Weekly Top 3: September 9

Our weekly crypto newsletter is here! Sign up?here?to receive this newsletter in your inbox every Friday!

In this edition, you can learn more about the new British PM's crypto stance, Australia's new crypto police division, and Russia legalizing crypto for international payments! Visit our blog to find our previous editions in?German?or?English, or?download our app?and create an account to start tracking your whole crypto portfolio for free!

United Kingdom: How Crypto Friendly Is the?New Prime Minister?

The beginning of this week saw the head of the conservative party Liz Truss take office as UK’s new Prime Minister. So, what is her stance on cryptocurrency? And will we see any developments in the near future?

If we zoom out from the crypto world for a second, we may be able to find answers. The new PM is facing overwhelming economic challenges - in addition to the energy crisis and falling national average wage, the UK has the worst inflation rate among the G7 countries. All of which would have to be addressed before looking into the nation's position on crypto.

While it may be asking a lot for any developments in the near future, it’s not to say that crypto will be disregarded entirely. For example, while serving as chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2018, Truss tweeted:?“We should welcome cryptocurrencies in a way that doesn't constrain their potential. Liberate free enterprise areas by removing regulations that restrict prosperity.”

While this instills hope among crypto enthusiasts, it remains yet to be seen if Truss will steer the country toward wider crypto adoption, though we may need to be patient to see any genuine change.

Australia: New Police Crypto Division

Some exciting news from “Down Under”: In response to a significant spike in cryptocurrencies being used in criminal activity, the Australian state police recently established a new task force focused on monitoring crypto transactions. This development seems to be prompted by the recent increase of criminally acquired physical and digital assets seized by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The net sum of all seizures during the past couple of years stands at $600 million.

While the AFP admits that around $380 million of that was in the form of real estate, $200 million was in fiat, and only $35 million was in cars, boats, aircraft, artworks, luxury items, and crypto, it still deemed the creation of a crypto-focused task force necessary. Such overreaction is not surprising, considering earlier this year, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre’s deputy chief executive argued that cryptocurrencies could be “used anonymously,” making them “attractive for criminals.”

Russia: Legalizing?Crypto for International Payments

To protect the Russian ruble, the Duma passed the “On Digital Financial Assets” law in 2020, which legally banned the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) for payment purposes. However, after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Kremlin’s sentiment towards crypto shifted due to the economic sanctions by the West and Russia’s Swift ban. Now the Russian government seems to have followed in Iran’s footsteps.?

Russia’s Central Bank has agreed with the Ministry of Finance to legalize crypto for cross-border payments. Furthermore, deputy finance minister Alexei Moiseev emphasized the need to enable local crypto services in Russia, stating that many Russians use foreign platforms to create a crypto wallet. This decision has raised significant controversy amidst fears in the West?that this would enable Russian oligarchs to avoid sanctions and transfer funds internationally.

The news has great significance because of the role that cryptocurrencies are beginning to play in cross-border trade. Were the topic less politically sensitive, one could easily celebrate the wider adoption of faster and cheaper transactions that are transparent and easy to track without the need for intermediaries and generally more secure payments with the elimination of the double spending problem, among the many perks of wider adoption of crypto, especially Bitcoin.