Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), a special administrative region in southern Bhutan, awarded 3iQ Corp. a mandate to manage part of its bitcoin BTC$63,521.60 treasury, the firms said in an email.

GMC declined to disclose the size of the mandate to CoinDesk.

How the money will be run is the new information. GMC told CoinDesk it selected the Toronto-based company to generate long-term returns through a low-risk, market-neutral investment approach, meaning the reserve is to be deployed for yield rather than simply held.

A market-neutral strategy covers a range of possibilities, including basis trades and lending. Such strategies usually yield at least 5% annually in the general market. GMC did not say whether any specific approach has been selected.

In December, when Bhutan’s king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, pledged up to 10,000 BTC, then worth about $1 billion, the allocation was called a long-term national asset for the city’s development, with collateralization, treasury strategies or holding all listed as options still under consideration.

The mandate’s size matters because the pledge behind it has been in question for months.

Bitcoin was little-changed the past 24 hours after Washington and Tokyo intervened together to support the yen, a rare move that revived concerns about the cheap Japanese funding behind leveraged bets across global markets.

Japan and the United States confirmed they bought yen on Friday after the currency weakened to 163.73 per dollar. Bank of Japan data suggest Tokyo may have spent as much as $36.6 billion, while the size of the U.S. contribution has not yet been disclosed.

The yen rebounded to 157.57 on Friday and held near 157 on Monday.

Crypto traders watch the yen because of the carry trade. Investors borrow in Japan, where the policy rate is 1%, and move the money into assets offering higher returns.

A sudden rise in the yen can force those traders to close positions and sell other assets to repay the loans.

That risk did not reach bitcoin immediately. BTC traded near $63,600 on Monday, up about 1.8% over 24 hours and little changed over seven days.

Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, said the intervention is better viewed as a check on disorderly trading than the start of a lasting yen recovery.

The interest-rate gap still favours the dollar, with the Federal Reserve’s benchmark range at 3.50% to 3.75% against the Bank of Japan’s 1%. Without a smaller gap or investors unwinding yen-funded trades on their own, repeated intervention may only slow the currency’s decline.

Nigeria’s tax authority has issued detailed guidance for how crypto platforms and peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces must collect, report, and remit taxes on virtual-asset activity—introducing rules that include paying some tax withholdings using digital tokens themselves.

In its Guidelines on Taxation of Virtual Assets, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) outlines how income tax withholding, stamp duty, and value-added tax (VAT) should be handled under existing law. The document is likely to reshape compliance workflows for exchanges and P2P operators operating in Nigeria, while also clarifying what taxpayers can expect when trading, transferring, or earning yield on crypto assets.

Key takeaways

• The NRS says income tax withheld at source and stamp duty must be remitted in the originating token used for the transaction, while VAT must be remitted in the payment currency.
• Platforms and P2P marketplaces must withhold 1% of proceeds from taxable disposals of crypto assets, security tokens, and specified NFTs.
• A 10% withholding rate applies to staking, mining, airdrops, and decentralized finance (DeFi) activity under the guidelines.
• For token-to-fiat and fiat-to-token movements, the rules reference a 1.5% stamp duty.
• Stablecoin sales are exempt from the 1% withholding tax, and withheld amounts are treated as advance payments credited against final income tax liability.

How the NRS expects crypto taxes to be remitted

The practical centerpiece of Nigeria’s new guidance is its instruction on settlement currency for taxes. According to the NRS, income tax deducted at source and stamp duty “shall be remitted to the Service in the originating token of the transaction.” In other words, if a withholding-triggering event results in the taxpayer receiving or paying a specific token, that same token is expected to be used when remitting certain taxes to the NRS.

The NRS draws a sharper line for VAT, stating that value-added tax must be remitted in the currency used for the payment. This separation matters operationally: companies processing Nigerian users’ activity will need systems that can identify the “originating token” for token-based remittance while also ensuring VAT settlement follows the actual payment currency.

The guidelines also position exchanges and P2P marketplaces as key intermediaries in the withholding, reporting, and remittance process, meaning compliance duties do not fall solely on end users.

Withholding rates for trading, yield, and DeFi-linked activity

The NRS sets different rates depending on the type of virtual-asset event. Under the guidelines, platforms must withhold:

• 1% of proceeds from taxable disposals of crypto assets, security tokens, and applicable NFTs.
• 10% withholding on staking, mining, airdrops, and decentralized finance arrangements.
• 1.5% stamp duty on token-to-fiat and fiat-to-token transfers.

The withheld amounts are described as advance payments that will be credited against each taxpayer’s eventual income tax bill. That structure is important for users because it implies the withholding is not intended to be the final tax amount in every case—rather, it should reconcile to the taxpayer’s final liability under Nigeria’s income tax rules.

The NRS also specifies that individuals are taxed using progressive rates, while companies other than small companies face a 30% rate. Additionally, the guidelines note that stablecoin sales are exempt from the 1% withholding tax, reducing one potentially broad category of taxable disposals for which exchanges would otherwise deduct at source.

Nigeria’s wider virtual asset tax architecture

This guidance did not appear in isolation. The NRS framework follows an executive step under which Nigeria established a Virtual Asset Council, chaired by the central bank, with the NRS and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice chairs. Earlier in the process, the presidency said the NRS would release policy to implement Nigeria’s tax laws for virtual assets.

The legal baseline for the framework is anchored in Nigeria’s 2025 tax legislation. The NRS points to the Nigeria Tax Act and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act of 2025, which took effect on Jan. 1. These laws treat digital assets as chargeable assets and require virtual asset service providers to report transaction details, including customers’ names, contact information, and Tax Identification Numbers.

That reporting requirement is likely to become a central compliance burden for operators, especially for businesses that previously offered onboarding that did not prioritize Nigeria-specific tax identifiers.

From a flat capital gains tax to detailed withholding mechanics

Nigeria’s approach to crypto taxation has evolved in stages. The Finance Act 2023 previously introduced an explicit tax treatment for gains from crypto disposals, imposing a flat 10% capital gains tax, according to earlier coverage. The current 2025 framework replaces that earlier treatment and—critically for market operators—lays out how valuation, withholding, remittance, and reconciliation should work under the updated rules.

While the guidelines do not merely restate a headline tax rate, their emphasis on specific withholding categories suggests a shift toward a more standardized collection model. For exchanges and P2P platforms, the compliance implication is straightforward: the company’s role in withholding and remitting taxes is now codified, and systems will need to track taxable events across trading, transfers, and certain types of on-chain or programmatic earnings.

For users, the change is less about whether crypto is taxable and more about how taxes get collected during routine activity—potentially meaning taxes are deducted before a final tax calculation is completed.

Nigeria’s guidelines raise immediate questions that operators will need to address as they implement them, including how “originating token” remittance will be handled in complex routing scenarios and how platforms will operationalize stablecoin exemptions while applying token-to-fiat and fiat-to-token duties. The next watchpoint is how exchanges and P2P providers translate the NRS instructions into real-world tax reporting and settlement processes for users.

The beginning of August brought renewed optimism to the US technology sector. President Donald Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran and expressed his intention to resume negotiations, prompting a sharp decline in oil prices. Investors interpreted the easing of geopolitical tensions as a signal that inflationary risks may also begin to moderate. Additional support for the market came from the Federal Reserve’s earlier decision on 29 July to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged within the 3.5–3.75% range, although the decision was not unanimous. Together, these developments helped restore investors’ appetite for risk, particularly in large-cap technology stocks.

Technical Analysis of Nasdaq 100

Since mid-July, the Nasdaq 100 index (NDXm on FXOpen) had been moving within a short-term downtrend defined by a descending trendline, before falling towards the 27,100 area, marked by the green support zone. From there, the price reversed, broke above the descending trendline, and recovered roughly half of the previous decline. Following a brief period of consolidation, the current market profile was formed, with the index now trading above its upper boundary at 28,600. Above current levels lies the base of the previous trend at 29,200, marked on the chart as the red resistance level.

Should the current direction reverse, the index may encounter several important technical levels. The POC (Point of Control) at 28,400 represents the nearest area of highest trading activity over the analysed period. Below it are the lower boundary of the market profile at 27,750 and the green support level at 27,250, located near the trend low. The RSI + MAs indicator currently shows readings of 64, 58 and 49. Although the oscillator suggests that the current move may continue, the slower moving average remains within the neutral zone, leaving the bullish signal unconfirmed.

Summary

The Nasdaq 100’s near-term direction is likely to depend heavily on developments surrounding negotiations with Iran. Any deterioration in the geopolitical situation could renew selling pressure on the index, while further diplomatic progress may create room for a move towards higher price levels.

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Emerson College Polling surveys of likely midterm election voters paint a similar picture. In March, 49% of respondents said they planned to support the Democratic candidate, while 42% said they would vote Republican. By May, Democrats widened that lead by 2 percentage points, and by July, the gap widened by another 2 points to 53% for Democrats and 42% for the GOP.

George Santos has settled CFTC case over Kalshi prediction market trades by accepting penalties and a three-year trading ban after regulators found he made misleading public statements while betting on his attendance at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

According to a July 31 order from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), former U.S. Representative George Santos must return $17,569.98 in trading gains, pay a $17,500 civil monetary penalty, comply with a cease-and-desist order, and stay away from trading on any CFTC-registered entity for three years after settling allegations tied to trades on prediction market platform Kalshi.

The settlement closes an investigation that began earlier this year after Kalshi referred Santos’ trading activity to regulators. While Santos accepted the settlement, the order states that he neither admitted nor denied the agency’s findings or legal conclusions.

CFTC says Santos traded both sides of Kalshi market

Regulators said Santos opened a Kalshi account on Feb. 11, roughly four months after President Donald Trump commuted his prison sentence. The former congressman funded the account with about $7,000 and traded only one event contract, which asked whether he would attend Trump’s State of the Union address.

Trading records included in the order show Santos initially accumulated 30,874 “Yes” contracts between Feb. 12 and Feb. 22 for $6,695.94.

Around the same period, Santos posted on X asking followers whether he should wear a serious or bedazzled suit to the address. The CFTC said the market price for the “Yes” outcome climbed from about $0.15 to $0.70 after the post. Santos later sold his entire position, making a profit of $3,448.43, before withdrawing $10,146.07 through a newly created Venmo account.

Later that day, his airline informed him that his flight to Washington had been canceled. Although he purchased a train ticket and continued posting publicly that he expected to attend, regulators said his trading activity soon moved in the opposite direction.

According to the order, Santos posted another video on Feb. 23 stating that he would attend the speech from the House gallery. About 40 minutes later, he started buying contracts that would pay out if he did not attend.

The CFTC said Santos eventually accumulated 23,855 “No” contracts worth $8,650.66. His train was canceled about an hour after he began building that position. Even after another X user asked whether he would still attend, Santos replied that he would, despite already knowing that both his flight and train had been canceled, information the agency said was not disclosed to the public.

Kalshi activity led to the CFTC investigation

On the day of the State of the Union address, internet records cited by the commission showed Santos accessing Kalshi from his residence rather than traveling to Washington. He later posted that watching the speech on an airport television had not been his original plan.

As the event unfolded, the “Yes” contract price dropped from $0.73 to $0.02, increasing the value of Santos’ “No” position. The order states that he exited those trades early on Feb. 25 with a reported profit of $14,390.57.

Based on that trading sequence, the CFTC concluded that Santos made misleading public statements and omitted material information that influenced the market price for his own financial benefit.

Instead of treating the conduct as a conventional insider trading case based on confidential information, the commission pursued the matter under the Commodity Exchange Act’s anti-manipulation provisions and CFTC Regulation 180.1. The order also classified the State of the Union attendance contract as a swap subject to the agency’s enforcement authority.

Earlier reporting by NPR in June said both the Department of Justice and the CFTC had opened investigations after Kalshi froze Santos’ account and referred the matter to regulators. However, the Washington Examiner later reported that a DOJ official denied the department had an active case, leaving the CFTC settlement as the only confirmed federal enforcement action tied to the trades.

Santos disputes allegations while accepting settlement

Responding through his attorney, Joseph W. Murray, Santos said he originally intended to attend the State of the Union address before severe winter weather disrupted his travel plans.

Murray denied that Santos intended to mislead traders or manipulate the prediction market. He also said his client chose to resolve the matter through settlement rather than continue with expensive litigation.

The CFTC order, however, concluded that Santos’ public statements and omissions occurred while he actively traded positions tied to the same event, allowing him to benefit from price movements in both directions.

Separately, Kalshi said it detected the unusual trading activity through its surveillance systems, froze Santos’ account, and supplied evidence to federal regulators.

Speaking to Axios last month, Kalshi Chief Executive Officer Tarek Mansour said the platform flagged the activity within seconds and received roughly 100 whistleblower complaints within minutes. He added that the exchange plans to pursue its own enforcement action for violations of exchange rules.

Kalshi also said it may reimburse affected traders if it successfully recovers funds from Santos. The company linked its monitoring process to integrity systems developed through its partnership with Sportradar.

Prediction markets continue facing regulatory scrutiny

The Santos case arrives as prediction markets continue drawing attention from regulators over insider trading and market manipulation concerns.

Earlier this year, Kalshi suspended three federal political candidates after determining they had traded on markets involving their own election contests. According to the company, candidates who can directly influence an event’s outcome violate exchange rules regardless of trade size.

Unlike those disciplinary actions, the Santos matter resulted in a referral to federal regulators and ultimately concluded with a formal CFTC enforcement order.

The agency’s approach also follows other recent prediction market cases. Federal prosecutors have charged U.S. Army Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke with allegedly using advance knowledge of a military operation to generate more than $404,000 from Polymarket trades tied to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. 

In another case, prosecutors accused former Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo of using confidential Google search ranking data to place multimillion-dollar bets on Polymarket before the information became public.

As regulatory attention has increased, Kalshi has introduced screening tools designed to identify participants directly connected to events listed on its platform, while Polymarket has expanded surveillance programs and hired blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis to assist investigations into insider trading and market manipulation.