Crypto
crypto
Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy

Fiserv, Mastercard jump on stablecoin partnership

Mastercard announced it is partnering with payments provider and financial services technology company Frank's International “to integrate the stablecoin FIUSD token across a range of Mastercard products and services, expanding stablecoin adoption and utility for their shared customers around the world.”

This partnership follows Fiserv’s announcement yesterday that it would launch a digital asset platform and a stablecoin by the end of 2025.

Fiserv shares were up more than 4% in premarket trading, top among S&P 500 constituents, while Mastercard shares were 3% higher.

“By offering FIUSD across Mastercard’s global payments network, people and businesses can use the new, programmable, blockchain-based token across more than 150 million merchants,” according to a press release.

The Senate passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act last week, which aims to provide a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Patrick Gerhart, president of banking operations at Telcoin, told Sherwood News that the passage of this legislation represents a monumental moment not just for the digital asset space but also consumers in the United States and beyond. 

“Stablecoins can be a faster, fairer, and cheaper way for people and businesses to conduct many kinds of transactions. Moreover, the use of stablecoins will almost certainly accelerate the tokenization of real-world assets, including bonds, stocks, and regulated funds,” he added. 

Stablecoins have a $251 billion market cap, DefiLlama data shows.

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Sage D. Young
16h
Hyperliquid is the “1,000 pound gorilla in the room” leading year-to-date market gains amid conflict in the Middle East

While the crypto industry has shed $564.3 billion in 2026, Hyperliquid’s native token has bucked the downtrend and jumped 54.8% year to date.

Gorilla
Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy
20h
Bitcoin tumbles as oil and gas prices spike and the market’s mood turns risk-off

Bitcoin ETFs reverted to outflows and bitcoin suffered $192 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours.

A Bitcoin ATM in Hong Kong...
crypto
Sage D. Young

Payward, parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, puts plans for IPO on hold

Payward, crypto exchange Kraken’s parent company, has paused its plans for an initial public offering until market conditions improve, according to a report from CoinDesk that cited two people with knowledge of the matter. 

Since the firm announced in November its preparation for an IPO of its common stock, the total market capitalization of the crypto industry has shed around $652.2 billion, from $3.2 trillion to $2.5 trillion as of Wednesday, data from CoinGecko shows. 

The news comes two weeks after Kraken received approval for a master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, allowing the crypto exchange to connect to the Fed’s payment infrastructure used by traditional banks and credit unions. 

Last year, Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation from institutional investors such as Jane Street and Citadel Securities.

Payward, parent of crypto exchange Kraken, has put its IPO plans on hold

Payward, parent of crypto exchange Kraken, has put its IPO plans on hold

The news comes two weeks after Kraken received approval for a master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, allowing the crypto exchange to connect to the Fed’s payment infrastructure used by traditional banks and credit unions. 

Last year, Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation from institutional investors such as Jane Street and Citadel Securities.

crypto
Sage D. Young

SEC and CFTC issue new guidance on how securities laws apply to crypto assets

On Tuesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, together with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, issued an interpretation clarifying how federal securities law applies to crypto assets, a first step toward developing a clearer regulatory framework. 

The interpretive guidance introduces a token taxonomy for different types of cryptocurrencies, with SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins adding that “most crypto assets are not themselves securities.”

Examples of a digital commodity, “a crypto asset that is intrinsically linked to and derives its value from the programmatic operation of a crypto system that is ‘functional,’” include:

The guidance also includes definitions of digital collectibles (such as NFTs), stablecoins, digital tools, and digital securities (such as tokenized real-world assets and stocks).

This is a monumental step in the mainstream adoption of the industry and clears a hurdle in how crypto can operate going forward, according to David Pakman, head of venture investments at CoinFund. “This will allow new token designs with the confidence that their existence does not require registration with the SEC, etc.,” Pakman told Sherwood News.

Despite the clarification efforts from the two organizations, the market capitalization of the crypto industry has dropped about 2% in the last 24 hours as each of the tokens mentioned in the guidance are trading lower in the period, data from CoinGecko shows.

The joint agency action also complements congressional efforts to turn a crypto market structure framework into law. With the goal of providing regulations on the offer and sale of digital commodities, the CLARITY Act passed the House of Representatives last year and is now sitting in the Senate.

Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy
3/18/26
Citi analysts cut 12-month bitcoin projection to $112,000 from $143,000

The analysts’ bear-case scenario is $57,537, based on “recessionary macro-factors, especially weak equity markets,” which could cause ETF flows to stall.

Bitcoin ice carving

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