Iran Will Allow Crypto Payments For International Trades

Iran’s Central Bank (CBI) and the Ministry of Trade have agreed to link the CBI’s payment platform with a trading system. This will allow businesses to settle payments using cryptocurrencies.

Alireza Peyman-Pak, Iran’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade and head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), said the new payment mechanism will likely finish in the next two weeks.

He added that governments should not ignore the economic and business opportunities in the crypto industry, referring to major private cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).

The Iranian government is reportedly preparing a mechanism to use cryptocurrencies in international trade.

The crypto industry is associated with a degree of uncertainty. Due to this, major Iranian blockchain groups have expressed concerns about enforcing crypto regulations in late 2021.

The Iranian government also regularly shuts down electricity to local bitcoin miners, often citing extreme temperatures.

Coinbase And Paypal Will Join Taxbit Network For Free Crypto Tax Forms

Crypto tax compliance firm TaxBit is working to unite major industry companies like Coinbase and Binance.US in a single network to provide users with free 2021 tax forms.

On Tuesday, the crypto tax software provider launched TaxBit Network, a group of companies aiming to democratize crypto tax calculations and tax forms by making necessary tax reporting data freely available to all network users.

The launch of the TaxBit Network includes about 20 major U.S. crypto-related businesses, including PayPal, Binance.US, Coinbase, FTX.US, Gemini, Celsius Network, Blockchain.com, Paxos, OkCoin, and BlockFi, among others. The network also plans to add new companies daily.

As part of this program, every user of TaxBit Networks will receive free and accurate 2021 tax forms. Additionally, some participating platforms will include fast TaxBit registration in their apps to simplify access to tax reporting tools.

The new development aims to remove barriers to mainstream crypto adoption by ensuring that crypto users in the U.S. can remain tax compliant without spending a fortune.

Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder noted that its participation in the TaxBit network is a critical step in its commitment to security and compliance, especially after President Joe Biden signed the infrastructure bill into law in November.

TaxBit is a primarily crypto-focused tax compliance firm. They together tax attorneys and software developers to build software to simplify and automate the process of crypto tax reporting.

Backed by the Winklevoss twins family office, TaxBit has seen significant growth recently, raising $130 million in August 2021 at a $1.3 billion valuation.

Bitcoin Prices Have Surged To $43K

Bitcoin (BTC) opened with modest losses on Wall Street on Jan. 11 after the largest cryptocurrency failed to break above resistance above $42,000. Still, new comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell appeared to buoy markets.

The U.S. is likely to remain in a low-interest-rate environment for some time. This is a sign that risk assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies appear to be appreciating.

According to the market analysts, BTC/USD is back in the middle of a tight range. It has now been in place for four days.

Even with the current push to $43,100, traders’ sentiment remains cautious, even as bullish on-chain metrics persist, with open interest sparking hopes of an upside “bear squeeze.”

The cryptocurrency fear and greed index, fresh from a multi-month low of just 10/100, remains firmly in “extreme fear” territory after seeing a boost from an overnight price rally.

Cash App Integrates Bitcoin Lightning Network For Faster BTC Transfers

Popular mobile payment service Cash App has integrated the Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning Network. The update will allow faster and cheaper BTC transfers using the Layer 2 (L2) payment protocol.

Cash App is developed and owned by Block (formerly Square), a fintech company co-founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

The Bitcoin Lightning Network protocol addresses the apparent limitations of the BTC blockchain to increase speed while reducing the costs associated with transactions.

Last month, Dorsey showed off the Lightning Development Kit (LDK) in a video, a service developed by Square subsidiary Spiral focused on building the Bitcoin ecosystem. LDK allows developers to integrate the Lightning Protocol into Bitcoin wallets and related services.

Cash App currently serves more than 36 million users in the U.S. and U.K.

Cash App has launched a service that allows users to give away BTC and stocks during the holiday season. Therefore, their goal is to support the continued adoption of Bitcoin.

Cash App allows users to send at least $1 worth of BTC without owning the asset in advance.