Uberisation

Turkey has added cryptocurrency trading platforms to the list of firms covered by anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulation, it said in a presidential decree published early May 1.

The move came after a ban on using cryptocurrencies for making payments introduced in response to claims that such transactions are too risky took effect in Turkey on April 30.

The Turkish central bank (also known as CBRT or TCMB) has issued "Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments." It was published Friday in the official newspaper of the Turkish government.

The central bank also announced Friday that "studies on the regulation regarding the disuse of crypto assets in payments have been completed."

The Turkish Central Bank will ban the use of crypto assets in payments as they entail significant risks for the parties to the transactions.

A tribunal in Iasi in northeastern Romania has ordered the pre-trial detention of 30 days for a man arrested last Thursday for allegedly stealing half a million euros in crypto from a leading cryptocurrency operator, sources from the organised crime prosecution office told BIRN.

U.S.-based ridesharing service Uber announced on early Jan. 13 that the access to its mobile application in Turkey has reopened after a decision by the Court of Appeals, paving the way for the company to relaunch operations.

The Prosecutor's Office and the Interior Ministry are continuing the investigation into the large theft of electricity in the Sofia village of Herakovo. Days ago, the CEZ power distribution company disclosed an illegal facility where dozens of computers were used to extract cryptocurrency and the power supply was stolen.

After five years of researches, the Chinese Central Bank has come close to introducing its own cryptocurrency, the official state media announced quoted by the Wall Street Journal over the weekend.

Uber company inaugurated on Tuesday in Bucharest the largest center in Central and Eastern Europe that offers assistance to drivers and business partners in Romania, a center where they can contact directly Uber representatives to discuss various issues.

Cuba has announced it is considering the use of cryptocurrency in order to bolster its finances.

According to a report from SBS-AAP, the country's Communist government announced on state-run TV that it would potentially use crypto as part of a package aimed to boost incomes for as much as a quarter of Cubans and assist with market reforms.

Taxi drivers protested on Tuesday at a rally in Bucharest called by the Confederation of Authorised Operators and Transporters, COTAR, which accuses digital transportation services like Uber, Bolt and Clever of "lobbying" the government into passing legislation that "will generate serious and illegal discrimination".