Bitcoin rallies toward 72k

Bitcoin surged on Wednesday to a one-month high, moving higher alongside other safe-haven assets as conflict continues to rage in the Middle East. The cryptocurrency also took support from U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for better regulatory support for the cryptocurrency industry.Bitcoin jumped 6% to $71,867 by 10:02 ET (15:02 GMT) after trading in a tight range in recent weeks. The move also comes as demand for U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs has picked up after several weeks of choppy trading that weighed on crypto market momentum.Spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. saw roughly $225 million in net inflows on March 3, following about $458 million the previous day, with no funds recording net outflows on March 2, according to SoSoValue data.Get more price insights on cryptocurrencies by subscribing to InvestingProTrump criticizes banks over undermining stablecoin act, stalling CLARITY billTrump in a social media post on Tuesday evening criticized major U.S. banks for attempting to undermine the GENIUS act– which regulates stablecoins– by stalling the passage of another key regulatory bill– the CLARITY act– in the U.S. Senate. “Banks are hitting record profits, and we are not going to allow them to undermine our powerful Crypto Agenda that will end up going to China, and other Countries if we don’t get The Clarity Act taken care of,” Trump said.“The Banks should not be trying to undercut The Genius Act, or hold The Clarity Act hostage. They need to make a good deal with the Crypto Industry,” the president said.A Politico report said Trump had privately met with Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong just before issuing his post. Armstrong has largely opposed a ban on stablecoin yield payments. The GENIUS act was passed by Congress in June 2025 to regulate stablecoins, with the act banning stablecoin issuers such as Tether from directly paying yields to holders. But third-party platforms such as crypto exchanges are still allowed to offer yields to stablecoin holders– a feature that major banking groups have criticized as a loophole. Banking groups were seen pushing to include a ban on all stablecoin yield payments in a separate crypto regulatory act– CLARITY– which is intended to establish a crypto market structure. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives in July, but is yet to be approved by the Senate. Disputes over the yield ban have been a major part of this delay, with major banks arguing that yield payments on stablecoins should face the same regulatory treatment as interest payments by banks. Kraken’s banking arm secures Fed payments access for institutional transfersCryptocurrency exchange Kraken’s banking arm has secured access to the Federal Reserve’s payments infrastructure through a limited-purpose account, becoming the first U.S. digital-asset bank to obtain such access as the industry moves further into mainstream finance.The Fed master account allows Kraken Financial to connect directly to key U.S. payment rails such as Fedwire, bypassing intermediary banks and enabling quicker, more efficient fiat transfers for institutional clients while lowering operational complexity and costs, the company said in a blog post on Wednesday.Although the account does not grant the full privileges available to traditional banks with standard master accounts, the approval marks a notable milestone for the crypto sector as digital-asset firms become more integrated with traditional financial systems and draw rising interest from institutional investors.The authorization is initially valid for one year, with services expected to roll out in stages, beginning with support for institutional client transactions on Kraken’s platform.