India Considers New Tax On Cryptocurrency; Coinbase Acquires Paradex Exchange And Retires GDAX Name; London Mosque Becomes First To Accept Cryptocurrency
According to Coindesk, India is considering imposing a goods and service tax (GST) on cryptocurrency trades. The government might implement a GST of 18% on digital currency trades. This is despite the fact that the Reserve Bank of India recently banned banks from dealing with cryptocurrencies or trading platforms. Sources close to the matter stated that no decision has been made thus far, but the government could institute the new tax as soon as July 1st.
In related news, India’s tax department has been cracking down on tax avoidance by crypto traders in recent months.
According to Fortune Magazine, the massively used U.S. exchange Coinbase has acquired the Paradex exchange that allows users to trade digital tokens on a decentralized exchange.
Paradex is built on top of the 0x protocol. Coinbase stated:
“[Paradex is] a sophisticated and secure relay platform that will allow our customers to trade hundreds of tokens directly from their wallets… After making some product enhancements, we’ll initially offer this experience to customers outside the U.S., and eventually to U.S. customers after we implement changes.”
Coinbase also announced Coinbase Pro, which will replace GDAX. Coinbase Pro will feature a new design and chart features and will have a large range of historical data.
According to Independent, a mosque in London is thought to be the first mosque in the world to accept bitcoin donations. This occurred a month after an Islamic scholar declared bitcoin halal (i.e. permissible) under Sharia Law.
The London mosque hopes to raise at least £10,000 in cryptocurrency donations throughout Ramadan with both Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Erkin Guney, chairman of the board of trustees, stated, “[Bitcoin is] big in the Islamic world, and we have set up a platform for wealthier Muslims outside our community to support and donate to our mosque.”
So far, the bitcoin wallet address has received only one donation worth just over £100.
The man who helped advise the mosque in setting up the wallet, Gurmit Singh, stated:
“If Muslims, who make up a quarter of the world’s population, hold just 1 percent of bitcoins — or £1.04 billion — then £26 million in contributions is due… It is likely the actual figure is much higher. Currently, hardly any mosques or Islamic charities accept Zakat in cryptocurrency. They are potentially losing out on millions of pounds.”
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