New Hampshire, North Dakota introduce bills for Strategic Bitcoin Reserve  

Bitcoin adoption among United States financial institutions could see a major boost after the US Federal Reserve withdrew its guidance discouraging banks from engaging with cryptocurrency.On April 24, the Fed withdrew its 2022 supervisory letter that served as guidance to deter banks from engaging in crypto and stablecoin activities. The withdrawal spurred a notable uplift in Bitcoin (BTC) investor sentiment.The Federal Reserve Board’s withdrawal giving banks guidance on crypto activities. Source: Federal ReserveThe 2022 guidance initially warned that crypto may pose risks to investors and the stability of the US financial system.The Fed’s move means that “banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin,” said Michael Saylor, co-founder of the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holding firm, Strategy, in an April 25 X post.Source: Michael SaylorThe Fed’s decision “is a significant development, as it will simplify the path to institutional adoption,” according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.“The withdrawal of this particular guidance ensures that crypto assets will be overseen through standard supervisory processes,” she told Cointelegraph, adding:“We still need to have GENIUS and STABLE bills to be passed to further harmonize the crypto activities amongst Fed-supervised firms and other market participants. The combination of legislative effort will be the main driver behind the institutional adoption.”The Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, passed the US House Financial Services Committee with a 32–17 vote on April 2. The bill aims to create clear regulatory guidelines for dollar-denominated stablecoins.Source: Financial Services GOPThe GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6 on March 13.Related: Trump fought the bond market, the bond market won: Saifedean AmmousFed’s shift marks end of us regulatory hostilityThe Federal Reserve’s decision may be a “meaningful turning point” for Bitcoin’s institutional adoption in the US, according to Eneko Knörr, co-founder and CEO of Stabolut, a yield-bearing stablecoin project.“Up until now, US regulatory hostility made it virtually impossible for traditional financial institutions to participate in this space,” Knörr told Cointelegraph.“With the recent shift in the Fed’s guidance, the door is finally open. This unlocks an enormous opportunity for banks — one that until now has been dominated by players like Coinbase and other crypto-native firms,” Knörr added. Knörr added that banks are now likely to move quickly to meet client demand and retain market share previously captured by crypto-native firms like Coinbase. Related: Serbia’s Prince Filip says Bitcoin is being stifled, expects huge rallyBitcoin adoption among financial institutions is also lagging in Europe, with less than 20% of European banks offering crypto services, despite the rising investor demand and regulatory clarity in the region.Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

As the Russian government is considering a ban on cash-to-cryptocurrency transactions, some major local crypto exchange platforms have experienced police raids.Mosca, a crypto-to-cash exchange located in the Moscow International Business Center, was raided on April 23 in connection with fraud by one of its customers, Mosca’s development head Dmitry Titarenko confirmed to Cointelegraph.“Law enforcement agencies have carried out a standard procedure of checking our customer data,” Titarenko told Cointelegraph at the local crypto event Blockchain Forum 2025.The Mosca office raid followed online reports linking several arrests of some Mosca customers to a crypto robbery involving a victim reportedly giving fraudsters a massive cash deposit worth millions of dollars.Cash-to-crypto ban to protect investors?The police raid on Mosca came the next day after Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, proposed banning crypto exchangers from accepting cash from their customers to buy cryptocurrencies like Tether USDt (USDT).A potential ban on cash-to-crypto transactions would be a “massive blow to fraudsters,” Masharov said, adding that phone scammers were “often using crypto exchangers for withdrawing cash funds.”Olga Serova, a former adviser to the head of the government of Samara region, claims to have lost up to $5 million to crypto fraudsters. Source: BazaSubsequently, local news channel Baza reported on the Mosca raid, linking the event with a “record-breaking fraud” against Olga Serova, a former government adviser in Russia’s Samara region.Serova, 71, reportedly fell victim to scammers in late 2024, cashing out her bank accounts to pass the fraudsters about 421 million Russian rubles ($5.1 million). According to Baza, at least seven people were arrested, allegedly in connection with the case.Mosca clients can buy up to 100,000 USDT with cash dailyMosca, which allows investors to deposit up to 100,000 USDT ($100,000) daily, was unaware whether Serova’s incident was connected to its office raid, Titarenko said.“Maybe it was another client,” he said, adding that the raid was the first criminal-case-related office raid at Mosca in the past three months.Titarenko also said that Mosca has been actively beefing up its Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer checks, including maintaining a blacklist of suspicious users.Related: Russia’s central bank, finance ministry to launch crypto exchangeThe raid caught Mosca during a major local event, Blockchain Life, returning to Moscow for the first time since October 2021. The company was one of the main guests at the conference, taking two center stands and winning a title of the “best crypto exchange service.”One of Mosca’s stands at the Blockchain Forum 2025. Source: CointelegraphAccording to Sergey Mendeleev, a prominent figure in the Russian crypto community, the proposal to ban cash-to-crypto transactions is an alarming development for the community.Speaking at the event, Mendeleev suggested that the Russian government might be turning away from crypto adoption if it approves such a ban.He also mentioned that raids are a common situation for crypto exchange services located at the Moscow International Business Center, also known as Moscow City.Garantex, a crypto exchange that halted trading after Tether froze $27 million in USDT due to sanctions, was also among the exchangers located in Moscow City.Magazine: Pokémon on Sui rumors, Polymarket bets on Filipino Pope: Asia Express

An executive at major stablecoin issuer Circle denied recent reports that the company is looking to obtain a US federal bank charter.In an April 25 X post, Circle’s chief strategy officer and head of global policy, Dante Disparte, denied that the company is interested in obtaining a US federal bank charter or acquiring an insured depository institution.Instead, he explained that Circle intends to comply with future US regulatory requirements for payment stablecoins, “which may require registering for a federal or state trust charter or other nonbank license.” He also urged lawmakers to reach regulatory clarity for stablecoins sooner rather than later.Source: Dante DisparteThe statement follows recent reports that major cryptocurrency firms, including stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto custodian BitGo, are reportedly considering applying for bank charters or licenses. Other firms cited as seeking such a license in the same report include publicly traded US-based crypto exchange Coinbase and the stablecoin issuer Paxos.Related: Circle’s EURC grows as trade war pushes euro higher — AnalystThe report was not entirely baselessCointelegraph reached out to all the companies cited in the report, requesting a confirmation or denial. All companies except one denied the request for comment, with Coinbase confirming instead that it is currently considering such a license.Those were also not the first reports of Circle being interested in a US bank charter. In April 2022, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in an interview with Bloomberg that the firm was already in discussions with regulators as part of its efforts to apply for a bank charter “hopefully in the near future.”Circle did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for further comment as of publication time. Another previous report that helps establish the credibility of the claim is that the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted a preliminary, conditional approval for a US bank charter to Paxos in 2021.Related: Circle considers IPO delay amid economic uncertainty — ReportUS stablecoin regulation is evolvingThe news comes as US regulators are working to change how stablecoins are regulated in the country. The US House Financial Services Committee passed a Republican-backed stablecoin framework bill earlier this month.The bill in question is the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act. Another bill also currently moving through the US legislative process is the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.The STABLE and GENIUS bills differ in how they would regulate the stablecoin industry, with the former emphasizing strict federal oversight and the latter being more flexible, allowing for both federal and state rules. The GENIUS Act bill was introduced first and passed the US Senate Banking Committee in mid-March.Magazine: Stablecoin for cyber-scammers launches, Sony L2 drama: Asia Express