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According to Digital Asset, Park Soo-young, a member of the Korean National Power Party, criticized the government's plan to tax virtual asset gains, stating that it is "a threat of a tax bomb if one does not invest in the domestic stock market," and demanded an immediate withdrawal.Member Park Soo-young stated on her YouTube channel: "I hope this punitive tax plan that puts 13 million digital asset users in danger can be withdrawn immediately." She added, "This does not mean that people will invest in domestic stocks; on the contrary, it will only accelerate the outflow of national wealth." She cited that approximately 124 trillion won flowed into overseas digital asset exchanges from January to September last year.

According to Bitcoin.com, Gurinder Singh Josan MP and Lord Vaizey, co-chairs of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Crypto and Digital Assets (APPG), have written to the CEOs of major UK banks requesting clarification on whether they provide account services to crypto businesses, what restrictions are placed on digital asset transactions, and whether these policies will be adjusted with the implementation of the new regulatory framework in the UK.The MPs pointed out that access to banking may be the single biggest obstacle to the development of crypto and digital asset businesses in the UK. If licensed crypto businesses are still unable to obtain basic banking services, the competitive goals of the new regulatory system will be difficult to achieve.Lucy Rigby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has previously stated that banking service restrictions should not be imposed on FCA-authorized crypto businesses solely due to the nature of the industry. The deadline for submitting written evidence for this inquiry is August 31, and the APPG will use this to make policy recommendations to the government.

According to MBN, South Korea's People Power Party member Jeong Seong-guk plans to propose a bill to postpone the implementation date for taxing virtual asset income by three years, from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2030. The member pointed out that by delaying the implementation date until a comprehensive review of related systems, including the taxation of virtual assets, is completed, a safeguard can be established to enhance taxpayer expectations and prevent system chaos.According to current regulations, starting from January 1 of next year, income generated from the transfer or lending of virtual assets will be classified as "other income" and will be subject to income tax. Therefore, the portion of annual profits exceeding 2.5 million won will be taxed at a rate of 22%, which includes 20% for other income tax and 2% for local income tax. Amid recent stock market turmoil and soaring real estate prices triggering public attacks on the government and ruling party, the People Power Party seems to be trying to gain public support by actively proposing legislation aimed at protecting the interests of virtual asset market investors. The People Power Party has consistently opposed the government, advocating for the abolition of this tax.

According to Bloomberg, to advance the landmark cryptocurrency legislation "Clarity Act," bipartisan senators have proposed an ethical provision to Trump that may include a clause allowing the president to defer capital gains tax on his cryptocurrency assets. The proposal requires the president to divest from cryptocurrency-related businesses, and the relevant terms are still being negotiated between the White House and lawmakers. In June 2025, Trump reported that his family's cryptocurrency business generated over $1.4 billion in revenue, indicating that most of his income has come from digital assets benefiting from his own policies. Democratic senators have made strong ethical provisions a condition for supporting the bill, which aims to clarify the regulatory authority over the cryptocurrency industry.

According to Gate market data, as gold prices approach a one-month high, U.S. gold mining stocks generally rose in pre-market trading. Newmont Corporation (NEM.N) rose by 3.5%, Gold Fields Limited (GFI.N) rose by 5.4%, and Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (HMY.N) rose by 4.6%. The SPDR Gold ETF increased by 2.1%.

The FBI submitted data disclosure to the legislative committee, revealing that losses related to cryptocurrency kiosks in Texas amounted to $56.8 million in 2025, involving 1,179 complaints, making it the highest loss among all states in the U.S. The total number of related complaints nationwide was 13,460, with reported losses increasing by 58% year-on-year to $389 million. Cryptocurrency kiosks can accept cash and exchange it for cryptocurrency, typically set up at gas stations and convenience stores.Statistics from the Texas Tribune show that there are about 4,000 such devices in Texas, where scammers induce victims to withdraw money from their bank accounts and deposit it into the machines. Jesse Saucillo, Deputy Commissioner of the Texas Department of Banking, stated that once funds are transferred out, recovering them is nearly impossible, as the money typically flows into unhosted wallets and then into mixers. He added that AI-generated police and state agency impersonation content makes phone inducements more deceptive.Data from AARP indicates that since 2023, approximately 30 states in the U.S. have enacted laws related to cryptocurrency kiosks. Indiana fully banned such devices in March, followed by Tennessee and Minnesota. Texas House Committee Chairman Rep. Cole Hefner stated that the state will consider measures beyond regulatory scope.

According to official news, OKX, in collaboration with Elliptic, SlowMist, and OttoSec, has released the "Web3 Security and Risk Control Report for the First Half of 2026." The report points out that the focus of Web3 attacks is gradually shifting from smart contract code to more complex scenarios such as signature processes, user devices, operational infrastructure, and AI Agents.Data shows that in the first half of 2026, the OKX risk control system intercepted over 5.7 million high-risk transactions, including approximately 2.41 million transactions related to hacking and theft, about 1.48 million transactions related to phishing, and around 990,000 transactions related to fraud. The OKX Web3 on-chain intelligence label library currently has over 1 billion labels, covering more than 420 chains, and has integrated capabilities such as address screening, transaction monitoring, and sanction address control into infrastructures like DEX and Exchange OS.In addition, in terms of user protection, OKX has intercepted over 7 million visits to risky websites, completed over 200,000 device risk assessments, identified over 60,000 high-risk apps, and intercepted or alerted on over 4 million high-risk signature operations. The report also introduces the "risk control pre-positioning" design in scenarios such as Exchange OS, Outcomes, RWA, and Agentic Wallet.

U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres has requested the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate whether the upcoming Truth API from Truth Social's parent company Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) violates federal securities laws, and to assess whether it involves issues such as market manipulation, investor protection, and conflicts of interest.According to previous reports, the Truth API will launch on August 1, providing paying customers with real-time data access to public posts from popular Truth Social accounts, with authorization fees reaching up to $100,000 per month.

According to BLOCKMEDIA, the South Korean police are investigating a case of political interference in the competition of the cryptocurrency market. A former assistant to independent lawmaker Kim Byung-ki is accused of pressuring the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in February last year to force Upbit to terminate its fee waiver activities for $USDC and $USDT, in order to alleviate the financial pressure on its competitor Bithumb, which was suffering due to a zero-fee promotion.The suspicion arises from the fact that the assistant obtained an informal advisory position at Bithumb months after the interference, while at the same time, the lawmaker's son was also hired by the exchange as an intern. Bithumb denies any knowledge of political interference and insists that the fee adjustments were independent business decisions.

Several individuals familiar with the discussions on the "Digital Asset Market Structure Act" have stated that U.S. lawmakers plan to release an updated version of the cryptocurrency market structure bill this week. The new text combines the provisions previously approved by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and the Agriculture Committee, and was negotiated by the two committees on multiple terms.

According to Cointelegraph, the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority (BFA) is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Wednesday regarding the issuance of $100 million in Bitcoin-backed bonds. The plan was approved by the BFA in November 2025 and requires final approval from the governor and a five-member executive council.The bonds are secured by collateral from the private borrower CleanSpark, with no recourse to state funds or taxpayers. Moody's assigned a preliminary rating of Ba2 (speculative grade) to the bonds in March. New Hampshire is the first state to pass a strategic Bitcoin reserve law, allowing 5% of public funds to be invested in digital assets.

According to Decrypt, UK Labour MP Phil Brickell has requested the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to investigate Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, examining whether he engaged in improper lobbying regarding the Bank of England's cryptocurrency policy after receiving significant financial support from Tether's major investor Christopher Harborne.Reports indicate that Farage privately met with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey in September 2025, where he advocated for abandoning the launch of the central bank digital currency "Britcoin" and opposed limits on individual holdings of stablecoins.Christopher Harborne is alleged to hold approximately 12% of Tether's equity and previously provided Farage with an undisclosed personal gift of £5 million, as well as donating around £15 million to Reform UK.

According to the Wall Street Journal, several U.S. lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the prediction market platform Polymarket, as its advertising is alleged to potentially contain misleading content.It is reported that the lawmakers believe Polymarket may not clearly disclose the nature of its products and associated risks in its marketing, which could mislead users. Some legislators have requested regulatory agencies to intervene and assess the compliance of its advertising and information disclosure standards.

According to The Wall Street Journal, SpaceX's upcoming IPO is expected to bring substantial paper gains to the endowment funds of several universities in the United States. About 10% of the University of North Carolina system's endowment fund is invested in SpaceX, primarily stemming from early investments in Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. The University of Washington in St. Louis has a holding in SpaceX that exceeds 15%, with the fund having invested in SpaceX in 2018 alongside Vy Capital. Stanford University also holds a significant stake in SpaceX, indirectly through institutions such as Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, and Darsana.SpaceX has transformed from an initial rocket launch company into an internet provider, social media platform, and AI company, with its valuation soaring from $140 billion in December 2022 to approximately $1.77 trillion at this week's IPO pricing. Some schools have reduced their positions in the secondary market to lock in profits, such as the University of Washington, which has sold off part of its holdings to secure gains. Although the paper gains are considerable, the use of endowment funds is legally restricted, and schools may not be able to allocate them freely.

According to Cointelegraph, South Korean police recently raided the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb to investigate independent lawmaker Kim Byung-gi for allegedly using his influence to secure a job for his son. It is reported that Kim's son joined Bithumb in January 2025 and worked for about six months. The police are investigating whether there was any external pressure or special treatment during his hiring process.Additionally, the case also involves Dunamu, the operator of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, with the investigation scope expanding from simple recruitment issues to potential power rent-seeking and interest transfer. Investigators pointed out that while serving as a member of the South Korean National Assembly's Administrative Committee, Kim Byung-gi had repeatedly questioned Dunamu during meetings, raising suspicions about whether he was trying to benefit the company where his son worked.It is understood that the police had previously questioned executives from multiple cryptocurrency companies and had conducted searches at Bithumb's headquarters and Bithumb Financial Tower to gather evidence. Kim Byung-gi himself is under investigation for 13 charges, including employment arrangements, bribery for nominations, and requests related to university transfers, and he stated that he believes he will ultimately be able to prove his innocence.It is worth noting that Bithumb has recently faced ongoing regulatory pressure. In March of this year, South Korea's financial regulatory agency imposed a fine of approximately $24.5 million on Bithumb for KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) violations and issued a six-month partial business suspension order. However, a South Korean court temporarily suspended the enforcement of the penalty at the end of April, and the relevant legal procedures are still ongoing.

According to Jin Shi, citing the Iranian Students News Agency, a member of Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Council, Khosravi, stated that the current focus of the negotiations is to completely end the war. The nuclear issue has been excluded from the negotiating table. Negotiations are still ongoing, but no final agreement has been reached yet.

According to Bitcoin News, U.S. Congressman Nick Begich has introduced the "U.S. Reserve Modernization Act," which already has 16 original co-sponsors. The bill will establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, integrate federally held digital assets, and lock them in as long-term reserve assets for at least 20 years.The bill also explores budget-neutral Bitcoin acquisition strategies while protecting the reserves from future government and congressional liquidation efforts. The media commented that the strategic Bitcoin reserve established by Trump through an executive order will be formally enshrined in law by the "U.S. Reserve Modernization Act."

According to CoinDesk, bipartisan lawmakers Steven Horsford, Max Miller, Suzan DelBene, and Mike Carey jointly reintroduced the "Digital Asset Protection, Accountability, Regulatory, Innovation, Taxation, and Revenue Act" (also known as the "Equality Act") this Wednesday. The new version of the bill mainly covers the following points: first, it stipulates that regulated payment stablecoins do not generate gains or losses if the cost basis is not less than 99% of the redemption value; second, it establishes a safe harbor for broker-dealer transactions or taxpayer account transactions; third, it clarifies that "wash sale" rules apply to digital assets; fourth, it requires the IRS to assess the current tax burden of small cryptocurrency transactions and to study the feasibility of establishing a tax exemption for transactions under $200 and the potential risks of abuse.The cryptocurrency industry has long advocated for tax exemptions on small transactions to promote the use of cryptocurrencies in everyday payment scenarios. Lawmaker Horsford stated that tax policy is the foundation of the cryptocurrency regulatory framework, and that current tax laws have not clearly addressed many core issues related to digital assets.

According to Cointelegraph, U.S. Republican lawmakers are calling for a permanent ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the upcoming vote on the "21st Century Housing Act" in the House of Representatives. Congressman Mike Flood stated that the House's revised bill aims to overturn the "implicit green light" for CBDCs, making the ban permanent. If the bill passes the House, it will return to the Senate for possible further revisions. Congressman Warren Davidson supports the permanent ban and believes that the 2030 expiration date effectively gives CBDCs a pre-launch development period. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer is also promoting his "Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act," which passed the House last July but has not yet been approved by the Senate. Emmer warned that if the U.S. adopts a CBDC, privacy and economic freedom will cease to exist.