Sanctioned exchange Nobitex handled more than half of Iran's crypto inflows last year, according to the U.S. Treasury.
During a Thursday press briefing, Bessent also urged the House and the Senate to get the Clarity Act to the finish line.
On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Congress to pass the CLARITY Act, a bill that would provide the crypto industry with a regulatory framework and the long-awaited clarity it needs regarding the classification of digital assets. Bessent Presses Lawmakers To Pass The CLARITY Act In remarks at the White House, Bessent emphasized that the goal of the CLARITY Act should be to bring digital assets into the US rather than letting activity remain largely offshore. He said: The most important thing we can do is to make digital assets come into the United States. Make the US the home. I would encourage the House and the Senate to get Clarity done. Related Reading: Ethereum (ETH) Drops Below $2,000—Why Standard Chartered Still Expects $40,000 By 2030 Bessent’s comments also targeted what he called the “wild, wild west” environment for digital assets outside the US. He argued that much of the confusion and controversy surrounding crypto stems from a lack of clear rules when the activity is happening offshore. “When you look at digital assets, all the nonsense that happens, all the things you read about, that’s because it’s the wild, wild west offshore. So we got to bring it onshore,” he said, before urging lawmakers again to “get CLARITY Act done.” CBDCs Off The Table The push comes after the CLARITY Act moved forward in the Senate earlier this month. The Senate Banking Committee approved its portion of the legislation, building on progress from January, when the Agriculture Committee successfully voted on its version. With those committee steps completed, the CLARITY Act must clear a full Senate vote, complete the legislative reconciliation steps required to finalize the bill, and secure a final agreement between the House and the Senate before the measure can move to the President’s desk. Related Reading: Hyperliquid (HYPE) In The Spotlight: Grayscale’s Latest Report Says What Comes Next Bessent also addressed the administration’s broader crypto policy direction, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). He said the US would not adopt a Central Bank Digital Currency, stating, “There will be no Central Bank Digital Currency. That would be the first step toward tracking. We took that off the table.” Featured image created with OpenArt; chart from TradingView.com
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's call for the Fed to hold off on rate cuts reflects a problem that reaches far beyond Washington: war-driven inflation is keeping the door to cheaper money shut. Reuters reported that Bessent urged caution because the Iran conflict is lifting fuel costs and complicating the inflation outlook. The Fed's own March […]
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The Trump administration and the broader crypto industry have initiated an unprecedented, multi-agency pressure campaign aimed at forcing the Senate to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, signaling a decisive final push to overhaul the regulatory framework of the $2.4 trillion cryptocurrency market before the 2026 midterm elections. In a highly synchronized effort this […]
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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong backed passing the Clarity Act after the firm previously withheld support for earlier versions of the bill.
A dispute over stablecoin rewards — not sweeping disagreements about crypto itself — is what’s holding up one of the most significant digital asset bills in US history. Related Reading: XRP Faces No Immediate Quantum Threat As Only 0.03% Supply Seen At Risk: Analyst Banks And Crypto Firms Clash Over Stablecoin Yields At the center of the standoff is a narrow but contentious question: should third-party firms like Coinbase be allowed to pass stablecoin yields on to their customers? Banks say no, warning it could drain deposits from traditional financial institutions. Crypto companies say yes, arguing it’s essential to staying competitive. That single point of friction has stalled the CLARITY Act in the Senate for months, even as the Trump administration pushes hard for a vote. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went public Tuesday with a blunt message — Congress needs to move now, before Senate floor time runs out. According to reports, Bessent described the situation as urgent, saying “time is scarce, and now is the time to act.” He framed the legislation not just as a financial policy matter but as a national security concern, arguing that economic security and national security are one and the same. The U.S. Treasury Secretary is weighing in on the push to pass crypto market structure legislation in a new @WSJ op-ed.@SecScottBessent framed it as a national priority, saying “economic security is national security,” and argued the Clarity Act is the cornerstone to bringing… — Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) April 9, 2026 Adoption Numbers Add Weight To The Push The case for urgency isn’t just political. Data shows that roughly one in six Americans already holds some form of digital asset. Major banks and financial institutions have either launched crypto-related products or applied to do so. Blockchain technology, according to Bessent, has worked its way into payments, settlements, and the trading of real-world assets at a scale that regulators can no longer ignore. The global crypto market swung between $2 trillion and $3 trillion in value over the past year alone — a range that reflects both the size and the volatility of the industry. That backdrop gives the push for a regulatory framework added weight, especially as traditional finance continues to wade deeper into the space. Senator Cynthia Lummis joined Bessent’s call, saying the conditions for passing the CLARITY Act are as good as they’ve ever been. “We have the administration, the momentum, and we’ve made bipartisan progress,” she said. A Senate markup of the bill is expected sometime in April, though similar deadlines have slipped before. Related Reading: Bitcoin Faces Quantum Risk As Bernstein Sees 3–5 Year Window For Upgrades White House Study Adds Fuel To Banking Debate A White House analysis recently found that the risk of deposit flight from allowing stablecoin rewards is, by its own description, “quantitatively small.” Under the GENIUS Act framework, stablecoin issuers are barred from paying yields directly. The CLARITY Act, however, would open the door for third-party distributors to do it instead. Some banking members pushed back on the White House findings, arguing the analysis overlooked key funding risks beyond deposit levels. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView
Treasury Secretary Bessent said market participants who don't want strong regulation should "move to El Salvador."
On Dec. 15, Elizabeth Warren put two names at the top of a letter that signals where she thinks US crypto policy is actually written: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pamela Bondi. The ask is simple on paper but awkward in practice. Are their departments investigating what she calls “national security risks” tied […]
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From Donald Trump's crypto-friendly regulators, the yearly report that once flagged financial-stability risks is no longer issuing "vulnerability" warnings.
A surprise appearance by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the opening of a Bitcoin-themed bar in Washington, DC, has drawn sharp attention from both crypto supporters and cautious observers. Related Reading: Trump’s WLFI Moves To Contain Wallet Breach While Federal Inquiry Looms According to reports, Bessent stopped by Pubkey during its launch event, a move that many in the Bitcoin community read as a visible sign of warmer relations between parts of government and the crypto sector. Pubkey Visit Raises Eyebrows And Cheers Pubkey, a venue that bills itself as Bitcoin-friendly, has grown from a New York outpost into a small chain. Reports have disclosed that the New York location once hosted US President Donald Trump, who reportedly paid in Bitcoin during a previous visit. The Washington opening, where Bessent appeared unannounced, triggered a flurry of online reaction. Some community figures called the moment historic. Others urged caution, saying public appearances do not automatically translate into policy shifts. Had to do a second buy today using my “it was so obvious” framework. Having the Secretary of the Treasury at the Pubkey DC launch seems like a moment I could easily look back on and say “wow, it was all so obvious”. Stack Sats and chill. https://t.co/8uPWEqLJ9y pic.twitter.com/Dew1A4gkFZ — Ben Werkman (@BenWerkman) November 21, 2025 Policy Signals And Concrete Talk Based on reports, Bessent has been public about ideas that place Bitcoin on the government agenda. He has spoken about the GENIUS Act and has discussed ways the Treasury could use seized Bitcoin to seed a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in a budget-neutral manner. In an interview dated March 7, 2025, he suggested the Treasury was exploring options that would avoid immediate sales of seized crypto and instead look for ways to keep BTC on the books. That shift in tone is being watched closely by traders and policy watchers alike. Community Reaction Was Fast Ben Werkman, a crypto fund CIO, said the event felt like a “moment” for the industry. Another industry figure, Steven Lubka, called it the sign many had been waiting for. At the same time, analysts warned about reading too much into a single photo op. One trader noted that market moves are driven by many forces, and that symbolic gestures often take time to matter for prices. Short-term traders may ignore signals like this, while longer-term holders may file them away. What This Means For Markets And Lawmakers If the Treasury takes steps to pause sales of seized BTC and to test ways of holding coins, the move could change how institutional players view the asset class. But reports also remind readers that policy ideas meet legal and budget tests before they become real. Lawmakers and regulators will have to weigh the proposal. The public nature of Bessent’s visit, though, makes the discussion harder to treat as private or theoretical. Related Reading: XRP Supply Shock Ahead? ETFs Could Consume It All, Analyst Predicts A Moment, Not A Promise The image of a cabinet official mingling at a Bitcoin bar is powerful. It gives the community talking points. Yet, officials and experts say more formal steps are required before the visit becomes policy. For now, the appearance stands as a public sign of interest, backed by statements and proposals that are still in play. Bitcoin’s supporters will note the visibility. Critics will watch for the paperwork. Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by vvelda@ymail.com/Flickr and Wavebreakmedia/iStock/Getty Images Plus, chart from TradingView
The Internal Revenue Service issued new guidance that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said offers a "clear path" to stake digital assets for trusts.
The Internal Revenue Service issued guidance to create a safe harbor for ETPs to stake digital assets on Monday.
For the first time, a sitting U.S. Treasury Secretary has described Bitcoin as more than just a speculative frenzy. Scott Bessent’s post didn’t just set Crypto Twitter on fire; it marked a monumental shift in how policymakers view the number-one crypto. It’s a far cry from the days when Bitcoin lurked in the margins, constantly […]
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The crypto industry has entered the long slog of rule writing on the stablecoin law, and the Treasury is inviting input on how to deal with illicit activity.
Stablecoins are not just a tool for crypto traders, Pure Crypto co-founder Zach Lindquist argues. They’ve become a uniquely efficient channel for Treasury demand.
The yen is no longer the most attractive funding currency, and the currency's strength may not necessarily lead to broad-based risk aversion, one expert said.
The liquidity engine that has supported risk assets, including Bitcoin, since the beginning of 2025 is now shifting into reverse. According to macro analyst Tomas (@TomasOnMarkets), the six-month upswing in Federal Reserve liquidity has ended, and a potentially destabilizing wave of debt issuance by the US Treasury is about to begin. In a post published on X late Sunday, Tomas warned: “ Federal Reserve Liquidity set to fall… The Fed liquidity upswing that began on January 1 2025 is now over.” Bitcoin Enters Danger Zone The catalyst behind this reversal is the recent $5 trillion debt ceiling increase passed by Congress last week. That legislative decision gives the Treasury Department the green light to aggressively rebuild its cash balance at the Federal Reserve—known as the Treasury General Account (TGA)—which had been intentionally drained to inject liquidity into the system during the first half of the year. “The US Government had previously been draining the Treasury General Account (liquidity injection). But a new debt ceiling agreement was reached last week ($5 trillion raise). This means the Government will start to flood the market with new debt to ‘refill’ the TGA (liquidity drain),” Tomas wrote. He emphasized that the refill target is currently set at $850 billion, up from recent levels around $350 billion, implying roughly $500 billion in liquidity will be removed from the system in the coming months. Related Reading: Bitcoin Investor Sentiment Back To ‘Very Bullish’ — What This Means The implications for Bitcoin are stark. Risk assets have historically benefited from rising dollar liquidity—particularly in the context of elevated ETF inflows, corporate adoption, and a weakening US dollar. But that backdrop is now shifting. As Tomas put it, “All else being equal, this TGA rebuild process should be bullish for the US dollar.” A strengthening dollar, when coupled with falling bank reserves, is generally a bearish environment for Bitcoin. The pressure on liquidity won’t necessarily come all at once, but the mechanics are clear. Treasury will issue large volumes of new short-term debt—primarily T-bills—to finance the TGA refill. This issuance will compete with other dollar-denominated assets for funding, draining cash out of banks and money markets. Tomas notes that this dynamic could be softened if money market funds rotate their cash out of the Fed’s Overnight Reverse Repo Facility, which still holds about $214 billion. “It’s possible that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent could lower the target level, meaning less of a refill,” he adds. “I’d expect we may see a lot of T-bill issuance, which could tempt some of the remaining $214bn left in the Reverse Repo to leave the facility (liquidity injection) and lessen any negative impact of the TGA refill.” Still, even with some reallocation from RRP, Tomas expects the overall effect to reduce reserve balances—bank reserves as a percentage of GDP are likely to fall below 10%, he estimates. While this is not as dire as the 7% level reached in 2019 (which triggered the repo crisis), it represents a sharp tightening compared to the first half of this year. “There could be some funding stress around the end of September (end-of-quarter),” Tomas cautioned. Related Reading: Bitcoin Breakout Is A Trap—Analyst Predicts Pain Before $160,000 Surge Bitcoin’s performance has coincided with the exact window Tomas outlines as a liquidity upswing. As documented, Bitcoin’s price has closely tracked the direction of aggregate G5 central bank balance sheets and the level of US bank reserves. When those reserves shrink—especially in the face of stronger Treasury issuance and a rebounding dollar—Bitcoin has historically struggled to sustain upside momentum. This concern is compounded by Tomas’s warning that speculative short positioning against the dollar has reached extremes. “Back in January, I was shouting about a fall in the dollar. Now everybody and their mothers are bearish on the dollar, and positioning is massively short across the board. It’s time for, at the very least, an upward correction/consolidation for the US dollar, in my opinion.” Such a reversal in the dollar would mark a critical macro headwind for Bitcoin. The 90-day rolling correlation between Bitcoin and the US Dollar Index (DXY) remains firmly negative. In environments where the dollar strengthens—especially when driven by tightening liquidity—Bitcoin has rarely outperformed. The next several weeks will be critical. If Treasury proceeds with aggressive issuance and market participants demand higher yields, liquidity could tighten faster than anticipated. While Tomas does leave open the possibility that Secretary Bessent may adjust the TGA target downward, the baseline scenario remains a $500 billion net liquidity drain—directly reversing the conditions that allowed Bitcoin to surge. At press time, BTC traded at $108,148. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has signalled that the long-debated overhaul of banks’ supplementary leverage ratio (SLR) is imminent—a policy pivot that could reverberate through Bitcoin markets—telling television interviewers that regulators are “very close to moving” on the rule and that the adjustment could compress Treasury yields by “tens of basis points.” Rocket Fuel For Bitcoin Although the proposal must still clear the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC, the direction of travel is clear: exempting, or partially exempting, US Treasuries from the SLR will let large banks recycle balance-sheet capacity into fresh purchases of government debt. The SLR, introduced after the 2008–2009 crisis, forces even risk-free assets such as Treasuries to carry a capital charge; a global systemically important bank must fund five cents of equity for every dollar of total assets, including central-bank reserves. Bessent’s plan would lift that burden for sovereign bonds, a step the industry has lobbied for since the temporary pandemic waiver expired in March 2021. Kevin Fromer, chief executive of the Financial Services Forum, calls the current leverage-based stack “outdated and at odds with financial stability and economic growth,” describing relief as necessary “to better serve US taxpayers, capital markets, consumers, businesses, and the economy.” Related Reading: Bitcoin Enters A Massive Week: Key Events To Watch While officials frame the move as a micro-prudential calibration, the macro-liquidity impulse is substantial. Market commentator Furkan Yildirim tells his 103,000 subscribers that US banks collectively hold about $5 trillion in Treasuries; eliminating the five-percent capital haircut would liberate roughly $250 billion of tier-one capital—fifty times the Federal Reserve’s current monthly quantitative-tightening pace of $5 billion. “This is a liquidity injection by regulatory pen stroke,” he says, adding that the step “lowers yields without the Fed printing money,” a mix that historically pushes investors further out the risk curve. The market is already trading on that expectation. Benchmark ten-year yields slid below 3.95 percent after Bessent’s remarks and after President Trump deferred a threatened 50 percent tariff on EU goods until 9 July. Yildirim argues that “every basis-point drop in the ten-year is basically a marketing campaign for Bitcoin,” because “liquidity doesn’t disappear—it just looks for a new home.” He stresses that the Treasury’s willingness to change bank-capital rules, rather than rely on the central bank, “tells you how cornered policymakers feel by deficits, debt service and political optics.” Related Reading: Bitcoin SLRV Ribbons Turn Green—What Happens Next? Not everyone is convinced the rule change will work as intended. Critics such as Peter Boockvar of Bleakley Advisory note that banks’ appetite for duration risk has not fully recovered since the 2023 regional-bank failures; if dealers fail to absorb the incremental Treasury supply, the Federal Reserve could be forced back into the market. The Bank Policy Institute, while welcoming SLR relief, argues that it must be paired with a broader rethink of post-crisis overlays such as the GSIB surcharge and the stress-test regime to unlock balance-sheet capacity on a lasting basis. Bitcoin, however, responds reflexively to dollar-liquidity metrics. Lower Treasury yields diminish the allure of money-market funds paying north of five percent, releasing capital that has been parked in cash-equivalent vehicles since 2022. On-chain data highlighted by Yildirim show over-the-counter (OTC) desk inventories sliding to 115,000 BTC, evidence that large buyers are sourcing coins directly; when that stock is depleted, desks must restock from public exchanges, a dynamic that tightens float and historically amplifies upside moves. Ultimately the SLR reprieve is no panacea for America’s fiscal arithmetic, but it removes a near-term balance-sheet choke point and lowers the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets. As Yildirim puts it, “A deregulation that stabilises sovereign funding while nudging investors into risk assets is, almost by definition, a tailwind for Bitcoin.” In that sense the rule change functions like shadow quantitative easing, arriving at a moment when the Federal Reserve is hamstrung by sticky inflation and political constraints—one more structural catalyst for Bitcoin. At press time, BTC traded at $108,790. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
While the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee argues for stablecoin limits, she and colleagues also questioned Binance's talks with Treasury.
Wednesday's crypto rally stalled as Bessent reiterated the difficulties in making a deal with China.
Recently confirmed U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be taking on a second role as acting director of the CFPB.
Pro-crypto Bessent will help develop a crypto regulatory framework as part of a presidential working group created last week.
The new Treasury Department chief didn't bring up crypto policy at his nomination hearing, but he'll have enormous reach into topics vital to the industry.
Scott Bessent, who is immersed in the Senate confirmation process as President-elect Donald Trump's Treasury secretary nominee, only addressed crypto briefly.
President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary says he sees "no reason" for the U.S. to have a central bank digital currency.
One crypto executive speculates Warren’s letter is a veiled attempt to justify an expansion of regulation against “neutral crypto technology providers.”
Trump's Treasury nominee Scott Bessent plans to liquidate a string of investments, including BTC ETF, to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
Bitcoin is now down around 11% after reaching its all-time high price of $108,135 on Dec. 17.
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also dismissed the idea that people see Bitcoin as a symbol of a lack of faith in the US dollar.