SEC could axe proposed Biden-era crypto custody rule, says acting chief  

Bitcoin may stage a recovery above the key $90,000 psychological mark amid easing monetary inflation concerns in the world’s largest economy.Bitcoin’s (BTC) over two-month downtrend has raised numerous alarms that the current Bitcoin bull cycle may be over, defying the theory of the four-year market cycle.Despite widespread investor concerns, Bitcoin may be on track to a recovery above $90,000 due to easing inflation concerns in the United States, according to Markus Thielen, the CEO of 10x Research.“We can see some counter-trend rally as prices are oversold, and there is a good chance that the Fed is mildly dovish,” Thielen told Cointelegraph, adding:“This is not a major bullish development, rather some fine-tuning from the policymakers. We think BTC will be in a broader consolidation range but we could trade back towards $90,000.”Bitcoin daily RSI indicator. Source: 10x ResearchInvestor confidence may also be improved by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments indicating that the Fed will “remain on hold amid rising uncertainty among households and businesses,” wrote 10x Research in a March 17 X post, adding:“Powell also expressed doubts about the sustained inflationary impact of Trump’s tariffs, referencing the 2019 scenario where tariff-related inflation was temporary, and the Fed eventually cut rates three times.”Meanwhile, investors are eagerly awaiting today’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, for cues on the Fed’s monetary policy for the rest of 2025, a development that may impact investor appetite for risk assets such as Bitcoin.Related: Crypto market’s biggest risks in 2025: US recession, circular crypto economyFOMC meeting will be crucial for Bitcoin’s trajectory: analystTraders and investors will be watching for any hints about the ending of the Fed’s quantitative easing (QT) program, “a move that could boost liquidity and risk assets,” according to Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at Nexo digital asset investment platform.“The upcoming Fed decision could be a major catalyst for further movements,” the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:“If Chair Powell spreads his dovish wings, Bitcoin could take flight on renewed bullish momentum.”“However, persistent inflation concerns or a reaffirmation of tight financial conditions, such as elevated interest rates or continued liquidity tightening, could limit upside potential,” added the analyst.Related: Rising $219B stablecoin supply signals mid-bull cycle, not market topFed target interest rate probabilities. Source: CME Group’s FedWatch toolMarkets are currently pricing in a 99% chance that the Fed will keep interest rates steady, according to the latest estimates of the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.Still, investors have slashed their exposure to  US equities by the most on record by 40-percentage-points between February and March, according to Bank of America’s latest survey — raising concerns that recession fears may hurt Bitcoin’s price action.Magazine: ETH may bottom at $1.6K, SEC delays multiple crypto ETFs, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 9 – 15

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s multi-year enforcement action against Ripple is finally coming to an end, according to the company CEO.“This is it — the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal — a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote on X on March 19.Source: Brad Garlinghouse“I’m finally able to announce that the case has ended; it’s over,” Garlinghouse said in the attached video to the X post.The end of a long-running legal battle between Ripple and the SEC comes four years after the US securities regulator sued the company over an alleged $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering in December 2020.“We’re now closing a chapter in crypto history,” Garlinghouse stated, adding that “it’s time to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.”Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView show that the crypto market responded positively to the development.XRP price shot up 10% following SEC’s backout. Source: TradingViewThis is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

The North Dakota Senate has passed a bill that regulates crypto ATMs while re-adding a provision capping daily transactions at $2,000 per user that was originally dropped by the state’s House.The state’s Senate passed House Bill 1447 in a 45-to-1 vote on March 18. The bill was introduced to the state’s legislative assembly on Jan. 15 and aims to protect residents from scams by introducing a slate of new guidelines for crypto ATMs and their operators.The latest version of the bill passed by the Senate requires crypto ATM and kiosk operators to be licensed in the state as money transmitters, limits customer withdrawals across their network of ATMs to $2,000 per day, and issues fraud warning notices.Initially, the bill limited crypto ATM customer transactions to $1,000 a day, but a House committee last month loosened the limits, with a $2,000 a day limit for the first five transactions within 30 days.Now, the Senate has capped the transaction limits at $2,000. The bill will need to be sent back to the House to vote on the changes before North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong can either veto or sign the bill into law.The bill would also require operators to use blockchain analytics to monitor for suspicious activity, such as fraud, and report it to the authorities, and to provide quarterly reports on kiosk locations, names and transaction data.The latest version of House Bill 1447 requires local crypto ATM operators to be licensed in the state as money transmitters, among other requirements. Source: North Dakota Legislative AssemblyDuring a North Dakota House Industry, Business and Labor committee hearing on Jan. 22, the bill’s primary sponsor, House Representative Steve Swiontek, said that crypto ATMs currently lack protection measures, which has “allowed criminals to exploit them for theft.”Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen had signed similar legislation into law on March 13, the Controllable Electronic Record Fraud Prevention Act, which is designed to help combat fraud.Meanwhile, US Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, who formerly chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, proposed similar federal legislation on Feb. 25.Durbin cited a story from a constituent who fell prey to a scammer claiming the authorities had issued a warrant for their arrest but could pay a fine through a $15,000 deposit at a crypto ATM to avoid jail as motivation for introducing the new law. Related: ‘Victim-blaming’ Americans can deter crypto scams reporting — RegulatorLast September, the Federal Trade Commission reported fraud losses at Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs had increased nearly tenfold from 2020 to 2023 and topped $65 million in the first half of 2024, with consumers aged 60 and older three times more likely to fall victim.Coin ATM Radar data shows that the US still has the most Bitcoin ATMs, with 29,822 machines representing 78% of the global market.The United States is the world leader in the number of Bitcoin and crypto ATMs. Source: Coin ATM RadarCanada ranks second, at 9.2% of the market and 3,486 crypto ATMs, while Australia is third with 1,613 crypto ATMs, representing 4.3% of the market. Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025