What has been happening this week in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies? Current events and background reports in our weekly review.
Selected articles of the week:
The US Senate Banking Committee approved the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act by a vote of 15-9, moving the most important US crypto market structure bill one step closer to law. More than 130 amendments had been filed, with Senator Elizabeth Warren alone submitting 44 of them. Democrats Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks broke with party lines and secured a majority for the initiative led by Committee Chair Tim Scott. The legislation divides oversight: the CFTC supervises digital commodities such as Bitcoin, while the SEC retains jurisdiction over securities. Democratic opposition continues to be fuelled by the Trump family’s crypto businesses, whose wealth from memecoins and World Liberty Financial is estimated at USD 11.6 billion. On the Senate floor, the bill requires 60 votes and thus nine Democratic supporters. Polymarket puts the probability of passage at 60%.
The Clarity Act passes the US Senate Banking Committee 15-9. Ethics questions over the Trump family crypto businesses threaten passage.
Charles Schwab opens USD 12 trillion client base to Bitcoin spot trading
While Washington fine-tunes the rules, major US brokers are already creating facts on the ground. Charles Schwab, with around USD 12 trillion in client assets under management and 39 million customers one of the world’s largest asset managers, launched “Schwab Crypto” this week. The platform offers exclusively spot purchases of Bitcoin and Ethereum at 75 basis points per transaction. The rollout proceeds in stages, from employees to waitlisted clients and ultimately to all eligible accounts across 48 states. Custody is handled by Charles Schwab Premier Bank together with Paxos Trust as sub-custodian. The move follows the SEC’s repeal of accounting rule SAB 121 in January 2025 and the OCC’s clarification regarding national banks’ crypto authority. Schwab clients already hold roughly 20% of all US crypto ETP assets.
Charles Schwab launches Schwab Crypto: spot trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum with a 75 basis point fee and Paxos as sub-custodian.
Saylor breaks sales taboo and puts Strategy flywheel at risk
While traditional brokers move in, the largest Bitcoin treasury player is wavering. On the Q1 2026 earnings call, Michael Saylor abandoned his four-year “never sell” stance and signalled a possible sale of Bitcoin to fund dividend payments. Strategy holds 818’334 BTC worth USD 66.1 billion, around 3.9% of the total Bitcoin supply. The stock fell 4.33% to USD 178.80 following the results, with the mNAV ratio at 1.01x and thus dangerously close to the threshold at which the flywheel breaks down. The STRC preferred share alone, with its 11.5% variable monthly dividend, generates annual distributions of around USD 982 million. As long as Bitcoin does not slide into a multi-year bear market, however, Strategy should continue to find access to capital.
Saylor opens the door to Bitcoin sales: Strategy may cover dividends from BTC reserves if needed. The mNAV flywheel is under pressure.
Circle raises USD 222 million to fund its own stablecoin blockchain Arc
The balance of power is also shifting in the stablecoin business. USDC issuer Circle has closed a token presale for its Layer-1 blockchain Arc, raising USD 222 million. The sale placed 740 million ARC at USD 0.30 each, valuing the network at USD 3 billion on a fully diluted basis. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz with USD 75 million, with participants including BlackRock, Apollo Funds, Intercontinental Exchange, Standard Chartered Ventures and ARK Invest. Arc is EVM-compatible, achieves finality of around 780 ms with 100 validators, and uses USDC rather than a volatile token as the gas asset. Built-in features include USDC, EURC, the tokenized money market fund USYC, and the cross-chain protocol CCTP. More than 100 institutions have been testing the network since October 2025, including Goldman Sachs, BNY, HSBC, Mastercard, Deutsche Bank and Visa. Mainnet launch is scheduled for 2026.
Circle secures USD 222 million for Arc blockchain: a16z leads the round, BlackRock and Apollo invest. FDV: USD 3 billion.
Crypto market splits into Bitcoin core and fragmented altcoin periphery
In addition: A two-tier crypto market has emerged over the past year. Since the start of the year, Bitcoin has lost 9%, Ethereum 24%, Solana 27%, XRP 22% and Cardano 20%. While the major Layer-1 tokens are under pressure, individual names have posted double-digit gains: TRON is up 25%, Hyperliquid 54% and Canton Network 7%. Institutional capital is concentrating almost exclusively on Bitcoin via spot ETFs and corporate treasuries. For three years, demand from ETFs and balance sheet buyers such as Strategy has exceeded newly mined BTC, reinforcing scarcity. Altcoins, by contrast, do not receive a broad capital flow but depend on individual catalysts. Even Ethereum, as the primary smart contract platform, trails Bitcoin. The message: market capitalisation alone no longer attracts institutional money – what matters is regulatory clarity and access through established vehicles.
The crypto market has recovered noticeably in recent weeks. On a year to date basis,…
