In this issue:
- Major U.S. Payment Networks, Money Transfer Firms Launch Crypto Initiatives
- U.S. Crypto Companies Continue Integrating with Traditional Financial Markets
- OCC Final Rule Clarifies National Trust Charters Allow Non-Fiduciary Activities
- FATF Publishes Targeted Report on Stablecoins and Unhosted Wallets
- BIS Paper Addresses Approaches to Illicit Payments Including Crypto
- DOJ Press Releases Highlight Efforts to Seize Illicit Crypto Funds
- Malware Attacks Broaden, Gain Sophistication; Ransomware Data Published
Major U.S. Payment Networks, Money Transfer Firms Launch Crypto Initiatives
This week, two major U.S. financial services companies that operate the world's largest payment processing networks each announced initiatives designed to make payments with cryptocurrency easier and more accessible. One company announced a partnership with Consensys, a leading Ethereum software company and creator of the popular MetaMask self-custodial wallet, to launch the MetaMask Card. The MetaMask Card allows users to connect their MetaMask wallets to a physical payment card that can be used to spend crypto on everyday purchases in the same way as a traditional credit or debit card.
The same company also announced a partnership with a U.S. bank to enable the new SoFiUSD stablecoin as a settlement option across its global payments network. According to a press release, the companies are "committed to exploring additional interoperability use cases across stablecoins, fiat, and tokenized assets, including programmable treasury applications and additional money movement and payout scenarios."
The other major payment processing network recently announced a partnership with the digital assets-focused affiliate of a major U.S. payments company to expand the reach of a stablecoin-linked payment card program initially launched in 2025. According to a press release, the stablecoin-linked cards are now available in 18 countries, with planned expansion to more than 100 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East by the end of 2026.
Finally, another recent press release announced a partnership between the largest U.S. money transmitter and Crossmint, "a leading platform for enterprise-grade stablecoin infrastructure." According to the press release, Crossmint will support the rollout of USDPT, the money transmitter's "new U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin that will be issued on Solana, and the company's newly announced Digital Asset Network." The press release notes that the company's Digital Asset Network is "designed to link stablecoins to real-world cash access" and that users will soon be able to convert digital dollars into local currency at more than 360,000 collection points worldwide.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- MetaMask and Mastercard partner to launch the US MetaMask Card, with first-time availability in New York
- [] and [] Partner to Enable SoFiUSD Settlement Across Mastercard's Global Payments Network
- [] and [] Expand Collaboration, with Plans to Bring Stablecoin-Linked Cards to Over 100 Countries
- Crossmint Partners with Western Union to Support USDPT Stablecoin and Digital Asset Network on Solana
U.S. Crypto Companies Continue Integrating with Traditional Financial Markets
On March 4, Kraken Financial, a Wyoming bank operating as a special purpose depository institution, announced that it has been granted a master account at the U.S. central bank. According to a press release, with the master account, Kraken Financial will be able to "connect directly to core U.S. payment rails, including Fedwire, without relying on intermediary banks," which enables faster and more efficient fiat movement for institutional clients while reducing complexity, cost and operational dependencies. According to a press release by the Kansas City branch of the U.S. central bank, Kraken Financial has been granted "a limited purpose account for an initial term of one year that includes restrictions and limitations tailored for Kraken Financial's business model and risk profile that are appropriate to mitigate risks."
In related news, more crypto-native and traditional financial institutions have submitted applications with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) seeking to conduct digital asset activities under national trust bank charters. These include a major crypto infrastructure provider, zerohash, and a wholly owned subsidiary of a major U.S. financial institution.
And BitGo, a major U.S. digital asset infrastructure provider, recently announced two major offshore initiatives. The first is a partnership with New Frontier Labs LLC to act as custodian for FYUSD, "a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin designed for institutional adoption in Asian markets." The second is a new Crypto-as-a-Service offering targeted at financial institutions in the EU.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Kraken Becomes First Digital Asset Bank to Receive a Federal Reserve Master Account
- Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Approves Limited Account
- zerohash Applies for a National Trust Bank Charter to Further Strengthen Regulated Stablecoin & Digital Asset Infrastructure
- $9 Trillion [] Quietly Files For OCC Trust Charter
- [] Joins Ranks Of OCC Crypto Bank Hopefuls
- BitGo Named Issuer of FYUSD, Bringing U.S.-Aligned Stablecoin Standards to Asia
- BitGo Europe GmbH Launches Crypto-as-a-Service Across the EEA for EU Fintechs and Banks
OCC Final Rule Clarifies National Trust Charters Allow Non-Fiduciary Activities
The OCC recently finalized a proposed rule "to clarify the longstanding authority of national banks limited to the operations of trust companies and activities related thereto to engage in non-fiduciary activities in addition to their fiduciary activities." According to an OCC press release, the final rule amends the OCC's chartering regulation at 12 CFR 5.20 to (i) align with the OCC's statutory authorization to charter national banks limited to the operations of a trust company and activities related thereto and (ii) change references from "fiduciary activities" to "operations of a trust company and activities related thereto." According to the OCC press release, "[t]he final rule would neither expand nor contract the OCC's authority to charter a national bank."
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- OCC Finalizes Rule Confirming Trust Charter's Broader Scope
- National Bank Chartering: Final Rule
- Final Rule, RIN 1557-AF47 National Bank Chartering
FATF Publishes Targeted Report on Stablecoins and Unhosted Wallets
On March 3, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published its Targeted Report on Stablecoins and Unhosted Wallets. The report highlights illicit finance risks linked to criminals' misuse of stablecoins and sets out recommended actions to protect the integrity of the financial system. According to an FATF press release, there were more than 250 stablecoins in circulation by mid-2025, with a market cap exceeding $300 billion. The press release cites Chainalysis data indicating that stablecoins "accounted for 84 percent of illicit virtual asset transaction volume in 2025, often involving unhosted wallets and complex laundering techniques designed to obscure fund origins."
Among other recommendations, the report recommends that countries fully implement Recommendation 15 of the FATF Standards to ensure stablecoin issuers, intermediary virtual asset service providers, financial institutions and other relevant participants in stablecoin arrangements are subject to clear anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism obligations. The report also recommends implementing the following best practices:
- Requiring stablecoin issuers to adopt risk‑based technical and governance controls, such as the ability to freeze, burn or withdraw stablecoins in the secondary market; conduct customer due diligence at redemption; and, where appropriate, implement smart contract controls, such as allow‑listing (restricting transactions to preapproved addresses) and deny‑listing (blocking transactions involving high-risk addresses)
- Developing strong technical capabilities within supervisory and law enforcement authorities, including expertise in smart contract functionalities, cross-chain transaction mechanics, blockchain analytics tools and monitoring risks from P2P transactions via unhosted wallets
- Ensuring competent authorities have the tools and legal frameworks necessary for swift domestic and international cooperation, including established channels, memoranda of understanding, and mechanisms that enable rapid information exchange, particularly in cases involving freezing or burning of stablecoins
- Establishing public‑private partnerships to strengthen cooperation on typologies, risk indicators and emerging threats as well as tactical partnerships for investigations
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Targeted report on Stablecoins and Unhosted Wallets - Peer-to-Peer Transactions
- FATF Report: Targeted Report on Stablecoins and Unhosted Wallets Peer-to-Peer Transactions
BIS Paper Addresses Approaches to Illicit Payments Including Crypto
The Bank for International Settlements recently published a paper titled From cash to crypto: towards a consistent regulatory approach to illicit payments. The paper notes that stablecoins have expanded payment options "beyond bank deposits and cash," which "calls for a holistic analysis of the effectiveness of anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regimes across different payment instruments." To contribute to such analysis, the paper (i) introduces a conceptual framework to assess the effects of AML/CFT frameworks, with a particular focus on differences in design between instruments, including the role of intermediaries; (ii) considers regulatory arbitrage between instruments; and (iii) highlights behavioral responses to AML/CFT-related requirements that limit privacy and freedom in choosing a payment instrument. The paper advocates for "a consistent regulatory approach that is adaptable to future digital innovations and based on a combination of overarching principles ('lex generalis') and tailored instrument-specific measures ('lex specialis')."
For more information, please refer to the following link:
DOJ Press Releases Highlight Efforts to Seize Illicit Crypto Funds
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently published two press releases announcing enforcement actions targeted at seizing illicit crypto. One press release announced a "civil forfeiture action to recover 327,829.720952 USDT (Tether), a form of cryptocurrency, alleged to be involved in a money laundering scheme to conceal funds that originated from an online romance fraud scheme targeting a Massachusetts resident." The other DOJ press release announced that "freezes and seizures of cryptocurrency by the Scam Center Strike Force have topped $580 million, a critical step in the Strike Force's fight against Southeast Asian cryptocurrency-related fraud and scams."
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- United States Attorney's Office Files Civil Forfeiture Action to Recover Cryptocurrency Involved in Money Laundering Scheme
- D.C. Scam Center Strike Force Seizures of Cryptocurrency from Chinese Transnational Criminals Tops $580 Million
Malware Attacks Broaden, Gain Sophistication; Ransomware Data Published
A recent report advises of a sophisticated supply chain attack campaign that targets software developers. The attacks reportedly are accomplished through fraudulent GitHub repositories disguised as legitimate Next.js projects, with multistage malware that can exfiltrate saved passwords, credentials, browser data and crypto wallet information. The report notes a broader pattern of developer-focused social engineering, representing an escalation in the "targeting of programmers who often clone and inspect open-source code as part of their daily workflows." In addition to noting that the quality of fake repositories has markedly improved – potentially due to the use of AI-generated code and documentation – the report indicates that the inclusion of cryptocurrency wallet exfiltration capability suggests that financial motivation is a primary driver of these attacks.
According to a recent report from Chainalysis, total on-chain ransomware-related payments stagnated in 2025, despite a claimed increase in both the number of attacks and median ransom size. Ransomware actors reportedly received in excess of $820 million and possibly more in 2025, representing an 8 percent decline from 2024. One observation in the report is that during 2025, coordinated law enforcement actions and sanctions were increasingly targeting the infrastructure layer, thereby increasing costs across cybercrime syndicates as well as state-linked actors. The report further notes various complex forces shaping the ransomware economy, and a shift in targeting away from low-volume large, highly public intrusions to higher-volume attacks against small and medium enterprises, which might pay faster. According to the report, Chainalysis' data shows payment trending downward despite very high public claims, which suggests attackers might be working harder to achieve diminishing returns.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Poisoned Code: How Fake Next.js Repositories Are Being Weaponized to Steal Developer Credentials and Crypto Wallets
- Chainalysis: Total Ransomware Payments Stagnate for Second Consecutive Year, While Attacks Escalate
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