"Congress Probes Crypto Banking, CFTC Targets Super Bowl Contracts; Coinbase, Kraken Expand EU, UK Services; Hyperliquid Surpasses Ethereum in Revenue"

The U.S. Congress has launched an investigation into the role of federal regulators in facilitating crypto banking access, aiming to understand the regulatory landscape and potential challenges in the sector. The inquiry comes as the crypto industry continues to grow and evolve, with new products and services emerging that require regulatory oversight.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has also been active in its oversight of the crypto industry, recently launching an inquiry into Super Bowl-themed event contracts offered on Crypto.com and Kalshi. The CFTC is seeking to understand how these contracts comply with derivatives regulations and whether they are susceptible to manipulation. The agency is empowered to seek additional information from companies that self-certify their financial products and could initiate enforcement action or draft new rules for the sector based on its review.

Meanwhile, two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States, Coinbase and Kraken, have received key regulatory approvals to expand their services across the European Union and the United Kingdom. Kraken received a license under the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) to offer cryptocurrency derivatives to professional traders in select EU markets. Coinbase, on the other hand, received a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration from Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, enabling the company to provide both cryptocurrency and traditional financial services to U.K. customers.

In other news, layer-1 blockchain network Hyperliquid has surpassed Ethereum in seven-day revenue, generating approximately $12.8 million over the period compared to around $11.5 million for the Ethereum network. The growth of Hyperliquid’s revenue reflects the network’s rapid growth as a venue for trading perpetual futures contracts, as well as Ethereum’s difficulty in competing against upstart blockchains. While Ethereum still commands significantly higher daily trading volume, Hyperliquid’s daily transaction volume has nearly doubled since the start of the year.