U.S. regulators Financial News

U.S. regulators are keeping crypto players on the edge of their seats as they weigh whether to give their blessing to bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Derivatives traders are already piling in, though, betting the Securities and Exchange Commission will give the green light to several ETF hopefuls this week and electrify the market. Open interest, the amount invested in bitcoin futures, has steadily increased since October and leapt to $19.2 billion in early December, its highest level in two years, according to information platform Coinglass. It's now between $17 billon and $18 billion, up from the $9.5-$14.5 billion range seen for most of 2023. «We eagerly await the SEC's decision,» said analysts at analytics firm Amberdata. «This event has been factored into the options market's pricing since October, creating a heightened sense of anticipation.»

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam has stated that U.S. regulators lack the authority to preemptively prevent another major crypto collapse similar to the FTX incident.

Federal regulators will review the use of a chemical found in tires after a petition from Native American tribes in California and Washington state

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. regulators on Tuesday said they had settled with more than a dozen financial firms, including Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and some foreign banks, over charges of widespread recordkeeping failures, including in some cases the use of personal text messages and other messaging apps.

Securities and Exchange Commission to strike a compromise with Binance that would allow the global cryptocurrency exchange to continue operating in the United States as it fights a civil fraud lawsuit filed by the regulator. Last week, the SEC charged Binance and its U.S. affiliate with mishandling customers' deposits and lying to regulators. It also sought to freeze the company's U.S. assets, a move that Binance claimed would force it to shut down in the United States. At a hearing in Washington on Tuesday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asked the two sides to confer on a possible agreement over the asset freeze, telling them that they were closer to a deal than the rhetoric in their court filings suggested. Jackson ordered them to continue negotiating and to submit a status update by Thursday. She also expressed skepticism about the SEC's use of its enforcement powers to regulate the crypto world, calling it «inefficient and cumbersome.»

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Update (March 5, 9:22 p.m. UTC): This article has been updated to include Binance's response. 

U.S. regulators again warned banks Thursday of the risks their crypto clients pose to the U.S. banking system, the latest in a joint effort by federal agencies to rein in the cryptocurrency industry as it recovers from the collapse of FTX.

WASHINGTON—A trio of regulators including the Federal Reserve warned banks to be mindful of liquidity risks related to cryptocurrencies, the latest move by U.S. officials to limit the economy’s vulnerability to the tumultuous market. 

The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) sent a letter to the firm on Thursday.

Top U.S. financial regulators said they are prepared to take action to address risks to the financial system posed by stablecoins, but first are pushing Congress to enact comprehensive legislation providing oversight of the form of digital currency.