Fintech

The Daily: EU Budgets €1M to Monitor Crypto, Wyoming Mulls Fintech Bank

from Bitcoin Com 5 years ago 0 0 923

The European securities and markets watchdog ESMA has dedicated over 1 million euros to finance the monitoring of developments in the crypto sector. Also in The Daily this Saturday, Wyoming legislators are working on a bill that would facilitate the provision of banking services to crypto and blockchain companies, and according to a new survey, Wall Street institutions are more optimistic about bitcoin than crypto community members active on social media.

Also read: Empty ETH Blocks, Bitcoin Populism, Crypto Flip-Floppers Exposed

ESMA Saves 1 Million Euros for Oversight of the Fintech Industry

ESMA is responsible for ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Markets and Financial Instruments Directive of the European Union. Some of them concern the providers of instruments such as contracts-for-difference (CFDs) and binary options. The marketing and distribution of CFDs among retail investors is currently banned in the EU. Recently, the agency announced its decision to extend the restrictions applied to a number of financial derivatives, including CFDs, until the end of January.

Wyoming Bill Envisages the Creation of a Bank for Crypto Companies

The group has been preparing a draft law to address the lack of adequate access to secure and reliable banking services these businesses are currently facing. According to the authors – senators, representatives and finance executives – this has so far hampered the development of blockchain services and products in the marketplace.

If adopted, the new bill would create conditions for the establishment of “special purpose depository institutions” (SPDIs). An SPDI can be licensed as a money transmitter in Wyoming and provide exchange services for both cryptocurrency and fiat funds. The bank-like organization would have to open a branch in the state and operate within the federal banking system.

According to the draft, this institution would be obliged to maintain a 100% cash reserve to match digital money accounts. Businesses would be required to hold a minimum balance of $100,000 in either fiat or cryptocurrency.

Institutions Think Bitcoin Has Bottomed, Survey Finds

Responding to the question, “When do you think bitcoin will bottom?”, 44% of the Twitter users said it had already hit its low, Fundstrat managing partner and head of research Tom Lee revealed. At the same time, 54% of the representatives of Wall Street financial institutions questioned in the survey believe the worst period for bitcoin prices is over.

According to Lee, institutional investors are more optimistic about the future levels of the price of BTC – 57% said bitcoin core would rise anywhere from $15,000 to “the moon” by the end of 2019. Only 40% of the polled Twitter bloggers, however, shared the same prediction.