The French Financial Markets Authority: The next few years may be a critical period for the DeFi industry, and a balanced regulatory framework will be introduced | Binance Morning News (June 28)

● French Financial Markets Authority: The next few years may be a critical period for the DeFi industry, and a balanced regulatory framework will be introduced

According to Foresight News, the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) stated in a DeFi discussion report that DeFi is currently in its early stages of development. On the one hand, it can promote innovation, but on the other hand, it also brings risks to participants and greater challenges to regulators. The next few years may be a critical period for the DeFi industry.

In France, the Autorité de Prudential et Regulation (ACPR) has already made some recommendations on DeFi regulation and has submitted a consultation. At the EU level, the European Commission will have to assess developments related to DeFi in crypto-asset markets and evaluate the need for a regulatory treatment of DeFi systems after the entry into force of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation. The work carried out by international institutions and organizations such as IOSCO and the FSB will also further clarify the guidance or recommendations to jurisdictions on the regulatory treatment of DeFi. The AMF fully supports these initiatives and intends to increase its engagement with public and private stakeholders with a view to forming a balanced regulatory framework that will help support the healthy development of DeFi in the long run.

● EU agency representatives reached a tentative agreement on changes to bank capital regulations, including setting capital requirements for crypto assets

Negotiators from the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission reached a provisional agreement on amendments to the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD). In order to address potential risks, MEPs also ensured that banks must disclose their exposure to crypto assets and set capital requirements for crypto assets until the Commission puts forward specific legislative proposals.

The interim political agreement must still be approved by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, followed by a full vote, after which the Council approves the agreement before it can take effect.

● Head of the Bank of England's CBDC project: Digital pound may use technologies other than blockchain and will focus on privacy

According to Cointelegraph, the Bank of England said it has made significant progress in its CBDC plans. Tom Mutton, head of the Bank of England’s fintech and CBDC projects, recently shared insights on the privacy aspects of CBDCs and why they might be looking for options other than blockchain as the underlying technology.

Mutton pointed out in an interview that at a recent meeting of technical experts hosted by the Bank of England to discuss the design of the digital pound, there was a clear disagreement on which ledger should be used for CBDC. Therefore, the bank aims to track multiple ledger technologies, including blockchain. Currently, the Bank of England and the Treasury are seeking feedback from stakeholders and technical experts on the proposed design of their CBDC. The deadline for feedback is June 30.

“We want compatibility with distributed ledger business models in the private sector, but we don’t believe that distributed ledgers offer any significant efficiencies over traditional ledgers,” Mutton said.

Additionally, Mutton touched on the privacy aspect of CBDCs, claiming that the digital pound would focus on providing privacy to users and would not collect personal data. He said the bank would focus on providing infrastructure, while private companies would be responsible for innovation. Mutton added that the Bank of England or the government would not have access to any user data, and even wallet providers that would have limited access to that data would need to obtain consent from users as to what data to store. The Bank of England has previously noted that the digital pound could coexist with private stablecoins, with a focus on the retail market.

● Japan Tax Agency: Cryptocurrency issuers do not need to pay capital gains tax on unrealized gains

According to CoinDesk, the notice issued by the National Tax Agency of Japan re-clarifies "how to tax crypto issuers who hold their own tokens", in which token issuers will no longer need to pay about 35% capital gains tax for unrealized gains, and the tax exemption applies to unrealized gains generated by continuously holding applicable cryptocurrencies or taking certain technical measures to prevent them from being transferred to others since the date of issuance. In addition, the Japanese industry association is also seeking other tax reforms, including taxing crypto gains at the same rate as stocks, and taxing individuals only when crypto gains are converted into fiat currency.

● U.S. lawmakers wrote to the Treasury Secretary and SEC Chairman, urging them to share their views on the Digital Asset Market Structure Act

According to the Daily Planet, Maxine Waters, a Democratic member of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, wrote to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, urging them to share their views on the draft Digital Asset Market Structure Bill, which may be voted on in the coming weeks.

Maxine Waters told Gary Gensler, “If you think you have suggestions or amendments to existing laws outside the scope of this bill that would protect investors in the digital asset space, I welcome those views as well.”

● Insider: Fidelity is about to submit an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF

According to The Block, people familiar with the matter revealed that Fidelity is expected to submit an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF soon, possibly as early as Tuesday.

It is reported that after BlackRock took the lead in submitting an application on June 15, other asset management companies also submitted such applications one after another, including Invesco, WisdomTree and Bitwise.

It is reported that Fidelity has tens of millions of retail brokerage clients and manages more than $11 trillion in assets. The company has also been involved in the cryptocurrency business for a long time. Since 2018, it has been operating related institutional custody and trading services in the market. In terms of asset management, the company has been providing fund products to European customers through Fidelity International since February 2022.

● Purpose Bitcoin ETF holds nearly 25,000 bitcoins, a new high for the year

According to CryptoSlate, with BlackRock’s recent application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, existing Bitcoin ETF products on the market are beginning to attract investor attention again.

Data shows that the Purpose Bitcoin ETF, a physically settled Bitcoin ETF listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada, currently holds 24,705 bitcoins, a new high this year, but it is still about 50% away from the high of nearly 48,000 BTC in June last year.

Analysts believe that this trend may indicate that investor confidence is recovering and interest in purchasing Bitcoin through ETF products is rekindled.

● Grayscale GBTC and ETHE revenue reached $44.13 million in June, the highest since May last year

According to The Block, data shows that Grayscale is expected to have earned approximately $44.13 million in revenue from its flagship products GBTC and ETHE this month, the best month for revenue performance since May 2022. The calculation is based on the total dollar amount held by Grayscale each month multiplied by Grayscale fees, with an annual fee of 2% for GBTC and 2.5% for ETHE.

● Web3 game development company Mythical Games completes $37 million C1 round of financing, led by Scytale Digital

According to The Block, Web3 game development company Mythical Games completed a US$37 million C1 round of financing, led by Scytale Digital, with participation from new investors ARK Invest, Animoca Brands, PROOF, Stanford Athletics, MoonPay and existing investors a16z, WestCap, Gaingels, Signum Growth and Struck Capital.

CEO John Linden said the terms of the financing are similar to its Series C round in 2021. In addition to expanding the scale of its games and its user base, Mythical Games intends to use the funds to achieve profitability.

In addition, Mythical Games plans to close this round of financing with an additional $20 million to $30 million later this year. The company raised $150 million in 2021 and another $50 million in January of this year, when the company's valuation reached $1.25 billion. It is reported that Mythical Games' most popular games include NFL Rivals and Blankos Block Party, which were launched on the Epic Games Store in September 2022. Last year, the company attracted more than 2.5 million new users and achieved sales of $1 million per day.

● Binance Labs announced its participation in Maverick Protocol’s strategic round of financing to build a more efficient DeFi infrastructure

According to Binance's official blog, Binance announced that its venture capital and incubation arm Binance Labs participated in a strategic round of financing for Maverick Protocol, a DeFi infrastructure provider focused on improving the efficiency of the DeFi market. Since its launch, Maverick Protocol's trading volume has been ranked among the top three Ethereum DEXs and the first DEX in the zkSync era, and has achieved a "capital efficiency" of up to 374%.