German banks are still holding back on Bitcoin trading. The coming year could finally bring the big change.
Given the usual skepticism of many banks in Germany, the rather rare messages about getting into the crypto sector are probably all the more interesting. With Postbank, one of the largest and most well-known companies in the German banking industry now dares to team up with a crypto service provider. Postbank and the company Coindex have decided to cooperate. Postbank customers who have long been thinking of trading Bitcoin and Altcoins can easily do so soon. For this purpose, Postbank customers will have access to the special Coindex trading platform.
This is how the current joint reports from the cooperation partners state. Who is Coindex? This is a young, new company with headquarters in Bielefeld. The startup will finally open its own platform doors in the first month of the new year. With the slogan "platform for intelligent crypto portfolios", the service provider definitely gets some attention from potential investors. Digital assets are expected to be tradable on an index basis from next year. At present, a revision phase is underway, and Postbank investors should be able to invest in crypto-values starting in March. Which currencies should be available at the end in detail, the Coindex website does not answer yet. However, not only Bitcoin and Ethereum are to be listed as the basis for the in-house "Cdx".
Behind the term "Cdx", the platform hides a "fully automatic dynamic index". This index should be able to map the entire crypto market. It is known that lenders do not have to create their own wallet. The normal Coindex account including legitimacy is sufficient for investments. The management is supervised by the government. The aim is to make trade as easy as it is transparent. Investor needs should be the linchpin for trading. The Postbank ask interested parties on their website also for wishes and suggestions for the upcoming trading platform. The likelihood that bank customers in Germany are able to trade next year Ethereum, Litecoin and, of course, Bitcoin is high. Politics is currently laying the foundation for a market opening. Not all crypto followers show up positive mood by reading such messages.
The country wants to use a new law to ensure that crypto-tokens and other virtual currencies are formally classified as digital assets.
With South Korea, one of the crypto-friendliest countries now wants to create a foundation for the business of cryptocurrency companies. As officially reported in the English language version of the Korea JoongAng daily newspaper, the National Policy Committee of the South Korean National Assembly has passed a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country. The law creates a framework by which crypto-tokens and other virtual currencies are formally classified as digital assets.
Crypt currency exchanges in South Korea have not been classified as financial institutions, but as information providers. Therefore, they fall under the jurisdiction of the Korean Ministry of Science and not the Korean Financial Supervisory Authority. After accusing the government of not doing enough to prevent hacking damage, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it would broaden its accounting practice to include the country's large crypto currency exchanges.
The bill also sets rules for companies related to cryptocurrencies and other virtual currencies. All companies that hold or trade in virtual currencies must now receive an ISMS (Information Security Management System) certificate from the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) and become a company with digital assets at the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to register.
In addition, cryptocurrency companies must ensure that their anti-money laundering systems comply with the best practices from the International Financial Services Task Force (FATF). Companies that do not comply with these standards will be punished and serious legal measures will be taken against them. After the South Korean constitutional process, it takes about a year for the law to come into force.
This is not the first time that the South Korean government has attempted to regulate the crypto space within its borders. Last year, the authorities banned the anonymous cryptocurrency trade and later introduced new anti-money laundering standards. South Korea is one of the few countries in the world that has turned out to be cryptocurrency-friendly - at a time when most nations are still grappling with the notion of decentralized ledger technology.
According to the recent report of the Central Bank of South Korea, the South Korean stock exchanges have approximately $ 1.9 billion of cryptocurrencies in their accounts.
In China, the Bitcoin trade has already been pushed into the underground - the Hong Kong protests are partly financed with Bitcoin. The Russian central bank is now examining how it they are able to censor BTC.
Even though Russia and China are not directly on the drip of the US dollar, the ruble and yuan are based on the same Fiat principle. And so these two nations have an immense interest in censoring free decentralized alternatives like Bitcoin.
In Russia it is being discussed how Bitcoin could be banned. Especially for trade against goods and services a censorship is considered, which is already well advanced. However, there is still a ban on the official definition that applies to the BTC in Russia. Because Cryptocoins are not yet clearly classified as "Money Substitute" - only when this is done, a ban can be made.
But how successful can a ban really be? There is also an active trade in Bitcoin in China. Although this is officially banned there, there are few opportunities for the state to ban trade if it is done anonymously. The same problem will also worry Russia.
The Danish crypto exchange CryptoBridge gets closed. In addition to a difficult market environment, regulatory difficulties are the reason for discontinuing operations, according to the company.
The company's web site states: "We have to announce with great regret that CryptoBridge will cease operations". Deposits have been only possible until December 3, 23:59 and payouts will be possible until December 15, 23:59.
The crypto exchange also indicates that users need to verify themselves in accordance with EU directives. Otherwise, customers would not be able to withdraw their deposits.
More and more states are regulating companies in the crypto industry. For example in Germany, companies which like to keep crypto values for third parties are requiring from 2020 onwards a BaFin license. The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, short BaFin) is a German public-law institution with legal capacity based in Frankfurt/Main and Bonn. It is subject to the legal and technical supervision of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The Federal Council regards the legal framework in Switzerland as intact for Blockchain / DLT. Therefore, there is no own law, but only adjustments to the existing
At the meeting on November 27, the Federal Council published its new template for the framework conditions for Blockchain / DLT. In terms of content, it continues where he ended up on the topic in the last round: The further improvement of the framework conditions for Blockchain / DLT.
The template roughly follows three goals:
- Increasing legal certainty
- Elimination of hurdles for applications of technology
- Limitation of abuse risks
Already at the end of last year, the Swiss Federal Council expressed itself positively and in a forward-looking manner. The framework conditions, which at that time were already classified as "good", need to be further improved. He emphasized that he wanted to create the best possible framework conditions so that Switzerland could establish and develop further as a leading, innovative and sustainable location for Fintech and DLT companies. New is the issue of abuse control. Because with increasing attractiveness of the market also increases the abuse and illegal activities.
Another point to which the Federal Council explicitly refers: Ensuring the integrity as well as the good reputation of Switzerland as a financial and business center. Here the global discussions around the planned digital currency Libra of Facebook seem. Switzerland has become more prominent here than the Swiss government have been enjoying it.
The report shows that the legal framework in Switzerland is already well suited today to deal with new technologies including DLT. Therefore, the Federal Council refrains from creating its own specific technology law. Even though there is a need for specific action. The submission received around 80 comments. In principle, the participants welcomed the proposals of the Federal Council.
The Federal Council has now adopted the Federal Law on Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Electronic Register Technology. Due to suggestions from the consultation, the submission has been revised and further developed in various points. The federal law, which was designed as a mantle decree, proposes punctual adjustments in nine federal laws, both in civil law and in financial market law. Parliament is expected to address the bill for the first time in early 2020.
The Federal Council currently sees no need to fundamentally adapt the legal framework or to introduce a comprehensive, specific law because of a specific technology that is still undergoing rapid development. The Swiss legal framework already offers a lot of flexibility and possibilities today. However, there are individual areas of law in which targeted adjustments are imposed to increase legal certainty, remove hurdles for DLT or blockchain-based applications, and limit new risks.
On behalf of the Swiss Federal Council
The Federal President: Ueli Maurer and The Federal Chancellor: Walter Thurnherr