The European Union’s new crypto tax rules under DAC8 initially exclude decentralized finance, focusing instead on regulated exchanges and custodians. Meanwhile, Animoca Brands Japan and RootstockLabs are partnering to bring Bitcoin DeFi tools to Japanese corporate treasuries. In the United States, senators are debating amendments to a major crypto market structure bill, with DeFi regulation a key point of contention.
The European Union’s new crypto tax reporting regime is intentionally focused on enforceable targets, leaving decentralized finance outside its scope for now. Colby Mangels, a former adviser to the OECD and now Taxbit’s global head of government solutions, said the rules prioritize identifiable intermediaries such as custodians and exchanges.
Mangels said tax authorities are increasingly drawing on Anti-Money Laundering frameworks to define accountability in crypto markets. Regulators are closely watching whether DeFi platforms can be classified as virtual asset service providers.
Animoca Brands Japan partnered with RootstockLabs to bring Bitcoin-native DeFi tools to Japanese corporations, with a focus on treasury management. The collaboration will localize Rootstock’s institutional program for Japan, enabling companies to manage Bitcoin holdings.
The move reflects growing interest among Japanese companies in using Bitcoin as a treasury asset. Companies are exploring infrastructure beyond simple custody.
U.S. senators are preparing to weigh amendments to the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, a long-awaited crypto market structure bill. Decentralized finance has emerged as one of the contested areas.
The bill would clarify regulatory roles between the CFTC and the SEC. Lawmakers and industry groups have raised concerns over how provisions affecting DeFi could be implemented.
A new report from Messari and Escape Velocity says decentralized physical infrastructure networks have quietly grown into a roughly $10 billion sector. The report, “State of DePIN 2025,” finds leading networks generated about $72 million in onchain revenue last year.
Messari said DePIN is moving closer to an infrastructure business model, where usage and cash flow matter more than token performance. This dynamic has made DePIN revenues more resilient than DeFi protocols during the current downturn.
Citrea launched its Bitcoin zero-knowledge rollup mainnet with BTC-backed lending and a natively issued US dollar stablecoin. The project aims to turn economically idle BTC into active onchain liquidity.
The launch reignited Bitcoin’s long-running block space debate. Citrea’s DeFi activity consumes measurable Bitcoin bandwidth.
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the red. The Yei Finance token fell by over 58% throughout the week.
