legislation

Circle Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte published a response regarding the over $270 million theft incident involving Drift Protocol. Disparte stated that Circle only freezes USDC when legally mandated to do so, and this is not a unilateral decision, nor is it a backdoor or algorithmic monitoring. This reflects the rule of law in internet-native financial activities.He pointed out that the core issue facing open systems is that the legal framework's response speed lags behind technological development. Protocols, wallets, exchanges, and stablecoin issuers should regard security and accountability as a shared obligation, and DeFi protocols can develop on-chain technical protection measures by referencing the circuit breaker mechanisms of traditional markets.He also called for the legislative processes of the U.S. GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act to incorporate due process, property rights, and financial privacy protection standards into law before the next major security incident occurs.

According to The Block, Anchorage Digital and Chainlink Labs jointly funded the newly established political action committee "Blockchain Leadership Fund," marking Anchorage Digital's first involvement in PAC financing.The fund plans to support candidates who promote digital asset and blockchain policies ahead of the midterm elections and actively engage in voter education. Currently, the U.S. Congress's cryptocurrency legislative process is stalled, with the Senate Banking Committee still at odds with the banking industry over stablecoin reward regulation issues. Meanwhile, the crypto advocacy organization Stand With Crypto has also launched a legislator digital asset position scoring system to continue building momentum for the industry ahead of the 2026 elections.

Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett revealed that the office of U.S. Senator Thom Tillis plans to publicly release legislative text related to stablecoin yields and reward mechanisms next week, and is currently in ongoing communication with various industry stakeholders.According to reports, this move comes in response to dissatisfaction expressed by participants in the crypto industry, such as Coinbase, regarding the relevant terms presented earlier this week. Coinbase's Global Head of Investment Research, David Duong, stated that the industry is preparing a coordinated counter-proposal aimed at pushing for adjustments to the terms to protect users while maintaining a sustainable reward mechanism.

According to Cointelegraph, Tim Scott, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, stated that bipartisan support has been gained for cryptocurrency market structure legislation, and consensus within the industry is the final obstacle. He revealed that communication with Coinbase has taken place, and all parties are still at the negotiating table.

According to Crypto In America, representatives from the cryptocurrency industry and the banking sector will head to Capitol Hill to review legislative texts concerning the yield and reward mechanisms for stablecoins.Reports indicate that the White House has reached a preliminary compromise with senators on related provisions, with the core controversy being whether to allow cryptocurrency platforms to offer yields to stablecoin holders. The current draft may include provisions that restrict yields on idle balances in response to the banking industry's concerns about deposit outflows and impaired lending capacity.Additionally, the relevant legislative texts have not yet been made public, and the industry still lacks clear expectations regarding the specific content. The Senate Banking Committee may advance the review process after the Easter holiday.

According to CoinDesk, negotiations on the CLARITY Act, a U.S. cryptocurrency market structure bill, have been ongoing for several weeks and are currently in a state of "almost reached."Insiders say that the updated legislative text was submitted to the White House for review on Thursday, and Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee held a meeting that day to discuss how to bridge the final gaps. A long-standing dispute over stablecoin yields is nearing compromise, but lawmakers are still discussing what other concessions can be offered to community banks in exchange for their support, which may include provisions related to recent housing legislation. Democrats continue to demand a ban on government officials profiting from personal cryptocurrency interests (mainly targeting Trump) and require the appointment of a Democratic commissioner to fill a vacancy before the CFTC passes new regulations.Senator Lummis stated that the Coinbase CEO has been more flexible in recent negotiations. Meanwhile, the SEC released its first classification definition of crypto assets this week. The SEC chairman stated that only Congress can rewrite the law, but in the meantime, regulators are providing a responsible regulatory path that the market needs.

According to Cointelegraph, data shows that for the week ending March 9, Polymarket and Kalshi set all-time highs in nominal trading volume, reaching $2.49 billion and $2.85 billion, respectively. Dune data indicates that the continued growth in trading activity has driven the total nominal trading volume of all prediction markets to $14.5 billion, with the number of unique users reaching 2.8 million.Meanwhile, U.S. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff has introduced the "DEATH BETS Act," which aims to amend the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) to explicitly prohibit federally regulated prediction markets from listing contracts related to war, terrorism, assassination, and personal death. Previously, six Polymarket traders faced insider trading allegations after profiting $1 million from accurately betting on a U.S. attack on Iran.

According to Crypto In America, during the DC Blockchain Summit hosted by The Digital Chamber, several U.S. lawmakers and industry professionals will discuss the progress of stablecoin legislation. Tim Scott (Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee) is expected to be asked about the timeline for the next markup of the relevant bill at the event.Insiders have revealed that negotiations surrounding the "yield" issue of stablecoins are nearing consensus. Cody Carbone stated that the regulatory framework may include a ban on providing yields on idle stablecoin balances, while allowing reward mechanisms based on trading behavior, with relevant parties expected to reach a solution within the next week. Additionally, Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks are seen as key legislative advocates, both expressing concerns about the banking industry's worries regarding funds flowing from deposit accounts to high-yield crypto products.Industry insiders believe that once these two lawmakers are satisfied with the text of the bill, the controversy over stablecoin yields is likely to be fundamentally resolved, after which regulatory focus will shift to issues such as DeFi and token classification.

According to market news, the Australian Senate Economic Legislation Committee has released a report supporting the legislative proposal to include cryptocurrency platforms and custodial services in the country's financial services system.The bill will amend the Corporations Act and the ASIC Act to establish a licensing and compliance regime for businesses that hold or manage digital tokens on behalf of clients. Under the framework, digital asset platforms and tokenized custodial service operators will generally be required to hold an Australian Financial Services License, comply with asset protection standards, and meet disclosure requirements when accepting retail clients. The bill aims to fill regulatory gaps, ensuring that intermediaries holding clients' digital assets are governed by existing financial services laws rather than regulating the blockchain technology itself. If passed, it will provide a six-month transition period for providers that do not yet hold an AFSL.

Investment bank TD Cowen stated that the U.S. Congress may be close to passing legislation to permanently prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). This move could benefit stablecoin issuers but may also introduce new complexities for cryptocurrency market structure legislation.Last week, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz proposed an amendment in the housing bill "21st Century ROAD to Housing Act," calling for a permanent ban on the Federal Reserve issuing CBDC. The amendment aims to convert the currently effective temporary ban, which lasts until 2030, into a permanent provision. The housing bill is expected to be submitted for a Senate vote as early as this week.Jaret Seiberg, Managing Director of TD Cowen's Washington research department, indicated that the housing bill ultimately submitted for the president's signature is likely to include this ban, and the possibility of a permanent ban is higher than that of a temporary one. Seiberg pointed out that the amendment is primarily aimed at solidifying the current policy stance.The Federal Reserve has repeatedly stated that it will not issue a digital dollar without explicit authorization from Congress. Meanwhile, several U.S. lawmakers have recently co-signed a letter to congressional leadership, urging for a permanent ban on CBDC. Congressman Ralph Norman stated that unlike cash, CBDC could allow the government to track transactions and monitor individual spending behavior, thus a permanent ban is necessary to protect the privacy and freedom of Americans.It is noteworthy that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act" last year, which prohibits the Federal Reserve from directly issuing CBDC to individuals. Cruz has also been actively pushing for similar legislation in the Senate.

The U.S. Treasury submitted a 32-page report to Congress stating that cryptocurrency mixers can be used for legitimate financial privacy purposes, allowing users to protect sensitive information such as personal wealth, business payments, or charitable donations. This stance marks a shift from its attitude when sanctioning Tornado Cash in 2022.The report reveals that North Korean cybercriminals stole at least $2.8 billion in digital assets between January 2024 and September 2025, including $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit, and regularly used mixers for multi-step money laundering. Since May 2020, over $1.6 billion in mixer deposits have flowed into cross-chain bridges, with more than $900 million concentrated in a bridging protocol related to North Korean money laundering activities.The report distinguishes between custodial and non-custodial mixers, noting that compliant custodial mixers can provide customer identity and off-chain transaction data, but it did not recommend imposing new restrictions on non-custodial mixers. In terms of legislative recommendations, the report urges Congress to create a digital asset-specific "freezing law" to provide safe harbor protection for financial institutions to temporarily freeze suspicious assets during short-term investigations, and suggests that Congress clarify which DeFi participants should bear anti-money laundering obligations.The report also proposes adding a "sixth special measure" to Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, authorizing the Treasury to impose bans or restrictions on specific digital asset transfers that do not involve agency banking relationships. This report was prepared based on Section 9 of the GENIUS Act signed in July 2025.

The proposer of the "Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act," Senate Banking Committee on Digital Assets Chair Cynthia Lummis, stated that she had a meeting with CFTC Chair Michael Selig, where they discussed the structure of the digital asset market, and the conversation was very pleasant. The CFTC Chair is well aware of the urgency of the moment and looks forward to continuing collaboration in the process of integrating digital assets into the 21st-century financial system.

The Financial Services Commission of South Korea (FSC) held the first meeting of the "Virtual Assets Committee" for 2026 today. During the meeting, representatives from relevant ministries, agencies, and the private sector discussed the mid-term review of the excessive payment incident involving virtual assets (February 6) and the direction for institutional improvements, as well as the main content of the government's review plan tentatively named the "Basic Law on Digital Assets" (Phase II of the "Virtual Assets Act").Based on today's discussions, the Financial Services Commission plans to continue advancing improvements in DAXA's internal control standards and self-regulation, and to consult with both the ruling and opposition parties on legislative matters.

The U.S. President Trump stated that the GENIUS Act, which provides a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance, is currently being threatened and undermined by the banking industry. He posted on Truth Social that banks are trying to influence the legislative process and urged Congress to expedite the advancement of the crypto market structure bill.Trump stated, "The U.S. must complete market structure legislation as soon as possible. Americans should allow their funds to earn higher returns." He also criticized the banking industry for trying to obstruct the government-driven crypto policy agenda while posting record profits, warning that if the regulatory framework is not clarified soon, the U.S. advantage in the crypto space may shift to countries like China.It is reported that the banking industry has consistently pushed for amendments to the provisions regarding stablecoin yields in the GENIUS Act. Some lobbyists believe that allowing stablecoins to offer yields could attract bank deposits away from the traditional banking system. In response, Trump stated that banks should not attempt to undermine the GENIUS Act, nor should they leverage this to hinder the advancement of the CLARITY Act. He called for the banking industry to reach a reasonable compromise with the crypto industry to align with the overall interests of the American public.

According to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon had a lunch meeting with Republican senators, focusing on advancing cryptocurrency market structure legislation to solidify the United States' global leadership in the fields of crypto and AI.

According to Kommersant, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new law that grants Russian courts new powers to confiscate cryptocurrencies in criminal investigations.The law will amend the Russian Criminal Code to classify cryptocurrencies as a form of intangible property. Elena Ardabyeva, Deputy Minister of Justice of Russia, stated that the law formally incorporates existing digital asset confiscation protocols into the legal framework and provides a legal avenue for cooperation with foreign cryptocurrency exchanges.The law stipulates that requests for the confiscation of cryptocurrencies made by police or prosecutors must include detailed information such as the type of tokens, quantity, and wallet addresses. Experts suggest that the Kremlin may begin to block citizens' access to foreign cryptocurrency exchanges this year.

According to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, this morning's third meeting on the "Cryptocurrency Market Structure Bill" (the CLARITY Act) regarding stablecoin yields was smaller than last week's, with representatives from Coinbase, Ripple, a16z, and the Crypto Industry Association in attendance, but no bank representatives present individually; the banking industry's voice was conveyed through the industry association.The situation at this meeting was notably different: the White House led the discussion, rather than allowing cryptocurrency companies and banks to dominate the conversation as in previous meetings. Patrick Witt, the Executive Director of the White House Cryptocurrency Committee, brought a draft text that became the focal point of the discussion.The text acknowledged the concerns raised by banks last week in the "Prohibition of Yields and Interest Principles" document, while clearly stating that a key goal of stablecoin-related legislation is to prohibit earning yields on idle stablecoin balances. The debate has narrowed down to whether crypto companies can offer stablecoin rewards tied to specific activities, with banks' concerns seeming to stem more from competitive pressure than the initially perceived worry about deposit outflows.Sources from the banking sector indicated that they are still working to include a study on deposit outflows in the draft—this study would examine the growth of payment stablecoins and their potential impact on bank deposits. Additionally, the banking industry is encouraged by the proposed anti-tax avoidance provisions, which would empower the SEC, the Treasury, and the CFTC to enforce the ban on paying yields on idle balances, imposing a civil penalty of $500,000 per day for each violation.Sources stated that discussions could be finalized by the end of the month, with negotiations continuing in the coming days.