Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.
Top Stories This Week
Russian government and central bank agree to treat Bitcoin as currency
The Russian government and central bank made an agreement to regulate crypto as an “analogue of currencies” instead of “digital financial assets.”
The updated regulation is part of a draft law that is slated to launch on Feb. 18, and will see approved cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin function in lawful exchanges through the banking system or licensed intermediaries.
As part of the incoming framework, crypto transactions worth more than 600,000 rubles ($8,000) would have to be declared; otherwise, such transactions could be considered a criminal act. Those who illegally accept cryptocurrencies as payment will incur fines.
Upcoming Apple iPhone feature to give merchants a way to accept crypto payments
This week, Apple unveiled a new Tap to Pay feature for its iPhones that will enable businesses and merchants to conduct contactless point-of-sale transactions with Apple Pay, credit cards, debit cards and digital wallets.
The move also enables customers who use crypto payment methods such as Coinbase Card and Crypto.com Visa Card to use their holdings to make payments via Tap to Pay. However, it will most likely involve the conversion of crypto to fiat in real time to do so.
Apple announced Stripe as the first platform to offer Tap to Pay on the iPhone and indicated that other payment platforms and apps will introduce the feature throughout 2022.
XRP gains 30% after Ripple gets permission to explain ‘fair notice defense’ vs. SEC
The price of XRP surged 30% this week on the back of positive developments in the long-running court case between Ripple Labs and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to court documents…
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