๐จ๐ญ Switzerland Bitcoin Initiative
๐ Switzerland is officially considering holding a referendum on the creation of a state Bitcoin reserve. Information about this was published in the state newspaper. The initiative for the referendum comes from a group of citizens of the country.
๐ Switzerland is officially considering holding a referendum on the creation of a state Bitcoin reserve. Information about this was published in the state newspaper. The initiative for the referendum comes from a group of citizens of the country.
Bitget
Switzerland launches Bitcoin constitutional amendment referendum, intends to include Bitcoin in the constitutional system | Bitgetโฆ
According to a report from Bitcoin Magazine, the Swiss federal government has officially begun reviewing a nationwide referendum proposal called "Building F | Bitget crypto news!
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๐ฌ๐ช My holidays in Tbilisi
โ The protests in Tbilisi ended during the New Year holidays. Tourists can safely walk along Rustaveli Avenue.
๐ Also crypto exchanges with a good rate for clients also took a vacation. Usually weekly days here in Georgia, it is possible to exchange offline USDT to USD with 1% fee.
๐ฑ Online P2P exchange at approximately the same rate only for those, who have accounts in the two largest banks in the country - TBC and Bank of Georgia. But these banks do not open accounts foreigners and expats so easily. But for the same exchange on Credo, the commission is from 2% to 4%.
โ The protests in Tbilisi ended during the New Year holidays. Tourists can safely walk along Rustaveli Avenue.
๐ Also crypto exchanges with a good rate for clients also took a vacation. Usually weekly days here in Georgia, it is possible to exchange offline USDT to USD with 1% fee.
๐ฑ Online P2P exchange at approximately the same rate only for those, who have accounts in the two largest banks in the country - TBC and Bank of Georgia. But these banks do not open accounts foreigners and expats so easily. But for the same exchange on Credo, the commission is from 2% to 4%.
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๐ท How did regulation change in LatAm in 2024? (Part 1)
๐ฆ๐ท Latin American countries are known for their relatively easy and straightforward immigration procedures for foreigners. At the moment, probably the most popular country on the continent for permanent relocation is Argentina, where it is quite easy to obtain citizenship by naturalisation after living in the country for 2 years.
๐ And at the same time, it has one of the most developed procedures for regulating cryptocurrencies - there is a federal law regulating VASPs and their registration procedure. In 2023, licensing procedures were adopted, and in 2024, companies began to actively register. There are already 101 companies in the Argentine VASP registry.
๐ง๐ท Brazil, the largest economy, accounts for roughly half the population and half the GDP of the entire region. No wonder it attracts foreigners! The foundations of cryptocurrency regulation here were laid at the end of 2022 when a federal law was passed by the country's parliament.
๐ The law prescribes the need to licence VASPs, but the country's Central Bank has yet to adopt all the necessary regulatory rules for this (promised in 2024), there is still no VASP registry in the country, and Crypto exchanges can operate without a licence. This is likely to change in 2025.
๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico has not changed its regulation in 2024 either: the old rules adopted in 2021 under the fintech law remain in effect. The law requires banks and fintechs to obtain a licence for crypto transactions. However, ordinary VASPs (not banks) can legally operate in the country without a licence; they only need to send reports to the country's financial intelligence unit (UIF) and tax authorities (SAT).
๐ฏ A total of 53 legal entities sent such reports to the UIF in 2024. Also by law, crypto providers must send reports on all transactions over 70k pesos (about $3,400). The number of such transactions more than quadrupled in 2024.
๐ In general, both in terms of relocation and launching crypto business, regulation in these three biggest Latin American countries is lax. But you also have to take into account that there are quite high taxes and restrictions on withdrawing capital from the country, which is not always good for business.
๐ฆ๐ท Latin American countries are known for their relatively easy and straightforward immigration procedures for foreigners. At the moment, probably the most popular country on the continent for permanent relocation is Argentina, where it is quite easy to obtain citizenship by naturalisation after living in the country for 2 years.
๐ And at the same time, it has one of the most developed procedures for regulating cryptocurrencies - there is a federal law regulating VASPs and their registration procedure. In 2023, licensing procedures were adopted, and in 2024, companies began to actively register. There are already 101 companies in the Argentine VASP registry.
๐ง๐ท Brazil, the largest economy, accounts for roughly half the population and half the GDP of the entire region. No wonder it attracts foreigners! The foundations of cryptocurrency regulation here were laid at the end of 2022 when a federal law was passed by the country's parliament.
๐ The law prescribes the need to licence VASPs, but the country's Central Bank has yet to adopt all the necessary regulatory rules for this (promised in 2024), there is still no VASP registry in the country, and Crypto exchanges can operate without a licence. This is likely to change in 2025.
๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico has not changed its regulation in 2024 either: the old rules adopted in 2021 under the fintech law remain in effect. The law requires banks and fintechs to obtain a licence for crypto transactions. However, ordinary VASPs (not banks) can legally operate in the country without a licence; they only need to send reports to the country's financial intelligence unit (UIF) and tax authorities (SAT).
๐ฏ A total of 53 legal entities sent such reports to the UIF in 2024. Also by law, crypto providers must send reports on all transactions over 70k pesos (about $3,400). The number of such transactions more than quadrupled in 2024.
๐ In general, both in terms of relocation and launching crypto business, regulation in these three biggest Latin American countries is lax. But you also have to take into account that there are quite high taxes and restrictions on withdrawing capital from the country, which is not always good for business.
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๐ Latest regulation news
๐ฎ๐ณ Bybit will limit its operations in India from January 12.
๐น๐ญ Thailand continues to optimize its crypto regulation - crypto payments are currently prohibited there, but a special economic zone is planned in the capital, where it will be possible to pay with crypto.
๐บ๐ธ Donald Trump will soon choose his candidate for the post of head of the CFTC. This agency, after the adoption of the federal law on crypto in the United States, will receive the lion's share of control over the licensing of exchanges and other VASPs
๐ท๐บ Deputy Aksakov promised that in Russia it is possible to soften the test regime for the turnover of cryptocurrencies within the country.
๐ฎ๐ณ Bybit will limit its operations in India from January 12.
๐น๐ญ Thailand continues to optimize its crypto regulation - crypto payments are currently prohibited there, but a special economic zone is planned in the capital, where it will be possible to pay with crypto.
๐บ๐ธ Donald Trump will soon choose his candidate for the post of head of the CFTC. This agency, after the adoption of the federal law on crypto in the United States, will receive the lion's share of control over the licensing of exchanges and other VASPs
๐ท๐บ Deputy Aksakov promised that in Russia it is possible to soften the test regime for the turnover of cryptocurrencies within the country.
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๐ฝ Trump Launches Personal Memcoin
โพ๏ธ Donald Trump has launched his own coin - Trump Memcoin. I think this coin has a good chance of repeating Pepe's fate. You can buy $Trump through the Raydium wallet on Solane. It looks like a very risky asset with investment potential for all 4 years of the presidency.
๐ฏ By the way on the passed week, amount of inflows into US Bitcoin ETF saw more than $1.8 billion amid Trump inauguration expectations.
โพ๏ธ Donald Trump has launched his own coin - Trump Memcoin. I think this coin has a good chance of repeating Pepe's fate. You can buy $Trump through the Raydium wallet on Solane. It looks like a very risky asset with investment potential for all 4 years of the presidency.
๐ฏ By the way on the passed week, amount of inflows into US Bitcoin ETF saw more than $1.8 billion amid Trump inauguration expectations.
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๐ How has crypto regulation changed in LatAm in 2024?
๐ฆ๐ท Argentina is the only country in the region besides El Salvador that has VASP licenses. In 2024, 101 companies registered as VASPs.
๐ง๐ท Brazil's regulation has not changed: crypto exchange as an activity still does not require a license.
๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico's regulation has not changed. But the first statistics have appeared and the results are impressive: 53 companies report their crypto transactions in financial intelligence and the volume of transactions increased 4 times in 2024
๐ธ๐ป El Salvador has introduced an analogue of the VASP license - CASP - and the old Bitcoin-specific licence (BSP) is likely to be canceled.
๐บ๐พ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ด Uruguay, Peru and Bolivia have introduced regulation. Before that, there was none.
๐ฐ More details and information on other countries can be found in this article.
๐ฆ๐ท Argentina is the only country in the region besides El Salvador that has VASP licenses. In 2024, 101 companies registered as VASPs.
๐ง๐ท Brazil's regulation has not changed: crypto exchange as an activity still does not require a license.
๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico's regulation has not changed. But the first statistics have appeared and the results are impressive: 53 companies report their crypto transactions in financial intelligence and the volume of transactions increased 4 times in 2024
๐ธ๐ป El Salvador has introduced an analogue of the VASP license - CASP - and the old Bitcoin-specific licence (BSP) is likely to be canceled.
๐บ๐พ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ด Uruguay, Peru and Bolivia have introduced regulation. Before that, there was none.
๐ฐ More details and information on other countries can be found in this article.
Hackernoon
The Current State of Crypto Regulation In LatAm
In this article, we will look at the diverse crypto regulation environment in Latin America, as well as their immigration laws.
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๐บ๐ธ The inauguration of Trump
๐ฝ The inauguration of Donald Trump has become a big event for the local crypto industry and led to the following events:
โพ๏ธ Launch of Trump and Melania meme tokens.
๐ฏ Resignation of legendary Gary Gensler from the SEC and accession of Mark Uyeda as interim chair. However, new SEC chair Paul Atkins will probably be approved by the Senate soon.
โจ Caroline Pham is now approved by Donald Trump as chair of the CFTC, increasing its power in crypto regulation.
๐ค During the inauguration, Trump said nothing about the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the US.
๐ฝ The inauguration of Donald Trump has become a big event for the local crypto industry and led to the following events:
โพ๏ธ Launch of Trump and Melania meme tokens.
๐ฏ Resignation of legendary Gary Gensler from the SEC and accession of Mark Uyeda as interim chair. However, new SEC chair Paul Atkins will probably be approved by the Senate soon.
โจ Caroline Pham is now approved by Donald Trump as chair of the CFTC, increasing its power in crypto regulation.
๐ค During the inauguration, Trump said nothing about the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the US.
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๐ฝ Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, the darknet marketplace (weapons, drugs).
๐ช The US lifted sanctions on Tornado Cash - the second and final decision on this was made by a Texas court.
๐๏ธ Trump and Melania coins trades have reached high volumes - Solana validators have earned over $25 million from their transactions.
โ๏ธ House democrats criticize the TRUMP coin: they are sure that having his own meme coin will allow Trump to receive bribes and hidden payments. Thus, the TRUMP coin threatens national security.
๐ฒ American regional authorities continue to discuss investments in Bitcoin ETFs and crypto: similar initiatives are being discussed in Kansas and Texas.
๐ช The US lifted sanctions on Tornado Cash - the second and final decision on this was made by a Texas court.
๐๏ธ Trump and Melania coins trades have reached high volumes - Solana validators have earned over $25 million from their transactions.
โ๏ธ House democrats criticize the TRUMP coin: they are sure that having his own meme coin will allow Trump to receive bribes and hidden payments. Thus, the TRUMP coin threatens national security.
๐ฒ American regional authorities continue to discuss investments in Bitcoin ETFs and crypto: similar initiatives are being discussed in Kansas and Texas.
Bbc
Trump pardons Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht
Trump said he had called Ulbricht's mother to let her know he had granted her son a full pardon.
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๐บ๐ธ The situation in the USA
โ Last week, the SEC canceled Bulletin 121. This document required banks to submit special reports to the regulator on crypto assets on their balance sheets.
โ Trump also canceled Biden's Executive Order 14067, which implied the introduction of additional controls over the turnover of digital assets.
โ Following the release of Ross Ulbricht, one of the first-wave Bitcoin enthusiasts, Roger Ver, filed a pardon for Donald Trump (he is accused of tax evasion in the United States).
๐ In general, despite Trump's statement about the possible creation of a Bitcoin reserve, the market reacted last week with only a slight increase, and then fell - the BTC rate fluctuated from $98,000 to $108,000. The inflow of funds into Bitcoin ETFs amounted to more than $1.75 billion.
โ๏ธ But for now, the market is waiting for new decisions (not promises) from regulators on the Bitcoin reserve or FED's sharp reduction in the interest rate. Then further growth is possible.
โ Last week, the SEC canceled Bulletin 121. This document required banks to submit special reports to the regulator on crypto assets on their balance sheets.
โ Trump also canceled Biden's Executive Order 14067, which implied the introduction of additional controls over the turnover of digital assets.
โ Following the release of Ross Ulbricht, one of the first-wave Bitcoin enthusiasts, Roger Ver, filed a pardon for Donald Trump (he is accused of tax evasion in the United States).
๐ In general, despite Trump's statement about the possible creation of a Bitcoin reserve, the market reacted last week with only a slight increase, and then fell - the BTC rate fluctuated from $98,000 to $108,000. The inflow of funds into Bitcoin ETFs amounted to more than $1.75 billion.
โ๏ธ But for now, the market is waiting for new decisions (not promises) from regulators on the Bitcoin reserve or FED's sharp reduction in the interest rate. Then further growth is possible.
The White House
Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote United States
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๐บ๐พ Uruguay imposed crypto regulations
๐ Uruguay introduced cryptocurrency regulation at the end of last year, making it the third Latin American country to do so in 2024, alongside Peru and Bolivia.
โ๏ธ I recently moved to this country. It is known as an attractive place for digital nomads and is also called the Switzerland of Latin America. You can read more about Uruguay in this article.
โ One of the differences between Uruguay and other Spanish-speaking countries is the availability of tax breaks. The climate here is also good: it is not hot in summer and not cold in winter - temperatures range from +10ยฐC to +30ยฐC (50ยฐF to 86ยฐF).
๐ Uruguay introduced cryptocurrency regulation at the end of last year, making it the third Latin American country to do so in 2024, alongside Peru and Bolivia.
โ๏ธ I recently moved to this country. It is known as an attractive place for digital nomads and is also called the Switzerland of Latin America. You can read more about Uruguay in this article.
โ One of the differences between Uruguay and other Spanish-speaking countries is the availability of tax breaks. The climate here is also good: it is not hot in summer and not cold in winter - temperatures range from +10ยฐC to +30ยฐC (50ยฐF to 86ยฐF).
Hackernoon
Uruguay: From Legalized Marijuana to Crypto - Why Is Everyone Going There?
Uruguay stands out as one of the most interesting countries in the world for doing business, gaining citizenship quickly, and escaping global โhot spots.โ
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๐ป๐ณ Will Vietnam introduce a crypto sandbox?
๐ Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment has announced that it plans to create a sandbox for crypto projects in the country. Such measures are the first step towards full-fledged regulation.
โญ๏ธ At the moment, cryptocurrencies have no official status in Vietnam, but transactions with them are not prohibited. There is not even a clear taxation procedure for cryptocurrency income. At the same time, they are very popular: crypto is used by Vietnamese migrants for international money transfers. In addition, Vietnamese culture (like other Asian cultures) leans favorably to gambling, and people willingly invest in crypto.
๐ป๐ณ If Vietnam follows this path, it will be a big event for the whole of Asia, because Vietnam has one of the largest economies in the region.
๐ Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment has announced that it plans to create a sandbox for crypto projects in the country. Such measures are the first step towards full-fledged regulation.
โญ๏ธ At the moment, cryptocurrencies have no official status in Vietnam, but transactions with them are not prohibited. There is not even a clear taxation procedure for cryptocurrency income. At the same time, they are very popular: crypto is used by Vietnamese migrants for international money transfers. In addition, Vietnamese culture (like other Asian cultures) leans favorably to gambling, and people willingly invest in crypto.
๐ป๐ณ If Vietnam follows this path, it will be a big event for the whole of Asia, because Vietnam has one of the largest economies in the region.
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๐จ๐ฟ In the Czech Republic, the Central Bank discusing purchase of BTC
๐ช๐บ This in itself is a big event for the EU, which is suspicious of crypto. See the recent statement by Christine Laggard.
โก๏ธ The purchase of crypto, or rather Bitcoin, is being discussed at the official level by the central bank of an EU country. Could Satoshi Nakamoto have imagined this?
๐ช๐บ This in itself is a big event for the EU, which is suspicious of crypto. See the recent statement by Christine Laggard.
โก๏ธ The purchase of crypto, or rather Bitcoin, is being discussed at the official level by the central bank of an EU country. Could Satoshi Nakamoto have imagined this?
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๐ Special stream for our subscribers
๐บ Africa, Latin America and Asia are large crypto markets where billions of people live and where - unlike Europe and the US - crypto regulation is just beginning. Together with Kenyan crypto enthusiast Eric Maina, we will discuss how regulation there has changed in 2024 and what awaits us in 2025. We will also look at the level of TON adoption in these developing markets.
๐ Come to the channel this Sunday at 18-00 Dubai time. Tomorrow!
๐บ Africa, Latin America and Asia are large crypto markets where billions of people live and where - unlike Europe and the US - crypto regulation is just beginning. Together with Kenyan crypto enthusiast Eric Maina, we will discuss how regulation there has changed in 2024 and what awaits us in 2025. We will also look at the level of TON adoption in these developing markets.
๐ Come to the channel this Sunday at 18-00 Dubai time. Tomorrow!
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๐ News for the stream to discuss
๐ Today's broadcast is dedicated to the regulation of cryptocurrencies in developing countries. It will start in an hour at 18-00 Dubai time. Below are some news for January of this year:
๐บ๐ฟ On January 17, Uzbekistan announced that it had settled a dispute with Binance, the exchange will pay a fine and receive a license. This will make life much easier for everyone who exchanges crypto in Uzbekistan: the country has crypto regulation, but in practice did not allow large international exchanges in the country and put in jail for illegal crypto exchange.
๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan will launch a state stablecoin. It is also possible that restrictions on the exchange of cryptocurrencies outside AIFC will be softened. In January, the country's president Tokayev announced plans to improve the policy in the field of digital assets.
๐ธ๐พ Syria may make Bitcoin an official means of payment and use cryptocurrencies to rebuild the country. This program was proposed by the non-profit organization SERC, which is close to the government.
๐ป๐ณ An initiative to create a crypto sandbox has appeared in Vietnam. This is one of the few countries neighboring China where there is no regulation yet. And by the way, TON is quite popular there.
๐บ New countries that have paid attention to crypto in 2024:
๐น๐ฟ Tanzania, ๐ธ๐จ Seychelles, ๐บ๐พ Uruguay, ๐ต๐ช Peru, ๐ง๐ด Bolivia, ๐ฐ๐ญ ะกambodia. Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Morocco, and Ethiopia also have such plans for this year. There is a chance for laws to be passed in ๐ธ๐พ Syria and ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan.
๐ Today's broadcast is dedicated to the regulation of cryptocurrencies in developing countries. It will start in an hour at 18-00 Dubai time. Below are some news for January of this year:
๐บ๐ฟ On January 17, Uzbekistan announced that it had settled a dispute with Binance, the exchange will pay a fine and receive a license. This will make life much easier for everyone who exchanges crypto in Uzbekistan: the country has crypto regulation, but in practice did not allow large international exchanges in the country and put in jail for illegal crypto exchange.
๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan will launch a state stablecoin. It is also possible that restrictions on the exchange of cryptocurrencies outside AIFC will be softened. In January, the country's president Tokayev announced plans to improve the policy in the field of digital assets.
๐ธ๐พ Syria may make Bitcoin an official means of payment and use cryptocurrencies to rebuild the country. This program was proposed by the non-profit organization SERC, which is close to the government.
๐ป๐ณ An initiative to create a crypto sandbox has appeared in Vietnam. This is one of the few countries neighboring China where there is no regulation yet. And by the way, TON is quite popular there.
๐บ New countries that have paid attention to crypto in 2024:
๐น๐ฟ Tanzania, ๐ธ๐จ Seychelles, ๐บ๐พ Uruguay, ๐ต๐ช Peru, ๐ง๐ด Bolivia, ๐ฐ๐ญ ะกambodia. Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Morocco, and Ethiopia also have such plans for this year. There is a chance for laws to be passed in ๐ธ๐พ Syria and ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan.
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๐ง The broadcast will start in an hour. Come, Eric and I will be waiting.
๐ธ๐ป El Salvador tightens crypto regulation as part of the IMF deal
๐ The country's Legislative Assembly has changed the status of Bitcoin - crypto payments will remain legal, but now only on a voluntary basis. The obligation to accept BTC as a legal tender has been canceled.
๐ธ The country is also reforming the type of crypto license - instead of a Bitcoin License, a CASP license is now used, which has become more difficult to obtain. All this is the result of a deal with the IMF - the organization has allocated a $1.3 billion loan to El Salvador.
๐ The country's Legislative Assembly has changed the status of Bitcoin - crypto payments will remain legal, but now only on a voluntary basis. The obligation to accept BTC as a legal tender has been canceled.
๐ธ The country is also reforming the type of crypto license - instead of a Bitcoin License, a CASP license is now used, which has become more difficult to obtain. All this is the result of a deal with the IMF - the organization has allocated a $1.3 billion loan to El Salvador.
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๐บ๐ธ CryptoKnight promises to end the persecution of crypto
๐ฅ The big event in the US yesterday was the press conference of crypto czar David Sachs. In fact, behind this beautiful position hides... Trump's crypto aide.
๐ฝ David Sachs stated that: โhis working group is evaluating the possibility of creating a Bitcoin reserve as directed by the Presidentโ and the US will end a 4-year crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
๐ต By the way, one of Sachs' claimed top priorities was to regulate stablecoins. Remember what I've been writing here for a long time: dollar stablecoins are a great opportunity for the US to keep the dollar dominant. In that sense, the previous administration's attempts to restrict their circulation are foolish.
๐ฆ Yesterday, however, the new legislation to regulate stables began to be debated in the Senate. And from the looks of it, it won't be as totalitarian as in Europe and Dubai. The Fed will be the regulator for stables with a cap of more than $10 billion, while coins with a smaller volume will remain under Money Service business rules. MSB legislation is smart and this type of licenses are not tough for business.
๐ฅ The big event in the US yesterday was the press conference of crypto czar David Sachs. In fact, behind this beautiful position hides... Trump's crypto aide.
๐ฝ David Sachs stated that: โhis working group is evaluating the possibility of creating a Bitcoin reserve as directed by the Presidentโ and the US will end a 4-year crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
๐ต By the way, one of Sachs' claimed top priorities was to regulate stablecoins. Remember what I've been writing here for a long time: dollar stablecoins are a great opportunity for the US to keep the dollar dominant. In that sense, the previous administration's attempts to restrict their circulation are foolish.
๐ฆ Yesterday, however, the new legislation to regulate stables began to be debated in the Senate. And from the looks of it, it won't be as totalitarian as in Europe and Dubai. The Fed will be the regulator for stables with a cap of more than $10 billion, while coins with a smaller volume will remain under Money Service business rules. MSB legislation is smart and this type of licenses are not tough for business.
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