Montana Senator Steve Daines has voiced support for Chainlink and the digital asset industry as the network prepares for its October 29 Link event in New York City. The one-day gathering will bring banks, asset managers, policymakers, and market infrastructure providers together to discuss blockchain in traditional finance. His remarks follow an October 22 proposal to clarify federal tax rules for digital assets.
Chainlink has featured Daines' recognition of blockchain technology in its event coverage. The agenda covers tokenized assets, payments, cross-chain transfers and artificial intelligence in financial services. What could these developments mean for financial firms connecting traditional systems with blockchain networks?
Executives from Swift, Intercontinental Exchange, Fidelity Investments, Citi and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation appear on the event's speaker lineup. Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov is also among the featured speakers.
Sessions will explore institutional real-world assets, links between separate blockchain networks and the systems behind blockchain-based payments. Participants will also discuss artificial intelligence in financial services.
Chainlink's oracle infrastructure supplies blockchain applications with information from external systems. Its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol allows different networks to communicate and supports transactions that involve more than one blockchain.
The company has announced several projects connecting financial institutions with blockchain tools. Recent work covers custody, tokenized assets, collateral management and payment settlement.
The event follows months of announcements about institutional blockchain systems. These projects include links between existing financial infrastructure and public or private blockchain networks.
On October 22, Daines introduced the Aligning Digital Assets with Principles of Taxation Act, known as the ADAPT Act. Senators Cynthia Lummis, Bernie Moreno, and Tim Scott joined him.
The proposal seeks to apply existing securities and commodities tax principles to comparable digital assets. It would also simplify reporting for some everyday cryptocurrency activity.
For qualifying regulated dollar stablecoins, the bill would remove gain-or-loss tracking for daily purchases. It also proposes exemptions for network transaction fees of USD 10 or less.
Other provisions address staking, digital asset investment trusts and certain lending arrangements. The measure would apply wash sale and constructive sale rules to digital assets as well.
When he announced the bill, Daines said existing tax laws had not kept pace with blockchain technology. During a July Senate Finance Committee hearing, he called for simpler rules that still guard against tax avoidance.
Read More: Chainlink Price Gains as LG CNS Partnership Fuels LINK Recovery
On October 26, Chainlink introduced CustodySync with Anchorage Digital Bank as its launch partner. The service links assets held in qualified custody to decentralized lending markets, allowing institutions to use those holdings as collateral for borrowing.
It uses Chainlink's Proof of Reserve technology to publish custody balances onchain. Chainlink's pricing infrastructure also helps coordinate collateral values between traditional custody systems and decentralized lending platforms.
A day later, the Hong Kong Gold Exchange announced plans to use Chainlink's cross-chain technology for its gold-backed XGZ token. GoldZip and Midas Labs are developing the integration to enable transfers between supported networks.
Each XGZ token represents one gram of 99.99% fine gold. Eligible holders can request physical redemption if they meet the minimum redemption requirements.
In September, Chainlink announced a framework for accessing Swift's blockchain ledger through the Chainlink Runtime Environment. The system would allow banks to coordinate blockchain transactions while keeping control of the keys that authorize transfers.
Swift said 17 banks across six continents were preparing live pilots involving tokenized deposits. Also in September, payments technology company Bottomline partnered with Chainlink to connect established payment infrastructure to public and private blockchain networks.
Bottomline processes more than USD 16 trillion in payments each year and serves over 600 banking customers. The partnership aims to support blockchain settlement while keeping ISO 20022 financial messaging standards in place.
Daines' support for Chainlink comes as the company convenes financial institutions to discuss blockchain adoption. His ADAPT Act proposal would change tax rules for stablecoins, fees and other digital asset activity. Meanwhile, Chainlink's recent custody, gold-token and payments projects show the areas under discussion at the New York event.