US Crypto Tax Framework Could Land This Fall, Senator Says

Sen. Steve Daines said the Senate's cryptocurrency tax framework is largely complete and could be released as early as this fall, according to The Daily Hodl. Daines, a Republican involved in drafting the proposal, said the Senate approach has "more similarities than differences" with a House Ways and Means Committee draft. He hopes the proposal can move into formal review within 2026.

The prospect of clearer tax rules arrives as Washington debates digital money's future. The House passed a bill prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a retail central bank digital currency until 2030, citing privacy concerns. The bill's advancement shows CBDCs remain politically contentious even as stablecoins and tokenized products gain traction in regulated markets.

China is moving the other way. A draft amendment to the People's Bank of China law, submitted Monday to the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, adds language to "clarify the legal status" of the digital yuan, according to Caixin cited by PANews. The draft also reiterates restrictions on token-like substitutes, with penalties including cessation orders, confiscation of illegal gains, and fines up to five times the unlawful amount.

BlackRock described Bitcoin as a potential "complementary diversifier" within portfolios, suggesting a 1%–2% allocation could improve expected returns while staying within typical risk tolerances, according to a report relayed by Wu Blockchain. The framing reflects a maturing narrative among allocators: Bitcoin is increasingly evaluated less as a fringe trade and more as a portfolio component whose role depends on sizing, correlation behavior, and liquidity conditions.

Chainlink joined Project Pangea, a bank-led initiative involving 47 banks across South Korea and Europe, aimed at developing stablecoin-based infrastructure for international payments, CoinDesk reported. The project plans to test real-time payment-versus-payment settlement for foreign exchange transactions using regulated euro- and won-pegged stablecoins. The goal is to compress traditional T+2 settlement to a T+0-like model and reduce counterparty risk in an estimated $150 billion corridor tied to Europe–Korea trade payments.

Bank of New York Mellon said asset managers are accelerating tokenized ETF initiatives out of concern they could miss early demand for blockchain-based finance. Ben Slavin, BNY's global head of ETFs, told The Block (via PANews) that the bank is working on multiple tokenized ETF projects even though regulatory and infrastructure foundations are not fully in place. Slavin argued blockchain networks could become a new distribution channel for traditional products by enabling 24/7 ownership transfer and faster settlement. He warned of "reputational risk" from well-known ETFs already trading in tokenized form on unregulated venues without issuer authorization.

The U.S. Department of Justice seized cloud computing accounts allegedly used by Cambodia-based Huione Group to move and conceal proceeds tied to large-scale cryptocurrency fraud, as part of "Operation Riptide," The Daily Hodl reported. U.S. authorities have previously flagged Huione Group as a primary money-laundering concern. Some of the theft activity has been reported as potentially connected to North Korea-linked actors.

South Korea's KG Group pushed further into real-world crypto payments. KG Financial signed a memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation to jointly develop a Web3-based digital asset payment infrastructure, according to PANews. The partners completed a proof of concept including stablecoin issuance and live payment services. KG Group plans to integrate the network of KG Inicis, one of the country's major payment service providers, with roughly 220,000 merchants to pursue stablecoin payment commercialization.

U.S.-listed HYPE spot ETFs posted net inflows of about $1.46 million on Monday, according to SoSoValue data cited by PANews. Grayscale's Hyperliquid Staking ETF led with roughly $1.10 million in daily net inflows, bringing cumulative net inflows to about $10.22 million. Total net asset value across HYPE spot ETFs stood near $203 million, with cumulative net inflows around $184 million.

On-chain indicators suggest a shift in Bitcoin's supply-side dynamics. Selling by early Bitcoin holders has fallen to its lowest level in nearly two years, The Daily Hodl reported, citing spent output data. The profit-taking that weighed on markets through 2024 and 2025 appears to be easing, with analysts pointing to reduced selling pressure from long-term holders and ETFs alike.