The U.S. Treasury is urging regulators to recalibrate post‑crisis liquidity rules that it says constrain lending and encourage hoarding, and to normalize earlier, less‑stigmatized use of the Federal Reserve’s discount window in stress. A key proposal would let banks count a capped amount of pre‑positioned, collateralized discount‑window capacity toward liquidity requirements, aiming to free balance sheets for credit while improving crisis readiness. The speech ties liquidity reform to financing priorities in AI, supply chains, manufacturing, and defense. If adopted, banks’ liquidity planning and buffer usage could change materially, with the Fed acting more explicitly as systemwide insurer in severe shocks.
Source: FinanceFeeds
Kraken wins Fed master account; banks push back on crypto’s access to core payment rails
Kraken Financial became the first U.S. digital‑asset bank to receive a Federal Reserve master account, granting direct access to Fedwire and cutting reliance on correspondent banks for fiat flows. The move could streamline settlement for institutions, but major banking trade groups criticized the approval as premature ahead of a final “skinny” account framework, warning of systemic and supervisory gaps. The decision places pressure on the Fed to finalize standards and could open a path for payment‑focused and crypto institutions to the central bank’s plumbing.
Source: FinanceFeeds; FinanceFeeds (reaction)
Morgan Stanley advances spot Bitcoin ETF plans; crypto funds see renewed institutional flows
Morgan Stanley amended its spot Bitcoin trust filing, naming Coinbase Custody and BNY Mellon to safeguard assets, and detailing a predominantly cold‑storage model—another signal that wirehouses are positioning for digital‑asset demand. Meanwhile, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged roughly $461M in net inflows in the latest session (led by BlackRock’s IBIT), even as some ether funds saw modest outflows—underscoring BTC’s role as the primary institutional gateway. The bank’s distribution reach plus stabilizing ETF flows point to deepening mainstream adoption despite market volatility.
Source: FinanceFeeds; FinanceFeeds (flows)
Clearstream, DTCC and Euroclear propose interoperability blueprint for digital securities
Global market infrastructures Clearstream, DTCC and Euroclear published a joint framework to prevent fragmentation as tokenized securities proliferate across multiple distributed‑ledger platforms. The plan targets common standards for asset representation, ownership recognition, lifecycle/movement protocols, ledger structures, and legal/regulatory alignment—so digital assets can move between networks while preserving legal certainty and operational integrity. Broad adoption could anchor scalable, connected digital markets that coexist with traditional clearing and custody.
Source: FinanceFeeds
Study warns equity market structure is fragmenting as bilateral trading grows
A new Market Structure Partners report finds equity liquidity is shifting from central limit order books toward bilateral channels, driven by proprietary data control and connectivity. With sell‑side subsidies for connectivity waning, access costs may rise for smaller firms, risking a two‑tiered market. The authors call connectivity a now‑central element of market structure and urge action on data standards, transparency, and governance to protect price discovery and competition.
Source: FinanceFeeds
White House leans into crypto market structure push after Trump–Coinbase CEO meeting
President Trump met privately with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong as the administration seeks to break a Senate impasse over the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act. The sticking point: whether stablecoins can offer yield—banks argue it would siphon deposits, while crypto firms call limits anti‑competitive. The White House is pressing for a mid‑March markup to lock in a unified framework and keep capital onshore; the outcome could determine stablecoin economics and competitive lines between banks and tokenized finance.
Source: FinanceFeeds
ASX taps LSEG to modernize ASX 24 derivatives platform
ASX will upgrade its ASX 24 futures and options venue using LSEG Markets Technology to boost capacity, latency, and resilience across Australia’s key interest‑rate and derivatives markets. With extended trading hours and growing algo participation, the exchange is investing in core matching infrastructure to handle surges and support new products. Implementation runs through 2026 with extensive participant testing—a broader marker of exchanges racing to harden mission‑critical technology.
Source: FinanceFeeds
You May Also Be Interested In...
- Bitcoin shatters $73,000 resistance as global demand accelerates
- Fed Beige Book: more districts report flat to declining activity
- Broadridge expands pass‑through voting—retail voices rise in governance
- Gold inches higher as Middle East war disrupts Dubai’s bullion trade
- Nedbank, Crypto.com to pilot USDC settlement rails across Africa
- OKX lists 24/7 US equity index and mega‑cap perps for crypto traders