Crypto World
California judge dismisses Coinbase user’s attempt to quash IRS tax summons
A Coinbase user’s attempt to block an IRS summons for his financial records was blocked by a California court.
Summary
- A California court dismissed a Coinbase user’s attempt to block an IRS summons, citing failure to meet required notification rules within the 90 day deadline.
- The petition challenged the summons on privacy and scope grounds, even though the user had already amended his tax return and paid additional dues.
According to information from PACER, Roger Metz filed a petition in the Northern District of California in May last year to quash an IRS summons that sought his financial records in connection with an audit of his 2022 tax return.
Metz’s case was based on the argument that the summons violated his privacy rights and was overbroad. Metz’s lawyers had also argued that he had identified the error himself and had filed an amended return and paid the additional tax, but that did not prevent the IRS action.
However, US District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled against the petitioner on Wednesday after finding that he failed to notify all required government parties within the 90-day window. The judge has dismissed the case on procedural grounds.
The ruling is based on federal civil procedure rules, where defendants must be formally notified of lawsuits to ensure they receive notice and the opportunity to respond. Court documents suggest Metz had served the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the IRS, but had failed to notify the US Attorney General in Washington. Government lawyers argued this was sufficient grounds for dismissal.
“In his opposition brief, Metz does not offer any explanation for his failure to serve the United States within 90 days after filing his petition, much less that he had good cause,” Judge Martínez-Olguín said in the ruling.
The case has been dismissed without prejudice, as such Metz has the option to file the petition again at a later date.
As previously reported by crypto.news, last year, another Coinbase user, James Harper, accused the IRS of violating his Fourth Amendment rights following a John Doe Summons used to obtain his data from a crypto exchange. The court, however, sided with the IRS and declined to hear his case.
The outcome reinforces the IRS’s authority to obtain user financial records from centralized crypto exchanges.
The US inflation reading the market has been dreading arrives Friday morning when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the March Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM ET, with economists widely forecasting it will be the hottest monthly inflation print since May 2022, driven almost entirely by the energy shock from the Iran war.
Summary
- Barclays Senior US Economist Pooja Sriram forecasts March headline CPI at 0.9 percent month over month and 3.3 percent year over year, “led by a surge in gasoline prices”; BofA Securities economists project a 10.6 percent monthly jump in energy prices driving a 0.9 percent headline increase; Oxford Economics projects headline CPI above 3 percent in March and above 4 percent in April
- The expected reading would mark a sharp reversal from the 2.4 percent annual inflation rate recorded in the first two months of 2026, and would be the first major inflation data to reflect the impact of the Iran war on consumer energy prices; Pantheon Economics says the US experienced the largest one-month jump in fuel costs since at least 1957
- Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy, is forecast to rise 0.3 percent monthly and 2.7 percent year over year, with the Federal Reserve expected to hold interest rates at 3.50 to 3.75 percent at its April 29 meeting; CME FedWatch shows 98.4 percent of respondents pricing in no change
As Kiplinger reported, “How much and how severely depends on just how long the conflict continues to crimp key energy exports. Some degree of inflation is now inevitable.” That framing captures the central tension in Friday’s release: whether the data confirms a one-month spike that fades as oil stabilizes, or signals the opening print of a new inflation regime where the Iran war has durably repriced transportation, manufacturing, and utility costs across the economy.
Consumers have already paid approximately $8.4 billion in additional fuel costs in the month after the Iran war started, according to an estimate from the Joint Economic Committee’s Democratic minority. Gasoline prices have averaged over $4 per gallon nationally, with oil remaining close to $110 per barrel even after the temporary ceasefire announcement caused a brief drop.
Since the post-2009 recovery, only five months have produced a monthly CPI reading of 0.9 percent or higher. Every one of them fell between October 2021 and June 2022, at the peak of the post-pandemic inflation surge. March 2026 is expected to join that short and painful list. The mechanism is straightforward: the Iran war disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical petroleum corridor, causing a supply shock that fed immediately into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel prices. Energy costs then ripple into transportation, food distribution, and manufacturing, which is why Oxford Economics expects the headline rate to climb above 4 percent in April even after the temporary ceasefire.
What the Report Means for the Federal Reserve
The Fed had penciled in one interest rate cut for 2026 before the Iran war began. The war repricing of energy has caused many economists to remove that cut from their forecasts entirely. Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, warned that rising prices could pressure household budgets and derail spending. Some Fed policymakers signaled in March meeting minutes that future rate hikes may need to be considered if inflation accelerates further. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told CBS News: “We’re going to be paying the price for this through much of the year.”
What to Watch in the Numbers When the Report Drops Friday
As crypto.news has reported, bitcoin and crypto markets have been closely tracking every inflation signal in 2026, with the war-driven energy shock adding a new layer of uncertainty on top of existing tariff and monetary policy pressures. As crypto.news has noted, the March CPI release is one of the most anticipated economic events of the quarter for crypto investors because a number above 3.5 percent would likely extend the Fed pause and suppress the rate-cut narrative that has historically supported risk asset rallies. The report drops at 8:30 AM ET Friday, April 10.
Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) launched on April 8 with a 0.14% expense ratio, making it the cheapest US spot Bitcoin ETF and undercutting BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by 11 basis points.
Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, however, does not expect BlackRock to respond with a fee reduction. His reasoning centers on IBIT’s liquidity advantage and dominant market position.
This ETF Expert Thinks Otherwise
MSBT pulled in approximately $30.6 million in net inflows on its first day and processed more than 1.6 million shares.
Balchunas placed the debut among the top 1% of all ETF launches. He has also projected $5 billion in AUM for MSBT within its first year.
Still, he made clear that IBIT’s position remains secure for now. IBIT holds roughly $55 billion in assets, making it by far the most liquid spot BTC ETF.
“Prob won’t see any cut from $IBIT. When you are King of the Hill with tons of liquidity, you have pricing power,” wrote Balchunas.
That liquidity moat gives IBIT tighter trading spreads and deeper options market activity, two factors that institutional traders weigh heavily when choosing a fund.
Fellow Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart echoed that view, noting it is unlikely MSBT will compete with IBIT on liquidity anytime soon.
Where the Pressure Falls
Balchunas warned that MSBT’s aggressive pricing could still trigger fee cuts elsewhere. Smaller issuers with less scale may be forced to lower their expense ratios to retain market share.
Because all spot BTC ETFs hold the same underlying asset, fees become one of the few differentiators. MSBT now sits one basis point below Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust at 0.15% and well below Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) at 0.25%.
Morgan Stanley also brings a structural advantage most competitors lack. The bank’s wealth management arm employs roughly 16,000 financial advisors overseeing $9.3 trillion in client assets.
Those advisors can now recommend an in-house product rather than directing clients to third-party funds.
Balchunas identified only two scenarios that could force BlackRock to reconsider its pricing.
- The first would be sustained outflows from IBIT toward cheaper rivals.
- The second would be an entry from Vanguard at approximately 0.10%, though he assigned that outcome a 0.01% probability.
The US spot BTC ETF market has grown past $100 billion in cumulative assets since launching in January 2024.
However, 2026 started slowly, with four consecutive months of net outflows between November 2025 and February 2026.
March reversed that trend with $1.32 billion in inflows. Whether MSBT can sustain its opening momentum and capture a meaningful share of new flows will likely determine how seriously competing issuers treat its pricing signal.
The post 2 Conditions That Could Force BlackRock to Cut IBIT Fees After MSBT’s Undercut appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Binance Wallet has integrated predict.fun prediction markets and is sponsoring all gas fees for users on BNB Smart Chain.
Binance Wallet has integrated BNB Smart Chain-based predictfun as its official prediction market provider. Predictfun is backed by YZi Labs, formerly Binance Labs, the centralized exchange’s venture capital arm.
The integration allows Binance Wallet users to access prediction market functionality directly within the wallet interface without bearing transaction costs on the BNB network.
The move comes amid broader regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets in the U.S., including recent CFTC action seeking to enjoin Arizona from enforcing criminal and civil penalties against prediction market operators. Predictfun operates as a decentralized prediction market platform, and the Binance Wallet integration represents a major distribution channel for the protocol.
Sources: Binance Wallet
This article was generated automatically by The Defiant’s AI news system from publicly available sources.
MSBT saw a strong first day of trading on Wednesday, but the broader U.S. Bitcoin ETF sector was in the red yesterday.
Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF, MSBT, kicked off trading as expected on Wednesday, April 8, on NYSE Arca. The fund saw a relatively strong debut, with $30.6 million in net inflows yesterday, per Farside data.
Morgan Stanley’s fund page shows that the fund held 444.4 BTC valued at $31,654,653.90 as of April 8. Meanwhile, CoinDesk reported the fund generated $34 million in day-one trading volume.
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas commented on the day-one performance midday on yesterday, when MSBT had already recorded $27 million in trading volume. Balchunas pushed his original $30 million day-one volume prediction to $50 million in the X post. For context, Balchunas reference two recent crypto ETF launches, for Solana and XRP funds, which both saw nearly $60 million traded on their first day.
The launch makes Morgan Stanley the first major U.S. commercial bank to issue its own spot Bitcoin ETF. A key competitive advantage, as The Defiant previously reported, is that MSBT carries a 0.14% expense ratio — the lowest in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market, undercutting BlackRock’s IBIT (0.25%), Fidelity’s FBTC (0.25%), and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust (0.15%).
The same day as MSBT’s positive debut, total U.S. spot BTC ETF products, excluding MSBT, saw $124.55M in net outflows, per SoSoValue data. However ,BlackRock’s IBIT — by far the leading product in terms of cumulative net inflows — bucked the trend with $43.38 million in net inflows on the day Wednesday.
As of midday ET today, April 9, MSBT had seen 610,525 shares traded at a current price of $20.67, putting intraday volume at approximately $12.6 million, per Yahoo Finance data.
Bitcoin was trading just below $72,000 at press time, per The Defiant’s price tracker. The prior day had seen a sharp ceasefire-driven short squeeze push crypto markets higher.
MSBT’s launch is the latest milestone in a deepening institutional embrace of Bitcoin. The Defiant has tracked how advisor-driven capital has become the largest category of institutional Bitcoin ETF buyers, surpassing hedge funds and brokerages — precisely the channel Morgan Stanley is now positioned to dominate.
When the bank first filed for MSBT in January, Balchunas called it a “shocker” and noted the firm’s existing advisor approvals for crypto allocations made issuing their own branded fund a natural next step.
The question now is whether day-one momentum translates into sustained flows, and whether other banks follow Morgan Stanley through the door it has opened.
This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.
BTC clung to a three-week high as the Iran truce lifted risk assets, but doubts about the deal’s durability capped upside.
Bitcoin held above $72,000 on Thursday, consolidating near its highest levels in three weeks as crypto markets digested a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
BTC was changing hands at $72,285, up 1.5% over the past 24 hours and 8% on the week, according to CoinGecko. Ethereum rose 0.6% to $2,210, also up 7.2% over the past seven days. XRP gained 0.6% to $1.36, BNB edged up 0.2% to $607.25, and Solana climbed 2% to $84, bringing its weekly gains to 6.6%.
The gains followed a sharp ceasefire-driven short squeeze that sent BTC to its highest level since mid-March.
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social Thursday that all U.S. military assets would remain in place around Iran until the ceasefire is “fully complied with,” warning that failure could lead to renewed conflict. Meanwhile, Iran continued to restrict traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and proposed a $1-per-barrel fee on transiting oil, drawing criticism from the EU and the United States.
Total crypto market capitalization stood at approximately $2.53 trillion, per CoinGecko, up from $2.43 trillion at the start of the week.
Morgan Stanley’s MSBT Debuts
Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF, MSBT, kicked off trading as expected on Wednesday on NYSE Arca. The fund saw $30.6 million in net inflows on its first day.
The fund carries a 0.14% expense ratio, the lowest in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market, undercutting BlackRock’s IBIT at 0.25% and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust at 0.15%. Bloomberg
Despite MSBT’s strong debut, the broader U.S. spot BTC ETF complex saw $124 million in net outflows on Wednesday, excluding MSBT, per SoSoValue. Total AUM across U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at $91.9 billion, or about 6.43% of Bitcoin’s overall market cap.
The outflows followed a $471 million single-day inflow on April 6, when spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their strongest daily inflows since February, despite ongoing geopolitical tensions
ZEC Leads Altcoins
Zcash was the standout performer this week. ZEC surged another 15% to $371 on Thursday, leading the broader market. The token has gained over 65% in the past 30 days, fueled by a risk-on rotation, a pending decision on the Grayscale spot ZEC ETF, and Foundry’s institutional mining pool launch.
On the downside, World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token fell roughly 10% to an all-time low of $0.0885. On-chain data showed WLFI deposited 5 billion of its own tokens as collateral to borrow stablecoins.
Looking Ahead
The two-week ceasefire window is set to expire around April 21, with peace negotiations expected to begin Friday in Islamabad. Whether the rally extends depends on the truce’s durability.
Fed minutes released Wednesday showed officials believe inflation may fall slowly toward 2%, while oil risks add pressure. Policymakers signaled room for either hikes or cuts depending on conditions, a hawkish undertone that adds another headwind for risk assets already contending with geopolitical uncertainty.
The US Treasury’s Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection (OCCIP) launched a program to share real-time cyber threat intelligence with eligible digital asset firms at no cost.
The initiative gives qualifying crypto companies access to the same security briefings that traditional banks and financial institutions have received for years.
Why This Matters Now
The announcement arrives after a devastating 2025 for digital asset security. Crypto platforms lost approximately $3.4 billion to hacks last year, according to Chainalysis data.
North Korean state-backed actors alone accounted for $2.02 billion of that total.
Treasury officials cited the growing frequency and sophistication of attacks as the primary driver behind the program.
Cyber threats targeting digital asset platforms are growing in frequency and sophistication. This initiative expands access to actionable threat information that helps firms strengthen defenses, reduce risk, and respond more effectively to incidents,” read an excerpt in the announcement, citing Cory Wilson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity.
Ties to the GENIUS Act
The effort also advances a recommendation from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.
Tyler Williams, Counselor to the Secretary for Digital Assets, linked the program to the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, signed into law in July 2025.
The FDIC approved a separate GENIUS Act implementation framework on April 7, covering cybersecurity standards for stablecoin issuers.
Together, both actions signal an accelerating push to fold crypto firms into the federal financial security apparatus.
The post US Treasury’s Secret Weapon Against Crypto Hackers Is Now Available For Free appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Melania Trump stepped into the spotlight on Wednesday with a rare and direct statement addressing Jeffrey Epstein. This surprising statement raises a key question inside Washington: Why now?
Speaking at the White House, the First Lady denied any personal connection to Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell.
“I never had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” she said. “He did not introduce me to my husband.” She also dismissed a reported 2002 email to Maxwell as “casual correspondence” and called ongoing claims “false and damaging.”
However, the timing of the appearance stands out. Melania Trump has largely avoided political controversy during her time in public life.
Epstein Files Continue to Cause Political Chaos in the US
Her decision to speak now comes as scrutiny around the Epstein files intensifies and internal tensions inside the administration spill into public view.
Earlier this week, the Justice Department confirmed that former Attorney General Pam Bondi would not comply with a congressional subpoena tied to the Epstein document release.
Days before that, President Donald Trump removed Bondi from her role following criticism over how the files were handled.
At the same time, lawmakers continue to question whether key materials were withheld. Allegations tied to previously undisclosed FBI interviews have added pressure, even as officials warn that some claims in the files remain unverified.
Against this backdrop, Melania Trump’s statement appears less like a routine denial and more like a response to mounting political risk.
She also urged Congress to focus on victims, stating that “innocent people should not be harmed by lies.”Yet shortly after her remarks, Donald Trump told reporters he did not “know anything about” her statement. That response adds another layer of uncertainty.
The post Melania Breaks Silence as Epstein Pressure Hits Trump, But Why Now? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Key takeaways:
-
Bitcoin climbed to $72,000 as rising recession odds and a weak US dollar boosted the appeal of scarce financial assets.
-
Rising oil prices and a wobbly truce with Iran threaten to reverse Bitcoin’s recent gains.
Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed the $72,000 level on Thursday despite data showing rising inflation and weak economic growth in the United States. Crude oil prices jumped back to $97 after senior Iranian leaders claimed that the US and Israel had violated the ceasefire. Traders now fear that risk markets could react negatively, potentially sending Bitcoin price back below $68,000.
The inverse relationship between oil prices and risk markets became increasingly evident. Shortly after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on Wednesday, the S&P 500 index futures jumped to their highest levels in 30 days, while WTI crude oil prices dropped below $100. Hence, Bitcoin traders fear that the fragile truce between the US and Iran could lead to bearish outcomes.
Fragile ceasefire with Iran and weak US economic data limit Bitcoin upside
Iranian parliamentary speaker and former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has emerged as a leading voice within the regime, said that Israel’s continued campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah, the illegal entry of military drones in Iranian airspace and the denial of uranium enrichment violate the ceasefire negotiations, according to Yahoo Finance.
Inflation data reported by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday likely helped to lift traders’ spirits. The core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index rose by 0.4% in February over the previous month. In parallel, the US fourth quarter gross domestic product was revised down to a 0.5% annualized rate. Overall, data points to increased recession risks.
Although counterintuitive, the higher odds of economic stagnation amid sticky inflation have led traders to become less risk-averse, as the US government will likely be forced to inject liquidity to support markets. Reduced confidence in the US Federal Reserve’s ability to avert a recession without causing inflation has led to a weaker US dollar, when measured against a basket of foreign currencies.
AI infrastructure and private credit risks are not an imminent concern
While the correlation between Bitcoin and the US stock market is far from perfect, traders tend to seek protection when fixed income returns relative to the inflation expectations are diminished. Regardless of whether Bitcoin is far from being perceived as a reliable alternative to fiat currency debasement, weakness in the US dollar tends to favor scarce assets.
Related: Fed minutes crack door to further rate cuts amid Iran war
The S&P 500 index traded a mere 2% away from its all-time high on Thursday, a clear indication that investors do not fear issues in private credit markets or the surging debt cost protection for AI infrastructure companies.
Ultimately, Bitcoin seems to have merely followed investor expectations regarding the war in Iran rather than reacting to weak US macroeconomic data.
For now, recession risks favor scarce assets; hence, there is little reason to believe that inflation or job market perspectives could act as a sell-off trigger.
This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research before making any decisions. Cointelegraph makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information presented, including forward-looking statements, and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this content.
Bitcoin traded around $71,000 as U.S. markets opened on Thursday, kissing a level that reflects a cautious, data-driven stance after inflation readings aligned with expectations. The market’s gaze shifted quickly to Friday’s CPI print, which many see as a potential catalyst for the next leg in bitcoin’s range-bound narrative, particularly given ongoing geopolitical and oil-market tensions.
U.S. inflation data near-term offered some relief for risk assets. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index—the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge—cooled in February. Year-over-year core PCE stood at 3% while the monthly core reading came in at 0.4%, underscoring a softer inflation backdrop that investors have been hoping will ease policy pressures.
The market’s interpretation, however, was nuanced. Traders noted that the PCE data may not yet reflect the full impact of the ongoing U.S.–Iran tensions and related oil-supply dynamics, which could feed into the upcoming CPI scenario. The Kobeissi Letter, a market commentary on X, framed the February PCE release as the last inflation datapoint before potential Iran-war effects filter through the numbers, suggesting investors should expect a fresh wave of volatility when CPI arrives.
Beyond the data, sentiment remained tethered to expectations for Federal Reserve policy. The CME Group’s FedWatch Tool continued to indicate that financial markets do not anticipate rate cuts in 2026, reinforcing a cautious stance among traders who weigh macro pressure alongside crypto-specific catalysts. In parallel, veteran investor Mohamed El-Erian underscored the CPI release as a critical moment, noting that while PCE is widely cited as the Fed’s yardstick, the March CPI data could carry more immediate implications for the trajectory of inflation and policy—and, by extension, for crypto markets that often trade on macro cues.
Key takeaways
- U.S. PCE inflation data for February cooled as expected, helping to stabilize Bitcoin’s intraday volatility and keep the price hovering around the $71,000 level.
- The February PCE figures may not yet capture the full effect of the U.S.–Iran conflict on energy markets, making Friday’s CPI release a pivotal follow-up data point for traders.
- Despite the softer inflation signal, market participants largely expect the Fed to maintain a restrictive stance in 2026, with rate cuts not priced in for the year, according to CME’s FedWatch probabilities.
- Analysts see a potential upside path for BTC if support holds and the market unlocks upside liquidity; targets around $80,000 remain in view for some traders, contingent on continued range stability.
PCE data steadies risk assets, but oil and CPI loom
On the price action front, Bitcoin demonstrated muted reaction to the latest inflation release. After topping near $73,000 the day before, BTC cooled into the U.S. session, with volatility subdued as market participants parsed the guidance from PCE data. The BEA’s figures reinforced a theme that has dominated crypto markets this year: inflation softness helps stocks and digital assets alike, but a clear path for policy remains uncertain until further data arrives.
Analysts point to the macro backdrop as the primary driver of the next move in Bitcoin. El-Erian’s comments highlighted a broader view: while PCE is central to Fed thinking, the CPI outcome—particularly given broader oil-market dynamics and geopolitical risk—could exert a more immediate influence on risk assets in the near term. As noted in prior coverage, CPI tends to respond to oil-price swings and energy-related volatility, a factor now squarely in focus as the Iran situation persists.
Market anatomy: where BTC could go next
Traders continue to dissect order-book liquidity and price structure to gauge BTC’s next potential breakout. A market note from the pseudonymous trader LP_NXT highlighted that while some upside liquidity around 73,000 and above the 76,000 region has been cleared, substantial liquidity remains on the upside near the 73,000 mark. On the downside, liquidity begins to accumulate around 69,000 and 64,000, suggesting a broad range in which price could consolidate before the next directional impulse.
With price still range-bound, both sides remain in play. If the 69–68K level holds, price is likely to push higher and target the remaining upside liquidity around 73K.
Meanwhile, Michaël van de Poppe offered a more bullish read, suggesting that as long as Bitcoin maintains the current ranges, an upward leg could materialize toward the $80,000 area. His assessment aligns with a segment of traders who view the range as a springboard for a renewed rally, provided macro and liquidity conditions cooperate.
What to watch next for BTC and the crypto market
The confluence of Friday’s CPI print, ongoing geopolitical tensions, and evolving liquidity dynamics will shape the immediate path for Bitcoin. The market’s sensitivity to energy prices, policy expectations, and macro surprises remains high, and traders are wary of a scenario where inflation data diverges from expectations or where the Iran situation intensifies energy-market stress. If the CPI print strengthens the case for persistent inflation or prompts a hawkish tilt in near-term policy expectations, Bitcoin could test the upper end of its recent range; if it cools more than anticipated, a retest of the lower bound could occur.
For now, the $80,000 target persists as a psychological and technical milestone for bulls, but it will require sustained demand and a favorable macro backdrop to become a reality. Investors should monitor the CPI release timing, oil-price trajectories, and any shifts in Fed expectations, as these elements will likely dictate Bitcoin’s next major move in the current macro regime.
As the week unfolds, readers should keep an eye on the broader market interplay between inflation data, energy risk, and macro policy signals, all of which continue to exert outsized influence on crypto pricing and liquidity.
The USPS crisis reached Congress in mid-March when Postmaster General David Steiner testified before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations that the agency will run out of cash in less than 12 months at its current rate and may be forced to stop delivering mail.
Summary
- Steiner told lawmakers directly: “At our current rate, we’ll be out of cash in less than 12 months,” adding that “less than a year from now, the Postal Service will be unable to deliver the mail if we maintain the status quo”; pressed for a specific date, he said USPS could exhaust funds as early as October 2026 if it pays all obligations on schedule, or February 2027 if it continues deferring some payments
- USPS lost $9 billion last fiscal year, $9.5 billion in 2024, and $1.3 billion in just the first quarter of 2026; it has posted annual losses almost every year since 2007 as traditional mail volume has fallen by nearly 50 percent over the past 20 years
- The agency is asking Congress to increase its borrowing limit with the Treasury Department and to allow higher stamp prices; it is also exploring options including cutting delivery from six days to five or three days per week, closing post offices, and raising first-class stamp prices from the current 78 cents to $1 or more
Federal News Network reported that USPS has since taken one unilateral step to conserve cash: suspending contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System, a move that could free up to $15 billion by delaying required pension payments through September 2030. The Postal Regulatory Commission granted a waiver allowing the deferral. That buys time but does not fix the structural problem.
USPS does not receive tax dollars for operating expenses. It funds itself through stamps and service fees. As email, texts, and online payments have replaced letters and check-mailing, first-class mail, the agency’s most profitable product, has collapsed in volume. Amazon, USPS’s largest package customer, has announced plans to cut the volume it sends through the agency by as much as two-thirds by September.
The practical consequences of a USPS cash failure extend well beyond mail delivery delays. Approximately 6 percent of diabetes prescriptions in the US are delivered by mail. Roughly 3.7 million Medicare enrollees live in areas where pharmacy access is limited and rely on postal delivery for medications. Rural communities, which are legally entitled to the same delivery service as urban areas under USPS’s universal service obligation, would be disproportionately exposed if service is cut. The Government Accountability Office released a report alongside the Steiner testimony calling the USPS business model “unsustainable” and stating that “urgent action” is needed.
What Congress Is Being Asked to Do
Steiner’s ask to Congress has three parts: raise the borrowing limit with the Treasury so USPS can access more capital, allow the agency to set prices more freely by removing the current once-per-year rate increase cap the Postal Regulatory Commission imposed through 2030, and give USPS flexibility on its universal service obligation. Republican committee members pushed back, questioning whether USPS had exhausted all internal cost-cutting options before asking for a bailout. Committee chair Rep. James Comer noted that Congress had already passed the Postal Service Reform Act in 2022, which saved USPS $107 billion in total costs.
What Happens to Mail If Nothing Changes
As crypto.news has reported, the federal legislative calendar in 2026 is under severe pressure from the Iran war, the CLARITY Act negotiations, and midterm positioning; a USPS rescue bill would compete for floor time against all of those priorities. As crypto.news has noted, disruptions to government-dependent services, including postal delivery of financial documents, checks, and regulatory notices, carry spillover effects into markets that rely on physical document flows. Steiner told lawmakers simply: “The mail will stop” if the agency cannot meet its obligations, including delivery of prescription drug packages.
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