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Billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya says Bitcoin has hit a structural limit that many market participants still do not want to confront: in his view, it lacks the qualities needed for central bank adoption. That matters because, in his framing, sovereign adoption is the missing ingredient for the next major expansion in Bitcoin’s total market value.

Speaking in a March 3 conversation with Nikhil Kamath, Palihapitiya argued that the “value maximizing function” for a Bitcoin seeking broad adoption is not retail enthusiasm or ETF demand, but whether it can satisfy the requirements of a central bank reserve asset. On that test, he said, Bitcoin comes up short.

“The structural failing is that it is not, so if you think about like, what is the value maximizing function right now for a crypto asset to be broadly adopted? It needs to have the features that allow a central bank to adopt it,” Palihapitiya said. “And there are two things that it lacks, you know, one is fungibility and two is privacy. And so Bitcoin fails on those two dimensions.”

He pushed the argument further, saying those weaknesses are not peripheral design tradeoffs but hard constraints on where Bitcoin can go next. “So it can never be a structural holding of a central bank. And that simple thing will keep it in the realm of ETFs and humans,” he said, before contrasting Bitcoin with gold.

Palihapitiya’s reasoning rests on transparency as a liability rather than a strength. In his telling, a public ledger makes holdings legible in a way that discourages state-level reserve management. He pointed to the traceability of coins and transaction history as a direct hit to fungibility, arguing that market participants can inspect “the history and the provenance of that exact token,” including where it has been used and which wallets it has touched.

“That lack of fungibility and privacy is a huge deterrent for broad structural adoption,” he said. “That’s what you need to then add another 10x of market cap.”

He also suggested there may be room for another crypto asset to solve the problem, though he did not name one as a clear contender. “Are there projects right now? Yes. But they’re very small scale. There’s huge issues with them. Those are even more volatile. So Bitcoin’s interesting.”

Reactions From The Bitcoin Community

The reaction on X was swift and openly dismissive. Vijay Boyapati argued: “The truth is gold suffers more privacy constraints for central banks than Bitcoin does or ever will. Many countries literally keep their gold with the New York Fed, which knows *exactly* how much gold they have AND keeps possession of that gold – a huge geopolitical risk.”

Prominent Bitcoin educator Dan Held rejected the fungibility critique outright, calling Bitcoin “perfectly fungible” and saying there is “no pricing differential between coins.” On privacy, he argued the issue can be handled at other layers, writing that users seeking more privacy can rely on “L2s or ETF.”

ProCap CIO Jeff Park’s response went in a different direction. Rather than debating whether central banks need privacy, he challenged the premise that opacity is desirable at all. In his view, the only way to repair a system defined by growing distrust is “to build trust with radical transparency,” a line that turns Palihapitiya’s critique into a case for BTC rather than against it.

“This take-and yes Dalio too-fundamentally fails to understand why central banks are broken and why they need bitcoin. In an age where there is growing distrust everywhere, the only way – and i really mean the ONLY way- to fix the system is to build trust with radical transparency,” he wrote.

Bloomberg senior analyst Eric Balchunas compressed the pro-Bitcoin rebuttal into a simpler market structure answer: “ETF fixes this. Totally private. Next question.”

At press time, BTC traded at $72,493.

Earlier this week, the Executive Chairman of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), Michael Saylor, announced that the company had made another major Bitcoin purchase. The announcement, which was made on Monday, showed that despite the bearish market headwinds, the company has not given up on its Bitcoin strategy. Following the announcement, though, a community member known as Lindsay on X pointed out an interesting fact about Strategy’s massive BTC holdings and the asset’s price movements.

Strategy Makes Bank Every time Bitcoin Moves $1,000

Strategy’s latest Bitcoin purchase of 3,015 BTC, despite being worth $204.1 million at the time of its purchase, now looks like a tiny blip on its over 700,000 BTC holdings. At the time of the last purchase, the company now holds 720,737 BTC, maintaining its position as the public company with the largest BTC holdings in the world.

Amid this revelation, Lindsay’s post pointed to the fact that Strategy was actually making a lot of money each time the Bitcoin price moved. For example, every time the Bitcoin price moved upward by $1,000, the company’s position would add a whopping $720 million.

What this means is that the company is in a position where even a small recovery could mean a massive profit margin for the company. However, the reverse is also the case, because if the Bitcoin price drops $1,000, then the company loses $720 million on its BTC holdings.

Another interesting fact about the company’s holdings is that its latest purchase was made at an average price of $67,700 for 3,015 BTC. As a result, the average price of the company’s total BTC holdings has now moved to $75,985 per BTC.

With the Bitcoin price trading below $74,000, it means that the company is currently underwater on its BTC investment. The company has spent $54.77 billion to buy 720,737 BTC, starting in 2020. But presently, the entire stack is worth around $52.49 billion, representing an over 4% loss on its holdings, according to data from Bitcoin Treasuries.

The company’s stock has not been spared from the onslaught as it is down 14.77% year-to-date, falling in line with the 24% BTC price decline during this time period. Saylor also announced that the company’s STRC dividend rate has now been increased from 11.25% in February to 11.50% in March, as the company makes plans to switch from using common stock to preferred share issuance for its Bitcoin purchases.

Morgan Stanley is moving forward with its plans to enter the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, submitting an amended registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission as it seeks regulatory approval.

On March 4, the Wall Street firm filed an updated Form S-1 for the proposed Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, providing additional details about how the fund would operate. 

Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF Filing Details

The amendment outlines key structural elements, including how the trust’s Bitcoin holdings would be stored and who would be responsible for safeguarding them.

According to the filing, Coinbase Custody, a subsidiary of crypto exchange Coinbase, and The Bank of New York Mellon, or BNY Mellon, would serve as custodians for the fund’s Bitcoin. 

The digital assets would be stored in offline cold storage vaults, meaning the private keys controlling access to the Bitcoin would remain disconnected from the internet. This approach is designed to reduce exposure to cyber threats and unauthorized access.

However, the filing also makes clear that the custodians are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Instead, they maintain insurance coverage through private carriers. 

ETF Revival Lifts Bitcoin To $73,000

The timing comes as the spot Bitcoin ETF sector shows signs of renewed momentum, contributing to Bitcoin’s ascent to $73,000 earlier on Wednesday. 

BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF recorded approximately $322 million in inflows in a single trading day, helping offset outflows from rival products offered by Fidelity and Grayscale. In total, the sector has attracted about $683.3 million in inflows so far this week.

Bitwise’s advisor, Jeff Park, previously said that launching a Bitcoin ETF would strengthen MorganStanley’s role in the crypto infrastructure sector, adding that such an initiative could create opportunities beyond the ETF itself, particularly in areas linked to tokenized assets.

Park also pointed out that establishing a presence in the Bitcoin ETF market could help Morgan Stanley attract professionals with expertise in blockchain markets and digital asset trading. 

Earlier this year, during Morgan Stanley’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Chairman and CEO Ted Pick emphasized the firm’s growing engagement in digital assets. 

He told analysts that the bank is “well positioned now in the crypto and tokenized asset space,” and noted that there is “a lot for us to do there,” signaling broader ambitions within blockchain-based finance.

As of this writing, Bitcoin was trading at $73,445, a one-month high following its February return to the $60,000 support floor. According to CoinGecko data, this amounts to a 7% increase for BTC over the 24-hour time frame. 

Featured image from NBC, chart from TradingView.com 

Binance continued to be the spot volume leader in the crypto sector during 2025, according to CryptoQuant’s annual report on exchanges.

Binance Saw $7 Trillion In Spot Crypto Trading Volume In 2025

In a new thread on X, on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant has shared insights from its 2025 Annual Exchange Leader Report. This report compares the various centralized exchanges in the crypto sector in terms of various metrics.

First, here is a chart showing how exchanges compare against each other in terms of the spot trading volume:

As displayed above, Binance was by far the largest exchange in terms of the total amount of crypto involved in spot trading activities in 2024, and the same remained true in 2025 as well. In total, Binance observed a spot volume totaling to $7 trillion in 2025, about the same as the figure from 2024.

Bybit and Crypto.com followed in second and third, respectively. While the latter observed a volume jump of 4.5% during 2025, the former actually saw a decline of over 14%. The platform that most stands out for its volume change between 2024 and 2025 is MEXC, witnessing an increase of a whopping 90%.

Like the spot market, Binance was once again the market leader when it came to derivatives volume.

Binance saw a total of 25 trillion in crypto derivatives volume during 2025, up 20% compared to 2024. Nearly all of the platforms listed in the chart observed an year-over-year increase in the metric, indicating that speculative activity as a whole shot up in the sector over 2025. “In terms of growth, Gate stands out, having increased its perpetual futures trading volume by 468%,” noted the analytics firm.

Many exchanges saw a balanced derivatives volume composition, but Bitget, Coinbase, and Crypto.com stood out for their Bitcoin-heavy volumes. Coinbase in particular saw the original digital asset dominate, making up for 81.5% of all futures trading on the platform.

Based on some key exchange-related categories, CyrptoQuant has defined an “Exchange Score Index” that ranks the various crypto platforms. “These categories are designed to evaluate the overall market position, transparency, growth and trading profile of each exchange,” explained the analytics firm.

As is visible in the below chart, MEXC ranked the highest in this indicator during 2025. CryptoQuant noted that the exchange’s position is backed by “strong derivatives scale and solid year-over-year growth momentum.”

BTC Price

Bitcoin has seen a breakout during the past day that has taken its price to the $73,100 level.

Аналитики компании Arkham обнаружили бездействовавший около десяти лет адрес Эфириума с рекордной доходностью. В 2015 году владелец адреса купил ETH на $30, и теперь его активы выросли примерно до $295 000, а прибыльность инвестиций превысила 983 000%.

Сын президента США и сооснователь эмитента стейблкоина USD1, компании World Liberty Financial, Эрик Трамп раскритиковал крупные американские банки, которые хотят запретить держателям стейблкоинов получать доходность, подобную процентам по банковским вкладам.

Сооснователь и бывший директор криптобиржи BitMEX Артур Хейс (Arthur Hayes) заявил, что недавний рост биткоина выше $70 000 не сигнализирует о смене медвежьего тренда на бычий, и котировки главной криптовалюты снова могут пойти вниз.

The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision this Wednesday to grant its first-ever master account to a crypto-focused institution has triggered swift opposition from major banking groups, intensifying tensions between traditional finance and the digital asset sector at a pivotal moment for US crypto legislation.

Opposition From US Banking Groups

Kraken Financial, the Wyoming-chartered banking arm of the exchange, announced that it had secured a Federal Reserve master account—becoming the first digital asset bank in American history to gain direct access to the central bank’s payment infrastructure. 

However, the account comes with limitations. Under the so-called “skinny” master account framework outlined by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, Kraken is permitted to hold reserves and settle transactions in central bank money. 

At the same time, it does not receive full banking authority. The firm cannot issue loans, tap into the Fed’s discount window, or function as a conventional commercial bank. In essence, it gains access to payment systems without the broader powers afforded to insured depository institutions.

Even with those restrictions, the move has drawn sharp criticism from the traditional banking industry. The backlash arrives as banks are already engaged in a broader fight over crypto-related legislation. 

Industry groups have been pushing to remove the stablecoin rewards provision from the GENIUS Act—legislation that was signed into law by President Donald Trump last year. 

That dispute has contributed to delays surrounding the passage of the wider crypto market structure bill known as the CLARITY Act. Now, leading US banking associations are publicly opposing the Federal Reserve’s approval of Kraken’s master account. 

Alleged Risks In Expanding Crypto Access

According to Eleanor Terrett from Crypto In America, banking lobbyists argue that the Kansas City Federal Reserve “violated policy” by approving Kraken’s application without going through the customary public comment process.

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has expressed strong objections, stating it is “very concerned” about granting crypto firms access to master accounts because it views the sector as a potential risk to financial stability. 

Meanwhile, the Bank Policy Institute has accused the Kansas City Fed of effectively front-running the Federal Board’s public comment period and failing to follow established procedures when implementing what they characterize as a significant change to the US payments system.

In their view, granting nonbank entities and crypto institutions access to master accounts—historically limited to highly regulated, insured banks—introduces new vulnerabilities. 

At the same time, President Trump has entered the debate. Addressing the legislative impasse surrounding the CLARITY Act, also known as the crypto market structure bill, Trump posted on Truth Social, expressing clear support for the crypto industry in its ongoing dispute with banks over stablecoin yield provisions. 

He urged Congress to move swiftly in passing comprehensive crypto market structure legislation. Despite the President’s backing, banking groups remain unconvinced. 

According to a banking source involved in negotiations who spoke to Crypto In America, concerns persist that “ambiguous legislative language” could enable crypto companies to bypass a prior agreement not to offer interest or yield on idle stablecoin balances.

“We want to continue negotiating, and what we’re trying to do is defend the agreement in-principle of no interest on balances, making sure no holes are punched in that,” the source said, adding that banks had sent proposed legislative revisions to the White House several days earlier but had not yet received a response.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com

Банк России предлагает внести в законодательство поправки, которые позволят банкам и брокерам становиться криптообменниками без дополнительной лицензии, то есть просто в уведомительном порядке. Об этом сообщила председатель ЦБ Эльвира Набиуллина.

Средние ежемесячные покупки криптовалют компаниями, занимающимися хранением и управлением цифровыми активами (Digital Asset Treasury, DAT), снизились до $555 млн. Это минимальный показатель с октября 2024 года, следует из данных аналитической платформы DefiLlama.

Shiba Inu is approaching a pivotal moment, and the latest derivatives data suggests that while top traders still lean bullish on the meme coin, their conviction is steadily fading. Rather than signaling a strong directional move, current positioning reflects a market that is active but cautious.

Shiba Inu Positioning Reflects Controlled Optimism

On the 5-minute timeframe, data from Binance shows that the Top Trader Long/Short Ratio (Positions) recently stood at 1.13, with 52.97% of positions long and 47.03% short. This confirms that leading traders maintain a net-long bias. However, the margin remains relatively narrow. Earlier in the session, the ratio was closer to 1.18 before gradually trending lower, indicating that bullish exposure has been scaled back over time.

The broader Long/Short Ratio (Accounts) reinforces this pattern. The metric was near 1.09 at the same timestamp, reflecting 52.12% long accounts compared to 47.88% short. More importantly, this ratio has declined from levels above 1.30 earlier in the observed window among Shiba Inu traders. The downward slope is not dramatic, but it is consistent. That consistency signals a steady cooling in sentiment.

In strongly trending markets, long/short ratios typically expand as traders crowd into the prevailing direction. Here, the opposite is happening. The imbalance between longs and shorts is compressing. Traders are not abandoning their bullish outlook entirely, but they are scaling back exposure. This suggests risk management is taking priority over aggressive positioning.

Such behavior often appears when the market lacks a clear catalyst. Participants remain involved, yet they hesitate to commit heavily without stronger confirmation from price action.

Balanced Volume Underscores A Market At Decision Point

Taker buy and sell volume data adds another layer of context. Buying activity has produced visible spikes, but these are frequently met with responsive selling. This balanced interaction prevents either side from establishing dominance. Instead of momentum building in one direction, liquidity remains evenly distributed.

Crucially, both positioning ratios for Shiba Inu remain above 1.0. Bulls still hold a structural edge. However, the gradual decline toward parity indicates that confidence is thinning. This is not a bearish reversal signal, but it does reflect growing uncertainty.

Markets often move from expansion to compression before a breakout. The current environment around Shiba Inu resembles that compression phase. Exposure is active but measured. Traders are participating, yet leverage concentration appears controlled.

Taken together, the data presents a coherent narrative. Shiba Inu is not experiencing aggressive accumulation, nor is it under heavy short-term pressure. Instead, it is trading in a state of restrained optimism. The narrowing long bias and balanced volume suggest a market preparing for its next decisive move.

Until a clear imbalance emerges, either through renewed long expansion or a shift below parity, this meme coin remains at a crossroads, with professional traders positioned carefully rather than confidently.

Эксперты по кибербезопасности компании Google обнаружили набор инструментов, который мошенники используют для взлома устройств iPhone и кражи сид-фраз криптовалютных кошельков.

Вице-президент майнинговой компании MARA Holdings Роберт Семюелс (Robert Samuels) заявил, что сообщения о планах фирмы продать свои биткоины не соответствуют действительности.

The crypto industry took a significant step deeper into the traditional financial system on Wednesday after Kraken Financial, a Wyoming-chartered digital asset bank, was granted a Federal Reserve (Fed) master account. According to one expert, Ripple may follow suit. 

The approval makes Kraken Financial the first crypto-focused bank in US history to gain direct access to the Federal Reserve’s payment infrastructure, a development many see as a landmark moment for the sector.

Crypto Enters Fed’s Core System

The announcement signals a structural shift in how crypto-native institutions interact with the US banking system. With a master account, Kraken Financial can connect directly to the Fed’s payment rails rather than relying on intermediary banks to process transactions. Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said: 

This milestone marks the convergence of crypto infrastructure and sovereign financial rails. With a Federal Reserve master account, we can operate not as a peripheral participant in the US banking system, but as a directly connected financial institution.

The decision immediately sparked discussion about which crypto firms might follow. Market expert Paul Barron argued on social media platform X that Kraken’s approval has effectively “bridged a gap” between crypto companies and the traditional banking establishment. 

By securing a Federal Reserve master account, Barron noted, Kraken is no longer operating on the outskirts of the system but instead sits on the same Fedwire infrastructure used by major financial institutions such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. “This is BIG!” he wrote.

Barron went further, suggesting that Ripple could be next in line. He pointed to Ripple’s National Trust Bank charter, granted in December 2025, as a foundational step toward eventual Federal Reserve access. 

Final Step For Ripple’s RLUSD Expansion

In Barron’s view, direct access to a master account would be the final component needed for Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, to settle transactions at full banking scale. 

Barron also referenced growing legislative momentum around the CLARITY Act, arguing that regulatory developments in Washington may be increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve to integrate qualified crypto institutions more fully into the financial system. 

Ripple executives have previously acknowledged the strategic value of direct Federal Reserve access. In November 2025, Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s CLO, described the concept as “an attractive idea” in an interview with Reuters.

Yet, Ripple is not alone in seeking this level of integration. Other crypto-focused institutions, including federally chartered Anchorage Digital, have also applied for Federal Reserve master accounts but have not yet received approval.

As of this writing, XRP was trading at $1.45, up 6% amid a wider crypto market recovery that began early on Wednesday with Bitcoin’s (BTC) lead. 

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Президент США Дональд Трамп призвал банки «заключить выгодную сделку» с криптокомпаниями, чтобы ускорить продвижение законопроекта CLARITY о прозрачности рынка цифровых активов. Соответствующее заявление он сделал на своей платформе Truth Social.

Американский банковский гигант Morgan Stanley с активами около $1,9 трлн назвал партнеров для запуска спотового биржевого фонда (ETF) на биткоин. Согласно поданной в Комиссию по ценным бумагам и биржам США (SEC) заявке, ими станут BNY Mellon и криптобиржа Coinbase.

Ethereum is attempting to regain the $2,000 level as the broader crypto market shows early signs of relief after weeks of persistent volatility. The recent stabilization in price action has helped ease short-term selling pressure, allowing ETH to approach a key psychological and technical threshold that could influence market sentiment in the coming weeks. While the recovery remains tentative, on-chain data suggests that structural changes in supply dynamics may be developing beneath the surface.

According to data from CryptoQuant, the total amount of Ethereum withdrawn from exchanges in February reached approximately 31.6 million ETH. This represents the highest level of exchange outflows recorded since last November and marks a notable shift in how investors are positioning their holdings.

Large-scale withdrawals from centralized exchanges often indicate that market participants are moving assets into cold storage or alternative custody solutions, typically associated with longer-term holding strategies. When coins leave exchange reserves, the immediately available supply for trading declines, which can gradually tighten liquidity conditions across the market.

The magnitude of February’s withdrawals, therefore, suggests a broader behavioral shift among investors. Rather than maintaining readily tradable balances on exchanges, a growing portion of the ETH supply appears to be moving off-platform, potentially reducing short-term selling pressure as Ethereum attempts to reclaim the $2,000 level.

Binance Leads Massive Outflows as Exchange Supply Tightens

The report further highlights that the majority of February’s exchange withdrawals were concentrated on the largest trading platforms. Binance recorded the most significant outflow, with approximately 14.45 million ETH leaving the exchange during the month. This represents nearly half of the total withdrawals and confirms that activity is heavily centered on the platform that holds the deepest liquidity in the Ethereum market. Such concentration is common during periods of structural shifts, as large investors typically move assets through the exchanges that can handle substantial transaction volumes.

OKX ranked second in terms of withdrawals, with around 3.83 million ETH leaving the platform. This indicates that the trend was not isolated to a single venue but reflected broader investor activity across major exchanges. Kraken followed in third place, recording approximately 1.04 million ETH in withdrawals and securing a position among the top platforms by outflow volume during this period.

The aggregate figure—exceeding 31 million ETH—represents a notable signal within Ethereum’s supply dynamics. Rising exchange outflows are often interpreted as coins being transferred into cold storage or private custody solutions, which reduces the amount of ETH immediately available for trading.

When such movements occur near sensitive price levels, they can signal strengthening holding conviction or strategic portfolio repositioning. If withdrawals persist, exchange liquidity could tighten further in the months ahead.

Ethereum Tests Key Resistance

Ethereum’s 4-hour chart shows the asset attempting to regain upward momentum after a prolonged period of consolidation and volatile price swings. At the time of the chart, ETH is trading around $2,050, pushing slightly above the $2,000 psychological level that has acted as a key pivot throughout recent market activity.

Price structure suggests that Ethereum has been forming a broad range between roughly $1,850 and $2,100 since mid-February. Within this range, multiple rebounds from the $1,850–$1,900 zone highlight the presence of buyers defending lower levels, while repeated rejections near the $2,100 region confirm that sellers remain active at higher prices.

From a technical perspective, ETH has recently reclaimed the short-term moving averages, including the 50-period and 100-period lines, which now sit just below the current price. This development indicates that short-term momentum has begun to shift in favor of buyers after several weeks of downward pressure.

However, the 200-period moving average remains above the market, acting as a dynamic resistance level near the current price zone. For Ethereum to confirm a stronger recovery phase, bulls would likely need to secure a decisive break and consolidation above this level.

If ETH can maintain support above $2,000, the next technical target could emerge near $2,150. Conversely, losing the level may reopen downside toward the $1,900 support area.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

Управляющая криптоактивами компания Bitwise пожертвовала $233 000 разработчикам, обеспечивающим безопасность сети Биткоина. С 2024 года компания перевела на эти цели в общей сложности $383 000.

Паевые инвестиционные фонды (ПИФы) в будущем могут получить возможность покупать криптовалюты. Об этом на «Форуме лидеров рынка управления активами» заявила глава департамента инвестиционных финансовых посредников Банка России Ольга Шишлянникова.

Kraken, the US’s second-largest crypto exchange, has reportedly secured access to the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) core payment systems, marking a significant milestone as the first crypto firm to operate on the same infrastructure utilized by thousands of banks and credit unions.

Kraken Scores Major Victory For The Crypto Industry

On Wednesday, Kraken’s banking arm, Kraken Financial, became the first crypto company with direct access to the Federal Reserve’s core payment system after winning the Kansas City Fed’s approval for a Fed master account, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) first reported.

According to the Wednesday report, the Kraken unit, which holds a special Wyoming state bank charter specifically designed for crypto companies, is not receiving the full range of services available to banks, such as interest payments on reserves held at the central bank.

However, the milestone represents a major victory for the crypto industry, which had been repeatedly denied access to the Fed system for years. The company previously relied on intermediary banks to facilitate transfers to other firms.

The Fed master account approval will allow Kraken Financial to “handle transactions more quickly and seamlessly for big clients and professional traders,” the company told the WSJ. Moreover, it will grant Kraken’s banking unit direct access to Fedwire, a major interbank payment system that processes over $4 trillion in transfers a day.

Arjun Sethi, co-chief executive of Kraken, told the WSJ that the direct access to the Fed’s payment rails “improves reliability and efficiency for moving fiat deposits in and out of digital-asset markets.”

Meanwhile, Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid highlighted the payments landscape’s constant evolution in the statement cited by Reuters. “Throughout this transformation, the integrity ​and ​stability of ⁠the U.S. payments system remain our priority,” he affirmed.

Kraken Financial’s master account has been approved for an initial term of one year, the news media outlet reported.

Banks Push Back On Crypto Firm’s Access To Fed’s Rails

The Kraken unit’s limited access to the master account is akin to the “skinny” master account concept first proposed by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in October 2025.

The proposal would allow payment fintechs and crypto companies to access the Fed’s payment rails, but excludes other benefits that are more aligned with banks, including its discount window lending facility.

This has raised major concerns among traditional banks, which have shared their opposition to granting crypto and fintech companies direct access to the Fed’s payment systems, warning that even limited access could pose a significant threat to the US payments system and overall financial stability.

In a joint letter, the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), The Clearing House Association (TCHPA), and Financial Services Forum (FSF) demanded a 12-month waiting period before firms can apply for payment accounts. The banking groups argued the Fed “should block access until newly licensed stablecoin issuers prove they can operate safely.”

Meanwhile, the American Bankers Association (ABA) asked the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) last month to postpone its approval of applications for crypto bank charters, suggesting that the agency should wait until the regulatory uncertainties are resolved.

In December, the OCC approved conditional bank charters for Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Paxos, and Fidelity. The approval raised concerns that it could blur the lines between banking activities and lead to regulatory arbitrage.

The banking lobby raised concerns about the uncertainty surrounding emerging business models, the need for increased transparency in the charter application and decision-making processes, and the absence of finalized federal oversight.

Ultimately, the ABA proposed delaying the review process until Congress completes the rules that will ultimately govern many recent applicants for the OCC’s charter.