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Congressman’s PACE Act would plug fintechs directly into Fed rails

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Congressman’s PACE Act would plug fintechs directly into Fed rails

A new PACE Act bill would let qualified non‑bank payment firms tap Fed rails directly, cutting fees and delays while dovetailing with the GENIUS Act’s stablecoin regime.

Summary

  • The new PACE Act would let qualified non-banks plug directly into Fed payment systems.
  • Backers say it could cut delays and fees for U.S. consumers and businesses.
  • Fintech and crypto groups are lining up behind the bill’s push to open payments.

A U.S. Congressman has proposed the PACE Act, a bill that would give qualified payment companies direct access to Federal Reserve payment rails in a bid to modernize the U.S. payments system.

Bill aims to open Fed rails to non-banks

According to market reports, the proposal would allow regulated non-bank providers to connect straight to systems such as Fedwire, FedACH and FedNow, aiming to reduce settlement delays, lower transaction fees and speed up transfers for consumers and businesses.

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Early reaction has been positive from fintech and cryptocurrency industry groups, which see the legislation as a way to make the U.S. payments stack faster, cheaper and more competitive versus both private-sector alternatives and other jurisdictions experimenting with real-time rails.

A LinkedIn breakdown of the draft framework says the PACE Act would create a new federal category, “Registered Covered Provider,” overseen by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, giving eligible firms a statutory right to apply for Fed payment accounts without needing a full bank charter.

To qualify, companies would typically need either more than 40 state money transmitter licenses or a state depository charter, a threshold designed to capture large payment processors, remittance platforms and major crypto intermediaries already operating at national scale.

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The same analysis suggests the bill would effectively “passport” those firms across all 50 states, short-circuiting today’s costly, fragmented licensing grind and replacing it with unified federal supervision plus strict reserve rules.

Those reserve provisions mirror elements of the recently enacted GENIUS Act, requiring 1:1 backing in cash, Federal Reserve deposits, U.S. Treasury bills or tokenized equivalents, a move pitched as a way to keep customer funds safe while giving non-banks access to central bank money.

In a note cited by Politico, one supporter argued that “we can reduce the burden of bank fees borne by too many American families by enabling broader access to innovative payment systems that deliver cheaper, faster, more reliable service,” framing the PACE Act as a consumer-focused reform rather than a giveaway to fintech.

If passed, the bill would sit alongside the GENIUS stablecoin framework and recent SEC moves on digital-asset accounting as part of a broader reshaping of U.S. market plumbing, potentially allowing large crypto and payments firms to move dollars over Fed rails instead of relying solely on correspondent banks.

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Crypto World

BTC Binance Inflows Drop As Coinbase Activity Rises

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Coinbase, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis, Cryptocurrency Investment

Bitcoin (BTC) mid-size wallet inflows to Binance fell to 3,000–4,000 BTC, marking a multi-year low in sell-side activity from this cohort.

This coincides with Coinbase recording about 8,500 BTC in inflows from similar wallets on April 19, while other exchanges saw much smaller flows. Binance exchange Bitcoin inflows have also fallen to 2023 levels, but how is this significant to today’s market?

Binance BTC inflows cool sharply to 2023 levels

CryptoQuant data classifies mid-size wallets as the entities holding roughly 100–1,000 BTC, often linked to active traders and smaller institutions. These wallets tend to move coins to the exchanges during distribution periods, making their inflows a useful proxy for near-term selling intent.

Coinbase, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis, Cryptocurrency Investment
Binance inflow structure by Investor size. Source: CryptoQuant

Crypto analyst Amr Taha noted that seven-day average Bitcoin inflows from this cohort into Binance have dropped to 3,000–4,000 BTC. This remains well below the deposits observed during April to May 2023, which ranged from 5,500 to 6,000 BTC.

The lowered inflow levels suggest reduced immediate sell-side pressure, as fewer coins are being positioned on the exchange, although inflows alone do not translate into active selling.

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The chart shows no comparable surge from retail participants (1-100 BTC) either, with smaller wallets contributing limited inflows of less than 300 BTC on Tuesday. This indicates a contained flow profile rather than broad-based selling pressure.

Related: Bitcoin metrics line up bull signals with $78K the BTC price level to beat

Bitcoin flows on Coinbase dominate

The distribution of BTC inflows across exchanges provides another perspective. Data from CryptoQuant shows that mid-size investor inflows into Coinbase reached about 8,500 BTC on April 19, approaching levels last seen after the FTX exchange collapse in November 2022.

Coinbase, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis, Cryptocurrency Investment
Bitcoin mid-size wallet inflows on Coinbase. Source: CryptoQuant

BTC activity across other exchanges remained relatively muted. Amr Taha noted that a broad distribution phase would typically reflect synchronized inflows across multiple exchanges, which is not evident in the current data.

A similar spike on Coinbase was observed on Jan. 14, shortly before Bitcoin declined from $95,000 to below $67,000 in February. However, the current conditions differ, as exchange inflows appear fragmented rather than market-wide, suggesting mixed sentiment rather than coordinated distribution.

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Data from Bitcoin researcher Axel Adler Jr. also highlights a deeper shift in supply dynamics. Bitcoin’s 30-day net flow dropped to -300,000 BTC in March from +94,000 BTC in February, signaling a strong withdrawal phase. The metric stands near -98,000 BTC as of April 21, with outflows continuing at a slower pace.

Coinbase, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Binance, Price Analysis, Market Analysis, Cryptocurrency Investment
Bitcoin 30D net flows. Source: CryptoQuant

Adler Jr. added that exchange reserves have declined for seven consecutive weeks, falling by over 105,000 BTC since early March. Notably, even during the April 2 pullback toward $67,000, there was no significant return of coins to exchanges. 

Related: Inside the ‘fake police raid’ that forced a $1M Bitcoin transfer