Home Blog Page 377

Bitcoin on U.S. bank balance sheets is coming, just not yet

info@uweb3.io
-
0
Bitcoin on U.S. bank balance sheets is coming, just not yet

Morgan Stanley expects bitcoin to reach U.S. bank balance sheets, though key hurdles remain, according to Amy Oldenburg, the bank’s head of digital asset strategy.

Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, Oldenburg, who was appointed new head of digital-asset strategy this year, outlined how the firm is laying the groundwork for the expansion of its digital asset business as client demand builds.

“It’s been many years that we’ve been involved in the broader digital asset space the regulatory environment has been more supportive for us doing that”, Oldenburg said.

Oldenburg, who will be speaking at CoinDesk’s Consensus Miami conference this week, also said that U.S. banks may eventually hold bitcoin on their own balance sheets. However, she pointed to several barriers, such as the Federal Reserve, Basel rules and the need for multiple global regulators, before a bank of Morgan Stanley’s scale could start putting bitcoin on its balance sheet.

This isn’t the first time a banking giant has said that banks will eventually push further into the digital asset sector. BNY CEO Robin Vince said in March that large financial institutions will drive the next phase of crypto adoption by serving as a bridge between traditional finance and digital assets. Although the banks first need regulatory clarity before going all-in on the sector.

However, Morgan Stanley isn’t standing still and has already started its push into the digital asset space, Oldenburg said. The banking giant recently launched MSBT, a bitcoin-backed exchange-traded product and the first of its kind from a U.S.-chartered bank. The product drew more than $100 million in its first six days of trading.

What made those inflows particularly striking is that they came entirely from self-directed clients, Morgan Stanley’s own financial advisors hadn’t even begun offering the product yet, Oldenburg said.

“All of that was self-directed, it was not even available in advisory on the wealth platform,” she said. This dynamic shows that there is significant demand for such products from clients.

Oldenburg said that there is a significant gap between what the advisors are offering clients and where demand lies. While Morgan Stanley recommends 2%-4% bitcoin allocation to clients, the slow adoption among advisors is due to an education problem, Oldenburg said. She also noted that 80% of ETP exposure on the wealth platform is self-directed and that the bank has launched internal training programs to bring financial advisors up to speed.

The appetite for regulated bitcoin exposure is well established, BlackRock’s IBIT has amassed over $61 billion in assets, becoming the fastest-growing ETF in history since launching in January 2024.

Additionally, Oldenburg said that Morgan Stanley is pursuing an OCC digital trust charter, which would allow the bank to custody crypto directly and offer spot crypto trading on its wealth platform. The MSBT product itself uses Coinbase and BNY Mellon as dual custodians.

Read more: Wall Street’s crypto push has been years in the making, says Morgan Stanley

Coinbase Calls the Battle Over. The CLARITY Act’s Biggest Obstacle Has Fallen.

info@uweb3.io
-
0
Coinbase Calls the Battle Over. The CLARITY Act’s Biggest Obstacle Has Fallen.

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

The CLARITY Act has cleared one of its biggest political bottlenecks after the final rewards language in the bill was made public, giving the crypto industry a compromise it can live with and lawmakers a clearer path to move the broader market structure bill forward.

The compromise matters especially for crypto exchange Coinbase, with Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad noting that it is time for the bill to move forward.

The Rewards Fight Now Behind The Industry

Coinbase officials have expressed support for the newest version of the final rewards text in the CLARITY Act that was recently made public. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on Friday, “Mark it up,” in response to a post made on X by Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer. 

Interestingly, the most important part of Shirzad’s statement is not just that the final rewards text is public, but that Coinbase is treating the issue as settled enough for the bill to move forward. Much of the debate on the CLARITY Act has been based on how crypto firms can offer yield on stablecoin deposits; however, there seems to be a compromise now.

Although the compromise still prohibits crypto exchanges from offering yield on stablecoin deposits if that yield is equivalent to what banks offer on interest-bearing deposits, Shirzad noted that they were able to protect what matters the most, which is the ability for Americans to earn rewards, based on real usage of crypto platforms and networks.

BTCUSD currently trading at $78,756. Chart: TradingView

Basically, rewards tied to what the bill calls “bona fide activities,” which are actual use of crypto platforms or networks, remain permitted. This is why Shirzad described the outcome as a case where banks secured restrictions on rewards, but the industry protected what mattered most.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal also reinforced the point, noting that the new language in the bill preserves activity-based rewards relating to real platform participation, which is precisely what the banking lobby had said it wanted.

Where Does The CLARITY Act Go From Here?

The CLARITY Act is a market structure bill designed to answer the biggest legal question hanging over the US crypto industry: when is a digital asset a security, when is it a commodity, and which regulator has authority over the trading platforms? 

The major issue in the previous wordings of the CLARITY Act raised by banks was that allowing crypto firms to offer rewards on stablecoin balances would drain deposits from traditional banks and destabilize the lending system. 

Now with the yield language settled, the next focus is the remaining provisions that will determine the bill’s final shape. This involves the clarity between the jurisdictions of the SEC and CFTC, staking protections, and capital formation rules.

Galaxy Digital’s head of research Alex Thorn has estimated the earliest the Senate Banking Committee could schedule a markup is the week of May 11, following the Senate’s recess. According to Polymarket odds, there is now a 59% chance that the CLARITY Act will be signed into law this year.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

OFAC Said Seized Wallets Were Iranian; Analysis Finds Other State Actors More Likely

info@uweb3.io
-
0
OFAC Said Seized Wallets Were Iranian; Analysis Finds Other State Actors More Likely

Multiple wallet addresses recently sanctioned by the US Treasury ‌Department for their ties to Iran may not be linked to the Islamic Republic, but to other state actors instead, analysis published Sunday suggests.

That analysis, by blockchain intelligence firm Nominis, said that while the recent seizing of wallets holding more than $340 million by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) was a significant crypto enforcement event, some of those wallets’ characteristics lack a similarity to previously seized wallets linked Tehran.

“While the use of cryptocurrency by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is well established, this case presents structural and behavioral characteristics that diverge meaningfully from previously observed patterns,” said Nominis CEO Snir Levi.

He said that IRGC-linked wallets have shown some consistency in their operations, including that the funds are distributed across multiple wallets, individual wallet balances are kept relatively low — typically a few million US dollars, holdings aren’t retained for extended periods and activity is structured to minimize exposure to seizure or freezing mechanisms.

“The behavioral divergence observed in this case raises a critical question: To what extent does the frozen $340 million reflect direct IRGC control, versus infrastructure that overlaps with broader, potentially foreign, financial networks,” Levi said.

June 2025 FinCEN Advisory on Iranian Shadow Banking Networks. Source: US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

He said the implications for compliance teams could be that static typologies are no longer sufficient and behavioral analysis and clustering are critical for identifying risk.

“Most importantly, this case highlights that even well-documented actors such as the IRGC and potentially Chinese state-actors are continuing to evolve their use of blockchain infrastructure,” the Nominis founder said.

Related: Iran views BTC as strategic asset, but USDt still dominates oil tolls: BPI

Operation Epic Fury targets crypto for maximum US economic pressure

The United States has seized nearly $500 million in Iranian cryptocurrency assets as part of Operation Epic Fury, a sweeping economic pressure campaign against Tehran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last Wednesday.

“We are freezing bank accounts everywhere. More importantly, we are making people less willing to deal with the regime,” Bessent said during an appearance on Fox Business’s “Kudlow,” adding that retirement funds and overseas real estate held by Iranian officials are also being targeted.

Source: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, verified X account

The $500 million figure cited is much higher than the $344 million in seized crypto assets previously disclosed. A week earlier, Bessent announced that OFAC had sanctioned several crypto wallets tied to Iran, with stablecoin issuer Tether confirming it had frozen more than $344 million in USDt (USDT) at the request of US authorities.

Bessent said Operation Economic Fury has taken a toll on Iran’s economy. One of the country’s largest banks collapsed in December, and its currency has fallen 60 to 70% against the US dollar. “They’re in the middle of a currency crisis,” he said.

Magazine: Will the CLARITY Act be good — or bad — for DeFi?

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Policy Summit and other things at Consensus 2026: State of Crypto

info@uweb3.io
-
0
Policy Summit and other things at Consensus 2026: State of Crypto

Consensus 2026 in Miami starts Tuesday. We’ve got a host of policy sessions — some of which this newsletter previewed a few weeks back. Here’s the full list of sessions you should attend. On the fence about going but you’ll be in Miami? Not too late to register. Can’t make it in person? Hit me up about a virtual pass.

You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions.

The narrative

Consensus 2026 Miami kicks off! Be there or be square.

Why it matters

The thing I enjoy most about Consensus is meeting folks who are willing to walk me through the policy and regulatory issues they’re following. We’re putting many of those folks on stage for that reason. The goal is for these sessions to be as informative as they are entertaining, if not more so. Bring your notebooks.

Breaking it down

The following is a complete list of the policy sessions taking place this week.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

  • 10:00 a.m. ET: We are kicking off the Policy Summit. The goal: Eight hours of informed discussion on key issues, starting with how decentralized finance can be regulated, especially given all the hacks that keep on happening.
  • 10:30 a.m. ET: Former IRS officials Raj Mukherjee and Seth Wilks will discuss the 1099-DA and how the IRS’ approach to digital assets may evolve. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 10:55 a.m. ET: PayPal Head of Crypto Compliance Larry Wade and Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Ji Hun Kim will talk about how fintech firms are looking at the regulatory sector for digital assets. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 11:40 a.m. ET: Senator Ashley Moody and Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone will discuss the industry’s relationship with D.C.
  • 11:40 a.m. ET: Executives at federally regulated banks will discuss how more and more crypto companies are seeking banking licenses, and what that means for both the banking and crypto industries. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 12:50 p.m. ET: World Liberty Financial co-founders Donald Trump, Jr. and Zach Witkoff will take the stage.
  • 12:55 p.m. ET: Breadcrumbs analyst James Delmore will lay out how much money has been dedicated to the 2026 election from crypto companies, and how that may be spent. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 1:00 p.m. ET: Stand With Crypto’s Mason Lynaugh, Fellowship PAC’s Jesse Spiro and Sternhell Group’s Alex Sternhell will discuss how the crypto industry is engaging with the midterm. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 1:30 p.m. ET: DeFi Education Fund’s Gavin Zavatone and Blockchain Association’s Lindsay Fraser will lay out what might happen with crypto legislation and rulemaking in 2027, based on the different possibilities this November. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 1:55 p.m. ET: SEC Crypto Task Force Chief Counsel Taylor Lindman will discuss his role and the work he’s engaged in at the regulator. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 2:00 p.m. ET: Tether’s Bo Hines and Bridge’s Lindsey Einhaus will talk about the evolution of stablecoin regulations.
  • 2:10 p.m. ET: Former CFTC Acting Chair and current Moonpay CLO Caroline Pham, Aleo’s Head of Policy Yaya Fanusie and Binance Global Policy Lead Steven McWhirter will talk about recent regulator proposals around stablecoin rules, and what these proposals may eventually turn into. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 2:40 p.m. ET: Coinbase Vice President Kara Calvert will talk about the White House negotiations that may ultimately lead to a deal on stablecoin yield in the Clarity Act. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 2:55 p.m. ET: And speaking of the Clarity Act, is it even happening? Experts keeping track will weigh in. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 3:30 p.m. ET: Everyone is talking about tokenization, including how the rules around that sector of the financial services industry may change. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 4:00 p.m. ET: We’ve spilled a lot of ink talking about federal regulatory efforts, but the U.S. also has 50 states with their own jurisdictions and approaches. Representatives working with these states as part of, or with the local governments will talk about those approaches. This session is part of the Policy Summit.
  • 4:30 p.m. ET: Last, but certainly not least: Prediction markets. Are prediction market contracts federally regulated swaps? Or are they gambling products dressed up as a financial derivative? These questions are sitting before courts throughout the country, and will likely wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court before all’s said and done. A crack group of lawyers are going to preview what those arguments might look like to close out Policy Summit.

If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at nik@coindesk.com or find me on Bluesky @nikhileshde.bsky.social.

You can also join the group conversation on Telegram.

See ya’ll next week!

Crypto Industry Under Siege: 29 Attacks Recorded In April 2026 Alone

info@uweb3.io
-
0
Crypto Industry Under Siege: 29 Attacks Recorded In April 2026 Alone

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

The crypto industry is seriously under attack following a recent surge in exploit incidents. According to market analyst Ali Martinez, data from DeFiLlama shows that April was particularly bad for digital asset firms and protocols, with 29 attacks recorded, the highest ever in a single month. Without a doubt, these incidents have sparked concerns among crypto enthusiasts, leading to speculation about potential causes and solutions to this disturbing pattern.

Notably, total attacks in April resulted in combined losses of $635 million. About 90% of these losses can be attributed to attacks on the Drift Protocol and KelpDAO. Drift Protocol, the largest Solana-based decentralized perpetual futures exchange, saw North Korean hackers drain $285 million by tricking the security council into unknowingly pre-signing transactions using a fictitious CarbonVote token.

On the other hand, Kelp DAO, an Ethereum-based liquid staking protocol, lost $292 million in rsETH after attackers exploited the protocol’s LayerZeo-powered cross-chain bridge by manipulating the message layer to act on a nonexistent valid instruction. The impact of these attacks goes beyond immediate losses and also weakens crypto users’ confidence. For example, the total value locked (TVL) on DeFi platforms dropped by $13.5 billion following the 48 hours after the Kelp DAO attack.

AI Evolution And Adoption Driving Crypto Attacks: Analysts

According to Martinez, the strides recorded in global AI development now function as a double-edged sword. While there is greater potential for higher productivity owing to newer AI products, such as Anthropic’s Mythos models, these agentic AIs can also facilitate effective exploitation operations, minimizing the time required for reconnaissance and weaponization.

The crypto pundit draws much attention to this developing negative use case, citing that a small volume of AI-assisted attacks by North Korean hackers accounted for 76% of the losses recorded in April. As AI development surges, Martinez warns that the crypto industry is at risk of a surge in security incidents, which could lead to higher market volatility.

More data from DeFiLlama shows that total exploit losses in 2026 now stand at $723.39, representing a 57% decline from the figures reported in the same period in 2025. However, it’s worth noting that the $1.692 billion recorded in the 2025 first trimester is largely attributable to the $1.5 billion Bybit hack, i.e., the largest exploit in the crypto industry.

Market Overview

At press time, the total crypto market cap is $2.57 trillion, down 0.16% over the past day.

Crypto
Total crypto market cap valued at $2.57 trillion on the daily chart | Source: TOTAL chart on Tradingview.com

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

Can Bitcoin Seal its Best Weekly Close in Over Three Months?

info@uweb3.io
-
0
Can Bitcoin Seal its Best Weekly Close in Over Three Months?

Bitcoin (BTC) eyed $79,000 into Sunday’s weekly close as crypto markets continued to be guided by the US-Iran war.

Key points:

  • Bitcoin circles a key weekly level into the weekly close, with the highest close in several months on the table.
  • Analysis sees the mid-$80,000 zone and higher coming back into play.
  • Liquidity grabs form the basis for caution among some traders.

BTC price nears highest weekly close in over three months

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD attempting to hold higher after cancelling out losses from earlier in the week.

Finishing the week above $78,670 would deliver the pair’s highest weekly close since late January.

BTC/USD one-week chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Friday delivered a boost to risk assets as hopes of a fresh peace agreement between the US and Iran accelerated. On Sunday, however, US President Donald Trump appeared skeptical of ratifying Iran’s latest peace proposals.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he “can’t imagine that it would be acceptable.”

Source: Truth Social

Despite this, some crypto market commentators remained optimistic about the short-term outlook.

“Strong consolidation on $BTC , and Friday gave us a slight insight in what’s likely to come,” trader and analyst Michaël van de Poppe wrote on X.

Van de Poppe referenced Friday’s strong inflows to the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which totaled nearly $630 million.

“I don’t think this will slow down in the coming week and that’s probably why we’re seeing a relatively shallow consolidation taking place,” he continued. 

“The $79K area is a crucial zone. That needs to break. If this breaks, I’m assuming we’ll see more upwards momentum and I’ve got $86-88K as first resistance area and $92-94K as the crucial one.”

BTC/USDT one-day chart. Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X

Bitcoin traders warn of liquidity games

Caution was also visible, with traders watching for liquidity grabs to the upside before a subsequent price reversal.

Related: Here’s what happened in crypto today

“Starting to see a build of liquidity form below, but a take of the high liquidity and using that to dump,” Crypto Tony commented on data from CoinGlass on the day.

BTC liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlass

Trading account JDK Analysis described the liquidity setup as “typically bearish.”

“We can clearly see fresh longs opening into the highs, while price continues to show signs of absorption – unable to push meaningfully higher despite increasingly aggressive market buying for now,” it summarized in posts on X.

BTC/USDT 15-minute chart. Source: JDK Analysis/X

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.

Crypto, AI Super PACs Flood Midterms As Poll Finds Most Americans Distrust Both Industries

info@uweb3.io
-
0
Crypto, AI Super PACs Flood Midterms As Poll Finds Most Americans Distrust Both Industries

Crypto and AI industry groups are pumping tens of millions of dollars into the 2026 midterm elections, but a new poll shows most Americans don’t trust either industry.

45% of Americans say investing in cryptocurrency is not worth the risk and 44% say AI is developing too fast, according to an April survey by Public First for Politico. The survey also found that narly half trust a traditional bank over a crypto platform, and two-thirds want Congress to impose strict regulations or broad oversight principles on AI.

The numbers spell trouble for candidates taking money from industry-aligned super PACs. In hypothetical matchups, poll respondents were far less likely to back candidates supported by groups pushing looser AI regulations than those backed by groups calling for tighter tech rules.

“Skepticism of the industries, those results suggest, could turn into voter backlash if Americans grow fed up with the heavy spending,” the report said.

The poll was conducted between April 11 and 14, surveying 2,035 US adults online. Results were weighted by age, race, gender, geography and educational attainment, with an overall margin of sampling error of ±2.2 percentage points.

Related: White House confirms Trump to address memecoin gala on Saturday

AI, crypto PACs spend big

Pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future, which launched in August 2025, has raised more than $75 million and deployed funds in primaries across North Carolina, Texas, Illinois and New York. Fairshake, the pro-crypto PAC backed by Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz and Ripple Labs, has already spent $28 million across competitive primaries.

Source: Politico

Both industries are also spending heavily on lobbyists. OpenAI and Anthropic posted record lobbying expenditures in the first quarter of 2026. The crypto industry, meanwhile, is pushing the CLARITY Act through the Senate, a market structure bill it hopes will bring regulatory certainty to digital assets.

In 2024, a Fairshake-affiliated PAC spent over $40 million helping defeat Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a longtime crypto critic who is now running again.

Related: Crypto PAC Fellowship Halts Support of Texas AG for Senate: Report

Crypto, AI PACs are flying under the radar

For now, most voters don’t know these groups exist. Just 9% have heard of Leading the Future and only 3% recognize Fairshake. However, political observers told Politico that once voters connect the money to the industries behind it, the backlash could be swift.

“I do think if they see somebody is backed by crypto, that’s always going to be a problem,” former Ohio Rep. Jim Renacci reportedly said.

Magazine: Bitcoin will not hit $1M by 2030, says veteran trader Peter Brandt

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Bitcoin Mining Firm Riot Platforms Records $167 Million Revenue In Q1 2026: Report

info@uweb3.io
-
0
Bitcoin Mining Firm Riot Platforms Records $167 Million Revenue In Q1 2026: Report

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms has published its financial performance for the first quarter of 2026, reporting revenue of over $167 million. The financial report highlights a shift in the company’s business model and a growing trend in its revenue stream, as its recently launched data center business takes center stage.

Riot Platforms’ Data Center Business Generates $33 Million Q1 Revenue

In its recent disclosure, Riot Platforms reported generating $167.2 million in revenue in the first quarter of the year. Based on the reported numbers, the company’s core Bitcoin mining business saw an approximately 21.7% decline in revenue, from $142.9 million to $111.9 million.

This revenue decline can be attributed to the fall in BTC’s price, which began as early as February 2026 and fell to as low as $62,000 at some point. The premier cryptocurrency’s value, while it also dipped in the first quarter of 2025, only fell to around $80,000 by March last year.

Moreover, the Bitcoin network hashrate was relatively higher in the first quarter of 2025 than in 2025’s Q1, with the resulting mining difficulty eating into Riot Platforms’ margins. As the announcement shows, the mining firm produced 57 BTC less this year than in the same period in 2025.

Interestingly, a new business line (data center operations) helped Riot Platforms offset its apparent revenue decline, contributing $33.2 million to the topline. For what would have looked like an underwhelming earnings report for the firm, the significant revenue from its data center business offered something of a silver lining.

Riot Platforms CEO, Jason Les, said about the performance:

The first quarter of 2026 marks a definitive inflection point for Riot, as we officially transitioned into an active, revenue-generating data center operator. Our ongoing delivery of initial capacity to AMD, and their decision to already double their footprint with a 25 megawatt expansion, validates our ability to execute at institutional scale with the most demanding tenants

The optimistic sentiment from the Q1 earnings report was reflected in the price of Riot Platforms’ stock (ticker RIOT). According to price action data, the company’s stock jumped by nearly 20% from $16 to above $19 in the last two trading days of the previous week.

Bitcoin Mining Companies Continue Pivot To AI

The significant contribution of Riot Platforms’ data center operations to its revenue highlights the ongoing shift in the Bitcoin mining industry. This strategic pivot comes especially given how much BTC mining profitability has taken a hit over the last couple of years.

Unsurprisingly, Riot Platforms is not the only Bitcoin miner making a strategic play in the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) industry. MARA Holdings (formerly Marathon Digital Holdings) is among the firms leading the diversification to AI and data center infrastructure.

Bitcoin

The price of BTC on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView

Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

Crypto is at the bottom of U.S. voters’ priorities heading into the midterm, CoinDesk survey shows

info@uweb3.io
-
0
Crypto is at the bottom of U.S. voters’ priorities heading into the midterm, CoinDesk survey shows

U.S. voters placed cryptocurrencies toward the bottom of a list of their highest priorities for the upcoming midterm election.

Just 1% of respondents said they ranked crypto as their top concern, according to a survey of 1,000 randomly selected registered U.S. voters, though other responses revealed a wider view of the technology as an important political issue.

The survey was conducted near the end of April by Public Opinion Strategies on CoinDesk’s behalf, as part of CoinDesk’s coverage of the 2026 U.S. midterm election. The survey was evenly split between Republican and Democrat respondents (41% of respondents identified with each party to some degree), with a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.53%.

Crypto won’t be on the ballot this year, but the industry still has a vested interest in who wins. The market structure bill, one of the most important pieces of legislation, is seen as the top priority for crypto. Though the bill known as the Clarity Act still has a path to becoming a law before the end of the year, it’s taken far more time than expected and still needs to clear a number of hurdles. Other bills, including expected tax reform legislation, will likely end up before Congress in the coming months. Ahead of the election, the crypto industry has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars intended to support friendly candidates, after being the single largest donor industry in the 2024 election.

This article is part of a CoinDesk series on voters’ views for the 2026 midterm election.

As of press time, the most likely outcome of the 2026 election is that Democrats will become the majority party in the House of Representatives, while the Senate is more likely to remain dominated by Republicans. A generic question in POS’s poll for CoinDesk about whether voters would choose the Republican or Democrat candidate gave a slight edge to Democrats (44% to 41%); this +3 margin is roughly in line with a number of other polls, according to a tracker hosted by The New York Times.

Prediction market provider Kalshi has the Senate at an even split. But Democrats have a much tougher road to picking up a majority there, Cook Political Report said in April.

This poll also showed U.S. President Donald Trump with a net negative approval rating, with 40% of respondents saying they somewhat or strongly approved of his performance, while 60% disapproved.

And unsurprisingly, respondents said the cost of living (36%), jobs and the economy (13%), and Social Security and Medicare (11%) were their single most important issues. Other issues, such as immigration and border security, healthcare, national security, government spending and more, all saw single-digit percentage responses. Crypto ranked at the bottom, largely among voters leaning toward the Republican Party. Artificial intelligence came in just a smidge higher, with 2% of respondents calling it their single most important issue.

Views on crypto

Crypto itself does not enjoy a favorable image among the survey respondents. While participants who leaned toward the GOP had a slightly more favorable view of cryptocurrency than unfavorable (41% to 39%), base GOP (33% to 39%), independents (27% to 48%), Dem-leaning voters (26% to 54%) and base Dems (25% to 58%) all had a more unfavorable view.

(CoinDesk/Public Opinion Strategies)

Just over a quarter of participants (27%) said they had invested, traded or used a cryptocurrency, while another 27% said they haven’t but might one day. Of those who had invested, 2% currently have over $10,000 worth of digital assets, 9% said they owned between $1,001 and $10,000 and 12% said they had $1,000 or less in crypto.

(CoinDesk/Public Opinion Strategies)
(CoinDesk/Public Opinion Strategies)

In terms of the November election, 49% of participants who said they were “much more interested” in this year’s election than in the 2022 election said they owned $1,000 or more worth of crypto.

According to the data, 47% of respondents said Republicans were more supportive of cryptocurrencies, compared to just 14% who said the same about Democrats. These figures don’t necessarily indicate whether respondents saw that as a good thing, however. Interestingly, Democrats maintained a slight edge in voter trust in crypto, with 27% of respondents saying they trusted the party, compared with 25% who said they trusted Republicans more. A greater proportion of respondents — 40% — said they didn’t trust either party.

Roughly 40% of respondents also said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who shared their views on crypto, though the survey did not ask whether this was tied to positive or negative views of crypto.

Crypto also had lower favorability (30%) than Republicans (39%) or Democrats (43%). Meanwhile, DeFi — also known as finance on the blockchain — had 17% of respondents saying they had a favorable view, though only 60% of respondents overall said they’d even heard of it.

Artificial intelligence had rosier numbers — 46% of respondents had a favorable view, while 45% had an unfavorable view.

Despite all that — and in somewhat of a contradiction to not flagging crypto as their top issue — when asked directly how important crypto was for the 2026 election, 3% of respondents said it was the “single most” important issue, and a further 22% said it was an important issue. That represents a much higher awareness of digital assets than voters had several years ago.

CoinDesk will release data from this survey on Tuesday at Consensus Miami.

Americans still prefer banks over crypto for financial access, CoinDesk’s survey shows

info@uweb3.io
-
0
Americans still prefer banks over crypto for financial access, CoinDesk’s survey shows

Cryptocurrency began in part as an answer to the missteps and abuses of banks during the 2008 financial crisis, but despite existing almost two decades and capturing wide attention, the public hasn’t been sold on that point and still favors the traditional financial system for their financial access, according to new polling commissioned by CoinDesk.

When asked which they trusted more between banks and crypto when it came to financial inclusion, 65% of respondents to an online survey said banks and only 5% favored crypto. Though slightly more than half (52%) agree that the movement is more than a passing fad, 60% think crypto will be a mostly negative force in the economy.

That’s according to 1,000 randomly selected U.S. voters surveyed last week by research firm Public Opinion Strategies. The survey is meant to get a snapshot of public sentiment as crypto and artificial intelligence issues wind their way through Congress, federal regulators and the political campaigns that are steaming toward this year’s congressional midterm elections.

This article is part of a CoinDesk series on voters’ views for the 2026 midterm election.

The sense that banks are safer than crypto comes at a delicate time for the industry, when its lobbyists have been fighting with the bank industry over the crypto sector’s most important policy hope: the Senate’s Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Banks have argued that stablecoin rewards could compete directly with their own interest-bearing deposit accounts and threaten a migration that could strangle U.S. lending. So far, their argument stalled the Clarity Act for months, though the latest signs suggest the bill may start moving again in the coming days.

Despite some public distrust, crypto has come a long way in a short time to insert itself into the financial life and culture of the U.S. About one in four people say they’ve invested in crypto (27%), though most of them got in at least a few years ago and only 2% say they have more than $10,000 in digital assets.

Whatever information the public is consuming about the industry doesn’t seem to be helping lift their view, with more than half (53%) getting a less favorable impression of the industry in recent news coverage. When they think about crypto, those who like it gravitate most toward the concept of its profitability while those who distrust it focus on the scams associated with the sector.

About 46% of people don’t have anything to do with crypto and say they don’t want to, though that leaves 27% who haven’t yet invested and say they might be open to it. The negative views are most likely to be held by people older than 45, with a sharp rise in distrust the older they get. Males, Republicans and minority groups share the most consistent affinity for crypto, according to the data.

The AI question

Like crypto, AI also gets a heap of distrust from older respondents, though younger people’s views are pretty mixed.

Overall, 55% think the risks of AI technology outweigh its benefits. But the younger demographics, males and Republicans are all a bit more likely to support the advances, as they do in digital assets. And owners of crypto are also much more likely to support the benefits of AI, with 64% saying its pursuit is worth the risks.

While the corporate U.S. has embraced the use of AI in almost all aspects of their business, the new data on public perceptions reveals the negative perception gap that emerging technologies may need to overcome for mass acceptance. The crypto industry has pinned hopes on its eventual inclusion in the U.S. system of financial regulation to lend it wider acceptance and give more comfort to holdouts who worry about its oversight. But that process depends on a sharply divided Congress and the sedate timeline of federal regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Still, key regulators appointed by crypto-cheering President Donald Trump have pledged to move as quickly as possible to bring digital assets into the mainstream. And key senators have suggested the Clarity Act will finally get the hearing it needs in May, keeping it potentially viable for 2026 passage.

CoinDesk will release data from this survey on Tuesday at Consensus Miami.

1...376377378...1,320Page 377 of 1,320