ChainCatcher news, according to Protos citing local media El Faro, Tether executives are spending large amounts of money to purchase real estate in El Salvador and are becoming Salvadoran citizens.The company's Chief Financial Officer Giancarlo Devasini, Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino, and Chief Operating Officer Claudia Lagorio have purchased two plots of land worth $1.7 million, located in the luxury golf resort Condominio Villanueva Golf Country Club, which is also part of the residential area El Encanto. The contracts show that Ardoino and Lagorio have become naturalized citizens of El Salvador.

ChainCatcher news, according to TASS, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law regulating the taxation of digital currencies.According to the law, digital currencies are recognized as property. This also applies to currencies used for foreign trade payments within the framework of the "Experimental Legal Regime (EPR) in the field of digital innovation." The mining and sale of digital currencies are exempt from value-added tax. Operators of mining infrastructure must report to the tax authorities the issuance of cryptocurrencies using their services. Failure to timely transmit such information may result in a fine of 40,000 rubles.In terms of personal income tax, digital currencies obtained through mining will be classified as tangible income (a term typically used when payment is made using goods or services rather than currency). The value of the income will be determined based on market quotes. Such income will be taxed at the usual progressive tax rates, taking into account tax deductions for the amount of mining expenses.At the same time, income from the acquisition, sale, or other circulation of digital currencies will be taxed at a two-tier personal income tax rate (13% for income up to 2.4 million rubles, and 15% for income exceeding this amount). They will be included in the same tax base as income from transactions with securities, bank deposits, and other sources. Regarding corporate income tax, digital currency mining will be taxed at the standard rate (25% starting in 2025).

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, based on year-to-date data, 16 publicly listed crypto mining companies have spent a total of $3.6 billion on property, plant, and equipment (PP&E) upgrades, including new mining hardware. So far in 2024, these 16 mining companies have raised over $5 billion, with the third quarter being the highest period for PP&E spending since the first quarter of 2022. Spending on mining hardware accounts for the majority of PP&E expenditures. Since 2023, publicly listed mining companies have spent a total of $2 billion on hardware upgrades. The report explains that the lifespan of crypto mining hardware typically averages 3-5 years and must be upgraded regularly to maintain profitability. Additionally, crypto companies are shifting from equity financing to debt financing.Regarding the PP&E expenditures of mining companies in November 2024, Bitfarms signed a miner hosting agreement with Stronghold on November 1, which includes terms for hosting an additional 10,000 Bitcoin mining devices at its facility in Pennsylvania. Around the same time, CleanSpark, a company focused on renewable Bitcoin mining, announced plans to build 400 megawatts of mining infrastructure after acquiring mining company GRIID in October 2024. On November 11, Hive Digital purchased 6,500 application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for the company's upcoming facility in Paraguay.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the Federation Council of the Russian Parliament approved a government-initiated bill on Wednesday that outlines the tax framework for digital currencies. This legislation was passed in a plenary session after being approved by the lower house, the State Duma, the day before.The new law classifies digital currencies (including currencies used as payment tools under an experimental legal regime) as property under Russian domestic tax law. This classification exempts value-added tax (VAT) on digital currency mining and sales transactions, easing the financial obligations of industry participants. Additionally, services provided by authorized organizations that facilitate transactions within these experimental regimes will also be tax-exempt.An important provision requires operators of mining infrastructure to report personal data of individuals using their systems to tax authorities. Income from digital currency mining will be considered taxable income, forming the basis for personal income tax. Danil Volkov, head of the Russian Ministry of Finance department, stated that businesses engaged in mining activities must pay taxes at the standard corporate income tax rate.

ChainCatcher news, the Shanghai High People's Court published an article stating that the Songjiang District People's Court of Shanghai has concluded a dispute case regarding the validity of a virtual currency issuance financing service contract. The court believes that token issuance financing is an illegal public financing behavior, and the "Blockchain Incubation Agreement" involved in the case is invalid.The article points out that virtual currency, as a type of virtual commodity, has property value and is not prohibited by law. Although there are no explicit regulations on virtual currency in Chinese law, regulations issued by the People's Bank of China and other departments have regulated activities related to virtual currency.Therefore, although individuals holding virtual currency purely is not illegal, commercial entities cannot arbitrarily participate in virtual currency investment transactions or issue tokens on their own. Once they touch upon the bottom line of civil and criminal legal principles and rules in their trading activities, they may suffer losses or, in serious cases, be suspected of committing a crime.

ChainCatcher news, according to DL News, U.S. prosecutors are seeking to confiscate two properties belonging to Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm (valued at a total of $3.1 million) and a Tesla Model Y, claiming these assets are derived from illegal proceeds.Tornado Cash has gained significant attention for concealing crypto transactions but has also been exploited by criminals for money laundering. In 2022, the U.S. imposed sanctions against it. This year, Storm has been charged with three counts, including money laundering and violating sanctions, while another developer, Alexi Pertsev, has been sentenced to five years in prison.Storm's team cited freedom of speech as a defense, but the judge dismissed the request. Crypto privacy advocates strongly oppose this, arguing that developers should not be held responsible for the misuse of their tools. Storm's trial has been postponed until April next year, with defense costs estimated to reach up to $500,000 per month.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the "Yongxing-Guofu-Ningbo Intellectual Property Phase 1 Asset-Backed Special Plan (Specialized and Innovative)" managed by Yongzheng Asset Management and sold by Yongxing Securities held its listing ceremony on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with an initial issuance scale of 138 million yuan, a term of 1 year, and a coupon rate of 2.2%. The product's senior debt rating is AAA, making it the first intellectual property securitization product issued in the form of digital renminbi nationwide, and it marks a breakthrough for Ningbo's intellectual property securitization project.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, members of the House of Lords in the UK expressed support for the country's digital asset property bill during the second reading session on Wednesday. The House of Lords Grand Committee generally believes that the bill will provide more clarity on how the legal system treats cryptocurrencies and may mark another step for the UK in paving the way for domestic cryptocurrency use.The bill was drafted by the independent statutory body, the Law Commission, and was introduced in the UK in September. The bill adds a new category of "items" under the category of property to help resolve legal disputes involving cryptocurrencies. This bill will not only assist judges in criminal cases where cryptocurrencies are stolen due to fraud or hacking but will also aid in the division of marital property.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media reports, JPEX is suspected of violating regulations by promoting and operating in Hong Kong. The first civil lawsuit involves two plaintiffs seeking to recover 240,000 Tether or 1.85 million Hong Kong dollars from JPEX Group and a total of 7 defendants. One of the defendants, a JPEX registered company in Hong Kong, was absent from last month's hearing. Judge Zhou Zhaowen issued a ruling yesterday stating that the company, as an operator, holds assets and constitutes an express trust but has violated its responsibilities. Particularly, the case of the first plaintiff is evidently strong, thus the judge ordered the company to compensate at the request of the two individuals.According to the statement of claim, the first defendant, a company registered in Australia under JPEX, operates the JPEX virtual asset service and electronic platform. The plaintiffs personally or in their name deposited virtual currency into the platform account, and they request the court to rule that the second defendant has violated good faith and/or must restructure and repay debts. The judge also stated that in many common law jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, courts accept that cryptocurrency is considered "property" and can form a trust.The judge recognized that the two defendants operate a cryptocurrency trading platform, which records the movement of currency between accounts, involving trustee benefits and various agreement terms. Therefore, the defendants, as trustees, violated their responsibilities by transferring assets without authorization.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the High Court of England ruled on September 12 that the stablecoin USDT is recognized as property. This is the first ruling in UK law regarding the treatment and status of cryptocurrency after a comprehensive trial. The victim's stolen cryptocurrency (including USDT) was transferred through various cryptocurrency exchanges after being mixed by a cryptocurrency mixer.Deputy Judge Richard Farnhill stated that USDT has property rights under English law, can be traced, and is considered trust property. This ruling came after a bill proposed by the UK government, which explicitly includes NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and carbon credits within the scope of property law.The judge noted that a ruling from the same court in 2019 (not made during the trial) indicated that cryptocurrency is considered property, which is "strong evidence." This is also consistent with the position of the Law Commission for England and Wales in its 2023 report on digital assets, which classified cryptocurrency as property.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the UK government submitted a bill to Parliament on September 11, aiming to officially define crypto assets (including NFTs and RWAs) as property. Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice, Heidi Alexander, stated that previously digital assets were not clearly defined within the property law framework in England and Wales, leaving asset owners in a legal gray area. If the bill is passed, it will introduce a third category of property in addition to the existing "real property" and "rights property," granting specific digital assets personal property rights.Alexander emphasized that the bill aims to maintain the UK's leading position in the global crypto space and attract more businesses and investments. Digital assets contribute £34 billion to the UK economy each year. The bill is a response to the UK Law Commission's 2023 report, which noted that while digital assets do not fall under real property or rights property, they should be regarded as property.

ChainCatcher news, Bitcoin mining company Cipher Mining (stock code: CIFR) announced an investment of $67.5 million to acquire a 250-acre property in West Texas, which includes a 300 MW data center, to expand its portfolio capacity to 2.5 GW.

ChainCatcher news, Aptos Labs announced a strategic investment in Mereo, aiming to transform the connection between artists and fans through an innovative fan interaction platform and address the issue of asset resale related to intellectual property.The Mereo platform helps artists identify and reward true fans, who gain access to real-world assets through their historical behaviors, enjoying benefits such as early access to merchandise and enhanced live experiences. These contributions are recorded on-chain in the form of non-transferable digital assets.Aptos Labs develops new solutions using the Digital Asset standard (DA), ensuring that artists allocate assets to loyal fans through non-transferable tokenized assets, preventing resale activities.

ChainCatcher message, the on-chain intellectual property agreement Story Protocol has announced on X that it has launched the public testnet Iliad, and users will be able to bring IP assets into the Story Network in the next 48 hours.

ChainCatcher news, the Law Commission of England and Wales urges its government to classify all crypto assets as a new form of personal property in its final report on digital assets. The Law Commission is an independent body primarily responsible for reviewing and recommending legal reforms in England and Wales. On July 30, it published a supplementary report highlighting the inadequacies of the current classification of personal property and its legal implications for crypto assets.UK law divides personal property into two main categories: tangible property (possessions) and intangible property (such as debts or rights). The Commission believes that digital assets, including cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, can possess both characteristics and hinder dispute resolution in court litigation.