Chair Michael Selig said that the task force was an example of “future-proofing“ regulation at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is looking to embrace innovation in its regulatory approach to crypto and blockchain with the launch of a new Innovation Task Force, according to a Tuesday notice. Chair Michael Selig said that the task force will work with the regulator’s Innovation Advisory Committee to create a framework focused on crypto, blockchain, AI, and prediction markets. The effort will be led by Michael Passalacqua,…
Month: March 2026
Meta partners with Arm to develop new CPUs for AI deployments
Meta said Tuesday it is partnering with Arm to develop a new class of CPUs designed to support growing AI workloads and general-purpose computing across its expanding data center footprint. The first product, called the Arm AGI CPU, is being positioned as a more efficient alternative to legacy server processors for AI-optimized infrastructure. Meta said the chip is meant to improve performance per rack and support large gigawatt-scale AI deployments, which the company sees as central to its push toward more advanced AI systems. The Arm AGI CPU will work…
Lombard, Bitwise Partner to Unlock Bitcoin Yield Without Custody Transfer
Lombard, a company building Bitcoin-based lending infrastructure, will team with Bitwise Asset Management to enable institutions to earn yield and borrow against Bitcoin (BTC) without moving assets out of custody, aiming to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars in Bitcoin held in institutional custody. The partnership was announced Tuesday at the Digital Asset Summit in New York. Jacob Phillips, CEO and co-founder of Lombard, told Cointelegraph: The breakthrough is Bitcoin Smart Accounts—connecting two previously isolated worlds: institutional custody and onchain finance. According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Bitwise will…
Bitcoin Holders Move to Cash as Volatility Remains High
Bitcoin (BTC) holders are gradually becoming less prone to panic selling and instead building up cash buffers to deploy during discounted BTC buying opportunities. Onchain data supports this view, highlighting a large surge in stablecoin activity, with USD Coin (USDC) and Tether’s USDt (USDT) transfers reaching a combined $440 billion on March 22. This shift in investor behavior aligns with the increasing risk-off approach seen in markets as the United States Federal Reserve dismissed near-term interest rate cut expectations, amid rising energy prices due to the ongoing US and Israel-Iran…
Ledger unveils Wallet 4.0 as it shifts from cold storage to full crypto platform
Ledger is rolling out Wallet 4.0, a broad upgrade to its all-in-one crypto app that aims to make self-custody feel more like a trading platform without dropping the company’s hardware-first security model. The update begins with a limited release now, with additional features scheduled to arrive in April 2026. Ledger says the new version brings faster navigation, upgraded portfolio tools, expanded earn features, clearer swap fees, and real-time transaction notifications, while keeping sensitive actions tied to a Ledger signer. The release builds on a product shift Ledger first unveiled at…
Tether Hires ‘Big Four‘ Firm for Audit of USDT Reserves
Stablecoin issuer Tether said it would hire one of the “Big Four” accounting firms to conduct a full audit of its reserves for the first time. In a Tuesday notice, Tether said that the accounting firm — which it did not disclose — would complete a “full independent financial statement audit” for the stablecoin issuer, including for its US dollar-pegged USDt (USDT). The accounting industry’s so-called “Big Four” are Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Tether said the firm was “selected through a competitive process,” according to chief financial…
BitGo, Susquehanna Launch Institutional Access to Prediction Markets
BitGo, a digital asset custody and trading platform, and Susquehanna Crypto will collaborate to give institutional clients over-the-counter access to prediction markets, allowing them to trade event-based contracts using cryptocurrency or stablecoins held in custody. According to Tuesday’s announcement, trades will be routed through BitGo’s platform, with liquidity provided by Susquehanna, which will enable hedge funds, family offices and other large investors to execute bilateral trades without moving assets off platform or converting holdings, including Bitcoin or stablecoin, into cash. Positions are backed by crypto collateral and documented using derivatives-style…
Circle stock drops nearly 20% as CLARITY Act draft targets stablecoin yield
Circle shares dropped nearly 20% Tuesday, falling toward the $100 level after a CoinDesk report revealed new draft language in the CLARITY Act that would ban yield on stablecoin balances. The proposed rules would prohibit issuers from offering passive rewards for simply holding a stablecoin and restrict structures that resemble interest-bearing deposits. While activity-based rewards may still be allowed, the framework remains unclear, according to people familiar with the draft reviewed by industry participants on Capitol Hill. The update directly affects stablecoin issuers such as Circle. Although USDC does not…
Omnes, Apex Tokenize Bitcoin Mining Exposure Through Structured Note
Financial technology company Omnes and financial services provider Apex Group said on Tuesday that they plan to issue a tokenized secured debt note backed by Bitcoin hashrate on Base. The two companies announced that they would tokenize the Omnes Mining Note (OMN), an institutional-grade structured note backed by the Bitcoin (BTC) hashrate. The companies said it will be issued and managed on the Base blockchain, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network. Apex said the note is designed to give institutional investors “direct economic exposure to new Bitcoin production measured in hashrate” without…
CFTC launches innovation task force to shape US crypto, AI and prediction markets rules
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has launched an Innovation Task Force aimed at building clearer rules for firms developing products tied to crypto, blockchain, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, prediction markets, and event contracts in US derivatives markets. The task force will work alongside the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee and coordinate with other federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and its Crypto Task Force. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said the goal is to create a regulatory framework that keeps American innovators onshore rather than pushing them to less-regulated…