Russia’s Ministry of Finance is moving forward with its plans to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country and has now introduced a bill to parliament. The bill is based on a previously approved roadmap drafted by several government bodies.

Tech giant Intel has unveiled the technical specifications of its BonanzaAcc Mine bitcoin mining chip. The chip is fabricated in a 7nm process and bundled in lots of 300 to compose a full 3,600W bitcoin mining machine that can mine at 40 terahashes per second (TH/s).

South Korea’s largest bank by net assets, Kookmin Bank, is planning to launch cryptocurrency investment products targeted at retail investors.

CryptoCompare's Digital Asset Summit is returning on 30th March at Old Billingsgate, London. As Europe's flagship institutional summit for digital assets, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with key industry decision-makers and leading names in finance who are adopting and embracing the digital asset revolution.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Russian Ministry of Finance Pushes Crypto Regulations Forward
• Intel Unveils New Bitcoin Mining Chip ‘Bonanza Mine’
• Korea’s Largest Bank to Launch Crypto Investment Fund
• Why is Bitcoin’s Supply Limited to 21 Million?
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Russian Ministry of Finance Pushes Crypto Regulations Forward

Russia’s Ministry of Finance is moving forward with its plans to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country and has now introduced a bill to parliament. The bill is based on a previously approved roadmap drafted by several government bodies.

The move highlights the policy split with the country’s central bank, the Bank of Russia, which opposes regulation and would rather ban cryptocurrency trading and mining. The Bank of Russia has been pushing a pilot of its own central bank digital currency, the digital ruble, and suggested punishing crypto trading with fines.

In a press release, the Ministry of Finance said the objections the central bank has will “be considered in the further work on this bill where they don't contradict the Ministry of Finance approach."

The bill treats crypto as an investment tool and not legal tender, and says cryptocurrencies may not be used to pay for goods and services. It specifies requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges and over-the-counter desks, which must obtain a license and be included in a dedicated government register. Crypto-to-fiat transactions must be conducted through bank accounts after users go through know-your-customer checks in both banks and exchanges.

Intel Unveils New Bitcoin Mining Chip ‘Bonanza Mine’

Tech giant Intel has unveiled the technical specifications of its BonanzaAcc Mine bitcoin mining chip. The chip is fabricated in a 7nm process and bundled in lots of 300 to compose a full 3,600W bitcoin mining machine that can mine at 40 terahashes per second (TH/s).

Earlier this month Intel announced its Bitcoin silicon program, highlighting that various large customers secured their spot in the orders queue. These include Block, the financial services firm previously known as Square, Argo Blockchain, and GRIID.

Later this year Intel is set to launch the Bonanza Mine 2, which will see Intel leverage the innovations developed with the Bonanza Mine it shared at the ISSCC. Intel’s 3,600W bitcoin mining machines notably lag behind the hashrate quoted by leading miners on the market.

Bitmain’s Antminer S19 and S19 Pro deliver between 95 TH/s to 110 TH/s of hashrate, while MicroBT’s WhatsMiner M30S produce up to 112 TH/s. Intel advantage, which saw companies like Block and Argo order new chips, is reportedly associated with energy efficiency.

Korea’s Largest Bank to Launch Crypto Investment Products

South Korea’s largest bank by net assets, Kookmin Bank, is planning to launch cryptocurrency investment products targeted at retail investors.

The move comes after it formed a Digital Asset Management Committee to create crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and futures products once South Korea’s regulations allow it to do so. Hong-Gom Kim, head of Kookmin Bank’s index quant management division, was quoted saying:

“We will launch a virtual asset-themed equity fund, etc., as soon as possible. We will also publish periodicals."

The bank is looking to develop a fund through a proposed virtual currency index, and a hybrid fund that includes cryptoassets and traditional assets.

Why is Bitcoin’s Supply Limited to 21 Million?

The 21 million limit was chosen by pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. The figure may have been chosen to align with the M1 money supply of fiat currencies at the time Bitcoin was created, which was 21 trillion back in 2008.

Nakamoto’s initial plan was to have 0.001 BTC be worth around 1 EUR or USD once adoption grew. The price of the cryptocurrency has since exploded, and 0.001 BTC is now worth over $37, as one bitcoin is trading above $37,000.

Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin white paper shows that 21 million aligns with some of the design in the Bitcoin software. Every 210,000 blocks (notice the 21) the reward attached to each block halves, and the figure can also be seen in the equation expressing Bitcoin’s block rewards.

Learn more about Bitcoin’s supply via CryptoCompare’s guide.

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CryptoCompare's Digital Asset Summit is returning on 30th March at Old Billingsgate, London. As Europe's flagship institutional summit for digital assets, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with key industry decision-makers and leading names in finance who are adopting and embracing the digital asset revolution.

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