A Major Divide in the Global Crypto Landscape: Between Dollar Alternatives and Tax Lures

As sovereign capital enters the market, the jungle law of the crypto world is being replaced by a geopolitical game.

Kazakhstan has included cryptocurrencies in its national reserves, Spain imposes heavy taxes on crypto gains, and the United States is striving to become a global leader in the cryptocurrency field—behind these seemingly contradictory policy moves lies a crucial turning point in the global crypto market's transition from chaos to order.

01 The Sovereign Game

By 2025, global sovereign nations' strategies in the cryptocurrency field will exhibit unprecedented divergence, reflecting the vastly different economic structures, geopolitical demands, and financial strategies of various countries.

The South African Reserve Bank, in its latest Financial Stability Report, explicitly listed cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as new risks, warning that they could be used to circumvent foreign exchange controls, posing a significant threat to national financial systems.

Spain, through its National Securities Market Committee, strengthened regulation, fining social media platform X (formerly Twitter) €5 million for violating crypto advertising regulations and planning to adopt the EU's MiCA framework ahead of schedule, demonstrating a strict regulatory stance. In stark contrast, the Belarusian president publicly supported cryptocurrency mining, believing cryptocurrencies could become an alternative to the US dollar. Kazakhstan went further, with the deputy governor of its central bank revealing a possible investment of government-controlled funds and a portion of its gold and foreign exchange reserves in cryptocurrencies. This divergence stems from a profound capital logic. Defensive sovereign states like South Africa and Spain prioritize maintaining seigniorage on their fiat currencies and the stability of their existing financial systems. Their control over crypto capital is essentially a containment of the "technological channels" of capital flight. On the other hand, more aggressive sovereign states like Kazakhstan and Belarus view crypto assets as strategic tools to circumvent dollar sanctions and diversify their foreign exchange reserves. Their behavior is a typical combination of "resource monetization" and "risk-averse diversification." The United States, on the other hand, has adopted a different stance—Trump announced that he would ensure the US becomes the global leader in the cryptocurrency field. This is essentially a strategic move to extend the dollar's hegemony from the physical world to the digital world. 02 The Metaphor of Reserves The shift from concept to practice in national cryptocurrency reserves marks the formal entry of crypto assets into the allocation of sovereign wealth. Kazakhstan's plan is particularly noteworthy. It plans to allocate crypto assets confiscated in criminal cases to a new fund for strategic reserves. This strategy, starting with asset confiscation, faces minimal political resistance and legal controversy, providing a perfect "stress test" for the subsequent use of national funds and foreign exchange reserves. Belarusian President Lukashenko directly supports cryptocurrency mining and explicitly views cryptocurrencies as an "alternative to the dollar." This reflects the urgent desire of some countries to seek alternatives outside the dollar system. While the "de-dollarization" narrative is hotly debated in the market, a sober analysis suggests that crypto assets are unlikely to shake the dollar's foundation in the short term. The real signal lies in the fact that national-level allocation behavior provides an unprecedented long-term value anchor for the entire asset class. Crypto assets have transitioned from an "optional" to a "must-have," officially entering the global macro asset allocation landscape. 03 The Regulatory Framework The restructuring of the regulatory landscape is one of the most significant changes in the crypto world by 2025. The world is moving from a question of "whether to regulate" to one of "how to regulate systematically." The EU's MiCA sets uniform regulatory standards for crypto asset service providers and stablecoin issuers, and is expected to be widely implemented by 2026. This tiered regulatory and unified licensing system is beneficial for cross-border compliance and the "passport" operation of service providers. The US, through the GENIUS Act, is pushing stablecoins into the federal regulatory framework, providing a clear regulatory path for the issuance of dollar-pegged stablecoins. Regulators have imposed clearer requirements on stablecoin issuers to hold high-quality liquid assets and regularly disclose reserve information. The regulatory controversy in South Korea reveals a deeper contradiction. The Bank of Korea insists that banks should hold at least 51% of the shares in stablecoin issuance, which has created a disagreement with other regulatory agencies that favor market diversification, leading to a delay in the framework expected to be implemented by the end of 2025. The essence of this debate is a struggle between traditional financial power and emerging technological forces for the right to issue currency. Meanwhile, French legislators approved a "non-productive wealth" tax on large-scale crypto assets (including stablecoins), representing another approach to regulation: using taxation to curb the "idleness" and vacancy of capital within the crypto ecosystem. The Spanish case demonstrates another regulatory trend—early adoption and strict enforcement. Spain plans to adopt the EU's MiCA ahead of schedule in December 2025 (the transition period for MiCA, according to the European Securities and Markets Authority, ends on June 30, 2026), and has increased its staff by 15% to strengthen enforcement capabilities. The direct effect of stricter regulation is to drive the market towards compliant, centralized infrastructure, while also sparking in-depth discussions within the industry regarding compliance costs and financial inclusion.

04 Market Evolution

Faced with a constantly changing regulatory environment, a global arbitrage map for capital is taking shape.

Mining capital is flowing to energy-rich regions like Belarus and Kazakhstan; trading platform capital is flowing to regulatory-friendly locations like Kenya and the UAE. This is a classic example of seeking the lowest institutional costs and highest operational efficiency globally.

Hong Kong has become a leading center for cryptocurrency innovation in Greater China. In August 2025, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority introduced a licensing system for stablecoin issuers under the Stablecoin Ordinance, establishing a clear framework for stablecoin issuance.

The "indirect entry" of traditional financial capital is particularly noteworthy.

Old money investors aren't simply "buying Bitcoin," but rather exposing themselves to risk through regulated ETFs, futures, and other derivatives. While enjoying the asset's beta, they transfer custody and compliance risks to licensed institutions. Meanwhile, traditional financial capital invests in compliant infrastructure in the primary market, such as custody services, compliant exchanges, and blockchain analytics companies, earning "shovel money" during the gold rush. From a macro perspective, three main lines are clear: crypto assets are moving from the periphery to the core, becoming strategic assets for sovereign capital allocation; global regulatory frameworks are gradually taking shape through competition, but will maintain a structural differentiation based on geostrategic considerations in the long term; and the key to determining market trends lies in the ongoing triple game between sovereign will, traditional capital, and the native forces of crypto.