Stablecoin rules needed in US before crypto tax reform, experts say

Published

7 months ago

March 30, 2025

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Stablecoin rules needed in US before crypto tax reform, experts say

United States cryptocurrency regulations need more clarity on stablecoins and banking relationships before lawmakers prioritize tax reform, according to industry leaders and legal experts.

“In my view, tax isn’t necessarily the priority for upgrading US crypto regulation,” according to Mattan Erder, general counsel at layer-3 decentralized blockchain network Orbs.

A “tailored regulatory approach” for areas including securities laws and removing “obstacles in banking” is a priority for US lawmakers with “more upside” for the industry, Erder told Cointelegraph.

“The new Trump administration is clearly all in on crypto and is taking steps that we could have only dreamed about a few years ago (including during his first term),” he said. “It seems likely that crypto regulation will be able to have it all and get much more clear and rational regulation in all areas, including tax.”

Still, Erder noted there are limits to what President Donald Trump can accomplish through executive orders and regulatory agency action alone. “At some point, the laws themselves will need to change, and for that, he will need Congress,” he said.

Trump’s March 7 executive order, which directed the government to establish a national Bitcoin reserve using crypto assets seized in criminal cases, was seen as a signal of growing federal support for digital assets.

Debanking concerns remain

Despite the administration’s recent pro-crypto moves, industry experts say crypto firms may continue to face difficulties with banking access until at least January 2026.

“It’s premature to say that debanking is over,” as “Trump won’t have the ability to appoint a new Fed governor until January,” Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction daily X show.

The Crypto Debanking Crisis: #CHAINREACTION https://t.co/nD4qkkzKnB

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 21, 2025

Industry outrage over alleged debanking reached a crescendo when a June 2024 lawsuit spearheaded by Coinbase resulted in the release of letters showing US banking regulators asked certain financial institutions to “pause” crypto banking activities.

Stablecoin legislation could unlock new growth

David Pakman, managing partner at crypto investment firm CoinFund, said a stablecoin regulatory framework could encourage more traditional finance institutions to adopt blockchain-based payments.

“Some of the potentially soon-to-pass legislation in the US, like the stablecoin bill, will unlock many of the traditional banks, financial services and payment companies onto crypto rails,” Pakman said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live X show on March 27.

“We hear this firsthand when we talk to them; they want to use crypto rails as a lower-cost, transparent, 24/7, and no middleman-dependent network for transferring money.”

The comments come as the industry awaits progress on US stablecoin legislation, which may come as soon as in the next two months, according to Bo Hines, the executive director of the president’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets.

The GENIUS Act, an acronym for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, would establish collateralization guidelines for stablecoin issuers while requiring full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Politics

MEV bot trial ends in mistrial after jury deadlock on brothers’ verdict

Published

3 hours ago

November 8, 2025

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MEV bot trial ends in mistrial after jury deadlock on brothers’ verdict

A New York jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case of Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, the MIT-educated brothers accused of fraud and money laundering related to a 2023 exploit of the Ethereum blockchain that resulted in the removal of $25 million in digital assets.

In a Friday ruling, US District Judge Jessica Clarke declared a mistrial in the case after jurors failed to agree on whether to convict or acquit the brothers, Inner City Press reported.

The decision came after a three-week trial in Manhattan federal court, resulting in differing theories from prosecutors and the defense regarding the Peraire-Buenos’ alleged actions involving maximal extractable value (MEV) bots.

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A MEV attack occurs when traders or validators exploit transaction ordering on a blockchain for profit. Using automated MEV bots, they front-run or sandwich other trades by paying higher fees for priority.

In the brothers’ case, they allegedly used MEV bots to “trick” users into trades. The exploit, though planned by the two for months, reportedly took just 12 seconds to net the pair $25 million.

In closing arguments to the jury this week, prosecutors argued that the brothers “tricked” and “defrauded” users by engaging in a “bait and switch” scheme, allowing them to extract about $25 million in crypto. They cited evidence suggesting that the two plotted their moves for months and researched potential consequences of their actions.

“Ladies and gentlemen, bait and switch is not a trading strategy,” said prosecutors on Tuesday, according to Inner City Press. “It is fraud. It is cheating. It is rigging the system. They pretended to be a legitimate MEV-Boost validator.”

In contrast, defense lawyers for the Peraire-Buenos pushed back against the US government’s theory of the two pretending to be “honest validators” to extract the funds, though the court ultimately allowed the argument to be presented to the jury.

“This is like stealing a base in baseball,” said the defense team on Tuesday. “If there’s no fraud, there’s no conspiracy, there’s no money laundering.”