Autor Cointelegraph By Turner Wright

Some digital asset industry advocates are pushing back against a provision in a $56 billion state budget passed by the Illinois General Assembly on Monday, due to its impact on crypto users. In a Senate bill included as part of the Illinois state budget for the fiscal year 2027, lawmakers proposed a 0.2% tax on crypto transactions, to be imposed by the “digital asset broker making or effectuating the sale of the digital asset business activity.” The 1624-page bill, part of the revenue and tax package to fund the state’s 2027 budget, passed along party lines early on Monday.Senate Bill 3019. Source: Illinois General AssemblyThe measure, described as a “privilege tax” within the Digital Asset Privilege Tax Act amendment to the bill, included registration requirements for any entity operating as a digital asset broker in Illinois. Brokers who failed to follow the guidelines from Jan. 1 could be found guilty of a Class 3 felony in the state and subject to a prison sentence of two to five years and fines up to $25,000.Passed by the state general assembly on Monday, the budget bill still needs Governor JB Pritzker’s signature before becoming law. Pritzker made several public statements signaling that he plans to sign the bill soon, but had not done so as of Friday morning. Lawmakers expect the crypto tax to generate $60 million for the state.Related: Crypto industry ties were a liability in Illinois primaryThis crypto tax measure has prompted accusations from industry advocates of “burying” the rule within a massive budget proposal. The Digital Chamber and Illinois Blockchain Association penned a letter on Wednesday urging the state to reject the Digital Asset Privilege Tax Act, claiming that it would be “economically destructive” and gave the industry no notice of its intentions.“No other state has imposed a similar tax, and the lack of stakeholder engagement surrounding this proposal raises significant concerns,” said The Digital Chamber in a Thursday X post.Source: The Digital ChamberIllinois governor goes after insider trading on prediction markets The crypto tax proposal in Illinois’ budget followed Pritzker’s signing of an executive order banning state employees from betting on prediction market event contracts with companies such as Kalshi and Polymarket. The EO, signed on April 21, came in response to concerns elected officials could use the platforms “for personal enrichment and advantage based on access to nonpublic information.”Magazine: Bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI, so why is the hashrate near ATHs?Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) nominated by Donald Trump, implied that the US president had not ordered him to approve or give special consideration to a national trust charter application tied to his family’s financial interests.In a Thursday hearing of the House Financial Service Committee on “oversight of prudential regulators,” New York Representative Gregory Meeks questioned Gould on the Trump family crypto company World Liberty Financial’s connections to foreign governments and the Binance exchange. The company, whose co-founders include Trump and his sons, applied for an OCC charter in January, prompting backlash from many Democratic lawmakers alleging conflicts of interest.Representative Gregory Meeks at a Thursday hearing. Source: House Financial Services CommitteeMeeks said that the company “actively lines the pockets of the president’s family,” pressing the comptroller to hold World Liberty to the same standards as other companies in consideration of its application for a national bank trust charter, “to prove if [he’s] still working on behalf of the American people, or [ceded his role] to serve as a fixer for the Trump family.” Meeks and Gould talked over each other at the hearing, with the New York lawmaker accusing the OCC head of being “Trump’s fixer,” signaling his belief that World Liberty’s application would be approved.“Your attempts to continue to pressure me are the only political pressure I’ve felt from anyone other than your Senate colleagues,” said Gould. “That is very unfortunate and unprecedented.”Gould’s remarks came after the OCC had already approved or conditionally agreed to several national trust charter applications from crypto companies, including Coinbase, Ripple, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos. The comptroller took office in July 2025 having been confirmed by the Republican majority Senate along party lines.Related: US senator calls for anti-corruption provisions in crypto billsThe OCC head said in January in the days after World Liberty’s application was submitted that the agency would be “apolitical and nonpartisan” in its consideration. However, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who also asked Gould to pause reviewing World Liberty’s application, said that the approvals were for “seemingly ineligible companies,” violating federal banking laws. Four of World Liberty’s co-founders, including two of Donald Trump’s sons. Source: World Liberty FinancialApproval for a national trust bank charter allows crypto companies to provide certain services without being subject to the same regulatory requirements as traditional banks. In addition to World Liberty, crypto exchange Kraken’s parent company, Payward, filed an application with the OCC in May.CLARITY Act consolidation expected in SenateA comprehensive digital asset market structure bill, called the CLARITY Act, is expected to head for a vote in the full Senate soon after advancement in two crucial committees this year. On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the Trump administration was aiming for passage sometime this summer, with some senators expecting a vote before August.Magazine: Bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI, so why is the hashrate near ATHs?

Latest NewsPublishedJun 4, 2026

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will allow qualified borrowers to pledge digital assets to fund Fannie Mae-backed mortgage apartments beginning this summer.In a Thursday notice, Coinbase and its partner, Better Home & Finance, said the mortgage structure plan launching “by summer 2026” will allow borrowers to initially use Bitcoin (BTC) or USDC (USDC) as collateral for loans to fund down payments for homes. The initiative, first announced in March, represented a significant shift in companies allowing digital assets to be used for financing houses. Source: Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels“We’re excited to expand access to all qualified borrowers to fix an ongoing issue: buyers who qualify on every measure that matters but cannot clear the down payment hurdle because their wealth isn’t where the system expects to find it,” said Better founder and CEO Vishal Garg.Garg said in a March post on X:“This isn’t a niche thing. It’s what everyone is going to do once most financial assets are tokenized. It’s just a better way to buy a house.”The move by Coinbase and Better followed US regulatory agencies under the Trump administration being friendlier to crypto companies and more accepting of digital assets integrated with traditional finance. In June 2025, the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider crypto as an asset in mortgage risk assessments without requiring a conversion into fiat. Related: Crypto mortgages in US face valuation risks, regulatory uncertaintyOther mortgage lenders have made similar moves since the FHFA order. In February, Newrez began allowing borrowers to use their cryptocurrency holdings to qualify for a mortgage application.Source: Bill PulteVolatile crypto-backed mortgages scrutinized for political motivationsAlthough the price volatility of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin may present challenges to the mortgage plan, some US lawmakers have accused FHFA head Bill Pulte of being “unduly influenced” by President Donald Trump in supporting such policies. “Expanding underwriting criteria to include the consideration of unconverted cryptocurrency assets could pose risks to the stability of the housing market and the financial system,” said five US senators in a July 2025 letter to Pulte following the FHFA order.Republican lawmakers, including crypto proponent Cynthia Lummis, have proposed codifying the FHFA order into law. She introduced the 21st Century Mortgage Act in July 2025, saying government agencies “must evolve to meet the needs of a modern, forward-thinking generation.” Magazine: Bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI, so why is the hashrate near ATHs?

Israeli taxpayer disclosures of profits from cryptocurrencies have reportedly fallen short of expectations at the Israel Tax Authority after enactment of a policy allowing immunity from criminal proceedings for filers correcting their reports.According to a Wednesday report from Globes, Israeli authorities had expected to gain up to $1 billion in taxes from “voluntary disclosures” allowed under an August 2025 policy, but have so far only received reports of a fraction of those capital earnings. The local news outlet reported that the tax authority had received reports of $50 million combined from crypto capital, with the potential of billions of dollars in underreported holdings.“In the cryptocurrency field, the difficulty of the absence of an anonymous track is even more acute,” said Iftach Simhony, a CPA and head of the tax department at the Prof. Bein Law Office, Globes reported. “When the risk assessment of some taxpayers is not high, and the procedure itself does not offer certainty or anonymity in the first stage, the incentive to undergo voluntary disclosure is weakened.”The voluntary disclosure procedure announced by the tax authority gives crypto holders immunity from criminal charges, provided the value of their holdings did not exceed the equivalent of $522,000 as of December 2024, they filed correct reports and paid their taxes in full before Aug. 31, 2026. Globes reported only 58 filers had attempted to correct their taxes using the procedure.Related: Israel crypto industry pushes regulatory changes amid strong public supportAccording to the Bank of Israel’s financial stability report for January to June 2024, Israelis held about $1 billion worth of crypto assets.US lawmakers seek to create de minimis exemption for crypto taxesA group of members of the US Congress introduced legislation in May called the PARITY Act that would direct the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to review creating a de minimis exemption for digital assets. Under the proposed law, taxpayers could not be forced to reported small crypto transactions to the IRS.Magazine: HYPE chases $100 target, ETH could dump below $1800: Market MovesCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.