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  • 🚀PayPal's Stablecoin Launches In Africa,🌏Web3 In Asia Is The Place To Be,⚖️Regulation Wave Coming For Turkey's Crypto Boom

🚀PayPal's Stablecoin Launches In Africa,🌏Web3 In Asia Is The Place To Be,⚖️Regulation Wave Coming For Turkey's Crypto Boom

November 18, 2023

Your 5 minute emerging markets web3 weekly update

In This Issue

Africa
🔸PayPal's Stablecoin Comes to Africa: Yellow Card Pioneers PYUSD Integration
🔸South Africa Joins Push for Global Data Exchange To Bolster Crypto Tax Compliance and Fight Money Laundering

Asia
🔸Asia-Pacific: The Multifaceted Powerhouse of Web3 Innovation
🔸'Cryptocurrencies Have Failed the Test of Digital Money,': Singapore's Central Bank Managing Director

Latin America and the Caribbean
🔸Web3's Emerging Markets: How Brazil is Leading the Crypto Charge
🔸Argentina Takes a Step Towards Crypto Regulation

Eastern Europe
🔸Crypto Boom, Regulation, and Taxation: Turkey's Battle to Shed FATF Grey List Status
🔸Ukraine's Crypto Crime Fighters Sharpen Skills During OSCE and UN-Backed Training

Catch up on the latest episodes and clips from the second season of the EmergingVoices Podcast on YouTube!

Africa

Image Credit: Dall-E 3, Edited by Ariel Weaver

Yellow Card, Africa's leading cryptocurrency exchange, has become the first African fintech to launch PayPal USD (PYUSD), a stablecoin issued by Paxos. PYUSD's availability on Yellow Card simplifies fund transfers between the US and Africa, removing complexity while providing security, speed, and cost-effectiveness. This partnership emphasizes Yellow Card's commitment to financial inclusion and innovation in making digital currencies accessible to everyone in Africa, bridging the gap between traditional and digital financial systems in the region.

South Africa has joined 48 other countries in adopting the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) to bolster tax compliance, combat tax evasion, and address money laundering involving crypto assets. The South African Revenue Service expressed approval of the CRS, which facilitates the automatic exchange of information on crypto assets among different tax authorities. The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework standard aims to keep pace with the rapid growth of the crypto asset market while preserving recent advances in global tax transparency. A deadline of 2027 has been set for its incorporation into national legal frameworks.

Asia

Image Credit: Dall-E 3

In an OpEd by Gitcoin's Azeem Khan after returning from Token2049 in Singapore, he reflects on the depth and dynamism of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in the Web3 realm. While the crypto conversation often revolves around the United States and Europe, APAC's unique cultures contribute significantly to the evolving Web3 narrative, challenging and complementing Western perspectives. Azeem encourages the crypto industry to step outside its comfort zones and engage with the APAC region to truly advance. He recognizes the wealth of innovation and interconnectedness in this space while advocating for global collaboration, understanding the diverse cultures of APAC, and seeking innovation beyond familiar territories to advance the future of Web3 and crypto.

Singapore's central bank managing director, Ravi Menon, believes that stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) will play a significant role in the future financial ecosystem, while cryptocurrencies have failed as digital money due to their sharp speculative price swings and inadequacy as a medium of exchange during his keynote at the Singapore Fintech Festival. He highlighted the importance of well-regulated stablecoins as a complement to CBDCs and tokenized bank liabilities, emphasizing the broader use of digital assets beyond crypto speculation for improving global liquidity and streamlining financial transactions. Menon emphasized Singapore's focus on digital assets beyond crypto speculation. He introduced the Global Layer One (GL1) initiative as part of the effort to create a global digital asset infrastructure for seamless cross-border transactions while underlining the importance of FinTech in solving real-world problems.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Image Credit: Dall-E 3

Cryptocurrency is still attracting new users to Web3, especially in emerging markets like Brazil, according to José Ribeiro, CEO of crypto exchange Coinext. He believes that Bitcoin transaction volumes in Brazil will reach record levels in 2023, driven by increased competition from global exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Coinbase, as well as a potential decrease in interest rates in the country. Ribeiro emphasizes the importance of focusing on crypto fundamentals rather than price movements and the positive impact of regulatory clarity in boosting innovation and competition in Brazil's crypto and payments sector, highlighting the country's efforts in implementing systems like the PIX payment system and the upcoming central bank digital currency (CBDC) called DREX, which is set to enhance blockchain adoption in Brazil's financial industry.

A draft bill has been introduced in Argentina to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. The proposal, presented by lawyer Ricardo Mihura Estrada, president of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina, aims to provide a legal framework for decentralized digital assets and centralized tools like stablecoins. The draft bill addresses issues of decentralization, centralization, and the powers of the Argentine state concerning cryptocurrency operations, focusing on promoting decentralization while allowing for regulated centralized assets and exchanges.

Eastern Europe

Image Credit: Dall-E 3

Turkey is expected to introduce new regulations to govern the cryptocurrency market in 2024, with a focus on licensing and taxation, as the country seeks to address concerns raised by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and remove its "grey list" status related to money laundering and financial crimes. The forthcoming regulations may also include capital adequacy requirements, digital security measures, custody services, and proof of reserves to prevent abuse of the system. Turkey ranks fourth globally in raw crypto transaction volumes and its cryptocurrency market has been booming due to rising inflation and a depreciating national currency, making regulations essential for ensuring investor security and compliance with international standards.

Fourteen Ukrainian supervisory and law enforcement officials participated in a training course in Vienna to enhance their skills in identifying and investigating financial crimes involving cryptocurrencies and virtual assets. The course, organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Economic and Environmental Activities in partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, aimed to strengthen Ukraine's capacity to combat money laundering and financial crimes amid the growing use of virtual assets in the country. Participants learned advanced techniques including tracing criminal transactions on different blockchains and best practices for investigating financial crimes related to virtual assets, aligning with an OSCE-led project supported by multiple countries to mitigate money laundering risks associated with virtual assets in Ukraine and other nations.

Thanks for reading and have a great week ahead!

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Written by Jon Lira. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

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