When Exchanges Lobby in Washington
The crypto world certainly doesn’t lack boldness. According to a recent report, three major cryptocurrency exchange platforms allegedly quietly pressured American senators to substantially overhaul a bill regulating the sector. The goal? Strike a provision that would have required these exchanges to offer only tokens “difficult to manipulate.”
In other words: major market players allegedly tried to erase from the law a clause specifically aimed at protecting investors against the riskiest and most easily manipulated tokens. A move that, let’s say diplomatically, raises some eyebrows in the crypto community and beyond.
Market Manipulation: A Real Issue in the Crypto Universe
To understand what’s at stake, a bit of technical background is needed. A token “susceptible to manipulation” generally refers to a low-market-cap or low-trading-volume cryptocurrency, which a few well-coordinated players can artificially pump before dumping massively — this is the infamous “pump and dump” scheme. Unfortunately, this type of practice is common in the murkier corners of the crypto market.
The provision targeted in the American bill aimed to require platforms to exercise some due diligence on listed assets. An idea that, on paper, seems reasonable. But which, in practice, could have significantly reduced the catalog of tokens available on these exchanges — and thus, potentially, their revenues.
This lobbying comes at a particular moment: the United States has been trying for several years to build a coherent regulatory framework for crypto, a project fraught with obstacles between different federal agencies, industry interests, and political ambitions. The new American administration has taken a broadly more favorable stance toward the sector, which has encouraged industry players to get actively involved in drafting legislation.
South Korea Tightens Its Grip on Crypto Capital Outflows
On the other side of the world, South Korea is taking a very different approach. Seoul announced a significant increase in monitoring of companies transferring cryptocurrencies abroad. Korean authorities clearly worry about flows of digital assets leaving the country without going through standard reporting channels.
But that’s not all. Korean regulators also confirmed their intention to introduce a capital gains tax on crypto at 22%, with an effective date planned for January 2027. This measure, postponed multiple times in recent years under pressure from retail investors (numerous and very active in South Korea), now appears firmly on track.
South Korea is one of the most dynamic crypto markets in the world, with a young population particularly keen on crypto trading. The introduction of such taxation represents a major change for millions of local savers, accustomed until now to a certain fiscal freedom on these assets.
Two Approaches, One Same Signal
What’s striking about these two news items is how they perfectly illustrate the permanent tension between the crypto industry and regulators worldwide — each pulling the blanket toward their own interests.
In the United States, private players try to influence the law before it’s set in stone. In South Korea, the state reasserts control with classic fiscal and surveillance tools. Two radically different methods, but both testify to the same reality: crypto is now too big for governments to ignore.
The era of the digital Wild West is gradually coming to an end. The rules of the game are being written right now, in the corridors of Congress just as in Asian finance ministries. Who will have the last word? The story is still being written — and the lobbyists are already at their desks.
Perspective
These two events, though geographically distant, send a common message to the entire crypto ecosystem: global regulation is accelerating, and it takes varied forms according to political and economic cultures. On one side, an Anglo-Saxon approach where industry actively (sometimes too actively?) participates in rule-making. On the other, a more interventionist model where the state imposes its framework unilaterally.
For users and sector observers, the lesson is clear: the crypto regulatory landscape in 2025-2026 is undergoing complete transformation, and decisions made today will shape the industry for the next decade. This bears close watching.