trove

The Ethereum community is debating the proposal to tax staking rewards. The newly established EthLabs has received support from institutions such as BitMine, providing off-chain funding alternatives for ecological development.

Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 has agreed to pay $2.35 million to settle a securities class action lawsuit filed by investors. The lawsuit alleges that Hut 8 made misleading disclosures regarding operational risks and potential issues related to the merger with U.S. Bitcoin Corp. in 2023.The focus of the lawsuit involves power and network connectivity issues at the King Mountain Bitcoin mining project in Texas. Investors claim that Hut 8 exaggerated the merger benefits and did not adequately disclose the associated operational risks. According to the settlement agreement, Hut 8 does not admit to any wrongdoing or liability.Documents show that the $2.35 million settlement amount represents approximately 19.6% of the plaintiffs' estimated maximum recoverable losses of $12.08 million. The settlement plan is still subject to final court approval.

According to CoinDesk, major lobbying organizations in the U.S. cryptocurrency industry jointly sent a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee, urging the advancement of the "Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act," advocating for tax treatment options for cryptocurrency miners and staking income recipients. The bill was introduced by Republican Congressman Mike Carey, and its core content allows taxpayers to choose the timing of taxation when they receive new mining or staking assets—either paying taxes at the time the assets are generated or deferring taxes until the final sale.Industry associations, including the Blockchain Association, Digital Chamber, and Crypto Council for Innovation, have expressed support, arguing that the current tax system may force users participating in network security maintenance to bear tax burdens before they have realized the assets. Supporters claim that the proposal does not provide "indefinite deferral," but rather avoids immediate taxation on income that has not yet realized liquidity, thereby alleviating cash flow pressure on miners and validators.However, Democratic lawmakers and some external critics are concerned that this mechanism could be exploited by large mining companies for long-term tax deferral, especially in the context of some publicly listed or politically connected companies participating in mining operations, raising potential policy arbitrage disputes. Meanwhile, the industry's focus remains on the broader "Digital Asset Market Structure Act" (Clarity Act), but tax issues have become the second key battleground, expected to continue advancing in tandem with regulatory framework legislation in the coming weeks.

According to Forbes, in the 2026 U.S. Congressional primary elections, the Democratic PAC "Protect Progress," supported by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz, is making a large-scale intervention in several Black district primaries. The PAC invested over $4.9 million in Maryland candidate Adrian Boafo, helped Christian Menefee in Texas defeat anti-crypto Congressman Al Green (spending over $5 million), and invested about $4 million in Georgia to support Jasmine Clark's victory.The related campaign advertisements did not mention the cryptocurrency industry background. Journalist Joy Reid characterized this operation as "Blackwashing"—delivering funds from the crypto industry to Black districts under the guise of progressiveness while deliberately hiding the identity of the funders.Analysts point out that the core logic of this network is not based on race, but rather on supporting allies and suppressing critics, with the ultimate goal of influencing the legislative direction of the pending "Digital Asset Market Clarification Act" (CLARITY Act).

According to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin has dropped about 40% since Strategy launched the Bitcoin financing tool STRC. STRC has fallen below the $100 par value, sparking discussions in the market about the sustainability of Michael Saylor's Bitcoin "flywheel" model. Strategy currently holds over 846,000 BTC, but the recent buying pace has noticeably slowed. Data shows that the company increased its holdings by 1,550 BTC worth approximately $101 million in the week ending June 8; in the week ending June 15, it added another 1,587 BTC worth about $100 million. In contrast, in April 2026, it bought 34,164 BTC in a single week, amounting to $2.54 billion, indicating a significant decrease in recent capital inflows.Meanwhile, Strategy previously sold 32 BTC to meet dividend obligations. Although this amount is small compared to its overall holdings, the market believes this indicates that when STRC's financing efficiency declines, the company's cash flow pressure may increase. STRC was originally designed as a preferred stock tool trading close to the $100 par value, attracting investors through dividend adjustments and helping Strategy raise funds to purchase Bitcoin. Currently, the STRC price has fallen to a historical low, having once dropped to $82.53, and then closed at $88.59, about 13% below par value. Critics argue that the STRC price falling below par value means that Strategy's financing channels are under pressure.Long-time Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff described STRC as "like a typical centralized Ponzi structure," believing that the model relies on continuous financing or selling Bitcoin to maintain operations. Crypto trader DonAlt also questioned STRC's recent performance, stating that its trading behavior resembles a "Ponzi structure." However, some analysts believe that the decline in STRC is more due to leveraged liquidations rather than a deterioration in Strategy's fundamentals. STRC had previously maintained a price around $99 to $100, attracting investors to use leveraged trading, and the price falling below this critical level triggered forced liquidations, exacerbating the decline.Analyst Scott Melker pointed out that STRC's current yield has actually increased due to the discount. Since dividends are calculated based on a $100 liquidation preference, if the STRC price is $90, the 11.5% annualized dividend corresponds to an actual yield of about 12.8%; if the price drops to $85, the yield could exceed 13%. Strategy is expected to announce the next STRC dividend adjustment on June 30. The market is currently focused on whether STRC's discount will persist and whether Strategy's model of relying on capital markets for financing to continue increasing BTC holdings can remain stable.

10x Research analysis points out that the Bitcoin yield-enhanced exchange-traded fund BITA launched by BlackRock may have design flaws in its strategy. By generating income through selling call options, it may lead investors to underperform against spot Bitcoin in most market environments, or fail to achieve ideal absolute returns.10x Research believes that BITA executes the call option selling strategy monthly according to fixed rules, and regardless of whether Bitcoin rises, consolidates, or falls, investors may make unfavorable trade-offs between income and upside potential; its proposed framework emphasizes "timing and conditional execution," obtaining option premiums only when market conditions are favorable. The high volatility of Bitcoin mainly stems from information asymmetry among market participants and a highly marketed market environment. For a long time, many investors have attempted to capture this volatility return through systematic strategies, but most have not succeeded.

Binance responded on platform X regarding the news related to the EU license, stating that the company remains committed to serving European users and will continue to operate in accordance with applicable laws. Binance indicated that as the MiCA transition period is about to end, the company is adopting a user-prioritized cautious strategy to minimize the impact of business adjustments, and will disclose subsequent arrangements and options to users after obtaining more information, with plans to release further updates by June 30, 2026.In addition, Binance stated that it has maintained constructive communication with regulators over the past 18 months and has actively participated in the MiCA approval process. According to its understanding, the Greek regulatory authority has completed its review of the relevant application and believes it meets MiCA requirements, and the application has also been accepted for review at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) level. Binance also mentioned that any delays or deviations in the MiCA authorization process could undermine market liquidity, competition, and user choice, and push some activities outside the EU. The company will continue to seek a compliant operational path under the MiCA framework and will keep users informed of progress.

Mike Selig, the Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), posted on the X platform to clarify several misunderstandings in the market regarding perpetual futures contracts and to address the controversy arising from the recent approval of related contracts by the CFTC. Mike Selig stated that the Commodity Exchange Act and relevant CFTC rules do not explicitly require that "futures contracts" must have a fixed expiration date or delivery date. Since Congress has not clearly defined this term, the identification of futures contracts is primarily based on judicial precedents and CFTC interpretations, and a fixed expiration date is not a necessary condition.In response to the claim that "the CFTC-approved BTCPERP contract allows U.S. users to use 250 times leverage," high leverage is not a characteristic of the perpetual contract structure itself, but rather a feature of the previous offshore trading model. Perpetual contracts regulated by the CFTC will adhere to the same leverage limits as other regulated futures products.Regarding the criticism that "the CFTC did not provide opportunities for industry participation and feedback," the CFTC publicly solicited opinions on "perpetual contracts" and "24/7 trading" in April 2025 and received over 100 responses from industry participants, including several CFTC-registered entities. Additionally, concerning the view that the funding rate mechanism is believed to incur high costs and induce undesirable market behavior, after considering the costs of opening positions and rolling over traditional term futures contracts, the annualized holding cost of the perpetual contract funding rate is roughly equivalent to that of traditional futures. The funding rate mechanism actually helps maintain price anchoring.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. government's export controls and access restrictions on Anthropic's models Fable 5 / Mythos 5 partly stem from Amazon's cybersecurity research and AWS CEO Andy Jassy's communications with the White House.It is reported that the research submitted by Amazon indicated that through a series of prompt tests, researchers were able to induce Fable 5 to output sensitive information that could potentially be used for cyberattacks, raising security concerns. Subsequently, Andy Jassy reported the relevant findings to the U.S. government, prompting the White House to take further restrictive measures, including banning foreign users from accessing the model.At the same time, former U.S. Department of Commerce official Kate Koren revealed that the White House's existing policy stance on Anthropic may also have influenced this decision-making judgment, as there are differences between Anthropic and the White House on AI safety boundary issues, including the refusal to use the model for large-scale surveillance or lethal autonomous weapon systems. Although both sides had eased tensions and expanded cooperation earlier this year, this incident may once again exacerbate the strained relationship.

Alex Thorn, the Research Director at Galaxy, stated that the UK's decision to include the entire HTX on the sanctions list is controversial, as there are still a large number of legitimate users on the platform. He also pointed out that there are significant differences in the standards and timing of asset freezes among different stablecoin issuers, and suggested paying attention to the potential impact of stablecoin freeze mechanisms on user assets.

According to The Block, Strategy disclosed in SEC filings that it sold 32 BTC between May 26 and 31, cashing out approximately $2.5 million to pay for preferred stock dividends, marking the company's first sale of Bitcoin since December 2022.This disclosure has sparked controversy over a prediction pool on Polymarket with a trading volume exceeding $20 million—where the market bets on whether Strategy will sell Bitcoin before May 31. The crux of the dispute lies in: supporters of "yes" argue that the sale occurred before the deadline; supporters of "no" contend that the information had not been publicly disclosed by the time the market closed and should not be counted.The market is currently in the final review stage, with Polymarket adding that "results confirmed after the deadline will not be recognized," leaning towards supporting the "no" side. If the dispute escalates further, it will be decided by a vote of UMA token holders, but previous reports have indicated that UMA voting power is highly concentrated, with over 60% of active voters having ties to Polymarket accounts, raising questions about its fairness.

According to Forbes, the decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid has launched the pre-IPO perpetual contract for SpaceX (SPCX-USDC) on Trade.xyz, sparking a global regulatory gray area controversy. This contract allows leveraged trading without holding any shares of SpaceX and has not been authorized by the company, with an initial reference price of $150, corresponding to an implied valuation of approximately $1.78 trillion, which quickly surged to $216.It is reported that this contract is settled in USDC, with prices derived from market oracles, and is not linked to SpaceX's actual financials or equity structure. SpaceX itself has neither authorized nor participated in this market, yet its valuation is being priced and traded in real-time on-chain, leading to the controversy of "private company price discovery being taken over by decentralized derivatives." This market originates from Hyperliquid's HIP-3 mechanism, which supports the notion that the valuations of private companies may be being repriced by on-chain derivatives, while the regulatory framework has yet to be established.

According to Fortune magazine, Elon Musk's close friend and founder of Valor Equity Partners, Antonio Gracias, may gain over $100 billion in wealth due to the SpaceX IPO.It is reported that Valor holds more than 500 million shares of SpaceX Class A stock. If SpaceX goes public with a rumored valuation of $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion, the value of its holdings could reach between $90 billion and $140 billion.At the same time, the approximately $20 billion related party transactions between SpaceX and Valor have also sparked corporate governance controversies. Documents show that subsidiaries related to xAI under SpaceX had signed three GPU infrastructure leasing agreements with Valor, all of which were guaranteed for payment by SpaceX. The auditing firm PwC believes that the nature of the transaction is closer to a loan rather than a normal sale-leaseback, and therefore requires that approximately $9 billion of related debt be included in SpaceX's balance sheet.

Documents from the U.S. Department of Justice show that Trump has reached an unusual settlement agreement with the federal government, terminating a $10 billion lawsuit filed by him and his businesses against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and further expanding the relevant terms.The agreement states that the IRS will be "permanently prohibited" from investigating or continuing existing audits related to tax returns previously submitted by Trump, his businesses, and family members. The Department of Justice stated that this restriction only applies to the scope of existing audits.Meanwhile, the U.S. government has agreed to establish a "Deweaponization Fund" of up to $1.8 billion to compensate individuals or groups claiming to have been improperly treated during government investigations. This arrangement has been criticized by some Democratic lawmakers as a "disguised transfer of benefits," and has also raised questions within the Republican Party.Former IRS Commissioner pointed out that there has never been a precedent showing that the tax agency would permanently waive its right to review the historical filings of specific individuals or businesses, emphasizing that tax enforcement principles should remain consistent for all taxpayers. The Senate indicated that there are still many unresolved issues with this agreement, which is expected to continue to spark political controversy and regulatory discussions.

According to CoinDesk, on-chain analysis firm Arkham Data shows that over the past year, wallets associated with Bhutan have seen outflows of approximately $1 billion in Bitcoin, with funds flowing to multiple trading platforms and trading institutions, reducing their holdings from about 13,000 BTC to around 3,100 BTC.Arkham speculates that there may be ongoing selling behavior, and if the trend continues, the relevant addresses may be cleared of holdings before October 2026. However, Bhutan's sovereign fund Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) stated that "they do not recall any recent Bitcoin sales," did not respond to specific changes in on-chain addresses, and did not confirm the current holding size, only emphasizing that there are no additional comments.The report points out that some of the fund inflow paths are related to institutions such as Galaxy Digital and OKX, leading the market to interpret this as selling or over-the-counter trading behavior, but there are also possibilities of transfers into custody, collateralization, or structured trading that do not involve selling. Additionally, some trading institution personnel stated that there has been no clear selling recently.Furthermore, Bhutan's previous commitment to a reserve of 10,000 BTC for the "Gelephu Mindfulness City" project has also been questioned due to potential sell-offs. Currently, there is still significant disagreement regarding its actual holdings and mining operations.

The legislative process for the structure of the U.S. cryptocurrency market is accelerating, with Congress pushing for the earliest possible review stage. However, uncertainties remain regarding ethical issues and the cryptocurrency interests related to Donald Trump, which complicate the path forward.One of the main proponents, Senator Thom Tillis, stated that he has requested Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott to arrange hearings and advance the amendment and voting process, while also hoping to release a new version of the bill text before the review. However, Tillis emphasized that he would oppose the bill's passage if it does not include clear ethical provisions. With the midterm elections approaching, related ethical issues are expected to become a key focus for the Democratic Party.