What you'll read: The two biggest hurdles standing in the way of a Clarity Act floor vote are getting attention this week, though progress on one has been rocky so far. Plus, House lawmakers turn to crypto taxes; Eleanor sits down with Jenny Johnson and Adam Back at Proof of Talk to discuss the convergence of Wall Street and crypto; and a breakdown of the headlines shaping the industry this week.

Senate lawmakers working to reach an ethics agreement as part of efforts to advance the Clarity Act to a floor vote came away empty-handed after a closed-door meeting Tuesday, as first reported by Crypto In America.

It was the first time a bipartisan group of senators — including Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) — along with White House Crypto Council Executive Director Patrick Witt, had reconvened since reaching a tentative ethics agreement ahead of the Senate Banking Committee’s markup of the bill in May.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, key elements of that agreement — including a provision that would have allowed state attorneys general to sue the Department of Justice over a failure to enforce ethics provisions related to President Trump — were walked back by Republican members and the White House during the meeting amid concerns from senators outside the negotiations that such authority could also be used by both parties to target members of Congress.

The proposal has raised constitutional questions among legal experts.

“It’s fine for states to sue the federal government when it acts unconstitutionally, but the idea that state AGs could force DOJ to take action is just bonkers from a constitutional perspective,” J.W. Verret, an associate professor at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, told Crypto In America.

As an olive branch, Republicans proposed limiting enforcement authority to the Attorney General, and floated impeachment as an alternative potential remedy for ethics violations. Still, the offers were not enough to satisfy Democrats, who characterized them as an “about face” from the tentative agreement reached before the Banking Committee markup. Participants left the meeting frustrated, with one source describing the state of the negotiations as “rocky.”

The group is expected to reconvene Thursday in another attempt to break the impasse.

Ethics remains one of two major hurdles standing in the way of a floor vote, with Democrats, including Gallego and Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), indicating that their continued support for the legislation depends on the inclusion of strong ethics guardrails addressing President Trump’s crypto business interests. Since returning to office, Trump and his family have generated an estimated $2.3 billion from those ventures, according to Reuters.

Winning Over Law Enforcement

The other major hurdle is winning the support of law enforcement groups, which remain concerned that certain provisions in the Clarity Act could hinder their ability to investigate and prosecute criminals who use blockchain technology to facilitate money laundering and other illicit activity.

In an effort to address those concerns, the White House Crypto Council will host representatives from the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, National District Attorneys’ Association and other groups on Wednesday alongside officials from the Department of Justice, Treasury, FinCEN, and members of Congress.

The meeting is expected to focus on Section 604 of the bill, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which would clarify that certain non-custodial software developers are not liable for how third parties use their code unless they intended it to facilitate illicit activity. Some law enforcement groups worry the provision could make it harder to pursue bad actors operating onchain. Administration officials are expected to argue the language does not shield criminals from prosecution and preserves law enforcement's ability to combat money laundering, sanctions evasion, and other illicit activity.

Just as resolving the ethics debate is key to winning Democratic support for the bill, so too is addressing concerns from law enforcement. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), have signaled they will not support the legislation unless law enforcement believes those concerns have been adequately addressed.

Meanwhile, time is of the essence. The Senate has just 31 session days remaining before the August recess, which many lawmakers and lobbyists view as the unofficial deadline for passing the Clarity Act before Congress turns its focus to the midterm elections.

The Third Leg of the Stool: Crypto Taxes

The House Ways and Means Committee turned its attention Tuesday to what many in the crypto industry view as the final piece of the policy puzzle after stablecoins and market structure: taxes.

During a hearing on digital asset taxation, Congress’ chief tax-writing committee examined six Republican-led bills and a discussion draft aimed at modernizing how crypto is treated under the U.S. tax code.

The proposals address everything from mining and staking rewards to reporting requirements, crypto donations, tax treatment parity, voluntary disclosure, and the application of existing anti-abuse rules to digital assets. A separate discussion draft targets the use of offshore crypto tax shelters.

The three-hour hearing underscored growing momentum behind efforts to address long-standing tax issues facing the industry, but also revealed a more measured approach among Democrats, several of whom stressed the need to move deliberately before rewriting portions of the tax code to accommodate digital assets.

“We’re wading into a novel topic with a degree of caution, which is an important consideration,” said the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA).

Despite broad support for Congress tackling crypto taxes, not all industry participants were satisfied with the proposals. Among the biggest complaints was the absence of a de minimis exemption for small Bitcoin transactions, which would allow users to make small purchases with the asset without triggering capital gains reporting requirements. Others argued the package leaves several key areas of the digital asset ecosystem without clear guidance.

"Yesterday's Ways and Means hearing delivered real substance," said Trish Turner, Tax Director and EA at Crypto Tax Girl and a former IRS Digital Asset Senior Advisor. "The voluntary disclosure program and staking clarity are meaningful wins. But DeFi, fraud victims, and the broader international tax framework remain largely unaddressed."

Industry leaders are expected to continue working with lawmakers on the proposals, but time is not on their side. With the midterm elections approaching and control of the House up for grabs, it remains unclear whether Congress can forge a bipartisan consensus before legislative priorities shift elsewhere.

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Data from 4M+ fraud attempts and 300+ crypto companies surveyed. See how your peers are adapting here.

Does Crypto Need Wall Street, or Does Wall Street Need Crypto?

This week on the podcast, we air Eleanor’s interview from the 2026 Proof of Talk Conference in Paris with Blockstream co-founder Adam Back and Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson.

The conversation explores the convergence of Wall Street and crypto, including whether institutional adoption is at odds with Bitcoin’s original cypherpunk vision or simply the next stage of its evolution. Back and Johnson discuss the rise of crypto ETFs, tokenization, self-custody, and wallet-native finance, and why some of Wall Street’s hesitation to move onchain stems from the fact that blockchain technology threatens many of the business models that traditional finance relies on today.

They also dive into the future of tokenized money market funds, the growing use of digital assets as collateral, the debate over stablecoin yield, and why both speakers believe the lines between traditional finance and crypto will continue to blur in the years ahead.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

Midweek Recap

ICYMI: Here are some of the biggest stories making headlines this week.

• The CFTC unveiled its first proposed rule for prediction markets, outlining how the agency would determine whether event contracts violate federal restrictions on markets tied to areas such as war, terrorism, assassination, illegal activity, and gaming.

• CME Group launched Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures tied to a basket of leading cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, ether, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, bitcoin cash, and XLM.

• Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says Robinhood Securities has won approval to underwrite IPOs and plans to be "disruptive" in the market.

• SpaceX's IPO has reportedly attracted more than $250 billion in investor demand, nearly four times the $75 billion the company is seeking to raise.

• Sam Bankman-Fried has formally applied for a pardon from President Trump, two years after being convicted of fraud in connection with the collapse of FTX.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

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What you'll read: Crypto taxes take center stage this week as negotiations over the Clarity Act drag on. Plus, what we're watching this week and a roundup of weekend headlines.

The House will turn its attention to crypto tax reform this week as Senate lawmakers continue negotiations to bring the Clarity Act to the floor.

The lower chamber’s chief tax-writing committee, Ways and Means, will take up the issue Tuesday afternoon in a hearing featuring experts from Fidelity, Coinbase, Coin Center and New York University. The committee will also examine seven discussion drafts that would overhaul how digital assets are taxed in the United States.

The bills effectively break apart the broader Digital Asset PARITY Act introduced in December by Reps. Max Miller (R-OH) and Steven Horsford (D-NV), along with similar legislation from Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), into a series of standalone proposals covering stablecoin transactions, mining and staking, crypto lending, wash sale rules, charitable donations and taxpayer disclosures.

The move has received praise from some of the industry's leading advocacy groups, including The Digital Chamber, The Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation. The Digital Sovereignty Alliance, which promotes ethical innovation in blockchain, described the effort as one of the most consequential developments yet in U.S. crypto tax policy.

“Breaking the PARITY Act into seven standalone drafts on staking, mining, lending, and wash sales gives lawmakers a clearer path to get the details right rather than rushing an omnibus,” the group said.

The reaction has not been uniformly positive. Some industry participants have privately raised concerns about specific provisions in the package, though none were willing to speak publicly ahead of Tuesday's hearing.

Illinois Crypto Tax Backlash

The federal tax debate comes as Illinois prepares to implement a sweeping $56 billion state budget that includes a controversial 0.2% tax on certain digital asset transactions, a measure industry groups warn could drive crypto businesses and investment out of the state.

“I think the legislature, by adding this 20 basis point tax…is truly telling you to pack your bags and move,” Olta Andoni, executive director of the Illinois Blockchain Association, told Crypto In America.

In a joint letter, the Illinois Blockchain Association and the Digital Chamber called the legislation substantively unsound, procedurally deficient, and economically destructive, urging the legislature to reconsider the measure.

Illinois is home to more than 300 startups and established firms focused on crypto and blockchain technology. Its largest city, Chicago, is a global hub for futures and derivatives trading, with institutions such as CME Group and Cboe offering regulated crypto products and exposure to digital assets.

The state budget has cleared the legislature and now awaits Governor JB Pritzker’s signature.

Clarity Act Negotiations Roll On

Efforts to bring the Clarity Act to the Senate floor are set to continue this week as lawmakers and the White House work to close remaining gaps on ethics and DeFi and reconcile the Banking and Agriculture Committee texts.

Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) told Crypto In America on Wednesday that while a vote before the July 4 recess remains possible, the bill is more likely to be taken up after lawmakers return on July 13.

“We have to wrap the Banking Committee bill with the Ag Committee’s bill, with the ethics provisions, with some changes to the Genius Act,” Lummis said. “And so to get all of those pushed into one bill and then get the 60 votes necessary for cloture on the floor of the Senate might take a little more time than the Fourth of July.”

The GENIUS Act changes Lummis referenced stem from an amendment offered by Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) during the Banking Committee markup that makes a number of technical revisions to the legislation passed last year.

Although ethics provisions and securing law enforcement buy-in for the current DeFi language remain top priorities, the debate over stablecoin yield continues to simmer beneath the surface. Banking groups are ramping up their campaign against the Clarity Act’s stablecoin yield compromise, with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recently signaling that banks remain opposed to the bill’s current approach.

At the heart of the dispute is whether stablecoins will pull deposits away from traditional banks. Banking groups argue the bill's yield compromise could still lead to deposit migration, while supporters say those fears are overblown and that banks can benefit from integrating digital asset services into their existing offerings.

Last week, former Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, who served as ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, spoke at a Republican lunch on the importance of passing the Clarity Act. According to sources familiar with the remarks, Toomey sought to reassure lawmakers that banks’ fears of deposit migration are largely overstated as the banking lobby works to convince senators that supporting the bill could come at the expense of local banks.

Lummis echoed that view, arguing that the growth of stablecoins has not come at the expense of the banking system.

“If you look at the statistics, as stablecoins have been issued and become embedded in our economy, deposits in banks have gone up,” Lummis said. “Those are the kind of facts that we need to share… so they can see that these types of financial products can coexist.”

Meanwhile, the industry's lobbying campaign is also intensifying. On Monday, more than 200 crypto organizations signed a letter urging Senate leaders to quickly bring the Clarity Act to the floor.

👀 What To Watch This Week

Monday

10:15 a.m.: SEC Chair Paul Atkins will speak at the National Investor Relations Institute conference in Chicago.

ETHConf kicks off its three-day event in New York City.

Tuesday

9:30 a.m.: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce kicks off its Capital Markets Summit, which will feature discussions on the future of banking as well as a panel on "nonbank systemic risk" featuring Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Ji Kim.

2:00 p.m.: The House Ways and Means Committee holds a hearing on crypto tax reform.

Wednesday

8:30 a.m.: The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the May Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key inflation gauge.

Thursday

10:00 a.m.: The Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing on artificial intelligence.

Friday

10:00 a.m.: The University of Michigan publishes its May consumer sentiment survey.

11:00 a.m.: The House Financial Services Committee's Task Force on Monetary Policy holds a hearing examining the structure of the Federal Reserve System.

Weekend News Flash

ICYMI: The biggest headlines from Friday and the weekend.

• Bitcoin is back above $63,000 as corporate buyers continue to accumulate, with Strategy adding $100 million worth of bitcoin and Vivek Ramaswamy's Strive acquiring 32 BTC.

• Grayscale filed for a Canton spot ETF.

• JPMorgan, Citi and other major U.S. banks are planning a tokenized deposit network aimed at competing with the growing influence of stablecoins and crypto-native firms.

• Better and Coinbase have issued the first Fannie Mae-backed U.S. mortgage using bitcoin as collateral.

• The Fed's Beige Book shows steady employment and modest economic growth across the U.S., though inflation is beginning to rise amid higher energy prices tied to the conflict in the Middle East.

• CME data now implies just a 4% chance of a Fed rate cut this year following a stronger-than-expected jobs report that showed the U.S. added 172,000 jobs in May while unemployment held steady at 4.3%.

• Coinbase is launching pre-IPO trading exposure, starting with a perpetual futures contract tied to SpaceX.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

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What you'll read: A new PAC launches to back lawmakers supporting legal protections for blockchain developers, putting a key Clarity Act debate front and center; plus Fairshake racks up more wins and BitGo CEO Mike Belshe joins the podcast.

The battle for crypto developer protections is moving from Capitol Hill to the campaign trail.

A new hybrid political action committee called Defend Developers PAC launched Wednesday with a mission focused specifically on championing American crypto developers, DeFi builders and blockchain technologists, according to details shared first with Crypto in America.

The PAC bills itself as the first political organization dedicated exclusively to supporting members of Congress who champion legal protections for developers building blockchain software and decentralized technologies.

The issue has emerged as one of the key flashpoints in negotiations over the Clarity Act, with supporters arguing developers should not be held liable for how their software is used and law enforcement groups warning the protections could make it harder to prosecute bad actors.

It comes as 160 former national security, intelligence, and law enforcement officials signed a letter organized by the Blockchain Association urging Senate leadership to swiftly pass the Clarity Act, arguing that the bill preserves prosecutors' and investigators' ability to pursue illicit activity involving digital assets.

“For too long, developers building decentralized technologies have faced regulatory uncertainty and enforcement actions instead of clear rules and guidelines,” said Gavin Zavatone, founder of DDPAC and policy lead at the DeFi Education Fund, one of the crypto industry's leading DeFi advocacy groups. “While legislation and rulemakings are being written as we speak, for some policymakers there is limited incentive to understand the fundamental nature of software development.”

The group, whose board includes executives from the DeFi Education Fund, Solana Policy Institute, Uniswap Labs, American Innovation Project and Orca Creative, plans to support only incumbent members of Congress, arguing that donor dollars have the greatest impact when directed toward lawmakers already shaping policy.

The PAC said it plans to raise and deploy more than six figures across dozens of congressional races during the midterms, with funding coming primarily from crypto founders, builders and executives with a stake in the future of DeFi regulation.

“Crypto technologists deserve champions in Congress who will go to bat for them,” said Zavatone.

The crypto industry is hosting law enforcement voices on Capitol Hill today. A fly-in organized by the Blockchain Association brings former national security, intelligence, and law enforcement officials to Washington, many of whom signed the letter urging Senate leadership to pass the Clarity Act. The day kicks off with a breakfast briefing, followed by meetings with members and staff from roughly 18 Senate offices.

The group will also host a virtual town hall Thursday featuring congressional and White House leaders, including Senator. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), and White House Crypto Council Executive Director Patrick Witt.

Fairshake Sweeps in California

Meanwhile, crypto's largest industry-backed super PAC continued its winning streak Tuesday, backing a slate of candidates who advanced through their primaries.

Fairshake spent roughly $2.8 million supporting Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Mike McGuire (CA-01), Jacqui Irwin (CA-26), Rep. George Whitesides (CA-27), Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36), Hilda Solis (CA-38), Rep. Dave Min (CA-47), and Rep. Lou Correa (CA-46). Rep. Lateefah Simon (CA-12) advanced uncontested.

The group’s spending also included support for Rep. Bob Menendez Jr. (NJ-08) and Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD), both of whom won their primaries. Rounds secured a whopping 77% of the vote.

Fairshake did not weigh in on crypto skeptic Rep. Brad Sherman’s race to advance to the general election, where he will face Republican Larry Thompson in November in a rematch for California’s 32nd Congressional District seat.

Thompson, a crypto-friendly candidate who picked up endorsements from industry leaders during his 2024 challenge to Sherman, finished ahead of Democrat and former Biden White House official Jake Levine, who also received support from individual crypto donors.

Despite Sherman’s persistent anti-crypto stance, Fairshake may have little incentive to spend heavily against him. Sherman defeated Thompson by more than 32 points in 2024 and remains heavily favored in the deep-blue district heading into November.

Next up, Fairshake turns its attention to Maryland's 5th Congressional District, where it has spent roughly $3.1 million backing State Delegate Adrian Boafo in a crowded Democratic primary set for June 23.

A new poll commissioned by the super PAC found Boafo leading the crowded Democratic primary field with 17% support, up from 5% in April and just 3% before Fairshake began spending in the race.

Boafo also boasts the highest favorability rating in the field at 40%, aided by endorsements from Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) and Governor Wes Moore.

Crypto compliance isn’t slowing teams down anymore. It’s becoming a growth lever.

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Their free State of the Crypto Industry 2026 report covers how the industry has shifted into a regulated maturity era: smarter fraud, higher expectations, and a new playbook for teams that want to scale. Inside: how to balance friction and conversion, where Travel Rule gaps remain, and why verification is now a competitive edge, not a checkbox.

Data from 4M+ fraud attempts and 300+ crypto companies surveyed. See how your peers are adapting here.

The CEO Behind $100B in Crypto Custody on Banking, Stablecoins, and Regulation

This week on the podcast, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe joined us for a wide-ranging conversation on crypto's next chapter.

We discussed BitGo’s IPO, the state of the market, the future of stablecoins, and why Belshe believes banking is headed for its biggest disruption in decades. He also shared his views on Fed master accounts, crypto regulation under the Trump administration, and how BitGo is helping bridge the gap between Wall Street and the digital asset economy.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

If you like what you’re reading, don’t forget to subscribe!

Subscribe now

What you'll read: The latest on the Clarity Act, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon signals banks aren't giving up the fight over stablecoin yield, and why Custodia Bank may be headed to SCOTUS in its fight for a Fed master account. Plus, what we're watching this week.

The Senate returns from its Memorial Day recess today and has roughly four weeks before breaking again for a two-week hiatus around America’s 250th Birthday.

Before then, lawmakers will need to tackle a reconciliation bill that includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security and potentially President Trump's White House ballroom, additional Pentagon funding requests, and a possible vote on reauthorizing Section 702 of FISA before the current extension expires on June 12.

And then, of course, there’s the Clarity Act, which proponents are hoping to put on the Senate floor before July 4th. Whether that’s realistic remains an open question given the upper chamber’s crowded agenda and the fact that the voting process could take anywhere from one to two weeks.

The market structure bill is also facing more than just a time crunch, as staffers work to reconcile the Senate Banking Committee's version with the Senate Agriculture Committee's text passed earlier this year, a process that could prove more time consuming than originally anticipated.

Here's why: The Senate Agriculture Committee's version passed on a 12-11 party-line vote with no Democratic support on January 29. Industry attention then became consumed by the fight over stablecoin yield, a months-long negotiation between crypto and banking interests that one participant described as "sucking all the oxygen out of the broader process."

Now, with that battle largely settled (at least for now), Crypto In America has learned that lawmakers and industry participants are turning back to unresolved differences in the Agriculture Committee's text, several of which remain under negotiation.

Convincing at least some Senate Agriculture Democrats to change their positions will be critical. The bill will need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, making bipartisan cooperation essential to its path through the Senate.

Banking Committee Democrats Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) voted to advance the bill out of committee, but have said their continued support hinges on reaching an agreement around ethics guardrails for government officials dealing in cryptocurrency, a process Gallego has described as being close to the finish line. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), one of the bill's lead architects on the Dem side, has said ethics provisions are non-negotiable for Democratic support.

Other Democrats, including Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA), have sought additional assurances that law enforcement agencies will retain the tools needed to pursue bad actors operating in decentralized finance, though some industry participants worry this could mean further watering down of legal protections for software developers.

Deadline Realities

While proponents are eager to see crypto market structure legislation move back to the House, failing to get the Clarity Act through the Senate before July 4th would not necessarily be the end of the road for the bill.

Some observers have pointed to the August recess as the bill’s effective deadline, arguing that once lawmakers become consumed by campaign season, other priorities tend to fall by the wayside.

Others disagree.

“A lot has been made about deadlines, but in my opinion there is enough political capital invested in this that it would be hard to see it falling off the agenda for the remainder of the 119th Congress,” said Adam Minehardt, Chief Policy Officer at Hyperliquid Policy Center and a former Congressional staffer.

Still, Minehardt cautioned that the political calculus could change if the bill slips into next year and the midterm elections test whether crypto's political momentum can withstand a shift in congressional leadership.

Jamie Dimon Isn't Happy With the Clarity Act. Neither Is the Bank Lobby.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon didn’t hold back in his criticism of crypto market structure legislation, suggesting the nation’s largest bank won’t accept the current text as written.

Asked whether he was satisfied with the Clarity Act during an interview at the Ronald Reagan National Economic Forum on Friday, Dimon said no, citing concerns with the stablecoin yield compromise and what he described as insufficient consumer protections.

“It allows them to effectively pay interest on deposits, stablecoins or something like that… and doesn’t do anything for AML, BSA and there’s almost no legal protections, and the banks will not accept it that way,” he said.

Dimon’s comments come as Senate leadership eyes a floor vote on the Clarity Act in the coming weeks and as banking groups prepare a fresh lobbying campaign to change the stablecoin yield compromise brokered by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), which they argue does not go far enough to prohibit the payment of yield or interest on stablecoins.

Banking groups like the American Bankers Association have already generated more than 22,000 letters to senators and over 4,500 signatures on a separate petition opposing the current stablecoin framework, according to a source familiar with the effort. People involved in the campaign say the focus is now expanding beyond Congress, with banks making their case to small business owners, farmers and consumers whom they believe could lose access to credit if stablecoins ultimately begin drawing deposits away from the banking system.

The banking industry is not united on the issue. Several large institutions that are less reliant on consumer deposits have signaled greater openness to the compromise, viewing it as a pathway to expanded participation in the digital asset industry.

Meanwhile, the crypto industry appears largely satisfied with where the compromise landed. Coinbase, which fiercely opposed the original yield language released in January, has since moved on to other priorities. Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal told Crypto In America that the banking industry ultimately won a major concession by securing a ban on rewards paid on idle stablecoin balances.

Coinbase's revamped Direct Deposit feature, which rolled out last week as part of a suite of products announced in December and allows customers to direct all or part of their paychecks into the platform and earn yield and rewards on those balances, has raised eyebrows in the banking industry. Critics say it demonstrates that the current stablecoin yield compromise still leaves room for crypto firms to compete for customer balances traditionally held by banks. Others view it as a niche product unlikely to attract many customers beyond existing crypto users, but a sign that crypto firms are increasingly positioning themselves as competitors to traditional banks.

Supporters of the program counter that if the Clarity Act becomes law, the offering would likely be modified as needed to comply with the bill’s stablecoin yield provisions.

Dimon, for his part, made little effort to hide his disdain for Coinbase and CEO Brian Armstrong, refusing to mention either by name. When the interviewer suggested Armstrong was speaking on behalf of the broader crypto industry, Dimon shot back that he was "full of shit."

Custodia Bank Appears Poised to Take Federal Reserve Fight to the Supreme Court

It appears Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long is preparing to take her fight with the Federal Reserve to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As first reported by Crypto In America on Friday, Justice Neil Gorsuch has granted Custodia additional time to file a petition for certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to review a divided 10th Circuit ruling that sided with the Federal Reserve in the bank’s years-long battle over access to a master account.

Long had no comment.

The petition is due July 11 and, if accepted by the high court, would mark Custodia’s final legal avenue after the 10th Circuit rejected the Wyoming crypto bank’s request for a full court rehearing earlier this year.

That denial came after a split 2-1 panel ruling in October that found the Federal Reserve’s regional reserve banks have legal discretion to deny master accounts. The panel sided with a Wyoming district judge, who concluded the Fed was not required to grant Custodia access despite its status as an eligible depository institution.

While the dispute centers on master account access, some legal observers believe the case could ultimately raise broader questions about the authority exercised by the Federal Reserve’s twelve regional Reserve Banks and the extent to which those decisions are subject to judicial review. Such questions could have implications that extend beyond Custodia, potentially touching on the role and accountability of regional Reserve Bank officials within the broader Federal Reserve System.

The Supreme Court agreeing to hear the case remains a long shot. The Court accepts only a small fraction of petitions filed each year, though Custodia enters the process with the backing of three appellate judges who favored rehearing the case.

👀 What To Watch This Week

Monday

The Senate is back in session.

HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE) will report earnings after the bell.

Tuesday

The House is back in session.

The Proof of Talk Conference kicks off in Paris, France.

Eleanor will moderate a fireside chat with Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson and Blockstream CEO Adam Back. Jacquelyn will moderate a fireside chat with Canton Foundation Co-Chair Jorgen Ouaknine and Aave Labs founder Stani Kulechov.

Wednesday

8:15 a.m.: ADP publishes its May employment report.

10:00 a.m.: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on the administration's Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

2:00 p.m.: The Federal Reserve publishes its Beige Book, giving a snapshot of economic conditions across the country.

Thursday

8:30 a.m.: The Bureau of Labor Statistics announces Q1 productivity figures.

10:00 a.m.: The House Financial Services Committee hears testimony from the prudential financial regulators.

The SEC's Investor Advisory Committee meets to discuss private markets, proxy voting and fund reporting.

Friday

8:30 a.m.: The BLS releases the May jobs report and unemployment rate.

3:00 p.m.: The Federal Reserve publishes consumer credit numbers.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

If you like what you’re reading, don’t forget to subscribe!

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What you’ll read: Crypto emerged a winner after spending millions in the Texas primary runoffs; President Trump wades into the prediction markets debate; Senator Elizabeth Warren sparks backlash for criticizing crypto trust charter approvals; Scott Shay from N3XT joins the podcast; and other stories making headlines this week.

Crypto went 6-for-6 backing winning candidates in the Texas primary runoffs Tuesday night, potentially proving the $2.5 trillion industry’s political influence is still alive and well in U.S. politics.

The industry’s leading super PAC, Fairshake, took credit for helping 38-year-old freshman Rep. Christian Menefee unseat 20-year incumbent Rep. Al Green, 78, in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas’s 18th Congressional District after spending roughly $6.5 million on the race, largely on ads backing Menefee.

“Rep. Green’s defeat proves that anti-crypto hostility carries real electoral consequences, making him the first Democratic incumbent this cycle to lose his seat,” spokesman Geoff Vetter said. “Fairshake was the difference-maker in this race, and we will continue to aggressively back leaders like Rep. Menefee across the country.”

Green, 78, who received an “F” rating from advocacy group Stand With Crypto for voting against pro-crypto legislation like the GENIUS and Clarity Acts, received just 31% of the vote.

Elsewhere, candidates Alex Mealer (TX-09), Tom Sell (TX-19), John Bonck (TX-38), and Carlos De La Cruz (TX-35) all won their respective races after receiving a combined $1.8 million in backing from Fairshake.

The Blockchain Leadership Fund, backed by Anchorage and Chainlink, also endorsed Menefee and Bonck with direct donations to their campaigns, though the PAC has yet to disclose individual expenditure amounts for each candidate.

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s upset win over Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican Senate primary runoff had some crypto money behind it as well.

Fellowship PAC, which received a $10 million contribution from Cantor Fitzgerald and is chaired by a Tether executive, reported spending $500,000 on ads supporting Paxton last week. The spending followed President Trump’s endorsement of Paxton and came after the PAC suspended a planned $1.75 million ad buy for him in April.

Races To Watch

With Texas now in the rearview, Fairshake’s next target appears to be Maryland, where state lawmaker Adrian Boafo is running in the June Democratic primary for the state’s 5th Congressional District. The super PAC has spent roughly $2.12 million backing Boafo so far.

Next week, the crypto industry will be eyeing California’s top-two primary in the state’s 32nd Congressional District, where longtime crypto critic Rep. Brad Sherman faces former Biden White House official Jake Levine in a race to advance to November’s general election.

Sherman’s campaign has been sending out mailers warning about the “dishonest” and “dark underworld” of cryptocurrency, echoing the anti-crypto messaging used by candidates targeted by Fairshake and other crypto PACs in 2024.

Despite Sherman’s rhetoric, no major crypto PAC funds have been deployed in the race yet. It’s possible outside groups are waiting to see whether Sherman advances out of the top-two primary before committing money to the general election.

Trump Backs CFTC in Prediction Market Fight

President Trump endorsed the CFTC’s push for federal preemption of prediction markets, calling it “critically important” that the agency maintain exclusive authority over them.

In a Truth Social post Tuesday, Trump said his administration is setting the “gold standard” for states, while criticizing state officials who have recently opposed the CFTC’s effort to claim exclusive jurisdiction over what the agency views as an innovative financial technology, but what many states argue are effectively traditional gambling operations.

“We cannot have SCUM like Chris Christie, Letitia James, Tim Walz, and JB Pritzker setting the rules!” he wrote. “Other Countries are after this new form of Financial Market, and we want to remain at the top.”

The issue is currently being litigated in several federal district courts, with both the CFTC and a handful of states suing over who has the authority to regulate prediction markets. Many legal experts believe the dispute will eventually end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the same post, Trump also gave a nod to his pick for CFTC Chair, Michael Selig, who assumed the role at the end of last year. His comments come on the heels of a New York Times article alleging the CFTC has allowed crypto and prediction markets to reign supreme and “steamroll[]” regulators, in part due to Trump’s financial interests in both industries.

Those ties include Donald Trump Jr. serving as an adviser to Kalshi and investing in Polymarket through the venture capital firm 1789 Capital, as well as Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, announcing plans to offer prediction markets through a partnership with Crypto.com.

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Their free State of the Crypto Industry 2026 report covers how the industry has shifted into a regulated maturity era: smarter fraud, higher expectations, and a new playbook for teams that want to scale. Inside: how to balance friction and conversion, where Travel Rule gaps remain, and why verification is now a competitive edge, not a checkbox.

Data from 4M+ fraud attempts and 300+ crypto companies surveyed. See how your peers are adapting here.

Scott Shay: Crypto and Traditional Banking Are Fundamentally Incompatible

This week on the podcast, we sit down with Scott Shay, founder of narrow bank N3XT and founder and former chairman of Signature Bank, who explains why he believes crypto and traditional banking are fundamentally incompatible systems and why Wall Street may be moving too fast in adopting digital assets.

Shay takes us on a deep dive into fractional vs. full reserve banking, stablecoins, and Fed master accounts, and why he believes crypto rails will eventually force a complete rethink of the modern banking system.

He also shares his perspective on the fall of Signature Bank, Operation Choke Point 2.0, and why he says the government ultimately “shredded” Signet, the internal crypto payments network he helped pioneer.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

OCC Crypto Trust Charter Approvals Back in the Spotlight

Just days after the Senate Banking Committee handed the crypto industry a major win by advancing a landmark market structure bill, the committee’s top Democrat was back to warning that the industry is receiving special treatment from regulators and sidestepping existing banking laws.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould on May 18 questioning the legality of the OCC’s recent national trust charter approvals for several “seemingly ineligible” crypto firms, including Coinbase, Ripple, BitGo and Paxos, arguing the companies appear to be using the charters to engage in broader banking activities without being subject to the same safeguards and oversight as full-service banks.

Since December, the OCC has granted conditional or full trust charter approvals to at least eight crypto firms, drawing backlash from banking trade groups like the Bank Policy Institute, which warned the move could “significantly increase risks to the U.S. financial system.”

“Your decision to facilitate this regulatory arbitrage not only conflicts with federal law, it also poses serious risks to consumers, the safety and soundness of the banking system, and the separation of banking and commerce,” Warren wrote.

While Gould has not yet officially responded to Warren’s letter, an OCC spokesperson pointed Crypto In America to a February tweet in which Gould defended the charter application process, saying applications are evaluated under capital, compliance and safety and soundness standards in the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual.

Warren’s claims that the crypto firms were improperly granted national trust charters drew swift pushback from crypto trade association The Digital Chamber, which sent its own letter to Gould defending the approvals.

"The characterization of these approvals as 'apparent violations' of the National Bank Act misreads both the statute and the OCC's longstanding charter authority," said TDC CEO Cody Carbone in the letter.

In an open letter to Warren, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe argued that the firm should not be treated like a traditional bank because it does not take deposits or lend out customer funds, but instead operates as a regulated custodian safeguarding customer crypto assets, which, he says, is the exact type of business national trust charters were designed for.

Midweek Recap

ICYMI: Here are some of the biggest stories making headlines this week.

• Mastercard said it secured a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services, allowing it to offer crypto services in New York State.

• Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) joined Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) in cosponsoring the SAFE Crypto Act, a bill introduced in December aimed at strengthening coordination between federal agencies, law enforcement, and the crypto industry to combat cryptocurrency scams and fraud.

• Ondo Finance said the company’s president, Ian De Bode, will become CEO following the unexpected death of founder and CEO Nathan Allman.

• SoFi became the first full-service U.S. national bank to offer a stablecoin running on public blockchain rails directly to customers, allowing users to buy, sell, and hold SoFiUSD inside the SoFi app.

• The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at new all-time highs as Micron (MU) led a big rally in chips with gains of 19%.

• Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index fell to -45 in May, its lowest level since October 2022, with 76% of Americans saying economic conditions are worsening.

• DTCC announced plans to enable DTC tokenized assets on the Stellar network, with the integration expected to go live in the first half of 2027.

• Tom Lee’s Ethereum treasury company BitMine increased its holdings to 5.39 million ETH, worth roughly $11 billion and equal to about 4.47% of Ethereum’s total supply.

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins said he would be open to loosening decades-old rules that restrict certain public communications by companies during the IPO process in an effort to encourage more firms to go public.

• Ethereum treasury firm SharpLink Gaming and Solana treasury firm Forward Industries will join the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes on June 29.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

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What you’ll read: A new crypto-backed PAC rolls out its first slate of midterm endorsements while SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce prepares for her next chapter in academia.

A new bipartisan hybrid PAC backed by members of the crypto industry announced its first slate of endorsements for the 2026 midterm elections on Thursday, throwing its support behind a mix of Republicans and Democrats across several key Senate and House races, Crypto In America has learned.

The Blockchain Leadership Fund, established in March by crypto firms Anchorage Digital and Chainlink, said its inaugural endorsements, which will come in the form of campaign donations, reflect an effort to support candidates focused on keeping digital asset innovation in the United States and pushing for clearer rules for the industry as crypto policy efforts accelerate in Washington following the advancement of the Clarity Act through the Senate Banking Committee last week.

The PAC has not yet disclosed individual expenditure amounts for each candidate.

Among the Senate contenders receiving support are Barry Moore (R-AL), who is running to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Tommy Tuberville as he campaigns for governor of Alabama; Kurt Alme (R-MT), who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Steve Daines after he announced in March he would not seek re-election; and Jon Husted (R-OH), who is running against former Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s special election after Brown lost his seat in 2024 to Bernie Moreno following a roughly $40 million spending campaign by industry-backed super PAC Fairshake.

The group is also backing Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-MN), who is currently in a hotly contested Democratic primary for Minnesota’s open Senate seat being vacated by Senator Tina Smith.

On the House side, the PAC is backing Republican candidate Houston Gaines, a Georgia state lawmaker running for the state’s open 10th Congressional District seat; Jim Kingston, the son of former Congressman Jack Kingston who is running for Georgia’s open 1st Congressional District seat; and Jon Bonck, a Trump-endorsed Republican running for Texas’ open 38th Congressional District seat.

For Democrats, the list includes Adrian Boafo, a Maryland state lawmaker running for Congress in the state’s 5th Congressional District; Christian Menefee, the Texas Democrat who won a 2026 special election to succeed the late Sylvester Turner and is now running for a full term; and North Carolina Congressman Don Davis, who is seeking reelection in the state’s 1st Congressional District.

The PAC said it plans to continue evaluating candidates throughout the election cycle and announce additional support for leaders at the federal, state and local levels who back what it describes as responsible digital asset policy.

Crypto Task Force Chief Hester Peirce to Join Regent University Law School

SEC Commissioner and Crypto Task Force chief Hester Peirce has chosen her next career move after the securities regulator, and it’s not beekeeping. At least not full time.

Starting in November, Peirce will join Virginia’s Regent University Law School as an Associate Professor where she will help expand the school’s academic work in areas like securities regulation, financial markets and digital assets.

“I am looking forward to my next chapter as a professor but, until I leave the Commission, my focus is on the work of the SEC, including the work of the Crypto Task Force,” Peirce told Crypto In America.

Peirce was appointed to the Commission by President Trump in 2018 and has been an advocate for clearer regulatory guidelines for the crypto industry throughout her tenure, frequently criticizing the Biden-era SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement approach to digital assets and earning her the nickname “Crypto Mom.” That stance later helped secure her position as head of the Crypto Task Force, an initiative created at the start of President Trump’s second term to develop clearer market rules for crypto companies around trading, custody, token sales and decentralized finance.

Since launching last year, the Crypto Task Force has held hundreds of meetings with industry participants, hosted a series of public roundtables and worked with SEC staff to issue guidance aimed at clarifying how existing securities laws apply to digital assets, including around custody, token issuance, disclosure obligations and the treatment of certain crypto activities under federal securities laws.

With Peirce set to begin her new role in six months, the White House may soon begin ramping up its search for her successor. One name that has surfaced in recent months is Ammon Simon, Peirce’s former advisor at the SEC, who now serves as Chief Counsel on the Senate Banking Committee and has already interviewed with Chairman Paul Atkins about the position, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Other reports suggest at least two additional names are also under consideration, though it remains unclear how far along those discussions are.

Since the start of his presidency, Trump has not nominated any new commissioners to either of the market regulators. The SEC is currently operating with just three of its five commissioner seats filled, while the CFTC is down to a single sitting commissioner: Chairman Michael Selig.

Midweek Recap

ICYMI: Here are some of the biggest stories making headlines this week.

• The Federal Reserve issued notices of proposed rulemaking for payment accounts, also known as “skinny master accounts,” marking the next formal step in Governor Waller’s push to allow eligible fintech and crypto firms access to the Fed’s payments system for clearing and settlement purposes.

• President Trump signed two executive orders aimed at cutting barriers for fintech and crypto firms while directing the Fed to explore expanded access to payment accounts and services for those companies.

• The SEC ended its decades-old “gag rule,” which required defendants settling enforcement actions to refrain from publicly denying the agency’s allegations, effectively preventing them from disputing the claims.

• Kevin Warsh is set to be sworn in by President Trump as the new chair of the Federal Reserve on Friday.

• In a letter to OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) questioned the agency’s approval of national trust charters for nine crypto firms, arguing the companies are seeking bank-like privileges without full banking oversight.

• Trump-backed platform Truth Social withdrew its application with the SEC to launch a Bitcoin ETF.

• SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the agency will soon seek public input on how to regulate a new wave of novel ETFs, including funds tied to event contracts.

• Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo has joined investment bank Jefferies as a senior advisor.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

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The fate of the crypto industry’s most consequential piece of legislation hung in the balance Thursday morning as negotiations to secure Democratic support came down to the wire.

Ten minutes into the Senate Banking Committee’s highly anticipated markup of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a small group of lawmakers quietly finalized a deal that ultimately propelled the legislation forward with bipartisan support, a breakthrough many believe significantly improves its prospects as it moves to the Senate floor.

The landmark bill, along with seven standalone amendments, advanced out of committee in a notable bipartisan 15-9 vote, with Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) joining all Republicans on the panel to send the legislation to the full Senate, a welcome surprise for many who had spent the previous 24 hours bracing for a strictly partisan markup that could have complicated the Clarity Act’s path forward.

“We went into the markup feeling somewhat defeated after learning Wednesday night that we were not going to get the bipartisan support we wanted,” said Cody Carbone, CEO of crypto trade association The Digital Chamber.

As Crypto In America reported, negotiations between committee Republicans and Democrats ended Wednesday night without a deal despite both sides having made what sources described as “significant progress” on establishing ethics guardrails for government officials, widely viewed as the primary obstacle to Democrats supporting the bill. However, talks stalled after discussions shifted to proposed changes to the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, legislation designed to shield non-custodial software developers from prosecution under money transmitter laws, that Republicans were unwilling to accept.

The standoff continued into Thursday morning, including through a meeting of the committee’s five pro-crypto Democrats — Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Alsobrooks, and Gallego — in Warner’s office, where they discussed strategy before heading to the Dirksen Senate Office Building for the 10:30 a.m. hearing.

“Members were still hashing it out as late as 10:29 a.m.,” one Banking staffer told Crypto In America. “It was pretty unbelievable.”

But it wasn’t until after Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) called the hearing to order that the winds began to shift, largely unbeknownst to the packed hearing room of reporters, industry stakeholders and administration officials whose attention was focused on the amendment drama unfolding on the dais. Much of the debate centered on which proposals would ultimately be allowed to receive votes after Scott initially ruled more than a dozen amendments from both Democrats and Republicans “out of order” due to administrative and drafting errors.

Back in the chamber off the hearing room, known as the “ante room,” a small bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Alsobrooks and Gallego, hastily gathered to strike a last-minute deal aimed at salvaging Democratic support.

“It was right after Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren’s opening statement that we started getting more positive signals from committee staff, telling us there was now a potential path to a deal,” Carbone, whose team was communicating remotely with staffers during the hearing, told Crypto In America.

After the compromise was struck, another staffer described the scene unfolding in the ante room as “chaotic and unprecedented,” with GOP aides handwriting draft statements and amendment language to reflect the agreed-upon changes, scrambling to print updated materials and rush them out to members in real time.

“It was one of the more interesting days of my Senate career,” the staffer said.

Ultimately, the deal agreed to by the group included several strategic revisions to five proposed Lummis amendments, including one that removed language from Section 301 of the bill referencing the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act in Section 604. The move has since raised concerns among some DeFi advocates who say the change could strip out critical protections for software developers as the bill moves forward.

Other key revisions included edits authorizing banks and credit unions to engage in digital asset activities, a small tweak relating to tokenization, a ban on insider trading involving ancillary assets, and language preserving state consumer protection laws. All of the new amendments were added back into the voting lineup at Scott’s direction and ultimately passed with bipartisan support, helping secure key votes from Gallego and Alsobrooks, both of whom indicated their support remains contingent on further work being done to the bill.

“I want to be clear: my vote here does not guarantee a vote on the floor,” Gallego said. “We have many outstanding issues still to resolve. Toughest and most critical of all is coming to an agreement on ethics guardrails for elected officials.”

Still, Gallego told reporters after the hearing that the ethics deal was at the “99-yard line,” signaling what could be a smoother path forward after weeks of rocky discussions over how to address President Trump’s crypto dealings.

Securing additional Democratic support from Warner, Cortez Masto and Warnock will likely depend on further negotiations aimed at addressing concerns from law enforcement groups, which argue portions of the bill could limit their ability to prosecute bad actors who exploit blockchain technology.

After surviving one of the more chaotic markups in recent Senate Banking Committee memory, the bill will now be merged with text from the Senate Agriculture Committee before heading to the Senate floor with fresh momentum and (lawmakers and their staff can only hope), fewer last-minute surprises.

What you’ll read: Inside the final push ahead of Thursday’s Clarity Act markup, from banking industry lobbying to ongoing ethics negotiations, plus our wide-ranging interview with CZ, co-founder and former CEO of Binance, and some of the week’s top stories.

Ahead of Thursday’s landmark vote in the Senate Banking Committee, the crypto industry is expressing cautious optimism that months of negotiations may have finally produced a workable version of market structure legislation.

Following the release of the latest 309-page draft of the Clarity Act in the early hours of Tuesday morning, industry players and policy leaders have taken to social media to voice approval that the bill is, at the very least, in a better place than it was in January, when key advocates like Coinbase withdrew support.

At a high level, the latest draft attempts to strike a middle ground between crypto and traditional finance by tightening rules around stablecoin yield and token offerings while preserving key protections for decentralized finance that were absent from earlier versions and sparked industry backlash in January. The bill also folds in a housing section aimed at creating a federal incentive program to encourage local housing growth, co-sponsored by Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), who previously wavered on whether he would back the sweeping crypto legislation but has since said he plans to vote in favor of advancing it on Thursday.

This morning, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong filmed a video message from inside the Capitol ahead of a Senate GOP lunch he is expected to attend this afternoon, calling the Clarity Act a “strong” bill that would “benefit the American people.” Managing Partner of a16z crypto Chris Dixon said the legislation had “significantly improved since January.”

AARP, one of the country’s largest advocacy groups for older Americans and retirees, has come out in support of the market structure bill, saying provisions aimed at regulating crypto kiosks and preserving state enforcement authority would help protect older Americans from fraud.

Some of the nation’s biggest banks have also privately expressed support for the bill, even as other corners of the banking industry wage an aggressive campaign against the controversial stablecoin yield compromise included in the text.

“We are supportive of the bill and really hope to see it pass out of committee on Thursday,” one executive at a major investment bank told Crypto In America. “It’s good for us, but also for the broader industry, to have more certainty and the ability to operate in an asset class the banking industry currently has limited ability to participate in.”

But, as Crypto In America has reported, the banking industry is far from unified. Large banks with retail arms, along with community banks concerned about the impact a burgeoning stablecoin market could have on their own businesses, are currently engaged in an intense lobbying push that includes an online advocacy portal, phone calls, and letters to Senate offices.

Members of the American Bankers Association, which claims to represent banks of all sizes, have sent more than 8,000 letters to Senate offices since last Friday urging lawmakers to tighten restrictions around yield-bearing stablecoins.

And their concerns are not falling on deaf ears. Included among the more than 100 amendments to the bill text filed by Banking Committee members on Tuesday evening is a proposal from Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Tina Smith (D-MN) that would further tighten restrictions on crypto companies offering stablecoin rewards.

Other proposed amendments are also causing heartburn across the industry, including several that DeFi Education Fund says would harm DeFi technology, users, and developers by stripping away key protections for users of decentralized technology.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who criticized the Clarity Act as both a national security threat and a risk to the financial system, proposed more than 40 amendments, including one that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from extending services typically reserved for banks to crypto companies.

It remains unclear which amendments will ultimately receive votes during the markup and, given Republicans’ majority on the committee, many of the more controversial proposals from Democratic members are unlikely to advance even if they are considered.

In the meantime, ethics remains the key sticking point for committee Democrats and could ultimately determine whether tomorrow’s markup receives any Democratic support. Certain members of the Senate Banking Committee met privately this morning in an effort to hammer out a last-minute ethics deal addressing lawmakers’ concerns about the Trump family’s crypto dealings.

Discussions between the lead Democratic negotiators on the issue, Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Republican committee members including Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), are expected to continue into the afternoon.

Crypto compliance isn’t slowing teams down anymore. It’s becoming a growth lever.

Sumsub is the identity verification and compliance platform trusted by 4,000+ companies, including 8 of the 10 largest crypto exchanges.

Their free State of the Crypto Industry 2026 report covers how the industry has shifted into a regulated maturity era: smarter fraud, higher expectations, and a new playbook for teams that want to scale. Inside: how to balance friction and conversion, where Travel Rule gaps remain, and why verification is now a competitive edge, not a checkbox.

Data from 4M+ fraud attempts and 300+ crypto companies surveyed. See how your peers are adapting here.

CZ Unfiltered: Prison, Politics & Crypto’s Next Era

In this week’s episode, we sat down with Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, the co-founder and former CEO of Binance, for a wide-ranging conversation on regulation, leadership, and the future of crypto.

We discuss launching Binance in 2017, navigating U.S. versus global markets, prior interactions with former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, and reflections on serving four months in prison, including the leadership decisions he says he would approach differently in hindsight.

CZ also addresses Iran-related allegations, his relationship with the Trump family, rebuilding efforts at Binance.US, the AI economy, and what he believes will define the next phase of the crypto industry.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

Midweek Recap

ICYMI: Here are some of the biggest stories making headlines this week.

• The Senate officially confirmed Kevin Warsh as a Federal Reserve governor and is expected to confirm him as chairman as soon as today.

• Coinbase launched Solana-backed loans, letting U.S. users borrow up to $100K in USDC against their Solana holdings without selling their SOL.

• Ripple’s prime brokerage unit secured $200 million from Neuberger Berman to expand margin trading across traditional and digital asset markets.

• BlackRock filed with the SEC to launch its second tokenized fund using infrastructure from tokenization platform Securitize.

• JPMorgan is launching a tokenized money market fund on Ethereum designed to meet stablecoin reserve requirements under the GENIUS Act.

• Bermuda inked a partnership with Stellar to begin moving payment and financial services onchain as it aims to become the world’s first fully onchain economy.

• Charles Schwab began the phased rollout of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for U.S. retail customers.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

If you like what you’re reading, don’t forget to subscribe!

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What you’ll read: What you need to know heading into Thursday’s Clarity Act markup, what to watch this week, and the top stories making headlines.

It’s a pivotal week for U.S. crypto policy: The Senate Banking Committee has officially scheduled the long-awaited markup of the Clarity Act, the next step toward passing comprehensive crypto market structure legislation into law.

As Crypto In America first reported last week, Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) announced the markup on Friday evening, scheduling it for this Thursday, May 14, at 10:30 a.m. ET. According to a committee memo, the final legislative text is expected to be released later today, and senators must submit any amendments before close of business tomorrow.

It’s nearly four months to the day since the first Senate Banking markup was scrapped over eleventh-hour objections from industry leaders, chiefly Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who said the bill deferred too much to banks and could effectively kill stablecoin rewards programs for consumers.

Coinbase executives now appear content with where talks have landed, following months of tense negotiations between crypto and banking lobbyists, trade groups, the White House, and Senate staffers, as well as lead negotiators Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD). But certain factions of the banking sector, particularly those with consumer-facing arms, are still mounting a last-minute stand to revise the stablecoin yield deal ahead of Thursday’s planned markup.

Banking trade groups representing some of those institutions sent a letter to Senate Banking leadership on Friday, arguing the current compromise language still leaves room for rewards programs that could replicate yield. The groups have proposed revisions that they say would go further in preventing stablecoins from functioning like interest-bearing bank deposits, and discouraging deposit flight from traditional banks, despite Tillis and Alsobrooks signaling in a statement last week that the issue had effectively been settled.

One Senate aide who reviewed the letter described the effort to Crypto In America as “pretty milquetoast.” They noted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have largely shifted their attention to resolving other outstanding issues in the bill, particularly ethics language, suggesting the banking holdouts may struggle to gain traction in reopening the debate. Still, the issue could resurface once the legislation reaches the Senate floor, where the banking groups may try to win over senators not on the Banking Committee.

Over the weekend, Rob Nichols, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, sent an email to member bank CEOs urging them to take immediate action ahead of the markup, encouraging them to call Senate offices, mobilize employees, and send letters through an online advocacy portal.

“We believe that committee members may not be fully aware of the risks to the economy posed by the stablecoin loophole,” Nichols wrote in the missive viewed by Crypto In America. “Your immediate engagement can make a difference.”

While the yield issue is unlikely to prevent lawmakers from supporting the bill at the committee stage, ethics is a different story. Some market analysts already anticipate the legislation to advance on party lines, with no Democrats on the committee expected to vote in favor, citing insufficient protections against conflicts of interest tied to President Trump and his family’s crypto dealings.

Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) have been leading the charge on that issue, and Schiff is said to be particularly dug in as of late. Gallego has emerged as an advocate for both the crypto industry and advancing the Clarity Act more broadly, but it remains unclear if he will break with Democrats on the issue — one that is increasingly becoming a focal point for the party.

Another key Democrat to watch is Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, who has been deep in the weeds, negotiating DeFi provisions like the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) and Section 1960.

According to industry sources, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is expected to weigh in on proposed changes to the text that would prohibit safe harbors for software developers who knowingly facilitate money laundering, following concerns raised by law enforcement groups.

Sources say Grassley’s approval could help alleviate some of Cortez Masto’s concerns, though it remains unclear whether she’ll ultimately vote yes on Thursday. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), another key negotiator on DeFi, will also be one to watch.

The good news for the crypto industry, and the banks that want to finally get access to crypto, is that the bill can still advance out of committee on a partisan vote. But opinions are mixed on whether that may ultimately weaken its chances in the full Senate. Some, like Galaxy Digital’s Head of Firmwide Research Alex Thorn, believe a strictly GOP committee vote could make it harder to secure the Democratic support needed to reach the 60-vote threshold on the floor.

“While it’s possible the bill could still succeed if it advances through Senate Banking on a partisan basis, the odds of ultimate Senate passage are certainly diminished if no Democrats vote in favor during committee markup on Thursday,” Thorn told Crypto In America.

Others are less concerned, arguing the remaining issues can be worked out before the legislation reaches the Senate.

“There’s been a lot of pessimists throughout this process at every stage,” said one crypto lobbyist. “This bill would be dead by now if there wasn’t bipartisan will to get it done. Every outstanding issue is very surmountable so long as that will remains.”

Let’s see what Thursday brings.

👀 What To Watch This Week

As Congress returns from recess, it’s shaping up to be a notable week not only for crypto policy, but also for key inflation data and corporate earnings.

Monday

Circle (CRCL) and Sharplink (SBT) report earnings pre-market.

The Senate returns.

Bermuda Digital Finance Forum begins. Crypto In America will be on the ground.

CleanSpark (CLSK), Exodus (EXOD) and Bakkt (BKKT) report earnings post-market.

Tuesday

EToro (ETOR), TON Strategy (TONX) report earnings pre-market.

The House returns.

6:00 a.m.: The National Federation of Independent Business will release its Small Business Optimism Index, offering a fresh read on the health and sentiment of small businesses nationwide.

8:30 a.m.: The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April, a key measure of inflation.

Wednesday

Digital Assets Week kicks off in New York City.

8:30 a.m.: Another inflation read with the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI) for April.

BitGo (BTGO) reports earnings post-market.

Thursday

Bullish (BLSH), Bitdeer (BTDR) report earnings pre-market.

10:30 a.m.: The Senate Banking Committee will hold a markup of the Clarity Act.

The Tax Council Policy Institute will host fireside chats with two key figures shaping digital asset tax policy: Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) at 9:50 a.m., and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) at 11:25 a.m.

7 p.m.: Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr discusses the Fed’s balance sheet in New York.

Rumble (RUM), Gemini (GEMI) report earnings post-market.

Friday

Likely Jerome Powell’s final official day as Chair of the Federal Reserve.

Weekend News Flash

ICYMI: The biggest headlines from Friday and the weekend.

• Circle raised $222 million in a pre-sale round for its L1 Arc token from BlackRock, Apollo Global Management and Andreessen Horowitz at a $3 billion valuation. The stablecoin issuer also reported higher quarterly revenue, which it attributed to increased adoption and circulation of USDC.

• Strategy CEO Phong Le said the company may sell Bitcoin under certain conditions, echoing similar comments made by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor last week. The company also disclosed today that it purchased 535 BTC for $43 million.

• Truth Social parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group, reported a $405 million net loss in Q1, driven in part by its crypto holdings.

• Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has applied for an OCC trust charter in a bid to become a federally regulated crypto bank.

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency is exploring new rules for onchain trading, including frameworks for exchanges, brokers and crypto yield products.

• Coinbase posted nearly $400 million in losses as Q1 revenue fell 31% to $1.41 billion, with the company attributing the decline to slower trading activity amid the crypto bear market. It also announced it would be reducing its workforce by 14%.

• Ondo Finance, in partnership with JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard and Ripple, completed a near-real-time cross-border redemption of its tokenized U.S. Treasury fund OUSG on the XRP Ledger, underscoring the potential for 24/7 global financial rails.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

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What you’ll read: As lawmakers move on from stablecoin yield, some banks remain dug in; Brad Garlinghouse talks XRP’s future and the Clarity Act time crunch; plus, the top news shaping the week.

The stablecoin yield compromise is exposing a growing divide amidst banks: some lenders think the Clarity Act should be held up to address lingering concerns, while others want to advance it to gain broader access to the digital asset market.

At a high level, the split appears to track business models. Banks with large consumer-facing operations are pushing back on the Senate’s latest Clarity Act language released last Friday, while lenders without major retail exposure appear more willing to accept the compromise and advance broader legislation to open the door to the nearly $3 trillion crypto industry.

A group of Washington’s biggest banking trade associations, including the Bank Policy Institute, American Bankers Association and Independent Community Bankers of America, have weighed in on the final compromise text, arguing the proposed language “falls short” of the goal of prohibiting the payment of yield and interest on stablecoins. The text was released by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) last week.

The issue at heart is that the language remains too narrowly drafted, leaving room for firms offering crypto products like Coinbase and Stripe to structure “risky products” that achieve similar outcomes despite the bill prohibiting “economically or functionally equivalent” bank-like products, a source from one of the larger retail banks aligned with this view told Crypto In America.

The source argued that distinction could matter more in the post-Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo environment, where courts are expected to interpret statutes narrowly rather than defer broadly to regulators.

“It’s not a true compromise because it doesn’t eliminate yield completely; it just changes how it’s offered,” this person argued, warning the framework undermines the traditional banking industry.

This dissatisfied lobby doesn’t plan on backing down, even though Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks signaled in a joint statement on Monday that discussions over the issue, stretching for more than three months, have ended. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) also said in an X post on Monday that the text was “finalized.”

Banking trade groups plan to ramp up outreach to additional members of the Senate Banking Committee in the coming days as lawmakers prepare to mark up the bill next week, the large retail bank source told Crypto In America.

“We’re going to keep making the argument that their proposal, while well-intentioned, does not come close to closing the loophole,” the source said.

Meanwhile, institutions without large retail businesses — think Goldman Sachs, BNY and Morgan Stanley — have signaled they are more willing to accept the compromise language, largely because it would meaningfully expand their access to the digital asset industry.

The Clarity Act would give banks clearer legal authority and regulatory comfort under the Bank Holding Company Act to participate in crypto activities like trading, staking and lending. It also lays the groundwork for future developments like portfolio margining and more integrated crypto trading infrastructure, and limits the ability of future regulators to prohibit those activities on grounds that they are not “financial” in nature.

While the stablecoin compromise, and the Clarity Act more broadly, may benefit larger institutions, questions remain about how smaller community banks will fare under the framework.

For these smaller outfits, the biggest concern remains deposit flight and the knock-on effects it could have on local lending activity.

The Independent Community Bankers of America, which represents smaller banks in Washington, has publicly pushed back on the language, while some community banks in the Midwest and on the East Coast have privately voiced support for the framework. One bank even described it as a “fair compromise” that encourages stablecoins to function more as a payment mechanism than a store of value.

Ripple CEO On XRP’s Future And Clarity Crunch

This week on the podcast, Eleanor spoke with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse at XRP Las Vegas, where they discussed the company’s stablecoin strategy, XRP’s long term positioning, and whether XRP holders should benefit more directly from Ripple’s success. The conversation also dove into Ripple’s reported $50 billion valuation, and the latest on its OCC trust charter application.

Garlinghouse also weighed in on the state of crypto legislation in Washington, including why he believes the industry could be in trouble if the Clarity Act does not clear committee by the third week of May.

The discussion also explored midterm Super PAC spending, why XRP remains on solid regulatory footing even if legislation stalls, and why Ripple sees major opportunity ahead regardless of what happens in Congress.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

Midweek Recap

ICYMI: Here are some of the biggest stories making headlines this week.

• Michael Saylor proposed using bitcoin sales to support dividends as Strategy reported a $12.54 billion Q1 loss.

• Coinbase announced it’s cutting roughly 14% of its workforce, citing accelerated adoption of AI across the company.

• Morgan Stanley launched crypto trading on E*TRADE with 0.50% fees, making it one of the cheaper offerings among major brokerage platforms.

• Anchorage Digital and Google Cloud unveiled Agentic Banking, allowing AI agents to transact across traditional financial and crypto rails without human involvement.

• MoonPay acquired DFlow, a Solana Labs-based trading infrastructure platform.

• World Liberty Financial is suing Justin Sun for defamation, accusing the TRON founder of launching a “public smear campaign” after Sun sued the Trump-backed crypto platform in April over claims it illegally froze his tokens.

• CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the agency is increasingly using AI to monitor derivatives markets.

• The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed moving public companies from quarterly to semiannual reporting requirements.

• CME Group is launching bitcoin volatility futures on June 1 as institutional demand for crypto derivatives continues to grow.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

If you like what you’re reading, don’t forget to subscribe!

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What you’ll read: The low-down on the yield compromise and the next steps for the Clarity Act; BlackRock weighs in on tokenized stablecoin reserves; what we’re watching this week; and a roundup of the biggest stories.

The Clarity Act on Friday moved a step closer to a vote in the Senate Banking Committee following the release of the long-awaited terms of a compromise between crypto and banking stakeholders. The two sides have been wrangling for about three months to decide how companies should offer customers yield and rewards on stablecoin holdings.

In a nutshell, the compromise lets crypto firms offer rewards tied to stablecoin usage and activity, but prohibits them from paying yield on idle balances. For example, users can earn perks, like cashbacks, on transactions, or free or discounted memberships tied to platform usage, but cannot earn APY on funds simply sitting in an account.

In other words, stablecoins can’t mimic traditional bank accounts or high-yield savings products, as many in the crypto industry had hoped. Instead, payment stablecoins will be used for, well, payments.

As reactions on X make clear, the deal is exactly that — a compromise. Many in the crypto industry are arguing the blanket ban on offering yield hands a win to the banks, while banks are voicing concerns privately that the compromise doesn’t go far enough to prevent crypto companies from finding loopholes, despite a clause that restricts “economically or functionally equivalent” rewards.

Broadly, stakeholder feedback reflects what lead negotiators, Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), had predicted.

“All of us will probably walk away just a little bit unhappy,” Alsobrooks told a gathering of American Bankers Association members in March.

Crypto trade groups, including the Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation, and the Digital Chamber, which represent a large swath of the industry, issued statements supporting the compromise and urging the Senate Banking Committee to move quickly to a markup.

Some feel that while the compromise isn’t ideal, it’s enough to move forward and give the rest of the bill a chance.

“In the context of Clarity, the industry should probably live with this, but the banks are clearly winning this volley,” said Austin Campbell, founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting.

Banks, meanwhile, have yet to weigh in publicly since the release of the yield compromise but have ramped up calls for changes in recent weeks, arguing the deal doesn’t go far enough to prevent deposit flight or mitigate broader financial stability risks.

As one Senate Banking staffer put it Friday: “Time for everyone to move on from yield. Banks should not turn a modest win into a loss.”

Notably, Coinbase has signed off on the compromise text. The exchange had pulled support for the Clarity Act in January citing concerns that the bill’s language favored banks too heavily, which led to the collapse of a planned markup.

Still, Coinbase asserted that banks have secured additional concessions compared to crypto. “In the end, the banks were able to get more restrictions on rewards, but we protected what matters – the ability for Americans to earn rewards, based on real usage of crypto platforms and networks,” said Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad.

The exchange’s CEO Brian Armstrong simply tweeted “Mark it up,” drawing backlash on X from users who said he was the reason the bill has been stalled since January.

The yield text’s release has cleared one of the final hurdles for the Act before Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) is expected to schedule a Senate Banking Committee markup, which some industry leaders believe could be announced later this week and held the week of the 11th, when Congress returns from recess. The only other window for a markup in May would be the week of the 18th, before the Senate departs for Memorial Day recess.

In the meantime, finishing touches on DeFi provisions, specifically the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) and protections for software developers, are likely to be done this week, according to industry insiders. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is expected to weigh in on changes to the text surrounding Section 1960, which would prohibit safe harbors for software developers who knowingly facilitate money laundering.

Grassley’s sign-off would resolve one of the key sticking points around DeFi that has drawn scrutiny from law enforcement in recent weeks, amid concerns the bill could limit their ability to police illicit activities.

“Things are looking up. The next two weeks are going to be critical, and the time pressure is a good forcing function to get this across the finish line before the mid-terms,” one DeFi industry leader told Crypto In America. “But it has to be bipartisan. Without Democrats on board, [the bill] doesn’t get done, and the industry has done enough to earn that support.”

It’s unclear whether the markup will be bipartisan or pass along party lines, as it did in the Senate Agriculture Committee in January.

Meanwhile, issues around ethics are still being “actively negotiated,” according to sources familiar with the process. Talks are likely to continue even after the bill passes through the Senate Banking Committee, given that other Senate offices have greater jurisdiction over the issue.

Some in the industry have started referring to the ethics provisions as the bill’s “poison pill,” pointing to concerns from Democrats, and now potentially Republicans like Tillis, that President Trump’s family crypto dealings could jeopardize the legislation’s final passage.

That concern is underscored by recent data. According to Forbes, crypto accounts for roughly one-third of Trump’s $6.5 billion fortune, or about $2.1 billion. A new CoinDesk poll, meanwhile, found that 73% of voters oppose senior government officials having business ties with the crypto industry.

BlackRock Warns Against Cap on Tokenized Stablecoin Reserves

BlackRock is pushing back on key aspects of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s proposed stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act, warning reserve asset restrictions could undermine liquidity, flexibility, and adoption.

The $13 trillion asset manager says it supports the proposal but wants targeted changes, including to the proposed 20% cap on tokenized reserve assets.

Such a cap would directly affect products like BlackRock’s BUIDL money market fund, which has roughly $2.6 billion in AUM and serves as a major stablecoin reserve asset, providing about 90% of the backing for Ethena’s USDtb and Jupiter’s JupUSD. BlackRock argues an asset’s tokenized form should not be the basis for imposing a cap.

“A categorical limit on tokenized assets would not be appropriate because risk is driven by credit quality, duration, and liquidity, not whether an asset is held on a distributed ledger,” reads the letter, written by Benjamin Tecmire, the firm’s head of Regulatory Affairs, and Roland Villacorta, its global head of Liquidity and Financing.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has been particularly bullish on tokenization, writing in his annual shareholder letter that digital wallets and tokenized assets could modernize markets, and expand investor access to Wall Street.

Beyond tokenized assets, BlackRock is pushing the OCC to preserve flexibility in how stablecoin reserves are structured, including explicitly allowing Treasury ETFs and expanding the pool of eligible reserve assets.

The response to the OCC comes as BlackRock positions itself to serve stablecoin issuers, adapting existing products like its Select Treasury Based Liquidity Fund (BSTBL) to better support stablecoin reserves.

“Balancing these goals requires a proportionate and flexible regulatory approach that accounts for how stablecoin issuers operate today and adapts to future market developments,” the letter from Tecmire and Villacorta says.

The OCC’s 376-page proposal has received more than 22,000 comments, according to the agency’s website.

👀 What To Watch This Week

Monday

The House and Senate are out on recess.

Day 1 of the Medici LA Conference will be held in Beverly Hills, where Crypto In America’s Eleanor Terrett will interview Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) at 10:30 a.m.

Tuesday

Strategy (MSTR) and MARA Holdings (MARA) report earnings after the closing bell. PayPal (PYPL) announces earnings before the opening bell.

Day 1 of CoinDesk’s Consensus kicks off in Miami. The three-day event will feature speakers from across the crypto industry, including lawmakers such as Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Ashley Moody (R-FL), as well as policymakers like CFTC Chair Michael Selig and White House Crypto Council Executive Director Patrick Witt.

12:30 p.m.: Fed Governor Michael Barr talks banking regulation in Oxford, UK.

Wednesday

HUT8 (HUT) reports earnings before the opening bell.

Thursday

Coinbase (COIN) and Block (XYZ) report earnings after the closing bell.

8:30 a.m.: The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases Q1 productivity figures.

3 p.m.: The Federal Reserve releases March consumer credit numbers.

Friday

CleanSpark (CLSK) reports earnings after the closing bell.

8:30 a.m.: Jobs Friday: The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the April jobs report and unemployment figures.

10:00 a.m.: The University of Michigan releases preliminary consumer sentiment figures for May.

7:30 p.m.: Fed Governor Christopher Waller, and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman appear together on a policy panel at the Hoover Institution in California.

eToro on Why U.S. Crypto Regulation Needs Fixing

ICYMI: Last week, we sat down with Andrew McCormick, head of eToro US, to discuss what it takes to operate a crypto exchange across all 50 states.

We covered the patchwork of U.S. regulation, from securing a hard-to-come-by New York BitLicense to questions around federal preemption and the push for a national standard. McCormick also weighed in on eToro’s IPO, asset vetting, tokenization, and whether the platform would host prediction markets.

McCormick shared why he believes the Clarity Act should move forward, reflected on operating as a public company, and offered his perspective on financial literacy and the evolving U.S. crypto market.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

Weekend News Flash

ICYMI: The biggest headlines from Friday and the weekend.

• Bitcoin topped the $80,000 mark, hitting a three-month high and triggering more than $116 million in crypto liquidations, including $114 million in short positions.

• The former acting director of the SEC Office of Public Affairs, Stephanie Allen, has joined stablecoin payments firm KAST as its Head of Corporate and Policy Communications. She previously served as an advisor to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force.

• NYSE is moving toward tokenized trading under an SEC-released filing, allowing select stocks and ETFs to trade as usual while settling in tokenized form through a DTC pilot.

• An SDNY court has blocked Arbitrum DAO from moving $71M in ETH tied to the Kelp DAO exploit as victims of a North Korea-linked attack seek to claim the funds.

• Rep. Tom Emmer’s Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would permanently bar the Federal Reserve from creating a CBDC, was attached to the Foreign Intelligence Accountability (FISA) Act and sent to the Senate, where the bill awaits consideration. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has called the provision a “poison pill.”

• New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James, secured over $5 million from trading platform Uphold for promoting a misleading crypto yield product.

• The Ethereum Foundation sold another 10,000 ETH, worth about $23 million, to Tom Lee’s BitMine in its third OTC deal in two months, totaling around $47 million.

• MoonPay launched its MoonAgents Card, letting AI agents spend stablecoins directly from on-chain wallets via Mastercard.

• U.S. debt has surpassed 100% of GDP for the first time since World War II, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

• The Senate unanimously passed a resolution banning its members from trading on prediction markets.

• Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) are probing potential national security risks tied to a reported loan from Tether to a trust benefiting Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s children, according to a letter they signed.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

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What you’ll read: Clarity Act latest, what to watch this week, and the weekend news you might have missed.

With a Clarity Act markup now expected in May, the crypto industry is doing the math on how much time is left to pass comprehensive market structure legislation as the legislative window narrows.

“We have about 13 weeks left on the [Senate] floor to get something done,” Ji Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, told Crypto In America, underscoring what many in Washington see as the real deadline: getting a bill to President Trump’s desk before the August recess, when lawmakers turn their attention to the midterm elections.

While Kim pointed to roughly 13 weeks, the real runway is tighter. Once recesses are factored in, the Senate has closer to nine or ten working weeks to move the bill, as lawmakers juggle a packed agenda that includes a looming FISA deadline, a budget resolution to kick off reconciliation, and must-pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

But first, the bill must make it out of the Senate Banking Committee, where it has stalled since January after an initial markup was postponed when key industry support fell through. Now, hopes for an April markup have faded after Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) pushed Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) for more time to present the compromise on stablecoin yield and rewards to bankers.

“It’s very important to me not to accelerate things, to hear everybody and give them a rational basis for what we do accept and what we don’t accept,” Tillis told reporters last week.

Tillis’ push for more time comes as banking groups, including the North Carolina Bankers Association, have ramped up outreach to his office in recent days, warning against any loopholes that would allow yield-like rewards, while crypto firms are urging leadership to move forward.

On Friday, the North Carolina Blockchain Initiative urged Tillis to move the Clarity Act to markup, pushing back on bank opposition to yield and arguing the bill is key to keeping the state competitive as a major U.S. banking hub. Meanwhile, more than 120 crypto firms signed onto a separate push led by the Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation urging leadership to move forward with a markup “as soon as practicable.”

During an appearance at the annual Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas on Monday, Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) told attendees to expect a Clarity Act markup in May. With the Senate heading into a weeklong recess starting Thursday, the earliest the Senate Banking Committee could mark up the bill is the week of May 11, if outstanding issues around stablecoin yield, ethics and DeFi are resolved in time.

Asked whether the remaining issues could be resolved quickly once a stablecoin yield compromise is finalized, Kim said he was optimistic. “I think it’ll go pretty quickly actually. Obviously rewards is an important issue… but the other open issues are still being discussed in parallel.”

In the meantime, the Senate Banking Committee is expected to turn its attention to confirming pro-crypto Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh before leaving for recess. The committee is set to advance Warsh’s nomination to the full Senate on Wednesday, the same day Jerome Powell announces the Fed’s next interest rate decision, with markets expecting rates to hold at 3.5% to 3.75%.

👀 What To Watch This Week

Monday

The annual Bitcoin Conference kicks off a three-day event in Las Vegas with remarks from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at 1:30 p.m. ET, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig at 2:00 p.m. ET, and a keynote from SEC Chair Paul Atkins at 2:20 p.m. ET.

Tuesday

Galaxy Digital (GLXY) reports earnings before the opening bell.

10:00 a.m.: We get a read on the consumer when the Conference Board releases its consumer confidence index.

Visa (V) and Robinhood (HOOD) report earnings after the closing bell.

Wednesday

BitGo’s High Roller Summit kicks off in Las Vegas.

10:00 a.m.: The Senate Banking Committee will vote to advance Kevin Warsh’s nomination to lead the Federal Reserve.

2:00 p.m.: The Federal Reserve will announce its next interest rate decision, followed by remarks from Chairman Powell at 2:30 p.m. Markets expect the committee to hold rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%.

Thursday

The XRP Las Vegas Conference begins.

Mastercard (MA) reports earnings before the opening bell.

8:00 a.m.: House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) will take part in a fireside chat with the president and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of America.

8:30 a.m.: The Commerce Department releases Q1 GDP and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data.

Riot Platforms (RIOT) reports earnings after the closing bell.

Friday

WisdomTree (WT) reports earnings before the opening bell.

Weekend News Flash

ICYMI: The biggest headlines from Friday and the weekend.

• President Donald Trump addressed crypto and reiterated his support for passing the Clarity Act in a speech to top holders of his TRUMP meme coin at a conference at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday.

• Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) said he’s prepared to move forward with Kevin Warsh’s nomination for Fed chair after the Justice Department dropped its probe into Jerome Powell.

• The DeFi Education Fund and more than two dozen industry leaders urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a letter to formalize guidance distinguishing user interfaces from broker-dealer activity.

• The Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation led more than 120 crypto firms in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee urging a markup of the Clarity Act as soon as possible. The Digital Chamber sent a separate letter.

• Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire made TIME’s Most Influential People of 2026 list.

• Tether’s USDT reached a new all-time high market cap of $189 billion.

• Morgan Stanley launched the Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio, a government money market fund aimed at providing stablecoin issuers with a regulated, low-risk place to hold reserve assets.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

If you like what you’re reading, don’t forget to subscribe!

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What you’ll read: A key Republican on the Senate Banking Committee pushes to delay a Clarity Act markup to May, Fed nominee Kevin Warsh does an about face on CBDCs, a new bipartisan House bill would create a national payments framework for crypto and fintechs, and the new Binance.US CEO joins the podcast.

With Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh’s hearing in the rearview mirror, the Senate Banking Committee is set to turn its full attention to the Clarity Act. But it’s looking increasingly unlikely the committee would meet the timeline the crypto industry had been hoping for.

As Crypto In America reported Monday, the committee would need to notify members by this Friday to hold a markup next week. That has yet to happen, and signals from the lead negotiator on stablecoin yield suggest he is pushing Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) for more time to socialize the deal with banking stakeholders.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told reporters on Tuesday that he does not expect a markup to happen in April, and that the committee should instead look to May. That would make the week of May 11 the first possible window, as the Senate is out on recess before then.

Tillis’ move comes as his office has become the target of a coordinated pressure campaign by bank lobbying groups, including the North Carolina Bankers Association. Banks have been unhappy with certain details of the stablecoin yield compromise that was reached between a select group of crypto firms and banks earlier this month, even though the text has not been publicly released, and many in the banking sector have yet to see it.

“It’s very important to me not to accelerate things, to hear everybody, and give them a rational basis for what we do accept,” Tillis told reporters.

Still, not all senators on the committee support pushing the markup beyond April.

“Further delay is unacceptable,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said in a statement to Crypto In America. “I’m really proud of the bipartisan progress we’ve made, and I’m not going to let some of my colleagues sacrifice substantive and good progress in futile pursuit of a perfect bill that will never come. The offshore risk is real and our window is closing. It’s time to finally get this done.”

The crypto industry, which was originally told it would get a market structure markup last September, is also growing restless. On Monday, industry trade association The Digital Chamber sent a letter to the Banking Committee’s leadership urging them to move to a markup on digital asset market structure legislation as soon as possible. The letter noted it has been more than 270 days since the House passed the Clarity Act, and warned the legislative window is narrowing.

Other industry groups are expected to send more letters in the coming days, sources tell Crypto In America.

Warsh’s CBDC Pivot

In 2022, Kevin Warsh wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal arguing that the United States should create its own central bank digital currency to compete with China’s digital yuan.

Warsh had advocated for a wholesale CBDC that would be used by banks and institutions to modernize payments and enable faster settlements, rather than a retail CBDC for the public that could raise privacy concerns. But that rhetoric has nonetheless followed Warsh, and attracted criticism from privacy advocates and crypto supporters.

In his hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Warsh appeared to denounce all notions of a CBDC. Responding to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Warsh said he would not move the Federal Reserve to issue one if confirmed, as he believes the Fed does not have the authority to do so, and called it a “bad policy choice.”

He also told Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) that digital assets are already “part of the fabric” of the financial services industry in the United States.

Surprisingly, Warsh took few questions related to his extensive investments in blockchain and cryptocurrency companies, though Democrats did raise concerns about his financial disclosures and potential conflicts of interest tied to his broader investment portfolio.

If he gets appointed as the Fed’s chair, Warsh will be required to divest most of his holdings within 90 days.

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Binance.US CEO Stephen Gregory on the Exchange’s Comeback Plan

This week on the Crypto In America podcast, Binance.US CEO Stephen Gregory joined us for his first exclusive interview since he took the job. Gregory outlined his vision for rebuilding the exchange after years of regulatory headwinds, and why he believes the U.S. is once again positioned to become a hub for crypto innovation and liquidity.

A compliance veteran with experience at Gemini and Currency.com, Gregory dug into what’s next for Binance.US, from the return of fiat rails and new product rollouts to a potential expansion into derivatives and prediction markets.

He broke down the evolving regulatory landscape, including the impact of the Clarity Act and the CFTC’s growing involvement, and explained why he sees this period as a potential “golden age” for building crypto companies in the U.S.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

Lawmakers Unveil PACE Act to Expand Access to Fed Payment Rails

A new bipartisan bill introduced in the House aims to create a national payments framework for fintech and crypto companies.

Reps. Young Kim (R-CA) and Sam Liccardo (D-CA) on Tuesday unveiled the PACE Act, which would establish an optional federal regime that would let state-chartered depository institutions and credit unions access key Federal Reserve payment systems. The new regime would be overseen by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The approach aligns with Fed Governor Christopher Waller’s “skinny master accounts” concept, which Kraken Financial gained access to earlier this year. These accounts give more institutions direct access to payment rails without requiring them to obtain full bank charters. The PACE Act would also centralize approval authority over those accounts at the Federal Reserve Board rather than regional Reserve Banks.

The bill’s main goals are to lower costs and reduce friction in the payments system. Lawmakers say the current model forces consumers to pay higher fees passed on by banks, which rely on intermediaries to access rails like Automated Clearing House, the system that moves money between bank accounts.

“We can reduce the burden of bank fees borne by too many American families by enabling broader access to innovative payment systems that deliver cheaper, faster, more reliable service,” said Rep. Liccardo.

The bill has drawn support from several industry groups, including the Financial Technology Association, Blockchain Association, The Digital Chamber, and the Crypto Council for Innovation.

Midweek Recap

ICYMI: Here are some of the biggest stories making headlines this week.

• President Trump said the U.S. will extend its ceasefire with Iran, lifting equities and crypto as Bitcoin holds above $78,000.

• New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Coinbase and Gemini over their prediction market offerings, alleging the companies failed to obtain state gambling licenses and allowed underage customers to place bets on their platforms. Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said the exchange would continue to fight for federal oversight. Gemini declined to comment.

• TRON founder Justin Sun filed a lawsuit against the founders of Trump-backed World Liberty Financial in California federal court, claiming the project froze his tokens and stripped him of his shareholder voting rights.

• A new documentary, Finding Satoshi, argues that cryptographers Hal Finney and Len Sassaman may have been Bitcoin’s elusive co-creators.

• MoonPay, the Dogecoin Foundation, and House of Doge donated 1 million DOGE to the AKC Humane Fund to help dogs nationwide.

• Michael Saylor’s Strategy has overtaken BlackRock’s IBIT ETF to become the largest Bitcoin holder with 815,061 BTC.

• Coinbase released its first quantum risk report, saying crypto is safe today but urging the industry to prepare for future quantum threats, noting that proof-of-stake chains may be more vulnerable than others.

• KelpDAO said the April 18 hack, now attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, targeted LayerZero’s infrastructure rather than Kelp’s own systems.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

If you like what you’re reading, don’t forget to subscribe!

Subscribe now

What you’ll read: A critical week for the Clarity Act as a markup date comes into focus; a new multi-million-dollar DeFi hack adds to the growing list of exploits this month; plus, what to watch this week and the headlines you may have missed.

We’re entering a pivotal week for Clarity Act negotiations that could determine whether the bill receives a long awaited markup this month or gets pushed to May.

State of play: Early this week, Senate Banking Committee members will be preoccupied with the nomination hearing of Kevin Warsh, the man President Trump has tapped to replace outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Warsh, one of the wealthiest nominees for the role with over $100 million in assets and significant exposure to crypto firms, is set to take the hot seat Tuesday morning.

After that, the committee has until Friday to notice a markup of the Clarity Act if it plans to hold a vote the week of April 27. But mounting pressure from banks that want to weigh in on the current stablecoin yield situation, combined with Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) desire to hear them out, could potentially push a markup to the second week of May, when the Senate returns from recess.

As Crypto In America reported over the weekend, Senator Tillis’ office is being hit with a targeted pressure campaign from banking groups like the North Carolina Bankers Association. The groups are unhappy with the scope of the stablecoin yield restrictions in the current draft of the Act, and are urging members to call in and make that clear to Tillis’ staff.

Punchbowl News reported that industry groups have been reaching out to other members of the Banking Committee beyond Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), the lead negotiators on the issue.

The frenzied outreach follows more than two and a half months of negotiations between crypto firms and banks. A compromise was reached late last month that the crypto industry appears largely satisfied with, or at least not openly opposing.

The text has not been released publicly and was instead shown to a small group of banking and crypto representatives. While the banking side was largely mum after those meetings, calls for changes have grown louder in recent days following the release of the White House Council of Economic Advisers report on stablecoin yield, which downplayed risks to the banking system.

With a markup now coming down to the wire, tensions between the two sides and those facilitating the process are rising.

“Small banks across the country are not well served by Washington trade associations letting perfect be the enemy of the good,” said a source familiar with the compromise who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The banking lobby can take the win and limit deposit flight for their members or seize defeat from the jaws of victory and be left with the status quo.”

White House Crypto Council Executive Director Patrick Witt took aim at banks on X, saying it was “hard to explain any further lobbying on this issue as motivated by anything other than greed or ignorance.”

Last week, Tillis floated a so-called “crypto palooza” – an in-person meeting between bank and crypto experts together with senators, instead of staff, to resolve remaining issues. It’s unclear whether he plans to go that route, as it would likely add time to a process many want to see wrapped up.

“We’ve got some open switches that may require some more negotiation, but I’m optimistic that we’re gonna be able to schedule a markup in the coming weeks,” Tillis said.

Yield aside, a couple of other issues, like ethics and provisions around DeFi, still need to be resolved before the bill can be put to a vote.

The question is when. All eyes on this week.

$290M Kelp DAO Hack Triggers DeFi Liquidity Crunch

Another nine-figure hack is sending shockwaves across the DeFi ecosystem.

Saturday’s roughly $290 million exploit at Kelp DAO, a DeFi project built on Ethereum that focuses on liquid restaking, triggered a broader liquidity crunch across the DeFi landscape, including at the largest lending protocol, Aave.

A post mortem of the attack by various onchain sleuths revealed that the attackers likely used an exploited cross-chain bridge to borrow funds on Aave, pushing one of its key lending pool’s utilization to 100% and crowding out lenders, leaving them struggling to withdraw. Aave froze the affected markets, and Kelp DAO paused its rsETH contracts while it investigated.

Since the attack, Aave has seen billions in outflows, and some users have been borrowing stablecoins against deposits, putting further pressure on liquidity, with Aave’s token AAVE dropping roughly 1% to $90. The incident has also triggered wider DeFi withdrawals at protocols not directly affected by the hack, sparking concerns of contagion.

LayerZero, the infrastructure underlying Kelp DAO, said it believes North Korea’s Lazarus Group is likely responsible for the hack.

Alongside Kelp DAO’s hack, last weekend also saw web infrastructure provider Vercel disclosing a security breach that may have exposed customer API keys, forcing some crypto applications to reset credentials. These follow a $285 million hack at Drift Protocol earlier this month, alongside a wave of smaller breaches at CoW Swap, Zerion, Rhea Finance, and Silo Finance. Together, they’ve made April one of the worst months for hacks on record.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington are trying to figure out how to police illicit finance in DeFi markets under the Clarity Act, a growing flashpoint made more complicated by the scale of recent hacks.

👀 What To Watch This Week

Tuesday

8:30 a.m.: The Commerce Department publishes its latest retail sales figures.

10:00 a.m.: Federal Reserve Chair candidate Kevin Warsh appears before the Senate Banking Committee for his nomination hearing.

2:30 p.m.: Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller gives a speech on “Modernizing Reserve Bank Operations” at Brookings Institution.

Wednesday

Tesla and CME Group report earnings before the opening bell.

10:00 a.m.: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears before a Senate Appropriations Committee.

Thursday

Nasdaq reports earnings before the opening bell.

Friday

10:00 a.m.: The University of Michigan releases its final April consumer sentiment number.

Weekend News Flash

ICYMI: The biggest headlines from Friday and the weekend.

• The SEC has launched a new podcast called Material Matters, hosted by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, that dives into the agency’s policy and rulemaking agenda, including crypto.

• Bitcoin is holding above $75,000, after rising above $78,000 on Friday, then falling under $74,000 over the weekend following geopolitical trends.

• Trump-backed World Liberty Financial is facing more scrutiny from investors following a controversial governance proposal that would extend token lockups for early investors by up to four years. Anyone who disagrees with the proposal may be subject to their tokens being locked indefinitely.

• X’s Head of Product says its cashtag trading pilot for stocks and crypto generated volumes of about $1 billion since the feature launched last week.

• Offshore decentralized exchange Hyperliquid generated $78 million in revenue per employee in 2025, making it the most productive company in the world, outstripping Tether and Anthropic, per data analytics firm Artemis.

• Kraken’s parent company Payward has agreed to acquire CFTC-regulated exchange Bitnomial in a $550 million deal to expand its crypto derivatives platform in the U.S.

• Wall Street brokerage giant Charles Schwab announced a phased rollout of its bitcoin and ethereum trading platform, Schwab Crypto, to customers in the coming weeks.

• Tether is partnering with Drift protocol, giving them $127.5 million in funding to reimburse users and help stabilize the platform following the $280 million hack earlier this month. In return, Drift will make USDT its primary settlement layer going forward, instead of USDC.

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What you’ll read: A nomination hearing for Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh will take priority over a Clarity Act markup next week; Kraken and Galaxy Digital face cybersecurity threats; Solana’s Lily Liu sits down with Crypto In America, and the headlines driving news this week.

With Fed Chair hopeful Kevin Warsh’s nomination hearing set for Tuesday, a Senate Banking markup of the Clarity Act is likely to slip to the final week of April, or potentially into the second week of May (the Senate is out the first week), depending on how quickly remaining issues are resolved.

Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) released next week’s schedule, which did not mention a Clarity Act markup, sparking fears on social media that the bill could “die” if it doesn’t get voted on by the end of the month.

But Paradigm’s VP of Regulatory Affairs, Justin Slaughter, pushed back on that idea, saying the actual time crunch doesn’t begin until after Memorial Day. So, Senators still have roughly six to seven weeks to move the Clarity Act out of the Senate Banking committee and across the Senate floor.

Where things stand: Senate Banking Committee members and staff are adding finishing touches to the bill. Key areas still under discussion include ethics and tokenization, according to sources involved in the negotiations, suggesting that thornier issues like DeFi and stablecoin yield have largely been resolved.

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) told Politico on Monday he’s aiming to release text outlining the stablecoin yield compromise reached between banks and crypto firms this week, though Crypto In America has learned timing could shift depending on when the markup is scheduled.

Ethics could come into sharper focus following the recent public dispute between TRON founder Justin Sun and Trump-backed World Liberty Financial. Sun, an early investor in the WLFI platform, has accused the company of misleading investors. It isn’t yet clear whether Democratic senators pushing for stricter ethics provisions, including Adam Schiff (D-CA), will use the episode to bolster their case.

While some on social media lamented the delay of the Clarity Act markup, others welcomed indications that would-be Fed Chair Warsh may be more bullish on crypto than previously thought. According to his 69-page financial disclosure, Warsh holds over $100 million in assets, including early-stage investments in roughly a dozen crypto and blockchain companies through venture fund structures. That makes him likely one of the wealthiest Fed Chair nominees in history, and certainly among those with the closest ties to digital assets.

Some of Warsh’s investments include DeFi lending platform Compound, decentralized exchange dYdX, Solana, and Ethereum scaling networks like Optimism and Blast, alongside exposure to trading platforms and crypto infrastructure firms. Such links may make for a potentially complex recusal process for Warsh, who’s poised to take over what is shaping up to be a more crypto-friendly central bank.

Notably, the Fed granted Kraken Financial access to the coveted master account in January, making it the first crypto company to access the Fed’s payment rails.

Warsh’s crypto ties will almost certainly come up during his hearing next week, as senators probe potential financial conflicts of interest, and how he plans to unwind some of the more complicated LP stakes.

The Onchain IPO Era with Solana’s Lily Liu

This week on the podcast, we sat down with Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation, at the Solana Policy Institute’s Washington x Wall Street Summit to talk about where crypto fits into the future of global financial markets. Liu laid out her vision for blockchains like Solana serving as infrastructure for the underlying rails of capital markets.

We also dug into why she believes the world’s largest IPOs could move onchain by 2027; how “Netflix-style” distribution of assets could reshape access to investing; and why the next phase of the AI economy will require crypto-native payments. Liu also shared her outlook on U.S. regulation, and how it’s shaping where innovation happens next.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

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Kraken Faces Extortion as Cyber Threats Hit Crypto Firms

Crypto exchange Kraken says it’s being extorted by a criminal group that’s threatening to release videos allegedly showing access to Kraken’s internal systems containing client data.

Kraken’s chief security and information officer, Nick Percoco, attributed two incidents — one in February 2025 and another more recently — to inappropriate access by individuals within its support team. He wrote in a post on X that its systems were never breached and no funds were at risk.

“We will not pay these criminals; we will not ever negotiate with bad actors,” he said.

Roughly 2,000 accounts, or about 0.02% of Kraken’s user base, were potentially viewed, and its affected clients have already been notified, the exchange said.

Kraken says it is working with federal authorities, and that it has sufficient evidence to identify and arrest those responsible.

Galaxy Digital also disclosed a cybersecurity incident around the same time, saying hackers accessed an isolated research and development workspace, resulting in less than $10,000 in losses. The company claims there was no impact to client funds or core systems.

Both incidents come as Drift Protocol grapples with the aftermath of a $280 million dollar hack attributed to North Korean state-sponsored actors, underscoring that cyber threats remain one of crypto’s biggest vulnerabilities.

Midweek Recap

ICYMI: Here are some of the biggest stories making headlines this week.

• SEC staff released guidance saying certain crypto interfaces, including DeFi front ends, wallet extensions, and apps, may operate without broker-dealer registrations if they meet certain conditions.

• Ripple partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance to pilot Korea’s first tokenized government bond settlement on blockchain using Ripple Custody.

• X rolled out Cashtags, allowing users to track stocks and crypto using live charts inside the app.

• Goldman Sachs is entering the Bitcoin ETF race, filing with the SEC for a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF.

• The U.S. Justice Department has opened a compensation process for victims of the $4B OneCoin crypto fraud, which ran from 2014 to 2017 and became one of the largest scams in crypto history.

• Ondo Finance has sought a no action letter from the SEC, requesting clarity on the use of Ethereum for securities recordkeeping.

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What you’ll read: Former CFTC Chair Chris Giancarlo is leaving full-time law to go all in on crypto; the Senate is back with the Clarity Act in the spotlight; and bankers respond to the White House stablecoin report. Plus, our usual slate of what to watch this week.

Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo is stepping down from his role as Senior Counsel at white-shoe law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher to focus full-time on digital assets and AI, Crypto In America has learned.

Giancarlo, who many in the industry call “Crypto Dad,” says he is retiring from practicing law at the end of April to focus on strategic advisory work, private investing, research and writing on public policy issues relating to crypto, and philanthropic initiatives.

At Willkie, Giancarlo advised digital asset firms on regulatory strategy and helped build the firm’s crypto-focused legal practice.

“After six years building Willkie Digital Works, I’ve decided to head out on an exciting new road toward the crypto future of finance,” Giancarlo told Crypto In America. “I look forward to continuing to assist digital asset innovators in building the crypto architecture of 21st Century finance. There has never been a more promising time in America than now.”

Giancarlo will also be promoting his upcoming book, “The New Adventures of CryptoDad: The Quest for Financial Freedom in the 21st Century,” set for release in October. The book chronicles the evolution of the crypto industry through the 2024 presidential election, the first year of the second Trump administration, and the broader shift toward an “Internet of Value.”

In addition to more regular performances with his band, Crypto Kings, Giancarlo said he’ll share more details on new projects and initiatives in the coming months.

👀 What To Watch This Week

Monday

The Senate is back in session, and all eyes are on the Banking Committee to notice a markup for the Clarity Act. In the past, markups have been noticed the week prior, so if Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Republican leadership are targeting the week of the 20th, we could see a notice as soon as this week. If the markup slips to the final week of April, a notice would likely come next week instead.

Additionally, ears are to the ground for any statements from Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) on the final stablecoin yield compromise. White House Crypto Council Executive Director Patrick Witt told Crypto In America on Friday that a compromise has been reached and that he is confident the various parties will stand by it.

“We’ll know we got it right when both sides are equally unhappy…and I think we probably arrived at that place,” Witt said. It remains unclear whether the text will be released publicly ahead of the markup.

Witt also said he believed lingering issues around DeFi, tokenization and ethics could be resolved in the days ahead.

Elsewhere ….

11:00 a.m.: The Solana Policy Institute will kick off its “Washington x Wall Street” event in Brooklyn, featuring speakers such as White House Crypto Council Executive Director Patrick Witt, Congressman William Timmons (R-SC), former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital, and others.

Crypto In America will host a live, on-stage podcast episode with Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation, at 2:20 p.m.

Comment period closes for the National Credit Union Administration’s proposed rule on permitted payment stablecoin issuer applications.

Tuesday

The House is back in session.

JPMorgan and BlackRock report quarterly results before markets open.

8:15 a.m.: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at the Institute of International Finance.

8:30 a.m.: We’ll get a read on inflation when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the March Producer Price Index (PPI).

2:00 p.m.: Brookings Institute hosts an event on prediction markets featuring a discussion with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

Wednesday

Happy Tax Day!

Morgan Stanley reports quarterly results before the opening bell.

10:15 a.m.: The House Budget Committee holds a hearing with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought.

2:00 p.m.: The Fed publishes its latest Beige Book, giving a snapshot of economic conditions across the country ahead of its next policy meeting.

Thursday

10:00 a.m.: CFTC Chairman Michael Selig is set to testify in front of the House Agriculture Committee.

Vought will testify before the Senate Budget Committee.

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions will hold a hearing entitled, “Promoting Access to Credit for Everyday Americans”

Friday

Bank of New York (BNY) reports quarterly results before the opening bell.

2:00 p.m.: Fed Governor Christopher Waller discusses the economic outlook at Auburn University.

Banks Respond to White House Stablecoin Report

The American Bankers Association is pushing back on the White House’s stablecoin report, arguing that it understates the risks of allowing yield on payment stablecoins.

In a new blog post released Monday morning, the trade group representing banks of all sizes across the U.S. said the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is asking the wrong question by focusing on the impact of banning yield, rather than what happens if yield is allowed to scale.

The banks’ core concern here is that yield-bearing stablecoins could accelerate deposit flight, particularly from community banks, raising funding costs and reducing local lending.

While the CEA found that prohibiting yield would have a minimal impact on lending, the banks are arguing that the analysis is based on today’s relatively small stablecoin market, and doesn’t account for a scenario where the sector grows to $1 trillion to $2 trillion.

The banks are also pushing back on the idea that deposits would simply be “reshuffled” within the banking system, warning that even if total deposits remain stable, shifts away from smaller banks could reduce credit availability in local communities.

In response to the blog, White House Crypto Council Executive Director Patrick Witt told Crypto In America, “The degree to which banks are tilting at windmills over the issue of stablecoin rewards is enough to make Don Quixote blush.”

It’s unclear what impact, if any, the bankers’ view will have on the current state of the stablecoin compromise.

Tracking GENIUS Act Rulemaking: New Dashboard from Paradigm

Finding it tough to keep track of all the GENIUS Act rulemakings? So are we.

Paradigm just dropped a new dashboard tracking the 22 proposed rules across six federal agencies involved in the rulemaking process. It shows each rule’s stage, days since enactment and implementation timeline. Check it out here.

Weekend News Flash

ICYMI: The biggest headlines from Friday and the weekend.

• In a spat on X, TRON founder Justin Sun accused World Liberty Financial of opaque governance and unfair token lockups, prompting a response from the Trump-backed platform: “see you in court.”

• Tokens linked to President Trump took a nosedive over the weekend, with memecoin TRUMP down 91% and World Liberty Financial down 75% from highs.

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said, “It’s time to pass the Clarity Act,” responding to an op-ed from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging the same.

• Circle responded to the Drift exploit, arguing that its ability to freeze funds is a legal obligation rather than a discretionary power. It also warned that gaps between fast-moving technology and slower legal frameworks are limiting the industry’s ability to respond to exploits.

Remember: New editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

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What you’ll read: A White House report suggests stablecoin yield may not be the threat to banks they’ve warned of; Roman Storm returns to court; Mysten Labs co-founder and CEO Evan Cheng joins the podcast; and the news driving headlines this week.

A report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers released Wednesday morning finds that prohibiting yield on stablecoins would have only a minimal impact on preventing deposit flight from banks, suggesting those concerns may be overstated.

The report comes amid a months-long standoff between banking and crypto lobbyists that has stalled market structure legislation in the Senate, with banks warning that yield-bearing stablecoins would drive deposit flight and hit lending, and the crypto industry arguing there’s little evidence to back that up. It also follows weeks of pressure from Senate Banking lawmakers, including Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), on the White House to release the report to inform ongoing negotiations with industry, as Crypto In America reported last month.

The White House analysis is model-based, using current market conditions to simulate how stablecoin yield would affect deposits and lending under different scenarios. Under those conditions, the model finds that eliminating yield would increase bank lending by just $2.1 billion, about 0.02% of total loans, while resulting in a roughly $800 million net welfare loss, meaning the costs to consumers outweigh the benefits to the system. The report also tests a worst-case scenario where stablecoins could more meaningfully impact lending, but only under conditions that do not reflect today’s system, including zero excess reserves and a major shift in Fed policy.

“The yield prohibition in the GENIUS Act—and its proposed reinforcement through the CLARITY Act—may be motivated by the concern that competitive stablecoin returns will draw deposits out of the banking system and contract lending,” the report says. “Our model shows that this concern is quantitatively small.”

The conclusions align more closely with the crypto industry’s view that allowing customers to earn yield on stablecoins would have limited impact on bank business models.

“The facts matter, and it’s good to see the Council of Economic Advisers confirm that stablecoins aren’t a threat to community banks. Stablecoins are a big win for consumers and a big opportunity for banks. Rewards are critical to preserving those benefits,” said Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad, whose company has been a leading advocate for allowing customers to earn yield after CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew support for the market structure bill in January, citing excessive deference to banks on the issue.

It’s unclear what, if any, implications the study could have on a potential deal between banks and the crypto industry on allowing yield and rewards on stablecoins. As Crypto In America reported on Monday, parties close to the negotiations have remained largely silent on where things stand, though two sources close to the process expressed hope that negotiations are in a good place.

Crypto In America reached out to spokespeople for Sen. Tillis and Sen. Alsobrooks, the two senators leading negotiations on the yield compromise, as well as banking representatives, but did not hear back in time for publication.

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Roman Storm Returns to Court

Eight months after Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm was found guilty in the Southern District of New York of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, a federal judge will hear arguments Thursday on whether that conviction should be thrown out.

Quick recap: In August 2025, a jury deadlocked on more serious charges tied to money laundering and sanctions violations, and Storm was released on bail following his conviction on a single count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. His defense is now asking the court to throw out that conviction, arguing the government failed to prove he knowingly agreed to facilitate illicit activity through the privacy mixer he co-founded. The DOJ has also indicated it plans to retry the case on the two unresolved counts, with a tentative retrial set for October.

New wrinkle: Just days before the hearing, federal prosecutors pushed back on Storm’s attempt to lean on a recent Supreme Court ruling (Cox v. Sony), calling it irrelevant. The defense had argued the case — which limits liability for platforms over user behavior — could support Storm’s position that he should not be held liable for how bad actors used Tornado Cash. The DOJ disagrees, arguing in a letter to the court that Storm failed to take meaningful steps to prevent illicit activity and had direct knowledge of illegal funds flowing through Tornado Cash, including those tied to a $600M North Korea-linked hack.

In response, Storm’s defense lawyer Keri Curtis Axel told Crypto In America, “We look forward to addressing the government’s letter at the hearing on Thursday.”

Why it matters: Judge Failla’s decision will be another key indicator of how U.S. law treats open-source software developers at a crucial time for the industry, as key legislation moves through Congress that includes protections for developers. It also comes amid recent guidance from the U.S. Treasury acknowledging lawful uses for blockchain privacy tools.

For more on the case, check out this blog post from our friends at the DeFi Education Fund.

Sui Founder on Building for Institutions, Stablecoin Yield Policy, and the AI–Crypto Future

This week on the podcast, we sat down with Evan Cheng, co-founder and CEO of Mysten Labs, the team behind the Sui blockchain, to talk about how crypto is evolving from experimental infrastructure into the backbone of modern financial technology.

Cheng walked through building Mysten Labs and Sui in a shifting U.S. regulatory environment, how that clarity is unlocking new business models, and where institutions are leaning in today. We also dig into what limits on stablecoin yield could mean for bank competitiveness amid the broader policy debate in Washington, and why he believes AI-driven agents will reshape payments and position blockchain as the trust layer for an automated economy.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

Midweek Recap

ICYMI: Here are some of the biggest stories making headlines this week.

• Bitcoin jumped following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran on Tuesday, pushing the asset above $71,000, while oil fell roughly 16% to around $90–$95 as the Strait of Hormuz reopened.

• Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF launched on NYSE Arca under the ticker MSBT, marking the first time a major U.S. bank has issued a spot Bitcoin ETF under its own name.

• The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) approved a proposed rule to govern stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act, setting capital, liquidity, and custody standards, with Chair Travis Hill reaffirming that tokenized deposits will be treated as traditional bank deposits. The rule will be open for a 60-day comment period.

• Robinhood and BNY Mellon have been tapped by the U.S. Treasury to serve as trustee and build the brokerage platform for Trump Accounts, custodial retirement accounts for children under 18.

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins said a safe harbor proposal for capital raising in crypto has advanced to White House review, with a formal rule expected shortly.

• Binance founder CZ released his autobiography “Freedom of Money,” recounting the building of the exchange, its run-ins with regulators, and his time in prison.

• CME Group announced plans to launch Avalanche and Sui futures on May 4 pending regulatory approval.

• The U.S. Treasury’s FinCEN proposed sweeping changes to bank anti-money laundering programs, with a renewed focus on combating illicit finance.

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What you’ll read: The tick-tock on stablecoin yield and the Clarity Act, what to watch this week, and the headlines you might have missed.

Senators have one more week of calm before returning to a storm of spring activity: confirming Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh, advancing a reconciliation package and, most important to the crypto industry, passing the Clarity Act.

As it stands, the key issue holding up the bill — a debate between banks and crypto over how companies can offer rewards on customers’ stablecoin holdings without triggering deposit flight — appears to be at an inflection point after a second round of meetings with Senate staffers late last week.

According to two industry sources who spoke with Crypto In America on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, one from crypto and one from banking, stakeholders reviewed the latest compromise language Thursday, with banks briefed Friday. Neither would discuss details but said they were hopeful a workable solution had been reached this time.

The revised deal follows two months of tense negotiations that ended in industry dissatisfaction with a late-March draft from Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and the White House, which some stakeholders, including Coinbase and Stripe, balked at.

A Stripe spokesperson declined to comment. A Coinbase spokesperson also declined to comment, though its Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal sparked some excitement following a TV interview last Wednesday in which the host said Coinbase had indicated “a deal could come together within 48 hours.” Asked if he believed that to be true, Grewal said he was “very confident” he would see progress.

So far, silence, and it remains unclear whether the Senate Banking Committee plans to release the deal text publicly ahead of a markup many expect Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) to schedule in the final two weeks of April.

Meanwhile, a White House Council of Economic Advisers study on stablecoin yield and its potential impact on deposit flight and bank lending has yet to be released, as Banking Committee members continue to press for its publication. Crypto In America first reported on the study last month after a Senate Republican meeting on market structure, where Tillis and others pressed White House Crypto Council Executive Director Patrick Witt to make it public.

The study is said to include economic analysis that leans positive for crypto in the debate over deposit flight. It’s not clear why the White House appears to be holding back the report.

If the yield issue is indeed moving to the back burner, it means Banking Committee staff and members, once they return, have the next two weeks to close out, as best they can, remaining issues related to DeFi, tokenization, and token classification. With time ticking down, ethics concerns may ramp up again as Democrats grow wary of an April 25 event for TRUMP memecoin holders at Mar-a-Lago, set to feature the president around the same time as a potential markup.

👀 What To Watch This Week

Monday

The House and Senate are out on Easter break.

9:00 a.m.: Vanderbilt University and the Blockchain Association will host the Digital Assets and Emerging Technology Policy Summit, featuring speakers including Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR), Rep. William Timmons (R-SC), SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig.

Crypto In America’s Eleanor Terrett will moderate a discussion with Reps. Hill and Timmons at 1:30 p.m. CT.

Tuesday

11:00 a.m.: SEC Chair Atkins will deliver a keynote at the Texas Stock Exchange’s “BOOM BELT” event in Miami alongside Govs. Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott.

1:00 p.m.: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will hold a board meeting to vote on proposed stablecoin rules, as part of a broader push to establish prudential standards for issuers.

Wednesday

9:00 a.m.: Token Americas, a stablecoin and digital payments summit, kicks off at the University of Miami.

2:00 p.m.: The Fed releases its March meeting minutes, detailing policymakers’ latest views on inflation, interest rates, and the economic outlook.

Thursday

8:30 a.m.: Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is out from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, tracking price changes in consumer spending.

The Commerce Department publishes its second estimate of Q4 GDP.

Friday

8:30 a.m.: CPI data, another inflation gauge, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is due. PCE and CPI data will test whether the Fed can keep holding off on rate cuts.

10:00 a.m.: University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment data due, offering a snapshot of how consumers view the economy.

Weekend News Flash

ICYMI: The biggest headlines from Friday and the weekend.

• Drift Protocol said the $285 million April 1 hack was carried out through a months-long, targeted social engineering operation by North Korean hackers.

• Bitcoin climbed toward $70,000 over the weekend on signs of possible de-escalation in the Iran conflict, plus a short squeeze that liquidated more than $270 million in short positions.

• Todd Blanche, author of the DOJ memo that scaled back federal crypto enforcement, is now serving as interim U.S. Attorney General following Pam Bondi’s departure.

• The CFTC sued Illinois, Arizona, and Connecticut over efforts to block prediction market platforms it says fall under its exclusive federal oversight.

• The Treasury Department released a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking public comment on its implementation of the GENIUS Act.

• Coinbase received conditional approval for a national trust charter from the OCC, joining Circle, Ripple, Paxos, and other crypto firms that received similar approvals in December.

• Charles Schwab teased Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for customers is coming “soon” under a new ‘Schwab Crypto’ initiative and has opened signups for updates and potential early access.

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says tokenized finance, where trades settle instantly, could reshape finance by cutting out intermediaries but may also accelerate market stress in downturns.

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What you’ll read: Bitcoin gets its first muni-style credit rating; the public release of a stablecoin yield compromise is delayed; an Alaska Senate candidate’s fundraiser raises eyebrows in crypto circles; and LayerZero’s co-founder joins the podcast. Plus, the headlines shaping this week.

Moody’s has officially put a stamp on New Hampshire’s Bitcoin-backed bond, assigning a provisional Ba2 rating to the $100 million issuance first reported by Crypto In America in November.

This marks the first time a municipal-style bond backed by Bitcoin has been evaluated using traditional credit frameworks. The rating is especially timely, giving institutional investors a way to assess and potentially allocate to crypto-linked fixed income as regulation around blockchain-based instruments grows clearer.

The bond is structured through New Hampshire’s Business Finance Authority as a conduit with no taxpayer backing. Investors are instead protected by overcollateralized Bitcoin held in custody by BitGo; repayments are tied to the liquidation of that collateral if needed.

The structure will look familiar to fixed-income investors: the borrower posts roughly 160% in Bitcoin, with triggers that force liquidation if collateral levels fall. The difference is the asset. Traditional bonds are typically backed by predictable cash flows or government taxing power, whereas this structure relies on the value of Bitcoin held as collateral.

Moody’s based its Ba2 rating on risks tied to the collateral, structure and operations, particularly Bitcoin’s volatility. The rating places the bonds in speculative-grade territory, making them suitable for risk-tolerant investors, but generally outside the scope of more conservative portfolios.

Still, the bigger picture is that Bitcoin has entered the credit ratings system, potentially paving the way for a larger role in the $140 trillion global bond market.

The development follows another notable step for crypto in traditional finance this week, as the U.S. Labor Department issued a proposal to allow alternative assets like cryptocurrency and private equity in retirement accounts.

Stablecoin Yield Text No Longer Expected This Week

The broader crypto industry will have to wait a bit longer to see the final version of a compromise between industry stakeholders and the Senate Banking Committee over stablecoin yield and rewards.

In a shift from last week’s guidance, a spokesperson for Senator Thom Tillis’s (R-NC) office told Crypto In America on Wednesday that the text is no longer expected to be released publicly this week. A source familiar with the matter said the delay reflects concerns that releasing the text ahead of a markup, now expected in the back half of the month, could give opponents an opening to slow the bill’s progress.

The update comes as talks have continued in recent days between crypto and banking groups, following dissatisfaction with an earlier draft agreed to by Tillis, Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and the White House.

Crypto Campaign Watch

With seven months to go until the midterms, the crypto industry is making another coordinated push to influence election outcomes after a major showing in 2024. Crypto In America will track the candidates, spending, key races, and the stories shaping the 2026 midterm elections.

Today, Fellowship PAC, a pro-crypto super PAC that launched last year, named Tether’s VP of Regulatory Affairs, Jesse Spiro, as chairman, as the body ramps up efforts to back pro-industry candidates ahead of the midterms. The group says it will begin rolling out its first slate of candidate endorsements in the coming days.

On Monday, members of the Digital Chamber launched a new hybrid PAC, the Blockchain Leadership Fund. The group will both donate directly to pro-crypto candidates, and spend independently on advertising to support or oppose campaigns based on their alignment with industry priorities.

That alignment is something backers of the $2.4 trillion crypto industry are taking seriously.

One Democratic Senate candidate in Alaska is drawing criticism from some industry watchers for associating with a sitting House member who is widely viewed by the industry as anti-crypto.

Mary Peltola, a former U.S. House member from Alaska who is running against incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, attended a fundraiser hosted on her behalf by Sean Gard, Chief of Staff to Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), sources familiar with the event tell Crypto In America.

Moore, who had voted against a handful of pro-crypto legislation, including the GENIUS Act and the Clarity Act, has an ‘F’ rating on Stand With Crypto’s politician scorecard, which tracks members of Congress’ voting records and prior statements on crypto.

“Peltola has an ‘A’ rating on Stand With Crypto, so it’s notable that she would align herself politically and financially with those outside that camp,” said one industry source who requested anonymity.

Sullivan also has an ‘A’ rating on the website.

Alaska is not traditionally a battleground state, but the Senate race is emerging as a potential sleeper contest in 2026, with early polling pointing to a tighter matchup between Sullivan and Peltola. No crypto-linked PAC spending has been reported so far, but groups like Fairshake are sitting on nearly $200 million, so the race could become a target as the election draws closer.

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LayerZero CEO Bryan Pellegrino on Interoperability and Bringing TradFi Onchain

This week on the podcast, we sat down with Bryan Pellegrino, co-founder and CEO of LayerZero Labs.

Bryan spoke about how the 2011 U.S. online poker ban led him to crypto, his early days in sports betting, and what he learned about the risks of insecure and centralized cross-chain bridges.

We also dove into how interoperability is evolving, LayerZero’s recent growth and institutional partnerships, and what it takes to connect traditional finance to public blockchains.

Plus, Bryan broke down how policymakers in Washington are approaching cross-chain infrastructure, and what the Clarity Act could mean for bringing regulated capital markets onchain.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

Midweek Recap

ICYMI: Here are some of the biggest stories making headlines this week.

• Franklin Templeton launched Franklin Crypto, a new institutional-grade crypto investment unit, and said it plans to acquire a CoinFund spinoff as it looks to expand deeper into digital assets.

• Bitcoin logged its worst first quarter since 2018, declining 22% in Q1 2026.

• Gold posted its worst monthly decline since October 2008, down 15% in March.

• The U.S. DOJ charged 10 foreign nationals across four crypto firms for alleged pump-and-dump schemes in crypto markets. Three executives, including two CEOs, were arrested and extradited from Singapore to face trial.

• Two crypto bills cleared Arizona’s House Rules Committee, putting them on a fast track to a full House vote. SB1042 would allow state funds to invest up to 10% in crypto, while SB1649 would create a digital assets reserve fund.

• The U.S. Labor Department proposed a rule that would make it easier for 401(k) plans to include alternative assets like crypto, real estate and private equity.

• President Trump’s net worth hit an estimated $6.5 billion as of March 2026, driven by crypto gains, licensing deals, and real estate, according to Forbes.

• Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the “Mined in America Act,” aimed at boosting U.S. crypto mining, reducing reliance on foreign hardware, and codifying a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

• Binance is set to launch oil and gas futures on April 1, offering up to 100x leverage.

Remember, new editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

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What you’ll read: A final stablecoin yield compromise is expected to be released publicly this week; members of the Digital Chamber launch a hybrid PAC. Plus, what to watch and a look back at Friday’s and weekend headlines.

Congress is out for two weeks on Easter recess, but behind the scenes work on the Clarity Act is set to ramp up.

Senators are expected to release final legislative text this week detailing the revised stablecoin yield and rewards compromise, including how crypto firms can offer rewards without driving deposit flight from banks.

The revised version follows industry dissatisfaction with an earlier draft agreed to by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) and the White House, which some stakeholders, including Coinbase and Stripe, balked at after review. Under that proposal, companies would be barred from offering yield “directly or indirectly” on passive stablecoin balances or anything equivalent to interest, while still allowing activity-based rewards.

A Tillis spokesperson told Crypto In America that the new text follows conversations with industry stakeholders, including banks.

With the Banking Committee now eyeing the last two weeks of April for a potential markup, that leaves about three weeks for industry and lawmakers to resolve other remaining issues before another push to move the Clarity Act out of committee and onto the Senate floor. Outstanding quibbles around DeFi, token classification and tokenization are expected to shape the final days before Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) puts a markup on the calendar.

Anchorage Digital Backs New Crypto Hybrid PAC

Anchorage Digital is jumping into crypto’s campaign finance arena.

The crypto custodian, alongside Chainlink, is a founding member of the Blockchain Leadership Fund, a new bipartisan hybrid PAC launched by members of the Digital Chamber to advance pro-crypto regulation in the U.S. The firm also made an undisclosed donation.

It marks a first for Anchorage, which has maintained a steady lobbying presence on Capitol Hill but until now has not committed funds to a pro-crypto political effort.

Structured as a hybrid PAC, meaning it can both donate directly to candidates and spend independently, the Blockchain Leadership Fund is one of a handful of crypto-friendly political groups to emerge since the 2024 election, when corporate crypto money, funneled largely through the super PAC Fairshake and its affiliates, helped elect dozens of pro-crypto members of Congress and return Donald Trump to the White House.

In the year and a half since, the landscape has shifted in crypto’s favor, but Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley tells Crypto In America the work is far from over.

“In 2026, with market structure legislation on the table and regulatory frameworks being written in real time, sitting on the sidelines is itself a political choice,” he said. “The choices we make now will shape the regulatory environment for a generation, which isn’t something we can afford to leave to chance.”

For Anchorage, the change in administration led to the lifting of its 2022 OCC consent order over compliance issues, which the company says were tied to the Biden administration’s tough stance on digital assets. The passage of the GENIUS Act also solidified its stablecoin business, creating new revenue streams in issuance, reserve custody and compliance services, and positioning Anchorage as a regulated backend for stablecoins.

The firm’s entry into campaign finance comes as the crypto industry ramps up its midterm effort. Last week, Stand With Crypto rolled out its 2026 campaign roadmap with early endorsements and a targeted strategy to mobilize pro-crypto voters. Fairshake said it has more than $193 million on hand to support pro-crypto candidates and oppose anti-crypto ones, backed by contributors including Ripple, Coinbase and a16z.

👀 What To Watch This Week

Monday

House and Senate are out on Easter break.

10:30 a.m.: Fed Chair Jerome Powell takes part in a moderated discussion at Harvard University.

Tuesday

FTX Recovery Trust will distribute about $2.2 billion to creditors in its fourth payout under the exchange’s Chapter 11 plan.

9:00 a.m.: Chainalysis holds its annual two-day Links conference in New York City.

10:00 a.m.: The Conference Board publishes consumer confidence data.

3:00 p.m.: Fed Governor Michael Barr discusses stablecoins and the GENIUS Act with the Federalist Society.

Wednesday

8:30 a.m.: The Commerce Department releases delayed retail sales data for February.

Friday

8:30 a.m.: Jobs Friday: We get the latest non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Weekend News Flash

ICYMI: The biggest headlines from Friday and the weekend.

• David Sacks’ time as White House Crypto and AI Czar has come to an end as he steps into a new position as co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

• The Senate Banking Committee is set to hold Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh’s confirmation hearing as early as the week of April 13, according to Punchbowl.

• Reps. Max Miller (R-OH) and Steven Horsford (D-NV) unveiled a bipartisan bill, the PARITY Act, a revised tax package for digital assets that notably includes a de minimis tax exemption for stablecoins but not other digital assets.

• NYSE parent ICE invested another $600 million in Polymarket, bringing its total investment in the platform to $1.6 billion.

• Tether has hired KPMG and PwC, two of the Big Four accounting firms, to conduct the first-ever audit of its USDT reserves, according to the Financial Times.

Remember, new editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday and Wednesday.

If you like what you’re reading, don’t forget to subscribe!

Subscribe now