In crypto news this past week, the Thai government and Vladimir Putin took a hard look at rules and regulations, while Facebook's top secret crypto platform caused a stir.
Facebook gets serious about crypto
The New York Times (NYT) published an article this week claiming that Facebook is hoping to "succeed where Bitcoin failed".
The Facebook cryptocurrency project is being kept under wraps. The team responsible is in a separate building from other Facebook staff to prevent any secrets leaking out.
The NYT states that the first product from Facebook will most likely be some sort of stablecoin.
The Facebook cryptocurrency is possibly going to be used for sending money to your friends and family through Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Instagram.
Facebook appears to be moving along swiftly with development.
An anonymous source told NYT that there are more than 50 developers working on the project.
Thai SEC cracks down on token sale investment
In July 2018, the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled that all token sales must seek government approval.
Along with this ruling, the SEC specified that token sales could only be funded by eight different currencies: Thai Baht, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, XRP and Stellar.
This week, the Thai SEC removed Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic and Litecoin from the list, while clarifying that the remaining currencies are still not to be viewed as certification of legal tender.
Russian President issues crypto regulation orders
Russian President Vladimir Putin has created a deadline for his government regarding cryptocurrency regulations.
The document published by the President of Russia states that the government must enforce crypto-related regulation by July 1 2019.
The government is required to issue regulations with the aim of developing the digital economy of Russia.
This regulatory clarity is intended to attract greater financial resources.
