Bitcoin education center launched in El Salvador
Major peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin platform Paxful is working to help Salvadorans adopt BTC as the cryptocurrency became a legal tender in El Salvador last year. Paxful announced the launch of “La Casa Del Bitcoin,” a new educational and training center in the country to enable free learning opportunities related to BTC. It will hold educational workshops and talks focused on Bitcoin and financial inclusion in the country.
Crypto prices today: Bitcoin up 2.4%, ETH rises 4.5%
Bitcoin is currently trading at $37,053, a 2.4% increase over the previous day. Ethereum rose 4.5% over the last 24 hours to $2,790. Solana jumped 6.8% to $105.73, while Cardano is up 2.4% to $1.07. Polygon (MATIC) is up 2.4% to $1.58. The global crypto market cap stands at $1.76 trillion, a 2.9% increase over the previous day.
GST to be levied on transaction fees, not on crypto’s value: Finance Ministry
Finance Ministry officials said the government will levy Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the service fees on crypto transactions. It will not tax the digital asset’s gross value. The ministry is yet to work out the indirect tax treatment of certain crypto transactions that may fall into actionable claims. There is little clarity on the overall crypto tax front even after the Budget proposed to tax income from virtual assets at 30%.
Crypto bridge Wormhole replenished after hack for $320M in Ethereum
Wormhole has restored its missing funds after a hacker yesterday managed to siphon $320 million in Wrapped Ethereum (wETH) out of the protocol. Blockchain analytics site Elliptic concluded that the exploit was due to Wormhole’s failure to validate “guardian” accounts. Wormhole is a popular cross-chain crypto bridge between Solana, Ethereum, Avalanche, and others.
Thailand’s Gulf Energy to form crypto JV with Binance in Q2
Thailand’s Gulf Energy Development Pcl expects to finalise a joint venture (JV) with Binance in the 2nd quarter of this year. The JV will take about six months to obtain a regulatory license for trading. Binance is the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. Crypto trading has exploded in Thailand with transactions reaching 251 billion baht ($7.57 billion) in November. This has prompted authorities to introduce strict regulations.
