How Bitcoin Brought Electricity to a South African School
Late last month, the non-profit MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge hosted an event focused on new developments in clean energy distribution and how blockchain technology could play a role in how electrical grids of the future are built. The event was sponsored by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a government-funded agency that promotes clean energy expansion in the state, and included presentations from companies like IBM and startups like Consensys, Lo3 Energy and Grid Singularity. Arguably the most notable demonstration of the night came in the form of Usizo, a crowdfunding platform....
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A South African tax expert, Thomas Lobban, has warned non-tax paying crypto traders that they now face possible jail time if the South African Revenue Services (SARS) decides to lay tax offense charges against them. He adds that this threat of jail time similarly applies to South African crypto traders that use offshore exchange platforms to trade or store their crypto assets. Lack of Guidance Blamed Lobban’s warning follows reports earlier in the year which suggested that changes to South African tax laws may have made it “easier for SARS to secure criminal convictions for....
Africa's largest banks and South Africa’s Central Securities Depository, Strate, set up a Blockchain network that could have a far-reaching effect on the continent’s financial sector. South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and the Financial Services Board will play a role of observers. While the new working group has representatives from Standard Bank, Absa, FirstRand, Nedbank - the top four banks in Africa - and Investec which stands at the eighth position, the participation of the Reserve Bank is the most significant because the South African apex bank has been a little skeptical about....
A group of South African banks have pushed ahead with plans to test blockchain applications in a partnership that has drawn support from key regulators in the country. As reported by local outlets IT Web and MoneyWeb, the project included teams from Standard Chartered, Absa, Rand Merchant Bank, Investec and Nedbank. Supporters of the initiative included the Financial Services Board, a major finance regulator; Strate, the country’s central securities depository; and the South African Reserve Bank. The institutions involved developed and tested a system for issuing syndicated loans via....
New submissions by a South African regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and liquidators have exposed the web of lies and deceptive tactics that were used by Mirror Trading International (MTI) CEO Johann Steynberg and others to perpetuate the Ponzi scheme. Undeclared Losses In its report filed with the South African court, the regulator also exposes the true extent of losses that were incurred by the bitcoin investment company. For instance, in what the FSCA calls the “first period,” MTI had a “total of nearly 51 bitcoin (that) were deposited with....
South African tax consultancy firm Tax Consulting SA, has said the recent announcement by the central bank — that will start to regulate cryptocurrency in 12 to 18 months — has legal and tax implications for both crypto investors and organizations providing intermediary services. The firm, however, says the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) “will not interfere in the investment decisions made by crypto investors.”
Intermediaries Must Register as Financial Services Providers
According to a South African tax consultancy firm, Tax Consulting SA, recent....