Should crypto be rebranded?

What people need to realize is that the technology of blockchain, and the shenanigans that some people pull, are two totally different things. As more people get drawn into the profit potential of crypto, skeptics increasingly point out to the fraud and failure happening in the space. The various hacks, ransomware attempts on the Colonial…

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G20 exploring coordinated crypto regulation: Reuters

Nirmala Sitharaman, finance minister of current G20 president India, said the group of major economies is exploring whether it can coordinate on crypto regulation. Sitharaman — whose government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and central bank have long debated laws potentially banning cryptocurrencies — cited the sophisticated technology underpinning virtual assets as requiring discussion on…

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Australian Government Says It Is Working to Ensure ‘Regulation of Crypto Assets Protects Consumers’

The Australian government has said it will take steps to ensure the “regulation of crypto assets protects consumers” and one of these steps will be the reforming of “the licensing and custody of crypto assets.” The Anthony Norman Albanese-led government also said it has released a consultation paper that explores “which elements of the crypto…

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Australia bolsters crypto watchdogs in ”multi-stage plan to fight scams

The new measures from the Australian government come as cryptocurrency scams skyrocketed 162% to $221 million in 2022. The Australian government is bolstering its market regulator’s digital asset team as part of a “multi-stage approach” aimed at clamping down on crypto and ensuring proper risk disclosures from crypto firms. A Feb. 2 joint statement by Australian…

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Australia overtakes El Salvador to become 4th largest crypto ATM hub

El Salvador’s position as the fourth-largest crypto ATM hub was short-lived as Australia stepped up its game over the following months.

El Salvador, the first country to legalize Bitcoin (BTC), has been pushed down yet another spot in total crypto ATM installations as Australia records 216 ATMs stepping into the year 2023.

As part of El Salvador’s drive to establish Bitcoin as a legal tender, President Nayib Bukele had decided to install over 200 crypto ATMs across the country. While this move made El Salvador the third largest crypto ATM hub at the time after the United States and Canada in September 2021, Spain and Australia overtook the Central American country’s ATM count in 2022.

On October 2022, Cointelegraph reported that Spain became the third-largest crypto ATM hub after installing 215 crypto ATMs. However, Spain continued its installation drive and is home to 226 crypto ATMs at the time of writing. El Salvador’s position as the fourth-largest crypto ATM hub was short-lived as Australia stepped up its game over the following months.

In the last three months of 2022, Australia deployed 99 crypto ATMs, confirms data from CoinATMRadar. As of Jan. 1, 2023, Australia recorded 219 active crypto ATMs, overshadowing El Salvador by 7 ATMs at the time of writing.

Australia represents 0.6% of global crypto ATM installations and, at this rate, is well-positioned to take over Asia’s crypto ATM numbers, which stand at 312 ATMs. The total number of crypto ATMs worldwide is 38,602, out of which 6,071 ATMs were installed in 2022 alone.

Related: Florida best-prepared US state for widespread crypto adoption: Research

Nigeria’s drive to impose the adoption of an in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC) — eNaira — forced the government to limit ATM cash withdrawals to $225 (100,000 nairas) a week.

“Customers should be encouraged to use alternative channels (Internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, cards/POS, eNaira, etc.) to conduct their banking transactions,” noted Haruna Mustafa, the director of banking supervision, while announcing the drive.

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