An overview of current news in the crypto space

In our digest, we took a look at some important crypto industry news over the past week:

1. MetaMask wallet’s updated interface
2. Bitcoin’s exchange rate continues to rise, reaching its highest level in two years
3. Kenya introduces a tax on the transfer and exchange of cryptocurrencies
4. The Federal Tax Service allowed to tax income from the sale of cryptocurrency with UST tax and personal income tax
5. The head of Sberbank urges the Central Bank not to interfere with commercial banks in cryptocurrency trading, as well as to loosen regulation and allow transactions with stablecoins
6. Decimal and Galxe integration. AirDrop 100 DDAO.

Now for more details. Reading time: 9 minutes.

1. MetaMask, a decentralized non-custodial wallet, has introduced an updated interface version 10.33 that simplifies the work with cryptocurrencies. The developers took into account the wishes of users and combined wallet information, address, connection status and network and account selection into one line to provide a clearer layout of the application. The network selection has now been moved to the top left corner and the account avatar is placed next to the name to provide a clear visual association. The developers have also improved the connection to websites by placing it in the top right corner so that users can easily manage the decentralized apps that the wallet interacts with. This change allows for one-click access to the features you need. MetaMask was launched in 2016, supports Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche Contract Chain, Fantom and Celo blockchains, and is compatible with Layer 2 solutions as well as Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible networks.
2. Bitcoin price continues its growth and is at its highest level for the last two years. On July 6, the bitcoin price exceeded $31.5 thousand, up more than 3% in a day and 90% since the beginning of the year. Similar growth can be seen in other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Cash and Solana.
   Analysts express different opinions about the prospects of cryptocurrencies in the near future. Artem Deev, head of the analytical department of AMarkets, believes that the price of bitcoin will continue its growth and will reach $35 thousand this year. Roman Nekrasov, co-founder of ENCRY Foundation, on the contrary, suggests that there may be a correction to $30 thousand with a possible move to $29.5 thousand.
   BitRiver financial analyst Vladislav Antonov believes that we should expect active buying until July 8 and a new upward movement to $34 thousand until July 22. This is due to the fact that bitcoin continues to trade in the same range, despite the update of the annual maximum price. In case it manages to stay above $31.5 thousand today, it will be a new positive signal for buyers. Thus, we can expect active purchases, and before July 22 – a new upward movement in the direction of $34 thousand.
   The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is at $1.25 trillion. The fear and greed index on the crypto market is in the “greed” range at 56 points out of 100. This indicates that investors are quite confident about the growth prospects of cryptocurrencies and are willing to continue investing in them.
3. Kenya has started charging a 3% tax on the transfer and exchange of cryptocurrencies. The new taxation came into effect on July 1. Platform owners must pay this tax, and in the case of offshore platforms, they will have 24 hours to remit the funds to the Kenya Revenue Authority. Local cryptocurrency traders are concerned that this tax is too high for them as they make small profits. Industry participants believe that the government should have started by informing crypto asset owners about this tax and how it should be remitted.
   The Kenyan Blockchain Association has spoken negatively about the new law on taxing cryptocurrencies. It believes that tax authorities should take a different approach to different digital assets. It is proposed to introduce taxes depending on the variants of use of each cryptoasset. For example, non- fungible tokens (NFTs), equity tokens, stablecoins and utility tokens could have different tax treatment.
   The high volatility of crypto assets could lead to unfair taxation of traders and severely slow down the development of the industry in the country. The new tax does not take into account loss transactions or zero profit transfers, where users can simply move crypto assets between their wallets.
   Kenya has the fifth highest global adoption of cryptocurrency in the world. It is owned by 8.5% of the country’s population. In April, a bill was submitted to the Kenyan Parliament to regulate cryptocurrencies as securities. Now, the introduction of a tax on cryptocurrency may affect the further development of this industry in the country.
4. The Federal Tax Service (FTS) of the Russian Federation has given explanations on the taxation of income received from the sale of cryptocurrency. The issue was considered in the context of two taxes – personal income tax (PIT) and the simplified taxation system (STS). Since the status of cryptocurrencies is not regulated at the legislative level, the Federal Tax Service considers that the sale of cryptocurrency is treated as a sale of property. In this regard, for the calculation of the personal income tax base should adhere to the norm of paragraph 1 of subparagraph 1 of subparagraph 2 of paragraph 2 of Article 220 of the Tax Code. 2, subparagraph 2, paragraph 2, Article 220 of the Tax Code, which allows income from the sale of cryptocurrency to be reduced by documented expenses for its purchase. Personal income tax on income from transactions with digital assets is transferred independently, with a declaration in the form of 3-NDFL until April 30 of the following year. Under the simplified taxation system, there are two options for taxation – “Income” and “Income minus expenses”. If the first option is chosen, the tax base for calculating the USN is the income from the sale of cryptocurrency, if the second – the base is calculated as the difference between income and expenses for the purchase of cryptocurrency. The UST-declaration must be submitted by March 25 of the following year for organizations and by April 25 for individual entrepreneurs. Payment of the simplified taxation system must be made to the budget by March 28 for organizations and by April 28 for individual entrepreneurs.
5. The head of Sberbank, Herman Gref, said that the Central Bank of Russia should “not interfere” with commercial banks in cryptocurrency trading, during a dialog with the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, at the Bank of Russia’s financial congress. Gref also asked the government and the Bank of Russia to relax the level of regulation and allow businesses to develop innovative technologies such as blockchain. In his opinion, where the government starts to regulate, the pace of development drops dramatically. Gref also supported the Central Bank’s ban on the use of bitcoin on the domestic market in mutual settlements, but suggested allowing transactions with stablecoins. However, despite such statements, the regulator favors the development of digital financial assets, including the digital ruble. In September 2021, the Russian Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank reached an understanding on the issue of cryptocurrency regulation, coming to the conclusion that in the conditions of restrictive measures, it will not be possible to do without cross-border settlements in cryptocurrency.
6. Decimal and Galxe have teamed up to create a marketing campaign aimed at attracting new users to Decimal’s social media platforms and increasing the number of DDAO holders. Galxe is a huge marketing platform with an audience of nearly 1 million followers on Twitter and over 500k on Discord. Decimal passed the initial audit and got its own “Space” on the Galxe platform.
   As part of the campaign, users will be able to earn 100 wrapped DDAO tokens on the Galxe platform. To participate, users must first log in via Metamask and then subscribe to Decimal’s page on Galxe. They also need to grant Galxe permission to access their Twitter, Discord and Telegram accounts.
   The campaign has already started to gain momentum, and already 52 participants on the Galxe marketing platform have met the necessary requirements to receive 100 DDAO tokens. Decimal and Galxe hope to attract many new participants by offering valuable rewards.
   This campaign is a significant step towards decentralizing Decimal and growing its user base. With Galxe’s marketing expertise and Decimal’s innovative blockchain technology, the two companies are poised to create a significant contribution to the world of cryptocurrencies.
   Don’t miss the opportunity to join the thriving community of blockchain enthusiasts and earn valuable rewards. Sign up for Decimal’s page on Galxe today and take the first step to become part of this new campaign.

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