Prices of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies tumbled on news that the US tax authorities have asked a leading trading platform to furnish customer data. More acceptance for cryptocurrencies with a central Asian country planning legislation to legitimize transactions in virtual currencies. A study found that nearly half of the newly issued cryptocurrencies in 2017 have already failed.
Coinbase Asked To Produce Data On 13,000 Customers To IRS
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has been asked to hand over information regarding around 13,000 customers to the US Internal Revenue Service or IRS, under court order, within 21 days. In a letter to the affected customers last Friday, the company said the court ordered it to provide customers' taxpayer ID, personal details including name, birth date, address, and historical transaction records for certain higher-transacting customers during the 2013-2015 period. The IRS in December 2016 had issued a summons asking for records relating to approximately 500,000 Coinbase customers following suspicion that cryptocurrency account holders had evaded tax. Read more...
Uzbekistan Plans To Legitimize Cryptocurrency Transactions
Uzbekistan is drafting legislation to legitimize cryptocurrency transactions by September 1, local media reported. The President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has issued a decree for the same purpose and the country's central bank, the ministries of finance, communication and information technology, and economy are entrusted with the task, along with several other ministries and departments. The government also plans to establish a center of excellence in the blockchain technology, which underlies cryptocurrencies such as the Bitcoin. The center is expected to commence operations on June 1 at the Mirzo Ulugbek Innvoation Center. Read more...
Nearly Half of 2017 Cryptocurrencies Dead: Study
Nearly half of the cryptocurrencies offered through initial coin offerings in 2017 has already failed, a study by news.Bitcoin.com showed. Of the 902 crowdsales that took place last year, 142 failed at the funding stage and further 276 failed afterwards, either due to money grab or by slowly fading into obscurity, the cryptocurrency news website said citing data from ICO tracker, Tokendata. "This means that 46 percent of last year's ICOs have already failed," news.Bitcoin.com said. Read more...
Austria Plans To Regulate Cryptocurrencies Same Way As Gold, Derivatives
Austria's finance ministry is drafting cryptocurrency regulation based on the trading rules for gold and derivatives, Bloomberg reported. The government wants to prevent money laundering using cryptocurrencies and gold is also a widely used medium for such activities. Hence, the ministry is exploring whether the same trading can be applied for both.
Bank of America Sees Cryptocurrencies As Business Risk
Bank of America described cryptocurrencies as a material risk to its business in a regulatory filing. "Emerging technologies, such as cryptocurrencies, could limit our ability to track the movement of funds," the bank said in an SEC filing. The bank also fears that it may lose clients to competitors who offer products that are speculative or risky such as cryptocurrencies. Cost was also a concern for the lender as it said it will have to incur additional expenditure to adapt its systems to new technologies including cryptocurrencies.
Current Prices
As of 6.52 am ET on Monday, Bitcoin was up 0.86 percent at $9,741.91 and Ethereum was higher by 2.57 percent at $861.01 on Coinbase.
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Business News
May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.