This Week in Crypto: Bitcoin Mentioned in the Federal Budget
Bitcoin Mentioned in Australia’s Federal Budget
Bitcoin (BTC) has been mentioned in Australia’s Federal Budget. Officially placing it in the tax law, with the budget confirming cryptocurrencies will be taxed as an asset rather than a currency. Meaning the current tax treatment of digital currencies remains and capital gains tax (CGT) will proceed to apply to crypto assets held as investments. This follows a decision made in August to use ‘token mapping’ as a regulatory framework in efforts to bring clarity to the largely unregulated sector. Token mapping involves uncovering the characteristics of digital assets to identify how they should be regulated. This confirms that BTC will not be classed as a currency, which it has been deemed as such in countries like El Salvador. CGT will need to be paid when making a profit by trading digital assets or selling crypto. It’s to be noted that the status of cryptocurrency as an asset won’t apply to digital currencies issued by the government.
Costa Rican Bill Proposed to Regulate BTC Use
In an attempt to help regulate the crypto market in Costa Rica. A new bill was proposed with the idea of having a law that recognizes what digital assets are and allow those who want to buy, sell, spend and store their crypto to do so with minimal interference from the Costa Rican government. The bill would not allow the government to tax cryptocurrencies when used to buy goods. It also wouldn’t let the government tax crypto sitting in cold storage. Crypto produced by the mining industry also wouldn’t be subject to profit tax. Profits from crypto trading, however, would be subject to income taxes under the bill.
Glassnode Acquires Accointing
Glassnode, a world-leading blockchain data, and intelligence platform has acquired Accointing, a very well-known portfolio management, and tax platform. “With this recent acquisition, Glassnode is creating the ultimate investment intelligence platform for digital assets. By combining forces and working together, we are positioned to deliver more value to the market than ever before” says Glassnode. Following this by also saying “Our mission is to build crypto’s leading market and portfolio intelligence platform that empowers investors to compound and protect their digital assets”. This acquisition gives Accointing.com users the ability to track their portfolio in a single holistic view. Helping to understand trade-offs between new profitable opportunities, existing portfolio positions, and tax-optimised trades.
Reddit Releases ‘Collectible Avatars’
Reddit has been quite busy as of late. Releasing a new NFT marketplace called ‘Vaults’, which has managed to already surpass NFT marketplaces like OpenSea in terms of active users. Reddit’s ‘Collectible Avatars’ is their first release of limited-edition PFP (profile picture) NFTs. Secondary sales of these Collectible Avatars on OpeaSea soared to $2.2 million (US) in just 24 hours. Minted on the Polygon blockchain, each Reddit Collectible Avatar can be used on the social media site as a user’s profile picture along with additional interactive features. One thing to note here is that Reddit has not mentioned the term NFT throughout the introduction of their ‘Collectible Avatars’. Steve Huffman, Reddit Co-Founder and CEO, said the company tries to avoid using any cryptocurrency terminology that might confuse users.
Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover
After a few months of “will he, won’t he”, it’s now confirmed that Elon Musk has taken over Twitter. The Tesla CEO is now in control of one of, if not the largest social media platforms in a $44 billion deal. Tweeting “Let the good times roll” last Friday. Unsurprisingly, Musk took no time to make changes. Along with announcing a content moderation council with “widely diverse viewpoints” and meeting employees, Elon also fired top executives and dissolved the board of directors. Twitter also filed regulatory documents on Friday asking to remove its shares from the New York Stock Exchange, effectively ending its nine-year run as a public company. As a private company, Twitter is subject to fewer rules and can be more tightly controlled by an owner. All in a day’s work!
Top Gainers (7d)
- Dogecoin (DOGE) +108%
- Injective Protocol (INJ) +28%
- Litentry (LIT) +26%
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