The United States House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that reverses the controversial guidance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which prohibited banks from owning cryptocurrency. The bill, known as H.J. Res 109, received bipartisan support and overturns the SEC’s Special Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), which required banks to include customers’ cryptocurrency assets on their balance sheets, unlike traditional assets like securities.
Republican Representative Mike Flood, who introduced the resolution, argued that SAB 121 unfairly burdened banks offering custodial services for cryptocurrency, as such assets are typically considered off-balance sheet. However, President Joe Biden’s office issued a statement before the vote, stating that he plans to veto any resolution that affects crypto policy at the SEC if it reaches his desk. The White House expressed its strong opposition to the resolution, claiming that it would disrupt the SEC’s efforts to protect investors in the crypto market and safeguard the financial system as a whole.
In Australia, the Taxation Office (ATO) is seeking personal data and transaction details from up to 1.2 million users of cryptocurrency exchanges in order to crack down on tax obligations related to crypto. The ATO believes that this data will help identify traders who may have evaded taxes on their crypto trades. The requested data includes users’ date of birth, social media accounts, phone numbers, wallet addresses, type of coin trades, and bank account details. Unlike other foreign currencies, cryptocurrencies are considered taxable assets in Australia, requiring traders to pay capital gains tax on profits from crypto sales.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s ruling party, the Democratic Party of Korea, plans to request that the Financial Services Commission (FSC) reconsider its interpretation of the legal status of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). An official from the party’s policy committee revealed that this request will be made after the opening of the National Assembly in June. The Democratic Party recently gained power in the April elections in South Korea and currently holds the majority of seats in the legislative body. The FSC previously expressed concerns that listing foreign spot ETFs could violate the Capital Markets Act, following the approval of spot BTC ETFs in the United States.
In India, Binance, a global cryptocurrency exchange, has received approval from the Financial Intelligence Unit, an Indian financial regulator, to offer its services in the country. This approval makes Binance the second offshore crypto exchange to obtain regulatory consent, following KuCoin. In December 2023, both Binance and KuCoin, along with several other foreign crypto exchanges, received a notice of noncompliance. Subsequently, the Indian Finance Ministry instructed its IT department to block access to the banned crypto platforms in India within 15 days of the notice, which occurred in mid-January 2024. The other exchanges that received the regulatory notice include Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex.