Crypto Vesting

Opinion by: Robin Singh, CEO of Koinly

Is there a catch for Bitcoin hodlers, with the asset’s price up over 600,000% since the beginning of 2013? 

Perhaps — if governments keep waking up to Bitcoin’s value, the whole “you only pay tax when you sell” mantra could soon be a thing of the past.

What if a wealth tax is the answer for revenue-hungry tax agencies with no time to lose? It’s a yearly tax on a person’s total net worth — cash, investments, property and other assets — minus any debts, applied whether or not those assets are sold or generating income. The idea is to boost public revenue and curb inequality, mainly by taxing the ultra-rich. A wealth tax takes a clip off what you own, not what you earn.

Countries such as Belgium, Norway and Switzerland have had wealth taxes baked into their tax systems for ages, yet some of the

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Key points:

Bitcoin seeks consolidation after rapid gains as stocks and the US dollar surge on US-China trade deal news.

Nearby order book liquidity forms potential targets for traders, which now include $102,000.

A classic moving average retest suggests that a new all-time high should result.

Bitcoin (BTC) stuck to $104,000 at the May 12 Wall Street open as markets shifted on US-China trade deal news.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Bitcoin surfs US-China trade deal reactions

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD consolidating after hitting its highest levels since late January.

The US and China agreed to slash reciprocal trade tariffs on the day, causing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index to gain around 3%.

US dollar strength also benefited as a result, with the US dollar index (DXY) hitting one-month highs.

US dollar index (DXY) 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

“The

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Key points:

Bitcoin seeks consolidation after rapid gains as stocks and the US dollar surge on US-China trade deal news.

Nearby order book liquidity forms potential targets for traders, which now include $102,000.

A classic moving average retest suggests that a new all-time high should result.

Bitcoin (BTC) stuck to $104,000 at the May 12 Wall Street open as markets shifted on US-China trade deal news.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Bitcoin surfs US-China trade deal reactions

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD consolidating after hitting its highest levels since late January.

The US and China agreed to slash reciprocal trade tariffs on the day, causing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index to gain around 3%.

US dollar strength also benefited as a result, with the US dollar index (DXY) hitting one-month highs.

US dollar index (DXY) 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

“The

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-all-time-high-cues-come-us-china-deal-dxy-to-1-month-high?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Bitcoin mining firm American Bitcoin is going public through a merger with crypto mining company Gryphon Digital Mining, the companies announced on May 12.

Under the terms of the deal, Gryphon Digital Mining will acquire American Bitcoin in a stock-for-stock transaction. After the merger, the new company will operate under the American Bitcoin brand and be led by its board of directors, which includes Eric Trump, the second-eldest of US President Donald Trump’s three sons.

News of the merger coincided with a sharp rise in Gryphon Digital Mining’s stock price, which climbed from $0.52 on May 9 to $2.15 at the time of writing, a gain of more than 313%, according to Google Finance.

The announcement follows early April reports that American Bitcoin was considering an initial public offering (IPO).

Gryphon Digital Mining share price. Source:

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A 90-day tariff agreement between the US and China may set the stage for a broader recovery of stock and cryptocurrency markets, as investors look ahead to a potential tax relief package.

The White House announced on May 12 that the two countries will reduce their respective tariffs to 10% for an initial 90-day period beginning May 14 — a 24% cut from current levels.

Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said both governments are aligned on avoiding further economic decoupling.

“The consensus from both delegations is neither side wants to be decoupled,” Bessent said. “What has occurred with these very high tariffs was an equivalent of an embargo, and neither side wants that. We do want trade. We want more balance in trade.”

Joint statement on US-China meeting in Geneva. Source: The White House

Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-treasury-firms-front-running-200-t-hyperbitcoinization-adam-back" rel="null" target="null"

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Michael Saylor’s Strategy purchased a fresh batch of Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency pushed above $100,000 last week.

Strategy acquired 13,390 Bitcoin (BTC) for $1.34 billion between May 5 and May 11, the firm announced in its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission published on May 12.

The acquisition has increased Strategy’s total Bitcoin holdings by 2.4% to a total of 568,840 BTC, acquired for approximately $39.4 billion at an average price of $69,287 per coin.

An excerpt from the Form-8 by Strategy filed on May 12. Source: Strategy

The newly announced purchases were made at an average price of $99,856 per BTC, with Bitcoin reclaiming the psychological mark of $100,000 on May 8.

Strategy achieves Bitcoin yield target

Following the acquisition, Strategy met its 2025 Bitcoin yield target, co-founder Michael Saylor said in a May 12 post on X.

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Healthcare services provider KindlyMD merged with Bitcoin-native holding company Nakamoto Holdings to build a BTC treasury.

According to a May 12 announcement, Nakamoto Holdings — a new company founded by David Bailey, a crypto adviser to US President Donald Trump — plans to build the first global network of Bitcoin (BTC) treasury companies in partnership with BTC Inc. Bailey said:

“Traditional finance and Bitcoin-native markets are converging. The securitization of Bitcoin will redraw the world’s economic map. We believe a future is coming where every balance sheet – public or private – holds Bitcoin.”

Long-term, the firm’s plan includes developing an ecosystem of Bitcoin-native companies, including media, advisory and financial services, all aiming to accelerate Bitcoin adoption and utility. The company resulting from the new merger aims to accumulate Bitcoin and grow the BTC held per share.

Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-advisor-david-bailey-nakamoto-bitcoin-fund" rel="" target="_self"

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Crypto exchange Backpack announced that customers of the defunct crypto exchange FTX EU can begin reclaiming their funds through its service.

According to a May 12 X post, Backpack now allows FTX EU users who selected it as the redistribution platform to claim their euro balance. Users must first complete Know Your Customer (KYC) verification on the exchange before they can withdraw funds.

Backpack’s support page also explains that the KYC details on the platform must match the ones provided to FTX EU:

“If they do not, you will need to contact Backpack EU support at support@eu.backpack.exchange to update your Backpack EU account to reflect the same information used for your FTX EU claim. This ensures a smooth verification process and avoids delays in accessing your distribution.”

Related: Former FTX exec’s wife

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Hundreds of billions of dollars in cross-border cryptocurrency payments flow globally, driven primarily by speculative investment, according to a recent report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

The BIS study, published May 8, found cross-border payments using the two largest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), and the two largest stablecoins, USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC), totaled about $600 billion during the second quarter of 2024, the final observation period covered by the analysis.

“Our findings highlight speculative motives and global funding conditions as key drivers of native crypto asset flows,” the BIS said.

Cross-border crypto asset flows by quarter. Source: BIS

Still, the report noted that stablecoins and low-value Bitcoin transactions are frequently driven by practical use cases, particularly as alternatives to traditional remittances. The researchers

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