Senator Steve Daines backs Chainlink ahead of Link event

Montana Senator Steve Daines has voiced support for Chainlink and the digital asset industry ahead of the blockchain network’s Link event scheduled for October 29 in New York City.

Chainlink’s promotional coverage of the upcoming event has highlighted Daines’ recognition of blockchain technology as the company prepares to bring together financial institutions, policymakers, and industry executives to discuss the use of digital assets in traditional finance.

The event will focus on institutional adoption of blockchain technology, including tokenized assets, cross-chain transactions, stablecoin payments, and financial market infrastructure.

Daines’ support comes just a week after the Republican senator introduced legislation seeking to modernize how digital assets are taxed in the United States.

Chainlink’s Link event brings together financial leaders

Scheduled for October 29, Link is a one-day gathering organized by Chainlink to connect senior executives from banks, asset managers, market infrastructure providers, and other financial institutions.

According to the event’s official agenda, discussions will cover institutional real-world assets, interoperability between blockchain networks, artificial intelligence in financial services, and the development of blockchain-based payment systems.

Several established financial institutions are represented in the speaker lineup, including Swift, Intercontinental Exchange, Fidelity Investments, Citi, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.

Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov is among the featured speakers, alongside executives involved in developing blockchain infrastructure for traditional financial markets.

The gathering follows several months of announcements involving Chainlink’s technology and financial institutions exploring ways to connect existing systems with blockchain networks.

For Chainlink, much of this work involves its decentralized oracle infrastructure, which allows blockchain applications to access information from external systems, and its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, which supports communication between different networks.

Senator Daines has pushed for clearer crypto tax rules

Daines has been involved in cryptocurrency policy discussions in Congress, particularly efforts to update federal tax rules for digital assets.

On October 22, he introduced the Aligning Digital Assets with Principles of Taxation Act, known as the ADAPT Act, alongside Senators Cynthia Lummis, Bernie Moreno, and Tim Scott.

The proposed legislation seeks to establish clearer tax treatment for cryptocurrency transactions while applying existing securities and commodities tax principles to comparable digital assets.

Among its provisions, the bill would remove gain-or-loss tracking requirements for everyday purchases made with qualifying regulated dollar stablecoins and provide exemptions for network transaction fees of $10 or less.

It would address the tax treatment of staking, digital asset investment trusts, and certain lending activities, while applying wash sale and constructive sale rules to digital assets.

In announcing the proposal, Daines argued that existing tax laws had failed to keep pace with blockchain technology, creating unnecessary complexity for taxpayers and businesses.

His involvement in the legislation follows earlier discussions with Treasury officials about establishing a federal framework for digital asset taxation.

During a July Senate Finance Committee hearing, Daines called for rules that would make cryptocurrency taxation easier to understand while maintaining safeguards against tax avoidance.

Chainlink expands institutional blockchain partnerships

Chainlink has announced several institutional collaborations in recent months, with projects focused on tokenized assets, collateral management, and cross-border payments.

On October 26, the company introduced its CustodySync service with Anchorage Digital Bank as its launch partner.

As crypto.news previously reported, the service connects assets held in qualified custody with decentralized lending markets, allowing institutions to use custodied collateral for blockchain-based borrowing.

CustodySync uses Chainlink’s Proof of Reserve technology to publish custody balances onchain, while its pricing infrastructure helps coordinate collateral values between traditional custody systems and decentralized lending platforms.

A day later, the Hong Kong Gold Exchange announced plans to integrate Chainlink’s cross-chain technology for its gold-backed XGZ token.

The integration, developed through GoldZip and Midas Labs, is intended to allow XGZ tokens to move between supported blockchain networks.

Each XGZ token represents one gram of 99.99% fine gold, with physical redemption available to eligible holders who meet the minimum redemption requirements.

Chainlink has pursued similar arrangements with established financial infrastructure providers.

In September, the company announced a connection framework that would allow financial institutions to access Swift’s blockchain ledger through Chainlink’s Runtime Environment.

The system is designed to let banks coordinate blockchain transactions while retaining control of the cryptographic keys used to authorize transfers.

Swift said 17 banks across six continents were preparing live pilots involving tokenized deposits on its ledger.

Earlier that month, payments technology company Bottomline partnered with Chainlink to connect its payment infrastructure with public and private blockchain networks.

Bottomline’s network processes more than $16 trillion in payments annually and serves over 600 banking customers.

Under the arrangement, Chainlink’s interoperability technology will support blockchain-based settlement while allowing participating institutions to continue using established ISO 20022 financial messaging standards.