Circle shares slid 20% on Tuesday as investors reacted to draft stablecoin legislation that could curb rewards tied to holding USDC. The move came alongside Tether's announcement that it has hired a Big Four accounting firm for its first full audit and claims that Circle froze USDC balances across 16 hot wallets.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Nasdaq rule change that permits a pilot program for trading and settling tokenized shares through the Depository Trust Company. Participants in the pilot can choose tokenized settlement while retaining the same rights, order book and execution priority as traditional stockholders, as regulators continue to test blockchain-based market infrastructure.