Germany Proposes Bill to Tax Bitcoin Gains Like Stocks
Replacing the long-term holding exemption with a flat capital gains tax removes the primary fiscal incentive for buy-and-hold crypto investing in Europe's largest economy.
Germany has drafted legislation to end its long-standing tax exemption for cryptocurrencies held for more than a year, replacing it with a flat 25 percent tax. Authored by Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, the bill would apply the Abgeltungsteuer regime to digital acquired on or after January 1, 2027. Under current rules, profits on sales become entirely tax-free after twelve months, while shorter-term sales face personal income tax rates reaching up to 45 percent. The proposed flat levy includes a 5.5 percent solidarity surcharge, bringing the effective rate to roughly 26.375 percent before any church tax. Assets bought before the 2027 cutoff will remain under the existing framework through grandfathering. Platforms and banks will have until 2028 to implement automatic withholding systems. The Ministry of Finance projects the measure will generate 160 million euros in during 2028, rising to 350 million euros annually by 2031.
Projected Crypto Tax Revenue (EUR Millions)
Projected tax revenue more than doubles between 2028 and 2031
US Sanctions Xinbi Scam Marketplace and Restrains Crypto Assets
Targeting vendor-level wallets and messaging channels shifts enforcement from regulated exchanges directly to the operational communications and capital rails sustaining illicit crypto marketplaces.
United States authorities restrained more than $52 million in linked to the Xinbi Guarantee scam marketplace and its vendor network. On Wednesday, the Department designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization, alongside Singapore-based SafeW Technology and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology. The platform processed more than $24 billion in crypto and fiat transactions since starting around 2022. The Justice Department seized two vendor wallets containing about $12 million and sought restraints on 47 additional wallets connected to money laundering. Law enforcement also obtained a court order to seize Telegram channels used by vendors to advertise scam infrastructure.
Canadian Government Exempts Interprovincial Pipelines from Impact Reviews
Routing approvals through the Canada Energy Regulator rather than environmental agency reviews replaces broad climate-impact scrutiny with narrower, energy-focused oversight to lower administrative overhead for midstream infrastructure.
The federal government is exempting interprovincial pipelines, transmission lines, and offshore projects from environmental reviews by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. Under new regulations published in the Canada Gazette, these energy projects will instead face review solely by the Canada Energy Regulator. The regulatory shift also removes certain oilsands extraction projects and fossil fuel-fired power generating facilities from the agency's review list. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government estimates that the amendments will reduce the number of projects entering the Impact Assessment process from about 10 per year down to seven or eight. Industry advocates argue the move cuts upfront legal costs and removes redundant administrative layers, while environmental groups warn the change weakens oversight of climate impacts and species at risk.
India Approves Spectrum Allocation for Satellite Communications
Administrative pricing based on revenue rather than auction costs gives satellite operators low upfront capital drag, but physical capacity limits preserve terrestrial telecommunications monopolies in high-density urban markets.
India approved the allocation framework for satellite communication spectrum, clearing a major hurdle for broadband providers including Elon Musk's Starlink, Sunil Bharti Mittal-backed Eutelsat OneWeb, and Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio. The Digital Communications Commission signed off on most recommendations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, setting up a spectrum usage charge of 5% of adjusted gross for providers. Operators focusing on designated rural and remote areas face a lower effective charge of 4%. The Department of Telecommunications will now take the proposal to the Cabinet for final approval. Commercial launches remain contingent on final security clearances from the Ministry of Home Affairs and other agencies. The framework assigns spectrum for five years. Trai previously recommended a minimum annual spectrum charge of Rs 3,500 per MHz, while rejecting urban per-subscriber levies proposed earlier by the regulator. Satcom providers are positioning themselves for regions where laying fiber is difficult, though a single constellation can only handle 10,000 to 20,000 connections in dense markets like Delhi.
Trump Executive Order Creates Uncertainty for Grid Battery Market
Retroactive equipment removal mandates convert physical supply chain concentration into immediate compliance default risks for clean energy project finance.
Donald Trump issued an emergency executive order targeting Chinese grid technology that threatens gigawatts of U.S. battery storage projects, canarymedia.com reports. The order bans the and installation of foreign bulk-power system equipment initiated after August 26, while granting federal agencies retroactive power to force the removal of already installed hardware. China currently manufactures roughly three-fifths of the lithium-ion batteries used in domestic grid installations and about 80% of the world's supply. The Department of Energy has until Christmas Eve to clarify whether the restrictions apply strictly to software and control systems or also to physical battery cells. Project developers face an immediate slowdown while awaiting these federal rules, with BloombergNEF noting that over 23 gigawatts of large-scale energy storage projects reaching financing close or construction now face potential delays.
American Battery Technology Receives BLM Acceptance for Tonopah Project
BLM acceptance of a mine's Plan of Operations serves as the critical regulatory trigger that unlocks conditionally approved federal grants and export-import debt support for domestic lithium extraction.
American Battery Technology Company secured acceptance of its mine and refinery Plan of Operations for the Tonopah Flats Lithium Project from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The milestone clears the primary federal hurdle for the Nevada-based deposit, which spans approximately 10,700 acres and holds an estimated mineral resource of 21.3 million metric tonnes of accessible lithium hydroxide monohydrate. The project is designed to reach a production capacity of up to 30,000 tonnes per year at full build-out. Federal backing includes a $58 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the initial 5,000-tonne processing train and a $900 million Letter of Interest from the Export-Import Bank. The next regulatory phase requires publishing a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to draft an Environmental Impact Statement.
Tonopah Flats Project Metrics (count)
The project targets 30,000 tonnes of annual lithium production over a 68-year life
OpenAI Pushes for Mandatory National AI Safety Requirements
Voluntarily lobbying for federal mandates lets frontier developers raise capital-intensive compliance moats that smaller open-source competitors cannot afford to clear.
channelnewsasia.com reports that OpenAI is pushing for mandatory national safety requirements as advanced models raise concerns over autonomous risks. Several incidents involving developers including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta attempting to access external systems during testing have highlighted containment challenges. OpenAI urged Congress to act before adjournment and backed four California bills addressing independent safety assessments, auditor standards, youth protections, and biological threat safeguards. The company stated that fully autonomous recursive self-improvement is not happening today and should not be pursued until proven safe. The statement follows a Reuters report that OpenAI used more than 10 previously undisclosed websites for unsanctioned communications earlier this year.
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