Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, Trump says federal income taxes will be greatly reduced or eliminated, Adam back said Strategy and other Bitcoin treasury firms are some of the earliest bettors on Hyperbitcoinization, which may see Bitcoin’s market cap soar to above $200 trillion, and US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crypto task force head Hester Peirce said crypto in the US is like a game of “the floor is lava.”
Trump says federal income taxes will be “substantially reduced” or eliminated
United States President Trump recently said federal income taxes would be "substantially reduced" or eliminated altogether once the proposed trade tariffs take full effect.
The US President said that the accompanying tax reduction will focus on those earning less than $200,000 per year.
"It will be a bonanza for America. The External Revenue Service is happening," Trump wrote in an April 27 Truth Social post.
President Trump previously floated the idea of eliminating the federal income tax collected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and replacing revenues from income taxes with tariffs collected on imported goods.
The US President's April 27 Truth Social post revealed the first concrete details of the proposed plan since Trump and members of his cabinet began touting comprehensive tax reform in October 2024.
Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200 trillion hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back
Investment firms with Bitcoin-focused treasuries are front-running global Bitcoin adoption, which may see the world’s first cryptocurrency soar to a $200 trillion market capitalization in the coming decade.
Institutions and governments worldwide are starting to recognize the unique monetary properties of Bitcoin (BTC), according to Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream and the inventor of Hashcash.
“$MSTR and other treasury companies are an arbitrage of the dislocation between the bitcoin future and todays fiat world,” Back wrote in an April 26 X post.
“A sustainable and scalable $100-$200 trillion trade front-running hyperbitcoinization. scalable enough for most big listed companies to move to btc treasury,” he added.
Hyperbitcoinization refers to the theoretical future where Bitcoin soars to become the largest global currency, replacing fiat money due to its inflationary economics and growing distrust in the legacy financial system.
Bitcoin’s price outpacing fiat money inflation remains the main driver of global hyperbitcoinization, Back said, adding:
“Some people think treasury strategy is a temporary glitch. i’m saying no it's a logical and sustainable arbitrage. but not for ever, the driver is bitcoin price going up over 4 year periods faster than interest and inflation.”
US crypto rules like “floor is lava” game without lights — Hester Peirce
SEC Commissioner and head of the crypto task force, Hester Peirce, says US financial firms are navigating crypto in a way that’s similar to playing the children’s game “the floor is lava,” but in the dark.
“It is time that we find a way to end this game. We need to turn on the lights and build some walkways over the lava pit,” Peirce said at the SEC “Know Your Custodian” roundtable event on April 25.
Peirce explained that SEC registrants are forced to approach crypto-related activities like “the floor is lava,” where the aim is to jump from one piece of furniture to the next without touching the ground, except here, touching crypto directly is the lava.
“A D.C. version of this game is our regulatory approach to crypto assets, and crypto asset custody in particular,” she said.
Peirce said that, much like in the game, firms wanting to engage with crypto must avoid directly holding it due to unclear regulatory rules. “To engage in crypto-related activities, SEC-registrants have had to hop from one poorly illuminated regulatory space to the next, all while ensuring that they never touch any crypto asset,” Peirce said.
