Features Crypto News by Thebittimes.Com

Morgan Stanley says it is close to offering crypto trading to its customers through E-Trade, the firm said in a Memo read by CNBC on Tuesday. The offering is reportedly just months away from coming to fruition, a massive step for the Wall Street giant into the world of crypto and digital wealth. The memo states that the firm is working with the startup Zerohash for liquidity, custody, and settlement around crypto trading. “We are well underway in preparing to offer crypto trading through a partner model to E-Trade clients in the first half of 2026,” Jed Finn, head of wealth management at Morgan Stanley, said in the memo. “Offering clients the ability to trade crypto is the tip of the iceberg,” Finn said. Morgan Stanley acquired E-Trade back in 2020 through a massive $13 billion deal that essentially enhanced the bank’s online trading capabilities. Through this acquisition, direct access to a substantial retail investor base was gained, and these clients will soon...

Cointelegraph analyst and writer Marcel Pechman explains how PacWest’s plummeting share price and the continued banking crisis could impact Bitcoin. Macro Markets, hosted by crypto analyst Marcel Pechman, airs every Friday on the Cointelegraph Markets & Research YouTube channel and explains complex concepts in layperson’s terms, focusing on the cause and effect of traditional financial events on day-to-day crypto activity. PacWest Bancorp’s 50% price decline and the ongoing Banking crisis are the first topics of this week’s show. The bank holds $40 billion in assets, although 80% of its lending portfolio has been assigned to commercial real estate loans and residential mortgages. The issue? As usual, rising interest rates. Meanwhile, the total underwater bond position of United States banks is $600 billion, not including derivatives. However, the U.S. Treasury has been bailing out every one of the latest three bankruptcies: Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Signature Bank and First Repub...

Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse leaves many questioning the role of regulators, instilling fears of another 2008-like financial crisis. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) boasted over $200 billion in assets and was a lifeline for crypto companies. Notably, it was one of the few institutions offering services to crypto companies in the United States as other banks shied away from the sector, fearing risk and the possibility of a sudden regulatory crackdown. The downfall of SVB, Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank, all within a short time, has instilled fears of another 2008-like financial crisis. While policymakers continue to assure the public that they are working on a recovery plan — with the Biden administration announcing measures to protect depositors — the bank run created a panic in U.S. markets. A bank run happens when the majority of depositors at a particular bank decide to withdraw their funds at the same time. Most banks don’t have all depositors’ money on hand since — under the fra...

The soon-to-retire senator introduced the new stablecoin bill only a few weeks before the end of the 117th US congressional session. Republican Senator Pat Toomey, who is set to retire from U.S. Congress at the end of the term, has used one of his last few weeks in office to introduce a new stablecoin bill, aimed at creating a regulatory framework for “payment stablecoins.” Toomey — who also serves as the Ranking Member of the U.S. Banking Committee — said the Dec. 21 bill, called the Stablecoin TRUST Act of 2022 would serve as a framework for stablecoin regulation for his fellow senators who are looking to push out stablecoin legislation in 2023. In a statement, the senator called stablecoins an “exciting technological development that could transform money and payments,” adding: “By digitizing the U.S. dollar and making it available on a global, instant, and nearly cost-free basis, stablecoins could be widely used across the physical economy in a variety of ways.” If passed by Cong...

Despite suggesting a possible ban, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown stated it would be “very difficult” to implement because activity “would go offshore.” United States Banking Committee chairman Sherrod Brown has suggested that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should perhaps consider a ban on cryptocurrencies. Brown’s comments were made in a Dec. 18 appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” although the Senator quickly added that a ban would be difficult to enforce. “We want them to do what they need to do at the same time, maybe banning it, although banning it is very difficult because it would go offshore, and who knows how that would work.” Earlier, in response to a host's question about Senator Jon Tester who believes crypto currencies should be banned, Brown said he shares the “same thought.” The Ohio representative stated that over the last 18 months he has been “educating” his colleagues and the public on the dangers of cryp...