U.S. officials are reportedly studying ways to expand the current scope of deposit insurance that would guarantee all U.S. bank deposits should the current banking crisis worsen. The current deposit insurance cap under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) stands at $250,000, however, following the collapse of several banks in March, there have been calls…
Read more
The United States Federal Reserve has confirmed a July launch date for its long-awaited instant payments system, seen by some as an alternative to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins. The instant payment network will settle payments in seconds and can support transactions between consumers, merchants and banks. It does not rely on blockchain…
Read more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has signaled receptiveness to the crypto and blockchain sector after including several executives from the space as part of its new Technology Advisory Committee (TAC). CFTC commissioner and TAC sponsor Christy Goldsmith Romero announced the updated membership via a public statement on March 13, with the inaugural meeting of…
Read more
The Federal Reserve is investigating the factors that led to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank — including how it supervised and regulated the now-collapsed financial institution. In a Mar. 13 announcement, the Federal Reserve outlined that Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr is “leading a review of the supervision and regulation of Silicon Valley…
Read more
On March 10, Blockchain payment tech company and USD Coin (USDC) issuers Circle confirmed that wires initiated on Thursday to remove balances have not yet been processed, leaving $3.3 billion of its $40 billion USDC reserves at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Concerns have been growing over USDC late this week due to Circle disclosing in…
Read more
The Biden Administration is “aware of the situation” at Silvergate and will continue to monitor reports on the troubled bank as it unfolds, according to a White House spokesperson. Speaking at a press briefing on March 6, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House hasnoted that Silvergate marked another major crypto firm to “experience…
Read more
In a “base case” scenario, Galaxy Digital’s research unit has tipped the burgeoning Bitcoin nonfungible token (NFT) market to hit a $4.5 billion market cap by March 2025. Bitcoin NFTs, or Ordinals, have attracted a significant amount of attention since the Ordinals protocol launched in late January, enabling users to inscribe data such as images,…
Read more
The CEO of Custodia Bank Caitlin Long has slammed regulators and lawmakers in Washington D.C. for their “misguided crackdown” on the crypto sector, and also for ignoring her warnings of major “fraud” allegedly conducted by now-bankrupted entities. In a Feb. 17 blog post titled “Shame On Washington, DC For Shooting A Messenger Who Warned of…
Read more
A New York judge has granted a request from prosecutors to defer civil proceedings from the Commodities Futures Trading Commision (CFTC) and the Securities Exchange Commision (SEC) until after Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial in October. U.S. District Judge of Manhattan Kevin Castel on Feb. 13 granted the motions to stay the civil proceedings “without prejudice,”…
Read more
The Bank of England (BoE) and the United Kingdom’s Treasury are gearing up plans to create a digital currency that could “provide a new way to pay” without necessarily replacing cash. On Feb. 7, a joint consultation paper on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) is set to drop, with the BoE and Treasury seeking feedback…
Read more