U.S releases new cryptocurrency regulation amid CBN suppression

The United States continues to show the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) how to handle cryptocurrency in a changing financial system which has for long been controlled by fiat.

The U.S is one of the countries that has allowed cryptocurrency playout. Rather than stifle its growth, the US has allowed crypto exchanges to operate while acting as watchdog, regulating its activities as the crypto market grows.

In Nigeria, the CBN had banned commercial banks from operating with the exchanges, cutting the link between crypto traders and their bitcoin or other digital assets sources.

The apex bank had also ordered banks to close accounts belonging to cryptocurrency exchanges, stating that the crypto is used for fraudulent activities. This sentiment is not shared by the U.S Treasury which has chosen to regulate rather than take the same path Godwin Emefiele’s CBN took.

Read also: China bans financial institutions from cryptocurrency transactions

In a document released on Thursday from the U.S Treasury, a new regulation was announced to increase the oversight of the government on the crypto market, as it projects that cryptocurrency will become a big part of business income in the next decade.

The agency directed businesses involved in crypto to report every $10,000 it receives in cryptocurrency transactions to the United States Internal Revenue Service.

“As with cash transactions, businesses that receive crypto assets with a fair market value of more than $10,000 would also be reported on.”

It added that, “Despite constituting a relatively small portion of business income today, cryptocurrency transactions are likely to rise in importance in the next decade, especially in the presence of a broad-based financial account reporting regime.”

By Fakoyejo Ayodeji…

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