Legal news and commentary from the offices of Simon Dippenaar
You could be forgiven for thinking an investment manager would be unlikely to fall for a crypto scam – but it happened, and this one lost nearly R7m. Crypto fraudsters are very clever. Be extremely careful when investing in crypto. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Reprinted from The Guardian, […]
What are the implications for cryptocurrency of the new AML rules? As we have discussed in previous posts, cryptocurrencies are becoming more popular and more widely used, but are not yet well regulated. This is gradually changing around the world, as governments and regulators recognise the need to manage crypto assets and keep them out […]
What are the implications of cryptocurrency for estate planning? Cryptocurrency and decentralised finance (DeFi) are relatively new financial planning tools. Available data indicates that cryptocurrency investors are fairly young. For example, a global study by Gemini, conducted by the Harris Poll in 2021, suggested the average age of cryptocurrency investors worldwide was 38 years old. […]
What’s happening in DeFi regulation? Decentralised Finance (DeFi) has emerged as a ground-breaking innovation in the financial industry, offering a new system for financial services and disrupting traditional intermediaries. DeFi includes cryptocurrencies but is more than crypto alone. It expands on the idea of digital money. DeFi is an umbrella term for a financial system […]
Understanding Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) Have you ever contributed to the crowdfunding of a new venture that inspired you? Then you might be wondering if an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is an investment opportunity for you. What is an ICO? How risky is it? How are ICOs regulated, if at all? We tell you what […]
Best practices for cryptocurrency businesses As cryptocurrencies gain traction, market entrants come from a wide range of industries. Traditional financial services providers may be the last to get in on the act, as the very ethos of cryptocurrency is its lack of a tether to banking systems and the facility for peer-to-peer transactions. As more […]
And how safe is DeFi? Decentralised finance – DeFi – is a financial system based on blockchain technology and Ethereum. Before we go any further, let’s explain those terms. Blockchain is a decentralised digital ledger technology that records transactions across multiple computers or nodes. Each transaction, called a block, is linked to the previous one, […]
What do you need to know about non-fungible tokens (NFTs)? The world of digital finance is not limited to cryptocurrency. Another type of digital asset is a non-fungible token, or NFT. “Fungible” means “being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like […]
Reprinted from the Guardian, by Dan Milmo and Dominic Rushe – 2023-06-05 Financial watchdog alleges Binance lied to regulators and syphoned investors’ funds into separate company Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its chief executive are being sued by the US’s top financial watchdog, which has accused them of making billions of dollars while “placing investors’ […]
How is cryptocurrency taxed in South Africa and elsewhere? Do you own cryptocurrency? Do you know what your tax liability is? The unprecedented growth in the use of cryptocurrency around the globe has led many economists, policymakers and private investors to wonder about the cryptocurrency taxation implications and regulation. Crypto exists outside of the conventional […]
What to do if your crypto is hacked and how to prevent it Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are gaining traction rapidly as a legitimate investment and as currency. Experts disagree on how to classify cryptocurrency. But whether you consider it an asset to hold or a currency to spend, it is digital money. Like other […]
We sort the truth from the misinformation Cryptocurrencies were introduced in 2009 with Bitcoin and have been gaining in availability and popularity ever since. The novelty of crypto and its opaque nature have led to the emergence of some cryptocurrency myths and misconceptions. Which beliefs are true and which are driven by ignorance or fear? […]
