20% of Gen Z, Alpha sees crypto as retirement alternative: Report  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering rule changes to let companies more freely issue tokenized securities, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said in a speech published on May 8.The regulator is “considering a potential exemptive order” for firms using blockchain technology to “issue, trade, and settle securities” that would release them from certain registration requirements, Peirce said in the speech.For example, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) may no longer need to register “as a broker-dealer, clearing agency, or an exchange,” Peirce said. The SEC has previously brought numerous charges against DEXs such as Uniswap for failing to register as securities exchanges. Firms should “not have to comply with inapt regulations, which, in many cases, were developed well before the technologies being tested existed and may be obviated by attributes of that technology,” Peirce said. Commissioner Peirce described the planned changes in a May 8 speech. Source: SECUnder such an exemption, companies would still be expected to comply with rules designed to prevent fraud and market manipulation, the commissioner said. They may also need to meet certain disclosure and recordkeeping requirements.Related: Nasdaq urges SEC to treat certain digital assets as ‘stocks by any other name’Sharp policy pivotThe SEC has dramatically pivoted its stance on cryptocurrency oversight since US President Donald Trump took office in January. Under the leadership of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the agency brought upward of 100 lawsuits against crypto firms for alleged securities law violations.However, under Trump nominee Paul Atkins, who was sworn in as chair on April 21, the agency has claimed jurisdiction over a narrower segment of cryptocurrencies.In February, the SEC issued guidance stating that memecoins — if clearly identified as purely speculative assets with no intrinsic value — do not qualify as investment contracts under US law. In April, the regulator said that stablecoins — digital tokens pegged to the US dollar — similarly do not qualify as securities if they are marketed solely as a means of making payments.Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

US President Donald Trump was reportedly manipulated by a lobbyist tied to Ripple Labs into announcing the XRP token would be part of his plans for a national cryptocurrency reserve.According to a May 8 Politico report, an employee of pro-Trump lobbyist Brian Ballard gave the president the text to a social media post she recommended he write announcing a US strategic crypto reserve that would include XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA). After he posted the message to his social media platform on March 2, Trump learned Ripple was one of Ballard’s clients, infuriating the president, who felt like he’d been used, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with the incident.“He is not welcome in anything anymore,” said Trump, referencing Ballard, according to the report.March 2 Truth Social post announcing US crypto reserve. Source: Donald TrumpTrump had connections to Ripple long before the announcement of XRP in the proposed crypto reserve. The blockchain firm’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, donated more than $300,000 to fundraising and political action committees supporting Trump in the 2024 election, and both he and CEO Brad Garlinghouse met with the then-president-elect in January and attended inauguration events.Related: Democrats aim at Trump’s crypto profits with a 3-prong pincer moveRipple also donated $5 million worth of XRP to Trump’s presidential inaugural fund and has been one of the largest contributors to Fairshake, a political action committee (PAC) that supports those it considers “pro-crypto” candidates through media buys. A spokesperson for the PAC said in January that it would continue its efforts in the 2026 midterm elections.Trump moved forward on crypto reserve days laterThe president often uses his social media platform to suggest policies before any official announcement through the White House. Trump signed an executive order to create a “Digital Asset Stockpile” on March 6 — roughly four days after the post, which was still live at the time of publication. The price of XRP did not appear to significantly react to the May 8 report. At the time of publication, it was $2.23, having risen roughly 5% in the previous 24 hours. Cointelegraph reached out to a Ripple spokesperson for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

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