Welcome to Monday, it’s the start of another week and that means it’s time for Hard Fork’s wrap-up of the weekend’s top cryptocurrency and blockchain headlines.
Take a look.
1. New cryptocurrency tax form from IRS
According to CNBC, the US Internal Revenue Service has released a new tax form, asking cryptocurrency traders to declare their holdings.
The IRS’ new “Schedule 1 for the 2019 tax season,” asks tax payers if they received, sold, sent, exchanged, or acquired virtual currency by any other means over the past year.
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Earlier this year, the IRS started sending letters to known cryptocurrency traders telling them to fess up about their trading habits.
2. South Korea also looking to tax cryptocurrency traders
In a similar move to the IRS, the government in South Korea is looking to levy taxes on citizens that trade cryptocurrency.
The Korea Times reports that the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance is exploring a revised bill to tax capital gains from cryptocurrency transactions. The bill is reportedly going to be drawn up early next year.
The that the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance confirmed that it’s exploring a revised bill to tax capital gains from cryptocurrency transactions. The bill is reportedly going to be drawn up early next year.
3. Ethereum update goes live
The latest Ethereum network update went live over the weekend. Dubbed “Istanbul,” the update was actioned at block number 9,069,000, Ethereum tweeted yesterday.
#Ethereum's #Istanbul network upgrade is now live! Congratulations to everyone who worked to make it happen.
Want to learn more? Check out details on Istanbul's included changes here: https://t.co/KIMLb0ujce
— Ethereum (@ethereum) December 8, 2019
Istanbul features six major upgrades designed to improve the Ethereum network’s efficiency and operational speed. Read more about it here.
4. China is allegedly going to test digital currency in two cities
China’s central bank is reportedly going to test its digital currency in Shenzhen and Suzhou, The Block reports.
Four state-run commercial banks, in collaboration with three state-owned telecom companies, are reportedly working to find the best way to introduce the digital currency.
Earlier this year, Bank officials from the country said it had no timeline for the roll-out of its digital currency, but according to the latest report claims China’s central bank has accelerated the project in response to Facebook’s announcement of its own “cryptocurrency” Libra.
5. The US SEC wants yet more information about Telegram’s token sale
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is now looking to question messaging app Telegram’s former chief investment advisor. The SEC is asking John Hyman to testify and hand over documents about Telegram’s suspicious token sale, writes CoinDesk.
The SEC had to ask the High Court of England and Wales to get hold of the information.
Telegram was supposed to distribute its blockchain-based token TON back in October, but has put that on hold to “maintain the status quo” until it settles the legal battle with the SEC.
Well there you have it, another weekend’s headlines caught up with. Now go get on with your week!
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