ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, major global markets are strengthening tax regulations on cryptocurrencies. According to the latest policy, the U.S. IRS classifies crypto assets as digital assets and adopts a taxation method similar to that of stocks and bonds. Specifically, simply buying and holding is not taxed, but actions that "realize gains," such as selling, exchanging between cryptocurrencies, and using cryptocurrencies for shopping, are subject to capital gains tax; mining income, staking rewards, and wages received in cryptocurrency are taxed as income.The UK's HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) imposes a capital gains tax of up to 24% on cryptocurrency transactions, with a basic rate taxpayer applicable to a 10% rate and a tax-free allowance of the first £3,000. Additionally, mining income and salaries paid in cryptocurrency are subject to income tax, and employers must pay national insurance on salaries paid in cryptocurrency.The EU has not yet unified tax standards, and there are significant policy differences among member states. Germany exempts cryptocurrencies held for more than a year from tax, while selling within a year incurs a maximum income tax of 45%, plus a 5.5% solidarity surcharge. Spain imposes a unified tax rate of 19%-28% on crypto gains. Portugal's tax rate ranges from 14.5%-53%, with a standard capital gains tax rate of 28%.

ChainCatcher news, according to Ledger Insights, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) opened the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) for applications at the end of September, relaxing certain rules for DLT market infrastructure. The two entities that have been announced to receive preliminary approval are (expected) Central Securities Depository (CSD) Montis (owned by Archax) and ClearToken, which plans to operate as a central clearinghouse for crypto and tokenized assets. ClearToken has received support from companies such as Nomura Securities' Laser Digital and Standard Chartered's Zodia Custody.Similar to the EU's DLT pilot regime, the DSS program aims to relax the requirement that exchanges and central securities depositories must always be separate (which can sometimes be impractical for DLT).

ChainCatcher message, Google announced on December 20 that it will implement new cryptocurrency advertising regulations starting January 15, 2025, as part of its financial products policy update. Advertisers for cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet services targeting the UK market must obtain registration certification from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and be certified by Google before they can run ads.The new regulations clearly differentiate the advertising requirements for software and hardware wallets. Specifically, hardware wallet ads are limited to providing private key storage functions for assets such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs, and must not include trading services. Google stated that it will issue a warning at least 7 days in advance before suspending accounts to ensure compliance from advertisers.

ChainCatcher news, cryptocurrency custody company Copper Technologies withdrew its application to register with the UK financial regulator on Friday, stating that it will shift its focus to overseas centers under the leadership of its new CEO.Copper, chaired by former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and headquartered in London, is one of the largest cryptocurrency firms in the UK. The company's former CEO, Dmitry Tokarev, founded the company in 2018 and resigned in October this year. The new CEO, Amar Kuchinad, stated, "Since joining the company, refining the global growth strategy has been my top priority, which requires us to make key decisions in direction and approach." (Jin Shi)

ChainCatcher news, the Bank of England maintains the benchmark interest rate at 4.75%, in line with market expectations, with a cumulative rate cut of 50 basis points this year. (Jin Ten)

ChainCatcher news, Ebury's market strategy director Matthew Ryan stated that the very strong wage growth data in the UK private sector almost certainly means that the Bank of England will emphasize a slow and steady approach to interest rate cuts at the upcoming meeting on Thursday.The average wage for UK employees has risen again, with a 5.2% increase in wages excluding bonuses for the three months ending in October. The Bank of England is concerned that wage growth could trigger inflation and is almost certain to keep interest rates unchanged this week. The Bank of England is expected to strongly emphasize the necessity of gradually easing monetary policy by 2025, which may raise doubts about whether it will cut rates in February. (Jin Shi)

ChainCatcher news, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning, stating that the Solana ecosystem Meme coin project Retardio is suspected of providing financial services without authorization. The FCA emphasizes that users of this project will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protections.The regulator advises investors to avoid interacting with this project and warns of the scam risks associated with its social media accounts.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptoslate, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a public consultation on cryptocurrency regulation on December 16, 2024. The new framework aims to balance innovation and risk control, focusing on issues such as market manipulation and financial fraud.The FCA proposed to authorize trading platforms to share information on suspicious market abuse and will restrict the operations of unregistered crypto businesses. The consultation period will last until March 14, 2025, with a draft regulatory framework expected to be released in 2025 and plans for full implementation in 2026, covering areas such as trading activities, stablecoin regulation, and asset custody.

ChainCatcher news, Ebury strategist Matthew Ryan stated that the pound may strengthen due to the Bank of England's cautious stance on interest rate cuts. Regardless of the results of the UK economic data this week, the Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday. This data includes Monday's PMI, Tuesday's labor market report, and Wednesday's inflation figures.However, this data may influence the number of votes against interest rate cuts. Nevertheless, compared to other regions, the UK's high interest rates, resilient economic growth, and the ongoing friendly relations between the UK and the EU will support the pound's exchange rate against the dollar and the euro to rise before 2025. (Jin Ten)

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a document on Monday revealing plans to ban public offerings of cryptocurrencies. The government will prohibit unregistered cryptocurrency companies from engaging with UK customers through new legislation, unless they are trading platforms or products that meet exemption criteria.The document also seeks industry feedback on aspects such as market access, information disclosure, and market abuse regulation, as part of preparations for a comprehensive cryptocurrency regulatory framework. The FCA has been closely monitoring the crypto industry since 2020 and assessing its anti-money laundering compliance. A draft of the new regulatory regime is expected to be published next year, with plans for implementation in 2026.The FCA aims to ensure that consumers have sufficient information to make informed decisions by collecting industry feedback and to reduce fraud through market abuse regulation.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official website, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning to Pump.fun, stating that "the company may be offering or promoting financial services or products without our permission. You should avoid dealing with this company to prevent being scammed."Previous report, according to market news, the UK has banned access to the pump.fun website. According to screenshots of relevant notifications, if accessed from the UK, a message will appear stating that the website is currently not open to UK users under UK laws and regulations, and it also reminds users to withdraw tokens stored in private wallets.

ChainCatcher news, according to market news, the UK has banned access to the pump.fun website. According to the relevant notification screenshot, if accessed from the UK, it will prompt that the website is currently not open to UK users based on UK laws and regulations, and it also reminds users to withdraw tokens stored in private wallets.

ChainCatcher news, on-chain data from Arkham shows that the UK government currently holds over 61,000 BTC, with a total value exceeding $6 billion. Compared to $4 billion in March, the total value of its holdings has increased by $2 billion.

ChainCatcher message, the Financial Times of the UK publicly apologized to its readers for its negative coverage of cryptocurrencies over the past 14 years. The media stated in a declaration: "As Bitcoin's price recently surpassed $100,000, a considerable number of commentators believe we should apologize for our long-standing cynical attitude towards our readers.Therefore, we sincerely apologize for the past 14 years during which you may have decided not to purchase those items that later increased in price based on our reporting. The price increase is certainly delightful. At the same time, if you misunderstood our cynical attitude towards cryptocurrencies as support for traditional finance, we deeply apologize, as we also despise such behavior."

ChainCatcher news, according to the Financial Times, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced the successful dismantling of a large-scale cryptocurrency money laundering network spanning London, Moscow, and Dubai. The case primarily involves two companies: Smart and TGR, which acted as financial intermediaries, providing cross-border money transfer services for cash-rich criminals and sanctioned individuals worldwide through cryptocurrency.The investigation revealed that this network provided services to criminal organizations, ransomware gangs, and Russian espionage activities, including the Kinahan drug trafficking group, from the end of 2022 to the summer of 2023. Its operation involved couriers collecting cash in the UK and elsewhere, exchanging it for cryptocurrency primarily in USDT, and then laundering the money through a network of companies, providing equivalent funds in other countries.Ekaterina Zhdanova, the 38-year-old owner of Smart, a resident of Moscow, has been accused of transferring over $100 million to an unnamed sanctioned oligarch in the UAE, and is currently under U.S. sanctions and detained in France. The money laundering network collected cash at 55 different locations across England, Scotland, Wales, and the Channel Islands in just four months, serving at least 22 criminal groups.NCA's action director Rob Jones stated that this is the agency's most significant anti-money laundering operation to date. Law enforcement has arrested 84 individuals and seized a total of £20 million in cash and cryptocurrency. The U.S. Treasury has imposed economic sanctions on five individuals and several companies involved. The operation was assisted by the U.S. FBI, DEA, as well as police forces from France and Ireland.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Financial Times: Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg seeks to play a "constructive role" in discussions with the incoming U.S. government on technology policy. (Jin Shi)

ChainCatcher news, 5Money and Storible conducted a study investigating 1,544 global crypto projects from January 2022 to October 2024. The data shows that the United States accounts for as much as 43% of crypto scams, while China and the United Kingdom account for 8% and 7% respectively.In terms of the number of failed projects, the United States also ranks first, accounting for 33%. China (7.63%), the United Kingdom (7.22%), South Korea, and Singapore also have failure rates exceeding 6%, ranking high in the survey results.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, former Binance executive Amrita Srivastava has filed a whistleblower lawsuit in the UK, accusing a colleague of soliciting bribes from clients to expedite service processes, and claiming she was unfairly dismissed for exposing the incident. Srivastava stated that the colleague charged clients under the guise of "consulting services," while falsely claiming to not be an employee of Binance.In response, Binance stated that the company was already aware of the matter and had launched an internal investigation, and that Srivastava was dismissed due to poor performance, with the termination decision made prior to her whistleblowing.

ChainCatcher news, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released a new research report showing that currently 12% of UK adults own cryptocurrency, up from the previous survey result of 10%.Based on a nationally representative study of 2,199 UK adults, it is estimated that the number of cryptocurrency holders in the UK will increase from 5 million in 2022 to 7 million.Only one in ten people said they did not do any research before purchasing cryptocurrency, but 20% of respondents indicated that "friends and family" were their main reason for buying cryptocurrency.

ChainCatcher news, James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, recently revealed by his ex-girlfriend Halfina Eddy-Evans that in 2013 she discarded a hard drive containing 8,000 BTC at Howells' request.Eddy-Evans explained her role in the incident, saying, "He asked me to throw away unwanted things, including the hard drive. It’s not my fault that it was thrown away." The hard drive was discarded when the price of BTC was less than $1, and now these BTC are worth over $716 million.Previous news, James Howells accidentally discarded a hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins and is suing the Newport City Council in the UK for £495 million (approximately $647 million) in damages.Howells has made several attempts to retrieve the hard drive from the local landfill but has been obstructed by the council, which has repeatedly denied his requests to excavate the site.