NYSE exchanges have completed the industrywide removal of position caps on options tied to crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Brazil has postponed its planned public consultation on a new cryptocurrency tax regime until 2027, leaving the current 17.5% capital gains tax unchanged in the meantime.

Indian police have arrested CoinDCX co-founders over alleged fraud, according to media reports. The executives have denied any wrongdoing and said the matter stems from an impersonation scheme.

Brazil has put its planned public consultation on crypto taxation on hold, pushing the timeline to 2027 as the government prioritizes the October 2026 presidential election. Finance Minister Dario Durigan, who recently replaced Fernando Haddad, opted to delay the process to avoid consuming political capital on tax measures viewed as contentious during an election cycle, Reuters reported. Officials had previously intended to start public discussions later this year, and while the consultation remains on the agenda, the schedule is now expected to slip beyond the vote. The pause comes after a series of regulatory moves that have already tightened oversight of digital assets. In June 2025, Brazil adopted a 17.5% flat tax on crypto capital gains, ending prior exemptions that applied to monthly sales below 35,000 Brazilian real. In November 2025, Banco Central do Brasil classified stablecoin transactions as foreign-exchange operations, bringing crypto service providers more squarely under existing financial rules and adding authorization requirements. Central bank chief Gabriel Galipolo has said stablecoins represent about 90% of domestic crypto flows, making the FX classification a key lever for how activity is tracked and taxed. Despite the policy uncertainty, adoption remains robust. Chainalysis ranks Brazil fifth globally and No. 1 in Latin America. The country recorded $318.8 billion in crypto inflows from July 2024 to June 2025, while regional adoption rose 63% in 2025. Even with rapid growth across retail and institutional users, the delayed consultation leaves aspects of tax treatment for certain crypto transactions unresolved until after the election period.

Major central banks struck a more hawkish tone this week even as they left policy rates unchanged, with the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank all holding steady. Market expectations for the ECB are shifting quickly. Barclays and J.P. Morgan now see the risk of an interest-rate increase as early as April, with additional moves possible through the summer. Goldman Sachs has outlined a scenario in which the ECB delivers a cumulative 75 basis points of tightening starting in June. The BoE also flagged renewed inflation pressure, warning price growth could rise to 3.5% as oil prices surge. Brent crude traded above $119 a barrel after attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins on Tuesday delivered what he called a landmark shift in U.S. crypto policy, stating that Bitcoin, Ethereum and a wide swath of digital assets are formally outside U.S. securities laws. Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit 2026 on March 18, Atkins introduced a new token taxonomy and an updated framework for interpreting investment contracts, which he said the agency is putting into effect immediately. "The SEC's persistent failure to provide clarity on this question is over," he told the audience. Under the framework, four categories of crypto assets are explicitly treated as non-securities: digital commodities (including Bitcoin and Ethereum), digital collectibles, digital tools, and payment stablecoins issued under the GENIUS Act. Atkins said SEC oversight would be limited to a single category: "digital securities," defined narrowly as traditional financial securities that have been tokenized and moved onto a blockchain. All other categories would sit outside the agency's jurisdiction. "We are not the Securities and Everything Commission anymore," he added. Atkins also outlined two proposed safe-harbor style fundraising paths aimed at encouraging crypto development in the U.S. One would create a time-limited startup exemption lasting up to four years, allowing early-stage projects to raise up to $5 million without full securities registration. A second exemption would permit more established projects to raise up to $75 million in any 12-month period, contingent on filing a disclosure document with the SEC detailing financial condition and audited financial statements. He said the exemptions would complement, not replace, existing capital-raising options. Despite the breadth of the announcement, Atkins stressed that lasting regulatory certainty requires congressional action. He endorsed the bipartisan Clarity Act advancing on Capitol Hill and described the SEC's "Regulation Crypto Assets" effort as a way to begin implementing the bill ahead of its expected passage. "I trust it will soon reach President Trump's desk," he said. For an industry that has spent more than a decade navigating enforcement actions and shifting interpretations, the announcement is being seen as the clearest signal yet that Washington is moving toward a more defined rulebook for crypto.

Weekly Recap 1) The SEC approved a Nasdaq rule change that would allow trading in tokenized stocks and other securities. 2) U.S. senators reached an agreement with the White House to settle a dispute between banks and crypto firms over stablecoin yield. 3) The SEC and CFTC released joint guidance stating that "most crypto assets" are not securities. 4) PayPal officially rolled out stablecoin access in 70 countries. 5) SEC Chair Paul Atkins said "crypto markets and the millions of Americans who participate in them deserve longoverdue clarity." 6) CFTC Chair Mike Selig said crypto will drive the "new frontier of finance" as markets "move on chain." 7) Atkins said the SEC is removing impractical rules to "advance, clarify, and transform" financial markets. 8) U.S. national debt climbed to a new alltime high of $39 trillion. 9) Elon Musk's xAI is recruiting Wall Street bankers, portfolio managers, and traders to train Grok on financial modeling. 10) Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that rising energy prices tied to the U.S.israeli war with Iran will push inflation higher.

Gemini has been hit with a class-action lawsuit from investors who allege the Winklevoss-founded exchange misled shareholders about its business model before and after its Nasdaq debut in September 2025. Shares have fallen from the $28 IPO price to about $6 after the company unveiled "Gemini 2.0," a shift toward prediction markets. The overhaul included a 25% staff reduction, withdrawals from the UK, EU and Australia, and the February departures of its COO, CFO and Chief Legal Officer.