Laws move slower than markets. But they hit harder. This is issue #90 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:

🛡️ Bitcoin News: Attacks Were Undercounted
Bitcoin News says Lopp’s archive doubled to about 702 attacks from missed local reports, not more crime.

🇫🇷 De Courson: “Tax Black Hole”
MP Charles de Courson’s committee-approved amendment would force holders above €100,000 to declare their wallets yearly.

🇷🇺 Mow: Person-to-Person Resists Crackdowns
Jan3 CEO Samson Mow says direct trading resists crackdowns, as Russia will ban it from July 2027.

Charles de Courson (MP, LIOT group, France) argues Bitcoin and similar holdings are a “tax black hole,” defending his amendment requiring anyone holding over €100,000 to declare their wallets yearly.

Samson Mow (CEO, Jan3) argues peer-to-peer trading, swapping Bitcoin directly between individuals without intermediaries, resists crackdowns better than centralized platforms, as Russia plans to ban it from July 2027.

Susie Violet Ward (CEO, Bitcoin Policy UK) warns the UK tax authority’s proposed powers, flagged by Recap, could tie home addresses to Bitcoin addresses, exposing holders to physical attacks.

Bitcoin News (Bitcoin media outlet) says Jameson Lopp’s physical attack archive doubled to about 702 because missed local reports surfaced, not more crime, and recommends discretion first.

Lindsay Fraser (Chief Policy Officer, Blockchain Association) credited White House adviser Patrick Witt with bringing every side to the table, and keeping them there, when market structure talks got hardest.

L0la L33tz (independent journalist, The Rage) argued American Express got a $350M fine over $13B in suspect transfers, while developers whose code moved them would face 45 years in prison.

American HODL (pseudonymous Bitcoin commentator) sarcastically defended HEX founder Richard Heart after Turkey detained him on Finland’s Interpol Red Notice, a worldwide provisional arrest request, over alleged tax fraud.

Michael Saylor (Executive Chairman, Strategy) said “smart money saves in Bitcoin,” reacting to a Bitcoin Policy Institute study where 13 new AI models picked Bitcoin in 70.8% of savings answers.

Pascal Gauthier (CEO, Ledger, France) said an organized criminal group implanted chips capturing seed phrases, the 24-word wallet backup, in devices resold via CryptoBilis, insisting Ledger’s systems were not compromised.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said Democrats wanted personal liability, making individuals legally responsible, for false filings to regulators, a CLARITY Act provision, yet voted no.

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🌐 241 – Brooklyn prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation took down 241 fake crypto investment sites and 112 servers behind a scam that showed victims fake gains, then blocked their withdrawals. Bitcoin Magazine

⚖️ $5 million – A federal judge refused to cancel Gemini’s $5 million consent order, a court-approved settlement over statements tied to a Bitcoin futures contract, even though the Commodity Futures Trading Commission itself asked him to. The Block

🔐 $7.15 million – Turkish police seized $7.15 million in cash and six cold wallets, offline devices that store private keys, in searches tied to HEX founder Richard Heart, detained on a Finnish Interpol notice. CoinDesk

🚨 33 – United Arab Emirates police arrested 33 suspects across four criminal networks, including one that used violent assaults and kidnappings to force holders to hand over their coins. Cryptoast

🇦🇺 14 million Australian dollars – Australia’s securities regulator proposes that exchanges holding clients’ coins themselves keep 14 million Australian dollars in net tangible assets, meaning hard assets minus debts, before new licensing rules start in April 2027. Cointelegraph

🇺🇸 Monday, October 19 – Treasury GENIUS Act comment deadline – Last day to comment on Treasury’s rule defining when a payment stablecoin, a dollar-pegged token, is issued or sold in the US. Not a Bitcoin rule, but it shapes how dollars move in and out of your stack.

🇨🇭 Monday, October 19 – Plan ₿ Week opens, Lugano, Switzerland – Runs through October 28. Ten days of talks, meetups and workshops backed by the City of Lugano and Tether, with Bitcoin security high on the agenda.

🇬🇧 Monday–Tuesday, October 19–20 – The Digital Asset Conference IV, The Peninsula London – Fasanara Capital’s two-day gathering for institutional investors and fintech leaders. Not a Bitcoin event, but Sean Bill of Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company is on the speaker list.

🇺🇸 Tuesday, October 20 – Regulation Crypto Assets comment deadline – The Securities and Exchange Commission closes comments on a safe harbor, a legal shield, letting tokens stop being treated as securities.

🇺🇸 Wednesday, October 21 – Bitcoin for Financial Services Summit, Day 1, Denver – Accountants, lawyers and wealth advisers meet for keynotes and panels on Bitcoin custody, tax compliance and Bitcoin-backed loans.

🇨🇭 Thursday, October 22 – Bitcoin Red Team 2026, PoW.Space Lugano – Free afternoon on threats to Bitcoin infrastructure, opening with Bitcoin Core contributor Daniela Brozzoni, Rob Hamilton and stutxo, moderated by Giacomo Zucco.

🇬🇧 Still open, closing February 28, 2027 – FCA authorisation window – The Financial Conduct Authority is taking licence applications from firms that trade or hold coins for UK customers. Firms that skip it must wind down UK business before the regime starts October 25, 2027. 

🏛️ All week – US Congress out of session – House and Senate are out until after the November 3 midterms. No hearings, no votes, so the stalled CLARITY Act, the bill deciding which regulator oversees what, can’t move before Election Day.

“Politics: the art of using euphemisms, lies, emotionalism and fear-mongering to dupe average people into accepting, or even demanding, their own enslavement.” ― Larken Rose

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