Several Countries Improving Crypto Regulations, US Job Growth Slowed in August

Brazil, Thailand, and South Korea are intensifying the efforts to introduce regulations around crypto and metaverse. US job growth slowed slightly last month.

Brazil’s SEC Aims to Change Its Role in Regulating Crypto

Recent reports indicate that Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commision is working on redefining virtual assets as it plans to change its role in regulating them. 

Since 2015, Brazilian lawmakers have worked hard to create a crypto regulatory framework. In April this year, Brazil’s senate passed a final bill, which after a few revisions from the congress, it will be signed by the president into law. 

However, according to the SEC, the bill fails to consider tokens as securities or digital assets. As such, tokens will not fall under the watchdog’s regulation. A representative of Brazil’s SEC recently commented saying; 

“The mentioned bill needs specific improvements, including the definition of virtual assets, prior authorization requirements, and the approval of business combinations in redundant roles with the Cade [Brazilian Federal Trade Commission].”

South Korea Intensifies Efforts to Regulate the Metaverse

According to some reports released on September 1, a member of the South Korean National Assembly, Heo Eun-ah, proposed the ratification of Metaverse Industry Promotion to support Web3. 

South Korea has been quite active in the development of the metaverse. In fact, they invested nearly $200 million in developing its native metaverse. In the newly proposed bill, the Metaverse Policy Review Committee will be tasked with deliberating policies promoting metaverse development in South Korea. The bill also indicates incentives for companies switching to using the metaverse. 

Thailand’s SEC to Tighten Crypto Ads Guidelines

The Securities and Exchange Commision of Thailand is planning to harshen advertising rules around crypto projects. According to reports, the SEC intends to use tighter rules starting in October. 

Their recently released statement says; 

The Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the revision of the advertising regulations of digital asset business operators. To increase efficiency in overseeing the business’s advertising to be clear and appropriate Comply with foreign regulatory regulations and increase protection for digital asset traders with effect from September 1, 2022 and for advertisements that precede the effective date of notification, must be revised to be as required within 30 days from the effective date of notification.

Crypto projects currently advertise via many channels, causing many problems, including a lack of risk warning. The improved policies will help protect investors. 

US Job Growth Slowed Last Month

According to recent reports, around 315 thousand jobs were created in the US in August. However, the study shows the growth was slightly more than the much-anticipated growth. 

Economists had predicted that 300 thousand new jobs would be created in August. While this is slightly higher than expected, it is a drop from the number of jobs created in July, which was about 528 thousand. 

The labor department recently released data indicating some slight rebound after over 22 million jobs were lost in the COVID pandemic. However, while jobs increased, the unemployment rate increased from 3.5% to 3.7%, suggesting that many large companies could be weighing on workers. Moreover, the wages increased by 0.3%. 

Some argue that this could be a sign that the interest control policies set by the FED are starting to have an effect. The Fed will, however, continue increasing interest rates to control inflation. Bob Iaccino, the Chief Strategist at Path Trading Partners, recently said, “Obviously we’re looking at how the Fed may or may not change their reaction function based on this number.” There is a high chance that the Fed will hike interest by 75 basis points in their next meeting.

Crypto Market Winter Continues as Value Fails to Hit $1 Trillion

This week, the crypto market failed to hit the $1 trillion mark. There have been constant price plunges in the top coins. The crypto market value was just about $959 billion on Monday but increased to $979 billion by the end of the week. For most of the week, Bitcoin’s value was between $19k and $20.5k. Ethereum gained value, starting the week at $1.45k and ending at $1.57k. As the crypto winter continues, many investors expect the upcoming Ethereum merge to turn the markets bullish.