President Donald Trump Set to Repeal Biden's IRS DeFi Rule

President Donald Trump Set to Repeal Biden's IRS DeFi Rule

The U.S. Senate voted 70-28 late Wednesday to repeal a Biden-era IRS rule requiring decentralized finance platforms to report user trading activity. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the resolution, with White House crypto czar David Sacks confirming the administration's support.

The rule targeted DeFi front-end operators and sought to treat them like traditional brokers, mandating the issuance of 1099 forms and user disclosures. Critics said the mandate was unworkable and would "push this entire, burgeoning technology offshore," according to the DeFi Education Fund.

Opposition to the rule has drawn bipartisan support, including from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “The DeFi Education Fund commends the bipartisan supermajority... recognizing the severe and far-reaching consequences of the IRS’ misguided rulemaking,” said executive director Amanda Tuminelli.

Not all lawmakers were in agreement, with Rep. Lloyd Doggett warning the repeal would aid “wealthy tax cheats, drug traffickers and terrorist financiers.” The resolution, led by Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Mike Carey, marks the first crypto bill headed to Trump’s desk.

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Wyoming to Launch Public Stablecoin ‘WYST’ by July

Wyoming state officials said Wednesday that they are preparing to launch the first state-issued fiat-backed stablecoin in the U.S. by July. Dubbed the Wyoming Stable Token (WYST), the digital dollar is being tested on Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana, and other networks with support from interoperability firm LayerZero.

Governor Mark Gordon and Stable Token Commission Executive Director Anthony Apollo confirmed the token’s testing phase is ongoing through Q2. WYST will be fully backed by short-term U.S. treasuries and fiat deposits, with instant low-fee transfers as a primary use case.

Apollo said the token aims to outperform legacy financial rails such as ACH and wire transfers. With $230 billion already in global stablecoins, Wyoming’s entry could set precedent for other U.S. public-sector issuers amid a regulatory push under the Trump administration.

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Hyperliquid Adds ETH Spot Trading After Core-EVM Integration

Hyperliquid just enabled direct ETH spot trading via deposits and withdrawals, expanding beyond its origins in perpetual futures. The rollout follows this week’s integration of its proprietary Layer 1 HyperCore with the EVM-compatible HyperEVM environment. Users can now move ETH seamlessly across the Hyperliquid platform and its Hyperunit token layer, which also supports BTC and SOL.

The integration marks another major usability upgrade for developers and traders, offering access to Ethereum DeFi. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token, used for gas, currently trades near $14.15 following a $1.2 billion airdrop in November. Despite strong growth, the protocol recently faced scrutiny over centralization, especially after it delisted the JELLYJELLY market over price manipulation.

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GameStop to Raise $1.3 Billion for Bitcoin Via Convertible Debt

GameStop announced Wednesday it will raise up to $1.3 billion through convertible senior notes to fund future Bitcoin purchases. The Texas-based gaming retailer said the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including acquiring BTC as a treasury asset. The debt instrument will offer a 0% dividend and can be converted into Class A shares at a future date determined by the company.

This tactic mirrors Strategy’s multi-billion-dollar playbook, where convertible notes were issued to fuel aggressive Bitcoin accumulation. The notes are set to mature in April 2030 unless redeemed or converted earlier. GameStop, which recently amended its investment policy to permit BTC holdings, is also sitting on $4.7 billion in cash reserves, up from $921 million the year prior.

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Data of the Day

Less than 20% of European banks offer crypto services, despite rising investor demand and regulatory clarity, according to Bitpanda’s latest survey. Out of 10,000 retail and institutional investors polled across 13 countries, 40% of business investors already hold crypto, while only 19% of banks reported strong client demand. This reveals a significant gap between perceived and actual adoption.

Bitpanda’s deputy CEO Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad said internal barriers like limited knowledge are blocking financial institutions from capitalizing on crypto interest. The survey found 27% of retail investors would prefer crypto access via banks, while 36% of business investors favor exchanges. With EU’s MiCA framework now in effect, banks risk losing revenue to crypto-native platforms if they delay adoption.

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More Breaking News

• Interactive Brokers has doubled its crypto offerings by adding SOL, ADA, XRP, and DOGE to its platform, offering low fees amid rising competition from global exchanges.
• Sam Bankman-Fried was moved from Brooklyn’s MDC to a federal transit facility in Oklahoma after giving an unsanctioned interview to Tucker Carlson from jail.
• Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is now charging $125 in BNB for direct messages on ReachMe, aiming to limit spam and keep conversations to about 10 per day.
• Senator Gillibrand warned that yield-bearing stablecoins could undercut traditional banking by removing incentives to deposit funds at local financial institutions.
• Tether’s new USDT0 stablecoin has expanded to Optimism’s Superchain after debuting on OP Mainnet, bringing omnichain compatibility to more Ethereum Layer 2s.
• A group of 34 crypto firms urged Congress to intervene in a DOJ interpretation of money-transmitting laws they say threatens blockchain developers in the U.S.
• Deribit expects subdued volatility despite $12 billion in Bitcoin options expiring, with open interest concentrated around the $85,000 price level.
• Ghibli-themed memecoins are surging after OpenAI’s new image generation tool went viral for producing Studio Ghibli-style artwork shared by Musk and Altman.

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