The Blockchain Association and Crypto Council for Innovation filed suit on Aug. 21 in Sangamon County Circuit Court against the Illinois Department of Revenue, challenging a first-in-the-nation 0.2% tax on digital asset trades, transfers, and storage. The levy isn't due to bite until Jan. 1, 2027 — but the industry clearly isn't waiting around to see how judges feel about it closer to the deadline.
If the tax survives, Illinois becomes a test case for state-level crypto taxation that every other statehouse will be watching.
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🚨BREAKING: Polymarket Launching Bitcoin, Ethereum & Solana Price Contracts in US
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WLTC Holdings just secured a federal banking charter from the OCC — and its single largest shareholder, at 49%, is Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE's national security advisor and brother of its president, via StringZ Holding RSC. The Trump family holds 38%.
The OCC granted the charter on August 14. A foreign intelligence chief owning the plurality of a federally chartered U.S. crypto bank is, to put it mildly, an unusual arrangement.
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Bitmine Holds 4.9% of All ETH — and Is Underwater by $5.1B
Tom Lee's Bitmine added 28,086 ETH for $70 million, pushing its treasury to 5.93 million tokens — worth $14.8 billion and representing 4.9% of Ethereum's entire supply. The company is 97% of the way to its stated goal of controlling 5% of ETH. Most of the holdings are staked to generate yield.
The catch: Bitmine is sitting on a $5.1 billion unrealized loss on its primary treasury asset. Accumulating nearly 5% of a network is an audacious bet — though the P&L suggests the timing could have been better.
Tom Lee's Bitmine added 28,086 ETH for $70 million, pushing its treasury to 5.93 million tokens — worth $14.8 billion and representing 4.9% of Ethereum's entire supply. The company is 97% of the way to its stated goal of controlling 5% of ETH. Most of the holdings are staked to generate yield.
The catch: Bitmine is sitting on a $5.1 billion unrealized loss on its primary treasury asset. Accumulating nearly 5% of a network is an audacious bet — though the P&L suggests the timing could have been better.
🚨100+ Nominations In: CoinGape Extends Global Onchain Awards Deadline
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Sandeep Nailwal has announced that Polygon will permit any user to execute a one-time burn of 100M POL following Security Council approval of the new contract. This breaking update is currently dominating discussions surrounding POL tokenomics.
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🏛 Kraken's Parent Wants to Be Financial Infrastructure
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, is repositioning itself as broad financial infrastructure rather than a standalone crypto exchange. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi says the company is unifying trading, payments, asset management and institutional services on shared rails — a significant strategic expansion beyond Kraken's exchange roots.
Big ambitions, thin details so far — but the direction is clear: Kraken wants to be plumbing, not just a venue.
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, is repositioning itself as broad financial infrastructure rather than a standalone crypto exchange. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi says the company is unifying trading, payments, asset management and institutional services on shared rails — a significant strategic expansion beyond Kraken's exchange roots.
Big ambitions, thin details so far — but the direction is clear: Kraken wants to be plumbing, not just a venue.
🚨Binance’s Use of Legal Exemption to Serve EU Customers Without MiCA License Faces EU Probe
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South Korea officially unveils the rules to move stocks, bonds and funds onto the blockchain.
Its financial regulator proposed the detailed rules, with tokenized securities set to launch on February 4, 2027.
Retail investors would be able to buy up to ₩100 MILLION (about $70,000) a year on each approved trading platform.
The first phase covers funds, bonds and unlisted stocks, with listed stocks and stablecoin settlement planned for later phases.
Korean brokerage Hanwha has already built a tokenized securities platform that supports Avalanche.
Its financial regulator proposed the detailed rules, with tokenized securities set to launch on February 4, 2027.
Retail investors would be able to buy up to ₩100 MILLION (about $70,000) a year on each approved trading platform.
The first phase covers funds, bonds and unlisted stocks, with listed stocks and stablecoin settlement planned for later phases.
Korean brokerage Hanwha has already built a tokenized securities platform that supports Avalanche.
🏦 South Korea's First Bitcoin-Backed Bank Loans Are Here
Jeonbuk Bank has quietly made history, launching South Korea's first bank-issued won loans backed by Bitcoin. Corporate clients can now pledge their BTC holdings as collateral for business financing — no selling required.
The structure keeps the bank at arm's length from the crypto itself: registered third-party custodians hold the collateral while Jeonbuk supplies the won, never taking ownership of the pledged assets. The program is currently corporate-only, with expansion contingent on regulatory shifts and market demand.
The obvious question hanging over the whole thing: what happens when BTC drops 30% overnight? The bank's collateral monitoring and valuation framework will face that test eventually.
Jeonbuk Bank has quietly made history, launching South Korea's first bank-issued won loans backed by Bitcoin. Corporate clients can now pledge their BTC holdings as collateral for business financing — no selling required.
The structure keeps the bank at arm's length from the crypto itself: registered third-party custodians hold the collateral while Jeonbuk supplies the won, never taking ownership of the pledged assets. The program is currently corporate-only, with expansion contingent on regulatory shifts and market demand.
The obvious question hanging over the whole thing: what happens when BTC drops 30% overnight? The bank's collateral monitoring and valuation framework will face that test eventually.