Hello Bitcoiners,
Laws move slower than markets. But they hit harder. This is issue #91 of The Bitcoin Act: your Tuesday and Sunday briefing on the legal and regulatory moves that actually shape Bitcoin.
Now for today’s top stories:
🛡️ Law, Not Discretion
Coin Center’s Peter Van Valkenburgh argues Congress should legally protect non-custodial developers from money transmitter laws.
🏧 Michigan ATM Ban Advances
A Michigan Senate committee passed SB 980, a statewide Bitcoin ATM ban. Senate, House and governor must still approve.
🔐 Self-Custody Carve-Out Push
The Blockchain Association asked Treasury to explicitly exempt self-custody wallets from its draft GENIUS Act stablecoin rule.
USA
Coin Center: Prosecutor Goodwill Is Not Law
On October 15, Coin Center’s Peter Van Valkenburgh argued that Congress should legally protect developers of non-custodial products, tools that never hold your sats, from money transmitter laws (licenses required to move others’ money).
His point: developers should be able to rely on what the law says, not on how regulators choose to use their discretion. He also urged builders to create self-sovereign tools that give people control over their own money, data and identity.
Michigan Bitcoin ATM Ban Clears Committee
On October 14, a Michigan Senate committee approved SB 980, which bans Bitcoin ATMs statewide, including allowing one on your property. Violations are civil infractions (non-criminal, fine-only offenses): $2,000 to $10,000. It still needs Senate, House and governor approval.
Michigan stackers who buy sats with cash would lose an on-ramp, and businesses hosting a kiosk face repeat fines. Signal: the bill targets machines only; owning Bitcoin, peer-to-peer trades and self-custody remain untouched.
Industry to Treasury: Exempt Self-Custody
On October 19, the Blockchain Association filed a 26-page comment letter on Treasury’s proposed GENIUS Act rule, which decides who may issue and sell stablecoins. It is still a proposal; comments closed that day with 123 filings.
Your wallet software is part of the fight: the group says Congress excluded self-custody software from “digital asset service provider” rules and wants the final rule to match. The group backs Treasury’s overall approach; the law is expected to take effect in January 2027.
Worldwide
🏦 Revolut Lands Gibraltar
Revolut secured a Distributed Ledger Technology licence from Gibraltar’s regulator for Revolut Global Digital Assets Limited, a new entity running international crypto services. It counts 16 million crypto users; target markets remain unannounced.
🇱🇻 Latvia Rewrites Crypto Tax
Latvia’s parliament passed a law Oct. 15 taxing crypto when withdrawals exceed deposits, not per trade. A one-time declaration lets holders settle past taxes by paying 10% of their holdings’ end-2026 value, due July 2027.
🇰🇷 Korea Weighs Delay
Seoul’s officials meet five major exchanges Tuesday amid calls to delay a crypto tax due January 2027, postponed three times already. A new bill targets 2029, after cross-border account-data sharing with foreign tax authorities begins.
🇬🇧 UK Records Breached
The UK Legal Aid Agency confirmed that about 250,000 stolen records predate 2007, some dating to 1978. One Login, Britain’s expanding digital ID system, saw its independent privacy advisory group closed in 2025.
🇪🇺 Digital Euro Pilot
The ECB plans a 12-month internal digital euro pilot in the second half of 2027 with 36 payment firms, if the EU adopts its legal framework by year-end. The central-bank-issued currency targets a 2029 launch.
⚖️ Paris Token Trial
Three defendants face trial in Paris, accused of illegally minting one billion HLG tokens (€12.5 million) through a former Holograph developer’s access. HLG fell nearly 80% within hours. Hearings resume Thursday and Friday.
🇫🇷 France Targets Wallets
French budget amendments would require declaring self-custody wallets holding €100,000+ (fines up to $11,600) and tax Bitcoin swaps into EU-regulated stablecoins at 31.4%. None is law; the Assembly votes the revenue section Oct. 20.
🔎 EU Tracing Project
Brussels is funding FIAC, a 36-month Hellenic Police-led project building AI-driven tracing tools, including cross-chain tracking, that produce evidence able to hold up in court, with 12 partners across nine EU states.
🔓 Tampered Ledgers Drained
Chainalysis says a victim of the tampered-Ledger thefts was a scammer whose 60 BTC (about $4.8 million), taken from fake-review job victims, sat in three Ledger addresses. Thieves emptied all three Oct. 9.
🌍 West Africa Sweep
Authorities in Ghana and Nigeria arrested 28 people in a UK-hosted operation against investment-fraud scam networks. Coinbase, Binance, Chainalysis, Elliptic and TRM Labs helped trace funds, flagging $11 million for possible freezes, not confirmed recoveries.
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Ask Satoshi's Lawyer
Every week I answer one real question about Bitcoin law, regulation, or policy that affects your life as a stacker. No fluff. Just signal.
This week: How would a tax on unrealized Bitcoin gains actually work?
The Netherlands plans to tax Bitcoin every year on its rise in value, sold or not, starting January 1, 2028, at a flat 36% rate. The bill cleared the Dutch House, but the Senate has frozen its final vote.
The math: your return is the stack’s value on Dec. 31 minus its value on Jan. 1. The first €1,800 of annual return is tax-free. A stack held all year that rises from €60,000 to €90,000 owes €10,152, with zero sats sold.
A down year creates a loss you can carry forward with no time limit, but only above a €500 threshold per person. There is no refund. A bill on unsold coins gets paid from other cash or by selling sats.
The House passed the bill on February 12, 2026. On June 30, the Senate postponed its vote until the government’s announced amending bill is debated. A September 29 government letter moves stocks and bonds to tax-at-sale from 2028; Bitcoin stays on the annual method in the first stage.
In the US, Bitcoin is property taxed only when sold (IRS Notice 2014-21). In Moore v. United States (2024), the Supreme Court left open whether Congress can tax unrealized gains. One already exists: the exit tax treats wealthy expatriates’ assets as sold the day before renouncing.
Got a legal or regulatory question you want answered next Tuesday? Hit reply and send it.
The Market Knows First: Bitcoin Law on Prediction Markets
📊 Trump eliminates capital gains tax on crypto by December 31, 2026 ? — 3% Polymarket
📊 Which party will win the Senate in 2026? Democratic Party — 65% Polymarket
📊 Will pro crypto Ashley Moody win the FL Senate race — 91% Polymarket
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Quote of the Day
“I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free. The freedom of other men, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary premise and confirmation.” ― Mikhail Bakunin
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Regards,
— Satoshi’s Lawyer
The information contained in this newsletter does not constitute legal advice.
