For a very long time Vanuatu, always the most popular offshore licensing jurisdiction for self-regulated FX/CFD operations, disapproved dealing with Cryptocurrencies in all forms for its VFSC licenses, to the extent that if a small reference to crypto was made on the licensee’s website, regardless whether as a means for payment, a traded commodity or a CFD, the license could have been revoked and the 50K$ bond forfeited. Seemingly all of it is about to change.

We sat down with Advocate & Notary Tal Itzhak Ron, Chairman and CEO, and Advocate Genia Gurevitz, Head of Banking and Payments Services, from leading legal and banking firm, Tal Ron, Drihem & Co. to shed some light on what measures are taking effect in Vanuatu this week, and if there is anything groundbreaking about it (Hint: There is, indeed, and Finance Magnates are the first to reveal it!).

Tal explains that as of July 22^nd, the amendment to the Financial Dealers Licensing Act, without any preliminary announcement, surprisingly went into effect which allows the “distribution, secondary trading, custodial storage and provision of investment advice or other services in relation to digital assets.” This comes after years that any engagement with cryptocurrencies would be restricted and seen as illegal by the regulators in Vanuatu, making anyone who wished to deal with Crypto go other ways.

Tal Ron, Drihem & Co., Law Firm lobbied massively for that change to happen, prepared for the announcement, and built the payments infrastructure 1.5 years in advance to facilitate the needs of those wishing to enrich their services offered and give their business a competitive edge, Genia continues. This amendment placed Vanuatu in the major league, with other, more established, jurisdictions that Tal Ron, Drihem & Co. have already been using since 2017 to represent clients in issuing coins and engage with other blockchain crypto activities, such as Gibraltar, Switzerland, Singapore, Malta, and Estonia. The amendment seeks to expand the possibilities for already-licensed companies in Vanuatu (for which Tal and Genia’s firm are responsible for a large percentage of those), as well as to attract new digital asset companies for which the most important part is to know how to bank them properly and protect their interests while staying fully compliant and socially responsible.

The novelty about the new legislation is not about brokers being able to use Crypto deposits or trade or offer Crypto for themselves or at their business, which is great in itself, but now they are finally able, if play their card right and found adequate, to open a bank account in exceptional brick-and-mortar banks such as Bank Frick in Liechtenstein, which our firm partners with, Genia explains.

Genia discloses that this type of legislation is similar to what they have already dealt with in the past in Gibraltar, one that effectively allows (or does not prevent) crypto-entrepreneurs to launch their own digital currencies. Therefore, Tal’s team has already gathered the knowledge and infrastructure to facilitate the growing demand for Vanuatu companies from all aspects and built a complex network of payment companies accepting the Vanuatu license, thus allowing companies regulated there to issue coins and collect payments, aside of operating FX sites.

• Ethereum Classic price history presents a bullish outlook after its recent Magneto hard fork development.
• Crypto investment giant Grayscale signals trouble ahead after the months of dumping of its ETC holdings.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) was touted as the second-best gainer in Q2, 2021. At writing time, ETC was trading at $52.91, having hiked roughly 10 percent in the day. The altcoin has been registering gains in 7-days, 14-days, and 30-days charts of 25 percent, 6 percent, and 32 percent respectively. ETC has also increased nearly 700 percent over the year. From a technical point of view, ETC paints a very bullish picture.

After a bullish start to the month, more buyers are likely to flock to the altcoin. ETC could register a further uptrend and likely retest a high of $60. However, Grayscale’s recent trend has triggered panic among some holders. Data from the firm reveals that the investment firm has been dumping its ETC holdings.

More on Ethereum Classic outlook

With its development history, many ETC proponents predict more bullish projections for the altcoin. Nevertheless, on-chain metrics seem to suggest the opposite. For instance, the altcoin’s development activity was on a downtrend with levels last seen in January 2021. Prevailing market sentiments are also bearish, according to LunarCrush. Furthermore, the number of active addresses and 24-hours transactions on ETC dipped below May’s levels.

Additionally, the crypto investment giant Grayscale has for the past four months, been dumping its ETC holdings. In the past month, the firm has sold 28,382 ETC, cutting down its holdings from 12.54 million to 12.32 million. Such actions show quite a bearish outlook for ETC.

Initially, Grayscale supported ETC and even produced an investment thesis projecting ETC’s eight-fold growth to $125.40. ETC achieved and surpassed this mark point, hitting an all-time high of $179.83 during the recent bull run.

ETC recent upgrade

Recently, Ethereum Classic announced via its Twitter, a successful hard-fork activation. Dubbed “Magneto”, the update was first mentioned on June 11, raising hopes for an ETC resultant price hike. More so, a price uptick was expected as Ethereum’s top developer Vitalik Buterin is a proud validator of ETC.

🎉 The #EthereumClassic #MagnetoHF hard-fork activated successfully.
– hash-rate stable
– majority nodes updated
– major service providers updated
Please update your #ETC nodes if you have not done so already as Magneto contains an important security patch. Good work #ETCArmy! pic.twitter.com/JY0ipn1wx6

— Ethereum Classic (@eth_classic) July 24, 2021

Activated at block 13,189,133, the hard fork comprised of Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) in Ethereum’s Berlin upgrade early this year. Magneto’s developers noted that the hash-rate is stable, and majority of the nodes along major service providers are updated. Prominent exchanges, such as Binance, also supported the hard fork.

The upgrade provides the much needed extra network security, cost-efficiency and low energy, among other benefits. Its yields are the result of months of multiple testnet experimentation and optimization.

Since the announcement of this upgrade on July 24, ETC has rallied 24 percent. While the recent news and bullish prognosis are sensible, things could go left for ETC should the pullback extend below $45.

Bloomberg Intelligence commodity strategist Mike McGlone is weighing in on Bitcoin’s (BTC) outlook and whether or not the top crypto is more likely to revisit $60,000 than to drop to support at $20,000.

Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) senior analyst, shares a section of McGlone’s report in which the commodity strategist explains how BTC’s current consolidation above $30,000 is reminiscent of its price pattern in 2019 when the leading cryptocurrency launched a 250% rally in a span of three months.

“Bitcoin is more likely to revert toward $60,000 resistance vs. $20,000 support, if its history of recovering from similar too-cold conditions are any guide. Our graphic depicts the benchmark crypto akin to the 2018-2019 consolidation period of around $4,000, just before launching to the 2019 peak at about $14,000. The more tactical-trading-oriented bears seem to proliferate when Bitcoin sustains at about 30% threshold below its 20-week moving average, allowing the buy-and-hold types time accumulate.”

McGlone says that Bitcoin’s consolidation above $30,000 suggests that BTC is setting the stage for a sustained uptrend as opposed to triggering another round of sell-off.

“Shorter-Term Bitcoin Pain Typical for Potential Longer-Term Gain:

Probing $30,000 is more a matter of supportive maturation within a longer-term pricing uptrend than a signal that Bitcoin is destined for dark days. China’s crackdown [confirms] Bitcoin’s revolutionary value.”

Looking at China’s harsh stance on Bitcoin trading and mining, McGlone says its crackdown on BTC and other crypto assets could be a signal that the country has hit a ceiling in its economic rise.

“China’s rejection of open-source software crypto-assets may mark a plateau in the country’s economic ascent, we believe, while extolling the value of the U.S. dollar and Bitcoin.”

McGlone suggests that when it comes to the digitalization of money, the US Dollar is ahead of the curve, as he highlights that top stablecoins such as Tether (USDT), Binance USD (BUSD) and USD Coin (USDC) have reserves denominated in dollars.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Olga Salt