G20 Prepares to Regulate Crypto Assets - a Look at Current Policies

Following their joint declaration committing to regulate crypto assets, the G20 countries are now preparing to set crypto policies at the upcoming summit. Several international organizations have contributed resources and are actively working to help shape the regulations.

The upcoming G20 summit will be held in Osaka, Japan, on June 28 and 29. Participants are 19 member countries, the European Union, guest countries and a number of international organizations. Following the members' joint declaration committing to regulate crypto assets for AML and CFT purposes, several standard-setting bodies have contributed resources to help the G20 set crypto policies. According to Japanese media, the countries are expected to agree upon new crypto-related regulations at the summit.

G20 Prepares to Regulate Crypto Assets – a Look at Current Policies

The G20 has reaffirmed its support for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as "the global anti-money laundering, counter terrorist financing, and proliferation financing standard-setting body," the FATF described in its report submitted to the G20 last week. The G20 has additionally asked the organization to clarify how its standards apply to "virtual asset activities." Responding to this request, the FATF confirmed that "Jurisdictions should apply a risk-based approach to virtual assets" and related activities. Promising to issue new guidelines in June, it elaborated:

At a minimum, virtual asset service providers should be required to be licenced or registered in the jurisdiction where they are created, or … where they have their place of business.

The FATF also recommends that "Virtual asset service providers should be supervised or monitored by a competent authority/ies (not a self-regulatory body)" and "Countries should provide international cooperation in relation to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers."

The Financial Stability Board, which monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system, also submitted a report to the G20 which outlines who the crypto regulators are in each member country. Meanwhile, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is currently undertaking a quantitative impact study of banks' direct and indirect exposures to crypto assets.

Furthermore, global standard setter for securities market regulation, the International Organization of Securities Commissions, has developed a support framework to assist with addressing domestic and cross-border issues arising from initial coin offerings (ICOs) and a framework for identifying risks associated with the secondary trading of crypto assets.

The G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the U.K., the U.S., and the European Union. Below is a summary of how they are currently regulating crypto assets.

South America

For Argentina, the central bank assesses the financial stability risks from crypto markets and monitors financial institutions' exposures to crypto assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission oversees these assets within the capital markets and the Financial Information Unit deals with crypto-related AML/CFT issues.

For Brazil, the Securities and Exchange Commission is responsible for cryptocurrencies that are securities. The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) explained:

Our current mandate allows us to assess financial institutions' exposure to those assets and supervise their operations. Moreover, BCB has the mandate to regulate what type of operations involving crypto-assets, if any, financial institutions can perform.

North America

The U.S. has multiple regulators for crypto assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates cryptocurrencies that are deemed securities whereas the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversees crypto derivatives and commodities.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC) supervises financial institutions' exposures to crypto assets. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Fincen) has sole federal enforcement authority over money transmitters operating in convertible cryptocurrency.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency determines the permissibility and prudential conduct of banks related to crypto assets. The Office of Financial Research monitors these assets and their markets to identify any financial stability risks.

Canada also has many regulators for crypto assets. Among them is the Bank of Canada which ensures that cryptocurrencies do not pose systemic financial stability risks to the country's economy. The Office of the Superintendent Financial Institutions ensures financial institutions' levels of exposure to crypto assets are within acceptable risk appetite.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is responsible for protecting consumers of financial services and products involving crypto assets. The Canada Revenue Agency deals with crypto-related taxes. Furthermore, the Ontario Securities Commission, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the Alberta Securities Commission, and the British Columbia Securities Commission regulate crypto assets within their jurisdictions.

For Mexico, the central bank is responsible for defining the characteristics of crypto assets that financial institutions are permitted to operate with. The bank recently came up with some rules which stirred up the industry.

Europe

Last week, news.Bitcoin.com reported on how the European Union and five countries on the continent regulate cryptocurrency. Spain is not a G20 member but has been invited to attend the summit as a guest country.

On Monday, France's Financial Markets Authority published the details of the new regulatory framework for cryptocurrency which was adopted on April 11 as part of the Pacte bill.

Asia

Also last week, news.Bitcoin.com reported on how China, India, South Korea, and Japan are regulating cryptocurrency.

As for Indonesia, Bank Indonesia has banned cryptocurrency as a means of payment but continues to monitor crypto transactions and their potential long-term effects on monetary policy and financial stability. The Ministry of Trade, however, has acknowledged cryptocurrency as a tradable commodity with the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) acting as the regulator. The FSB described:

Currently, Bappebti is developing an ecosystem for crypto-assets markets and exchanges with aims to protect crypto-assets consumers.

Furthermore, the Indonesia Financial Services Authority monitors developments and effects of fintech on financial stability while the Ministry of Finance is reviewing the taxation mechanism for crypto asset trading activities.

Western and Central Asia

For Saudi Arabia, the Capital Market Authority, together with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), "are planning to conduct a study that aims to conduct assessment of the feasibility to introduce crypto-assets and ICOs in Saudi Arabia," according to the FSB. The board clarified:

Currently, there is no regulation directly targeting crypto-assets in Saudi Arabia. However, SAMA's current mandate allows it to assess financial institutions' exposure to those assets and supervise their operations.

For Turkey, the central bank is responsible for overseeing the country's payments system while the Financial Crimes Investigation Board is working on the rules related to cryptocurrency and related service providers.

Russia is also working on the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. In February, President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to adopt federal laws on cryptocurrency by July.

Africa and Oceania

For the Republic of South Africa (RSA), the central bank assesses the regulatory implications of fintech and oversees crypto assets when used for payments. The bank has clarified:

There are currently no specific laws or regulations that govern the use of VCs [virtual currencies] in RSA. It follows, therefore, that currently no compliance requirements exist for local trading of VCs in RSA.

Meanwhile, the country's Prudential Authority supervises regulated entities' involvement in crypto assets and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority oversees crypto assets in the financial markets. The Financial Intelligence Centre ensures that they cannot be used for illicit purposes while the Revenue Services collects related taxes.

For Australia, the Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) regulates crypto exchanges which are required to register with it. The Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) monitors crypto and ICO activities that seek investment from Australians. Lastly, the central bank assesses the implications of crypto assets for monetary policy, identifies their risks to financial stability, and establishes related payments system policies if required. The bank published its April Financial Stability Review report last week confirming:

Big Players Transforming Crypto Exchanges in Japan

Government-approved cryptocurrency trading platforms in Japan are undergoing changes with big players entering the market. News.Bitcoin.com talked to Japan's top financial regulator to learn about the regulatory implications of the changing business models and internal systems of regulated exchanges.

Changing Crypto Exchange Landscape

Crypto exchanges in Japan are rapidly transforming with the launch of new exchanges as large corporations entered the market. Japan's top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), explained to news.Bitcoin.com Monday that when a crypto exchange is acquired by another company:

There is no need to re-register. If its business model or internal control system are to be changed, FSA will rigorously review them from the perspectives of user protection and others.

The agency further clarified, "If there are changes of entries (such as major shareholders or board members) in the registration application, notification of those changes must be submitted."

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the FSA "raided" two crypto exchanges — Huobi Japan and Fisco Cryptocurrency Exchange. However, according to the regulator, the visits are routine measures for all exchanges that have undergone internal changes. Huobi Japan recently acquired Bittrade exchange while Fisco Cryptocurrency Exchange acquired Zaif.

New Exchanges in Japan

A subsidiary of Yahoo Japan Corp. recently acquired a regulated exchange called Bitarg and changed its name to Taotao on Feb. 4. The new trading platform began accepting pre-registrations on March 25 and is expected to start trading in May. Taotao will only support BTC according to the FSA's website.

E-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. has acquired Everybody's Bitcoin exchange which had been in operation since March 30, 2017. The exchange's name was changed to Rakuten Wallet on March 1 and the old service ended on March 31. The new service became available on April 15. Rakuten Wallet offers the trading of BTC, ETH, and BCH against the Japanese yen. Another registered crypto exchange, Decurret, also began operations on the same day, offering trading of BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, and XRP.

Earlier this year, Bittrade exchange ended its service and began operating as Huobi Japan. The platform offers the trading of BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, MONA, and BCH. Meanwhile, Fisco Cryptocurrency Exchange has finalized the asset transfer process from Zaif exchange after the latter was hacked in September last year, the exchange announced Monday.

Adding More Coins

All approved crypto exchanges have to declare what cryptocurrencies they will handle at the time of their application with the FSA. Currently, there are 19 approved crypto exchanges in Japan. The regulator told news.Bitcoin.com:

When a crypto-asset broker-dealer wants to add more crypto-assets or to change old ones into new ones to be traded on its platform, it is required to notify that in advance by the current laws and regulations.

Since some exchanges are owned by foreign companies, the FSA confirmed that "There is no difference between the registration process of a foreign crypto-asset broker-dealer and a Japanese one." According to the current law, "when a foreign crypto-asset broker-dealer conducts crypto-asset exchange business in Japan, it is required to register as a crypto-asset broker-dealer with the FSA after the establishment of a company limited in Japan," the regulator concluded.

3 COUNTRIES TELL IMF THEY WANT TO ISSUE BITCOIN BONDS

Asia Times originally reported the trend April 17 referencing recent statements at this week's World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings held in Washington DC.

Afghanistan, Tunisia and Uzbekistan are currently mulling the possibility of a Bitcoin bond, all three interested in the instrument's potential to help out critical sectors of the economy.

For Afghanistan, a bond could be tied to metals, specifically the country's $3 trillion lithium industry. Despite being set for expansion due to a shortage of lithium, Afghanistan remains stifled when it comes to borrowing due to international restrictions.

The answer, Asia Times paraphrases Central Bank of Afghanistan governor Khalil Sediq as saying, lies in crypto solutions such as Hyperledger Fabric.

This, he claimed, "could offer a way to access international markets via a first-of-its-kind financial instrument made possible with hyperledger's blockchain technology financial services platform."

Similarly buoyant about the concept was newly-installed Tunisian central bank governor Marouane El Abassi. Abassi, known for his progressive stance on technology such as blockchain, said a dedicated working group was already studying the feasibility of a Bitcoin bond.

Bitcoin and Hyperledger's Blockchain technology, he indicated,

offers central banks an efficient tool to combat money-laundering, manage remittances, fight cross-border terrorism and limit grey economies.

In line with many other nations, Tunisia is also getting to grips with the idea of issuing a digital version of its national fiat currency.

IMF REMAINS CAUTIOUS

For Uzbekistan meanwhile, a Bitcoin bond could end up tied to cotton futures, Uzbek Ambassador to the United States Javlon Vakhabov told the Spring Meetings.

The approaches may yet gain mixed reviews from the IMF, in particular. Earlier this month, managing director Christine Lagarde again called for caution regarding cryptoassets, saying supervised testing would be preferable as a first step.

"One approach, undertaken in Hong Kong SAR, Abu Dhabi, and elsewhere, is to establish regulatory 'sandboxes' where new financial technologies can be tested in a closely supervised environment," she concluded in a blog post.

Above all, we must keep an open mind about crypto assets and financial technology more broadly, not only because of the risks they pose, but also because of their potential to improve our lives.

Lagarde likened the advent of early-stage cryptocurrency and associated financial technology to that of the telephone and its initial reception

New York Orders Bittrex to Cease Operations but Approves Bitstamp

New York State's financial regulator has ordered Bittrex to cease operating in the state after rejecting its application for a Bitlicense. Multiple deficiencies were cited, some of which Bittrex immediately disputed. Meanwhile, Bitstamp has been green-lighted to offer the trading of five cryptocurrencies in the state.

One Approval, One Rejection

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) approved one crypto exchange for a Bitlicense and then rejected another the following day. The regulator announced Wednesday that it has denied "the applications of Bittrex Inc. to engage in virtual currency business and money transmission activity in New York."

Bittrex has approximately 1.67 million users globally including those in about 40 U.S. states, approximately 35,000 of which are in New York, the regulator noted. "Effective April 11, 2019, Bittrex must immediately cease operating in New York State and within 60 days wind down its business in New York," the announcement reads. Bittrex must also provide a plan for how it will wind down business with existing New York customers, due within 14 days. There will be penalties for non-compliance.

NYDFS vs Bittrex

Bittrex applied for a Bitlicense on Aug. 10, 2015. In its decision letter, the NYDFS revealed that it conducted a four-week onsite review at Bittrex's Seattle and Washington D.C. offices and sample transactions between Jan. 1, 2017 and Dec. 31 last year were analyzed.

The department claims to have found a number of inadequate measures, particularly in the exchange's compliance program for the Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering, and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Bittrex immediately issued a statement that "fully disputes" the NYDFS' findings, citing "several factual inaccuracies."

The regulator says that the exchange's KYC and customer due diligence "are seriously deficient," with "a substantial number of aliases" found as user account names such as "Give me my money," "Elvis Presley," and "Donald Duck."

It also alleges that "a large number of transactions for customers domiciled in sanctioned countries (including Iran and North Korea) had passed through screening and were processed." Disputing the allegations, Bittrex declared:

The Iranian customers referenced in the letter were reported to OFAC in January 2018; we do not have and have never had any North Korean customers.

Unrealistic Demands

Most notably, Bittrex claims that in January the NYDFS asked it to sign "a supervisory agreement that, if agreed to, would have resulted in the issuance of a Bitlicense and a Money Transmission License," noting that there are three key conditions it could not agree to.

The first is that Bittrex would have to agree to limit its offering to New York residents to only 10 cryptocurrencies, with restrictions on the process of offering new coins. Secondly, the department has imposed "unrealistic capital requirements" that are "far in excess of that of any other state," Bittrex believes. Lastly, the exchange would need to obtain the regulator's approval to form or acquire any other entity.

Bittrex decided it could not sign this agreement and "attempted to negotiate the terms of the supervisory agreement but were told that these terms were non-negotiable," the exchange revealed. "We were not provided an opportunity to see or even comment on the findings before they were made public."

Bitstamp Gained Approval

While Bittrex has to exit the state of New York, another crypto exchange, Bitstamp, is planning an expansion into the state as the same regulator approved its application the previous day.

A U.S. subsidiary of Bitstamp Ltd., Bitstamp USA Inc., became the 19th company to receive a Bitlicense on April 9. According to the company's announcement:

Bitstamp's Bitlicense allows it to offer trading in five cryptocurrencies – BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC and BCH – in addition to others it may add in the future.

How 5 Asian Countries Regulate Cryptocurrency

The Financial Stability Board has detailed how its member countries regulate crypto assets, who the regulators are, and the scope of their oversight. Most countries have more than one government body monitoring and regulating different aspects of crypto activities. Among the board's Asian member countries, India is the only one with no legal mandate to directly regulate crypto assets.

India

Three regulators — the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Ministry of Finance — regularly attend the Financial Stability Board (FSB) meetings and G20 summits. The FSB is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It has listed only the RBI, the country's central bank, as the regulator of the Indian crypto space, clarifying in a report published Friday:

RBI does not have a legal mandate to directly regulate crypto-assets. RBI's current mandate permits it to assess financial institutions' exposure to crypto-assets and supervise their operations.

The Reserve Bank of India

Within its mandate, the central bank has prohibited financial institutions from dealing in "or providing services for facilitating any person or entity in dealing with or settling" cryptocurrencies, the FSB detailed. The three aforementioned regulators are part of the panel headed by Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, tasked with drafting the country's crypto regulation. According to the government, this panel is in its final stages of deliberations. India's crypto regulation was expected to be presented to the country's supreme court on March 29 but the court adjourned without addressing the matter until July.

Japan

At the opposite end of the crypto regulatory spectrum, Japan legalized cryptocurrency as a means of payment back in April 2017 under the amended Payment Services Act.

The main regulator is the Financial Services Agency (FSA) which supervises and conducts oversight of crypto exchange service providers. Crypto exchanges are required to register with the agency. There are currently 19 registered exchanges with over 140 companies interested in entering the market, the regulator has shared with news.Bitcoin.com. The FSA also cooperates with a self-regulatory organization for added oversight. Additionally, the agency engages in international policy discussions on crypto assets and is currently discussing policies on initial coin offerings (ICOs).

The Bank of Japan

Besides the FSA, two other government bodies are involved in the regulation of the Japanese crypto industry: the central bank and the Ministry of Finance.

The Bank of Japan established a fintech center within its Payment and Settlement Systems Department in 2016. The center conducts research on new technologies including cryptocurrency and how they could change existing financial services and structures. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for supervising and legislating crypto assets' trade under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act including the planning and execution of crypto-related taxation.

South Korea

There are three regulators for crypto activities in South Korea, with the main regulator being the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The Financial Stability Board describes:

The FSC promotes information exchanges and cooperation with international organisations, especially in regard to virtual currency, and is responsible for analysing trends and establishing policies on the digital currency market and for integrating and coordinating policies and major plans of anti-money laundering system related to virtual currency.

Meanwhile, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is responsible for the oversight, market integrity, general anti-fraud and consumer protection of crypto-related activities.

The FSS and the FSC worked together to produce the country's cryptocurrency measures at the end of 2017 and additional guidelines in January last year. However, they have yet to introduce any follow-up measures. Meanwhile, ICOs are banned from being launched domestically. At least six bills have been submitted to the National Assembly but none have advanced, the FSC previously told news.Bitcoin.com.

The two regulators implemented the real-name system in January last year with the aim to convert all anonymous crypto accounts into real-name-verified ones. In addition, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit issued reporting guidelines for banks to prevent money laundering via crypto transactions. The country is also working on the taxation of crypto assets.

The Bank of Korea

The last regulator listed for South Korea by the FSB is the central bank. The Bank of Korea monitors and researches the development of crypto assets and their impacts on the economy and financial stability, including the implications of using cryptocurrencies as payment instruments.

Singapore

Despite the country's early history in the space, the only crypto regulator listed for Singapore is the central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which performs many regulatory functions.

Firstly, it monitors "the prudential exposures of banks, insurance companies and asset managers to crypto-assets." It also "regulates activities and institutions conducting activities involving cryptoassets if these are capital markets products" under the Securities and Futures Act, the FSB described. Moreover, besides monitoring "the financial stability risks posed by crypto-assets," the central bank has "extended its surveillance and market intelligence gathering to include crypto-assets."

The Monetary Authority of Singapore

The MAS additionally regulates crypto businesses as part of its regulation of payment systems, stored value facilities, remittance businesses and money-changers. The FSB explained that the upcoming Payment Services Act will expand the "MAS' regulatory reach to cover additional payment activities, including digital payment token services." It will also set out "regulations for AML/CFT to mitigate risks posed by entities … which conduct crypto-related activities."

China

Another member of the FSB, China became a hotbed of crypto activity in bitcoin's early life but then began heavy oversight of the crypto industry, banning crypto exchanges outright in 2017. In addition to the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, five other government bodies regulate crypto-related activities in China.

The People's Bank of China

The Cyberspace Administration of China monitors online crypto-related activities and rectifies any problems found. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology prohibits and shuts down illegal crypto-related websites, the FSB noted. Another regulator is the Ministry of Public Security which prohibits crypto activities that are "suspected of illegal criminal activities including illegal fund-raising, fraud and pyramid-schemes."

Meanwhile, China's Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission "is closely following the development of crypto-assets in China and its potential risk to the banking and insurance system," the board emphasized. Lastly, the country's Securities Regulatory Commission, which combats the illegal issuance of securities, "is now strengthening research on the issues of crypto-assets related securities."

$5K IS ‘NO MAGIC PRICE’ THAT TURNS BITCOIN PRICE BULLISH, SAYS TONE VAYS

Bitcoin price held steady above $5000 April 9 but one trader remained cautious about trusting the cryptocurrency's bull run would continue.

'NO MAGIC PRICE' FOR ENDING BEAR MARKET

In a tweet Monday, veteran trading guru Tone Vays warned that even though Bitcoin price $5237.21 +0.89% had managed to maintain support at $5000, its trajectory was more important.

He wrote:

There is NO magic price that turns a bear trend to a bull trend, it's about how $BTCUSD gets to a price. 

Bitcoin delivered its most successful seven days in more than a year last week, jumping from near $4100 to more than $5300. Trade volumes and network activity increased accordingly as BTC price capped a 7-week winning streak, the longest since its all-time highs in late 2017. 

At the time, many expected the rise to be short lived, but as of press time, Bitcoin price remains hovering around $5200, having traded within a narrow $100 range over the past 24 hours.

Despite that stability, however, Vays implied a sudden price explosion does not form a firm foundation for longer-term strength. That argument had also appeared before, however, during the 2017 bull run that saw Bitcoin price shoot to nearly $20,000.

In December, meanwhile, Vays had warned Bitcoin could end its bear market only when price had hit $3000 or even lower – around $1300 or the all-time high seen during the previous bull cycle in 2013.

In the event, BTC/USD neared $3100 before reversing through the first quarter of 2019.

"I can see a scenario where I say: 'I was wrong, (Bitcoin) did bottom at $3k, now that we are at $8k,' Vays explained about his current perspective.

But I can also say: 'I know (Bitcoin) is $10k, but I don't think we bottomed.'

CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

Vays has traditionally held more conservative outlook on Bitcoin's price health, contrasting with others who remain buoyant about a return to higher levels as soon as Q2 this year.

As Bitcoinist reported, venture capital fund Pantera Capital joined the latter group late last month, releasing a prognosis centering around the 2020 Bitcoin block reward halving as a definitive event for the price of bitcoin.

Far ahead of the halving itself, however, executives forecast a knock-effect catalyzing price growth. Based on previous halving data, they argued, bitcoin price could begin reacting this June.

More bullish still is Tim Draper, the increasingly infamous Bitcoin champion who had stuck to his mid-term forecast for BTC price hitting as much as $250,000. By 2021, Draper more recently said, "everyone" would be using the cryptocurrency for micropayments such as coffee purchases.

Brexit Chaos, Boost for Bitcoin Price?

Bitcoin price breaking $5,000 has everyone and their mum scrambling around to work out what might have caused it. Let's take a look at some of the key contenders (Brexit included), before settling this once and for all.

BECAUSE… APRIL FOOLS JOKE?

One of the first suggestions to hit crypto-Twitter can be blamed on the breakout's unfortunate timing. Yep, Bloomberg and The Telegraph even went as far as reporting that the whole thing could be down to an April Fools joke. The joke in question? A spoof article on Finance Magnates, claiming that the SEC had approved two Bitcoin ETFs in an emergency Sunday night meeting.

There are two problems with the theory: Firstly, Finance Magnates. Fair play to FM for the gag (it was certainly one of the most creative in the crypto-space this year). However, the idea that the whole crypto-verse read that article, and despite nobody else reporting the story, decided to buy, buy, buy… Nah.

Secondly, it didn't actually happen on April 1st; or at least not before midday, wherever in the world you are. By that time the article had been updated to include very obvious [April Fools] spoilers.

BECAUSE… BREXIT?

Now, we're being led to believe that Brexit might be to blame… bless the Dutch. The idea behind this theory is that, due to the uncertainty over Brexit, Brits are following the example of Venezuela and going all in on Bitcoin.

Plausible? Of course not; whilst the fate of the UK (and the pound) is uncertain, it isn't in the same league as some South American economies. And of course, there's an easy way to check; as the UK (and only the UK), uses pounds sterling, we can see if the flow of pounds into bitcoin is even visible on this chart. [spoiler alert: it isn't]

The consensus, of course, is wrong. I have privately suggested that the start of the thaw occurred when I said it did, and this latest spike is just an acceleration of that. But that was based on 15-month highs in volume, and we all know we can't trust volume anymore.

THE REAL REASON

In truth, Samson Mow came closest, with his tongue-in-cheek tweet that the price spike "was caused by more people buying and holding."

So if you want a definitive answer, here it is. The bitcoin price broke out because there wasn't enough supply to meet the demand at a lower price. In fact, considerable support built up at sub-$4k price levels. Then, as price broke through key resistance, demand increased further (possibly through a little FOMO), and there still wasn't enough supply to fulfill what turned into panic buying.

Is that enough to break the bear market. We'll have to wait and see. But that's why the price went up… and if you were expecting something more than that, you probably believed that it was the April Fools joke.

Data Shows Short-Term Crypto Tax Filers Increase, But Lots of Investors Still Won't File

According to personal finance firm Credit Karma Tax, filers who reported short-term capital losses for cryptocurrencies in the first month of 2019 jumped fivefold year-over-year. After the incredibly bearish crypto markets of 2018, data from early tax filers highlights the fact that more investors are claiming losses this tax season. However, a survey the company recorded back in November found that the number of people deciding not to file crypto taxes has increased.

Last April, as tax season approached, news.Bitcoin.com reported on how many cryptocurrency holders didn't really care. At the time, the general manager of Credit Karma Tax, Jagjit Chawla, explained that out of 250,000 cryptocurrency holders, less than 100 people (0.0004%) reported their gains to the IRS. The tax season in 2019, however, has seen an increase of individuals reporting short-term capital losses. Sharing the data with our newsdesk, the company said that filers who reported short-term capital losses for bitcoin in the first month of 2019 jumped 521 percent in comparison to the first month of 2018. Moreover, short-term BTC losses averaged $3,405, which is a 322 percent increase since last year's tax season.

"Short-term bitcoin gains declined during the first month of the 2019 filing season, with a net 7% decrease in the average amount of gains," the report reads. "However, 33% more early filers reported short-term gains year-over-year." The document's author notes:

Investors with long-term gains are the winners so far this tax season, with early filers reporting an average gain of $15,352 during the first month of the 2019 filing season — up 103% from the same period last year.

Out of 1,000 bitcoin investors, 47 percent of respondents stated they did not plan on reporting crypto gains or losses.

Despite Increase in Short-Term Filings, Survey Reveals 47% of U.S. Investors Still Plan to Skip Paying Crypto Taxes

The methodology Credit Karma Tax used stems from data from members who filed their 2018 federal income taxes with the company between January 28 and February 22, 2019. This is in comparison to tax filers who submitted their 2017 taxes with the firm between January 29 and February 22, 2018. So year after year, data shows that people are claiming gains and losses more so than 2018 and 2017. However, the amount of people paying taxes on crypto assets is still incredibly small compared to the number of investors. In November of 2017, a Lendedu survey of 1,000 U.S. residents showed that 35.87 percent of the survey participants responded, "No, I do not plan on reporting gains or losses on my tax return."

The data from Credit Karma Tax published on April 3 reveals that these numbers could be climbing higher. In November 2018, the company surveyed 1,000 bitcoin investors aged 18 and older and discovered 47 percent of U.S. based investors did not plan on reporting crypto gains or losses. "More than a third of those surveyed were unaware they could be required to report the same on their tax returns," the firm's report reveals. Last year a few bitcoin proponents got extremely salty with the previous year's survey which showed lots of crypto holders were not paying taxes, so the increase last year may infuriate them.

Many crypto investors despise taxation and believe that bitcoin was meant to be used as a tool to protest such acts.

In fact, for many people in the bitcoin world, the idea of crypto and taxes is like mixing oil with water. Only recently, bitcoiners have been discussing how crypto taxation is actually the biggest hindrance to digital currency adoption. So the steady increase of bitcoin holders that do not plan to report losses and gains to the IRS suggests that people may be thinking twice about paying into a blatantly corrupt and immoral system.

Crescent Cash Becomes the Third BCH Light Client to Adopt Cash Accounts

There's a new open source bitcoin cash (BCH) wallet called Crescent Cash which uses the Cash Accounts protocol by default. The new application was designed by the programmer Pokkst who built the wallet for simplicity by allowing BCH users to send funds to a specific username as opposed to a long alphanumeric address.

On Monday, April 1, the programmer behind the recently published Bchgallery wallet released a new wallet called Crescent Cash, a light client dedicated to the Cash Accounts username system. Crescent Cash is open source and noncustodial like traditional BCH wallets and the application also supports the standard BCH address format Cashaddr. The application's first release for Android is available on the Google Play store and Pokkst believes the wallet is simple and secure while combining the "simplicity of traditional, centralized money apps with the security of trustless Bitcoin wallets." Pokkst explained on the Reddit forum r/btc that he spent a few sleepless nights powered by soda while he was coding up the application for release.

The app, which is only 6.5 megabytes in size, takes just a minute to download and roughly another minute to create a new wallet. The Crescent Cash wallet creates a Cash Accounts username after you choose the handle you desire. After deciding on a username, the application registers the new name with the Cash Accounts system. Users can immediately see that the name was broadcast into the Bitcoin Cash blockchain after the wallet has been created on Crescent Cash. While testing the application's functionality, I registered the name 'Jamiecrypto' with the Crescent Cash app. While the transaction is unconfirmed it doesn't have an associated number. Following confirmation, the registered name 'Jamiecrypto#12871' was filed into the BCH chain for the rest of time.

Pressing the info tab reveals the wallet's private key and Pokkst plans to add a warning to this section and other improvements to Crescent Cash v1.1.0.

To send BCH to another Cash Accounts user, simply type their username into the address field which also supports a standard address and QR code scanning abilities. With Crescent Cash, the wallet's private key is stored on the device and the app's website notes that the wallet provider has no access to recovery seeds. Because Crescent Cash is a very basic wallet with the bare minimum functions, the user has to open the settings section within the wallet in order to jot down the mnemonic seed phrase. The application also provides an xpub address that can be used for other compatible wallet applications. It's important to write down the mnemonic seed phrase because like unlike other wallets the client does not make you verify that it is correct.

The Crescent Cash wallet is fairly intuitive, even for people just getting into the cryptocurrency space. The client with the predominately green and white design is very similar to Ifwallet and Yenom wallet's simplicity. Right now the Cash Accounts protocol designed by Jonathan Silverblood is still very new and the system needs more time to catch on. However, Crescent Cash is the third wallet to implement Silverblood's Cash Accounts protocol following Bchgallery and the Chinese BCH light client Ifwallet. Many of the new BCH-fueled ideas like the Simple Ledger Protocol and others are still nascent concepts and it will take time for them to make a lasting impression. The noncustodial Crescent Cash wallet is helping bolster the idea of more simplistic usernames within the crypto ecosystem. Pokkst has detailed that the next release, Crescent Cash v1.1.0, is already in the works with "a lot of improvements."

BTC Hits $4,800 for the First Time in 2019, Top Crypto Markets See Double Digit Growth

Tuesday, April 2 — Bitcoin (BTC) has pushed over $4,500 for the first time this year, while top crypto markets are solidly in the green for the second day in a row, some seeing major 24-hour growth.

The price of BTC skyrocketed, gaining more than 14 percent in the space of one hour early Tuesday. Hovering around $4,650 at press time, the coin peaked at $4,849 early on April 2, according to CoinMarketCap stats, before dropping slightly and trading sideways to press time.

In comparison to yesterday's charts, when BTC's price was hovering around $4,100, the market capitalization of the world's top coin has gained almost $10 billion, totalling $82 billion by press time.

BTC is currently up about 13 percent over the past 24-hours.

Ethereum (ETH), the second-ranked cryptocurrency by market cap, is also solidly in the green, seeing about 6 percent in gains on the day. The coin is now trading at $150 in comparison to yesterday's $140, while its market cap is over $15.8 billion at press time.

Ripple (XRP), currently the world's third largest cryptocurrency, is also up 6 percent today, trading around $0.33 by press time. The coin's market cap has gained about $900 million within a day, reaching $13.8 billion at the peak earlier today.

The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has significantly increased during the sudden market surge today. While yesterday's highest point was at $146 billion, today's peak was at $163 billion, declining to $159.4 billion at press time.

As for other altcoins, all top 20 currencies except Tezos (XTZ), ranked 19th and down 4.4 percent, are currently in the green, with many seeing double digit growth on the day. Litecoin (LTC), Cardano (ADA), Tron (TRX) and Monero (XMR) have seen the most significant gains today, all growing over 10 percent, while other altcoins are up 5 to 10 percent to press time.

At the same time, Tether (USDT), the fiat-pegged stablecoin with the highest trade volume, has recently hit an all-time high by the number of daily transactions, according to blockchain data provider Coin Metrics.

As BTC's price surged this morning, the industry is discussing a prediction made by crypto trader and investor Josh Rager of TokenBacon. In a tweet from Rager on March 31, he stated that the next BTC cycle should peak at $150,000 by 2023. Some are sceptical about the optimistic forecast, while others recall even more optimistic outlooks on BTC hitting $200,000 and more in the future.

In other crypto industry news, major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has recently expanded into cross-border payments. Its customers can now transfer funds to any user with a Coinbase account around the world using XRP and the exchange's stablecoin, USDCoin (USDC), with no fee.

Meanwhile, a recent report published by SwissBanking claims that the fintech sector in Switzerland, including distributed ledger technology firms and crypto-related businesses,  continues to grow, while traditional financial institutions are stagnating.