Bitcoin Daily: Tencent Plans To Launch Digital Blockchain Bank; HMRC Does Not Consider Crypto As Currency

Tencent has announced that it will launch a blockchain-based virtual bank.

The company’s blockchain chief Yige Cai revealed last week that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved a new license, and that the company is setting up a team to support the platform.

“Hong Kong’s new regulations and supervision on digital assets transactions validates the importance of blockchain technology and digital assets, which is good news for the whole industry,” Cai said in a speech at the World Blockchain Summit in Wuzhen, China.

In other news, the Queen of England isn’t a fan of a crypto — at least as a currency. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs updated its crypto taxation policy paper for businesses and individuals, stating clearly that it does not consider crypto to be a currency.

In addition, the paper states that when it comes to individuals, crypto activity is a personal investment subject to capital gains tax when it is sold for fiat, used to pay for goods or services, given as a gift or exchanged for other crypto.

“HMRC expects individuals to buy and sell cryptoassests with such frequency, level of organization and sophistication that the activity amounts to a financial trade in itself,” the paper states, according to Cointelegraph.

And Asian bank DBS has partnered with multinational commodity trading firm Trafigura Group on a blockchain platform that will facilitate global trade, reducing end-to-end document transit time from 45 days to just 20.

Tan Su Shan, head of institutional banking at DBS Bank, said in a press release, “DBS is pleased to lead the industry and work with global industry anchors such as Trafigura to co-create digital solutions to make the age-old business of trade finance more efficient, transparent and productive. By tapping into each other’s respective expertise in commodities and finance, our customers will be able to receive their goods at least 50% faster with much less paperwork. Solutions like these are timely as they meet our customers’ demands for increased transaction speed and optimized financing to promote better cash flow and capital management.”