XRPLV was the first crypto conference I ever attended back in 2023 when I started covering the @Ripple case. Thanks to Brad + Danielle for having me back every year.
Lucky to interview @bgarlinghouse, @KeithGrossman, @ashgoblue, @Matt_Hougan & @GilbertieSal on stage for Day 1!
🚨SCOOP: Hearing from industry sources that stablecoin yield compromise text is imminent and could drop as soon as today. Reaching out to @SenThomTillis and @Sen_Alsobrooks offices for comment.
🚨SCOOPLET: Former @CFTC Chair @giancarloMKTS is joining Patomak Global Partners as a strategic adviser after departing Willkie Farr & Gallagher earlier this month. The firm was founded by his former Vanderbilt Law classmate @SECPaulSAtkins.
🚨NEW: Following @SenThomTillis comments and a sense of renewed optimism from industry and Senate Banking staff that a Clarity Act markup is within striking distance, efforts are now ramping up to tie up remaining loose ends.
With the yield issue largely resolved (per Tillis), attention is shifting to ethics and DeFi, specifically the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act and Section 1960 provisions.
@SenLummis (R-WY) who’s been leading on this issue, had this to say on the status of those negotiations:
“We’ve made significant progress on safeguards for non-controlling developers with respect to money transmitting laws, and I hope to have more soon.”
Ethics language is being actively negotiated and those provisions are more likely to be added after the bill reaches the Senate floor, per sources familiar with the process.
🚨NEW: @SenThomTillis (R-NC) says he’s ready to push the Clarity Act forward to a markup.
“I’m going to ask the chair to move forward with scheduling a markup when we get back… I think we’ve made a lot of progress… and it’s time to get it before the committee to move it forward,” Tillis told my inimitable friend and former colleague @ChaseWilliams_ in a reporter gaggle on Capitol Hill this morning following the Warsh vote.
Tillis went on to say most bank concerns on stablecoin yield have been heard and addressed, adding that others are welcome to “come and work in good faith.”
On timing: Tillis hopes to release legislative text on stablecoin yield 4–5 days before a markup after stakeholders get a preview.
On software developers and how law enforcement views the potential impact on enforcement under the 1960 criminal statute, a new flag Tillis raised this week, he pointed to @SenLummis’ approach, saying he’s “generally in support” of where the bill stands.
With the housing bill stalled, House Republicans are pivoting to FISA as a possible vehicle for a permanent CBDC ban. @LeaderJohnThune doesn’t sound enthused.
🚨NEW: I asked @rstormsf’s defense team if @DAGToddBlanche’s comments at @TheBitcoinConf today gave them any hope.
Storm’s lawyer Keri Curtis Axel said no.
“DOJ cannot credibly claim it has ‘changed the game’ while still prosecuting Roman Storm. The precedent SDNY is trying to set is wholly at odds with Blanche’s memo and the President’s policies.”
Axel also pushed back on Blanche’s claim that cases can be elevated all the way to the top. More on that to come.
A couple of quotes that stood out from Acting Attorney General @DAGToddBlanche in his interview with @iampaulgrewal today:
1. "I know there's some residual cases from the last administration that that still need to be addressed, and I expect that you'll see us continue to do that."
2. "I really need coders to understand, I really need the industry to understand that we have fundamentally changed the game when it comes to our investigations. If you're a coder out there and you're listening to me speak and you are under investigation, or you have to hire a lawyer to respond to subpoenas, your lawyer should feel very comfortable communicating with the FBI, communicating with the prosecutor on the case, and making sure that they are not violating my memo." (Referring to the Blanche memo from last year stating the DOJ would no longer pursue 'regulation by prosecution' of software developers.)
3. "I do not want any platform to look the Department of Justice or the FBI as somebody who's going to just cause them a lot of problems."
🚨🗞️NEW: Clarity Act Faces 10-Week Runway as August Deadline Nears
Some Senate math and what it means for the Clarity Act in today’s @CryptoAmerica_, plus a big week in Vegas for crypto and the weekend headlines you might have missed.
https://t.co/nrjItssyli
Friday has come and gone with no word from @SenatorTimScott or @BankingGOP on scheduling a Clarity Act markup for next week.
While Friday is not a hard deadline, a hearing can technically be scheduled up to three days in advance, making Monday the official cutoff before the Senate heads into a weeklong recess on Thursday. Committee leadership may also be prioritizing a confirmation vote for Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh before they leave. Without any formal update (a Senate Banking Committee spokesman declined to comment) all signs point to this slipping into May.
We know @SenThomTillis has asked for more time to speak with banks on the stablecoin yield issue and has said he wants to release text publicly ahead of a markup. We haven’t seen any text yet, and it seems very unlikely it would be released before Monday in time to notice a markup.
This, combined with what I’m hearing from multiple sources in both industry and the Senate that a markup is not expected until at least the second week of May, points to April being off the table.
🚨NEW: Per a new docket entry, Judge Katherine Polk Failla is preparing for a potential retrial in the case of Tornado Cash co-founder @rstormsf, tentatively setting a start date of October 26 in New York. The retrial is contingent on her pending decision on Storm’s motion for acquittal on a charge of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.
The court says it has already reshuffled its fall schedule to make room for a retrial.
🚨NEW: Industry group @NC_Blockchain has sent a letter to @SenThomTillis urging him to move the Clarity Act to markup, pushing back on recent opposition from @NCBankers to stablecoin yield.
In the letter, the group says the GENIUS Act already tackled so called “shadow banking” by bringing stablecoin issuers under federal oversight, warning that a full ban on yield would push capital offshore instead of reducing risk.
It also frames the Clarity Act as key to keeping North Carolina competitive, pointing to Charlotte’s role as a major U.S. banking hub and saying the bill would give banks the tools to lead in digital assets.
A source on the board of the NC Blockchain Initiative who has been involved in policy discussions tells me recent outreach from @NCBankers to Tillis’ office expressing concerns about yield-bearing products and stablecoin rewards does not reflect the views of all small banks and credit unions in the state. It also doesn’t reflect what is being discussed in the state capitol or in Charlotte, where lawmakers are moving ahead with GENIUS compliant stablecoin legislation and continue to back Clarity at the federal level.
Waiting on Clarity, Finding Satoshi and more with @RepLiccardo, Crypto Council CEO @_jikim and @findingsatoshi_ Director Tucker Tooley https://t.co/wN74viMQZX
🚨NEW: A coalition of more than two dozen crypto firms and advocacy groups led by @fund_defi is calling on the @SECGov to turn recent guidance on DeFi interfaces into formal rulemaking, warning that informal statements aren’t enough to provide long term certainty.
The push follows staff guidance released earlier this month from the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets suggesting that certain non-custodial user interfaces like DeFi front ends and wallets may fall outside broker-dealer requirements.
The group says that without formal rules, future SEC leadership could expand the definition of “broker” to include software developers and infrastructure providers, warning the move could chill innovation and deter the development of tools that improve market access and efficiency for investors, a concern echoed by SEC Commissioner @HesterPeirce.