The 2025 Finance Bill has sparked a lively debate, and reveals the tensions surrounding the taxation applied to the highest incomes in France. At the heart of the controversy is an amendment that aims to exempt certain income categories from the new “differential contribution on high incomes” (CDHR), introduced to limit tax avoidance practices among the wealthiest taxpayers. This amendment, intended to maintain an attractive tax system for investors in innovation, was rejected by the National Assembly, which constitutes a defeat for the government and a victory for the opposition, which is campaigning for an expansion of this contribution.

BRICS has decided it’s not letting any new countries join as full members this year. Speaking at the summit he’s hosting in Kazan, President Vlad Putin, made it clear that the current roster of nine full members is enough, at least for now.

What’s surprising? Saudi Arabia, despite all the hype and an earlier invitation, officially said no to the offer and didn’t even sign on as a partner country. Remains to be seen if this would affect the close friendship between Putin and Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, as well as the two countries.

BRICS’ bigger picture

Thirteen new countries have been welcomed as BRICS official partners, giving them a seat at the table, but not full membership status. Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam have all stepped into the mix, working toward a potential future membership.

Saudi Arabia’s absence from the official members and partner list? That’s got everyone talking. With the Middle East powerhouse not signing up, despite the August 2023 expansion talks, it seems like Riyadh’s priorities are elsewhere.

But BRICS isn’t waiting on anyone. They’ve got enough momentum with the countries that are already on board, especially with the newest additions like Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the UAE joining the original five: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

The summit wasn’t just a chance for these nations to take pictures and exchange handshakes. The big focus was on money. BRICS is pushing hard for alternative payment systems that can bypass Western-controlled networks like SWIFT.

Russia’s been locked out of SWIFT since it invaded Ukraine, and now Putin’s doubling down on BRICS creating a new cross-border payments system that allows settlements in local currencies.

While Putin’s playing the long game, it’s also a diplomatic flex. Turkey’s President, Tayyip Erdogan, showed up despite his country being a NATO member. He’s long been interested in getting Turkey involved with BRICS. Even the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres popped by.

BRICS banking on its own rules

So, what’s the endgame here? BRICS has been around since 2006, but things have been moving a little slow. The New Development Bank (NDB), which BRICS launched, is expected to make around $5 billion in loans this year.

Yeah, that’s a tiny fraction compared to the World Bank’s $72.8 billion, but the drive is there. But the dollar isn’t going away tomorrow, but more countries are looking at BRICS as an insurance policy. They’re looking at a world where Western rules don’t dominate.

But as BRICS gets bigger, tensions between member countries’ national interests grow too. It’s tough to get everyone on the same page when you have countries like China and India, which aren’t exactly best friends.

BRICS now accounts for a fifth of global trade. But does this mean it will topple the dollar? Not anytime soon.

Sure, Putin is toying with the idea of a new payment system, but don’t expect the dollar to disappear from global finance just because of some new initiatives. America still is the most powerful country on earth.

IMF weighs in on BRICS

The IMF is paying attention. Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva wants to know more. She said that the idea isn’t new, but the details are what matter. “We need more information to really assess what’s going on here.”

The BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative (BCBPI) could rival SWIFT, at least on paper. But the execution is where things could get complicated.

As the IMF focuses on getting inflation back to central bank targets and navigating a “low growth, high debt” world, they’re also watching how BRICS’ new initiatives could shake up the status quo.

The Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) has been trying to help countries restructure debt, and while it’s making progress, there’s still a lot of work ahead.

Gary Gensler, Presidente della SEC degli USA, spoke at the NYU School of Law in Manhattan, also commenting on crypto. His words were “It is unlikely that this stuff will become a currency.”

Gary Gensler of the SEC and his intervention on crypto: “it will have to prove its value”

The President of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States, Gary Gensler, spoke at the NYU School of Law in Manhattan, also talking about crypto. 

To the question about the value of cryptocurrencies, Gensler stated that he considers it unlikely that bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptos will ever be widely used as a form of payment. Rather, what might happen is that they will be seen more as a store of value.

Here are his words regarding conceiving crypto as currency:

“One wants a monetary unit because it is a store of value, a medium of exchange, a unit of account. All of this has enormous network economy. So it is unlikely that this stuff will become a currency. It will have to prove its value through dissemination and use. … In the same way one chooses among the thousands of bull and bear stocks listed on the stock exchange”

In practice, according to Gensler, it will be the investing public that decides if there is a utility for a particular cryptocurrency. On the contrary, the SEC Chairman said that the agency is “neutral” regarding this merit. 

Not only that, citing the different monetary principles in history, Gensler also stated that basically there tends to be one currency for each geographic economic State. 

But Gensler’s speech continues by also casting a negative light on crypto, highlighting the scams and their protagonists who have been arrested and convicted. All to defend against accusations of excessive power by the agency. 

Gary Gensler defends the SEC’s actions against crypto companies

Continuing with his speech, then, Gensler had to defend the actions defined as “aggressive” by the SEC against crypto companies. 

In fact, due to unclear crypto regulation, the SEC has taken several crypto companies to court, accusing them primarily of offering unregistered securities. 

The list is enormous, but just think of the SEC vs. Ripple case, which lasted four years and finally ended in 2024, with the ruling declaring that XRP is not a security. 

Or, the case of Tron and Justin Sun who saw their victory with the ruling of the judge who dismissed the SEC’s attempts to create controversy always regarding securities.

In any case, Gensler defended the agency’s aggressive approach, comparing it to a police officer. Here’s what he said: 

“Without a police officer on duty, will all our laws be enforced? It is a matter of human nature. In finance … we play close to the edge. … Sometimes we need enforcement actions to bring people back to the right side of the line.”

Not only that, the President of the SEC wanted to highlight the crypto scam and how even some industry players have been accused and sentenced to prison. 

“With all due respect, the protagonists of this sector in 202[4] are in prison or awaiting extradition at this moment.”

The Rebellion: Crypto.com Sues the SEC and CFTC

While Gensler believes that the agency has its good reasons to act like an aggressive cop, crypto companies are not having it and are starting to rebel.

Recently, Crypto.com, the cryptocurrency trading platform, sued the SEC and the CFTC, with the aim of protecting the future of crypto in the USA.

In fact, after receiving a Wells notice, Crypto.com decided to defend itself actively and to accuse the SEC of pursuing an unauthorized and unfair regulatory campaign. According to the crypto-exchange, the SEC has established an illegal rule according to which the exchanges of almost all cryptos are securities transactions, with Bitcoin and Ethereum excluded. 

But Crypto.com is just joining other industry colleagues who have long been struggling against the SEC and its actions. Among others, there is Kraken, which has filed its court document requesting a jury trial against the SEC.

This 76-page document with 18 listed defense points aims to accuse the SEC of having behaved acceptably, and that its actions should be put to the judgment of the jury.