Today in Crypto: Colombia Cracks Down on Crypto Tax Evasion; Grayscale Investments Aiming to Be ‘World-Class ETF Issuer’

FTX has acquired Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid Group in a move to help Japanese customers through its new subsidiary, according to a CoinDesk report Wednesday (Feb. 2).

The companies didn’t say how much FTX paid for Liquid Group, but said the deal is expected to close in March.

In a separate deal, FTX also added Quoine, which is one of 30 crypto exchanges registered with Japan’s Financial Service Agency (FSA). Quoine holds a Type I Financial Instruments Business license for trading securities and derivatives.

Meanwhile, Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales de Colombia (DIAN), the nation’s tax authority, is looking to take “special measures” against those who try to avoid paying taxes on their crypto purchases.

DIAN said in a statement Jan. 28 that it wants to better regulate the crypto sector as part of its quest for a more “honest” Colombia, which includes residents paying taxes on their digital assets — especially as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies gain popularity across the nation.

In other news, Grayscale Investments LLC is jumping into the $7 trillion exchange-traded fund (ETF) business through its Future of Finance ETF, which began trading on Wednesday under the ticker GFOF.

It tracks companies that are “actively building and advancing the digital economy,” David LaValle, Grayscale’s global head of ETFs, told Bloomberg Wednesday.

Finally, cryptocurrency platform Voyager Digital has invested in CoinLedger as part of a partnership that’s focused on streamlining crypto tax reporting, according to a Seeking Alpha report Wednesday.

CoinLedger integrates with exchanges, wallets and blockchains so crypto users can track their full digital asset transaction history in one place.

Voyager customers will have access to CoinLedger platform “as early as the upcoming 2021 tax year,” the report says. The portal will allow users to import their crypto transactions and get a complete picture of capital gains, losses and income reports, according to the Voyager announcement.