On January 12, 2022, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority released a discussion paper on crypto assets and stablecoins, inviting the industry and the public to comment on the regulatory approach. In the consultation paper, the HKMA identified seven major risks for stablecoins associated with means of payment, and hoped that the industry would comment on existing regulations so that the related risks could be prevented.
On January 13, 2022, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, announced on its blog that it was acquiring FairX, a futures exchange. The acquisition will allow Coinbase to offer cryptocurrency futures products in the United States.
On January 14, 2022, the cryptocurrency Dogecoin surged on the latest remarks from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk said Tesla will accept Dogecoin as a payment tool for purchases.
On January 17, 2022, the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) stated that it will impose restrictions on the promotion of cryptocurrencies by public figures, requiring influential individuals and sponsoring companies to report at least 10 days in advance when promoting crypto activities, and Point out the risks of cryptocurrencies when promoting, or you will be fined.
On January 18, 2022, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) publicly issued guidelines stating that domestic cryptocurrency service providers should not promote their services to the Singaporean public. This means that providers should not conduct cryptocurrency services promotions in public areas in Singapore, on third-party platforms, or using media influencers, but only on their own company websites, mobile apps or official social media accounts.
On January 20, 2022, the Central Bank of Russia stated in a report published by it that cryptocurrencies have the characteristics of “pyramid schemes”, undermine the sovereignty of monetary policy and pose a threat to the Russian financial system. A ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining will be proposed – a ban on the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies (including cryptocurrency exchanges, P2P platforms) in Russia.
On January 21, 2022, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announcement, BlackRock will establish the iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF, which, if approved by the SEC, will be the first cryptocurrency-linked ETF in the United States.
On January 24, 2022, Bitcoin fell 4.3% in a 24-hour period, falling below the $34,000 mark, extending its decline. Ether fell 6.8 percent to hit its lowest level since July at $2,201.
On February 8, 2022, the Russian government released a policy document setting out the principles for the regulation of cryptocurrencies, and said it had received support from the Russian Central Bank. At present, Russia has reached an agreement on the regulation of the circulation of cryptocurrencies, and decided to include the circulation of cryptocurrencies in the scope of legislative supervision.
On February 14, 2022, Uber’s U.S. stock price has nearly halved since the beginning of 2021. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi expressed his views on record inflation, Uber Eats business and cryptocurrency payments in an interview. He loosely mentioned that cryptocurrency payments will definitely be accepted in the future, and called for improving transaction costs and environmental protection.
On February 15, 2022, during the Asian trading session on Tuesday, geopolitical risks eased, cryptocurrencies rose as a whole, Bitcoin returned to $43,000, Ethereum re-reached the $3,000 mark, and Binance Coin BNB/USD rose 5% to $413 , Dogecoin rose 3.3% to $0.149, Shiba Inucoin rose 5.7% and The Sandbox rose 6.10%.
On February 18, 2022, the Ukrainian parliament passed a bill legalizing cryptocurrencies, setting a framework for the regulation and management of digital assets such as Bitcoin. The new version of the Virtual Assets Act it passed puts crypto regulation under the oversight of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission.
On February 24, 2022, Global cryptocurrencies and stock markets plummeted after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on a national broadcast that his troops would conduct a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Russian troops fired missiles in several areas of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv and the city of Kharkiv. Some media said that Ukraine’s largest bitcoin mine was hit by a Russian-made missile, causing the mine to go offline and the computing power to drop by 33%. The loss is unknown.
On March 1, 2022, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced that it plans to launch small bitcoin and ethereum options, which are currently awaiting review by regulators and are expected to start trading on March 28.
On early March 2022, Forbes and Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited announced a strategic investment of $200 million from Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure providers.
On March 5, 2022, Visa and Mastercard, which have separately confirmed their respective decisions, have a combined market share of 90% in credit and debit card transactions outside of China. In addition, PayPal and Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, are also joining the ranks. Deloitte and EY said on March 7 they would sever ties with Russia, following the lead of KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers, two other big four accounting firms.
On March 9, 2022, US President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order on the Development of Digital Assets (Executive Order to Ensure Responsible Development of Digital Assets).
On March 10, 2022, e-commerce giant eBay announced that it is exploring options for “new payment methods”, or will launch its first digital wallet, a digital platform called eBay Vault, in the second quarter of this fiscal year. .
On March 14, 2022, the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) stated that China and the U.S. are working on a cooperation agreement that will allow them to examine the affairs of U.S.-registered Chinese mainland auditors and some Hong Kong auditors engaged in mainland business. Place.
On March 14, 2022, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament voted by a vote of 30 to 23, with 6 abstentions, against one of the versions of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Act, which seeks to ban the adoption of POW Cryptocurrencies (Proof-of-Work based) are circulated in the EU.
On March 16, 2022, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation tweeted that Ukraine has legalized the crypto industry and President Volodymyr Zelensky has officially signed the “Virtual Assets Regulations”. According to the law, crypto-asset businesses in Ukraine as well as overseas will be able to operate legally.
On March 22, 2022, Robinhood, an online trading platform in the United States, announced the launch of the Cash Card, a new debit card. A major new feature of the card is that users can choose when to spend money. , automatically invest in assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies.
On April 26, 2022, Fidelity Investments of the United States will add the option of cryptocurrency to 401(k) retirement benefit plans to support investors in depositing Bitcoin into their retirement accounts, Fidelity is also the first Home of the major retirement investment plan providers that do this.
On April 27, 2022, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, announced the launch of the new i Shares Blockchain and Tech ETF (I BLC), allowing investors to gain access to blockchain without directly investing in cryptocurrencies assets.
On April 29, 2022, Wall Street investment banking giant Goldman Sachs has offered its first bitcoin-backed loan.
On May 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched a new fundraising platform called United24 in an effort to receive charitable donations from around the world. In addition to supporting Ukraine’s war with Russia, the funds will work with international organizations and major corporations to promote Ukraine around the world.
On May 13, 2022, the price of the Terra “stablecoin” has fallen by 99.98% to about 5 cents, the worst drop in the history of the cryptocurrency. Several cryptocurrency exchanges, including WazirX, CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX, have announced their delisting.
On May 21, 2022, the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, said that cryptocurrencies are “worthless” and that they should be regulated to protect the people.
On May 23, 2022, cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea were notified by the police that they were ordered to freeze the company funds of the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG), a foundation supporting the cryptocurrency Terra, suspected of misappropriation-related funds flowing into LFG .
On May 25, 2022, Andreessen Horowitz launched a $4.5 billion fund for blockchain-based projects. Specifically, it will allocate $1.5 billion for seed investment and $3 billion for venture capital.
On May 28, 2022, the Terra team tweeted that Terra’s new blockchain was launched on May 28, and that new LUNA tokens will be airdropped to users as a plan to revive the ecosystem. a part of.
On June 3, 2022, Crypto.com received government approval to expand operations in Dubai; Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX launched accredited cryptocurrency trading services in Japan.
On June 4, 2022, Binance was approved to operate in Idaho, expanding its U.S. operations to 46 states.
On June 11, 2022, Huobi Global launched Ivy Blocks, a billion-dollar blockchain and Web3 investment arm.
On June 12, 2022, cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network issued a statement announcing the suspension of all withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts due to “extreme market conditions.”
On June 14, 2022, BlockFi and Crypto.com lay off hundreds of jobs amid weak market conditions.
On June 14, 2022, Binance suspended BTC withdrawals for 3 hours, claiming that transactions stalled causing a backlog.
On June 15, 2022, Coinbase announced that it would lay off 18% of its workforce to cut costs.
On June 18, 2022, Bitcoin price fell below $20,000 to $19,079 for the first time since December 2020, and Ether also fell below the $1,000 mark to $993, hitting its lowest level since January 2021.
On June 23, 2022, Crypto.com said it had received approval from Singapore’s main financial regulator to provide a range of payment services under the city-state’s Payment Services Act (PSA).
On June 25, 2022, Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit expanded its operations to Argentina.
On July 20, 2022, Tesla revealed that the slump in bitcoin prices affected its second-quarter earnings. The company has sold about 75% of its bitcoin holdings, saying it has exchanged about 75% of its bitcoin holdings for fiat currency.