Will a remittance tax be levied on funds remitting out of the United States to prevent a wholesale outflow of dollars?

The One, Big, Beautiful Bill, proposed by the Republican Party of the United States, also known as Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill", proposes to impose a 5% remittance tax (exercise tax) on remittances from non-US citizens (including visa and green card holders). Indian media Business Standard pointed out that India received a total of US$32.9 billion in remittances in 2023-24. If the tax law takes effect, Indian expatriates may have to pay an additional US$1.6 billion in taxes each year.

What is The One, Big, Beautiful Bill?

The One, Big, Beautiful Bill proposed by the Republican Party of the United States involves fiscal policies, including taxation, border security, defense spending and energy policy. It is a budget adjustment bill currently under consideration by the U.S. Congress that is designed to facilitate the rapid passage of specific policies.

Are remittances subject to remittance tax?

The bill proposes a 5% transaction tax on international remittances from non-U.S. citizens. The tax is levied on non-U.S. citizens, including holders of non-immigrant visas (such as H-1B, L-1, F-1, etc.), green card holders, and undocumented immigrants.

The provision will apply to all remittance transactions from the United States to overseas, with no minimum amount threshold, meaning that even small transfers will be subject to tax. It also covers transfers through banks, wire transfer services (such as Western Union), PayPal and other platforms.

The tax is deducted directly from the money transfer provider (such as a bank or wire company) when the money is transferred and is remitted quarterly to the U.S. Treasury. If the service provider fails to withhold tax when transferring the funds, they will also be responsible for the tax.

Who will be affected by the remittance tax?

If the bill is passed, it is expected that remittance transactions will be taxed (exercise tax) starting January 1, 2026. Those affected include H-1B visa holders, green card holders, etc., especially individuals who support domestic family life, education, medical care or investment (such as real estate, securities).

India is the world's largest recipient of remittances, receiving about $32.9 billion in remittances from the United States in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, accounting for 27.7% of India's total remittances ($118.7 billion). If the tax law takes effect, Indian expatriates may have to pay an additional $1.6 billion in taxes each year (assuming remittances remain unchanged). Mexico, China, the Philippines and other countries are also major recipients of remittances, and immigrants from these countries will also be affected.

Taxes on remittances could reduce the flow of funds to migrant families, affecting the ability of households in receiving countries to support, save and invest.

Experts warn that taxes could lead to greater use of illegal remittance channels or reduce the amount of remittances sent. Banks and wire transfer companies could lose fee income due to reduced transaction volume.

Critics argue that the tax would disproportionately impact low-income and middle-class immigrant families, who typically send much of their income back home to support their families.

Are remittance taxes good for cryptocurrencies?

For cryptocurrency users, the bill could prompt regulators to request more user information (such as the location of the recipient), sparking privacy disputes. If a non-U.S. citizen uses cryptocurrency for international remittances, such as transferring Bitcoin or stablecoins such as USDT to an overseas account through a cryptocurrency exchange or wallet, the transaction may be considered a "remittance transaction" and is subject to a 5% remittance tax.

Cryptocurrency exchanges may also be taxed

The tax applies to transactions conducted through a “qualified remittance transfer provider,” which includes U.S.-regulated cryptocurrency exchanges (such as Coinbase, Kraken) or platforms that provide cross-border money transfer services. The bill requires remittance service providers to verify the identity of the sender when transferring money to determine whether they are a U.S. citizen, which may force cryptocurrency exchanges to strengthen KYC and collect more user information such as citizenship, Social Security Number (SSN) or residency status.

P2P and DEX cannot be managed for the time being

Peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers between individuals may be able to temporarily avoid taxation because these transactions do not necessarily go through regulated service providers. However, for platforms with higher anonymity (such as decentralized exchanges DEX), regulators may also require them to comply with similar regulations in the future, otherwise they may face fines or operating restrictions.

The case is still under review and whether the bill will be passed or the details of its implementation will have to wait for more progress to be released.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host an unprecedented private dinner for the biggest holders of his eponymous meme coin $TRUMP. However, a blockchain analysis report shows that this gathering, which was originally centered on American politics, may be dominated by non-Americans, raising questions about their political and economic motives.

The dinner is about to start, and almost all the invitees are anonymous wallets

Trump's "$TRUMP Token Holder Dinner" is expected to take place at a private golf club in Virginia on May 22, and the invitation list is limited to the top 220 token holders. However, upon review, most of these top coin-holding wallets are anonymous accounts whose real identities cannot be identified.

This raises the question: Who is buying the tickets to dine at the same table with the former US president? What is the purpose behind these people’s investment?

Blockchain analysis reveals: Most whale come from overseas

According to a report by blockchain analysis firm Inca Digital, the main wallet address of $TRUMP tokens frequently appears on overseas exchanges such as Binance that do not serve US customers. This suggests that most of the top coin holders are most likely not U.S. citizens.

Further analysis by Bloomberg also pointed out that 19 of the top 25 wallets are almost certainly held by overseas individuals. This means that Trump’s "American-style political dinner" will actually be controlled by international capital.

Justin Sun may be the largest holder of the currency, and the amount he bought is astonishing

One of the wallets, called “Sun,” currently holds over $18 million in $TRUMP tokens, and purchased an additional $4.5 million following the dinner announcement. Multiple reports indicate that the wallet is highly associated with Justin Sun, the founder of Tron.

Justin Sun has publicly stated that he spent $75 million to purchase World Liberty Financial tokens led by the Trump family. Although his representative did not respond to the media, the traces on the blockchain have made it almost certain that he was the number one "whale" at this $TRUMP dinner.

Singaporean and Australian investors rush in, but US companies are left behind

Following closely behind is Singaporean crypto platform MemeCore, which also received an investment of US$18 million. In addition, an Australian crypto entrepreneur also made it onto the list.

In contrast, the performance of domestic American companies was not as good as expected. Freight Technologies, a logistics company from Texas, tried to gain influence on US-Mexico trade policy by purchasing $2 million in $TRUMP dollars. The company's CEO Javier Selgas said this was to promote "fair and free trade", but in the end it only ranked 250th and missed the dinner.

Glory and Bubble Coexist: The Rise and Fall of $TRUMP Coin

Since its official launch in January, the $TRUMP token has soared to a market value of $15 billion, assisted by Trump himself posting on Truth Social and X, "It's time to celebrate all our values: win!" However, the good times did not last long, and the price of the currency subsequently fell sharply.

In April, the stock briefly rebounded by 50% due to the news of the dinner, and its market value once rose to US$2.7 billion, but soon fell again. This highly volatile performance has deepened outside doubts about the sustainability of the token.

Data reveals: Most investors lose money, whale make profits

According to Inca Digital, although 560,376 wallets made a total profit of US$5.2 billion, more people became "leeks": as many as 592,962 wallets lost a total of US$3.9 billion. This shows the extreme wealth transfer phenomenon in the Trump Coin ecosystem, where early big investors made a fortune, while most retail investors lost everything.

Blockchain firms pull back, as lawmakers warn of risks

The blockchain security companies Chainalysis and Elliptic, which were originally involved in the analysis, have announced that they will stop tracking the $TRUMP coin after receiving a large number of inquiries, citing limited resources as the reason.

On the other hand, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal expressed concern that the crypto assets held by the Trump family could become a new channel for foreign or corporate forces to influence U.S. politics.

The White House responded: The assets are managed by a trust and there is no conflict of interest

In response to media inquiries about whether Trump was involved in this currency operation, a White House spokesperson said that Trump's assets are managed by his children's trust and that there is currently "no conflict of interest." However, in the eyes of the crypto, this dinner has long symbolized a new intersection of politics and encryption, and the real winners may not be Trump's voters, but the "unknown whale" who bet on the right thing first.