The report presented by Irajá Silvestre Filho does not contain any proposal to modify the content of the bills. The draft laws deal with the obligations of exchanges, the legality of cryptocurrency transactions, and the status of crypto assets as currencies.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are increasingly relevant in the global economy, which Latin American governments do not overlook. In that sense, Brazil might become one of the most advanced regarding regulations on cryptocurrencies in the short term.

Senator Irajá Silvestre Filho from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) of Brazil recently expressed a favorable view about three bills. He thinks they could solve much of the regulatory gaps slowing the development of the cryptocurrency industry in the country.

The website of the Brazilian Senate describes the report that Irajá Silvestre Filho presented before the Economic Affairs Commission. It indicates that it does not contain any proposal to modify the content of the bills. Besides, it testifies there is enough merit for their approval, requesting the legislators to vote favorably.

When the Economic Affairs Commission of the Brazilian Senate received that document, they listened to the arguments of Irajá. Otto Alencar asked for more time to analyze its content before submitting it to a vote after a public hearing.

Brazil Has Three Bills for the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem

As a fundamental point, 2020 Bill No. 4207 typifies criminal behavior related to cryptocurrencies, like promoting pyramid businesses. It also establishes the obligations that crypto financial service providers must respect.

Concerning 2019 Bill No. 3949, it recognizes the legality of operations with cryptocurrencies as investments regulated by the exchange infrastructure. Besides, it separates the equity of exchanges from that of their customers.

However, not everything is easy for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. The draft Law also establishes a progressive tax on capital gains for investments in cryptocurrencies. That would range between 15% on profits up to five million reais (BRL) and 22% on those above BRL 30 million.

Regarding Bill 3825 of 2019, it gives the Central Bank supervisory and regulatory powers for those entities offering cryptocurrency services like exchanges or wallets. In addition, it subjects the issuance of initial coin offerings (ICOs) to the control of the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM).

That draft Law also grants crypto assets the status of currencies instead of commodities. That opens the way for exchanges, banks, and FinTech platforms to offer financial services like cryptocurrency loans.

Similarly, it offers a tax exemption on cryptocurrency mining operations using 100% of electrical energy generated through renewable sources.

There has been significant progress in investment in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology and their adoption. In addition to planning to launch a CBDC in 2022, the country was the first to approve a cryptocurrency ETF in South America.

The abovementioned bills and advances of Brazil regarding adopting and using those assets prove the interest from the government in them. In that way, they join those countries that have made cryptocurrencies a crucial part of their economic systems.

By Alexander Salazar

The use of Bitcoin as a store-of-value asset and a means of payment is the trend in the United States. Twenty-six percent of 1,000 people consulted for a survey already have Bitcoin.

A recent report from Grayscale confirms that Bitcoin (BTC) has penetrated American society. It reveals that more than a fourth of investors already have BTC on their balance sheets.

The document indicates that 26% of 1,000 investors consulted have Bitcoin, a growth of 3 points compared to 2020.

At that time, the pioneering cryptocurrency was trading at around USD 30,000. The firm explains that the current growth in interest is also consistent with the price increase.

The way investors prefer to buy their Bitcoin has evolved in the last year, Grayscale highlights. They recall that more than three-quarters of investors chose to purchase BTC on exchanges in 2020. About two-thirds (59%) of investors currently buy through cryptocurrency brokers like eToro.

Therefore, only more than a third (35%) of the investors consulted express their preference to buy BTC directly on an exchange.

The firm notes that investors are also increasingly using FinTech apps to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies. They say that thirty percent of investors chose to buy Bitcoin with digital wallets or money apps like CashApp.

That leads them to consider the increase in those transactions a crucial factor for FinTechs like PayPal, which supports Bitcoin.

Choosing to Use Bitcoin as a Store of Value or as a Currency

Grayscale also described the perception of Bitcoin as an investment and as a currency among investors. US investors say that the two primary uses for BTC are as a store-of-value asset and as a payment method.

Financial institutions still grapple with the role of Bitcoin in the global economy, but investors prefer BTC as an investment. The latter know that they can accumulate long-term returns if they keep it instead of using it to make payments.

According to the firm, that has been a notable change since last year, when BTC was more relevant as a currency than a store of value.

Three times as many investors now consider holding Bitcoin as a store of value rather than as a currency. More than a third (37%) perceives BTC as a short-term investment to keep for less than a year to make quick money.

However, more than half (55%) of investors see Bitcoin as a long-term game, together with their general investment strategies.

A fifth of the investors surveyed that perceive BTC as a currency see it as a medium of exchange to pay for goods and services. Grayscale also noted that another 14% consider BTC a peer-to-peer method for money transfers.

The participants in the survey by Grayscale were people between 25 and 64 years old. All have invested at least USD 10,000 in assets and receive a minimum annual family income of USD 50,000.

The relevance of Bitcoin as a store of value is increasingly growing, of which the survey by Grayscale is only one example. Both individuals and institutions see it as a long-term store of value.

By Alexander Salazar

A score of tokens got stolen in the massive hack. The PeckShield analytics firm was the first entity that reported the token withdrawal.

The bitcoin (BTC) exchange, Bitmart, struggled with a massive hack that cost at least $ 200 million, following a security breach in its hot wallets hosted on the Ethereum blockchain and Binance Smart Chain (BSC), respectively.

This information got reported in a statement revealed on its blog, where the company highlighted the identification of a large-scale security breach related to the ETH and BSC wallets.

According to what they said at the time, they were working to identify how hackers disrupted the exchange’s security. The thieves extracted figures of USD 150 million.

The affected ETH and BSC active wallets have a tiny percentage of assets on BitMart; the other wallets are safe and unharmed. BitMart is now leading a comprehensive security review and will release updates once they start achieving progress.

They Reported the Hack as Fake News

Although the company acknowledged the situation, it had previously been revealed by blockchain security and analytics firm PeckShield, via Twitter. They revealed in the social network the withdrawal of at least USD 100 million in tokens and cryptocurrencies in the Ethereum portfolio, and USD 96 million in BSC.

The entity shared the list of transferred assets and their amounts. It accounts for at least twenty tokens, including alternative cryptocurrencies, like Safemoon, BUSD, and Binance Coin (BNB). The funny thing is that many of the coins mined were cryptocurrencies memes, such as Shiba Inu, BabyDoge, or Floki.

Something that drew attention is that the exchange described the notifications of the massive theft as false news a few hours before they confirmed it. This news got clarified by PeckShield, who showed screenshots of the company’s Telegram group, which reflected the rejection position of the now compromised exchange house.

 Bitmart claimed In one of their responses that the information about the hack was creating unnecessary tension and that they had repeatedly clarified that they had not breached the exchange’s security system.

Withdrawals are a normal thing that comes from hot wallets, they explained, while they denied in another message that the hack happened and assured that the accounts got secured.

BitMart will Pay with their Funds

The exchange’s CEO, Sheldon Xia, updated the situation early Monday morning. He highlighted that once they completed initial security checks and identified the affected assets, they had noted that there was a security breach originating from a stolen private key that had two of their active wallets compromised.

The CEO also stated that they are now doing “everything possible” to recover the security configurations, as well as their operability: The representative said they need time to make the necessary arrangements during this period. In terms of asset deposit and withdrawal, they remain confident that the functions would begin gradually as soon as possible.

By: Jenson Nuñez