The digital asset communities focus is on the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas where Senator Cynthia Lummis said the Senate will mark up the long-awaited Clarity Act in May. White House digital asset adviser Patrick Witt added that the administration has resolved certain legal hurdles regarding the implementation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The proposed reserve currently consists of ~328,372 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $25B, which were primarily acquired through law enforcement seizures. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the OFAC is freezing $344M worth of cryptocurrency as part of an operation the administration calls “Economic Fury.” The operation includes sanctions on multiple crypto wallets linked to Iran.
U.S. senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting details about a loan that Tether reportedly extended to his family trust to help finance the divestiture of Cantor Fitzgerald to his sons. The senators wrote that the arrangement would raise serious questions about the Commerce Secretary’s relationship with Tether and whether it influenced regulatory decisions, given his central role in the working group that shaped the GENIUS Act stablecoin law that Tether stood to benefit from. The letter demanded production of the loan documents and details on contact with Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino or other Tether personnel after Lutnick’s nomination as Commerce Secretary.
