Trump pump? Bitcoin climbs to 2.5-month high as Trump widens lead  

Missouri House Bill 594, a bill that would eliminate capital gains tax in the US state, has passed a vote in the state House of Representatives and now heads to Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe’s desk for signature.According to attorney Aaron Brogan, the bill stipulates a 100% income tax deduction for any capital gains income because the Missouri tax code does not explicitly distinguish between capital gains and income tax.Missouri House Bill 594 proposes exempting capital gains from income taxes. Source: Missouri House of RepresentativesBrogan told Cointelegraph that the specific mechanism to exempt capital gains taxes outlined in HB 594 is unique and compared it to a similar income tax deduction in the federal tax code. The attorney explained:”The most natural comparison is the state and local tax (SALT) deduction that the federal government offers — where the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) permits individuals to deduct a certain amount of tax paid in state and local taxes. This is the inverse, which I have never seen before.”The bill’s timing is significant in that it follows proposals from US President Donald Trump to overhaul the country’s income tax system through comprehensive reform.Related: US lawmaker targets crypto investors using Puerto Rico as a tax havenTrump proposes eliminating federal income tax in the United StatesTrump has proposed offsetting federal income taxes or eliminating the income tax and replacing the federal tax revenue with money raised through import tariffs.”When Tariffs cut in, many people’s income taxes will be substantially reduced, maybe even completely eliminated. The focus will be on people making less than $200,000 a year,” the president wrote in an April 27 Truth Social post.Trump added the plan will create more jobs in the United States as factories return to avoid import duties on their finished products.Despite this, the market reaction to the tariffs has been overwhelmingly negative, with the stock market recording trillions of dollars in losses in response to tariff headlines and crypto markets shedding hundreds of billions in value.Additionally, bond yields spiked following the tariff announcements — a sign that investors were rejecting US bonds, which are traditionally seen as a flight to safety.Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky will probably be allowed to travel for his daughter’s wedding regardless of the outcome of his May 8 sentencing hearing.In a May 8 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge John Koeltl approved an application for Mashinsky to travel from New York to Memphis, Tennessee, between May 26 and May 29 for his daughter’s wedding. The approval was available on the public docket on May 8, but later appeared to have been removed.Judge Koeltl will determine in a May 8 hearing whether Mashinsky serves prison time following a plea deal with prosecutors.The former Celsius CEO appeared ready to go to trial in 2024 until his lawyers lost a motion to have his charges dismissed. He pleaded guilty to commodities fraud and a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of the platform’s native token, CEL.Related: Celsius’ Mashinsky lashes out at ‘death-in-prison sentence’Mashinsky has been free on a $40-million bond since July 2023, with travel outside certain areas requiring court approval, such as the roughly 900-mile (1,500-kilometer) distance between New York and Memphis. At the time of publication, it’s unclear if he will be expected to surrender to authorities.Potentially facing decades in prisonProsecutors have asked the judge to impose a 20-year sentence on the former Celsius CEO, while Mashinsky’s lawyers requested that he serve one year and one day in prison. The hearing could be a bellwether for how criminal cases involving cryptocurrency could change under the Trump administration, which appointed the interim US Attorney for the court district.On April 17, Mashinsky’s lawyers submitted a letter from his oldest daughter, Rena, in support of her father ahead of sentencing. She said he did not deserve a “severe punishment,” claiming that he “never set out to steal from anyone.” Other members of his family penned similar letters.The same court district oversaw the sentencing of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving 25 years in prison.Magazine: ‘Less flashy’ Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: Inner City Press, X Hall of FlameThis is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has confirmed banks under its jurisdiction can trade crypto on behalf of customers and outsource some crypto activities to third parties. Acting comptroller Rodney Hood said in a May 7 letter that banks and federal savings associations can buy and sell crypto they hold in custody at customers’ direction.The OCC added in a press release that financial institutions can also outsource bank-permissible crypto activities, including custody and execution services, to third parties in compliance with applicable law.“Additionally, these banks may provide other custody services, including record keeping, tax or reporting services for their customers,” Hood said in a May 7 video posted to X. OCC-regulated banks may buy and sell assets held in custody and are permitted to outsource bank-permissible crypto-asset activities, including custody and execution services. https://t.co/0ScQdgNaS6 pic.twitter.com/J5dEkx4WUL— OCC (@USOCC) May 7, 2025“OCC banks may use a sub-custodian to provide the same services subject to appropriate third-party risk management practices, while a range of cryptocurrency and digital asset activities may be performed by banks and their third parties,” he added. Previously, the OCC eased its stance on how banks can engage with crypto on March 7 by giving the green light for crypto-asset custody, some stablecoin activities, and participation in independent node verification networks such as distributed ledgers. “More than 50 million Americans hold some form of cryptocurrency. This digitalization of financial services is not a trend; it is a transformation,” Hood said. The OCC is an independent bureau within the US Department of the Treasury that regulates and supervises all national banks and also the federal branches of foreign banks.Industry supports the OCC letters Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, general counsel at ZK-rollup developer StarkWare, said the letters signal a “shift in the OCC’s approach,” which now appears to favor a focus on integrating crypto within banking frameworks. “More guidance will give further clarity [and] will allow banks to re-enter crypto [without] the fear of existential regulatory risk,” she said. She added the OCC’s “explicit permission today allowing banks to outsource bank-permissible crypto-assets is a boon to regulated crypto native service providers.” Source: Katherine Kirkpatrick BosChief policy officer at crypto exchange Coinbase, Faryar Shirzad, also applauded the move, saying in a May 7 post to X, Hood’s commitment to “regulatory clarity, as well as his adherence to supervisory best practices and the letter of the law,” is appreciated. The Trump administration has taken a friendlier attitude toward crypto since coming into power in January. Related: The lessons learned at Operation Chokepoint 2.0 Congressional hearingsIn April, the US Federal Reserve announced it was withdrawing guidance that was created to deter banks from engaging in crypto and stablecoin activities.US President Donald Trump also signed a joint congressional resolution on April 11, overturning a Biden administration-era rule that would have required decentralized finance protocols to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered