The Federal Reserve is no longer exploring the idea of creating a new liability for interbank settlements. Instead, it is looking for ways to improve existing systems.

Despite crypto-friendly signals coming from Washington, getting a bank account still appears to be a challenge for crypto businesses and investors.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. acting Chair Travis Hill released a trove of internal supervisory correspondence from the agency to banks regarding proposed cryptocurrency business lines or relationships, initiatives Hill said were "universally met with resistance" by the agency.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will ban certain Cuban payments, mirroring Trump's pressure on cross-border payments during his first administration.

While Republicans and Democrats found some agreement that consumers of all stripes should be included in the banking system, they differed wildly on who is to blame for banks dropping customers.

Committees in both the House and Senate will hold hearings this week about debanking — a term that means different things to different people.

A letter from three law firms retained by Coinbase argued that existing federal laws and regulations already authorize banks to provide cryptocurrency services and to engage with third-party service providers like Coinbase.

The cryptocurrency exchange made the move to follow the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which tightens rules for digital assets in the European Union.

Non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies have no inherent value, so creating a federal "reserve" of them is absurd on its face. Chinese hacking of bitcoin will have no significant economic impact.

The Federal Reserve chair said banks are well situated to handle risks related to crypto customers, but added that regulatory scrutiny of banks' direct engagement with the assets will be greater than for simple custody arrangements.

The Czech Republic's central bank plans to shift billions of reserves to bitcoin. Plus Australia and the Netherlands crack down on BNPL, and other news from the world of payments.

There are reasons to be cautious about how a strategic reserve of the cryptocurrency is established, but the economic arguments for including it in the federal government's portfolio are strong.

Circle and other payment executives say Trump's stated support for digital assets will remove hurdles that have held back support from merchants and consumers.

The Senate Banking Committee and House Oversight Committee will hold hearings next week on banks dropping customers, an issue that has gained currency from crypto enthusiasts in recent months.

The executive order also calls for regulations to be written for the digital asset industry.

Hester Peirce and SEC Acting Chair Mark Uyeda say they want to group to devise a clear compliance framework for digital assets and end regulation by enforcement.

China currently dominates the market for the hardware and software used to mine cryptocurrency. Creating a large federal reserve would expose a major U.S. asset to potential Chinese meddling.

The avalanche of cases announced Friday included charges against a no-longer registered advisor and firm accused of misappropriating more than $20 million from clients.

A one-page outline of priorities for Trump's inauguration day obtained American Banker includes financial policy items, including firing Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra, issuing a "reset" of that agency and designating crypto as a "national priority."

The bank, which owns a minority stake in Viva Wallet, can take over the company in June if its valuation falls before a certain level — which has resulted in a legal dispute with Haris Karonis, the fintech's owner. That and more in American Banker's weekly global payments roundup.