Coinbase Exit Throws Senate Crypto Bill Into Limbo as Bitcoin Hits $96,750

WASHINGTON — Bitcoin advanced roughly 2% to touch a two-month peak of $96,750 as legislative momentum for a comprehensive U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory framework stalled on Capitol Hill. Coinbase, the largest digital asset exchange in the United States, withdrew its support for a key Senate market structure bill, prompting lawmakers to postpone a scheduled vote.

The broader cryptocurrency sector experienced a flurry of regulatory resolutions, international partnerships, infrastructure disruptions, and bankruptcy recovery updates. Ethereum (ETH) advanced 2% to trade at $3,360, while Solana (SOL) held steady at $145. XRP dipped 1% to $2.11, and Internet Computer (ICP) rose 10% alongside mid-cap gainers.

The Senate legislation would formally divide oversight responsibilities for digital assets between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It also sought to establish statutory definitions for digital commodities, decentralized networks, and registered custody providers.

Coinbase pulled its endorsement shortly before the committee was set to consider the draft. The company pointed to provisions in the latest text that it argued would hinder innovation and impose unworkable compliance burdens on decentralized protocols and domestic digital asset intermediaries. Senate leaders delayed the mark-up session to renegotiate contentious sections.

In Europe, Ripple Labs secured a payment and virtual asset service provider registration through regulators in Luxembourg. The license broadens the company’s regulatory footprint within the European Union as financial institutions prepare for full implementation of the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework.

The Zcash Foundation separately confirmed that the SEC concluded an inquiry into the privacy-focused network without recommending enforcement action. The termination of the investigation eliminates a multi-year regulatory cloud over Zcash, a protocol that utilizes zero-knowledge cryptography (zk-SNARKs) to shield transaction data.

Privacy-oriented tokens registered notable market gains following the announcement. Zcash (ZEC) rose 7%, Decred (DCR) jumped 30%, and Dash (DASH) added 10%. Monero (XMR) surged to a new record high of $800 before pulling back to $725.

In South Asia, government officials in Pakistan entered into a partnership with World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance initiative, to examine the integration of stablecoins into the country’s national payment corridors. The pilot focuses on reducing settlement friction and transaction fees for inbound worker remittances, a critical component of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.

Financial technology company Figure unveiled an on-chain public equity network designed to support the issuance, trading, and real-time settlement of corporate equities and tokenized securities. Its blockchain infrastructure is intended to replace traditional multi-day clearinghouse settlement cycles with direct ownership transfers.

The Layer-1 blockchain network Sui experienced a widespread service disruption that halted transaction processing for nearly six hours. Network validators and developers identified a software state bug that stalled consensus before deploying a patch that restored normal block production.

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) announced nearly $1.3 million in new grant funding distributed entirely in Bitcoin. The capital went to global software developers, educators, and human rights activists working on censorship-resistant communications, open-source Bitcoin protocol development, and privacy tools tailored for individuals living under authoritarian regimes.

The bankruptcy estate managing the wind-down of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX confirmed procedural details for its upcoming creditor distribution. Estate administrators said the next tranche of repayments is scheduled to begin on March 31, distributing billions of dollars in cash recoveries to verified account holders and creditors who held claims when the exchange collapsed in November 2022.