Finance Monthly - July 2022

8 Finance Monthly. THE MONTHLY ROUND-UP News You Can’ t Af ford to Mi ss The Mon t h l y Round -Up Binance CEO Says Bitcoin Could Remain Below $69K Peak for Two Years According to the CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, Bitcoin may well stay below its all-time high of $69,000 for the next two years. Changpeng Zhao, founder and CEO of Binance, said investors would have been “very happy” four years ago had they known that Bitcoin was trading at $20,0000 in 2022. Zhao’s comment comes as Bitcoin dropped below that level, wiping out the gains of many long-term Bitcoin holders. Speaking to the Guardian, Zhao said: “I think given this price drop, from the all-time high of 68k to 20k now, it will probably take a while to get back. It probably will take a few months or a couple of years.” “20k we think is very low today. But you know, in 2018, 2019, if you told people Bitcoin will be 20k in 2022, they would be very happy. In 2018/19, Bitcoin was $3,000, $6,000,” he added. Kristo Kaarmann, CEO of £3.9 billion FinTech firm Wise, is being investigated by regulators in the UK after tax authorities found he failed to pay a tax bill of over £720,000. Kaarmann was recently fined £365,651 by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for defaulting on a tax bill in 2018. At the time, a spokesperson for Wise said Kaarmann had submitted his personal tax returns for the 2017/18 tax year late but had since paid what he owed as well as the relevant penalties for missing the deadline. According to a statement from the FinTech company, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has now launched an investiMajor FinTech CEO Faces Investigation Over Tax Breach gation into the matter, with regulators looking into whether Wise’s CEO failed to meet regulatory obligations and standards. In the statement, Chair David Wells said: “The Board takes Kristo’s tax default and the FCA’s investigation very seriously. After reviewing the matter late last year the Board required that Kristo take remedial actions, including appointing professional tax advisors to ensure his personal tax matters are appropriately managed. The Board has also shared details of its own findings, assessment and actions with the FCA and will cooperate fully with the FCA as and when they require, while continuing to support Kristo in his role as CEO.“

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