Coinbase Says It Wins Conditional US Approval for Trust Charter
Exchanges
“Coinbase Global Inc., the largest US cryptocurrency exchange, said it has won conditional approval from banking regulators for a national trust company charter, a step that could pave the way for it to expand into new businesses. Full approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would allow Coinbase to operate as a crypto custodian on a federal basis, making it easier for large institutions to trust it with assets. It could also open a path to new activities such as issuing stablecoins and tokenized securities, said Greg Tusar, vice president of product management. 'The ability to have a federal framework for our custody business is important,' Tusar said in an interview. 'This is about us growing our reach and being able to conduct new business that we may not have been able to before.'”
Source: Bloomberg
CFTC Sues Illinois, Arizona and Connecticut in Escalating Fight For Jurisdiction Over Prediction Markets
Prediction Markets
“The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is suing Illinois, Arizona and Connecticut — escalating its effort to assert what it calls its 'exclusive jurisdiction' over prediction markets after Illinois moved to shut down several betting platforms. On Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the CFTC accused the state, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and its gaming officials of trying to shut down 'federally regulated DCMs,' an acronym for designated contract markets. The federal agency said that the state had sent cease-and-desist letters over the past year to Kalshi, Crypto.com, and Polymarket — all of which the complaint says fall under CFTC oversight.”
Source: The Block
ECB’s Cipollone Sees ‘Good Momentum’ for Digital Euro Project
Tokenization
“European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone sees 'good momentum' for a digital euro, with a possible launch in July 2029. 'There is enough consensus for this project to go through,' the Italian official told Latvian TV on Wednesday. 'We are on a good track, I see a good momentum also from the legislative part. I see the banks are getting more interested in participating in the pilot.' Cipollone expressed his expectation that 'we will be able to deliver on time,' adding that 'I don’t see any major hurdle between now and the time we will issue the digital euro.' After years of slow progress, member states in December agreed on a common position on the European Commission’s proposal from 2023. At present, the European Parliament is finalizing its views, after already voting in February for online and offline versions of the digital single currency. If that’s done, negotiations between the two co-legislators can start.”
Source: Bloomberg
SoFi Announces 24/7 Banking Hub That Blends Traditional Cash With Crypto
Adoption
“SoFi said Thursday it is launching a new business banking platform designed to let companies handle both traditional money and crypto in one place, as it pushes deeper into digital assets. The service, called SoFi Big Business Banking, allows firms to hold U.S. dollars, convert them into stablecoins and move funds around the clock, all within SoFi’s regulated bank. Today, companies operating in crypto often rely on a patchwork of providers: a bank for cash, a separate firm for stablecoins and another for custody. Moving money between them can take hours or days. SoFi said it is trying to simplify that. 'To be competitive, businesses today must operate… 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,' SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said in a press release, contrasting the platform with traditional banking hours.”
Source: CoinDesk
Latest Crypto Hack Sees Thieves Make Off With $280 Million From Solana DeFi Platform Drift
Security
“On April Fool’s day, the decentralized platform Drift saw hundreds of millions of dollars drained from its accounts and, unfortunately, this was no joke. The company suffered a $280 million hack on Wednesday, and industry experts suspected that North Korea was behind it. 'Earlier today, a malicious actor gained unauthorized access to Drift Protocol through a novel attack involving durable nonces, resulting in a rapid takeover of Drift’s Security Council administrative powers,' the company announced on X. A durable nonce is a tool used on Solana used to avoid transaction expirations.”
Source: Fortune
