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Not so long ago, most nations did not completely regulate cryptocurrencies. However, a recently leaked European Commission draft suggests that the EU will soon have laws and regulations that will monitor the capital gained from these digital assets.

Do read: What is a cryptocurrency and how to use it?

According to the leaked draft, the new set of rules would be issued by the end of this month. Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) in Europe proposed that every cryptocurrency should be treated as per any other regulated monetary instrument.

The newly proposed regulation will have a straight-to-the-point set of rules, with cryptocurrency to be considered as every other investment or capital.

Also read: Types of Cryptocurrency- Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin And Ripple

While cryptocurrency regulation might seem to make investors more confident about crypto investments, some experts argue that it might do the complete opposite obstruct its growth and value.

Unlike Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFD, the European institution that is making sure European financial markets are transparent), MiCA recommends that a definition should be made about what crypto assets really are, followed by how they should be regulated for those showing interest in crypto investments.

The legislation will apply to all cryptocurrencies, people who in some way deal with them, as well as to exchange markets, cryptocurrency platforms and service providers. The principles for service providers may appear similar to the cryptocurrency definition of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The new legislation is designed to maintain the cryptocurrency technology growth, while regulating it at the same time.

European Central Banks President Christine Lagarde in an online conference with the Deutsche Bundesbank stated that people have changed their opinions during the pandemic, regarding new ways of payments due to hygienic reason. People have shown more interest in contactless payments, which are likely to get even more popular.

Interesting read: Bitcoin The Direction It Will Take In 2020 And Beyond

She added that Europe is still not as advanced when it comes to using more digital currencies.

Chinas Central Bank has already started trials on implementing the digital currency as a way of regular payments and is currently testing the approach in richer cities in the country.

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How is cryptocurrency going to be regulated in the EU? - Kalkine Media

Today, well be talking about something that might interest numerous of you future investors and traders. In spite of the fact that a few might argue that comparing cryptocurrency trading with forex trading might be like comparing oranges and tomatoes, but youll see for yourself thats entirely the case.

Forex is a worldwide financial market for currency trade. The number of dealers around the world nowadays is colossal, and the forex turnover is more than 6.6 trillion dollars a day. The market comprises financial institutions, banks, businesses and retail investors, all of which trade national currencies either as a matter of doing business or as a means to create a benefit. This market developed from the gold standard in the 19th century and the subsequent establishment of the United States dollar as the world reserve currency within the 20th century.

Finally, internet trading within the 90s has made Forex more accessible and more mechanized than ever, which is what has helped to grow to its current size.

Not a long time ago, cryptocurrency was included in the list of trading instruments on the trade. High cost and incredible volatility have turned it into a modern trend. Nowadays, numerous forex brokers offer cryptocurrency trading intermediary services. Lets attempt to discover if cryptocurrency exchanging is truly as profitable as it is said.

Unlike the forex market, the crypto market is still young 11 years old. Cryptocurrencies, by definition, are digital assets, so the market deals solely with digital assets. The crypto showcase rapidly blossomed within the later decade due to the rise of different altcoins and the foundation of numerous unmistakable trades and marketplaces.

Compared to forex, the crypto market contains a daily volume of around $100 billionits not much compared to forex, but $100 billion is still a lot of money. Most of this cash is traded through exchanges.Cryptocurrencies are notorious for being unstable, which can make them appealing as investment opportunities. In terms of what affects a cryptocurrencys cost, there are numerous variables such as supply and request, control, and media discernment, and some more.

Cryptocurrencies can be dangerous sometimes. In spite of that, very few crypto exchanges will put warnings into their traders. On the other side, there are more sophisticated markets like Forex for example. Based on research done on this topic, especially this particular Axiory broker review, some forex brokers are obligated by law to make sure that everyone is aware of risk intervention and warnings. Forex brokers tend to have government licences, which is something that many crypto exchanges lack.

Key takeaways:

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Will crypto trading get as regulated as the stocks or FX trading? - Crypto News Flash

The daring few involved in cryptocurrency and blockchain in the Balkans say the benefits could be big, if the regulatory framework is put in place.

By Bojan Stojkovski

ash may still be king in the Balkans, but growth in online payments particularly in the era of COVID-19 is fuelling optimism among those in the region pressing the case for cryptocurrency.

In the countries of the former Yugoslavia, many remember the hyperinflation of the 1990s and trust in traditional financial institutions is still in short supply, giving cryptocurrency a potential edge.

The ability of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to be censorship resistant is seen as a great advantage, said Arvin Kamberi, vice president of the Bitcoin Association of Serbia.

While cash is still king in this area, we are also witnessing that the number of online payments is growing especially pushed by the current COVID-19 developments.

According to Kamberi, while cryptocurrency mining remains one of the main activities for users in the region, thanks mostly to the low cost electricity, growth of a cryptoasset industry and IT companies working in this field could provide a welcome fillip to economies across the region.

Apart from cryptocurrency, the new cryptoasset industry will offer a variety of financial, legal or other services based on decentralised solutions, Kamberi told BIRN.

Serbia is preparing the set of regulations in order to address this issue, and this can be a big push forward to a financial industry 2.0, and can give the Balkans a chance to play a much bigger role in this development.

Colibra, a Bulgarian startup, recentlylaunchedan option for travellers by which they can receive compensation for flight delays in Bitcoin.

In the Croatian town of Sveta Nedelja just west of the capital Zagreb, local authorities haveintroduceda service which enables shops and local institutions to accept payment in cryptocurrencies, while on the coast, Telos, one of the worlds most active blockchain platforms, together with the Croatia-based no-code DApp development platformKatalyo, willtokenisereal estate assets worth approximately 30 million euros.

The tokenisation process, which basically turns real estate assets into digital assets, means that token holders will receive dividends in the form of fiat-based stable coins, generated from rental revenue.

We are at the dawn of tokenisation revolutionising the real estate industry, said Douglas Horn, Chief Architect of the Telos Blockchain.

Telos has been building toolsets to make it easier for developers to create instantaneous, fee-less, transparent and governed tokenised economies as well as the adjacent tools like DeFi (Decentralised Finance), cross-chain transactions, decentralised data storage and oracles that increase their value even further, he told BIRN.

Ivica Ljubicic, co-founder of Katalyo, said: With Telos, we have the tools we need to support a sophisticated platform, which helps us welcome investors to the Croatian real estate market.

Industry insiders say these and similar examples across the region mean that the potential for the development and implementation of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology is here to stay. But they can face hurdles.

A lot of projects aimed to tokenise real estate for years and have failed because of the same reason they were unable to gather enough properties, Vlaho Hrdalo, chair of the Croatian Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Association, told BIRN.

If I were to bet on any one project succeeding, I would go for CrowdEstate by experienced startuper Srdjan Kupresanin, who just rolled-out a similar thing with cars in Austria to success.

Knowledge and experience are not enough, however. Regulations are required to ease the burden on companies working in the field, experts say.

Several companies from this area are working on top notch cryptocurrency projects: like in DeFi, second layer protocol solutions for scaling of payment networks, blockchain based protocol for tokenisation of assets, but again it is hard to keep them here, said Kamberi.

We would need proactive, positive regulation in order to ease the burden of such start-ups and IT companies.

One success story that others might try to emulate is Slovenia.

Slovenia implemented crypto friendly regulations and this boosted the industry and the use of cryptocurrencies, said Kamberi. The country now has more than a thousand places in which you can spend cryptocurrencies includingmajor retailers like Tu or Burger King Slovenia.

Serbia also seems ready and willing toadopta set of crypto-regulations which would address cryptocurrency trading.

Belgrade-based Electronic Currency District, ECD, is a Bitcoin exchange that launched in 2012. Since then, their service has evolved and also opened branches across the region, the company told BIRN.

We have added five new cryptocurrencies, we set up a network of Crypto ATMs in Serbia, developed application for bitcoin payments and opened branches in [North] Macedonia and Montenegro, said co-founder and CEO Aleksandar Matanovic.

Currently the greatest potential in is remittances, Matanovic told BIRN.

Remittances are probably the biggest chance for crypto to be used as money. The Balkans is a huge remittance market and sending money internationally is both faster and cheaper if you use crypto.

With a supportive regulatory framework, I really believe this industry could flourish, beneffiting not only those directly involved but also society as a whole.

Unlike Slovenia, Croatia, or Bulgaria, countries like North Macedonia are lagging behind, mostly due to the lack of anyregulationswhatsoever. And for those in the country looking to do business in cryptocurrency, its not straightforward.

Trading mainly works through several crypto exchanges, most often Binance, and there are no obstacles here. Profit and exchange in denars usually goes through intermediaries, EU or Bulgarian residents, said Petar Grujoski, a Skopje-based cryptocurrency enthusiast.

Until recently, Macedonian citizens were not allowed to have accounts abroad, and we still do not have PayPal and Amazon for the same reason, Grujoski told BIRN.

Cryptocurrency mining, on the other hand, can prove highly profitable in North Macedonia, not least because of cheap electricity supplies. The same applies to the rest of the region. But sometimes, when it comes to cryptocurrency mining and the rest of the infrastructure that can support the use of this technology, there are still some doubts.

Regarding the infrastructure, if we look at the mining industry, electricity is in abundance and still quite cheap in some areas, Kamberi said. But mining can be a realenvironmentalthreat and the focus should be moved away from incentivising such an industry.

Regarding the use and payments infrastructure, the Internet coverage is still an issue in some areas. Anyhow, the ability to access the cryptocurrency payment networks using mobile devices and 3G connection makes it easier for users even in the most remote parts of the region.

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Ditching Dinars: Will The Balkans Take To Cryptocurrency? - Analysis - Eurasia Review