Dunamu Loses Lawsuit Seeking $19M in Corporate Tax Refunds After Venture Status Removal

According to India’s Finance Ministry, Binance and a number of other virtual asset service providers (VASPs) are not tax-compliant in India. Cases of tax evasion detectedNews of this matter emerged via written answers, published on Dec. 2, provided in response to parliamentary questions which had been put to India’s Finance Minister, Pankaj Chaudhary. The minister confirmed that a “few cases of evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST) by cryptocurrency exchanges and investors” had been detected. The document goes on to list 17 crypto entities who are currently being investigated on that basis, with Binance being the most well-known among them. Notable Indian exchanges listed include WazirX, CoinDCX and CoinSwitch. Chaudhary included details of cases booked against these exchanges. In Binance’s case, it was required to pay 722 crore Indian rupees, which amounts to around $85.2 million. While Binance doesn’t appear to have incurred penalties, in the case of WazirX, the exchange had an assessed tax shortfall of 40.51 crore Indian rupees ($4.78 million), but after fees and interest, it was provided with a demand for 49.19 crore Indian rupees ($5.8 million). CoinDCX and CoinSwitch were also assessed with a demand for 20.86 crore Indian rupees ($2.46 million) and 19.38 crore Indian rupees ($2.28 million), inclusive of penalties and interest. In the case of WazirX, CoinDCX and CoinSwitch, the exchanges have had to pay an additional 21%, 24% and 37% respectively in fees and interest over and above their original tax liabilities.Photo by Naveed Ahmed on UnsplashPrevious tax and regulatory issuesTo date, the Finance Ministry has recovered 122.3 crore rupees ($14.4 million) as part of these investigations. Binance has as yet not paid the funds demanded by the authorities. It emerged in August that India’s Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) had imposed an $86 million tax demand on the company, with Binance contesting the assessment. The global crypto exchange platform had previously paid a $2.5 million fine for having engaged with Indian customers despite not having been approved by the authorities to trade within the country. After a number of months during which it didn’t trade within the Indian market, in August Binance regularized its standing and gained approval to trade. In a request for comment on the matter from Cointelegraph, a Binance representative stated: “We continue to work closely with regulatory authorities and attend necessary hearings to address any concerns and questions. Binance remains responsive and cooperative and is committed to addressing all necessary tax inquiries.” The company recently hired UK-based accounting and business advisory firm Grant Thornton to assist with accounting, tax and audit preparedness. In the case of WazirX, a spokesperson said that “GST law on cryptocurrencies was not clear in India,” and that on this basis, the company found itself being assessed for non-payment of the applicable taxes.

HashKey’s New $100M Fund to Prioritize AltcoinsHashKey Capital, the investment arm of Hong Kong-based crypto firm HashKey Group, is embarking on a new investment journey with the launch of a fund that predominantly targets major altcoins.Photo by Kanchanara on Unsplash50% altcoin allocationIn a recent interview with Reuters, Jupiter Zheng, the Portfolio Manager of the fund, revealed that less than 50% of the fund’s allocation will be directed towards Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the two largest cryptocurrencies.The fund has already garnered attention from potential clients, primarily high-net-worth individuals and investment firms catering to affluent, high-net-worth Asian families. Zheng underscored the fund’s commitment to diversifying investment strategies, which he believes is necessary as a consequence of the Hong Kong stock market’s recent weakness.“We see untapped demand from professional investors who wish to chase above-market returns in crypto,” Zheng noted, suggesting that the allure of crypto assets is becoming increasingly appealing to traditional investors.$1 billion assets under managementHashKey Capital has $1 billion in assets under management, and the firm has set an ambitious target of raising $100 million for the newly launched fund within the next 12 months. This allocation strategy also includes a portion of the fund’s holdings in cash, allowing for flexibility in navigating the dynamic and volatile cryptocurrency market.In addition to forging ahead with crypto investments, the company is actively establishing distribution channels with offshore Chinese financial institutions, expanding its reach and influence in the digital asset space.Positive market outlookZheng remains optimistic about the crypto market’s future, expressing confidence that cryptocurrency prices are finding stability as industry liquidity improves. He cited several factors contributing to this stabilization, including the plateauing of US interest rates and the growing interest of large US asset managers in filing for spot Bitcoin ETFs, indicating a maturing and evolving industry sector.Responding to news of the new fund, Ryan Selkis, CEO and Founder of crypto market intelligence firm Messari, said that he expected other funds to follow suit in 2024 given that “there’s a ton of inefficiency and mispricing in assets 50–500 by market cap.”HashKey’s progression in the crypto investment space can be traced back to its acquisition of a Type 9 asset management license from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission last year. This license granted HashKey the ability to manage portfolios exclusively composed of virtual assets, laying the groundwork for its latest venture. It has since secured Type 1 and Type 7 licenses and recently started offering its products to retail investors in Hong Kong, being one of the first to do so.Funding roundEarlier in the year, the company successfully closed a $500 million investment round for a fund dedicated to infrastructure, tooling, and applications that drive the widespread adoption of blockchain and crypto technologies. In April, it launched a wealth management service in response to demand from investors who were looking to gain exposure to digital assets.Hong Kong’s welcoming stance towards cryptocurrencies and its proactive approach to addressing market demand for alternative assets have played a pivotal role in attracting digital asset firms. The city’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has been granting licenses to crypto exchanges in alignment with its new licensing framework, opening up opportunities for retail investors to trade “large-cap tokens” on licensed platforms while implementing safeguards like knowledge tests, risk profiles, and reasonable exposure limits.

Bitget Achieves 20M Users With Wallet Integration Driving Trading VolumeSeychelles-based cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, Bitget, has experienced remarkable growth in the first half of 2023 surpassing 20 million users, driven by the successful integration of its recently acquired self-custodial wallet service, now renamed Bitget Wallet.Photo by Mike Hindle on UnsplashTop four exchangeThe wallet integration has propelled Bitget into the ranks of the four largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume.According to a second-quarter report by Beijing-headquartered crypto research firm TokenInsight, the top four exchanges collectively account for 85% of the total market trading volume. Binance dominates the market with a 52% share, followed by OKX (15.13%), Bybit (10.6%), and Bitget (8.1%), securing its position among the industry’s leading players.$60 billion spot trading volumeBitget’s Q2 report, released on July 18, revealed that the platform’s spot trading volume surpassed $60 billion, with futures trading reaching a staggering $606 billion. Notably, research by blockchain analytics firm Nansen showcased Bitget as the only exchange to witness an increase in futures trading volumes in the six months following the collapse of FTX.The exchange attributes part of its impressive Q2 performance to the introduction of copy trading, a feature enabling users to emulate the trading strategies of select traders. This innovation proved highly successful, attracting 29,700 new elite traders and 169,800 followers, generating $33 million in profits by mid-2023.Bitget, aligning with leading exchanges like Binance, has released its proof-of-reserves to assure users that it maintains reserves exceeding 100% of all assets on the platform, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether, Tether, and USD Coin. At the time of publication, the exchange’s current reserve ratio, calculated by dividing the platform’s assets by users’ assets, stood at an impressive 223%. According to that data, the crypto platform is claiming a debt-free status for the business.Regional expansionAs part of its expansion strategy, Bitget has obtained virtual asset service provider registration in Poland and Lithuania in 2023, solidifying its presence in Europe. Additionally, the exchange has announced plans to establish a hub for its operations in that region.Last week, it announced that it was also targeting the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as part of its expansion plans. To support that effort, it has opened an office in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and hired 60 employees with plans on hiring up to 60 more over the course of the next two years.Crypto loans have been an area that has seen major failures within the sector over the last couple of years. However, this isn’t holding Bitget back from getting involved. Earlier this month, it announced the launch of its crypto loans product, which is aimed at market participants who are seeking alternative funding solutions, backed by digital assets.With Bitget’s rebranding efforts following the BitKeep acquisition and its exceptional growth in user numbers and trading volumes, the exchange is making a concerted effort to position itself so as to effect a global expansion strategy. As the market evolves further, it will be interesting to see how the crypto trading market settles, given that there are now a number of firms in the space actively vying for that business.