Senate Stablecoin Showdown: How Washington’s Crypto Crackdown Could Reshape Finance
Wall Street’s favorite digital IOUs face their biggest regulatory test yet as Senate lawmakers sharpen their knives. Here’s what comes next—and why banks are sweating.
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The Bill in Brief: Bipartisan legislation aims to cage stablecoins with reserve requirements and issuer licensing. Critics call it a Trojan horse for CBDC creep.
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Bankers vs. Builders: Traditional finance wants stablecoins treated like deposits; crypto natives argue they’re more like digital cash. Guess who’s winning the lobbying war?
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Execution Risk: Even if passed, enforcement could take years—plenty of time for DeFi to route around the damage. Because nothing thrills politicians like chasing tech they don’t understand.
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Bottom Line: When DC finally ’gets stablecoins,’ expect the usual—heavy-handed rules that protect incumbents while pretending to safeguard consumers. The more things change...
Tuesday
- 10:00 a.m. ET (14:00 UTC) The House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees were scheduled to hold a joint hearing on digital asset market structure, but FSC Ranking Member Maxine Waters objected and instead held her own hearing on Trump’s crypto tie-ups.
Thursday
- 10:00 a.m. ET (14:00 UTC): Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to commodities and securities fraud charges last year.
- (404 Media) It turns out former National Security Advisor Michael Waltz was not using Signal, but rather an unofficial version called TeleMessage, which was then hacked and later suspended services temporarily.
- (The San Francisco Standard) Jeffy Yu appeared to fake his own death to pump a memecoin, or something. The once late Yu is alive and kicking at his parents’ home, the San Francisco Standard reported.
If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at [email protected] or find me on Bluesky @nikhileshde.bsky.social.
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See ya’ll next week!
