The crypto industry keeps knocking down the barriers into the core U.S. financial system, and digital assets exchange Kraken’s approval for a limited Federal Reserve account marked another such milestone that analysts think could be the first of a trend.

The crypto arrival inside the Fed payment system — provisional and limited though it is — has aggravated the traditional banks and injected some confusion in the Fed’s ongoing effort to write policies for how crypto firms are supposed to go about getting limited “skinny” master accounts. But Kraken’s Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said that this development represents “what it looks like when crypto infrastructure matures into core financial infrastructure.”

Kraken’s Wyoming-chartered banking arm, Payward Financial, is granted a year of access to a “limited purpose” account as a “Tier 3” entrant, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, one of a dozen regional banks in the Federal Reserve system.

“We see this as the first of many Federal Reserve approvals for crypto entities to obtain master accounts, which gives them direct access to the central bank payment rails including Fed Wire,” said Jaret Sieburg, a Washington policy analyst at TD Cowen, in a client note on Thursday. “Crypto entity access to master accounts was inevitable under President [Donald] Trump, given his support for the crypto sector. We expect additional announcements in the coming months.”

Ian Katz, an analyst who tracks federal financial policies at Capital Alpha in Washington, echoed that sentiment.

“The Fed’s decision could open the doors for other crypto operations including Circle, Anchorage and Custodia, a Wyoming-based firm that has unsuccessfully sued the Fed over the right to have a master account,” he noted.

What does direct access to the Fed payments systems mean for Kraken?Potentially, according to Sethi: instant “settlement between fiat and crypto, institutional-grade cash management integrated with digital asset custody and programmable financial products built within a fully regulated framework.”

Those who operate traditional banks in the U.S. were displeased with the Kraken development — the latest threat they’ve flagged from the crypto space.

“There are significant risks to expanding direct Fed account access to institutions that operate outside the traditional banking regulatory framework,” the Independent Community Bankers of America said in a statement. “The Fed should continue limiting master account access to institutions that meet the financial services sector’s highest standards.”

But former Kraken CEO and current chairman, Jesse Powell, celebrated the development.

“We’re the bankers now,” the Kraken co-founder posted on social media site X. “Saddle up.”

Other crypto-tied institutions have also sought entry onto the Fed rails, including Anchorage Digital (which has sought a full master account, which would include earning interest on reserves placed with the Fed) and the recent arrival among federally approved trust banks, Erebor Bank. The industry also continues to lobby the Fed on its effort to establish a new policy to replace the 2022 guidance that Kansas City’s Kraken decision was based on.

At the national level, the Federal Reserve board started writing new policies for establishing what are commonly referred to as “skinny” master accounts for firms that don’t need the entire array of traditional master account services. But that process is in the early stages, and if regional Fed banks start approving similar accounts in the meantime, it could create uncertainties about what happens when the new policy is set.

“This action ignores public comment that the Federal Reserve sought on this framework, and it was issued with no transparency into the process for approval or the risk mitigants that have been imposed to address the very significant risks it raises,” the Bank Policy Institute’s co-head of regulatory affairs, Paige Pidano Paridon, said in a statement.

The Fed board in Washington, where the central bank is headquartered, deferred requests for comment this week to Kansas City.

The regional Fed banks, of which there are a dozen throughout the U.S., each operates under its own priorities and management, which can make their decisions uneven on such matters. So it’s uncertain whether the location of the Fed hub — Minneapolis for Anchorage Digital, for instance, and Cleveland for Erebor — will affect their outcomes.

The Kansas City Fed will keep working with firms there “to help ensure that access to the payment system supports a level competitive field and reinforces the stability and resilience that has underpinned the Federal Reserve’s payment system offerings throughout its history,” said President Jeff Schmid.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reached a settlement with Tron and founder Justin Sun on Thursday, the SEC said in a court filing.

Under the terms of the settlement, Rainberry Inc., one of the companies associated with the Tron network, will pay a $10 million fine and be barred from future violations of securities regulations. The SEC sued Sun and Tron in 2023, alleging violation of federal securities laws through the sale and airdropping of TRX.

“The remaining claims against Rainberry would be dismissed with prejudice,” the filing said. “The Final Judgment would also dismiss all claims against Justin Sun, Tron Foundation, and BitTorrent Foundation.”

With prejudice means the SEC would not be able to bring a similar case again in future for the same conduct.

“The Commission has reviewed and approved the terms of the settlement, as reflected in the Consent and proposed Final Judgment. Rainberry, Justin Sun, Tron Foundation, and BitTorrent Foundation have consented to entry of the Final Judgment,” the filing said.

The proposed settlement is still subject to a federal judge’s approval.

At the time the SEC, under the leadership of former Chair Gary Gensler, brought a number of lawsuits against crypto firms.

The SEC dropped most of these cases after President Donald Trump retook office last January, mostly under Commissioner Mark Uyeda, the acting chair. The commission is now run by Chairman Paul Atkins.

Sun bought about $80 million worth of World Liberty Financial tokens (WLFI) — the token tied to the company partially owned by Trump and his family — after Trump was reelected in 2024. The SEC’s case against Sun was paused last year, alongside numerous other cases the agency brought against crypto firms.

The U.S. Federal Reserve and other regulators told bankers that they need to maintain the same amount of capital to back tokenized securities as they do regulator securities.

“The technologies used to issue and transact in a security do not generally impact its capital treatment,” according to the agencies, also including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The three sent a new frequently-asked-questions document on Thursday to the banks they regulated.

The legal rights to owners of securities are meant to be the same whichever way the securities transact, and the regulators say the capital should also be the same. The assets themselves may also be used as financial collateral in the same way that securities are, the agencies clarified, “subject to the same haircuts applicable to the non-tokenized form of the security.”

Banks and other financial firms are required by their regulators to maintain capital as a cushion against financial distress, setting aside certain levels of liquid assets to be able to protect themselves and their customers. Setting the same standard for both forms of securities ownership means the crypto-linked assets won’t face more stringent treatment.

The same capital treatment also applies whether the tokens are issued on permissioned or permissionless blockchains, the regulators said, and that technology-neutral approach holds true for the capital tied to derivatives that reference tokenized securities, as well.

Tokenization of securities is a rising segment of crypto activity, in which such assets as stocks, bonds and real estate can be represented in a token issued on a blockchain. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also working on policies to direct how the tokens are handled.

Capital requirements represent a core compliance demand in the banking business, and clarity on such aspects of crypto capital further advances the assets into melding with U.S. banking. Though U.S. bank watchdogs were hesitant in recent years to embrace crypto and blockchain technology, the incoming leaders appointed during the administration of President Donald Trump last year have made it a special point to champion pro-crypto moves.

Read More: Market infrastructure firms warn tokenized securities face higher costs, split liquidity without interoperability

TLDR:

• SoFiUSD is the first stablecoin issued by a U.S. nationally chartered and insured deposit bank on a public chain.
• BitGo’s Stablecoin-as-a-Service platform powers SoFiUSD’s minting, burning, and institutional distribution.
• Both SoFi Bank and BitGo Bank & Trust are OCC-regulated, creating a dual-compliance framework for the token.
• The GENIUS Act passage enabled the legal foundation for SoFiUSD’s launch as a bank-issued stablecoin product.

SoFi Bank has launched SoFiUSD, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin running on a public, permissionless blockchain. It is the first stablecoin issued by a nationally chartered and federally insured U.S. bank. 

BitGo Bank & Trust, is providing the infrastructure behind the token. The move comes following the passage of the GENIUS Act, which opened clearer regulatory pathways for bank-issued stablecoins.

BitGo Powers Stablecoin Issuance for a Chartered U.S. Bank

BitGo is delivering this through its Stablecoin-as-a-Service platform. 

The platform handles technology and operational infrastructure for SoFi Bank’s minting and distribution process. BitGo Bank & Trust is itself OCC-regulated. Both institutions operate under the same regulatory framework, which forms the backbone of the compliance model.

According to the official announcement, BitGo will also work with select payments providers, market participants, and exchanges. 

This is designed to expand institutional reach for SoFiUSD. The token targets banks, fintechs, and enterprise treasury operations specifically. It is not positioned as a retail consumer product.

SoFiUSD is pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar. Third-party auditors will provide regular attestations to confirm reserve backing. BitGo’s smart contract infrastructure handles minting, burning, and transaction controls. The setup mirrors compliance-first architectures used in traditional finance.

SoFi’s crypto distribution team described SoFiUSD as critical financial infrastructure. 

The token is aimed at institutions seeking settlement efficiency around the clock. It targets a specific gap in global treasury operations. Traditional banking rails still close on weekends and holidays.

SoFiUSD Aims to Bridge Regulated Banking and Blockchain Settlement Rails

The GENIUS Act passage has created new legal clarity for bank-issued stablecoins. SoFiUSD is the first product to market under this emerging framework. 

BitGo’s infrastructure was built to support large-scale institutional asset flows. That makes SoFiUSD more aligned with wholesale finance than consumer crypto.

The partnership structure keeps regulatory accountability central. Both SoFi Bank, N.A. and BitGo Bank & Trust answer to the OCC. That dual-regulated relationship distinguishes SoFiUSD from stablecoins issued by non-bank entities.

It also positions the token as a potential model for future bank-issued digital currencies.

BitGo has described its Stablecoin-as-a-Service offering as purpose-built for institutions requiring regulatory trust alongside technical capability. 

The infrastructure supports 24/7 onchain liquidity. That addresses a longstanding limitation for corporate treasurers managing cross-border payments. Real-time settlement across time zones has historically required multiple intermediaries.

SoFiUSD’s blockchain deployment on a permissionless public chain is notable. Most bank-adjacent digital assets have launched on private or permissioned networks. 

This approach increases transparency and external auditability. It also allows third-party integration without requiring special access or agreements.

Bitcoin mining companies have offloaded a sizable portion of their Bitcoin reserves in recent months, signaling a shift away from the self-treasury strategy that dominated the industry during the 2024–2025 market upcycle.

According to TheEnergyMag’s Miner Weekly newsletter, publicly listed miners have sold more than 15,000 Bitcoin (BTC) since October. That month marked the market’s peak before a historic flash crash triggered widespread deleveraging across the industry.

Several large miners contributed to the sell-off. The newsletter highlighted Cango’s February sale of 4,451 BTC, equal to roughly 60% of its reserves, as well as Bitdeer, which reportedly liquidated its entire Bitcoin treasury last month. 

It also pointed to Riot Platforms’ multiple BTC sales in December and Core Scientific’s plan to sell roughly 2,500 BTC during the first quarter.

MARA Holdings, the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining company, drew attention this week after updated regulatory filings indicated it may both buy and sell Bitcoin to maintain flexibility and optionality.

Markets initially focused on the potential for sales, prompting vice president Robert Samuels to clarify the company’s position that the filing allows flexible sales but does not signal a majority liquidation.

MARA currently holds more than 53,000 BTC, making it the second-largest public corporate holder of Bitcoin, behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy.

Related: Bitcoin mining’s 2026 reckoning: AI pivots, margin pressure and a fight to survive

Mining companies shift strategy as margins tighten

Bitcoin miners’ recent sales mark a sharp departure from earlier cycle trends, when many companies adopted a de facto “treasury strategy” by holding a larger share of their self-mined BTC on their balance sheets.

At the time, research from Digital Mining Solutions and BitcoinMiningStock.io suggested the holding pattern reflected expectations of further price appreciation. It also coincided with efforts by several miners to strengthen their financial footing while expanding into adjacent businesses such as AI infrastructure, high-performance computing and data center services.

Industry conditions have deteriorated since October, however, with some observers describing the current environment as the harshest margin squeeze on record for mining companies.

The pressure has begun to show on balance sheets. CleanSpark, for example, repaid its Bitcoin-backed credit line in full, a move the company said was aimed at reducing financial risk amid tightening industry margins.

Related: American Bitcoin boosts hashrate with 11,298 new mining machines