Today in crypto, a Belgian court has sentenced three people for their roles in a cryptocurrency-related kidnapping, US Republican House leaders have designated July 14 to July 18 as “Crypto Week,” focusing on considering three key crypto bills, and a new US Senate bill aims to overhaul crypto taxation.
Belgian court sentences three in kidnapping of crypto investor’s wife
A Belgian court has sentenced three people for their roles in a cryptocurrency-related kidnapping targeting the wife of local crypto entrepreneur Stéphane Winkel.
The Brussels Criminal Court handed down 12-year prison sentences to three kidnappers who attacked Winkel’s wife in December 2024, local news agency La Dernière Heure reported on Thursday.
The criminals were convicted of hostage-taking after abducting the victim outside her home, forcing her into a van and demanding a ransom in cryptocurrency.
Alerted by Winkel, law enforcement pursued the van and subsequently arrested the kidnappers and freed the victim after taking the vehicle off the road with a risky maneuver.
In addition to the prison sentences, the court ordered the three convicted kidnappers to pay at least 1 million euros ($1.2 million) in civil damages to the victim.
While holding the trio accountable, the court acknowledged that the masterminds behind the kidnapping remain unidentified. It also rejected the defendants’ claims that they were coerced into the crime under threat of death.
According to the report, the case also involves a minor, who is being handled separately by a juvenile court.
US Republicans declare “Crypto Week” to mull three crypto bills
US Republican House leaders have pledged to consider three key crypto bills starting in mid-July as part of a regulatory “Crypto Week.”
House Finance Committee Chair French Hill, House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson and Speaker Mike Johnson said on Thursday that they’d use the week of July 14 to 18 to look over a crypto market structure bill, a stablecoin bill and a bill on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
“House Republicans are taking decisive steps to deliver the full scope of President Trump’s digital assets and cryptocurrency agenda,” Johnson said.
“During ‘Crypto Week,’ the House looks forward to the timely consideration of three landmark pieces of legislation: the CLARITY Act, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, and the Senate’s GENIUS Act,” he added.
The party’s push comes as President Donald Trump said last month that he wants the stablecoin-regulating GENIUS Act passed as soon as possible, before Congress goes on a month-long break in August.
The bills would begin to deliver on Trump’s crypto-focused promises during his campaign, which the crypto industry heavily backed and bankrolled.
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.
