City of Austin Approves ‘Fact-Finding Study’ for Tax Payments in Bitcoin, Crypto
The Texas city will investigate the feasibility of adopting “bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies” with a study due in mid-June.

Austin, Texas took a step toward
Austin’s powerful City Manager will research the change’s legality, its potential to “benefit” public services, its impact on the economy and the environment and “analysis of the financial stability and security of cryptocurrency,” per a draft of resolution 55. This “fact-finding study” is due on June 16.
Austin’s plan vaults it to the forefront of U.S. cities that view crypto as a potentially lucrative municipal energizer. Mayors in Miami, New York and Jackson, Tenn., have similarly leaned into crypto initiatives over the past year.
“Everyone is looking for innovative solutions to tackle municipal challenges, and this may be an option we look to in Austin,” Mayor Steve Adler tweeted on March 18 after a meeting with 25 mayors.
“My support for this does not” signal whether bitcoin payments are a good thing or a bad thing for the municipality to accept, council member Anna Kitchen said, highlighting this was a proposal “for analysis, not for action.” A number of other council members echoed her narrow support.
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Exchange Review - March 2025

CoinDesk Data's monthly Exchange Review captures the key developments within the cryptocurrency exchange market. The report includes analyses that relate to exchange volumes, crypto derivatives trading, market segmentation by fees, fiat trading, and more.
What to know:
Trading activity softened in March as market uncertainty grew amid escalating tariff tensions between the U.S. and global trading partners. Centralized exchanges recorded their lowest combined trading volume since October, declining 6.24% to $6.79tn. This marked the third consecutive monthly decline across both market segments, with spot trading volume falling 14.1% to $1.98tn and derivatives trading slipping 2.56% to $4.81tn.
- Trading Volumes Decline for Third Consecutive Month: Combined spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges fell by 6.24% to $6.79tn in March 2025, reaching the lowest level since October. Both spot and derivatives markets recorded their third consecutive monthly decline, falling 14.1% and 2.56% to $1.98tn and $4.81tn respectively.
- Institutional Crypto Trading Volume on CME Falls 23.5%: In March, total derivatives trading volume on the CME exchange fell by 23.5% to $175bn, the lowest monthly volume since October 2024. CME's market share among derivatives exchanges dropped from 4.63% to 3.64%, suggesting declining institutional interest amid current macroeconomic conditions.
- Bybit Spot Market Share Slides in March: Spot trading volume on Bybit fell by 52.1% to $81.1bn in March, coinciding with decreased trading activity following the hack of the exchange's cold wallets in February. Bybit's spot market share dropped from 7.35% to 4.10%, its lowest since July 2023.
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