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Australian Super Rest Retirement Fund To Invest In Cryptocurrencies

Australia remains outstanding with its increased swing and adoption of cryptocurrencies by the populace. Despite its volatility, the popularity of digital assets has triggered more investment moves towards this financial asset.

Joining in the train of crypto investment within the country is the Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (Rest Super).

By its indication to invest superannuation fund in cryptocurrency, the Australia Rest Super will be the first of its type to do so. Before now, the entire retirement fund sector has been careful with cryptocurrency.

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With about 1.8M members, Rest Super fund’s assets under management (AUM) are worth $46.8 billion.

However, superannuation is mandatory for all Australian employees. It has an equivalence of a U.S. Individual Retirement Account or 401k.

Speaking on Tuesday during the annual general meeting of Super Rest Fund, Andrew Lill, the company’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO), acknowledged the volatility of such crypto investments. However, he said that their allocation to the investment is a part of diversifying their portfolio.

The CIO mentioned that the company considers cryptocurrencies an important investment aspect and will exercise caution in its move. However, he stated that his opinion is that the investment introduces members to digital assets and blockchain technology.

Hence, they could access a stable source of value within a period where people stick more to crypto investment to combat fiat currency inflation.

Furthermore, another statement from a Rest spokesperson explained that the firm considers cryptocurrencies as a diversifying means of its members’ retirement fund. But, the plan may not be a direct investment.

In addition, the spokesperson confirmed that the company is still doing its research before its final decisions. Also, they are focusing on both the regulations and security involved in crypto investment.

Investment In Cryptocurrencies To Strive In The Country

Contrasting comments are coming within the week to the ones from the Australian Rest Super. On Monday, Paul Schroder, the Chief executive of the $167 billion funds, stated that crypto is not an investment option for their members.

Reports from last month revealed that Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), an investment fund owned by the state, is considering embracing cryptocurrency. But, contrary to that, the company, this week, disclosed to Business Insider the implication of the reports. Hence, it piped down all moves towards digital assets.

Cryptocurrency market notices upward trend | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com

The Head of Currency at QIC, Stuart Simmons, said he wants superannuation funds to embrace cryptocurrency. However, the move is likely to be a gradual trickling instead of a massive flow.

The entire deliberation on Australian superannuation funds is happening within the period of a bullish trend in the country’s crypto market. This is after the Senate committee brought up some regulatory proposals within October.

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It catalyzes pushing the country as a focal point in crypto transactions. Also, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) intends to offer cryptocurrency trading earlier in the month through its banking app.

As more cryptocurrency adoption is expected in the country, Matt Comyn, the CEO of CBA, commented on the bank action this week.

The CEO explained that participation in digital assets is motivated by FOMO. He said that though there are risks to their involvement, there will be more significant risks with their non-participation.

Featured Image: Pixels | Charts by TradingView

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Zimbabwe Could Adopt Bitcoin As Legal Tender Following El Salvador

The adoption of Bitcoin by El Salvador has opened the door for more adoption. However, the first country to achieve it didn’t find it easy. There were lots of doubts and criticisms targeting El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele.

Some people stated that he influenced the legislature to approve the move. Other critical financial analysts even predicted a negative influence on the country’s economic situation following his actions.

The country has completed the move and is now using Bitcoin for financial transactions. Also, the President keeps accumulating BTC whenever there is a dip in price.

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The second country that might take such a bold move is Zimbabwe. They are researching the growth and risks associated with cryptocurrency as an asset.

Will Zimbabwe Become The Next El Salvador?

For now, the country is looking into the demand rate amongst the citizens. Also, they support the regulations that financial watchdogs have been insisting on for some time now. Moreover, Zimbabwe sees crypto as a way to develop the country more.

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Now that many citizens are demanding crypto, the government is considering the option seriously. They disclosed this information through one of their local news outlets.

The news also disclosed that the country is already discussing using Bitcoin as a legal tender – the Perm Sec Brig. Colonel Charles Wekwete confirmed this information. He also declared that the blockchain offers both positives and negatives.

The negatives he stressed were money laundering, illegal cross-border transfers, facilitating unlawful actions with unlawful cash flows, etc.

However, due to these risks associated with the blockchain, many authorities are poised to develop regulations that can curb them. Also, the rules will protect consumers’ interests and protect Zimbabwe’s financial future.

For now, the country hasn’t declared anything yet. They are simply consulting experts to know if the move will work. But the government is following National Development Strategy 1, which teaches the digital economic system.

The strategy will foster a connection between the existing businesses and the government to develop the digital economy jointly.

El Salvador Set The Pace For Bitcoin

Since Nayib took the bold step amid criticisms, other countries have considered Bitcoin usage in their economy.

Many negative comments concerning the move, and some are still ongoing. However, the first country to adopt Bitcoin seems not to be backing down at all.

BTC price getting ready for a bull run | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

In recent news, the President is even disclosing plans of building a hospital and 20 schools using their Bitcoin earnings.

With all these, players in the industry view Africa as a good ground for testing cryptocurrency. Moreover, the crypto market in Africa keeps growing, according to blockchain firm Chainalysis.

Featured image by BBC, Chart from TradingView.com

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Cabital Eyes Regulatory Approval To Provide Cryptocurrency Payment Services In Singapore

One of the things that validate a cryptocurrency payment service is regulations. Many exchanges, brokers, and institutions that operate outside the law’s provisions receive a lot of backlash and scrutiny from crypto users and financial regulators.

So, it is prudent to gain the necessary approvals before offering services in any territory, especially in a country such as the US.

In recent times, financial regulators across the globe have been focused on the cryptocurrency industry. They have been scrutinizing the markets and operations of the players to ensure compliance to regulatory dictates protecting users’ interests.

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With such pressures, every company in the industry focuses on meeting the regulatory requirements as well as they can.

Cabital Seeks Regulatory Approval From MAS

Given the recent trend in crypto regulations, it’s not surprising that Cabital moves to gain the legal approvals that will support its operations in the Singapore crypto market.

Total Crypto market cap nears $3 trillion | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com

The institutions that offer exposure to digital assets aim at providing payment solutions to Singaporeans. Such a service will enable the citizens to trade in these tokens without regulatory issues.

According to the co-founder and CEO of Cabital, this move to secure approval from MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) will boost their services.

He also disclosed that the institution has always depended on Chainalysis Reactor and Chainalysis’ KYT (Know Your Transaction) to ensure compliance to AML requirements of their bases of operations.

To further support the Cabital moves, Chainalysis MD, Ulisse DellÓrto, disclosed that the platform would offer the tools that the payment institution requires to succeed in this new development.

Accordingly, the tools will boost user confidence and help them meet the crypto industry’s requirements. Cabital has depended on Chainalysis’ tools to comply with the provision of the financial regulators.

A Brief On Cabital And Chainalysis

Cabital is an institution that deals with digital assets globally. It provides secure and safe access for people to earn passively using cryptocurrency. Its popular product “Cabital Earn” is a crypto platform for wealth management. Customers can buy crypto using euros and earn higher returns up to 12% APY on their investment.

The company doesn’t play with fraud detection and employs a biometric solution from Sunsub to verify users’ identities. Also, it holds the crypto people buy on the platform with Fireblocks – a widespread and trusted digital asset custody platform.

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The company is registered and spreads across China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Cabital has been operating since 2020 by Raymond Hsu-an, an experienced player in Fintech companies.

On the other hand, Chainalysis is a blockchain-based platform that provides data, research, software, and services to different companies and government institutions. They span across various industries, including crypto, cybersecurity, and insurance.

Also, their services cover more than 60 countries of the world. Moreover, the data from Chainalysis serves in different capacities such as growing access to crypto and solving criminal cases. So, it’s not surprising that Cabital relies on them for the tools that can facilitate its operations.

Featured Image From CNN, chart from TradingView.com

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Puerto Rico To Become Cryptocurrency Capital Due To Favorable Tax Laws

One of the controversial topics in recent times is the payment of tax on cryptocurrency gains. In the USA, the IRS termed virtual currencies as property which means that holders will pay taxes like holders of fundamental properties or stocks.

The agency even sent a subpoena to many centralized cryptocurrency exchanges to give up the information of non-compliant taxpayers.

Even though many people in the cryptocurrency community frown against such taxes, the government is bent on ensuring compliance. Presently, non-compliance to the crypto tax payment requirement attracts legal action. So, it is not surprising that cryptocurrency investors seek a tax-free state to operate without limits.

Puerto Rico Becomes Tax Haven For Investors

As the United States clamped down on non-compliant citizens, the top affluent crypto investors moved to Puerto Rico to avoid taxes. The territory, though in the USA, is not charging federal income tax on crypto gains.

The cryptocurrency market is down in red zone | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com

According to its local law Act 22, residents of Puerto Rico are exempted from paying taxes on capital gains, interests and dividends. So, people are free to keep all their profits to themselves at least for six months.

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Many people were not aware of this provision until Frances Haugen let the cat out of the bag. The whistleblower moved to the territory a few months back and disclosed this great news to the community. The Act has been in play for a long time, but many people were unaware of it.

Following Haugen’s move, another media mogul, Logan Paul, moved to Puerto Rico and occupied a mansion on the island. When our sources asked him for a reason, he pointed out that the tax exemption is part of it.

Cryptocurrency Businesses Move To Puerto Rico

Apart from these individual players, some businesses have left their location to move to the island. For instance, Pantera Capital –a  hedge fund – is now operating on the island.

Also, SuperRare, an NFT marketplace previously operating in Silicon Valley, has moved to the island as well. We also gathered that another hedge fund mogul John Paulson is now living in Puerto Rico.

Due to this, the Blockchain Trade Association in the Island plans for its first Blockchain week, which will come in December his year. This program aims to drive more people and businesses to move to the island. With all these moves, it’s not surprising that Puerto Rico’s economic growth is taking a new level.

However, there is ongoing competition between Puerto Rico and El Salvador as the latter has allowed crypto investors to trade without paying income tax and capital gains tax on Bitcoin.

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Apart from these two places, crypto investors can enjoy the same freedom in places like the Cayman Islands, Malta, Switzerland, Nevis, and Portugal, where miners and traders don’t pay income tax.

Featured Image From Pexels and Chart From TradingView.com

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IOTA Introduces New Smart Contracts To Circumvent The Network Flaws

The use of smart contracts remains the key turnaround factor with the cryptocurrency space. Smart contracts brought about the decentralization of digital assets and eliminated third-party interferences in crypto transactions.

Distributed ledger and open-source cryptocurrency, IOTA, has just launched a new smart contract beta. This latest move offers its users a platform for getting high-speed and zero-fee transactions.

IOTA emerged within the 2017 ICO boom. The digital asset came to support the Internet of Things that harmonizes physical items into the internet and digital world. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency floated to irrelevance as interest in it died down in 2018.

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A reinvention of the network by its CEO came earlier this year. With his determination, the CEO decided not to give up on the project by upgrading it by introducing a critical new upgrade.

Advantages Of The New IOTA Upgrade

A report reveals that the beta version inculcates an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Thus, ERC-20 tokens are now interoperable within the network. Additionally, the writing of smart contracts is now in Solidity (the programming language of Ether) attached in the tangled language of the network.

Furthermore, there is added network sharding on the project. This allows high-degree operability via smart contracts wrapping to the base layer of native tokens. Remarkably, smart contracts creators can set their execution fees which will enable drive-down competitions among different chains.

MIOTA is currently facing a decline | Source: IOTAUSD on TradingView

In comparison with other networks like Ethereum, several people think that the smart contract implementation of the network is late. Nevertheless, Dominik Schiener, the IOTA CEO, is of a different opinion concerning the issue.

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Schiener explained that they took their time to develop a smart-contract solution that operates to bridge the shortfalls of other competing chains. He cited an instance with Cardano’s smart contract that faces limited throughput while IOTA’s provide unlimited scalability.

Speaking of the zero-fee on the platform, the CEO said it’s a significant competitive advantage. He explained that the feeless nature of the network serves as the doorway for their numerous opportunities.

These include their partnership with multinational companies and governmental agencies and interest from SMEs, startups, and crypto operators. Schiener mentioned that the volatile nature of fees could strain business models and oppose great economic moves.

IOTA cuts across promoting ecosystem growth and decentralized application development via project financing. Though MIOTA is making gradual progress, its current price is still far from its former glory.

However, the European Commission selected the token last month to feature in its blockchain infrastructure project despite its low position. This selection stands as a possible action that could pave the way for future growth for MIOTA.

Featured image from IOTA Services, charts from TradingView.com