On April 3, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published a notice that a Nasdaq-proposed rule change to its transaction fee schedule was immediately effective. The filing updates the reference month for a non-displayed liquidity credit tier to February 2026 and extends the tier's expiration from March 2026 to August 2026. Nasdaq designated April 1, 2026 as the operative date, and the SEC is soliciting public comments.

On April 2 in New York, the Linux Foundation said it created the x402 Foundation and accepted Coinbase's contribution of the x402 protocol to set up neutral, open-source governance for a proposed "payments over HTTP" standard. The protocol is intended to embed payments into web interactions so apps, APIs, and AI agents can exchange value within typical HTTP-based workflows. The announcement was made at the MCP Dev Summit North America.

On April 1, the CFTC said a U.S. federal court entered a supplemental consent order against former FTX head of engineering Nishad Singh, which—together with a prior order—wraps up the agency's enforcement action. The Southern District of New York ordered $3.7 million in disgorgement, a five-year trading ban, and an eight-year registration ban, and required continued cooperation. The CFTC added it is not seeking restitution or a civil monetary penalty at this time.

On March 30, the CFTC said a U.S. federal court entered a consent order against Peken Global Limited, an entity linked to operating the KuCoin exchange, over U.S. participants' access to its trading system without foreign board of trade registration. The agency said the Southern District of New York imposed a permanent injunction and ordered a $500,000 civil monetary penalty, while no disgorgement was sought or awarded.

On March 30 in Washington, a Chainalysis report said crypto transactions connected to buying low-cost military drones and parts can be traced across public blockchains. The analysis linked payments of $2,200 to $3,500 to specific drone-related listings on e-commerce platforms and noted pro-Russia groups have raised more than $8.3 million in crypto donations since 2022, while describing crypto as a secondary channel versus conventional payments.

On March 26 in New York, Better Home & Finance Holding Co. and Coinbase Global Inc. introduced a structure that lets homebuyers use Bitcoin and USDC as collateral to fund a mortgage down payment without selling their digital assets. The arrangement pairs a standard conforming mortgage originated under Fannie Mae guidelines with a second, crypto-secured loan that is combined into one monthly payment.

On March 24 in Washington, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced the creation of an Innovation Task Force aimed at developing clearer regulatory expectations for emerging technologies, including crypto assets and blockchain. The group's scope also covers AI and autonomous systems, plus prediction markets and event contracts, and it is expected to coordinate with the SEC and other federal agencies.

On March 20, staff at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission published FAQ responses outlining how existing rules apply to crypto asset and blockchain-related activities by registrants and registered entities. The document discusses margin and collateral eligibility, capital and haircut approaches, and custody and segregation expectations, while stressing it reflects staff views and does not create new binding requirements.

On March 19 in Washington, SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins said in prepared remarks that the agency's newly issued crypto-asset interpretation is "a beginning, not an end." Speaking at the SEC Speaks conference, he outlined an "A-C-T" approach to advance, clarify, and transform rules, while signaling continued work on digital-asset policy and a broader rulemaking pipeline.