Today in crypto, the head of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said the GENIUS Act doesn’t give the agency the authority to guarantee stablecoin deposits, Binance filed a lawsuit after the Wall Street Journal reported a US Justice Department probe into Iran’s alleged use of the exchange to avoid sanctions, and Ripple says it is expecting to secure an Australian Financial Services License after acquiring an Australian payments company in April.
FDIC chair says no deposit insurance for stablecoins under GENIUS Act
Travis Hill, chair of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), confirmed that, in his opinion, a law passed in July would not give the agency the authority to guarantee stablecoin deposits.
In remarks prepared for the American Bankers Association (ABA) Washington Summit on Wednesday, Hill said that under rules for the stablecoin payments bill, the GENIUS Act, the FDIC would not allow the government to guarantee deposits once the law was fully implemented. Similarly, stablecoin issuers would be prohibited from representing that the digital assets were FDIC insured, and a proposed plan would stop “pass-through insurance” by third parties.
“If a payment stablecoin arrangement qualified for pass-through insurance, this would mean that if a bank holding the issuer’s reserves in a deposit account failed, the FDIC would insure the deposit account based on the interests of the stablecoin holders, rather than insuring the account as a corporate deposit account eligible for only $250,000 of insurance,” said Hill.
Binance sues Wall Street Journal amid report of DOJ Iran probe
Binance said Wednesday it is suing the Wall Street Journal after the newspaper reported that the US Justice Department was investigating whether Iran used the crypto exchange to evade US sanctions.
Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against the Journal in the Southern District of New York, seeking damages and legal fees, and demanding a jury trial.
Binance told Cointelegraph it was not aware of any Justice Department investigation and said it continued to cooperate with regulators and law enforcement. “As always, we are collaborating with regulators and law enforcement to investigate the facts,” the spokesperson said.
The suit came shortly after the Journal reported Wednesday that the DOJ was investigating whether Iran used Binance to evade US sanctions and whether transactions on the exchange helped route funds to networks linked to Iran-backed groups, including Yemen’s Houthi militants. The report cited company documents and people familiar with the matter.
The DOJ had not confirmed an investigation into Iran’s alleged use of Binance to avoid US sanctions at the time of publication.
Ripple targets April for Australian financial license via acquisition
Crypto company Ripple is expecting to secure an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) in April following its planned acquisition of BC Payments Australia, a corporate entity tied to the European Banking Circle Group.
The acquisition of BC Payments Australia is set to close on April 1, according to a report from The Australian, citing comments from Ripple APAC managing director Fiona Murray.
Exciting milestone for @Ripple in Australia! 🇦🇺
— Ripple (@Ripple) March 10, 2026
Ripple is obtaining an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL). As we continue to bridge TradFi with the next gen of digital infrastructure, regulatory compliance remains the foundation of everything we build:… pic.twitter.com/JNF1iQSyG7
Murray said there was “enough institutional interest in digital assets to warrant the investment for us.”
Ripple has been working to expand its collection of international licenses over the last year.
In addition to recently securing conditional approval for a national trust banking charter in the US, Ripple has also won payment licenses in Singapore, the UAE and the UK over the last 12 months.
