Senate Banking Committee Republican Leader Tim Scott stated that the chief prosecutor investigating Federal Reserve Chairman Powell has been replaced. The investigation involves the renovation project of the Federal Reserve headquarters building and Powell's testimony, against the backdrop of interest rate policy conflicts between the Federal Reserve and President Trump. Meanwhile, Wash's Federal Reserve Chair nomination has been stalled due to the ongoing investigation.

AI Payment Protocol x402 was launched on March 11, aiming to enable automatic payments between AI agents. Although its ecosystem is valued at $7 billion, it is currently in the testing phase, with low actual transaction volume, mostly driven by artificial activity. Analysts believe that the development speed may be overestimated in the next year, but its potential could be underestimated five years from now.

ChainCatcher News, according to Jinshi reports, Kevin Wash's plan to reduce the Federal Reserve's balance sheet will only proceed slowly. Wash pointed out that the Fed's nearly $7 trillion balance sheet has overstepped congressional authority and believes that large-scale bond purchases have distorted financial markets. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Wash will only begin adjusting the balance sheet after consultations with banks and the public, and it is unlikely that the scale will be restored to pre-2008 financial crisis levels.

February 25 News, the leading cryptocurrency industry lobbying organization, the Blockchain Association, has submitted a cryptocurrency tax reform proposal to Congress and met with House members in an attempt to influence the development of crypto tax laws in 2026. The proposal focuses on key issues such as stablecoin tax treatment, tax exemption thresholds for small crypto transactions, and rules for the wash sale of digital assets. According to the policy document released by the Blockchain Association, it advocates treating stablecoins as cash for everyday payment scenarios to reduce the tax complexity of daily transactions. At the same time, the association suggests establishing a minimum exemption for "small" crypto transactions, arguing that reporting tiny gains or losses on each transaction increases taxpayers' costs and adds to the administrative burden on U.S. tax authorities, with limited actual tax revenue contribution.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen suggests holding Wash's Federal Reserve nomination hearing simultaneously with the Powell investigation, as Republican Senator Tillis plans to delay the selection despite supporting Wash. Tillis's voice on the Banking Committee is crucial and could lead to a tied vote on the nomination.

Trump stated that if Kevin Wash supports interest rate hikes, he will not be nominated as Federal Reserve Chair. He believes the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates and expressed support for Wash's stance. At the same time, Trump is attempting to oust Federal Reserve Board member Cook on charges.

The current market is in a state of simultaneous de-risking and deleveraging. Although the nomination of the Federal Reserve Chair may boost expectations of balance sheet reduction, it does not necessarily trigger a liquidity crisis. The correlation between U.S. stocks and the Federal Reserve's balance sheet has weakened, and the crypto market's risk absorption capacity depends on dollar financing pressure and market stability. As a risk asset indicator, whether BTC can stay above 75,000 reflects the market's pricing of liquidity risk. In the short term, policy change tests may be relatively mild.

A seismic ruling has shaken South Korea's crypto industry. The Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Jong-hwan Lee, CEO of a domestic crypto asset management company, to three years in prison for manipulating token prices for profit, imposed a fine of 500 million KRW, and confiscated approximately 846 million KRW of illegal proceeds. The case involved illegal gains of about 7.1 billion KRW (approximately $48.8 million), marking the first conviction case since the implementation of South Korea's Virtual Asset User Protection Act. The court disclosed that between July 22, 2024, and October 25, 2024, Jong-hwan Lee used automated trading programs to create false trading volume and repeatedly issued wash trade instructions to manipulate the ACE token price. Data shows that before his operations, the token's average daily trading volume was only about 160,000 units, but it skyrocketed to 2.45 million units the day after the program was activated. Investigations found that approximately 89% of the trades were related to him.

Morgan Stanley pointed out that under Kevin Wash's leadership, the Federal Reserve may increase volatility in the U.S. Treasury market due to reduced policy communication. He prefers a smaller balance sheet, which could lead to a steeper yield curve, while also reducing interactions with the media and increasing investor uncertainty.

Trump offended some congressional allies by filing criminal charges against Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, leading key Republican Senator Tillis to threaten to block the Fed's nominations. Trump said he is willing to wait until Tillis retires before pushing forward with the nominations.