The Indian cryptocurrency ecosystem breathed a sigh of relief on Monday, as an ET report claimed that the government authorities might tax crypto transactions and exchanges in the near future. Insider sources told the publication that the tax department favors taxation instead of an outright ban. Coingape

Financial institutions have been increasingly keen on being part of the booming $2 trillion cryptocurrency market, with over 13 of the world’s largest banks pushing roughly $3 billion in funding so far, into cryptocurrency. Ambcrypto

The Securities Exchange and Commission of Thailand has a license to an asset-backed token offering service based on the Ethereum blockchain. Cointelegraph

Turkey is eager to become a blockchain hub as a country with one leg in Europe and another in Asia. However, the same passion doesn’t apply to cryptocurrencies, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated recently. Cointelegraph

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health has signed a five year agreement with rfxcel, part of Antares Vision Group a solution provider in digital supply chain traceability solutions, to provide a Blockchain enabled GS1-compliant traceability hub to protect the entire pharmaceutical supply chain in the country. Unlock-bc

Iran, which imposed a temporary ban on Bitcoin mining a few months ago, continues to crack down on illegal crypto mining operations, closing down thousands of unauthorized mining facilities, according to local media reports. Forkast