Momentum has picked up on Capitol Hill this week as lawmakers and industry 
leaders converged at the DC Blockchain Summit, where Senator Cynthia Lummis 
said she expects the long‑delayed Senate Banking Committee markup on the 
crypto market‑structure bill (CLARITY Act) to be scheduled for late April. 
Breakthrough On DeFi And Stablecoin Yield Senator Lummis told attendees she is 
confident the committee will approve the crypto market structure bill and that 
the full Senate could pass the legislation by the end of the year. “We’re 
gonna have this thing done come hell or high water by the end of the year.” 
She added that a Banking GOP markup is likely in the second half of April 
after the Easter recess. “We think we’ve got it,” she claimed at the event. 
Related Reading: This Week Could Be The Most Volatile For Bitcoin In 2026, Top 
Expert Warns Stablecoin yield has been one of the thorniest issues slowing 
talks; bank lobbyists have argued that such yield could effectively resemble 
deposit interest and threaten deposit accounts. Lummis said negotiators have 
drafted language to block crypto platforms from marketing or delivering 
rewards in ways that sound like traditional deposit yield or that scale with 
the amount of assets a user holds. “Anything that sounds like banking product 
terminology will not appear,” she said, noting she had not seen the most 
recent text but that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong had signaled willingness to 
compromise. Senators Fast‑Track Crypto Bill Lummis also said negotiators 
believe they have resolved outstanding questions around decentralized finance. 
“We think we’ve got the DeFi issue put to bed,” she said, reflecting industry 
and legislative efforts to clarify how peer‑to‑peer (P2P) and protocol‑level 
services should be regulated. The senator used social media to underscore the 
political moment, stating that there has “never been a more pro‑digital asset 
administration in United States history than @POTUS,” and urging colleagues to 
seize what she described as a unique opportunity to finalize crypto 
market‑structure reform. Related Reading: Citigroup Lowers 12-Month Bitcoin 
Price Forecast To $112,000, ETH To $3,175—Here’s The Reason Reporting from 
Crypto in America added further signs of progress. Journalist Eleanor Terrett 
relayed comments from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, who told 
the summit he expected to have “the first proposal” on stablecoin yield by the 
end of the week. Chair Scott credited Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Thom 
Tillis, along with Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Crypto 
Council, for helping advance negotiations between the two financial sectors. 
Importantly, Scott also said the committee is making headway on decentralized 
finance (DeFi), ethics, and quorum issues, and that some Democratic concerns 
are being addressed by proposing minority‑party representation at the SEC and 
CFTC — a concession aimed at broadening bipartisan support. Featured image 
from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com

Sen. Lummis Predicts Crypto Market Structure Markup In April, Senate Passage By Year-End

“Building reliable infrastructure across blockchain networks and traditional 
financial rails is hard,” said Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan.

Polymarket buys DeFi startup Brahma in latest acquisition wave

Another crypto user sued the IRS in 2025 for allegedly violating his Fourth 
Amendment rights after the agency used a John Doe Summons to collect his data 
from a crypto exchange.

California court dismisses Coinbase user’s challenge to IRS summons

The bitcoin mining industry is undergoing a significant transformation as it 
matures into more institutional structures. Nima Beni of Bitlease argues 
against fears regarding the sustainability of transaction fees, emphasizing 
that current fee levels don’t reflect long-term dynamics. Challenging the 
Security Budget Deficit The transition of the bitcoin mining industry into a 
mature, institutional era […]

Differently Secured: Bitlease Founder Nima Beni on Why Falling Hashrates Aren’t a Threat

XRP is pressing up against what analyst EGRAG CRYPTO describes as a pivotal 
resistance band, with a new chart arguing that the token is entering a 
decisive technical phase. In the analyst’s framework, the immediate question 
is whether an ascending triangle forming beneath “Zone 1” can trigger the next 
leg higher and whether that move could eventually reopen the path toward prior 
cycle highs. In a post on X, EGRAG framed the setup as “Ascending Triangle vs 
Zone 1 (Decision Time)” and tied the structure to a potential policy catalyst: 
the Clarity Act. The five-day XRP/USD chart shows price compressing beneath a 
blue resistance area around $1.65 to $1.70, while a rising lower trendline 
suggests buyers have continued stepping in on dips. The core of the thesis is 
straightforward. According to EGRAG, “The Chart is Saying the following: 
Ascending Triangle forming under Zone 1 ($1.65–$1.70). Higher lows = buyers 
stepping in. Resistance flat = liquidity sitting above. This is classic 
breakout fuel.” XRP&#8217;s Possible Path To The ATH That interpretation hinges on a 
familiar dynamic in market structure. An ascending triangle typically reflects 
repeated buying interest at progressively higher levels, even as sellers 
continue defending a fixed ceiling. In EGRAG’s read, that ceiling is Zone 1, 
and the tightening range beneath it is creating the pressure. Related Reading: 
XRP Liquidity Builds on Binance – What The 2.78B Reserve Spike Means EGRAG 
does not present the pattern as a guaranteed breakout. Instead, the post 
assigns explicit probabilities to both paths. “Break Above Zone 1: ~65%. 
Structure supports continuation. Momentum building with compression,” the 
analyst wrote. “Rejection / Fakeout: ~35%. If no catalyst → liquidity sweep 
first. If the Clarity Act is postponed, rejection becomes the likely 
scenario.” Notably, the post repeatedly points to the Clarity Act as the 
narrative catalyst that could “unlock” a break above Zone 1. In other words, 
the triangle may be storing pressure, but the release still depends on a macro 
or policy trigger strong enough to force price through overhead supply. 
Related Reading: XRP Flashes Rare Bottom Signals As Analyst Eyes Breakout 
Toward $14–$18 Even then, EGRAG argues that clearing Zone 1 would only be the 
first step. The post asks what it would take for XRP to reach “Zone 2,” marked 
at roughly $2.60 and above on the chart. The answer is more demanding than a 
single breakout candle. “Breaking Zone 1 is NOT enough,” EGRAG wrote. “To 
breach Zone 2 ($2.60+), we need institutional flows / ETF-style exposure, BTC 
stability or dominance drop, [and] sustained weekly closes above $1.85–$2.00.” 
For now, the analyst’s summary is more measured than euphoric: “Triangle = 
Pressure. Zone 1 = Trigger. Zone 2 = Expansion. Catalyst starts the 
move…..Liquidity finishes it.” That leaves XRP at an inflection point. If 
buyers can convert the current compression into a clean move through Zone 1, 
the conversation quickly shifts from pattern recognition to expansion targets. 
If not, EGRAG’s own framework suggests the market could sweep liquidity lower 
first, especially if Clarity Act fails to arrive on time. At press time, XRP 
traded at $1.44. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from 
TradingView.com

Cryptocurrency price in USD