Crypto Journalist

Amin Ayan

Crypto Journalist

Amin Ayan

About Author

Amin Ayan is a crypto journalist with over four years of experience in the industry. He has contributed to leading publications such as Cryptonews, Investing.com, 99Bitcoins, and 24/7 Wall St. He has…

Share

Last updated: 

August 23, 2025

Trish Turner has stepped down as head of the United States Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) digital assets division, leaving the role after just three months.

Turner announced her departure in a LinkedIn post on Friday, reflecting on her two-decade career at the agency.

“After more than 20 years with the IRS, I have closed an extraordinary chapter of my career with deep appreciation for those who shaped my journey and made the work so meaningful,” she wrote.

Turner Vows to Bridge Gap Between Industry and Regulators

Turner added that she looked forward to “building bridges between industry and regulators” from a new position outside the agency.

Bloomberg Tax later reported that Turner will join Crypto Tax Girl, a private tax advisory firm, as its new tax director.

Founder Laura Walter confirmed the appointment, saying Turner’s expertise will help clients navigate the growing list of compliance challenges.

“With all of the big crypto tax and compliance changes on the horizon, we are excited to have Trish on board,” Walter said.

Her resignation comes at a critical moment for U.S. crypto taxation. The IRS has been under increasing pressure to modernize its digital asset strategy, following repeated criticism from lawmakers and watchdog agencies over its handling of crypto-related investigations.

Turner herself was only appointed in May, following the departures of Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee and Seth Wilks, who left the division after roughly a year.

The shake-up coincides with heightened congressional scrutiny. Last month, the House Committee on Ways and Means announced a hearing on how to establish a clear tax framework for digital assets.

Earlier in July, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration recommended reforms to the IRS’s criminal investigation unit, citing failures to follow protocols in crypto cases.

Meanwhile, the broader regulatory environment has shifted under the Trump administration.

In April, the president signed a resolution overturning a Biden-era rule that would have required decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report user transactions to the IRS.

Turner’s move to the private sector highlights the ongoing migration of senior government officials into crypto-focused firms, as the industry braces for sweeping changes in U.S. tax and compliance policy.

IRS Ramps Up Crypto Tax Crackdown With Surge in Warning Letters

As reported, the IRS has intensified its scrutiny of crypto investors in the United States, sending out a wave of warning letters over the past two months.

Tax experts say the letters point to growing enforcement efforts after the agency flagged discrepancies in filings linked to digital asset transactions.

CoinLedger, a crypto tax filing platform, said it received nearly 800 customer support queries about IRS letters between May and June, nine times more than the same period in 2024.

Tax attorneys have also seen a spike in outreach, with some firms now fielding multiple calls each week from concerned clients, compared to little or no activity last year.

The campaign recalls earlier IRS crackdowns in 2020 and 2021, when the agency issued widespread compliance letters after obtaining exchange data, including records from Coinbase.

The chief global strategist of financial services giant JPMorgan says that the White House’s growth projections for the US economy are unfeasible.

In a new interview with CNBC Television, JPMorgan executive David Kelly says that the White House’s 3% projected growth for the economy doesn’t make sense as the US doesn’t have the means to boost productivity to match.

According to Kelly, baby boomers retiring and shrinking employment numbers will impact the growth of the US economy. However, though he says 3% is untenable, he does envision the economy growing in part.

“I don’t see how we’ll do that. In order to do that, you’ve got to boost productivity, because if you look at the US economic growth, in the long run, so far this century, it’s been about 2%. That’s 1.5% from productivity and 0.5% from the growth in labor.

The problem is that the baby boomers are retiring, the nation-born working age population is shrinking, so if you end up with zero net immigration, you got no employment growth and that means [you grow] 1.5%, not 3%. Now we might do better than 1.5%, but we’re not close to 3%. There’s nothing in the outlook which tells me that we can sustain 3% growth.”

The White House’s projection for the growth of the US economy is related to President Donald Trump’s latest spending bill, which included extensions on tax breaks and is currently being voted on in Congress.

Follow us on X, Facebook and Telegram

Don’t Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox

Check Price Action

Surf The Daily Hodl Mix

&nbsp

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Generated Image: Midjourney

Peter Märkl, general counsel at Swiss crypto exchange Bitcoin Suisse, said the European Union and Switzerland lack clarity in their respective stablecoin regulatory frameworks.

Märkl told Cointelegraph on the sidelines of the German Blockchain Week that “there’s a lot to be done” when it comes to the classification and the rules applying to stablecoins under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework.

He said MiCA provides “a comprehensive, harmonized regulatory framework” for stablecoin issuance, offering and custody. However, “due to the rapidly evolving nature of crypto-assets and their use cases, classification remains dynamic and can, in certain cases, shift over time,” Märkl added.

He highlighted, among other things, that it puts players from outside the EU at a disadvantage:

“Foreign stablecoin issuers need to seriously consider a license under MiCA as recent supervisory actions in Germany point to a strict enforcement of the rules.”

Concerning Switzerland’s rules, Märkl said they are unfriendly to issuers. This is because the regulators put the Know Your Customer (KYC) burden on the issuers, essentially requiring the stablecoin issuer to know the identity of individual holders, which he views as “unreasonable.”

Related: Euro stablecoin by DWS and Deutsche Bank gets regulatory approval

Overall, Märkl said that four years after Switzerland’s DLT Act introduction — which he recognized as “a great legislative platform — there are still holes in the local regulatory framework. He highlighted the need to “put a focus on the regulation of stablecoins” and provide “a set of rules that is comfortable for the players.”

He added, “We know that there is a legislative process ongoing, but the outcome needs to be assessed.”

Related: ‘Policy procrastination’ leaves UK trailing EU, US in crypto regulation: Experts

Bitcoin Suisse’s EU ambitions

Märkl also said Bitcoin Suisse will leverage its five-year-old Liechtenstein Crypto-Asset Service Provider registration to seek a full MiCA license:

“In terms of Bitcoin Suisse, we have run a subsidiary in Liechtenstein for five years, which is nationally registered under the TV2 law. It’s a registered CASP, and it would be a natural choice to extend this to a MiCA license.”

Middle East, UK and US also in the crosshairs

Bitcoin Suisse is also eyeing international expansion beyond Europe. The company received in-principle approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) back in May. Now, Märkl said that the firm’s CEO, Andrej Majcen, relocated to Abu Dhabi one and a half years ago, and that the company sees “a tremendous attraction” toward the Middle East.

The company is also exploring opportunities in the United Kingdom and the United States, although final decisions will depend on regulatory developments, Märkl said.

Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-suisse-legal-chief-flags-gaps-in-eu-swiss-stablecoin-rules/feed/ 0 45526 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-reserve-in-the-works-says-kazakhstans-central-bank-chief/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-reserve-in-the-works-says-kazakhstans-central-bank-chief/#respond Mon, 30 Jun 2025 23:57:11 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-reserve-in-the-works-says-kazakhstans-central-bank-chief/

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

Kazakhstan’s National Bank (NBK) has begun designing what could become the country’s first sovereign crypto-asset reserve, signalling a shift from piecemeal digital-asset oversight toward full-fledged strategic portfolio management. In a written response to a parliamentary inquiry, NBK Chairman Timur Suleimenov confirmed that “work is underway on the development of its formation and management concept,” adding that one option under review is to lodge the reserve inside an NBK-controlled subsidiary that already handles alternative investments.

Kazakhstan To Build Crypto Reserve

Suleimenov’s letter frames the reserve as a financial-stability instrument rather than a speculative bet. “International practice shows that the sources for such a reserve may include confiscated crypto-assets, as well as cryptocurrencies mined by a crypto miner partially owned by the government,” he wrote, stressing that feasibility studies are benchmarking global models of sovereign crypto reserves.

While Suleimenov’s language was cautious, the central bank’s house view is hard-edged. A separate note released through state news agency Kazinform says the NBK “stands for an institutionally sound approach,” grounded in the transparency norms used by traditional sovereign wealth funds. The same communication highlights the need for centralised custody inside a secure state structure “to ensure the sustainability (safety) of the state crypto-reserve.”

Turning concept into law will require parliamentary action. According to the NBK chief, amendments are needed to define the reserve’s legal status and set procedures for deposit and withdrawal. Draft language is already circulating, and the NBK says it “is ready to discuss relevant amendments with MPs.”

Kazakhstan’s Ambivalence Towards Crypto

The legislative push is unfolding against an aggressive clean-upof Kazakhstan’s grey crypto market. Since a 2024 ban on bank-mediated payments to unlicensed platforms, regulators have blocked 15,800 suspect transactions worth about $3.07 million in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Suleimenov has also flagged an upcoming bill that would attach administrative and criminal liability to off-exchange dealings and curb digital-asset advertising.

Even as the NBK sketches out a reserve, its public messaging to retail investors remains sceptical. Earlier this month Suleimenov warned that cryptocurrencies are “complex assets from a financial perspective… not like a deposit, where you go to a bank, put your money in for a year and earn interest.” He argued that “people get the impression that it’s some kind of magic wand,” a perception exploited by “scammers and Ponzi schemes.”

Today’s central-bank initiative builds on groundwork laid by the Ministry of Digital Development, which in May floated a crypto reserve capable of “respond[ing] more quickly to changes in the global financial system.” The ministry drew an explicit parallel to the National Fund — the country’s commodity-backed stabilisation vehicle — calling the prospective crypto reserve “a similar function, but in a digital dimension.”

Policy momentum also reflects pressure from legislators. Mazhilis member Olzhas Kuspekov recently proposed a fund inside the NBK that would warehouse crypto assets seized in criminal cases, though Deputy Governor Berik Sholpankulov countered that existing asset-forfeiture rules already channel such property to the budget.

For now, Kazakhstan’s central bank is working with law-enforcement and other state bodies on what Suleimenov calls the “specific mechanisms” of reserve construction — from custody architecture to valuation and risk-management protocols. No timeline has been published, and officials have yet to disclose which digital assets might qualify. What is clear is that the NBK wants its reserve — if created — to look less like a speculative vault and more like an institutional buffer that sits comfortably beside the country’s gold-and-FX war chest.

At press time, Bitcoin traded at $107,645.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

Tim Alper

Author

Tim Alper

About Author

Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked…

Share

Last updated: 

June 24, 2025

A Russian crypto mining firm executive has claimed Bitcoin (BTC) prices could climb to the $130k mark in the second half of summer 2025.

The claims came from Vasily Girya, the owner and CEO of the industrial player GIS Mining, the Russian Prime news agency reported. Girya said:

“The crypto industry remains attractive to market players. In a moderately positive scenario, the price of Bitcoin in the second half of summer could reach an all-time high of $115,000. It could target $130k”.

Bitcoin: $130k By End of Summer?

At the time of writing, Bitcoin prices are wavering around the $105k mark following a brief foray into $111,000 territory in mid May.

GIS Mining is one of Russia’s top 10 industrial miners, and mainly specializes in mobile units and mining hotel facilities. Per recent figures, the company’s mining capacity for Financial Year 2024 was 53 MW.

The country’s 10 biggest mining firms posted a collective total of $200 million in revenue in FY2024. Over half of this revenue came from the nation’s two biggest miners: BitRiver and Intelion.

Girya explained that the Russian mining sector is set for another burst of growth this year. He said that the sector was experiencing “record-breaking” demand for new crypto mining data centers with a capacity of up to 100 MW.

The mining chief added that demand for equipment capable of “energy-intensive blockchain computing” was also skyrocketing.

Insiders say that in the first half of 2025, demand for crypto mining hardware outstripped supply.

They claim that since Moscow legalized and began regulating crypto mining in 2024, more investors have entered the market.

The ruble’s rise against the dollar this year has also made crypto mining investment more viable for many.

Sandbox ‘Driving Russian Mining Investment’

Girya added that over the next two to three years, more of the coins mined in Russian jurisdiction will be used in the national economy.

He pointed to the Central Bank-run “experimental legal regime (ELR)” as evidence. The ELR is a crypto sandbox comprising exchange firms, cross-border trade companies, and Bitcoin miners.

The bank is using the ELR as a means of bypassing US, EU, and UK-led sanctions on Russia. The sanctions have effectively frozen Russian firms and banks out of dollar-denominated trade.

Central Bank officials want crypto miners to sell their coins to exchanges within the sandbox. These exchanges can then use their coins to facilitate cross-border trades conducted in BTC or other tokens.

Girya called the ELR a “powerful step toward the institutionalization of the crypto and digital currencies market.”

He said that it would help “increase the inflow of investments into this new class of assets.”

More Coal-powered Bitcoin Miners Heading to Siberia?

Meanwhile, the authorities in the Kuznetsk Basin, a major coal-mining region in Southwestern Siberia, have proposed a Bitcoin mining-themed solution to the problem of coal depreciation.

The news outlet Tsargrad’s Kemerovo Oblast branch reported that the region’s government is mulling a proposal to build crypto farms and greenhouse complexes near its coal mines.

The region’s Governor, Ilya Seredyuk, said the area’s coal could “be used to generate the energy needed to mine Bitcoin and other cryptoassets.”

Seredyuk said tests are now underway as miners conduct economic calculations to determine the profitability of the plan. He said the results would be published in around a month’s time.

The Governor said the BTC mining plan could help reverse a recent decline in coal mining. He also suggested that the heat released by burning coal could be used to heat greenhouses that house tropical plants – in one of the world’s most famously cold areas. He mused:

“Why not create a large botanical garden and cultivate plants that require warmth?”

Earlier this month, a Russian power firm announced the launch of the nation’s first bitcoin mining-focused closed-end mutual investment fund (CEF).

Author

Tim Alper

Author

Tim Alper

About Author

Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked…

Share

Last updated: 

June 1, 2025

Russian investigators confiscated crypto worth around 649 million rubles ($8.2 million) from the wallets of Dmitry Pavlov, the 35-year-old self-confessed server mastermind behind the Hydra darknet portal.

The Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that documents unveiled in court this month confirmed law enforcement officers have frozen and seized coins from Pavlov’s crypto wallets.

Hydra Darknet Server Operator ‘Was Paid in Crypto’

Pavlov testified that he received the cryptoassets in the form of “a salary and bonuses” in return for maintaining Hydra servers.

A criminal ring paid Pavlov “about 15 million rubles ($189,277) a year” in crypto for his services, prosecution officials explained.

The accused said that he did not sell his coins for cash. Instead, he held on to the crypto, hoping that its price would continue to grow.

Hydra operators also paid Pavlov cash to cover maintenance costs, prosecution officials added. A branch of the Moscow District Court jailed 16 people for orchestrating Hydra in December last year.

The operation’s mastermind Stanislav Moiseev was jailed for life after the court heard that the portal facilitated over $5 billion in crypto transactions.

Prosecutors said that Russian experts agreed with Chainalysis estimates about the size of the firm’s crypto turnover.

‘Couriers Brought Pavlov Bags of Cash’

Moiseev and others handed Pavlov money to rent and maintain servers at the German company Hetzner, prosecutors explained.

These costs alone amounted to 1.5-2 million rubles ($18,928-$25,239) per month. Hydra managers “periodically” sent Pavlov couriers with bagfuls of cash, prosecutors added.

Hydra’s annual turnover at the time of closure was $1.7 billion, a Rosfinmonitoring employee testified at Pavlov’s trial. The staffer estimated that the platform took cuts of 2% to 5% from crypto transactions made on Hydra.

Rosfinmonitoring (officially the Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service) is the nation’s top anti-money laundering agency.

Another expert testified that that the “net profit of Hydra’s co-founders alone,” taking into account-related services, amounted to “about 100 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) a year.”

Last month, Chainalysis reported that while there was a 15% decline in global crypto sales across darknet markets in 2024, Russian sites bucked the trend. The latter saw a 68% rise in crypto sales, the firm said.

At the Bitcoin 2025 Conference, a session titled “Making America the Global Bitcoin Superpower” conveyed a clear message: the United States is committed to embracing Bitcoin (BTC) and leading the global market. 

Key speakers Bo Hines, the White House Executive Director for digital assets, and Tyler Williams from the US Treasury Department, alongside moderator Miles Jennings, outlined the government’s aggressive strategy to establish the nation as a leader in the cryptocurrency space.

Integration Of Crypto With ‘Legacy Financial Systems’

“We are well on our way to becoming the Bitcoin superpower of the world,” Hines declared, emphasizing that this initiative transcends partisan politics. He described the movement as a “revolution in our financial system” that requires immediate action.

Jennings pointed out the critical regulatory measures that are currently being developed. “If the bill becomes law, we will play a significant role in integrating Bitcoin, stablecoins, and other digital assets with the legacy financial system,” he stated. This integration, he noted, would be facilitated by pending stablecoin legislation.

Related Reading

Hines highlighted the importance of modernizing payment systems, asserting, “Updating the payment rails is necessary, and we are making significant progress.” 

He noted that forthcoming market structure legislation would clarify the regulatory landscape for intermediaries such as exchanges and brokers, determining whether digital assets will be classified as securities or commodities.

Encouraging innovation within the crypto sector, Hines remarked, “We want folks to innovate here. We can’t let fear of regulatory repercussions stifle creativity.” He urged innovators who have moved abroad to consider returning, stating, “Our message to those who have gone offshore is: welcome home.”

‘Bitcoin Is The Golden Standard’

Williams reinforced the need for any new regulations to accommodate the unique nature of decentralized finance (DeFi). “Traditional financial markets operate on a principal-agent model, but crypto is shifting us toward a principal-to-principal structure,” he explained. 

He noted that regulatory support for the exchange-traded products (ETP) marketplace had led to a surge in institutional Bitcoin adoption, and he believes that similar outcomes could arise from stablecoin and market structure legislation.

Related Reading

Hines made a particularly bullish statement, declaring, “Bitcoin is truly the golden standard. This is an asset that we should be harnessing on behalf of the American people. We want as much as we can possibly get.” 

Tyler Williams echoed this sentiment, asserting, “We are going big on digital assets.” Hines concluded the session with a strong commitment: “You will certainly see the United States stepping out as the Bitcoin superpower of the world.”

As of this writing, the market’s leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), is trading at $108,560, just over 2.8% below its all-time high of $111,800, which was reached last week amid renewed investments in the Bitcoin ETF market.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com