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A long‑running dispute between the US banking sector and the crypto industry is widening, with tensions now extending beyond stablecoin yields to a new regulatory flashpoint: “skinny” Federal Reserve (Fed) master accounts. 

According to a report published Monday by Crypto In America, the disagreement is emerging as another obstacle in an already strained relationship between traditional finance and digital asset firms.

Crypto‑Bank Tensions Grow

The issue comes as lawmakers continue to struggle with the passage of the anticipated crypto market structure legislation known as the CLARITY Act, which has been delayed in part by unresolved questions around whether crypto firms should be allowed to offer yield on stablecoins. 

Now, attention is shifting to the Federal Reserve’s proposal to introduce “skinny” master accounts, a limited form of Fed access that would allow eligible fintech and crypto firms to connect directly to the central bank’s payment infrastructure without receiving full banking privileges.

Eleanor Terret, the journalist closely tracking the bill’s progress in Washington, reported that banks and crypto advocates are sharply divided over the proposal. 

Terret noted that the disagreement became clear through 44 comment letters submitted to the Federal Reserve last Friday by a broad range of stakeholders, including crypto companies, industry groups, banking trade associations and individual commentators.

Circle (CRCL) argued that granting limited Fed access would strengthen the overall payments system by increasing its resilience. The Blockchain Payments Consortium said skinny master accounts could help remove uncompetitive practices that disadvantage consumers and concentrate risk within a small number of large banks. 

However, not all crypto firms expressed full approval. Anchorage Digital described the proposal as a step in the right direction but criticized its limitations. 

The company noted that the accounts would not provide direct access to the Federal Reserve’s automated clearing house, nor would they allow firms to hold balances or earn interest on reserves—features Anchorage believes are necessary for meaningful participation in the payment system.

Fraud And Oversight Concerns 

Banks, by contrast, raised concerns about oversight and risk. The American Bankers Association (ABA) warned that many of the entities likely to qualify for skinny accounts lack a long‑term supervisory history and are not governed by consistent federal safety and soundness standards. 

The group also pointed out that many crypto firms operate under regulatory frameworks that are still evolving. The Colorado Bankers Association echoed those worries, cautioning that expanded access could create opportunities for faster‑moving fraud.

The Federal Reserve has said it will review all submitted comments before drafting formal rules for skinny master accounts. Fed Governor Christopher Waller told Crypto In America that he hopes the central bank will be able to release a proposal for those rules in the fourth quarter of this year.

The debate is unfolding just ahead of a scheduled meeting at the White House on Tuesday, where officials are expected to bring together representatives from both the crypto and banking sectors in an attempt to ease tensions, particularly around the issue of stablecoin yield. 

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com

South Korean regulators have announced an inspection of local crypto exchanges and improved measures to address regulatory “blind spots” following Bithumb’s $40 billion Bitcoin (BTC) payment error.

New Task Force To Review Crypto Exchanges’ Practices

On Monday, South Korean financial authorities announced they will step up their efforts to regulate the crypto industry and foster a trustworthy trading environment for digital assets, local news outlets reported.

Following the “ghost Bitcoin” incident at Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS)’s Governor Lee Chan-jin revealed an inspection of local exchanges and emphasized the need for improved legislation.

As reported by Bitcoinist, Bithumb accidentally distributed 620,000 Bitcoin, worth over $40 billion, to 249 users participating in the exchange’s “random box” promotional event due to an employee’s mistake.

Although 99% of the BTC were recovered, the incident raised serious concerns about the crypto exchange’s internal controls. Notably, Bithumb held 175 BTC in its own books, and less than 50,000 Bitcoin between its own assets and customer-held assets, according to a regulatory filing from last year.

This means that the exchange’s system failed to block the irregular transaction, distributing assets that did not actually exist to users and distorting market prices.

“The so-called ghost Bitcoin incident clearly revealed that, beyond a mere input error, there are structural weaknesses in internal controls and ledger management systems of cryptocurrency exchanges,” said Kim Jiho, a spokesperson for the ruling Democratic Party, in a Saturday briefing.

Meanwhile, the FSS Governor affirmed that the “incident bluntly exposed the structural flaws in virtual asset trading systems,” adding, “There are many aspects of the case that we view as extremely serious.”

As a result, the FSS, alongside the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), and the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), formed an emergency task force to organize follow-up measures and review industrywide practices.

The reports noted that the task force plans to examine Bithumb and other domestic exchanges’ virtual asset reserves, management practices, operational conditions, and internal control systems.

“We will carry out planned investigations into major high-risk areas in the virtual asset market where unfair trading practices, such as market manipulation and the dissemination of false information, are a concern,” Lee stated.

Regulators To Address ‘Structural Vulnerabilities’

The FSS Governor also warned that the process could be escalated into a full investigation if any illegal activities are revealed, adding that the incident would be reflected in the long-awaited Second Phase of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which is expected to serve as a comprehensive framework for the entire industry.

“While we are drawing up the second phase of virtual asset legislation, measures to address structural vulnerabilities at exchanges, exposed by the recent Bithumb incident, will be reflected,” Lee declared.

“As virtual assets are being incorporated into the legacy financial system, there remains the task of strengthening the regulatory and supervisory framework. This could serve as an opportunity to put the system in place properly,” he continued.

It’s worth noting that South Korean financial authorities are reportedly considering introducing a system to prevent suspects from hiding or withdrawing unrealized profits from market manipulation related to crypto assets.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) revealed last month that it is exploring the proposal for prosecution measures against suspects of crypto asset price manipulation, as some officials consider that there’s a need “to complement the current Virtual Asset User Protection Act by implementing measures for the confiscation of criminal proceeds or the preservation of recovery funds in advance.”

The measure would limit fund outflows, such as withdrawals, transfers, and payments from a crypto-related account suspected of obtaining illicit gains through typical market manipulation tactics.

On-chain data shows Bitcoin buyers from 2025 and 2026 realized $1.5 billion in losses per day on the recent move down in the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin Net Realised Profit/Loss Has Plunged Recently

In a new post on X, on-chain analyst Checkmate has talked about how loss-taking has looked during the latest Bitcoin price crash. The indicator cited by Checkmate is the “Net Realised Profit/Loss,” which measures the net amount of profit or loss that investors are realizing through their transactions.

The metric works by going through the transaction history of each coin being sold to see what price it was moved at prior to this. If the last selling price was greater than the latest spot price for any token, then that particular coin is now being moved at a net loss. On the other hand, the previous selling price being less suggests the sale is leading to profit realization.

In each case, the degree of profit/loss involved is equal to the difference between the two prices. The Net Realised Profit/Loss sums up this value for both types of sales and then finds their net value.

When the value of the indicator is greater than zero, it means the investors are selling their coins at a net profit. Similarly, it being negative implies loss-taking is the dominant mode of selling.

Now, here is the chart for the Ethereum Net Realised Profit/Loss shared by Checkmate that shows the trend in its 7-day exponential moving average (EMA) value separately for buyers from different years:

As displayed in the above graph, the Ethereum Net Realised Profit/Loss fell into the negative zone for the 2025 and 2026 buyers as the market crash took place. This suggests that buyers from the past year participated in loss realization.

“Class of 2025 and 2026 collectively puked out $1.5B/day in losses on the move lower, equivalent to the June 2022 low at $17.6k,” noted the analyst. Buyers from other years also participated in selling during the drawdown, but their distribution mostly involved profit-taking.

In related news, the unrealized loss in the market has also hit a value similar to that witnessed during the 2022 bear market, as on-chain analytics firm Glassnode has pointed out in an X post.

From the chart, it’s visible that the Relative Unrealized Loss, an indicator representing the unrealized Bitcoin loss as a percentage of the market cap, has risen to 16% recently. “Current market pain echoes a similar structure seen in early May 2022,” explained Glassnode.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $69,300, down more than 11% over the past week.