A U.S. banking lobby has objected to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's decision to grant Kraken Financial a limited-purpose master account for an initial one-year term. The group warns the move could increase payment-system risks, set a precedent for crypto-focused institutions and was approved before a broader access framework is finalized.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump argued that U.S. banks are undermining key crypto legislation by stalling the Clarity Act, following the earlier passage of the GENIUS Act on stablecoins. He warned that disputes over whether stablecoins can offer yield are delaying broader market structure reforms and could drive digital asset activity to China and other jurisdictions. The Clarity Act remains stuck in the Senate as lawmakers, banks and the crypto industry clash over stablecoin rules and their impact on traditional banking.

Bitcoin is consolidating near $68,000 as open-interest-weighted funding rates edge back into slightly negative territory, indicating a more cautious stance in derivatives markets. BTC recently traded around $68,290 after touching highs above $69,000 and lows near $66,138, while the daily RSI has recovered from February’s oversold readings but remains below the neutral 50 level.

Visa is expanding its stablecoin settlement pilot while extending its collaboration with Bridge, which is working toward launching stablecoin-linked Visa cards in more than 100 countries by the end of 2026. The initiative lets users spend stablecoin balances at over 175 million merchant locations and tests onchain settlement options via Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank. The program remains in a pilot phase focused on settlement flexibility and operational efficiency rather than replacing fiat rails.

A European Central Bank working paper finds that stablecoins can function as substitutes for retail bank deposits, potentially shrinking banks' funding bases and constraining lending if adoption becomes widespread. The authors argue that this shift could alter how policy rate changes pass through the euro area banking system and indirectly expose the region to U.S. monetary policy via dollar-denominated stablecoins. While current usage is largely tied to crypto trading, the study warns that scale and evolving use cases will determine how strongly stablecoins reshape bank balance sheets and monetary transmission.

The global cryptocurrency market gained more than 5% within 24 hours, lifting total capitalization to $2.36 trillion as major assets advanced. Bitcoin traded above $69,000, while Ethereum, Solana, BNB, and XRP also logged notable daily and weekly increases. Hourly data showed some cooling in parts of the market, but overall momentum across large caps remained positive.

Cardano deployed USDCx, a USDC-backed stablecoin infrastructure built with Circle that links to the xReserve framework for 1:1 minting and redemption. The rollout integrates with Minswap, Liqwid, and SundaeSwap. Stablecoin capitalization on Cardano is around $34 million while TVL exceeds $137 million, pointing to deeper dollar liquidity despite subdued on-chain activity.

Vitalik Buterin has presented a multi-phase roadmap for scaling Ethereum's transaction capacity while maintaining decentralization, centered on execution upgrades and zero-knowledge proofs. The plan combines short-term changes like ePBS and gas model adjustments with longer-term reliance on blobs and ZK-EVMs to raise throughput without overburdening validators.

Ethereum fell below $2,000 this week, sparking debate about selling after trackers flagged wallet activity linked to Vitalik Buterin. On-chain data indicates roughly 19,300 ETH, worth near $39 million, were moved and sold around $2,000, while Arkham reports the founder still holds over 224,000 ETH. Technicals show lower highs and lows since late January.