Today in crypto, a new US Senate bill aims to overhaul crypto taxation. Over 40 fake Firefox extensions mimicking popular wallets are being used in an ongoing credential-theft campaign, and Ripple is seeking a national bank charter in the United States.
US Senator Cynthia Lummis drafts standalone crypto tax bill
US Senator Cynthia Lummis submitted a draft bill on Thursday, outlining several provisions to overhaul the tax code and exempt certain digital asset transactions from taxation after crypto amendments failed to appear in the budget package.
The bill proposes a de minimis exemption for digital asset transactions and capital gains of $300 or less, with a $5,000 annual exemption cap.
The Wyoming Senator also outlined provisions to exempt crypto lending agreements and digital assets used in charitable contributions from taxation. Additionally, the bill proposed deferring taxes on mining and staking rewards until the underlying assets are sold. Lummis said:
“This groundbreaking legislation is fully paid for, cuts through the bureaucratic red tape, and establishes common-sense rules that reflect how digital technologies function in the real world. We cannot allow our archaic tax policies to stifle American innovation.
My legislation ensures Americans can participate in the digital economy without inadvertent tax violations,” she continued.
The standalone draft bill is now the Wyoming Senator’s best chance of passing the pro-crypto legislation promised to the crypto community after Senators passed the spending bill without addressing digital assets.
Crypto theft campaign hits Firefox users with wallet clones
More than 40 fake extensions for the popular web browser Mozilla Firefox have been linked to an ongoing malware campaign to steal cryptocurrencies, according to a report published Wednesday by cybersecurity firm Koi Security.
The large-scale phishing operation reportedly deploys extensions impersonating wallet tools such as Coinbase, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Phantom, Exodus, OKX, MyMonero, Bitget and others. Once installed, the malicious extensions are designed to steal users’ wallet credentials.
“So far, we were able to link over 40 different extensions to this campaign, which is still ongoing and very much alive,” the company said.
Koi Security said the campaign has been active since at least April, and the most recent extensions were uploaded last week. The extensions reportedly extract wallet credentials directly from targeted websites and upload them to a remote server controlled by the attacker.
Ripple applies for US banking license, joining crypto rush for legitimacy
Crypto firm Ripple Labs is applying for a banking license in the US, following a similar move by stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group, as crypto firms look to be regulated to deepen ties with traditional finance.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote to X on Wednesday that the company is applying for a license with the US national bank regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), confirming an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal.
“True to our long-standing compliance roots, Ripple is applying for a national bank charter from the OCC,” he wrote.
Garlinghouse said if the license is approved, it would be a “new (and unique!) benchmark for trust in the stablecoin market” as the firm would be under federal and state oversight — with the New York Department of Financial Services already regulating its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin.
