Another day, another new record for Bitcoin.
The world’s leading form of cryptocurrency is setting new records, pushing the price of Bitcoin (BTC) to an all-time high of US$118,644.12 before leveling off at press time. That’s up around 9% since President Trump signed his One Big Beautiful Bill on July 4.
Correlation might not equal causation, but it comes pretty close this time.
Even if Bitcoin is fundamentally “supposed” to reach its target price of around $200-250K sometime in 2026, regulatory hurdles have been preventing BTC from being all that it can be. Trump just swatted away those hurdles with yet another jagged stroke of his pen.
There’s more de-regulation coming up ahead, so you’re probably going to see even more short-term gains in the crypto news headlines this summer. But there’s also some serious doom and gloom for crypto betting enthusiasts in the United States, not to mention poker players and sports bettors. It’s almost like we’re re-living 2006 all over again.
What’s the Good News?
Strictly from a BTC price standpoint, we’ve got another big week on the horizon with the House of Representatives set to debate three bills which matter deeply to the crypto markets:
- Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act)
- Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act)
- CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act
You may have read in this space about the GENIUS Act, which will establish the first comprehensive regulations for payment stablecoins; the CLARITY Act will define the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) when it comes to digital assets, while that third bill would prohibit the U.S. Federal Reserve from issuing central bank digital currency (CBDC) without approval from Congress.
Given the Trump Administration’s thirst for crypto, it’s a virtual slam-dunk these bills will be passed in the very near future – but even if they stall this week, the fact that they’re being debated is enough juice for crypto bettors and investors, as well as Bitcoin miners and exchanges. The rich get richer.
What’s the Bad News?
If you’ve been hammering the crypto odds at the online sportsbooks for value, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) has one big surprise: Starting in 2026, gambling losses (including expenses) in the U.S. will only be 90% deductible, up to the amount of your total winnings, instead of 100%.
It might not seem like much, but it could mean the end of “professional” gambling in the United States. Here’s how poker pro Phil Galfond explained it on social media:
“A pro who earns $200k/year might have $3m in winnings and $2.8m in losses. This means earning $200k and being taxed as if they earned $480k.) This applies to both recreational and professional gamblers.”
This is all well and good for Bitcoin betting as long as you keep making the right picks – and you’ve got enough money in your bankroll to cover your tax outlay. But what if you have a break-even year, or worse, and you still have to pay that tax?
According to Galfond, the OBBB will lead to a drop in both traffic and liquidity for U.S. poker players, sucking the lifeblood out of that already-teetering market and making it “essentially impossible” for anyone but those at the very top of the pyramid – and those who cheat on their taxes – to play professionally.
For poker players and gamblers of all stripes, this is indeed very much like 2006, when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) snuck through as an add-on to the SAFE Port Act. In this case as back then, most lawmakers weren’t fully aware what they were voting for; some attempt will be made to send the OBBB back to the Rules Committee and have them remove this 90% amendment, but if they don’t, and a separate bill isn’t passed to fix this?
Bet and/or invest accordingly.
