Our very first legal round-up, prepared by Adam Berker.

If you’re keeping abreast with the latest cryptocurrency regulations, you will love this series. Adam Berker, Mercuryo’s Senior Legal Counselor, is picking the juiciest regulatory developments, and we’ll be releasing them every week.

“Hugely Problematic” Crypto Taxes

Both the US and Israeli governments are trying to equate cryptocurrencies to traditional fiat money. These measures contradict the core principles of decentralization. Therefore, the strengthening of control may help with fighting money laundering and tax evasion. Nevertheless, it is still unclear how regulatory bodies will force unidentified wallet holders to file their tax declarations.

Bumpy Road to Adoption in Africa

Even though the pace of crypto adoption in Africa is incredibly high, the legal regulation of crypto is still relatively poor in this region. Moreover, certain regulatory obstacles are yet to be eliminated. For example, Nigerian Central Bank still bans local financial institutions from providing services to crypto-based companies, making it impossible to exchange fiat to crypto using a bank card.

A Controversial Shortcut: BTC’s Legal Tender

IMF’s warning again refers to the adoption of BTC as legal tender in El Salvador. This example could be considered as precautionary measures against such adoption in other countries.

20% Crypto: German Private Funds

Germany continues implementing crypto into the national regulation. First, they started with licensing crypto custody service providers. Now private funds are allowed to keep 20% of their investments in crypto. Although most of the funds probably will not reach this threshold in the nearest future, this law may be the first step to regulating fully crypto-based funds.

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