The National Conference of State Legislatures asked that leading lawmakers strike a provision in the Senate stablecoin bill that they say would preempt state authority to bar state-chartered special purpose depository institutions from operating in their state.

Speakers at American Banker's Digital Banking Conference discussed financial technology trends including digital assets, cybersecurity and open banking.

The stablecoin issuer's initial public offering is widely seen as a bellwether for the cryptocurrency industry at large. Circle's stock traded as high as $95.98 midday Thursday, nearly triple its $31-a-share pricing.

The creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve creates a tempting target for bad actors, and raises the stakes for everyone in the areas of anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, market-volatility and sanctions-screening.

The card network behemoths and the London-based bank are looking to expand account-to-account payments through fresh partnerships and investments. Plus: President Trump withdraws Shift4 CEO's NASA nomination, and tokenized payments gain steam in Europe in this week's global payments roundup.

House lawmakers discussed the recently introduced market structure bill, with Democrats expressing concerns that the bill could enable banks to evade securities laws.

KeyBank and Pathward Bank are among the banks whose customers are asking them for digital asset services. But bankers remain cautious in this time of regulatory uncertainty.

The GENIUS Act, in its current form, fails to account for the substantial risk of stablecoin runs and blocks regulators from imposing necessary oversight. It also lacks measures to prevent their use in illicit transactions.

Nathan McCauley told bankers now is the right time to get in on cryptocurrency.

The stablecoin issuer and some of its backers are now offering 32 million shares at a price range of $27 to $28 each, suggesting strong investor demand for the stock.