LeakBase, one of the internet's most active cybercrime forums with over 142,000 registered users and more than 215,000 posts, was dismantled in an international operation led by the FBI and Europol on March 3–4, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Authorities in 14 countries executed coordinated actions including warrants, arrests, and site seizures, replaced the platform with seizure banners, and collected user data, posts, and IP logs to support ongoing prosecutions. Officials said LeakBase functioned as a marketplace for stolen credentials, financial data, and other sensitive information, and noted that disrupting such hubs can reduce the pool of leaked data that criminals may use for social engineering, targeted phishing, and account takeovers across digital ecosystems including the crypto sector.

Kraken Financial received Federal Reserve approval for a master account, becoming the first cryptocurrency company with direct access to the Fed's core payment system and channels used by thousands of banks and credit unions, the Wall Street Journal reports. The account enables Kraken Financial to connect directly to Fedwire, which processes over $4 trillion in interbank transactions daily, eliminating its reliance on intermediary banks for fund transfers. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City announced the approval on Wednesday following a review, granting limited master account access under Kraken Financial's Wyoming specialized bank charter for crypto companies, excluding services such as earning interest on reserves. Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the decision will improve reliability and efficiency of fiat deposits and withdrawals to and from the digital asset market, while Bank Policy Institute Co-Head of Regulatory Affairs Paige Pidano Paridon criticized the move as lacking transparency in approval process and risk controls, and the WSJ noted Kraken completed a funding round at a $20 billion valuation last November and has filed IPO plans.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has submitted a regulatory proposal on how federal securities laws apply to digital assets to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review, according to Nate Geraci. The measure relies on the SEC's existing legal authority and includes consideration of a token classification system. The initiative proceeds without the Crypto Clarity Act and aims to clarify digital asset regulation in the United States.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has submitted a policy framework to the White House outlining how existing securities laws apply to crypto assets. The framework details the regulator's approach to overseeing digital asset markets under current securities regulations.

Donald Trump held a private meeting with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shortly before posting on Truth Social that banks are trying to undermine the pro-crypto GENIUS Act and must "reach a good agreement with the crypto industry," CoinDesk reported citing Politico and two people familiar with the discussion. Trump called for swift completion of U.S. market structure rules and warned that without progress on the CLARITY Act, America's "strong crypto agenda" and related business could shift to China, while criticizing major banks for booking historic profits as Americans should "earn more from their own money." The Crypto Market Structure Act remains stalled after the Senate Banking Committee's planned markup, with banks arguing interest-bearing stablecoins could weaken deposits and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon calling to regulate issuers like banks, rebutted by Patrick Witt of the President's Advisory Committee on Digital Assets who said the GENIUS Act reasonably lets users earn rewards on stablecoin balances. COIN shares rallied above $200 on Wednesday to their highest level since late January amid a broader crypto-related stock surge, while the White House and Coinbase did not comment on the meeting whose exact content remains unclear.

On March 5, Elon Musk reposted a message suggesting a leaked screenshot of X Money's internal testing is genuine, indicating the platform may offer up to 6% annualized deposit yields and support a debit card with cashback rewards, ChainThink reports. Eric Trump, second son of Donald Trump, criticized major U.S. banks including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo in a post the same day, alleging the banking sector's political lobbying aims to block Americans from accessing higher returns and curb stablecoins to defend their monopolies. ChainThink noted a fresh dispute has emerged around stablecoin yields amid the ongoing legislative process for the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act, also referred to as the CLARITY Act.

Elon Musk reposted a message on March 5 confirming that circulating screenshots from X Money's internal testing are authentic, showing the product may offer up to 6% annualized deposit yield and a debit card with cashback rewards, BlockBeats reports. Eric Trump posted the same day criticizing U.S. banks including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, claiming their political lobbying aims to block Americans from higher returns and suppress stablecoins to preserve their monopoly. The dispute emerged amid ongoing legislative debates over the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act, also known as the CLARITY Act, particularly around how stablecoin yields should be treated.

Kraken has secured a master account at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, a move the crypto exchange says will let it access the same payment infrastructure used by thousands of banks and credit unions, DL News reports. Banking lobbying groups, including the Bank Policy Institute, voiced deep concern over what they called a "limited-purpose" or "streamlined" approval, arguing the Kansas City Fed bypassed required public consultation and lacked transparency in the process. Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the account will help the firm more efficiently handle transactions for large institutional clients and marks the integration of crypto infrastructure with the U.S. financial system, though the company will not receive the full suite of central bank services such as interest on reserves. The decision comes as the crypto sector, backed by pro-crypto actions from President Donald Trump and legislation like the GENIUS Act, clashes with the $23 trillion U.S. banking industry over issues including a stablecoin interest "loophole" and ongoing negotiations around the CLARITY Act regulatory framework, according to the report.

Eric Trump accused JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and key financial lobby groups of working to block higher-yield stablecoin products in pending U.S. crypto legislation to preserve bank profit margins, according to his post on X on Tuesday. He argued that large banks receive interest from the Federal Reserve but only pass a small portion to depositors while crypto platforms plan to offer stablecoin returns of 4% to 5% or higher, and claimed the American Bankers Association is spending millions to limit those yields through bills such as the GENIUS Act. Trump's comments come as World Liberty Financial, the firm he co-founded, issues its own stablecoin USD1 and seeks a banking charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, meaning stablecoin yield rules would directly affect its business. President Donald Trump and White House crypto policy executive director Patrick Witt also publicly criticized bank resistance to stablecoin yield and regulatory proposals, including positions attributed to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon.