Blockchain and Crypto related News

oichi Ito, Neha Narula, and Robles Ali last year declared blockchain "a fundamental restructuring" of the global financial system, something that "will do to the financial system and regulation what the internet has done to media companies and advertising firms."

While it's par for the course to breathlessly tout the next big thing, a year later we're still waiting for blockchain to make an impact on anything but VC investment portfolios.

Perhaps more tellingly, the financial services firms that arguably have the most to gain from blockchain technology are still limping along in their adoption. Indeed, according to True Link Financial CEO Kai Stinchcombe, "[A]fter years of tireless effort and billions of dollars invested, nobody has actually come up with a use for the blockchain—besides currency speculation and illegal transactions."

Both opposing views are probably overblown, but why haven't banks bought into the blockchain more actively?

 

Contracts, transactions, and the records of them are among the defining structures in our economic, legal, and political systems. They protect assets and set organizational boundaries. They establish and verify identities and chronicle events. They govern interactions among nations, organizations, communities, and individuals. They guide managerial and social action. And yet these critical tools and the bureaucracies formed to manage them have not kept up with the economy’s digital transformation. They’re like a rush-hour gridlock trapping a Formula 1 race car. In a digital world, the way we regulate and maintain administrative control has to change.

Blockchain promises to solve this problem. The technology at the heart of bitcoin and other virtual currencies, blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. The ledger itself can also be programmed to trigger transactions automatically. (See the sidebar “How Blockchain Works.”)

 

Chinese internet giant Tencent has partnered with the tax authority of the city of Shenzhen to use blockchain in the fight against tax evasion.

Announced Thursday, the Shenzhen National Taxation Bureau and Tencent have jointly set up an "Intelligent Tax" innovation lab, that aims to promote technological innovation around taxation processes.

The lab will combine theoretical research with nascent technologies, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and Big Data, for taxation management and electronic invoice applications, a release states.

Shenzhen reportedly has a sizable underground economy, with, for example, peddlers openly hawking bogus receipts, according to The New York Times. Buyers use the the fake paperwork to evade taxes and defraud employers, and detecting forged or doctored receipts is a challenge for tax collectors, small businesses and China's state-run enterprises.

The South Korean government has announced a plan to revise the current tax rules to widen benefits for companies that focus on the development of nascent technologies, including blockchain, as part of the country's push for innovation growth.

Announced Wednesday, after a meeting of ministers from eight government agencies working on economic policy, tax rates are to be reduced for companies dealing with a range of 157 "new-growth technologies" in 11 areas, according to a report from CoinDesk Korea.

Several blockchain associations in South Korea are pushing back against a government plan they fear will stifle industry innovation.

The groups are objecting to a proposal aired by South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Monday for an amendment to the country's existing venture business law that would, if enacted, exclude cryptocurrency exchanges from the category of SMEs and startups and group them instead with entertainment and gambling businesses.

A group of U.S. lawmakers has called on the nation's Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to release comprehensive guidance for taxpayers earning gains on cryptocurrency investments or transactions.

In an open letter sent to acting IRS commissioner David Kautter, representatives Kevin Brady, Lynn Jenkins, David Schweikert, Darin LaHood and Brad Wenstrup write that the agency has had "more than adequate" time to develop clear rules on how cryptocurrency-related profits would be taxed.

Rather than release such guidance, the IRS has instead focused on enforcement actions around preliminary rules released in 2014, the letter claims, citing examples such as the agency's push to collect earnings data on customers from crypto exchange Coinbase and referencing a previous letter sent to the IRS in 2017.

"We therefore write again today to strongly urge the IRS to issue updated guidance, providing additional clarity for taxpayers seeking to better understand and comply with their tax obligations when using virtual currencies," the lawmakers state.

U.S. Representative Tom Emmer wants to support the development and use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

To that end, the lawmaker announced a trio of blockchain-focused bills Friday, saying he intends to introduce them into Congress in the coming weeks. The bills tackle a range of issues around the blockchain space, including development, miners and cryptocurrency-related taxes.

The bills are aimed at providing support for the nascent industry, a press release said.

In a statement, Emmer said that "the United States should prioritize accelerating the development of blockchain technology and create an environment that enables the American private sector to lead on innovation and further growth."

The world of finance and Forex is always evolving and developing. The financial sector is going through a revolution with the arrival of Bitcoin.

It is the first recognized digital currency, which has become a true force to be reckoned with. The value shot up last year, and that is a trend, which is likely to continue in the years ahead.

Bitcoin may be the most easily recognizable and commonly utilized digital currency.

However, now there are a huge number of cryptocurrencies that have been developed and launched. This guide is going to enlighten you what cryptocurrencies are and how you can use them too.

If you are  eager to learn more about cryptocurrencies, then please do read through this guide on cryptocurrencies. You can also read other related guides that I have compiled in this website.