SARS Pushes New Crypto Tax Rules for 6 Million Users as Audits Ramp up Across South Africa

Today in crypto, Vitalik Buterin lists three of Ethereum’s top focus areas under a new roadmap, Revolut notified some users that it plans to delist Tether USDt, a major US law enforcement group said it no longer opposes the CLARITY Act, and US President Donald Trump defended earning $1.4 billion from crypto ventures while in office.Vitalik Buterin shares top priorities for new ‘Lean Ethereum’ strawmapEthereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has named quantum resistance, scalability and privacy as three of Ethereum’s top priorities under a new “Lean Ethereum” strawmap, which lays out the network’s technical direction for the remainder of the decade. In a post to X on Saturday, Buterin said the collection of upgrades will roll out over the next three to four years, touching nearly every layer of Ethereum in a transformation he compared in scale to the September 2022 Merge, which shifted the network away from energy-intensive mining. “Quantum safety has shifted up a LOT in priority,” he said, adding that finalizing a quantum-safe solution for blobs has “become urgent.” Enhancing privacy is another priority, Buterin said, stating that it has become a “first class goal.”The “Lean Ethereum” strawmap timeline from 2026 through to 2029. Source: Strawmap.orgThe change in roadmap comes amid a series of changes at the Ethereum Foundation, which laid off roughly 20% of its staff last month in a bid to become leaner and reduce its budget by 40%.The leaner structure comes on top of several executive departures in recent months, including Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak, while protocol contributors Tim Beiko and Barnabé Monnot also left in May.Buterin is also pushing for the development of a new virtual machine like leanISA or RISC-V to support programmable privacy and better scalability.Kraken lets traders use tokenized stocks as collateral for leveraged tradesCrypto exchange Kraken has begun accepting select tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as collateral for futures and margin trading, allowing eligible users to open leveraged positions without selling their holdings.The feature initially supports 10 tokenized stocks and ETFs, including Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Strategy, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust. Eligible users can post those holdings as collateral without selling them first.Each eligible asset is assigned a collateral haircut that reduces its lending value based on risk. Broad-market ETFs receive the lowest haircut at 10%, while more volatile stocks such as Strategy and Robinhood are discounted by 30%.Kraken also imposed collateral limits on each asset, with broad-market ETFs capped at up to $1 million in collateral value, most individual stocks at $250,000 and tokenized gold and Circle shares at $100,000. The exchange said both collateral limits and haircuts will be reviewed periodically and remain subject to change.The feature is available only to eligible clients outside the United States. The exchange said tokenized stocks can be used as collateral for futures trading in the European Economic Area, while margin collateral support is available in other eligible jurisdictions outside the bloc.Revolut to delist USDT in August, citing regulatory and risk concernsRevolut, a crypto-friendly digital banking platform headquartered in the United Kingdom, notified some users it will delist Tether USDt (USDT) stablecoin in August, citing regulatory and risk concerns.In a Friday customer notice seen by Cointelegraph, Revolut said users will no longer be able to buy USDT starting July 6, with full delisting scheduled for Aug. 31, 2026.If users do not sell or withdraw their USDT by the end of August, Revolut will automatically convert any remaining USDT holdings into users’ base currency at the day’s exchange rate, the company said.USDT deposits will no longer be supported after July 30, 2026, after which any incoming USDT transfers will be rejected, it said.Source: CointelegraphThe move highlights how major fintech companies are adjusting stablecoin access in response to shifting regulatory frameworks. It also raises questions about timing, as exchanges such as Coinbase began delisting USDT in Europe in 2024 to align with EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) requirements.