Today’s edition of the crypto weekly recap covers the Trump administration’s moves to benefit meme coins, Bitcoin, stablecoins and DeFi.

Trump signs law repealing Biden-era IRS DeFi broker rule

• President Donald Trump signed a resolution, H.J. Res. 25, that repeals the IRS DeFi broker rule finalized under President Joe Biden that would have required decentralized finance platforms to report crypto transaction data using Form 1099.
• Proponents of Biden’s regulation saw it as necessary for tax compliance, while critics argued that it “hindered American innovation” and burdened the IRS.

Tariff mess is great news for Bitcoin: Binance CEO

• Binance CEO Richard Teng argued that “trade protectionism” could actually “accelerate interest in crypto as a non-sovereign store of value.”
• On the heels of Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs, stocks crashed and remain volatile while crypto took a hit. Bitcoin (BTC), at last check Sunday, is trading at about $84,300.

SEC, Binance extend case pause

• As Binance gets cozy with the U.S. Treasury officials, its legal spat with the Securities and Exchange Commission was recently put on hold, according to a court filing.
• This pause is just the latest scenario underscoring how Trump’s SEC is being extra lenient toward companies like Nova Labs, Coinbase, Gemini and Uniswap.

Ripple has a good week

• Ripple (XRP) ended its drawn-out legal battle with SEC, and all it cost was $50 million.
• It also announced the purchase of brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25 billion — one of the largest deals in cryptocurrency industry history.

DOJ maintains charges against Do Kwon, dissolves crypto unit

• U.S. prosecutors confirmed they have no plans to modify charges against Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon.
• The U.S. Department of Justice also disbanded its cryptocurrency unit on Monday and informed staff that it would be “narrowing” cryptocurrency enforcement activities.

World Liberty Financial denies ETH sale reports

• The DeFi project backed by Trump and his family has refuted claims that it sold $8 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) earlier this week.
• Reports had suggested a wallet tagged by blockchain data firm Arkham as potentially belonging to the project had liquidated ETH.
• Meanwhile, the Official Trump (TRUMP) token is scheduled to receive approximately $320 million worth of tokens next week. This is about 20% of the current circulating supply.

• The Switzerland-based crypto asset manager submitted an initial S-1 filing with the SEC on Thursday. It has become the third firm to pursue a spot Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF alongside Bitwise and Grayscale.

Hoskinson predicts $250,000 Bitcoin price

• Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson told a CNBC podcast interviewer that Bitcoin could reach $250,000 by the end of this year or next.
• Hoskinson attributed this potential price movement to upcoming U.S. crypto legislation, which he believes could lure major companies to the cryptocurrency sector.

Pakistan explores crypto mining with surplus electricity

• The nation is thinking about powering AI data centers and Bitcoin mining operations with extra electrical capacity.
• The CEO of the Crypto Council and counselor to Pakistan’s finance minister, Bilal Bin Saqib, disclosed that talks have already been held with a number of mining companies.
• This initiative coincides with Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao’s agreement to advise Pakistan’s recently formed Crypto Council.

OpenSea requests regulatory clarity

• The NFT marketplace has asked U.S. regulators to explicitly confirm that platforms like it should not be regulated as securities exchanges or brokers.
• This request follows the SEC’s recent decision to drop its probe into the company’s alleged violations of federal securities laws.

Argentina approves LIBRA scandal investigation

• The Chamber of Deputies voted Tuesday to approve three draft resolutions establishing a special commission to investigate the cryptocurrency scandal that has affected President Javier Milei’s administration since February.

WazirX creditors approve restructuring plan

• The Indian cryptocurrency exchange secured approval from more than 93% of creditors for its restructuring proposal. This makes it a critical step in recovering from a $235 million hack attributed to North Korean hackers.
• This vote clears a key hurdle in the platform’s efforts to rebuild after the security breach.