Today in Crypto: PENGUIN memecoin surges following White House social media post, the Netherlands plans to tax unrealized capital gains on stocks, bonds and cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, the SEC has dismissed its civil action against Gemini with prejudice.
PENGUIN Memecoin surges 564%, traders attribute it to White House social media post
The Nietzschean Penguin (PENGUIN) memecoin surged by about 564% in 24 hours, which traders attributed to a social media post from the United States White House that went viral on Friday.
The White House X post featured a picture of US President Donald Trump and a penguin holding hands and walking through the snow, with a short message: “Embrace the penguin.”
PENGUIN traded at a market capitalization of about $387,000 before the post, according to SolanaFloor, and is currently trading at about $0.13, while boasting a market capitalization of over $135 million, data from DEXScreener shows.
The surge follows a disappointing year for memecoins, which experienced a downturn in 2025 after a token endorsed by Argentina’s President Javier Milei and a memecoin linked to US President Donald Trump imploded in value within days of launching.
Netherlands risks capital flight with unrealized gains tax on stocks, crypto
The Netherlands plans to tax unrealized capital gains on a range of investments, including stocks, bonds and cryptocurrencies, sparking warnings of capital flight.
A majority of lawmakers in the Dutch parliament appear ready to back changes to the country’s Box 3 asset tax regime, which would require investors to pay annual tax on both realized and unrealized gains, even if assets have not been sold, NL Times reported on Tuesday.
The plan follows court rulings that struck down the existing system for relying on assumed, rather than actual, returns. The Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives) debated the proposal again this week, with more than 130 questions put to caretaker State Secretary for Taxation Eugène Heijnen.
While many lawmakers acknowledged flaws in the plan, most signaled they would support it, citing an estimated 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) per year in lost revenue if implementation is delayed further.
SEC drops civil action against Gemini with prejudice
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil lawsuit against Gemini Trust Company and Genesis Global Capital in the Earn-related unregistered securities case has been dismissed with prejudice.
Court filings show the parties submitted a joint stipulation to dismiss the action on Friday in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York, effectively ending the SEC’s claim over Gemini’s crypto lending program with Genesis.
A federal judge still needs to sign off on the joint stipulation to dismiss.
The dismissal comes about nine months after the SEC paused the civil action in April 2024 when then-acting chairman Mark Uyeda was leading the agency.
The SEC was content with the dismissal based on a 100% in-kind return of Gemini Earn investors’ crypto assets through the Genesis bankruptcy case in mid-2024 and Gemini agreeing to contribute up to $40 million to help fund the full return of those crypto assets.
It also noted that Genesis already settled with the SEC by agreeing to pay a $21 million fine.
The SEC brought the case against the Winklevoss-led Gemini and Genesis in January 2023, during the Biden administration, when crypto-related lawsuits and investigations surged as part of a broader regulatory crackdown on the industry.
