Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr warned Tuesday that stablecoins revive the "long and painful history" of unsafe private money, arguing they can amplify bank-run dynamics, facilitate illicit finance, and transmit systemic shocks. Speaking at the Federalist Society, Barr likened today's digital dollars to the 1800s era of bank runs and said similar panic patterns surfaced during the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-era turmoil. The remarks come as heightened scrutiny of stablecoins has slowed momentum in Congress on the Clarity Act.

EDX Markets, the crypto exchange backed by Citadel Securities, has filed for a national trust bank charter in the United States. The application was submitted to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as more crypto companies move to secure banking status under revised Trump administration policies.

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged ten executives and employees at four crypto market-making firms over alleged schemes to artificially boost trading volume and token prices. In a statement released Monday, the DOJ said the defendants are affiliated with Gotbit, Vortex, Antier and Contrarian. Three people were arrested in Singapore, extradited to the United States and made their first court appearance Monday before a federal judge in Oakland. The DOJ said two of those extradited were CEOs. The case stems from an undercover operation led by the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation division that began in May 2024 and focused on wash trading. According to prosecutors, the FBI created crypto tokens and observed the firms allegedly coordinating trades that produced fabricated volume and sharp price moves. Wash trading refers to transactions that amount to a party trading with itself to manufacture the appearance of liquidity, a tactic often used as a foundation for pump-and-dump manipulation. Prosecutors said the defendants face three separate indictments. The DOJ alleges the group worked to inflate volume and prices and then sold tokens at elevated levels to unsuspecting investors, causing losses that extended beyond the United States. Separately, the DOJ said two co-defendants have already pleaded guilty and were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín. Authorities have seized more than $1 million in cryptocurrency to date. The DOJ has pursued similar cases before. In October 2024, federal prosecutors in Boston charged 18 individuals and entities in a broad cryptocurrency market manipulation case that included leaders of four crypto companies, four market makers—ZM Quant, CLS Global, MyTrade and Gotbit—and employees at those firms. For traders, the latest charges reinforce that fabricated volume and manufactured liquidity in altcoin markets are being treated as classic fraud rather than as a byproduct of a new asset class. Elevated on-chain or exchange volume in thinly traded tokens is an increasing red flag, especially when linked to lightly documented market-making arrangements. The investigation also points to the likelihood of additional enforcement actions, which could raise legal-risk premia for small-cap tokens, intensify scrutiny on market makers, and result in cleaner but thinner liquidity in the near term. Over time, a sustained crackdown could compress the highest-volatility segment of crypto markets while compliant venues and assets benefit from improved credibility. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading in the upper $68,000s.

Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr on Tuesday delivered the Fed's strongest warning yet that stablecoins need strict oversight under the newly enacted GENIUS Act, citing a "long and painful history" of privately issued money that failed without adequate safeguards. His message lands squarely on the biggest players in the roughly $200 billion stablecoin market, including Tether and Circle, and signals a harder-edged enforcement posture than many assumed when the bill passed. Barr acknowledged the GENIUS Act could speed innovation, then focused on the risks regulators must contain. The sequencing underscored a key point for markets: the law's practical meaning will be set in the rulemaking now underway at the Fed and the FDIC. Key points from Barr's remarks and their implications: • Redemption at par is the core test: Barr said stablecoins are only "stable" if they can be redeemed promptly at par across a wide range of conditions, including stress that hits Treasury market liquidity and issuer-specific strain. • GENIUS Act timeline and the implementation gap: The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, created the first federal framework for stablecoins. Barr's March 31 remarks highlight the areas agencies must now define and enforce through detailed rules. • Reserve-asset incentives are a structural vulnerability: Barr warned issuers have an incentive to maximize returns on reserves, which can weaken reserve quality over time. The point is broadly applicable across the sector and echoes long-running scrutiny of Tether's reserve composition history. • Strict enforcement of backing limits: The law requires monthly reserve reporting and restricts backing assets to high-quality, liquid instruments such as U.S. Treasuries. Barr signaled the Fed intends to police those boundaries tightly. • Spillovers into broader crypto legislation: Disputes over stablecoin regulation are already slowing progress on the separate Clarity Act, suggesting Barr's stance could affect digital-asset policy beyond stablecoins. Why Barr's "long and painful history" matters Barr's reference was not rhetorical. He pointed to episodes where private money failed in ways that harmed holders: the 19th-century free-banking era of discounted bank notes and depositor losses, runs in money market funds in 2008 and 2020, and the 2022 TerraUSD collapse that erased about $40 billion in weeks. He framed stablecoin risk as a monetary and financial-stability issue, not merely a consumer-protection problem. Barr's central warning was explicit: "Stablecoins will be stable only if they can be reliably and promptly redeemed at par in a wide range of conditions, including during stress in the market that can put pressure on the value of otherwise liquid government debt and during episodes of strain on the individual issuer or its related entities." That framing challenges the idea that Treasury-backed reserves are automatically safe. Even U.S. Treasuries can experience liquidity stress, as seen in March 2020. Barr also argued that stretching reserve quality can boost profits in calm markets while raising the risk of a confidence break during inevitable stress. The message reads as an early pushback against any lobbying to broaden the GENIUS Act's permitted reserve-asset list during rulemaking. What the GENIUS Act sets out—and where enforcement will decide the outcome The GENIUS Act lays out a relatively strict baseline: stablecoin issuers must publish monthly reserve reports, hold reserves in safe and liquid assets such as short-term U.S. Treasuries, clearly disclose there is no FDIC insurance, and follow bank-style expectations on capital, liquidity, and anti-money-laundering compliance. Barr is pressing for the next phase to remain tight. He emphasized narrow definitions of "safe" reserves, stronger safeguards against regulatory arbitrage into weaker jurisdictions, capital requirements aligned with real redemption risk, tougher AML expectations, and limits on non-issuance activities to reduce spillover risk. The near-term market question is how strictly regulators define "safe assets" and how aggressively they enforce those limits—because that will determine how much flexibility issuers retain under the GENIUS Act framework.

According to Huo Xing Finance, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Enforcement Director David I. Miller said on April 1 that the agency's enforcement agenda will prioritize five areas: insider trading, market manipulation, market abuse, retail fraud, and breaches of anti-money laundering and KYC rules. The CFTC said prediction markets fall within its insider-trading remit, warning that trades based on material nonpublic information will be deemed illegal and "actively investigated and prosecuted." Miller said the CFTC aims to shift away from an "enforcement as regulation" approach and concentrate on core misconduct such as fraud and manipulation. The agency also plans to roll out a new cooperation policy that could reduce penalties or provide exemption pathways for institutions that voluntarily self-report, assist investigations, and complete remediation. The CFTC added it will deepen coordination with trading venues and judicial authorities to tackle manipulation in energy markets and fraud enabled by emerging technologies, including AI.

Social trading platform eToro said New York State residents can now trade cryptocurrencies on its platform alongside stocks, ETFs and options, according to Odaily Planet Daily. With a New York State BitLicense and a money transmission license in hand, eToro's crypto offering is now available in 48 U.S. states, meeting what it described as the country's toughest regulatory requirements. The company said its social-investing features and educational tools will be available to more than 9 million users in New York. Industry data cited by eToro shows 36% of U.S. retail investors hold crypto assets, while 17% plan to increase their exposure. eToro said the rollout is intended to broaden access to digital finance and support its mission of opening global markets. (GlobeNewswire)

Social trading platform eToro (Nasdaq: ETOR) has opened cryptocurrency trading to New York residents, following approval for a New York State BitLicense and a money transmission license, Crowdfund Insider reported. The move extends eToro's crypto offering to 48 U.S. states. Andrew McCormick, Head of eToro U.S., said: "New York is the heart of the financial markets and a hub for innovation. Completing our full U.S. rollout is both a strategic milestone and a testament to our commitment to responsibly expanding access to the next generation of financial markets." In 2024, eToro reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), agreeing to pay a $1.5 million penalty over allegations that it operated as an unregistered broker-dealer and clearing agency. After the settlement, eToro removed most cryptocurrency assets from its U.S. platform and updated its compliance approach.

Li Xiong, chairman of Huione, described as Southeast Asia's largest cryptocurrency money-laundering network, has been extradited from Cambodia to China to face trial. The move follows the case of Chen Zhi, whose 127,000 bitcoins were previously seized by the U.S. government.

Hong Kong has not met its goal of issuing the first round of stablecoin licences by the end of March, and authorities have yet to set a new date. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said the licensing work remains in progress and that an official announcement is expected soon. The delay comes after earlier comments from senior officials including Eddie Yue and Financial Secretary Paul Chan, who had pointed to March as the intended timeframe. Market conditions do not appear to be driving the slip. The more likely explanation is a slower, more cautious review as regulators take additional time to assess applications and align requirements before approving the initial group of licensed issuers. The HKMA reiterated that the process is ongoing and more details will be released in due course. Industry expectations around likely winners have not shifted materially. Large financial institutions such as HSBC and Standard Chartered are still viewed as leading candidates. Hong Kong is expected to approve only a limited number of licences at the outset, signaling a controlled, selective rollout. Regulatory concerns include money laundering risks, potential financial instability tied to stablecoins, and the possibility of "bank run"-style dynamics if confidence in reserve backing weakens. The HKMA is setting strict rules on capital, reserves and redemption, and may also tighten know-your-customer requirements. Despite the delayed start, Hong Kong's broader strategy is unchanged. The city continues to position itself as a global hub for digital assets and Web3 innovation, prioritizing robust regulation to build a more secure and trusted stablecoin ecosystem. Tags: Crypto news