The banking lobby has pushed back on assertions that an agreement is near, stating "They keep saying we're close to a deal. We're not close to a deal," in comments recently made to Decrypt White House reporter @sander_lutz. According to Decrypt, the report examines the intensifying standoff between banking and crypto lobbying groups, assesses how this dispute is shaping the Clarity Act, and discusses whether the legislation is likely to pass.

President Trump voiced support for the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act while criticizing U.S. banks, and the SEC asked issuers of 3x, 4x and 5x leveraged ETFs to withdraw their filings, BlockBeats reports. Middle East tensions following a U.S.-Israel strike on Iran lifted the Polymarket probability of a U.S.-Iran war from 22% to 35% and briefly drove oil to $78 per barrel. On the ecosystem side, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called for the network to evolve into "sanctuary technology," Base-based AgentMail enabled AI agents to create email inboxes using USDC, and Solana projects including Phantom, Jupiter and Squads advanced tools spanning AI integration, onchain finance and stablecoin payments.

TD Cowen's Jaret Seiberg said Donald Trump's recent social media post urging passage of crypto legislation is "not enough" to advance the bill, according to comments shared by Yogita Khatri. Seiberg said direct engagement and meetings with involved parties would likely be required to push the CLARITY Act forward, but noted this could prove challenging while the U.S. is engaged in armed conflict with Iran. He added that the effective deadline to enact the legislation is the start of the August recess.

BitGo launched a crypto-as-a-service platform compliant with MiCA regulations to expand its European operations. The platform enables the firm to offer institutional services across all 30 European Economic Area countries.

The Bank Policy Institute, representing major U.S. banks, has criticized the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's decision to grant Kraken Financial a limited-purpose master account for an initial one-year term, arguing the approval came before the Federal Reserve Board finalized its broader policy framework for such access. The account was granted under the Federal Reserve's Account Access Guidelines following a risk-based review, with the Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution classified as a Tier 3 entity subject to tailored restrictions. BPI questioned whether consistent standards, including anti-money laundering controls, are being applied across regional banks and warned that granting access to uninsured crypto-focused institutions could introduce additional risks to core payment and settlement infrastructure. The dispute underscores ongoing friction between traditional banks and digital asset firms over access to financial rails amid broader U.S. policy debates on crypto oversight, with Donald Trump accusing banks of obstructing digital asset reforms on March 3.

The White House submitted Kevin Warsh's nomination to serve as Federal Reserve Chair to the US Senate, marking the official start of the Senate confirmation process. The submission was announced in the latest White House statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump held a private meeting with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong before posting on Tuesday that banks are trying to undermine the GENIUS Act and what he called a powerful crypto agenda, CoinDesk and Politico reported citing two unnamed sources. In his Truth Social comments, Trump said the U.S. needs to resolve market structure issues quickly, argued Americans should be able to earn more on their money, and warned that crypto policy clarity under the Clarity Act must be addressed so the agenda does not shift to China and other countries. The market structure bill has been stalled in the Senate Banking Committee amid opposition from banks, which argue that interest on stablecoins could impact deposits and lending, while crypto exchanges contend that individuals should be allowed to earn rewards on their stablecoin holdings under the GENIUS Act, and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday that interest-paying stablecoin issuers should face bank-like rules. Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, countered that view by saying the GENIUS Act explicitly bars stablecoin issuers from lending out or rehypothecating underlying dollars and that "Stablecoins ≠ Deposits," while crypto-related stocks including COIN rallied Wednesday, with COIN trading above $200 for the first time since late January.

Kraken Financial, the Wyoming-based unit of Kraken, has received a Federal Reserve master account, becoming the first crypto asset bank in U.S. history to gain direct access to the Fed's payment infrastructure including Fedwire for dollar transfers without correspondent banks, the company said. The master account, granted after more than five years of regulatory review and overseen by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, provides limited access excluding interest on reserves and emergency lending facilities. Kraken Financial operates as a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution under a full-reserve model holding liquid assets equal to or exceeding 100% of customer cash deposits, and plans a phased rollout starting with enhanced dollar settlement for institutional clients on the Kraken platform before deeper integration with parent Payward. Kraken views the approval as advancing integration of crypto services with the traditional U.S. financial system and strengthening its institutional offering ahead of a potential public listing.

Fairshake, the crypto industry's primary political action committee, reported early victories in the 2026 U.S. congressional primaries while spending $1.5 million to oppose longtime Texas Democrat Al Green, state voting results and Federal Election Commission filings show. In Texas' 8th District, Jessica Steinmann, a former Department of Justice lawyer backed by President Donald Trump, won nearly 70% of the Republican primary vote after receiving more than $750,000 in Fairshake support, with her campaign describing her as a strong supporter of digital assets and blockchain technology. Green trailed Democratic opponent Christian Menefee, a pro-blockchain candidate, in a newly redrawn district and is headed to a runoff after neither surpassed 50%, while Fairshake-backed Republicans Chris Gober in the 10th District and Trever Nehls in the 22nd won their primaries with more than 50% and 76% respectively. The PAC also supported Representative French Hill in Arkansas with more than $400,000 and North Carolina Representative Tim Moore with more than $80,000, both winning their primaries with 77% and 83% respectively, as Fairshake and its two affiliated PACs entered the campaign season holding $193 million.