From tax drama to regulatory wins and CBDC progress, this crypto update is packed with moves that are relevant for your portfolio and the space at large.
Crypto Update: IRS Wins Easy One
A California investor’s fight against the IRS just fizzled out, not because the arguments were weak, but thanks to a classic paperwork slip-up.
Roger Metz tried to stop the IRS from grabbing his Coinbase transaction history tied to a 2022 tax audit. His team argued privacy violations and overreach, and he’d already fixed the issue, amended his return, and paid up before the summons even dropped in 2024. But US District
Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín never even got to them. The case got tossed on procedural grounds: Metz’s lawyers missed the 90-day window to notify all the required government players (including the US Attorney General). Then, dismissed.
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It’s at least the second time in a year a similar challenge has crashed before trial. Tough break for privacy hawks, but a reminder that even in crypto battles, deadlines bite hard.
Paul Atkins crypto update: The beginning not the end
Shifting gears to brighter news in today’s crypto update, SEC Chair Paul Atkins just made waves by signaling a major pivot away from the old “regulation by enforcement” playbook.
In his remarks ahead of a Practising Law Institute speech (and echoed at the DC Blockchain Summit), Atkins laid out the agency’s new interpretive stance on digital assets.
Most cryptocurrencies likely aren’t securities under federal law. The SEC’s new token taxonomy carves out categories like digital commodities, collectibles, tools, and certain stablecoins as non-securities. Only one class stays fully under securities rules: traditional securities that get tokenized.
Atkins called this “a beginning, not an end,” especially after the recent SEC-CFTC memorandum of understanding. For the first time in ages, the space gets some real clarity instead of surprise enforcement surprises.
And wrapping this crypto update with European developments
The ECB is pushing the digital euro forward by launching two workstreams under the Rulebook Development Group focused on real-world integration, specifically how the digital euro would work with ATMs, payment terminals, and acceptance hardware.
One group is tackling implementation specs like communication tech, offline transaction support, and reusing existing European payment standards. The other is building out testing, certification, and approval frameworks for payment solutions and infrastructure.
This announcement marks a clear shift from high-level policy talk to nuts-and-bolts planning. If the digital euro ever launches, it looks like they’ll aim for a seamless fit with the hardware we already use every day.
