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.

South Korea has finalized its 2026 tax reform package while keeping the planned 22% tax on cryptocurrency investment gains set to begin on Jan. 1, 2027.

South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance confirmed on Aug. 3 that it had finalized the 2026 tax reform proposal without including another postponement for virtual asset taxation, clearing the way for the long-delayed measure to proceed next year if lawmakers approve the package in the National Assembly.

Under the current Income Tax Act, profits from transferring or lending virtual assets will be taxed as other income from Jan. 1, 2027. Investors will pay a 20% national tax, with an additional 2% local income tax, on annual gains exceeding 2.5 million won ($1,740). The first tax return covering crypto income earned during 2027 will be filed in May 2028.

The ministry also included an example showing how the tax would apply. An investor earning a 5 million won annual profit from Bitcoin trading would first deduct the 2.5 million won exemption before paying 22% tax on the remaining amount, resulting in a tax bill of 550,000 won.

South Korea has ended another delay in its tax proposal

The tax was originally scheduled to take effect in January 2022 after lawmakers approved amendments to the Income Tax Act in 2020. However, implementation was postponed three times, first to 2023, then to 2025, and later to 2027, as authorities cited incomplete reporting systems and unresolved administrative infrastructure.

Government officials now say those preparations have largely been completed.

The ministry pointed to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), under which South Korea expects to receive overseas virtual asset transaction data from tax authorities in 48 participating jurisdictions, including Japan, Germany and France, beginning next year. Officials said the international reporting system would significantly reduce blind spots involving offshore crypto transactions.

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol had already indicated during a National Assembly Finance and Economic Planning Committee meeting on July 29 that the government intended to proceed with the tax as scheduled while improving the system after implementation where necessary.

Parliament can still change the crypto tax timeline

Although the government has finalized its proposal, the tax reform package still requires approval from the National Assembly before becoming law.

The ministry acknowledged that parliamentary discussions could still result in another delay or other legislative changes before the tax takes effect.

The opposition People Power Party continues to oppose the measure and has proposed amendments to remove crypto income from the Income Tax Act altogether. Party lawmakers have argued that taxing retail cryptocurrency investors while most retail stock investment gains remain exempt creates unequal treatment.

Earlier committee discussions also raised concerns over the current tax design. During the July 29 hearing, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon questioned the absence of rules allowing investors to carry forward trading losses, warning that the framework could encourage traders to move activity from domestic exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit to overseas centralized exchanges, decentralized finance platforms or peer-to-peer markets.

Responding during the hearing, Koo said moving virtual assets into South Korea’s capital gains tax framework would require a broader review of the country’s financial tax system. He added that authorities could consider revisions after gaining experience with the tax’s operation.

Digital asset rules continue developing alongside the crypto tax

Separate from the tax package, South Korea is also preparing a wider regulatory framework for digital assets.

The Financial Services Commission told the National Assembly in late July that it is working with the ruling Democratic Party on a consolidated Digital Asset Basic Act. The proposed legislation would combine 10 pending digital asset and stablecoin bills into one framework covering stablecoin issuance, exchanges, disclosures, internal controls and system resilience.

Several issues remain unresolved, including ownership requirements for issuers of won-backed stablecoins and possible ownership limits for major cryptocurrency exchanges.

At the same time, the National Tax Service has established a dedicated digital asset unit and continues preparing implementation guidance for the upcoming crypto tax, according to previous government statements.

Tax policy is expanding beyond cryptocurrencies

South Korea has also begun clarifying how other blockchain-based assets could be taxed.

In June, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said tokenized stocks should generally be treated as securities rather than virtual assets because their economic characteristics resemble conventional securities despite using blockchain technology.

The ministry said taxation could begin under existing securities tax rules once the Financial Services Commission formally determines that tokenized stocks qualify as securities. Officials also indicated that overseas-issued tokenized stocks could still fall under South Korean tax rules depending on the rights attached to the assets.

Meanwhile, tax authorities have been strengthening information-sharing arrangements with overseas counterparts. Alongside participation in the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, officials have previously said they are expanding cooperation with foreign tax agencies to improve oversight of cross-border digital asset transactions.

Unless lawmakers approve another postponement or pass the pending repeal proposal before the end of 2026, South Korea’s 22% tax on annual cryptocurrency gains above 2.5 million won will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, ending several years of repeated delays.