While the Ukrainian government has moved to legalize Bitcoin (BTC) amid the ongoing attacks from the Russian military, some of the largest local banks have reportedly banned their clients from buying BTC using the national currency. PrivatBank, the largest commercial bank in Ukraine, has temporarily restricted its customers from purchasing Bitcoin with the national currency, the hryvnia (UAH), industry publication Forklog reported on Thursday. Citing a spokesperson from PrivatBank, the report notes that the latest PrivatBank’s restrictions fall in line with an order from the National Bank of Ukraine. The restrictions will reportedly apply during the current period of martial …

Less than two weeks after the Central Bank of Russia, or CBR, reiterated its position proposing to ban the issuance, mining and circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia, it appears to have reevaluated its policy. In a press release published on Thursday, the CBR added the country’s biggest lender, Sberbank, to its register of information system operators for digital financial assets. As reported by local news outlet Tass, the CBR stated: “Inclusion in the registry allows companies to issue digital financial assets and exchange them between users within their platforms.” Sberbank’s blockchain platform is based on a distributed ledger technology, which …

Despite the financial volatility that has engulfed the global economic landscape over the last month or so, there seems to be no stopping the growth of the cryptocurrency market, especially the nonfungible token (NFT) sector. This growth is highlighted by the fact that crypto’s total market capitalization has increased from around $800 billion to $1.8 trillion since the start of 2021. Furthermore, a report from NonFungible.com released late last month reveals that sales associated with the NFT market ballooned to hit an all-time high of $17.6 billion during 2021, representing an increase of 21,000% from 2020. The report further suggests …

A young resident from Queensland, Australia played the long game of accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) over several years to eventually overcome the soaring real estate prices during the 2020 bull run and own his dream home. The 23-year-old Loi Nguyen started his journey as an investor back in 2017 by purchasing a few hundred dollars worth of BTC, ETH and traditional stocks. However, his interest in crypto reached new heights while pursuing an Economics degree: “Crypto came back into my life when I did a course at the uni on inflation. I learned that Bitcoin can be disinflationary.” …

On March 10, the Bank of Israel published draft regulation of anti-money-laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) risk management for the banks facilitating crypto-to-fiat transactions. The move hints at the Israeli government’s preparations to legalize and regulate the relationship between banks and virtual currency service providers (VASPs). The document cites the customers’ increased involvement with digital assets as the rationale for the new policy: “In view of the increase in customer activity in virtual currencies, and the resulting increase in customer requests to transfer money [...] the Banking Supervision Department today published a draft circular dealing with managing …

With crypto being in the sights of many regulators, many have wondered if regulation is good or bad for crypto. However, Christian Borel, Senior Executive Officer at SEBA Bank, says that if the laws are clear, it may push crypto adoption forward. In a Cointelegraph interview, the banking executive mentions that institutions are likely to adopt crypto following the advent of clear regulations. Additionally, the presence of “regulated counterparties” within the banking industry creates a secure and trusted way for institutions and their stakeholders to have access to the crypto sector. “I expect to see a considerable acceleration in engagement …

The United States Senate unanimously approved a bill amendment request that now allows traditional banks operating in the Commonwealth of Virginia to provide virtual currency custody services. Delegate Christopher T. Head introduced the bill (House Bill No. 263) back in January 2022, seeking an amendment to allow eligible banks to offer crypto custody services: “A bank may provide its customers with virtual currency custody services so long as the bank has 26 adequate protocols in place to effectively manage risks and comply with applicable laws.” The bill passed Senate with a sweeping 39-0 vote and is waiting to be signed …

For a state with a small-town feel, Wyoming moves with big-city alacrity when it comes to things crypto. According to the bipartisan bill introduced into its legislature last week, a Wyoming stablecoin could debut before the end of 2022. The announcement caught even Wyoming banker and cryptocurrency champion Caitlin Long by surprise. “Didn't know it was coming,” tweeted the Avanti Bank CEO. It also raises some questions: Is a stablecoin really needed by Wyoming’s citizens? Is it feasible? Will it upset the state’s commercial banks including its recently chartered special purpose depository institutions (SPDIs) like Avanti which has issued a …

Several Russian banks that were sanctioned over Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine will no longer support major payment services like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Russia’s second-largest bank, VTB, as well as other banks like Sovcombank, Otkritie, Novikombank and Promsvyazbank, are on the list of companies sanctioned by the United States, the Bank of Russia confirmed on Friday. Users of debit and credit cards issued by these banks will no longer be able to use Apple Pay and Google Pay, the central bank said in the announcement, adding that contact or contactless payment will still be available in full …

Digital asset lending platform Celsius has become the first pool delegate from the centralized finance market to deploy a crypto-centric lending service on Maple Finance, utilizing the latter’s smart contract and blockchain infrastructure to facilitate a $30 million pool to institutional investors. Celsius succeeds existing pool delegates BlockTower, Orthogonal Trading, Maven 11 and Alameda Research in partnering with Maple on such an endeavor. The introduction of wrapped Ether (wETH) is set to complement the existing accessibility to trade Circle’s native stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), enabling investors to utilize the asset across an array of trading components, including staking, lending and …

In the event of harsh Western sanctions, Russians’ savings could be confiscated, according to Nikolai Arefiev, a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and vice-chairman of the Duma’s committee on economic policy. The Russian government can potentially seize about 60 trillion rubles ($750 billion) worth of people’s deposits should Western nations decide to block all of Russia’s foreign funds, Arefiev said in an interview with the local news agency NEWS.ru on Monday. “If all the foreign funds are blocked, the government will have no other choice but to seize all the deposits of the population, or 60 …

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau has announced he will repeal emergency powers used to freeze $8 million from 210 bank accounts connected to Canadian ‘Freedom Convoy’ protestors, according to CBC news. On Feb. 24, Trudeau stated in a televised press conference that “we’re ready to confirm that the situation is no longer an emergency” and said that his special powers granted by the Emergencies Act would end. He added: “We are confident that existing laws and bylaws are now sufficient to keep people safe.” Today, after careful consideration, we’re ending the use of the Emergencies Act. Existing laws and …