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Senate Leader Doubts Market Structure Will Pass by April: Report

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Crypto Breaking News

Regulatory dynamics in Washington are once again taking center stage for crypto markets. Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated he does not expect the chamber to advance digital asset market structure legislation before April, shifting focus instead to partisan and bipartisan priorities that could influence how crypto is overseen in the years ahead. The development underscores a persistent theme: while lawmakers talk about bringing clarity to the sector, procedural hurdles and competing political priorities are likely to dictate the pace of progress. In the near term, Thune signaled that the SAVE America Act, a voter-ID proposal, would move first, with the market-structure bill following afterward as part of a broader legislative agenda.

Thune’s remarks, reported by Punchbowl News, frame a timetable in which a separate, widely watched market structure bill—often discussed under the CLARITY Act umbrella in various forms—may not reach a floor vote until at least the April window. The senator said the bill could emerge from the Banking Committee soon, but a concrete floor timetable remained unclear. The discrepancy with alternative expectations from other lawmakers reflects the Senate’s broader struggle to reconcile diverse viewpoints on how digital assets should be regulated, how tokenized securities and stablecoins should be treated, and what kind of ethics standards should govern market participants.

The dynamic is complicated by competing political statements within the Senate. Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, for instance, had suggested in February that market structure could advance in April, contrasting with Thune’s more cautious timeline. The Senate Agriculture Committee has moved its parallel version of the bill forward, but a crucial January markup — a procedural step needed to assemble the legislation for a floor vote — faced delays in the Senate Banking Committee. The result is a foggy path to a unified framework that can command bipartisan support and clear regulatory authority for the key markets and products involved.

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In parallel with the market-structure debate, the Senate took up a housing bill amendment aimed at halting a central bank digital currency (CBDC). If the provision passes and becomes law, the CBDC prohibition would be active through December 2030. The amendment’s inclusion in the 21st Century Road to Housing Act has underscored how digital currency policy can intersect with broader economic policy, potentially affecting how central-bank innovations are evaluated and deployed. The CBDC ban is a notable flashpoint, illustrating the high-stakes nature of regulatory choices around digital currencies and the Fed’s potential role in a future payments landscape.

What’s at stake in the market structure bill?

The market structure bill has long been framed as a way to grant the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) broader oversight over digital assets, derivatives, and related markets. Its supporters argue that a clear regulatory framework would reduce ambiguity and improve investor protections, while critics warn of overreach that could hinder innovation and create compliance costs for startups and incumbents alike. In committee discussions, questions have centered on tokenized equities, ethics provisions, and stablecoin yield, all areas where lawmakers have expressed concerns about consumer protections, market fairness, and operational risk.

President Trump recently accused banks of holding the bill hostage, signaling that the interplay between industry stakeholders and policymakers remains volatile. The White House has hosted three meetings between crypto and banking representatives, but as of the latest reports, there was no consensus to move the market-structure package forward. The tension between executive priorities and congressional schedules has helped keep the sector’s regulatory outlook in a state of flux, with market participants watching for any sign of a breakthrough or a further stalemate.

The debate also touches on the broader question of how the United States should balance innovation with oversight. Industry participants have argued for a framework that supports responsible growth and investor protection, including clearer definitions of digital assets, guidance on tokenization, and robust safeguards around stablecoins. Lawmakers, meanwhile, are weighing how to tailor regulatory authority across agencies and how to harmonize federal standards with state-level initiatives. The CLARITY Act, which previously cleared the House in July, remains a reference point in discussions about a comprehensive regime, even as Senate negotiators press for amendments that satisfy both sides.

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Why it matters

For crypto users and investors, the Senate’s pace on market structure legislation translates into a longer horizon for regulatory clarity. A clear, well-structured framework can reduce execution risk, improve market integrity, and help traditional financial institutions weigh crypto exposure with more confidence. Conversely, further delays or a lack of consensus could perpetuate a climate of regulatory ambiguity, potentially dampening liquidity as market participants delay product launches, listings, or innovative offerings until a stable path forward emerges. The CBDC debate adds another layer of strategic risk, given the potential implications for how digital currencies could coexist with private-sector options and decentralized finance ecosystems.

Beyond traders and exchanges, the outcome will influence builders—startups, liquidity providers, and infrastructure developers—who rely on predictable, transparent rules to design and deploy products. A mature policy framework could spur experimentation in areas such as tokenized assets, cross-border settlement, and compliant custody solutions, while a protracted deadlock might incentivize players to relocate parts of their operations to more certain regulatory environments. For policymakers, the challenge is to craft rules that protect consumers and investors without stifling innovation or driving capital offshore. The current debate underscores the extent to which digital asset markets have become a partisan issue, even as they attract bipartisan attention due to consumer demand, market dynamics, and competitive considerations in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

What to watch next

  • Next week: the SAVE America Act advances to the floor, potentially shifting parliamentary attention away from market structure temporarily.
  • February–April window: the Banking Committee’s markups and the timing of a formal clause-by-clause path for the market structure bill remain uncertain.
  • CBDC-related provisions: tracking whether amendments to the housing bill gain support and whether the CBDC prohibition remains in force through 2030.
  • Committee dynamics: observers will monitor whether tokenization, ethics standards, and stablecoins gain clearer language in subsequent drafts.

Sources & verification

  • Punchbowl News: Report on Thune’s comments and the scheduling of the SAVE America Act and market structure bill (https://punchbowl.news/article/finance/economy/housing-bill-drama/).
  • CNBC: Article on Trump and the SAVE America Act and Senate discussions (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/12/trump-save-america-act-senate-2026-elections.html).
  • Cointelegraph: Discussion of the Crypto US Clarity Act andBernie Moreno’s stance (https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-us-clarity-act-coinbase-brian-armstrong-bernie-moreno).
  • Cointelegraph: Report on the CBDC ban amendment and its housing-bill context (https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-senate-votes-cbdc-ban-amendment).

Market reaction and key details

The stalled momentum around a comprehensive crypto market-structure package reflects a broader liquidity and risk sentiment environment shaped by regulatory uncertainty. While there is bipartisan interest in providing clarity for digital assets, the pathway remains obstructed by deeply held views on how to address tokenized equities, stablecoins, and governance ethics. The Senate’s focus on the SAVE America Act signals a prioritization of voter policy matters that can affect election dynamics and, by extension, fiscal and regulatory discourse around crypto. With the House’s CLARITY Act version already cleared in the prior session, senators are weighing how to reconcile differences that can affect enforcement, investor protections, and the scope of oversight for automated trading and derivatives markets tied to digital assets.

As the White House hosts meetings between crypto and banking representatives, the absence of a final accord demonstrates the complexity of achieving cross-cutting reforms that satisfy diverse stakeholders—from consumer advocates to financial incumbents. In practical terms, a protracted process could keep certain crypto products in a regulatory limbo, delaying new product launches or exchange listings that hinge on definitive compliance standards. However, even amid delays, the policy conversation remains a catalyst for price discovery, risk assessment, and strategic planning within the broader crypto ecosystem, where participants continuously weigh regulatory signals against market fundamentals.

In the background, the CBDC amendment to the housing bill adds a distinct dimension to policy debates: it embodies the current administration’s stance on central bank money and its potential implications for competition, financial stability, and monetary policy. Should the amendment persist through legislative scrutiny, it would send a clear message about the boundaries of central-bank digital currencies in the United States, at least through the 2030 horizon, while leaving room for private-sector innovation in digital payments. The evolving picture invites market participants to monitor not only committee votes and floor debates but also executive-branch messaging and regulatory posture as the year advances.

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What to watch next

  • Tracking the SAVE America Act’s progress in the Senate and any scheduling moves that could affect the crypto market-structure debate.
  • Updates on the Banking Committee’s markup timeline for market structure legislation and whether a compromise emerges before April.
  • Signals on CBDC-related amendments within the housing bill and potential implications for digital currency policy.

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

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Bonk.fun users report drained wallets after hackers hijack platform domain

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Bonk.fun users report drained wallets after hackers hijack platform domain

The team behind the Solana-based memecoin launch platform Bonk.fun warned users to avoid its website after hackers reportedly compromised the domain and deployed a malicious wallet drainer, with at least one trader claiming losses of $273,000 after connecting their wallet.

Summary

  • The Bonk.fun domain was reportedly compromised and used to deploy a malicious wallet drainer.
  • The team says only users who signed a fake approval message after the breach were affected.
  • Some users reported significant losses, including one trader claiming a $273,000 wallet drain.

Bonk.fun domain hack triggers wallet drainer

In a statement posted on social media, the Bonk.fun account said a “malicious actor” had taken control of the platform’s domain and urged users not to interact with the website until the issue is resolved.

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“A malicious actor has compromised the BONKfun domain, do not interact with the website until we have secured everything,” the platform said.

Tom, an operator associated with Bonk.fun, also warned that hackers had hijacked a team account and placed a crypto drainer directly on the site’s domain. The attacker allegedly used the compromised domain to prompt users to sign a fraudulent approval message disguised as a terms-of-service request.

According to Tom, only users who signed the fake message after the compromise were affected.

“If you connected to Bonk.fun in the past you’re not affected,” Tom wrote, adding that users trading Bonk.fun tokens through external trading terminals were also safe.

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He said the team quickly detected the incident and spread warnings across social media, which helped limit losses.

Despite the response, some users reported significant losses. One user claimed on X that they lost their entire wallet after connecting to the site.

“I just got drained for $273,000 on Bonk.fun,” the user wrote, adding that their wallet was left “bone dry” after connecting.

The team said it is working to secure the domain and investigate the incident, stressing that protecting users remains its top priority.

The attack highlights a recurring security risk in the crypto sector, where compromised websites are often used to trick users into signing malicious transactions that grant attackers access to their funds.

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MediaTek chip flaw exposed crypto wallets and passwords without booting Android

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MediaTek chip flaw exposed crypto wallets and passwords without booting Android

Security researchers at Ledger have discovered a major flaw in some Android smartphone chips that lets an attacker siphon encrypted user data like passwords and private keys in a matter of seconds using just a USB connection.

Summary

  • Ledger’s Donjon security team discovered a vulnerability in MediaTek and Trustonic TEE chips that could allow attackers to extract encrypted data from Android phones in under 45 seconds.
  • The exploit bypasses the secure boot chain before Android loads, allowing attackers to recover the device PIN, decrypt storage and extract seed phrases from popular wallets.

The vulnerability was first spotted in January by Ledger’s internal security research team, Donjon, Ledger Chief Technology Officer Charles Guillemet wrote in a recent X post

According to Guillemet, the vulnerability affected smartphones powered by MediaTek and Trustonic’s TEE processors. 

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MediaTek has since issued a security patch to fix the issue; users who have not installed the latest security updates on their devices may still remain at risk.

White hat hackers were able to penetrate a smartphone from manufacturer Nothing, notably the company’s CMF 1 phone, in under 45 seconds using a laptop.

“Without ever even booting into Android, the exploit automatically recovered the phone’s PIN, decrypted its storage, and extracted the seed phrases from the most popular software wallets,” Guillemet said.

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This puts software wallets like Trust Wallet, Base, Kraken Wallet, Rabby, Tangem’s mobile wallet, and Phantom at risk, as the seed phrases and other sensitive credentials are stored locally on the device.

In their report, researchers noted that the vulnerability allowed attackers with physical access to bypass the phone’s security protections through the secure boot chain, which is a core startup process that runs at the highest privilege level before the operating system loads. Subsequently, the attacker can recover the device’s PIN, decrypt its storage, and extract the information.

“This has the potential to affect millions of Android smartphones,” Guillemet added.

Estimates suggest nearly 36 million people manage digital assets on their smartphones, which means that if attackers manage to exploit a vulnerability, it could put a large number of wallets at risk. 

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Guillemet advised using devices with dedicated secure elements that are built for key protection and can safeguard sensitive data even under physical attack.

The Ledger team also detailed a separate attack it tested on MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processors (MT6878) in December, where the team used electromagnetic fault injection to disrupt the chip’s boot process. It allowed them to bypass security checks and ultimately gain full control over the smartphone at the highest privilege level.

As covered by crypto.news on several occasions, crypto users have been targeted across multiple platforms, including iOS, macOS, and Windows.

While Android devices are often easier to compromise due to Google’s more open ecosystem and flexible app distribution model, Apple’s iOS devices have also developed unique attack vectors that target users through malicious frameworks embedded inside otherwise legitimate apps.

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For instance, last year, security researchers discovered a malicious app that infiltrated both iOS and Android devices by requesting file access and subsequently scanning device storage to extract wallet data. Although not as technically severe in nature as hardware-level exploits, the scheme still managed to steal more than $1.8 million in cryptocurrency.

Around the same time, Kaspersky flagged a malware campaign that spread through malicious software development kits embedded in seemingly harmless apps.

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Will private credit break the Bitcoin price?

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Will private credit break the Bitcoin price?

There is a growing risk that a looming crisis in the private credit market, fueled by rising redemptions and defaults, could spill over into Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto markets, according to analysts.

Key takeaways:

  • The $2 trillion private credit sector faces a crisis from defaults, redemptions, and limited oversight.

  • A liquidity crunch may force investors to sell readily accessible assets, like Bitcoin, first.

  • Historical crises show Fed interventions often lead to strong Bitcoin price rallies as a hedge against money supply expansion.

The private credit ticking time bomb?

The private credit sector, the non-bank lending sector that has grown to over $2 trillion from $500 billion in the past five years, is flashing warning signs of an impending crisis

Fueled by low rates and investor hunger for high yields, it now rivals traditional banks but lacks the same oversight.

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Related: Will Bitcoin crash if oil prices hit $100 per barrel?

In 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the private credit sector “warranted closer watch,” adding:

“Rapid growth of this opaque and highly interconnected segment of the financial system could heighten financial vulnerabilities given its limited oversight.”

Private credit assets under management to double by 2030. Source: Preqin

Now, the private credit market shows cracks that threaten triggering a financial crisis.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, with over $10 trillion under management, limited withdrawals from its $26 billion flagship credit funds, reported Bloomberg.

Blue Owl Capital halted redemptions amid software sector woes from AI disruptions, while UBS warns of default rates hitting 15% in worst-case scenarios. 

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On Wednesday, Reuters reported that JPMorgan restricted lending to its private credit funds while Morgan Stanley and Cliffwater Private Credit Fund joined the growing list of asset managers under distress.

Source: X/Max Crypto

”Bond King” Jeffrey Gundlach, founder at Double Line said that the private credit fund of funds in 2026 closely mirrors CDO-squared in early 2007, before the 2008 global financial crisis.

“Financial repression is incoming,” market analyst MartyParty said in an X post on Thursday, attributing the problems to the sector’s rapid growth in the face of ‘increasing scrutiny’ over liquidity during periods of investor outflows.

“Either the Fed injects liquidity, or we go into crisis.”

Global conflict and macroeconomic uncertainties exacerbate this, potentially delaying Fed easing while putting pressure on equities and the Bitcoin price.

As Cointelegraph reported, futures markets are pricing less than a 1% chance of Fed rate cuts at the March 18 FOMC meeting.

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Liquidity crunch could crash Bitcoin price, at first

While the withdrawal limitations directly affect the private credit market, the implications extend far beyond traditional finance.

Withdrawal limits are a “big deal for crypto,” crypto investor Paul Barron said in a recent post on X, adding:

“When giants like Blackrock lock the gates on private funds, it signals a ‘liquidity crunch.’ Investors stuck in private credit might sell their ‘liquid’ assets (Bitcoin/ETH) to raise cash elsewhere.”

This means that if investors cannot access funds from illiquid private credit portfolios, they may turn to assets that can be sold instantly in public markets.

Bitcoin, which trades 24/7, often serves as the first pressure valve. Its price dropped sharply by 50% in March 2020 as the market priced in the COVID-19 crisis.

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But this usually forces government interventions: emergency liquidity injections and rate cuts, aimed at averting systemic collapse.

In 2020, Fed actions post-crash fueled Bitcoin’s surge to its previous all-time high of $69,000 by year-end from $4,400, a 1,400% rally.

Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Markets, Price Analysis, Market Analysis, Liquidity
BTC/USD weekly chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Similarly, during the March 2023 banking turmoil, Bitcoin initially sold off on contagion fears, then rallied more than 200% as markets priced in a Fed pause on rate hikes.

This suggests that a private credit breakdown might ultimately result in the further expansion of the money supply, sending BTC price to new highs.

As Cointelegraph reported, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes will wait untill until the Fed loosens its monetary policy before buying any more Bitcoin. BTC price will then rise to $250,000, he predicted.

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