewing the definition of digital assets, which they will contrast with traditional stocks.

Poorly Structured Regulations Can Cost the IRS a Fortune

A couple recently sued the IRS for unfairly charging them taxes related to their staking activities on the Tezos blockchain.

The Jarrets said that the tokens they had obtained were property created by taxpayers. For that reason, they believe that they cannot pay taxes on them if they do not sell or exchange them.

The IRS offered the plaintiffs a refund of the amount they had paid. However, the Jarrets did not accept the agreement since they demanded the inclusion of expenses for lost profits.

The judicial resolution of the case may arrive between March of this year and March 2023. According to the court order, they will consult experts before a decision.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly relevant, and many miners have not overlooked that. They have looked for ways to control or ban the operation of mines and exchanges. However, some government officials have shown a positive attitude towards adopting crypto assets.

By Alexander Salazar

According to Tovar, using bitcoin for remittances could make Colombians save at least $200 million.

The retroactive sanctions that the new regulations imply to declare bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Colombia will push investors to withdraw from the country.

This idea got revealed by Mauricio Tovar, co-founder of Tropycus Finance, during his speech at a panel organized by a Colombian media outlet.

Tovar, a prominent participant in the Colombian bitcoin and cryptocurrency community, referred to recent statements by Lisandro Junco Riviera, director of the Colombian tax collection office.

Junco Riveira highlighted that the income from saving in cryptocurrencies must be a patrimonial omission. Riveira explained that the correction charge must get paid each year. The alleged charges could move between 10% of the debt to 100% of the assets.

Many people Wants to Declare Taxes

According to Mauricio Tovar, a regulation recently published should not have retroactive sanctions for income tax returns not made in years before its launch. He said many people want to declare taxes, but it seems authoritarian that a guide gets issued one week and people want it to get sanctioned six years ago.

Tovar believes these sanctions would make Colombian investors with significant capital in cryptocurrencies move away from the country. This situation is particularly concerning because these investors would take their investments and move them to nations with more favorable regulations.

In this sense, he said that the sanctions did not consider common sense, or game theory, since regions like El Salvador opened the doors to investments in bitcoin with zero taxes.

The representative called on Colombian regulators to push fair tax payments based on incentives. Tovar referred to those responsible for tax policies in Colombia by saying that people always respond when they receive incentives. He suggested creating the right incentives for this kind of thing to happen.

Cryptocurrency Remittances can Save Colombians Millions

Another of the topics debated in the panel broadcast by entering.co was the remittances with cryptocurrencies. According to Hernando Barreto, Co-founder of the Center for the Development of the Digital Economy CDED, Colombia receives USD 8.5 billion a year in remittances, equivalent to 3% of Colombian GDP.

However, the transfers happen through financial intermediaries like Western Union, which could charge fees between 2% and 7%. Jorge Cortes, co-founder of BitBasel, also a participant on the panel, explained that these companies gave birth to a harmful and toxic system.

According to him, cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin show more efficiency regarding payments due to their immediacy, minimum cost, and transparency.

For his part, Mauricio Tovar stated that the use of bitcoin to send remittances would represent considerable savings for Colombians. He pointed out that, last year, remittances to Colombia got estimated at USD 10.6 billion; it means that, with a 3% fee, intermediaries obtained more than USD 300 million.

According to Tovar, using cryptocurrencies, even if the fees do not reach zero,  would help Colombians save almost all of that amount.

By: Jenson Nuñez