Weekly Crypto Policy News Roundup, 11 March 2022

Every week we bring you cryptocurrency policy news from around the world. Sign up to our newsletter or follow us on twitter to ensure you stay up to date.

US Presidential Executive Order on Crypto!

We reported on the much anticipated Executive Order which has been met with a mixture of relief and guarded enthusiasm by the crypto community. 

The White House also published an accompanying fact sheet to the EO.

Here’s a really good synopsis of the impact of the EO by global law firm Clifford Chance.  

Another really good piece on the potential implications of the EO and the role of leading and supporting US government agencies is provided by US law firm Gibson Dunn.

Dubai Crypto Law 

On 9 March 2022, Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, made an announcement on the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law which will focus on protecting investors and creating international standards for crypto in Dubai and throughout the UAE.

No EU Crypto Mining Ban 

We previously reported on draconian rumblings coming from the EU proposing to ban crypto mining. 

The draft Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) had contained language that could have caused a ban due to come into effect in 2025 of proof-of-work (PoW) based cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) on the basis that they use “environmentally unsustainable consensus mechanisms”.

However, the language has now been removed from the draft law, so that the EU will now not seek to outright ban crypto mining as confirmed on Twitter by EU Parliamentarian Stefan Berger.  

The EU Parliament’s Committee on Economics and Monetary Affairs will vote on MiCA on 14 March 2022 and we’ll provide you with updates – make sure to subscribe and get notifications.

Global Crypto Laws Snapshot

We previously provided you with a state of play of crypto regulation as of January 2022 and with the US State by State legislative proposals on crypto for February 2022.

We also find the Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress updated regulation of cryptocurrencies around the world – November 2021 helpful, although it will need to be updated imminently in light of the stories we’ve reported on above!

The NASDAQ has a more targeted summary of the crypto regulation as of early 2022  accompanying its opinion piece, entitled Cryptocurrency Regulation in 2022: A Year for Change and we also like the 21 February 2022 report by Scalable Solutions, entitled Crypto Industry Regulatory Risks. 2022 Rating by Country.

Again, it seems that these reports will have to be updated very shortly in light of the above developments! 

UK Crypto Advertising Rules

Do you want to advertise crypto to UK residents? Then be aware of the UK Advertising Standards Authority crypto ad guidance of 10 March 2022 and its recent ‘rulings’ on crypto projects that fell short of advertising rules, including its ruling on Floki Inu. 

See our previous posts on proposed rule changes for crypto advertising in the UK here and here, crypto advertising in Spain here, and here, crypto advertising in India here, and Singapore here.

Jamaica to airdrop its Jam-Dex CBDC

Jamaica plans to give $16 to the first 100,000 of its citizens who first use the soon to be launched Jamaican central bank digital currency, the so-called Jamaica Digital Exchange or Jam-Dex, which we’ve previously reported on here and here.

Thailand crypto VAT exemptions

In Thailand, the Cabinet has approved a draft law on value-added tax (VAT) exemptions (to apply from 1 April 2022 to 31 December 2023) for transfers of crypto on authorised exchanges and for Thailand’s retail CBDC.

Philippines to pilot CBDC

On 28 February 2022 the central bank of the Philippines (the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) announced that it will shorlty trial a central bank digital currency, Project CBDCPh. See our post on the importance of cross border payments for Philippines and the work of Ripple and Tranglo here.

Paxos gets Singapore payments licence

Crypto and DLT firm Paxos announced on 10 March 2022 that it’s secured an ‘in-principle approval’ for a payments institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). 

Paxos is particularly known for its gold backed stablecoin Paxos Gold by which tokens are redeemable for one official ounce of actual gold.

Meanwhile Singapore continues to enhance and refine its laws applicable to digital payment token service providers with its Financial Services and Markets Bill which has been summarised by the MAS.

Santander Agritoken Loans

Multinational bank Santander announced on 7 March 2022 that it is launching loans that would be collateralized by commodity grain-backed tokens in collaboration with an Argentina startup called Agrotoken.

Each token will correspond to a ton of grain that a farmer has sold and delivered to a grain elevator, which is then validated through a proof of grain reserve test (PoGR).

A farmer can request a loan from Santander, who will confirm on the Agrotoken platform whether the farmer meets the loan conditions.

If the loan is approved, the tokens will be sent to a third-party smart contract escrow until the loan is repaid with fiat or tokens. 

AFME response to ESMA on DLT Pilot

We previosuly reported on the EU’s pilot regime for DLT in market infrastructures on the the response of the International Capital Markets Association (ICAM). Now the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has given its response to ESMA’s call for evidence saying that it:

“. . . recognises that the European regulatory framework will play a critical role in DLT
uptake, as a balance must be struck between integrating digital finance with existing standards and offering room for innovation. Indeed, while investor protection and transparency should remain central elements of digital finance regimes, DLT has the potential both to:

(a) improve efficiencies in settlement cycles; and

(b) give rise to entirely new use cases and efficiencies not contemplated by current financial and regulatory systems.”

That’s it for this week, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on twitter to stay abreast to crypto policy developments.