Stablecoin

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission submitted commission-level interpretive guidance to the White House on March 3 on how federal securities laws could apply to certain crypto assets and related transactions. The document, now in a prerule interagency review stage, is expected to outline a token taxonomy that would clarify which assets fall under SEC oversight, while the CFTC separately advanced a measure on prediction markets following remarks by its chair about forthcoming rulemaking.

Blockchain infrastructure provider Zerohash disclosed on Wednesday that it submitted an application on Feb. 27 for a US national trust bank charter, seeking an OCC-issued license to broaden its stablecoin and custody services for banks, brokerages and fintech clients. Since the GENIUS Act was signed into law in July, several crypto firms, including Circle, Ripple, Bridge and Stripe, have obtained conditional approval for similar banking charters, while others such as Coinbase and World Liberty Financial are still awaiting decisions.

Elon Musk's X Money payment app has entered a limited external beta, featuring cashback on selected card purchases and a 6% annual percentage yield on deposits. Actor William Shatner was among the early testers, sharing screenshots that also highlighted FDIC-insured deposits held at Cross River Bank up to $250,000 per user. Shatner later worked with X to auction a total of 208 beta invitations at $1,000 each to raise funds for charity.

Western Union has entered into a partnership with Crossmint to support the launch of its USDPT stablecoin and Digital Asset Network on the Solana blockchain. The collaboration will integrate Crossmint's wallet and payment APIs with Western Union's infrastructure so fintech platforms can move funds via USDPT and tap into Western Union's global payout network.

On March 3, 2026, TCS Blockchain and PayPal announced the integration of PayPal USD (PYUSD) into a freight payment system aimed at shortening trucking payment cycles that can stretch from 30 to 180 days. The solution routes digital invoices through TCS utility tokens and the INX-Republic exchange into PYUSD, enabling same-day settlements and potentially cutting costs by up to 90% compared with traditional invoicing and factoring. TCS Blockchain expects the platform to process over $1 billion in freight invoices in 2026, in a market where truckers can lose more than 30% of net revenue to early payment services.

Electronic trading firm Tradeweb has led a $31 million Series B round in institutional crypto platform Crossover Markets, giving the CROSSx operator a $200 million valuation. The deal includes a strategic partnership to connect Tradeweb's global institutional network to spot crypto liquidity on CROSSx and will fund the expansion of the ECN, which has handled over $50 billion in volume since 2023. Additional venture funding has recently gone to infrastructure firms Talos, Mesh, Rain and VelaFi as investors target trading, payments and settlement services for digital assets.

On March 3, 2026, Visa and Bridge announced plans to extend their stablecoin-backed card program to more than 100 countries by year-end, up from the current 18. Cardholders will be able to spend stablecoins at over 175 million Visa-accepting merchants, while a separate pilot with Lead Bank is testing direct on-chain settlement for issuers.

In a March Truth Social post, President Donald Trump accused banking groups of trying to weaken the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin regulation law passed in July, and of blocking broader U.S. crypto market structure legislation. He argued that banks, despite strong profits, should not influence rules for digital assets and warned that delays could drive crypto firms to move to countries like China with clearer regulations. At the center of the dispute are restrictions on stablecoin yield payments, which have divided banks and crypto industry representatives and slowed progress in the Senate.

SoFi Technologies' share price closed at $18.61 on March 3, 2026, after announcing an expanded partnership that will allow its SoFiUSD stablecoin to be used as a settlement option on Mastercard's global payments network. The company also disclosed that CEO Anthony Noto purchased roughly $1 million of SOFI stock in the open market, coinciding with a premarket rise to $19.23 on March 4. SoFiUSD, issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., is fully cash-reserved and is expected to support around-the-clock settlement for SoFi's card transactions.

On 4 March 2026, White House Digital Asset Advisor Patrick Witt publicly rejected JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's claim that yield-bearing stablecoins operate like bank deposits, pointing to strict reserve rules under the 2025 GENIUS Act. The clash has complicated negotiations over the CLARITY Act, while Coinbase offers a 3.5% return on USDC that traditional banks struggle to match.