Snagging a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license to operate in Europe is great, but, alone, it won’t be enough to turn a profit, according to Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit, one of the largest cryptocurrency trading platforms.

MiCA doesn’t cover the full range of products, such as derivatives and tokenized assets, needed to be profitable, Zhou said in an interview. For those, companies also need a MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) license and an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license.

“With the current MiCA framework, you can only do fiat-to-crypto, crypto-to-crypto,” Zhou said. “There are many elements of a profitable business you cannot do, so even as a MiCA holder — unless you’re Kraken or BItpanda or Bitvivo, who are already making money because they have multiple licenses.”

Even Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is some way off from breaking even in Europe, Zhou said. That timeline depends on when the firm acquires the other licenses it needs.

“We don’t make money under the current MiCA license. But we’re able to afford it because we’re a big entity. For us, it’s a long-term investment,” Zhou said. “It could be five years away, but I think that is a bit long. I would assume we are probably going to be profitable within two years.”

Market consolidation is coming

A MiCA license issued by one country allows a crypto-asset service provider to operate across the European Economic Area (EEA): all 27 members of the European Union, as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Now is a critical juncture for many small to medium-sized crypto companies in Europe, because the MiCA grandfathering period closes at the end of June. That means firms must have obtained MiCA authorization to operate across the region by July 1 — a cut-off point that is widely expected to be the death knell for many smaller crypto firms.

“There’s going to be market consolidation,” Zhou said. “That’s why these guys are shutting down. Because even if they know they could afford MiCA, they’re like, ‘WTF, I need [MiFID, EMI] to make money, and I need to make a whole lot of investment in compliance infrastructure to be able to be profitable?’”

MiCA itself is undergoing change, with some country regulators calling for tighter, more centralized control and granting increased oversight to bodies such as the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). And when it comes to structured products, ESMA recently reminded crypto firms offering perpetual futures that some of these products may fall outside the rules.

Zhou said Bybit chose a stringent regulator in Austria’s FMA, a decision he said will pay dividends down the line. Each country interprets MiCA differently, he said: “Some countries interpret it as a way to attract new business; some want heavy regulation. So you actually have different levels of strictness.”

As for bringing ESMA into the mix, Bybit is neutral, Zhou said.

“There are talks about a more level playing field,” he said. “But there could be disadvantages. Because when you have a local regulator they are easy to get to. If we have any issues, we just send an email and go to FMA in Vienna. But if everyone’s in Paris, then you have to line up. There are more CASPs, increased bureaucracy, decreased efficiency.”

The crypto market just flipped into greed territory for the first time in weeks, and the Fear and Greed Index hitting 60 has every trader asking which token carries the biggest returns from here.

Finding the best crypto to buy in 2026 means looking past coins that already ran and finding entries that still carry distance between where they sit and where they go.

BTC is testing $80,000 with $996 million in weekly ETF inflows, and a presale launched by the mind behind the first Pepe token has gathered more than $9.5 million from wallets that verified the live tools before sending capital.

Bitcoin touched $79,388 on April 22 before pulling back to $77,800 as profit taking hit altcoins harder than the leader.

Weekly ETF inflows reached $996 million with Bitcoin products leading the charge according to 24/7 Wall Street, and growing expectations around the CLARITY Act markup in the Senate added a regulatory tailwind that the market had not priced in.

The rally is real, but the question now is whether the best returns from here come from large caps or from entries that have not hit the open market yet.

Tokens Positioned for the Next Leg of the Recovery

Pepeto

While the market watches BTC test resistance, the best crypto to buy in 2026 might be sitting in a presale most traders have not found yet. Pepeto is a marketplace that turns meme coin trading into a verified ecosystem where every tool runs live and every contract carries a SolidProof audit. It was built by the cofounder who created the original Pepe coin, with 420 trillion supply matching the same token structure that went from zero to billions the first time.

The risk scorer scans contracts for warning signs before capital gets committed, catching scams that move faster than news so the wallet stays protected during fast rotations that follow big BTC moves. PepetoSwap handles zero fee trades across tokens, keeping the full value of each position inside the wallet instead of leaking to platform charges.

178% APY staking layers returns above the presale position, and the expected Binance listing draws closer while that reward compounds. The presale sits at $0.000000186, and more than $9.5 million has been gathered from wallets that ran through the live platform before committing.

The 100x target from one expected Binance debut holds because presale to exchange is the window where every previous crypto fortune started, and the wallets buying now join that group before the crowd pays full price. Visit Pepeto to check the tools live.

Ethereum (ETH)

ETH trades near $2,316 according to CoinMarketCap, holding above $2,300 while BTC leads the rally.

The network still dominates smart contract development with over 31,000 active developers, but ETH needs to reclaim $2,800 before the recovery pattern confirms.

From $2,400 the path to the $4,800 peak is a 2x, solid for a portfolio anchor but far from the multiplier math that presale entries carry ahead of a listing event.

Bitcoin (BTC)

BTC sits near $77,258 according to CoinMarketCap, testing the $80,000 level that has acted as resistance since the pullback from the October 2025 peak of $126,000. Weekly ETF inflows at $996 million show institutional demand is real, and the CLARITY Act could open the door to bigger allocations.

The math from $77,258 to a new high above $126,000 is a 1.6x, strong by traditional standards but modest compared to presale entries that carry 100x projections from a single listing event.

Conclusion

Will BTC break $80,000? The signals point toward higher levels as ETF demand and regulation clarity build across the market. But the signals for Pepeto point at something beyond a market recovery, they point at the same setup that produced every early buyer success story in crypto.

Every cycle creates winners who entered during fear and collected wealth during recovery, and the expected Binance listing will separate the wallets that entered from everyone who reads about them afterward.

Entering the Pepeto official website enow is how those wallets plan to be on the right side of that line when trading opens.

Click To Visit Pepeto Website To Enter The Presale

FAQs

What is the best crypto to buy in 2026 right now?

BTC and ETH carry strength, but presale entries like Pepeto offer the distance between current price and listing that large caps cannot match.

Why are traders choosing Pepeto over large caps?

A SolidProof audit, zero fee trading, and an expected Binance listing at presale pricing explain why more than $9.5 million entered the Pepeto official website.

Will BTC reach $100,000 this year?

That is a real possibility if ETF inflows continue and the CLARITY Act passes, but the timeline depends on broader market conditions.

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Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

The Ethereum Foundation has moved to unwind part of its staking position shortly after nearing its stated goal of 70,000 staked ETH.

On Saturday, the Ethereum Foundation unstaked 17,035.326 ETH, worth roughly $40 million, according to Arkham data. The move involved depositing wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) into Lido’s unstETH contract, with ETH expected to be returned once the withdrawal queue completes.

In Ethereum, unstaking is the process of withdrawing ETH that was previously locked to help secure the network through validators. When ETH is staked, it’s deposited into the Ethereum Beacon Chain, where it remains locked while earning rewards. To unstake, a withdrawal request is initiated, and the funds enter a queue period after which the funds are released.

Source: Arkham

The Ethereum Foundation has not yet revealed why it unstaked 17,000 ETH, prompting some users to speculate it could be preparing to sell. “The biggest seller of ETH continues to be the people who created ETH,” one user wrote.

Related: Another DeFi protocol hacked as Sui-based Volo hit by $3.5M exploit

Ethereum Foundation nears 70K staked ETH goal

The EF started staking ETH after updating its policy in June 2025. At the time, the foundation said that staking and decentralized finance participation would help fund protocol research, development and ecosystem grants.

Since February, the foundation has steadily expanded its position, staking 2,016 ETH initially, followed by 22,517 ETH in March. Earlier this month, the foundation staked more than 45,000 ETH in a series of transactions, bringing the total to around 69,500 ETH, just shy of its internal 70,000 ETH staking target.

However, concerns remain over governance risks. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has cautioned that large-scale staking by the foundation could complicate neutrality during potential contentious hard forks, where competing chains may emerge.

Related: Ethereum Risks 10% Dip Versus Bitcoin Despite ETH Staking Milestone

DeFi protocols unite to back rsETH

As Cointelegraph reported, decentralized finance protocols have joined forces to stabilize rsETH after a $293 million exploit on the Kelp restaking platform triggered market disruption. The incident involved hackers stealing over 116,000 restaked ETH tokens and using them as collateral to borrow funds, leaving roughly $195 million in bad debt on Aave and straining the broader DeFi lending market.

Backers have pledged over 43,500 ETH (around $101 million) in a coordinated “DeFi United” effort led by Aave, with participation from Lido DAO, Golem Foundation and major contributions from EtherFi Foundation and Mantle.

Magazine: Ethereum’s Fusaka fork explained for dummies: What the hell is PeerDAS?

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

TLDR:

• Open Interest spiked sharply in April, signaling crowded and unstable positioning across Bitcoin derivatives markets.
  
• Negative funding rates during the rally confirm shorts are being squeezed out, not that bulls are leading organically.
  
• Perp CVD is rising while Spot CVD stays flat, proving the current move lacks genuine spot market buying support.
  
• Bitcoin must hold above $80,000 to target $85,000 — a breakdown below that level reopens significant downside pressure.

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Bitcoin short squeeze activity is currently driving prices higher in the cryptocurrency market. The Consumer Price Index rose again recently, pointing to sticky inflation that shows no clear resolution.

Despite this, Bitcoin is pushing into a key resistance zone. Analysts note this is not a one-way market. Mixed scenarios and liquidity moves are expected as conflicting signals continue to play out across the market.

Open Interest Spike Points to Crowded and Fragile Market Conditions

Open Interest in Bitcoin’s derivatives market spiked sharply during April. Market analyst Boris of @Fundingvest described the rapid buildup as aggressive and unhealthy positioning.

Such a surge indicates that positions are becoming deeply crowded. This overcrowding makes the current price move unstable and exposed to sudden and sharp reversals.

After the OI spike, funding rates remained negative even as prices climbed. Negative funding during a price rally is a direct indication of crowded short positioning.

In response, the market pushed prices higher, forcing short sellers to cover their positions. This pattern reflects a textbook short squeeze playing out within the derivatives segment.

Meanwhile, Perpetual CVD has been driving prices higher throughout this period. Spot CVD, however, remained largely flat during the same time frame.

Boris pointed out that this divergence makes the analysis straightforward. The current rally is derivative-driven and lacks support from genuine spot market buying activity.

Without spot market backing, the sustainability of this rally remains questionable. Price increases unsupported by spot buyers tend to be temporary. The liquidity built through the short squeeze may later be used against new long positions. This sets up the next key risk forming in the market.

Long Trap Risk Builds as Shorts Exit and New Longs Enter

As shorts exit under pressure, longs are now beginning to take their place. Boris flagged this transition as a possible setup for a long trap in the coming weeks.

A long trap forms when buyers enter aggressively near highs, only to face a sharp reversal. This cycle is a recurring pattern in Bitcoin’s derivatives-driven market.

Bitcoin’s price structure is also forming a minor Higher High and Higher Low sequence. On the surface, this HH-HL pattern carries a mild bullish reading.

However, Boris outlined two clear scenarios based on where price holds from here. A failure to maintain above $80,000 would open the door to further downside pressure.

Conversely, holding above $80,000 could push Bitcoin toward the next target near $85,000. The $80K level is therefore acting as the market’s key line in the sand.

Traders monitoring this structure will seek confirmation of either a breakdown or continuation. The outcome around this price level may define Bitcoin’s short-term trajectory.

CPI data continues to add uncertainty to an already complicated macro setup. Sticky inflation does not offer a clear directional signal for Bitcoin.

With the current derivatives positioning, the market remains exposed to sharp moves in either direction. Caution and active risk management remain essential for all market participants.

The Ethereum Foundation has unstaked 17,035.326 ETH, worth about $40 million, shortly after moving close to its 70,000 ETH staking target. 

Arkham data showed the transaction on Saturday. The foundation deposited wrapped staked ETH into Lido’s unstETH contract. The ETH will return after the withdrawal queue completes, based on Ethereum’s normal unstaking process.

The Ethereum Foundation began staking ETH after changing its policy in June 2025. The group said staking and DeFi activity would help fund protocol research, development, and ecosystem grants.

Since February, the foundation has increased its staked ETH balance. It started with 2,016 ETH, added 22,517 ETH in March, and later staked more than 45,000 ETH this month.

Those transactions lifted its total staked ETH to about 69,500 ETH. The figure placed the foundation close to its stated 70,000 ETH staking goal before the latest withdrawal.

Unstaking raises market questions

The Ethereum Foundation has not explained why it unstaked over 17,000 ETH. The lack of a public reason led some market users to question whether the ETH could move to exchanges or be sold.

One user wrote, “The biggest seller of ETH continues to be the people who created ETH.” The comment reflected market concern, though no official statement has linked the unstaking move to a sale.

In Ethereum, staking locks ETH to help secure the network through validators. Unstaking starts a withdrawal request, places funds in a queue, and releases ETH after the waiting period ends.

DeFi recovery efforts continue after rsETH exploit

The move also comes as DeFi protocols work to support rsETH after a large Kelp restaking exploit. The incident involved more than 116,000 restaked ETH tokens and left bad debt across lending markets.

Aave has led a DeFi United recovery effort with support from Lido DAO, Golem Foundation, EtherFi Foundation, and Mantle. Backers have pledged more than 43,500 ETH, worth about $101 million, to help stabilize rsETH.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has also warned about risks tied to large foundation staking. He said heavy staking by the foundation could create governance concerns during disputed hard forks.

TLDR:

• Bitcoin surged to $79,447 on April 22 as futures Open Interest expanded by nearly $3 billion.
  
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $1.845 billion on the same day BTC hit its peak.
  
• Open Interest fell from $27.56B to $25.26B between April 22 and 24, confirming position unwinding.
  
• Dual pressure from spot ETF outflows and futures closures explains why Bitcoin stalled at $79,447.

---

Bitcoin’s April 22 price surge to nearly $79,447 has drawn renewed scrutiny from on-chain analysts. Data reviewed by CryptoQuant verified analyst Carmelo Alemán points to futures market activity, not spot buying, as the primary driver of the move.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $1.845 billion on the same day prices peaked. The pattern challenges the narrative that institutional spot demand powered the rally.

Futures Expansion Drove Bitcoin’s Short Squeeze Above $79,000

Open Interest in Bitcoin futures expanded by nearly $3 billion on April 22. That expansion preceded the intraday high of $79,447 recorded that day.

Analysts often associate large OI increases with aggressive positioning in derivatives markets. In this case, the data points to a short squeeze as the mechanism behind the price move.

A short squeeze occurs when rising prices force traders holding short positions to close them. That closing process generates additional buying pressure, pushing prices even higher.

However, this type of rally lacks the organic demand needed to sustain the move. Without spot buyers absorbing supply, the price eventually loses momentum.

The ETF outflow figure of $1.845 billion on April 22 adds weight to that reading. Institutional money was not flowing into spot Bitcoin products during the rally.

Instead, capital was moving out of those vehicles at a notable pace. That divergence between futures activity and spot flows is a critical detail in understanding the move.

Alemán’s analysis concludes that the rally was led by derivatives, not by underlying spot demand. The timing of the ETF outflows, occurring near the peak of the move, further supports that conclusion. The combination of futures-driven price action and simultaneous spot selling created a fragile top.

Open Interest Decline After April 22 Confirmed Position Unwinding

After Bitcoin peaked, Open Interest began to fall sharply in the sessions that followed. OI dropped from $27.56 billion on April 22 to $26.10 billion on April 23, a reduction of $1.46 billion.

It then fell again to $25.26 billion by April 24, shedding another $839 million. Price followed that decline, moving toward the $77,400 area.

By April 25, OI had only decreased by around $230 million, and price movement was minimal. The largest price drops matched the periods of heaviest futures unwinding. That correlation reinforces the view that derivatives positioning was central to the move in both directions.

The dual pressure of spot ETF outflows and futures position closures explains why Bitcoin failed to hold above $79,447. Neither force was acting in isolation. Together, they removed the buying support needed to sustain the rally.

The data available through April 25 remained incomplete, though the trend was already clear. The sequence, futures expansion, short squeeze, ETF outflows, then OI contraction, tells a consistent story. Bitcoin’s April rally was a derivatives event, not a spot-driven breakout.

Coinbase (COIN) has quietly crossed a threshold that Wall Street would recognize immediately: it has become, by its own definition, the only full-service prime brokerage in crypto.

John D’Agostino, head of strategy at Coinbase Institutional, said the definition of a prime broker still follows a familiar Wall Street checklist: trading, custody, financing, derivatives and cross-margining. In crypto, he added, there’s an extra layer, staking. “If you can do all of those at scale, you’re a prime,” he said.

In equities and fixed income, only a handful of firms, Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Bank of America (BAC), truly qualify as full-service primes, D’Agostino said. Smaller brokers can support funds, but they don’t offer the full stack. “A $100 million hedge fund isn’t getting everything from the top tier. They’re piecing it together,” he said. “The big primes do everything.”

Crypto, until recently, worked the same way, just more fragmented. Funds stitched together custody from one provider, derivatives from another, financing elsewhere. “You can synthetically replicate a prime by patching services together,” D’Agostino said. “But Coinbase is the only one doing all of it natively.”

Coinbase is the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange and a major provider of infrastructure for institutional investors, offering trading, custody and financing services through its Coinbase Institutional unit.

Its flagship platform, Coinbase Prime, bundles these functions into a single system, allowing hedge funds and asset managers to trade, store and finance digital assets under one roof. Prime holds over $350 billion in assets under custody, about 12% of the total crypto market cap, and serves as custodian for more than 80% of U.S. bitcoin and ether ETF assets.

The firm has become a key bridge between traditional finance and crypto markets, serving as custodian for a significant share of U.S. bitcoin BTC$78,117.67 and ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) assets and operating under a growing regulatory framework, including oversight from New York regulators

Crypto prime brokers provide institutional clients with a bundled suite of services designed to mirror traditional offerings in markets like equities and FX. They help funds manage counterparty risk and access liquidity across fragmented venues. Prominent players include Coinbase Prime, Galaxy Digital (GLXY), FalconX and Anchorage Digital.

Cross-margining

The final piece fell into place in March with the rollout of cross-margining between spot and derivatives positions, allowing market makers and institutional traders to reduce capital requirements by as much as 10% to 20%. “That was the last pillar,” D’Agostino said. “Now we’re a prime by any standard, substitute crypto for any asset class.”

Coinbase’s institutional platform processes roughly $236 billion in quarterly trading volume and supports more than 470 assets across 20-plus blockchains.

Beyond trading and custody, Coinbase runs a $1 billion lending book and what D’Agostino describes as the industry’s largest listed derivatives footprint through its Deribit integration. Its staking business spans 10 to 20 tokens at institutional scale, including dedicated products through Coinbase Asset Management.

“Those are the core components. There are firms doing well in custody, others in derivatives, others in lending,” he said. “No one is solving all of those problems in one place.”

That gap has persisted in part because of crypto’s relative size. At roughly 3% to 5% of global equities and fixed income markets, it remains too small for major banks to fully commit.

D’Agostino instead expects banks and incumbents to partner. “Buy, build or rent,” he said. “Banks will rent. It’s cheaper and smarter to rent the best brand than build a so-so version.”

Longer term, that calculus could change if crypto grows to 20% or 30% of global markets. “Then you’ll see full-scale competition,” D’Agostino said. “But that’s years away.”

For now, the bigger threat isn’t Wall Street, it’s startups. “I’m less concerned about JPMorgan than I am about the next Brian Armstrong,” he added.

Read more: Coinbase, Bybit said to be working together on tokenization, custody and distribution of U.S. stocks

The US CLARITY Act, a cornerstone proposal aimed at delivering regulatory clarity for the crypto industry, appears poised for finalization in May, according to Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz. In a SkyBridge Capital podcast with Anthony Scaramucci, Novogratz forecast that the bill would move to the committee in the first week of May and could reach the president’s desk for signing as soon as June, signaling a potential climate shift for US crypto policy. He stressed that bipartisan consensus is crucial for sustaining American innovation in finance and technology.

The forecast comes amid a thinner-than-expected week for crypto legislation in Congress, as the Senate Banking Committee did not schedule a markup hearing by Friday—crucial momentum that markets had anticipated. Even as the timetable remains uncertain, Novogratz argued that the CLARITY Act would unlock new pathways for institutional participation, including tokenizing and selling major U.S. entities to global investors.

Key takeaways

• May emergence: Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz forecasts the CLARITY Act’s finalization in May, with a potential June signing, hinging on committee action and bipartisan alignment.
• Tokenization promise: The bill is framed as enabling the tokenization of large institutions—an idea Novogratz says could broaden access to global markets for US-based assets.
• Current friction: The Senate Banking Committee did not hold a markup as expected, underscoring ongoing negotiations and political headwinds that could affect timing.
• Backstop from lawmakers: Senator Cynthia Lummis warned that the window to pass the CLARITY Act may be narrowing, framing it as a critical juncture for America’s financial future.

The CLARITY Act in a moment of regulatory tension

Novogratz’ outlook reflects a broader market longing for clarity after years of regulatory ambiguity that contributed to some crypto firms relocating operations abroad during the prior administration. He argued that the CLARITY Act’s passage would be a watershed, not only for crypto markets but for broader innovation in the United States. The explicit prospect of tokenizing globally accessible corporate assets—such as SpaceX and Google—could redefine how capital markets allocate risk and reward across borders.

“This phone with a crypto wallet is going to be the way the kid in Bhutan or Batswana or Bolivia or Paraguay, you name it, is participating in the American economy.”

The notion that personal devices could serve as gateways to a broad, tokenized financial system underscores the Act’s potential reach. Still, the road to passage has been far from smooth. The bill previously cleared the House in July 2025 with bipartisan support, raising expectations that a broader consensus might now carry it through Senate deliberations. Yet, disputes over how stablecoins interact with traditional banking—particularly whether yields from stablecoins could erode banks’ competitiveness—have kept the legislation in a gridlock that many market participants find frustrating.

Industry sentiment: timelines and odds

Industry insiders remain divided on the likelihood of timely passage. Galaxy Digital chief of firmwide research Alex Thorn suggested in a social post that the current odds of the CLARITY Act becoming law in 2026 were around 50%. Thorn noted in accompanying commentary that the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee was expected to set a markup hearing in the near term, a signal that momentum could resume, though a concrete timetable did not materialize as anticipated. He cautioned that if markup slips past mid-May, the odds of passage could deteriorate appreciably.

The regulatory backdrop remains the primary overhang for the sector. Proponents argue that clear, durable rules would unlock capital access and catalyze domestic innovation, while critics warn of potential risk gaps if the framework does not fully address the evolving realities of digital assets, including stablecoins and tokenized assets. The tension between banking interests and crypto advocates has been a persistent feature of the debate, complicating simple pass/fail predictions for the CLARITY Act.

As part of the broader narrative, investors and builders are watching how the bill’s provisions would interact with existing financial infrastructure. A successful enactment could potentially redraw the map for institutional participation in digital assets and open new funding channels for innovative projects that have faced regulatory hurdles in the current environment. The House’s prior passage in 2025 offered a signal that lawmakers recognize the strategic importance of crypto regulation—yet the Senate pace and its negotiations have so far determined the pace of any final approval.

What changes, what remains uncertain, and what to watch next

The core shift proposed by the CLARITY Act is regulatory clarity—reducing the ambiguity that has long stoked caution among banks, insurers, and asset managers contemplating digital-asset exposure. If enacted, the law could pave the way for more standardized treatment of digital securities, stablecoins, and tokenized equities, while clarifying enforcement expectations for issuers and platforms. That kind of clarity can have a tangible impact on capital formation, product development, and the strategic decisions of large tech and industrial players contemplating tokenized offerings.

At the same time, several critical uncertainties remain. The precise legislative language, the final stance of key committee chairs, and the political dynamics across both parties will shape whether the bill can clear the Senate in 2026. The parallel discussions around stablecoin regulation and the accounting of tokenized assets will also influence how aggressively firms pursue tokenized products once a framework is in place. For investors, the takeaway is not a guaranteed breakthrough but the potential for a meaningful policy inflection that could reorient risk, funding, and growth trajectories in the crypto economy.

Meanwhile, proponents emphasize that the clock is not just about passing a single bill but about signaling to the global market that the United States remains open to responsible innovation. The House’s July 2025 vote underscores a legislative appetite for a credible regulatory path, yet the Senate’s pace underscores how political, regulatory, and industry fault lines can extend timelines. Those dynamics will be crucial as the spring and early summer sessions unfold and the crypto policy discourse moves from committee rooms to a broader national conversation.

What readers should watch next is how the Senate addresses the markup process and whether a bipartisan framework can crystallize around the act’s provisions. If May brings a committee referral followed by timely floor action, the CLARITY Act could emerge as a defining moment for crypto regulation in the United States—one that not only clarifies the rules of the road for digital assets but also shapes the market’s willingness to embrace tokenized capital in the years ahead.

Source tracking and attribution: Statements about timing and committee action reflect remarks attributed to Mike Novogratz on a SkyBridge Capital podcast with Anthony Scaramucci, and the broader timeline context comes from coverage surrounding the bill’s progress, including Lummis’ warning about the window to pass the CLARITY Act and Galaxy Digital’s commentary on the likelihood of a 2026 passage. Past House passage and related industry chatter provide additional context for the current momentum and the anticipated debate in the Senate.

Key Takeaways

• Jane Street generated $39.6B in trading revenue with only 3,500 employees in 2025.
• Legal scrutiny in India and the U.S. challenges Jane Street’s trading practices.
• Crypto market faces stricter transparency and compliance standards

Jane Street Outpaces JPMorgan in Trading Revenue

Jane Street recorded a remarkable $39.6 billion in trading revenue in 2025, surpassing JPMorgan’s $35.8 billion despite operating with only 3,500 employees. By comparison, JPMorgan employs more than 316,000 people globally. The contrast highlights one of the largest productivity gaps in modern finance, with each Jane Street employee generating an estimated $11 million in revenue.

The firm operates as a proprietary trading company, meaning it trades using its own capital rather than managing client funds. Jane Street has built its reputation through market-making activities, particularly in exchange-traded funds and options markets. Reports suggest that 87% of its $662 billion portfolio is tied to options, positioning the firm to benefit heavily from market volatility and rapid trading opportunities.

Market-Making Strategy Raises Regulatory Questions

Jane Street’s success has also attracted growing regulatory attention. In India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) accused the company of manipulating bank stocks and index options during expiry sessions. Authorities reportedly impounded $567 million linked to the alleged activity.

Beyond India, scrutiny has expanded into the crypto sector. Jane Street often acts as a liquidity provider and market maker, roles that give firms visibility into order flow and market behavior. Regulators are increasingly examining whether these informational advantages create unfair trading conditions or allow firms to benefit from early market signals.

Terraform Lawsuit Intensifies Legal Pressure

In the United States, Jane Street is facing allegations tied to the collapse of Terraform Labs and the Terra-Luna ecosystem. A federal complaint claims the firm used non-public information to avoid substantial losses during the stablecoin’s breakdown.

Central to the lawsuit is a narrow 10-minute period in May 2022. Terraform Labs reportedly removed $150 million in TerraUSD liquidity from Curve’s 3pool without public notice. Minutes later, a wallet linked to Jane Street withdrew $85 million, fueling allegations that the company acted on privileged information.

What Comes Next for Crypto Market Makers

The next several months could determine how regulators approach proprietary trading firms in both traditional and crypto markets. A favorable legal outcome for Jane Street may strengthen the argument that firms simply react to public blockchain activity. However, stricter rulings could reshape compliance standards across the industry.

Crypto market makers are already tightening internal controls as regulators focus more closely on liquidity management, insider communication, and order-flow transparency. These developments may mark a turning point for how high-frequency trading firms operate in digital asset markets.

🚨 A FIRM WITH 3,500 EMPLOYEES MADE $39.6 BILLION LAST YEAR AND MOST OF IT CAME FROM MARKETS THEY ARE ALSO ACCUSED OF MANIPULATING : JANE STREET

And they just had their best year ever while facing a market manipulation fine in India and an insider trading lawsuit in the US.… pic.twitter.com/x9CkE2SzDg

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— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) April 25, 2026