The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, wants to expand to Russia despite a proposed crypto ban in the country.
According to Binance Eastern European Director Gleb Kostarev, expansion to Russia is strategically important for the growth of the crypto exchange.
“Our goal is to obtain a license and conduct legal business where the regulation allows,” Kostarev told Reuters, noting that Binance is expecting to see a progressive regulatory approach from Russia that could also set a precedent for similar regulations in neighboring states.
Russia has been eager to regulate its growing crypto market. According to the central bank, the country’s annual volume of cryptocurrency transactions is near $5 billion.
The regulator, which has been increasingly critical of cryptocurrencies for the past several years, recently proposed a complete ban on crypto trading and mining in the country.
The proposal, however, has been met with opposition from both the public and other government ministries, who called for a more moderate approach, and regulation instead of prohibition. The Ministry of Finance said this week that regulations of this kind are already in the works, noting that crypto technologies “should get a chance to develop.”
Kostarev called the ban proposal “harsh,” but noted that “for now, we consider this as an invitation to dialogue with the regulator.” He also said that the course Russia takes in regulating crypto may impact its neighbors.
“In Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan they are more loyal to cryptocurrencies and are taking steps towards liberalization, rather than restriction. But local regulators are taking these steps with an eye on Russia.”
Cryptocurrencies are for now largely allowed in Russia and can be used for financial transactions, but their use for purchasing goods or services is prohibited.
Dozens of US states slam iPhone maker’s restrictive practices
Over 30 US states on Thursday stood by Fortnite video game producer Epic Games as they appealed a ruling in its lawsuit against Apple over restrictive policies on the iPhone maker’s in-app payment system.
“Apple’s conduct has harmed and is harming mobile app-developers and millions of citizens,” the plaintiffs said, according to court papers seen by Reuters.
“Meanwhile, Apple continues to monopolize app distribution and in-app payment solutions for iPhones, stifle competition, and amass supracompetitive profits within the almost trillion-dollar-a-year smartphone industry,” they claimed.
The appeal, filed by the attorneys general for 34 US states and the District of Columbia, follows a 2020 lawsuit accusing Apple of violating antitrust laws by charging Epic Games (and other developers) commissions of 15% to 30% to use its in-app payment system and restricting external payment methods.
A US district judge in Oakland, California ruled in favor of Epic Games in September 2021. Apple was ordered to open up the payment system in its App Store app so developers could offer other payment methods and not have to pay Apple extra fees. However, the judge also ruled that Apple is not an antitrust monopolist in mobile gaming transactions, largely leaving the company to do what it pleases with its developers. Epic Games challenged the ruling in the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals last week.
In their appeal in support of Epic Games, the attorneys general said the Oakland court failed to adequately assess the case, noting how it appeared to overlook the non-negotiable contracts that Apple requires game developers to sign, which they see as a clear sign of monopolistic policy.
“Paradoxically, firms with enough market power to unilaterally impose contracts would be protected from antitrust scrutiny – precisely the firms whose activities give the most cause for antitrust concern,” they said.
This is the first time that US state attorneys general have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. Several similar cases have been filed against other tech giants, including Meta Platforms and Google.
Apple’s reply to the appeals is expected in March, and the company said on Thursday it was optimistic that it would be able to overturn them.
China Unicom has been forbidden from providing services in the US
US telecom regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on Thursday that it had voted unanimously to revoke authorization for China Unicom’s American unit to operate in the United States. The firm must now stop providing telecommunications services in the country within 60 days, the FCC said.
“Today we take another critical step to protect our communications networks from foreign national security threats,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. “There has been mounting evidence – and with it, a growing concern – that Chinese state-owned carriers pose a real threat to the security of our telecommunications networks,” she added.
China Unicom said, as quoted by CNN, that it has complied with “relevant US laws and regulations” in the past two decades, and that the FCC has acted “without any justifiable grounds and without affording required due process.”
The telecom firm added that it would “act proactively to protect the rights and interests of the company and its customers.”
The US regulator’s move is the latest to target Chinese technology and telecoms firms over national security concerns.
In October, Washington barred China Telecom from operating in the country. Earlier in 2019, another Chinese state-owned telecommunications carrier, China Mobile, also had its US license revoked.
In recent years, Congress has instructed the FCC to embark on a program to “rip and replace” networking equipment that experts worry could allow foreign telecom firms to monitor sensitive US communications. The FCC has also sanctioned firms such as Huawei and ZTE, among others, so that their equipment cannot be used in US telecoms networks.
Fast food giant reports an annual increase of 13.8%
Fast-food giant McDonald’s on Thursday reported its largest annual increase in US sales since 1993. Sales at its American restaurants open for at least 13 months soared 13.8%.
The fourth quarter alone saw US sales jump 7.5%, partly due to price increases on some items on its menu.
In October last year, the company’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski, said menu prices were about 6% higher in 2021 compared to 2020, which didn’t turn off customers and “has been pretty well received” by them.
The fast-food chain was forced to raise prices to tackle wage inflation and cover the increased costs of food and paper, CFO Kevin Ozan said during an analyst call this week, as cited by CNN. He noted that costs may keep growing in 2022, as Covid-19-induced supply chain issues are expected to persist. McDonald’s also saw a significant boost in its digital sales and the growing popularity of certain menu items like the Crispy Chicken Sandwich and McRib.
Overall, the company said its 2021 sales “benefited from fewer restaurant closures and reduced Covid-related government restrictions compared with the prior year.”
The company reported a total of $6 billion in revenue for the past year. However, this fell short of analyst expectations, as did international sales. The chain’s shares shed some 2% following the sales report.
Supply shortages and the Ukraine-Russia crisis raise concerns over energy supplies
Global coal prices jumped by over a third in January, edging toward record highs reached in October 2021, due to supply shortages and tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The benchmark Newcastle coal index rose to $262 a ton.
The coal market reacted to a month-long export ban by major supplier Indonesia, which halted deliveries following new domestic market sales regulations at the peak of the European heating season. The ban is due to be lifted on January 31, but experts are uncertain about the volume of coal the markets may expect, with Indonesian authorities saying only miners that have complied with the new laws will be allowed to resume exports.
There are also worries over the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The reported increase of Russian troops near Ukraine’s border has been met with outrage in the West, which threatened Moscow with sanctions in the event of a military conflict.
Some experts speculate that Russia may cut off gas supplies to Europe in response to sanctions. If that happens, Europe, which is already short on gas, with the commodity prices nearly doubling in the past months, may start loading up on coal, analysts say. According to data from UK oil and gas giant BP, European utilities have already stepped up imports of coal since mid-2021, after reducing their share of global coal use to 6.2% in 2020 amid a push towards greener energy.
Projections from commodity flows tracking firm Kpler show that Europe is due to import some 5.58 million tons of thermal coal this month, the highest monthly figure since 2019 and over 1 million tons more than the monthly average for 2021 coal imports. If this buying spree continues, coal prices will keep rising, squeezing the market already tight from high demand in two major coal consumers – China and India. Last year’s coal price records were reached because of shortages in these two states amid cold weather and booming post-Covid-19 pandemic industrial demand.
Analysts expect coal prices to retreat in February, as the heating season in the Northern Hemisphere draws to an end, but they claim this could change if Russia halts gas deliveries to Europe or stops coal exports.
Ukraine was once a major producer of coal, with some 50% of the commodity mined in its eastern regions, which broke away in 2014. The two self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk (DNR) and Lugansk (LNR), both on the Russian border, declared independence from Ukraine and remain at a standoff with Kiev. Amid the conflict, many mines had been shut down and coal production dropped. The breakaway republics halted coal shipments to the rest of Ukraine, which forced Kiev to import the commodity for power generation from the US. This is much more expensive due to freight costs, which resulted in a spike in power prices. However, coal exports from the regions have been gaining momentum recently, up 26.8% last year after Russia allowed quota-free imports from the breakaway republics.
Considering all the constraints weighing on the global coal market, analysts say the pricing situation remains unclear.
“[Buyers have] very few options, there are supply issues everywhere,” Vasudev Pamnani from Indian consultancy Lavi Coal Info OPC told Reuters.
