Critics warn the US Treasury’s push to embed ID checks into DeFi smart contracts could erode privacy and hollow out permissionless finance. The US Treasury is exploring whether identity checks should be built directly into decentralized finance (DeFi) smart contracts, a move critics warn could rewrite the very foundations of permissionless finance. Last week, the agency opened a consultation under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), which was signed into law in July. The Act directs the Treasury to evaluate new compliance tools to fight illicit finance in crypto markets. One idea was embedding identity credentials directly into smart contracts. In practice, this would mean a DeFi protocol could automatically verify a user’s government ID, biometric credential, or digital wallet certificate before allowing a transaction to proceed. Read more
The comments, due by Oct. 17, will focus on “innovative methods to detect illicit activity involving digital assets,” as required by the GENIUS Act. The US Treasury Department has issued a call for comments related to the passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in July. In a Monday notice, the Treasury said “interested individuals and organizations” could provide feedback to the government department on “innovative or novel methods, techniques, or strategies to detect and mitigate illicit finance risks involving digital assets.” Treasury officials said the call for comments by Oct. 17 was part of the requirements under the GENIUS Act. In a Monday X post, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the move “essential” for implementing the law to “[secure] American leadership in digital assets.” After receiving comments from the public, the Treasury will research the methods proposed and submit reports to the Senate Bank...
The Treasury is considering embedding digital identity checks into DeFi smart contracts as part of its GENIUS Act consultation on crypto compliance tools. The US Department of the Treasury is seeking public feedback on how digital identity tools and other emerging technologies could be used to fight illicit finance in crypto markets, with one option being embedding identity checks into decentralized finance (DeFi) smart contracts. The consultation, published this week, stems from the newly enacted Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), signed into law in July. The Act, which sets out a regulatory framework for payment stablecoin issuers, directs the Treasury to explore new compliance technologies, including application programming interfaces (APIs), artificial intelligence, digital identity verification and blockchain monitoring. Read more
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified on X that the department is still exploring budget-neutral ways to purchase Bitcoin, contrasting an earlier comment that tanked the crypto markets. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has clarified that his department is still exploring budget-neutral ways to buy Bitcoin for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — contrasting with his recent comments suggesting the plan was off the table, which triggered a Bitcoin sell-off. “Treasury is committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand the reserve, and to execute on the President’s promise to make the United States the ‘Bitcoin superpower of the world,’” Bessent clarified in an X on Thursday. He reiterated that the Bitcoin (BTC) forfeited to the federal government would form the reserve’s foundation. There were already concerns that the US’s slow pace of executing its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve could leave it open to being front-run by other nation-states. Some feared that the Treasury may n...
The Office of Foreign Assets Control said it was taking additional action against the crypto exchange after including it on its list of Specially Designated Nationals in 2022. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has redesignated cryptocurrency exchange Garantex Europe to its list of sanctioned entities. In a Thursday notice, OFAC said it had redesignated Garantex as well as sanctioned its “successor,” Grinex, three Garantex executives and six Russia- and Kyrgyz Republic-based companies for allegedly facilitating illicit transactions. According to the government agency, the Garantex exchange processed more than $100 million tied to illicit activities since 2019. “Digital assets play a crucial role in global innovation and economic development, and the United States will not tolerate abuse of this industry to support cybercrime and sanctions evasion,” said John Hurley, under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence. Read more
BNY Mellon will manage and custody the assets backing OpenEden’s Moody’s “A”-rated tokenized US Treasury fund, expanding the bank’s presence in blockchain-based finance. Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform OpenEden partnered with The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) to manage and custody the underlying assets of its flagship tokenized US Treasury product, TBILL. OpenEden announced the partnership Wednesday, bringing one of Wall Street’s largest and oldest custodians into the growing market for tokenized Treasurys. OpenEden said TBILL is the first tokenized US Treasury fund with a Moody’s “A” rating to have its assets managed by a global custodian. Read more
Tether’s USDT supply has increased by $26 billion in 2025, pushing its market cap to $163.6 billion as global demand for stablecoin grows. Stablecoin-issuer Tether has become the 18th-largest holder of United States Treasurys globally, surpassing the holdings of South Korea, according to a recent attestation report. On Thursday, Tether said in its attestation report for the second quarter of 2025 that it holds $127 billion in US Treasury bills. The company said it has $105.5 billion in direct US Treasury exposure and $21.3 billion held indirectly. Tether’s current holdings show a $7 billion increase from the first quarter. On May 19, the stablecoin issuer reported having $120 billion in T-bills, overtaking Germany’s holdings to take the 19th spot. Read more
Bitcoin does not just compete with gold as an alternative store of value, but all savings instruments, including government securities. Bitcoin's (BTC) total addressable market encompasses the $16 trillion gold market and the $30 trillion US Treasury market used as a store of value by individual bondholders and institutions, according to Hunter Horsley, the CEO of digital asset investment firm Bitwise. "The opportunity for Bitcoin isn't just gold; it is the $30 trillion-plus using Treasuries as a store of value," the CEO wrote on Friday. Horsley was responding to an earlier post from economist Mohamed El-Erian, in which the economist cautioned analysts that US Treasury flows are no longer a barometer for investor flight to safety. Read more
The 10-year Treasury yield is the return investors earn on US government bonds with a 10-year maturity. Also, it serves as a reference for global interest rates. The 10-year Treasury yield is the interest rate that the US government pays to borrow money for 10 years. When the government needs cash, it issues bonds called Treasury notes, and the 10-year note is one of the most watched. The “yield” is the annual return you’d get if you bought that bond and held it until it matures. It’s expressed as a percentage, like 4% or 5%. Read more
After quashing a vote over a stablecoin bill in the Senate, a group of Democratic lawmakers reportedly asked Trump allies to consider his ties to the crypto industry. A group of Democratic senators has reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry. According to a May 9 Bloomberg report, Democratic senators asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on the steps Binance had taken as part of its November 2023 plea agreement with US authorities, amid reports that Trump and his family had deepened connections with the exchange. That settlement saw Binance pay more than $4 billion as part of a deal with the Justice Department, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and had then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down. Read more
After quashing a vote over a stablecoin bill in the Senate, a group of Democratic lawmakers reportedly asked Trump allies to consider his ties to the crypto industry. A group of Democratic senators has reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry. According to a May 9 Bloomberg report, Democratic senators asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on the steps Binance had taken as part of its November 2023 plea agreement with US authorities, amid reports that Trump and his family had deepened connections with the exchange. That settlement saw Binance pay more than $4 billion as part of a deal with the Justice Department, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and had then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down. Read more