Report | Crypto

The Albanese government’s budget plans to replace the 50% capital gains tax discount on assets held over 12 months with a model taxing full real gains adjusted for inflation. The Australian government is reportedly seeking to replace capital gains tax discounts on crypto and other assets with an inflation indexation tax, which could increase the taxes on long-term crypto gains. The Albanese government’s fiscal year 2027 budget, set to be released on Tuesday, would cut the current 50% capital gains tax discount alongside changes to housing investment taxes, the Australian Financial Review reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the budget. Australian investors can currently claim a 50% capital gains tax discount on assets held for more than 12 months. The proposed indexation model would instead tax full real gains, adjusted for inflation, over the time the asset is held. Read more

Bloomberg reported Digital Asset Holdings is raising money at a $2B valuation in a round led by a16z Crypto, which comes less than a year after an earlier nine-figure round. Digital Asset Holdings, the enterprise blockchain company behind the Canton Network, a permissioned blockchain network for financial institutions with privacy features, is reportedly raising fresh capital at a $2 billion valuation. The $300 million round is being led by venture capital firm a16z crypto, and is expected to close in several weeks, according to Bloomberg, which cited unidentified people with knowledge of the deal. The report comes less than a year after Digital Asset announced it had raised $135 million in a strategic funding round led by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets. A company spokesman on Sunday declined to comment in response to an email query from Cointelegraph. Read more

Three companies reportedly pressed US senators for changes to a crypto bill, removing language that would require them to offer trading on tokens “not readily susceptible to manipulation.” Earlier in 2026, as a digital asset market structure bill was under consideration in the US Senate, cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini reportedly pressed to remove language in the legislation that could have affected their token listings. According to a Friday Politico report, the three exchanges asked US lawmakers to scrap a provision in the market structure bill that would have required platforms to only offer trading on digital assets “not readily susceptible to manipulation.” The companies reportedly pressed senators to remove the language as it could have made it difficult for exchanges to list smaller tokens. The edit, which the news outlet reported occurred after the US Senate Agriculture Committee voted to advance its version of the bill in January, signaled the influence crypto companies in commun...

US Treasury officials reportedly sent a letter to Binance pressing the crypto exchange on compliance with a 2023 deal, after reports circulated that the company had facilitated transactions linked to Iran. Update (May 7 at 9:47 PM UTC): This article has been updated to include a statement from Binance. The US Department of the Treasury reportedly demanded that Binance follow a monitoring program put in place by a 2023 deal between authorities and the cryptocurrency exchange, following reports that the company facilitated $1 billion to entities tied to Iran. According to a Thursday report by The Information, the Treasury Department “privately demanded” that Binance be in compliance with a monitoring program to which it had agreed after reaching a deal with US authorities in 2023. The deal, which included a $4.3 billion settlement with Treasury and the US Department of Justice, required Binance to comply with a three-year monitoring program overseen by government officials.  Read more

South Korea’s Finance Ministry has reportedly confirmed for the first time that a 22% tax on crypto gains will proceed as scheduled in January 2027. South Korea’s Finance Ministry has confirmed that a long-delayed tax on crypto gains will take effect as scheduled in January 2027. Moon Kyung-ho, director of the ministry’s income tax division, announced at an emergency parliamentary forum on virtual asset taxation held at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Seoul on Thursday, according to South Korea news outlet Edaily. The forum was hosted by Representative Park Soo-young of the People Power Party and the Korea Tax Policy Association. “We will proceed with virtual asset taxation as scheduled in January next year,” Moon said in what appears to be the first public confirmation from the ministry that the crypto tax framework will move forward after multiple postponements. Read more

The Korea Securities Depository platform is expected to go live by February 2027, aligning with South Korea’s incoming security token framework. Samsung SDS, Samsung’s information technology services subsidiary, will reportedly build a token securities platform for the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), moving South Korea’s central securities depository closer to operating blockchain-based securities infrastructure as the country prepares a legal framework for tokenized assets.  Samsung SDS won a contract to build and operate the platform for KSD, according to local reports from Yonhap News Agency and The Korea Times. The project is expected to be completed by February 2027 and will convert a technology verification testbed into a formal system capable of stable service operations.  KSD plans to link its existing electronic securities account system with blockchain-based distributed ledger data to strengthen tokenized securities issuance and rights management, according to the reports.  Read more

The regulator reportedly requested more information from Roundhill, GraniteShares and Bitwise about how the event contract funds would work. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed the expected launch of the first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to prediction markets after requesting more information about their structure and disclosures, Reuters reported Monday. The delay affects more than two dozen proposed ETFs from Roundhill Investments, GraniteShares and Bitwise, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter. The issuers filed for the products in February, and launches had been expected this week after a 75-day review period. The proposed funds would give investors exposure to event contracts tied to binary outcomes, including elections, economic data and market prices, without requiring them to trade directly on prediction market venues such as Kalshi. Read more

Crypto industry body DAXA said the proposed rules could push suspicious transaction reports from South Korea’s five largest exchanges to more than 5.4 million a year, Yonhap reported. South Korea’s crypto industry has reportedly warned that proposed Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rule changes could create operational confusion by forcing virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to report all overseas-linked virtual asset transfers worth 10 million Korean won (about $6,800) or more as suspicious transactions. According to a Yonhap News report on Sunday, the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), an industry body representing South Korean exchanges, submitted comments on the proposed changes to the Enforcement Decree of the Specific Financial Information Act and related supervisory rules. The comments reflected the views of 27 registered VASPs, including the country’s five major exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax. DAXA said the proposal could increase suspicious transaction reports from South Kor...

Polymarket is reportedly in talks with the CFTC to restore US access after its 2022 settlement, following a limited US rollout in December 2025 focused on sports contracts. Polymarket is seeking regulatory approval to reopen its main prediction markets platform to US users, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. According to Bloomberg, Polymarket has been engaging with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to lift the prohibition on US-based customers. The move would mark a broader US return for the company, which re-entered the market in a limited form last year through its regulated QCEX-based setup but still keeps Americans off its main international exchange. Read more

US Anti-Money Laundering fines hit $900 million in the first half of 2025 as enforcement shifted from securities cases, while Basel rules and mandatory audits reshape crypto compliance, according to CertiK. Anti-Money Laundering enforcement has overtaken securities violations as the leading regulatory threat facing crypto companies, according to CertiK, with the United States Department of Justice and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network imposing $900 million in AML-related fines during the first half of 2025. The shift marks a sharp break from the US Securities and Exchange Commission-led enforcement cycle that defined earlier years of crypto regulation. SEC crypto-specific penalties collapsed 97% in penalty value year over year, dropping from $4.9 billion in 2024 to $142 million in 2025, according to a Tuesday report by blockchain security auditor CertiK. Transaction monitoring and licensing failures are now drawing penalties that rival or exceed many earlier crypto securities cases. The DOJ's February 2025...

After reporting more than $1.7 million to election officials, a crypto-aligned political action committee has reportedly backed out of advertising for a Texas Senate candidate. The Fellowship political action committee (PAC), which launched claiming to have more than $100 million from crypto-aligned backers, has reportedly backed out of an advertising deal to support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a crucial US Senate race. According to a Thursday report from Axios, Republican leaders contacted US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on his connections to Fellowship, which has been partially funded by Cantor Fitzgerald. Lutnick, as the former president and CEO and whose sons are now in charge of the financial services company, reportedly faced questioning from Republicans about Fellowship’s support of Paxton, whom on Tuesday the PAC reported spending $1.75 million in supportive advertising. Read more

According to reports, Kalshi plans to launch crypto perpetual futures, expanding beyond prediction markets as regulated derivatives offerings in the US continue to evolve. Prediction market exchange Kalshi is reportedly preparing to expand into cryptocurrency trading by introducing perpetual futures contracts, marking a major shift beyond its core event-based derivatives business. In a Tuesday report, The Information cited people familiar with the matter as saying Kalshi plans to offer perpetual futures — commonly known as “perps” — on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). Perpetual futures are a type of derivative contract that allows traders to speculate on price movements without an expiration date.  Read more

Shipping companies with vessels stranded near the Strait of Hormuz are being targeted by scammers posing as Iranian authorities, demanding Bitcoin or USDt for safe passage. Fraudulent actors posing as Iranian authorities have reportedly sent messages to shipping companies whose vessels remain stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz, demanding payment in cryptocurrency for safe passage. On Monday, maritime risk company Marisks issued a warning saying unknown groups had contacted shipowners claiming to represent Iranian security services and requesting transit “fees” in Bitcoin (BTC) or USDt (USDT) in exchange for clearance through the strait, according to Reuters. “These specific messages are a scam,” Marisks reportedly said, adding that they do not originate from Iranian authorities. Tehran has not publicly commented on the claims. Read more

Polymarket’s potential $15 billion valuation would still put it below the $22 billion valuation of competitor platform Kalshi in its latest funding round. Prediction market platform Polymarket is reportedly in talks with investors to raise another $400 million in fresh capital, The Information reported Monday. The $400 million raise would be made at a $15 billion valuation, The Information said, citing two people familiar with the matter.  The raise would add to a wave of institutional capital flowing into the predictions market space in recent months. New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) invested $600 million into Polymarket in late March, while competitor platform Kalshi’s valuation was marked at about $22 billion in its last funding round. Read more

Alcoa is nearing a deal to sell its idle upstate New York Massena East smelter to NYDIG as US industrial sites increasingly shift toward Bitcoin mining and AI data centers. US aluminium giant Alcoa is reportedly nearing a deal to offload its long-idle Massena East smelter in upstate New York to Bitcoin mining firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). The company is in advanced discussions and expects the transaction to close “in the middle part of this year,” CEO Bill Oplinger told Bloomberg on Friday. The site, located along the St. Lawrence River, has been inactive since 2014 after Alcoa shut it down amid rising energy costs and global competition. Built for 24/7 heavy industrial operations, aluminum smelters come with pre-existing substations, transmission lines and high-capacity grid connections. That makes them attractive targets for Bitcoin miners and data center operators, who often spend years securing similar infrastructure approvals from scratch. Read more

Bloomberg reported Flow Capital plans to tokenize its private credit fund to raise additional capital, but crypto execs warn tokenization doesn’t magically make hard-to-trade assets liquid. Flow Capital Partners is planning to tokenize its private credit fund through Singapore-based DigiFT, Bloomberg reported Friday, as the Hong Kong credit manager looks to tap blockchain-based distribution for its next capital raise. According to the report, Flow Capital plans to bring its $150 million private credit fund on the blockchain through Singapore-based tokenization platform DigiFT by the end of April, seeking to raise an additional $30 million in tokenized shares by the end of 2026, Jacky Tian, chief investment officer of Flow Capital, said. The $30 million raise is part of the company’s plans to expand the size of the fund to $250 million with a target net return of 12%. The fund launched in mid 2025, with $125 million in seed capital, according to the company. Cointelegraph has approached Flow Capital and DigiFT...

Mining companies are now split between those liquidating Bitcoin to cover operating expenses and those holding their BTC in reserve to fuel future growth. Publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies sold more BTC in Q1 2026 than in all four quarters of 2025, as business conditions tighten for the mining industry.  Publicly listed BTC miners, including MARA, CleanSpark, Riot, Cango, Core Scientific and Bitdeer, have collectively sold more than 32,000 BTC in Q1 2026, according to TheEnergyMag. The Q1 sales surpassed the 20,000 BTC sold in Q2 2022 during the crypto bear market triggered by the collapse of the Terra-Luna ecosystem, setting a “new record” for BTC miner sales in a single quarter, TheMinerMag said.  Read more

CEO Tarek Mansour said in an interview that Kalshi would prevent kids from using a parent’s ID to skirt its age restrictions by launching a parent portal and AI verification. Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour reportedly announced a new strategy for the prediction markets platform to crack down on minors illegally using its services. According to a Wednesday Semafor report, Mansour said that Kalshi was launching a “portal for parents” to submit their identification to check whether their children were using the platforms under their names. There have been incidents in which minors have been able to bypass Kalshi’s age requirements — a US-based user must be 18 years old — by using one of their parent’s IDs for verification. “We are also adding selfies to accounts, where you can basically look at the face of a person, and it can tell you obviously if this person is not the actual parent that’s 50 years old,” said Mansour, according to Semafor. Read more

South Korea’s FSS said API trading now makes up 30% of crypto turnover and warned it will crack down on abusive automated trading patterns, local media reported Monday. South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said Monday that API-based trading now accounts for about 30% of crypto buy-and-sell turnover, warning that some traders are using automated tools to inflate volumes and manipulate prices. According to reports from Yonhap News Agency and Maeil Business Newspaper, the regulator warned that some traders are using automated tools to inflate volumes and manipulate prices, citing cases involving repeated small trades, spoofed orders and coordinated activity across multiple accounts.  The FSS said it will launch targeted investigations into accounts suspected of using APIs for excessive or abnormal trading patterns, signaling closer scrutiny of automated trading activity in the market.  Read more

Polymarket links briefly appeared under mainstream outlets in Google News results for event-driven queries but were later removed. Polymarket betting markets reportedly appeared inside Google News results alongside established news publishers before disappearing. A Google spokesperson told The Verge that the platform’s appearance in News was an error. “This site briefly appeared in Google News in error, and it is no longer surfacing in News,” spokesperson Ned Adriance reportedly said. Before removal, Polymarket links were shown directly beneath mainstream outlets when users searched event-driven queries. In one example cited by website Futurism, a search for “will ships transit the strait” related to the Strait of Hormuz returned a Polymarket market predicting outcomes on vessel passage alongside reporting from Reuters and The Guardian. Read more