Crypto News Recap: IMF Helping PH to Become Crypto Powerhouse

MANILA, Philippines – The cryptocurrency market bid a tumultuous year adieu and sets its sights on a more accepting year. Bitcoin SV continues to gain ground as the XRP attempts to stage a comeback. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is grooming the Philippines to become a crypto powerhouse.

While policies and regulations appear to be encouraging acceptance of digital currencies, Bitcoin (BTC) is still not getting any respect from certain quarters. One executive from the Reserve Bank of Australia stated that the token will never replace conventional currency. It’s an unusual sentiment as the country has been very open to cryptocurrency.

One country that could become a strong supporter for digital assets is the Philippines. The IMF reportedly believes the Philippines could become a vital crypto market. To help prepare the country for that eventuality, the IMF is providing it with technical assistance and advice on how to enhance the quality of its financial and monetary data.

The Asian country has a formal crypto regulatory mechanism in place since 2017, and currently has 13 approved crypto exchanges.

Meanwhile, another Asia-based crypto exchange is in the spotlight because of a million-dollar tax bill. South Korea’s Bithumb has accumulated around $69 million in taxes over gains made by foreign nationals who made investments in crypto. Bithumb and its largest stakeholder Vidente are reportedly keen on paying the bill to stay on good terms with the South Korean government.

MetaMask received some good news this week. The Ethereum wallet and decentralized browse was recently banned by Google. Apple is reportedly planning on blocking the app from its Apple Store as well. MetaMask’s alleged crypto mining function is said to be the reason for the suspension. MetaMask has denied the allegations and Google lifted the ban several days ago.

Bitcoin SV (BSV) has started the year on a positive note as it continues to grow. More crypto miners are turning to the token as it has become more profitable to mine. The Quasar upgrade has helped improve the BSV and the upcoming Genesis upgrade is expected to make it more attractive.

The same can’t be said for the XRP though. The crypto ended the year in the red and was around 45% in the negative. The token even accrued a 13% loss in December, but the XRP tried to recover to the $0.20 level this week. Analysts are saying that the crypto has to stabilize around $0.28 to encourage investors.