Federal Reserve Board drops enforcement action against Silvergate

Lawmakers in the US states of Minnesota and Alabama filed companion bills to identical existing bills that if passed into law, would allow each state to buy Bitcoin.The Minnesota Bitcoin Act, or HF 2946, was introduced to the state’s House by Republican Representative Bernie Perryman on April 1, following an identical bill introduced on March 17 by GOP state Senator Jeremy Miller.Meanwhile, on the same day in Alabama, Republican state Senator Will Barfoot introduced Senate Bill 283, while a bi-partisan group of representatives led by Republican Mike Shaw filed the identical House Bill 482, which allows for the state to invest in crypto, but essentially limits it to Bitcoin (BTC).Twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly name BitcoinMinnesota’s Bitcoin Act would allow the state’s investment board to invest state assets in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and permit state employees to add crypto to retirement accounts.It would also exempt crypto gains from state income taxes and give residents the option to pay state taxes and fees with Bitcoin.Source: Bitcoin LawsThe twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly identify Bitcoin, but would limit the state’s crypto investment into assets that have a minimum market value of $750 billion, a criterion that only Bitcoin currently meets.26 Bitcoin reserve bills now introduced in the USIntroducing identical bills is not uncommon in the US and is typically done to speed up the bicameral legislative process so laws can pass more quickly.Bills to create a Bitcoin reserve have been introduced in 26 US states, with Arizona currently the closest to passing a law to make one, according to data from the bill tracking website Bitcoin Laws.Arizona currently leads in the US state Bitcoin reserve race. Source: Bitcoin LawsPennsylvania was one of the first US states to introduce a Bitcoin reserve bill, in November 2024. However, the initiative was reportedly eventually rejected, with similar bills also killed in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.Related: North Carolina bills would add crypto to state’s retirement system Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming are the five states thathave rejected Bitcoin reserve initiatives. Source: Bitcoin LawsAccording to a March 3 report by Barron’s, “red states” like Montana have faced setbacks to the Bitcoin reserve initiatives amid political confrontations between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.Additional reporting by Helen Partz.Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

The US House Financial Services Committee has passed a Republican-backed stablecoin framework bill, which will now head to the House floor for a full vote.The Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, with a 32-17 vote on April 2. The bill would provide rules around payment stablecoins, a type of crypto token tied to a currency such as the US dollar, and aims to ensure issuers give information about their business and how they back their tokens.Related: Lawmaker alleges Trump wants to replace US dollar with his stablecoinOther stablecoin-related bills are also working their way through Congress, including the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which lays out oversight and reserve rules for issuers.This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX reportedly hired former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to advise it over the federal probe that resulted in the firm pleading guilty to several violations and agreeing to pay $505 million in fines and penalties.Cuomo, a New York-registered attorney, advised OKX on legal issues stemming from the probe sometime after August 2021 when he resigned as New York overnor, Bloomberg reported on April 2, citing people familiar with the matter.“He spoke with company executives regularly and counseled them on how to respond to the criminal investigation,” Bloomberg said.The Seychelles-based firm pled guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of US Anti-Money Laundering laws on Feb. 24 and agreed to pay $84 million worth of penalties while forfeiting $421 million worth of fees earned from mostly institutional clients.The breaches occurred from 2018 to 2024 despite OKX having an official policy preventing US persons from transacting on its crypto exchange since 2017, the Department of Justice noted at the time.A spokesperson for Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, told Bloomberg that Cuomo has been providing private legal services representing individuals and corporations on a variety of matters since resigning as New York governor.“He has not represented clients before a New York city or state agency and routinely recommends former colleagues for positions,”  Azzopardi added.OKX reportedly wasn’t willing to comment on its relationships with outside firms.Cuomo also influenced OKX to make executive appointments: BloombergCuomo, who is now running for mayor of New York City, also advised OKX to appoint his friend US Attorney Linda Lacewell to OKX’s board of directors, Bloomberg said.Lacewell, a former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, was added to the board in 2024 and was named OKX’s new chief legal officer on April 1, according to a recent company statement.Source: Linda LacewellRelated: New York bill aims to protect crypto investors from memecoin rug pullsAfter the investigation concluded, OKX said it would seek out a compliance consultant to remedy the issues stemming from the federal probe and bolster its regulatory compliance program.“Our vision is to make OKX the gold standard of global compliance at scale across different markets and their respective regulatory bodies,” OKX CEO Star Xu said in a Feb. 24 X post.Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again