The three-to-six-month review targets Fed master accounts and OCC rules; outcome may reshape digital-asset finance in the U.S. as tokenized assets exceed $65B.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing federal agencies, financial regulators, and the Federal Reserve to identify and evaluate barriers that restrict crypto and fintech companies from obtaining payment accounts and related services. The directive, reported by PANews, sets a review timeline of three to six months. The outcome could determine whether digital-asset firms gain clearer standards for accessing core U.S. payment infrastructure – or whether existing choke points persist. The order lands as Japan advances stablecoin reforms and tokenized real-world assets continue to grow, highlighting a widening global push to integrate blockchain finance into mainstream rails.
For crypto-native firms, the difference between operating as a regulated financial business and being pushed into offshore or peer-to-peer channels often comes down to one thing: a bank account. The executive order puts the question directly before the bodies that control that access. The review will cover rules administered by the OCC, the Federal Reserve Board, and other agencies. It asks regulators to evaluate whether existing statutes, guidance, or supervisory practices create de facto barriers for crypto and fintech companies. It does not prescribe changes but requires a report within three to six months.
The order targets a structural problem: crypto firms routinely struggle to open transactional bank accounts, obtain merchant IDs, or connect to settlement networks such as Fedwire and ACH. Without that access, businesses rely on fragmented, higher-cost workarounds that limit scale. The scope may include Fed master accounts for non-bank fintechs, an area that has been politically contentious. If the review recommends clear guidelines for master account access, the shift would be structural. If it is limited to national trust charter approvals–where the OCC has been active–the impact is narrower. The three-month deadline creates a binary outcome for operators: either clearer access or continued bottlenecks without a legislative fix.
While the U.S. review is unfolding, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has unveiled amendments recognizing certain foreign trust-beneficiary stablecoins as electronic payment instruments under the Payment Services Act. The changes take effect June 1 (Japan time). The move broadens legal pathways for offshore-issued stablecoins to circulate under a recognized framework, with tight oversight on reserve backing and custody. This is a direct competitive signal. If Japan offers a clearer legal path for stablecoin issuance and circulation, project teams may weigh jurisdiction choices against U.S. uncertainty. The FSA amendments are part of Japan’s ongoing effort to create a clearer rulebook for stablecoins while maintaining tight oversight of reserve backing and custody structures.
The review directly affects every U.S.-based crypto business that relies on bank intermediaries. Beyond the order itself, several recent regulatory actions – and reactions – map the exposure.
Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized the OCC over what she described as inappropriate approvals of national trust bank charters for crypto-related firms. In a May 18 letter cited by Odaily, Warren argued that at least nine crypto firms have received approvals or conditional approvals since December 2025. The list includes Ripple, Circle, Paxos, Fidelity, BitGo, Coinbase, Bridge (a Stripe subsidiary), and Crypto.com, among others. Warren warned that the approvals exceed the narrow functions permitted for national trust banks, creating what she called regulatory arbitrage. The letter is a reminder that even if the executive order leads to looser access, political pushback remains.
Major U.S.-linked exchanges – Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini – urged senators to remove provisions from a separate market structure bill that would restrict platform listings for tokens deemed vulnerable to manipulation. The exchanges argue that the framework borrows from traditional commodities rules and could push lower-liquidity tokens to unregulated venues. The bill is still under negotiation; its outcome could narrow the compliant venue pool at a time when the executive order is supposed to expand access.
The CFTC and DOJ sued Minnesota and Governor Tim Walz over a state law banning prediction markets tied to outcomes such as sports, weather, corporate valuations, and government events. The federal suit argues that these instruments fall under federally regulated derivatives and swaps, and that states cannot reclassify or prohibit them as illegal gambling. The dispute tests how far states can go in reclassifying federally regulated products as gambling. A ruling against the CFTC could encourage other states to pass similar bans, affecting crypto-based event contracts and prediction market platforms.
Tokenized real-world assets (RWA) reached a total market capitalization of $65 billion, up 44% year-to-date as traditional asset managers expand onchain issuance and transfers. Ethereum remains the largest venue with about 33% share, while Provenance accounts for roughly 27%. BNB Chain, XRP Ledger, and Solana each hold around 6%. The distribution reflects a competitive landscape where no single chain has locked in dominance. Providers are increasingly differentiating on regulatory compliance tooling, settlement finality, and fee structures as they court institutional issuers and investors.
| Chain | RWA Market Share |
|---|---|
| Ethereum | ~33% |
| Provenance | ~27% |
| BNB Chain | ~6% |
| XRP Ledger | ~6% |
| Solana | ~6% |
Tokenized equities posted a record daily trading volume of $3.57 billion, with most activity reportedly occurring on Binance and Hyperliquid. The SEC is preparing guidelines and potential innovation exemptions for onchain equities, according to Bloomberg. That signals regulators are moving toward tailored rules rather than ad hoc enforcement.
Stablecoin supply crossed $300 billion total, broader growth appears to be slowing. Data cited by Odaily showed Tether’s USDT expanding by more than $5 billion over the past month, while the combined supply of USDC, USDe, and PayPal USD (PYUSD) fell by about $4.2 billion. Net stablecoin supply growth over the month was about $900 million – roughly 0.3% of total supply. That signals rotation between issuers rather than a broad-based expansion of dollar liquidity across all major issuers. The static aggregate suggests that new capital is not flooding into crypto via stablecoins; existing holders are simply switching between tokens.
A whale address closed a Bitcoin short position for an estimated $12.61 million profit. Large position liquidations or closures can amplify short-term order-flow shifts, especially around psychological price levels. Bitcoin briefly moved above $77,000, with OKX data cited by PANews showing BTC trading around $77,009 and up roughly 0.63% on the day. While a single day’s move is modest, the level is psychologically important for derivatives positioning and spot market momentum after months of policy-driven narratives dominating crypto’s macro backdrop.
BlackRock deposited 5,847 BTC – roughly $450 million – into Coinbase. Deposits to exchanges are often read as potential sale signals, custody movements by large asset managers typically reflect internal wallet management. Separately, the U.S. government transferred 319 ETH and about $930,000 in stablecoins to Coinbase from assets tied to seizures related to FTX and Alameda Research. Government-held crypto continues to cycle through centralized venues, an ongoing factor for market liquidity and sentiment.
Pump.fun said it will add USDC trading pairs for newly issued tokens starting May 21 while keeping existing SOL pairs. DeFiLlama estimates that about 5.07 million Solana (SOL) has been removed from circulation through related mechanisms since January 2024. That figure matters for near-term Solana supply dynamics and for traders modeling token launch effects. The addition of USDC pairs may shift demand from SOL-denominated liquidity pools, potentially affecting short-term price action.
The review has a three- to six-month window, other regulatory steps have their own calendars:
The executive order is the single most consequential policy signal for U.S. crypto infrastructure access in months. The next three to six months will determine whether it produces a real change in the plumbing of digital-asset finance – or becomes another study that gathers dust while Japan and other jurisdictions move ahead. For traders and operators, the timeline is the first concrete marker. Every regulatory filing, agency statement, and legislative maneuver between now and the report’s due date will shape whether the U.S. remains a viable jurisdiction for crypto-native financial services or cedes ground to clearer frameworks abroad.
For broader context on how regulatory shifts affect digital-asset markets, see crypto market analysis. For a closer look at Bitcoin’s positioning, see the Bitcoin (BTC) profile. Traders evaluating exchange options can compare platforms at best crypto brokers.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.