Tag: crypto market

A judge’s ruling in a criminal case may pave the way for $640 million in tax refunds, challenging the Australian Tax Office’s long-held stance on crypto taxation.

A court decision in Australia could open the door to as much as $640 million in capital gains tax (CGT) refunds on Bitcoin

transactions after a judge ruled that crypto should be treated as money rather than a taxable asset.

On May 19, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported that the decision arose within a criminal case involving federal police officer William Wheatley, who allegedly stole 81.6 Bitcoin
BTC
$102,988
in 2019. At the time, the assets were worth roughly $492,000. At current market prices, the tokens are valued at more than $13 million.

In the case, Judge Michael O’Connell of Victoria ruled that Bitcoin qualifies as a form of money rather than property, likening the digital asset to Australian dollars rather than to shares, gold or foreign currency.

The interpretation could set a legal precedent, potentially placing Bitcoin transactions outside the scope of Australia’s current CGT regime.

Since 2014, the ATO has classified crypto assets as CGT assets. This means that users must pay tax when selling or trading them. Under the ATO’s guidance, any disposal of Bitcoin, including selling it for fiat, exchanging it for another crypto or using it to purchase goods or services, constitutes a CGT event.

This framework has been the basis for taxing cryptocurrency transactions in Australia for over a decade. However, the recent ruling challenges the approach by suggesting that Bitcoin functions more like money than property. This potentially exempts it from CGT.

Tax refunds could reach $640 million
Cartland said it was held that Bitcoin is Australian money. “That is, it is not a CGT asset.

Therefore, acquisitions and disposals of Bitcoin have no tax consequences,” the tax lawyer added.

If the ruling is upheld on the appeal, Cartland estimates that there could be potential tax refunds totalling 1 billion Australian dollars ($640 million).

However, while Cartland thinks there could be up to a billion in refunds, the ATO said there were no official figures that confirm the amount to be potentially refunded if the case changes how Bitcoin is taxed in Australia.

 

Developing bull market signals could continue to boost Bitcoin prices despite the tense atmosphere of the US trade war.

Bitcoin
BTC
$84,900
sought higher levels around the April 11 Wall Street open as the week’s final US inflation data gave bulls hope.

Analyst: PPI undershoot “great” for US trade war
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching highs of $83,245 as US Producer Price Index (PPI) data came in below expectations.

The Index came in at 2.7% versus the anticipated 3.3%, while the core PPI print also surprised to the downside.

An official news release from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) added:

“In March, over 70 percent of the decrease in the index for final demand can be traced to prices for final demand goods, which fell 0.9 percent. The index for final demand services declined 0.2 percent.”

Reacting, trading resource The Kobeissi Letter was among those noting the rapid pace at which US inflation appeared to be slowing.

“We just saw the first month-over-month decline in PPI inflation, down -0.4%, since March 2024,” it told followers in part of a post on X.

“Both CPI and PPI inflation are down SHARPLY.”

Risk-asset performance, however, failed to reflect the notionally positive inflation developments. The S&P 500 was 0.2% lower on the day, while the Nasdaq Composite index was flat.

As Cointelegraph reported, after stocks fell precipitously the day prior despite bullish inflation numbers, commentators explained that macro data was helping to fuel the ongoing US trade war.

Continuing, crypto trader, analyst and entrepreneur Michaël van de Poppe saw a repeat playing out post-PPI.

“PPI comes in significantly lower. That’s great for Trump and his strategy,” he argued, referring to trade tariffs implemented by US President Donald Trump.

“The only thing that needs to be resolved is the on-going Trade War, but the ingredients are building up.”

Bitcoin gets key bullish dollar trigger
Another macro development failing to provide its standard risk-asset tailwind came in the form of multiyear lows in US dollar strength.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar against a basket of US trading partner currencies, fell below the psychological 100 mark for the first time since 2022.

Bitcoin bulls aim to hold the $80,000 level to prevent BTC from following the record-breaking losses seen across US equities markets.

Bitcoin
BTC
$83,680
price dodged the chaotic volatility that crushed equities markets on the April 4 Wall Street open by holding above the $82,000 level.

US stocks notch record losses as analysts predict “long trade war”
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed

erratic moves on Bitcoin’s lower timeframes as the daily high near $84,700 evaporated as BTC price dropped by $2,500 at the start of the US trading session.

Fears over a prolonged US trade war and subsequent recession fueled market downside, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index both falling another 3.5% after the open.

In ongoing market coverage, trading resource The Kobeissi Letter described the tariffs as the start of the “World War 3” of trade wars.”

“Two-day losses in the S&P 500 surpass -8% for a total of -$3.5 trillion in market cap. This is the largest 2-day drop since the pandemic in 2020,” it reported.

The Nasdaq 100 made history the day prior, recording its biggest single-day points loss ever.

The latest US jobs data in the form of the March nonfarm payrolls print, which beat expectations, faded into insignificance with markets already panicking.

Market expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve nonetheless edged higher, with the odds for such a move coming at the Fed’s May meeting hitting 40%, per data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Bitcoin clings to support above $80,000
As Bitcoin managed to avoid a major collapse, market commentators sought confirmation of underlying BTC price strength.

“Bitcoin is also potentially forming the very early signs of a brand new Exaggerated Bullish Divergence,” he continued, looking at relative strength index (RSI) behavior on the daily chart.

“Double bottom on the price action meanwhile the RSI develops Higher Lows. $82,400 needs to continue holding as support.”

Fellow trader Cas Abbe likewise observed comparatively resilient trading on Bitcoin amid the risk-asset rout.

“It didn’t hit a new low yesterday despite stock market having their worst day in 5 years,” he noted to X followers.

“Historically, BTC always bottoms first before the stock market so expecting $76.5K was the bottom. Now, I’m waiting for a reclaim above $86.5K level for more upward continuation.”

 

Nansen analysts expect a 70% probability that crypto markets will find their bottom by June, as tariff negotiations are pressuring traditional markets worldwide.

Despite growing tariff-related uncertainty, there is a 70% probability cryptocurrency markets will find the local bottom in the next two months, which will serve as the supporting foundation for the next leg up in the 2025 cycle, according to Nansen analysts.

Savvy traders continue making generational wealth despite growing volatility and lack of risk appetite.

One unidentified trader turned an initial $2,000 investment into over $43 million by trading the popular frog-themed memecoin, Pepe.

70% chance of crypto bottoming before June amid trade fears: Nansen
The cryptocurrency market may see a local bottom in the next two months amid global uncertainty over ongoing import tariff negotiations, which have been limiting investor sentiment in both traditional and digital markets.

US President Donald Trump on April 2 announced reciprocal import tariffs, measures aimed at reducing the country’s estimated trade deficit of $1.2 trillion in goods and boosting domestic manufacturing.

While global markets took a hit from the first tariff announcement, there is a 70% chance for cryptocurrency valuations to find their bottom by June, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at the Nansen crypto intelligence platform.

The research analyst told Cointelegraph:

“Nansen data estimates a 70% probability that crypto prices will bottom between now and June, with BTC and ETH currently trading 15% and 22% below their year-to-date highs, respectively. Given this data, upcoming discussions will serve as crucial market indicators.”

She added: “Once the toughest part of the negotiation is behind us, we see a cleaner opportunity for crypto and risk assets to finally mark a bottom.”

Crypto trader turns $2,000 of PEPE into $43 million
A savvy cryptocurrency trader reportedly turned $2,000 into more than $43 million by investing in the memecoin Pepe at its peak valuation, despite the token’s extreme volatility and lack of underlying technical value.

The trader made an over 4,700-fold return on investment on the popular frog-themed Pepe
PEPE
$0.000007257
cryptocurrency, according to blockchain intelligence platform Lookonchain.

“This OG spent only $2,184 to buy 1.5T $PEPE($43M at the peak) in the early stage. He sold 1.02T $PEPE for $6.66M, leaving 493B $PEPE($3.64M), with a total profit of $10.3M(4,718x), Lookonchain wrote in a March 29 X post.

The trader realized over $10 million in profit despite Pepe’s price falling over 74% from its all-time high of $0.00002825, reached on Dec. 9, 2024, Cointelegraph Markets Pro data shows.

Memecoins are considered some of the most speculative and volatile digital assets, with price action driven largely by online enthusiasm and social sentiment rather than fundamental utility or innovation.

Still, they’ve proven capable of generating life-changing returns. In May 2024, another early Pepe investor turned $27 into $52 million — a 1.9 million-fold return — according to onchain data.

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$1 trillion stablecoin supply could drive next crypto rally — CoinFund’s Pakman
The global stablecoin supply may surge to $1 trillion by the end of 2025, potentially becoming a key catalyst for broader

cryptocurrency market growth, according to David Pakman, managing partner at crypto-native investment firm CoinFund.

“We’re in a stablecoin adoption upswell that’s likely to increase dramatically this year,” Pakman said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X on March 27. “We could go from $225 billion stablecoins to $1 trillion just this calendar year.”

He noted that such growth, while modest compared to global financial markets, would represent a “meaningfully significant” shift for blockchain-based finance.

Pakman also suggested that the rise in capital flowing onchain, combined with growing interest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), could further support decentralized finance (DeFi) activity:

“If we have a moment this year where ETFs are permitted to provide staking rewards or yield to holders, that unlocks really meaningful uplift in DeFi activity, broadly defined.”

Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.

Today in crypto, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued new stablecoin guidelines, Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) fined OKX’s Europe-based arm for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) failures, and Genius Group says a US court order is forcing it to reduce its Bitcoin holdings.

SEC lays out guidelines for stablecoins, excludes algorithmic tokens
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a statement on April 4 establishing guidelines for stablecoins.

In an April 4 statement, the agency minted a new term, “covered stablecoins,” classifying them as non-securities and exempting such tokens’ transactions from reporting requirements.

According to the SEC’s definition, a “covered stablecoin” is fully backed by physical fiat reserves or short-term, low-risk, highly liquid instruments and is fully redeemable at a 1:1 ratio with US dollars.

The definition precludes algorithmic stablecoins that maintain their US dollar peg using software or an automated trading strategy, leaving the regulatory status of algorithmic stablecoins, synthetic dollars, and yield-bearing fiat tokens uncertain.

Industry leaders and executives are currently pushing for regulatory changes that would allow stablecoin issuers to share yield opportunities with stablecoin holders and offer onchain interest.

According to the new guidelines, covered stablecoin issuers must never co-mingle asset reserves with operational capital or offer tokenholders interest, profit, or yield opportunities. Additionally, the covered stablecoin issuers must never use their reserves for investing or market speculation.

Malta regulator fines OKX crypto exchange $1.2 million for past AML breaches
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX is under regulatory scrutiny in Europe after Maltese authorities issued a fine for violations of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws in the past.

Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) fined Okcoin Europe — OKX’s Europe-based arm — 1.1 million euros ($1.2 million) after detecting multiple AML failures on the platform in 2023, the authority announced on April 3.

While admitting that OKX has significantly improved its AML policies in the past 18 months, the authority “could not ignore” its compliance failures from 2023, “some of which were deemed to be serious and systematic,” the FIAU said.

OKX was among the first crypto exchanges to receive a license under Europe’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation via its Malta hub in January 2025.

The FIAU stated that at the time of the compliance examination in 2023, OKX compiled a business risk assessment (BRA) in an attempt to identify threats and vulnerabilities.

The regulators found multiple deficiencies within the BRA’s methodology, making OKX unable to properly access the money laundering risks it was exposed to and to take necessary measures to manage them, it said.

Some of those risks included potential threats from the use of cryptocurrency mixers or tumblers, privacy coins, stablecoins and the usage of tokens on decentralized exchanges.

A spokesperson for OKX did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request to comment on whether the exchange admitted to such wrongdoing in the past.

“With this chapter behind us, OKX remains focused on the future — continuing to build a secure, transparent, and compliant platform for our users worldwide,” the representative said.

Genius Group says it’s been banned from buying more Bitcoin
Singapore-based artificial intelligence firm Genius Group says it’s temporarily barred from expanding its Bitcoin treasury after a US

court order has banned it from selling shares, raising funds and using investor funds to buy more Bitcoin.

A New York District court issued the preliminary injunction (PI) and temporary restraining order (TRO) on March 13 in connection with a broader dispute surrounding its merger with Fatbrain AI, the Genius Group said in an April 3 statement.

“Genius is taking all necessary measures to minimize Bitcoin sales but anticipates that it will need to downsize its Bitcoin Treasury in the coming months in the event the PI remains in place,” the firm said.

Crypto firms take a hit as Trump’s new tariffs rattle markets, sinking stocks and stalling IPO ambitions across sectors.

Cryptocurrency firms felt the heat from US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff rollout this week as market turbulence sent share prices tumbling and foiled initial public offering (IPO) plans.

From exchanges to Bitcoin
BTC
$83,770
miners, crypto stocks suffered as much, if not more, than shares of other companies — despite the industry’s warm relationship with the US president.

On April 2, Trump announced he was placing tariffs of at least 10% on practically all imports into the United States and adding additional “reciprocal” tariffs on some 57 countries.

Since then, major US stock indices — including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq — tumbled by roughly 10% as traders braced for a looming trade war.

Crypto exchange Coinbase — a prominent ally of Trump during the November US elections — experienced a similarly severe sell-off, with its stock price dropping by roughly 12% during the same period, according to data from Google Finance.

Bitcoin miners are also taking a hit. The CoinShares Crypto Miners ETF (WGMI) — which tracks a diverse basket of Bitcoin mining stocks — has lost roughly 13% of its value since immediately prior to Trump’s April 2 announcement, according to data from Morningstar.

Even Strategy, one of the best-performing stocks of 2024, wasn’t immune. Its share price has fallen by around 6% on the news, Google Finance data showed.

According to Reuters, investment bank JPMorgan has raised its estimated odds of a global economic recession in 2025 to 60% from 40% previously.

“Disruptive U.S. policies have been recognized as the biggest risk to the global outlook all year,” JP Morgan reportedly said.

“The effect … is likely to be magnified through (tariff) retaliation, a slide in U.S. business sentiment and supply-chain disruptions.”

The impact of US tariffs hasn’t been limited to stock price volatility. Stablecoin issuer Circle has reportedly paused plans for a 2025 IPO, citing market turbulence.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Circle is “waiting anxiously” before taking further steps after filing to take the company public on April 1.

It is among several companies — including fintech Klarna and ticketing service StubHub — reportedly considering altering or shelving IPO plans.

One exception may be Bitcoin itself, which some analysts say is finally “decoupling” from the broader market.

Bitcoin’s spot price has held above $82,000 this week, even as US equities markets collapsed.

GameStop is buying Bitcoin, miner revenues are stabilizing and a new real estate tokenization platform launches on Polygon.

It has been a wild few years for GameStop, the video game retailer turned memecoin stock. After being pulled from the edge of bankruptcy in 2021 thanks to a surging stock price,

the company has made sensible business decisions over the years, such as shrinking its physical footprint and focusing on higher-margin items.

Now, GameStop is trying to secure its survival by investing in Bitcoin
BTC
$82,119
. This approach seems to have worked for Strategy, Michael Saylor’s business intelligence firm turned Bitcoin bank. Strategy has now amassed more than 500,000 BTC through successive purchases. And despite experiencing massive volatility, Strategy’s stock has rallied more than 2,100% since acquiring its first Bitcoin back in 2020.

GameStop has memed its way back to relevance — who says it can’t secure at least the next decade of its existence by riding the Bitcoin wave?

This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter chronicles GameStop’s Bitcoin gambit, the adoption magnet that is tokenization and the recovery in Bitcoin mining revenues.

GameStop: Following the Strategy playbook
On March 25, GameStop confirmed that it had received board approval to invest in Bitcoin and US-dollar-pegged stablecoins.

There’s reason to believe that the video game retailer could make a big splash, given its corporate cash balance of nearly $4.8 billion. This is a notable jump from one year earlier when the company’s balance sheet was around $922 million.

There’s also reason to believe that GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen was orange-pilled by Michael Saylor after the two met in early February. Cohen confirmed that the meeting took place by posting an uncaptioned photo of him and Saylor on Feb. 8.

For his part, Saylor continues to accumulate as much BTC as humanly possible. Earlier in the week, he announced that Strategy had acquired another 6,911 BTC, bringing its stockpile to 506,137 BTC.

Tokenized real estate comes to Polyon
DigiShares has launched a real estate trading platform on Polygon, giving investors access to a liquid on- and off-ramp for commercial and residential properties.

RealEstate.Exchange, also known as REX, launched with two luxury property listings in Miami, Florida, including a 520-unit tower and a 38-unit residential complex.

DigiShares CEO Claus Skaaning told Cointelegraph that REX has an additional five or six properties in the pipeline, adding that REX will eventually support all sorts of commercial and residential properties.

REX operates in the United States through a license with Texture Capital, a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The platform is also seeking registrations in the European Union, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

Tokenized assets coming to CME
CME Group, one of the world’s largest derivatives exchange operators, has tapped Google Cloud to roll out its asset tokenization program.

Specifically, CME Group is using the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL) to tokenize traditional assets on the blockchain — a move the company said would improve capital market efficiency and wholesale payments.

Tokenization could “deliver significant efficiencies for collateral, margin, settlement and fee payments as the world moves toward 24/7 trading,” said Terry Duffy, CME Group’s Chairman and CEO.

Although CME didn’t provide specific details about which assets would be part of the tokenization pilot, it plans to begin testing the technology with market participants next year.

Bitcoin miner revenues stabilize post-halving
Bitcoin miners are on track for recovery following the network’s April 2024 halving event, which reduced mining revenues from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

According to data from Coin Metrics, miner revenues are approaching $3.6 billion in the first quarter, which isn’t far off from the prior quarter’s $ 3.7 billion tally. It marks a major rebound from the third quarter of 2024 when revenues plunged to $2.6 billion.

The new guidelines come after the FDIC removed the ‘reputational risk’ category from bank exams.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said in a March 28 letter that institutions under its oversight, including banks, can now engage in crypto-related activities without prior approval. The announcement comes as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that digital asset derivatives wouldn’t be treated differently than any other derivatives.

The FDIC letter rescinds a previous instruction under former US President Joe Biden’s administration that required institutions to notify the agency before engaging in crypto-related activities. According to the FDIC’s definition:

”Crypto-related activities include, but are not limited to, acting as crypto-asset custodians; maintaining stablecoin reserves; issuing crypto and other digital assets;

acting as market makers or exchange or redemption agents; participating in blockchain- and distributed ledger-based settlement or payment systems, including performing node functions; as well as related activities such as finder activities and lending.”

FDIC-supervised institutions should consider associated risks when engaging in crypto-related activities, it said. These risks include market and liquidity risks, operational and cybersecurity risks, consumer protection requirements, and Anti-Money Laundering requirements.

On March 25, the FDIC eliminated the “reputational risk” category from bank exams, opening a path for banks to work with digital assets. Reputational risk is a term that underscores the dangers banks face when engaging with certain industries.

Digital asset derivatives won’t be treated differently — CFTC
While the US crypto derivatives market had been a gray zone due to regulatory uncertainty, that has been changing.

On March 28, the CFTC withdrew a staff advisory letter to ensure that digital asset derivatives — a type of trading product — will not be treated differently from other types of derivatives. The revision is “effective immediately.”

The change in tone from the CFTC and FDIC follows a new environment for crypto firms under US President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump has vowed to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet.”

Crypto firms are shifting strategies to align with the easing regulatory climate. On March 10, Coinbase announced the offer of 24/7 Bitcoin
BTC
$82,043
and Ether
ETH
$1,836
futures. In addition, the company is reportedly planning to acquire Derebit, a crypto derivatives exchange.

Kraken, another US-based cryptocurrency exchange, has also made moves in the derivatives market. On March 20, it announced the acquisition of NinjaTrader, which would allow the exchange to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the United States.