Italy’s finance minister defends 42% crypto capital gains tax plan  

USD1, the US dollar stablecoin launched by the President Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI), has become the seventh-largest stablecoin worldwide in just two months since its launch.WLFI’s snapshot vote for a USD1 airdrop proposal is underway, and USD1’s market capitalization has continued to climb.Launched in early March with a $3.5 million supply, USD1 has expanded into a market cap of $2.2 billion at the time of writing, leaving rival stablecoins First Digital USD (FDUSD), PayPal USD (PYUSD) and Tether Gold (XAUT) behind, according to data from CoinGecko.Top 10 stablecoins by market capitalization. Source: CoinGeckoAlthough rising fast, the USD1 market cap is still far from the market value of major stablecoins like Tether’s USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC), whose market caps are worth $149 billion and $61 billion, respectively.BNB Chain drives USD1 issuance Trump-backed USD1 is almost exclusively issued on Binance-backed BNB Chain. According to data from BscScan, as much as $2.1 billion of all USD1 supply is issued on BNB Chain, accounting for more than 99% of its total circulating supply, while an Ethereum-based version accounts for just $14.5 million, according to Etherscan.BNB Chain-based (BEP-20) USD1 versus Ethereum-based (ERC-20) USD1. Source: BscScan, EtherscanUSD1’s latest market spike was sharp, jumping 1,540% from $128 million to $2.1 billion within two days in late April, according to CoinGecko.USD1 (USD1) market cap chart since April 2025. Source: CoinGeckoThe spike came days before Eric Trump announced that Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX would use the USD1 to invest $2 billion in Binance.Justin Sun-backed HTX among the first CEXs to list USD1As USD1’s market cap spiked, some centralized exchanges (CEXs) rushed to list the Trump-backed stablecoin.HTX, a crypto exchange closely associated with Tron founder Justin Sun and formerly known as Huobi, announced the listing of USD1 with permanent zero-fee withdrawals on the BEP-20 network on May 6.Source: HTXAccording to websites like CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap, HTX was one of the first CEXs to list USD1, as the token is primarily available on decentralized exchanges, including PancakeSwap and Uniswap.Most WLFI inflows come from outside the USWhile the WLFI community has been voting on the USD1 airdrop, some reports suggested that WLFI investment is mainly coming from outside the United States.According to a poll by V1PS founder Notaz.Sol, as much as 90% of WLFI investors are likely coming from non-US jurisdictions, including Europe, Asia and Latin America.Source: Tran HungA May 7 Bloomberg report also indicated that over half of the top holders of Trump-branded memecoins reside abroad.The USD1 stablecoin’s growth lines up with Trump’s pro-stablecoin agenda announced in his executive order on “Strengthening American leadership in digital financial technology” in January.While WLFI has been closely associated with Binance, both Trump and Binance have repeatedly denied and criticized reports suggesting any links or deals between the parties.Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Cryptocurrency miner Diversified Energy quietly vacated a natural gas-powered crypto mining site in Elk County, Pennsylvania, reportedly leaving behind unplugged wells and regulatory violations.The site, known as Longhorn Pad A, was revived in 2022 after sitting dormant for nearly a decade when Diversified began using it to fuel on-site generators powering cryptocurrency mining computers, according to a report by the Erie Times-News.Per the report, the operation was launched without obtaining an air quality permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).Though the company was later granted the permit in December 2023, a March 2025 inspection revealed that Diversified had already removed the mining infrastructure.Empty metallic sheds and missing production equipment led the DEP to issue a formal violation notice for well abandonment. Diversified reportedly denied that the site was abandoned, saying that it may resume gas production.However, the DEP and environmental advocates say the company has failed to meet its obligations. Under a 2021 agreement, Diversified had committed to plugging Longhorn A and 13 other wells at the end of their operational life, an obligation it has reportedly not fulfilled.An image of the site. Source: The Erie Times-NewsCointelegraph has reached out to Diversified for comment.Related: Bitcoin miners should pay costs in depreciating currency — Ledn execDiversified under scrutiny over business modelEnvironmentalists have long raised concerns about Diversified’s business model, which involves acquiring aging, low-producing wells and extracting remaining value without sufficient plans for decommissioning.Plugging a single well can cost over $100,000, and Pennsylvania already has over 350,000 orphaned and abandoned wells, making the stakes particularly high.A 2022 report labeled the company’s approach a “business model built to fail Appalachia,” warning that taxpayers could be left footing the bill for thousands of unplugged wells.Diversified recently agreed to plug 3,000 wells by 2034 in a separate legal settlement but continues to face regulatory scrutiny, including a probe by the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce.Horton Township officials, where the Longhorn site is located, say they’ve received no updates from the company.Local supervisor PJ Piccirillo told the Erie Times-News that generators and tanks were removed without notice. “All we know is that the property seems to have been abandoned,” he said.Related: Bitcoin mining — Institutions boost investments amid favorable US climateUS cities confront crypto miningOn April 25, the planning commission of Vilonia, Arkansas, unanimously rejected a proposal to establish a cryptocurrency mining facility within the city limits, following opposition from residents.In January, Arkansas lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban crypto mining operations within 30 miles of any US military facility in the state.The opposition to crypto miners in Arkansas follows a broader trend across US municipalities where crypto-mining initiatives have faced increasing scrutiny.In October 2024, a group of residents in Granbury, Texas, filed a lawsuit against Marathon Digital, alleging that its mining facility generated too much noise.Magazine: 12 minutes of nail-biting tension when Ethereum’s Pectra fork goes live

Several crypto-focused organizations — including Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies — are eyeing a US return, primarily driven by uncertain geopolitical tensions. Still, BTC miner Hive Digital Technologies is doubling down on the untapped potential of the Latin American (LATAM) market.In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Hive Digital Technologies’ president and CEO, Aydin Kilic, said that Paraguay presents a compelling long-term opportunity equipped with “geopolitical stability, low-cost hydro energy, and a government open to foreign investment”.Picking up from where Bitfarms left offHive acquired Bitfarms’ 200 megawatt (MW) Yguazú facility for $56 million in January. Phase one infrastructure of a 100 MW data center at the site was completed in April, supporting five exahashes per second (EH/s) of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining.Hive plans to expand to 300 MW of mining facilities in Paraguay in 2025. It aims to increase its hashrate to 25 EH/s by September.Related: Bitfarms sells Paraguay site to Hive for $85M, refocuses on USThe CEO said Hive has spent over a year cultivating strong, cooperative relationships with local stakeholders in Paraguay. “We are investing in local hiring, training programs and strong vendor partnerships. Our goal is to create a local ecosystem of support that keeps costs stable while boosting uptime and efficiency,” he added.While there was a proposed ban on crypto mining in Paraguay due to the pressure it poses on the country’s electricity supply and potential rising electricity prices, Aydin said that their team is actively involved with policymakers to support clarity and cooperation in mining legislation.Hive embraces global diversification to hedge against geopolitical risksHive has data centers in Canada, Sweden and Paraguay. Contrasting with its ongoing LATAM expansion, the miner is relocating its headquarters to San Antonio, Texas. “Our growing presence in North and South America creates a balanced footprint resilient to geopolitical or trade policy shocks,” Kilic said.The US tariff on China raised concerns about the rising cost of mining equipment, like ASICs. Kilic told Cointelegraph that they have diversified sourcing channels for ASICs and electrical components to avoid single-region dependencies. Related: Bitcoin miners should pay costs in depreciating currency — Ledn execTo ensure scaling from six to 25 EH/s, the CEO said the company has locked in key ASIC orders, secured power access through long-term power purchase agreements, and expanded engineering capacity across three continents to deal with market and technological uncertainties.Profitability in Bitcoin mining is ultimately a physics equationKilic sees Bitcoin mining profit as a physics equation. He told Cointelegraph that capital and operational expenses depend on hashrate-sensitive analysis to seek the most accretive way to fund their business through BTC treasury and ATM sales.While the solo mining community may have more difficulty making profits, the CEO suggested the focus should be on the variables it can control: “Whether you run one rig or ten thousand, it comes down to controlling inputs like opex, power costs, and machine uptime to drive predictable outputs —  maximizing energy efficiency, minimizing downtime and being disciplined with treasury management.”Magazine: Korea to lift corporate crypto ban, beware crypto mining HDs: Asia Express