Today in crypto, the nomination of Bitcoin supporter Kevin Warsh to be chairman of the US Federal Reserve has been officially sent to the US Senate for confirmation. In a first for the crypto industry, Kraken’s banking unit gained access to the Fed’s payment system, Fedwire, with a limited-access master account, and US President Donald Trump lashed out at banks, urging them to cut a deal on a crypto bill.
Trump sends pro-Bitcoin Fed chair nomination to the Senate
The US Senate will soon vote on Donald Trump’s nominee to head the US Federal Reserve after the president picked Kevin Warsh, who has previously expressed pro-Bitcoin views, to replace Fed chair Jerome Powell.
In a Wednesday notice, the White House said that Trump had sent Warsh’s nomination to the Senate to be chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve for a term of four years, and as a Fed governor for 14 years. The president had previously taken to social media to announce Warsh was his pick to replace Powell, whose term as chair ends in May but may stay on as a Fed governor until 2028.
The prospective Fed chair has made many public statements favoring Bitcoin BTC$73,213 adoption. In a January 2021 interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, he said "if Bitcoin never existed gold would be rallying even more right now, but I guess if you are under forty, bitcoin is your new gold." In a 2025 interview with the Hoover Institution, Warsh said the cryptocurrency “could provide market discipline, or [...] could tell the world that things need to be fixed.”
Kraken wins US Fed approval for limited master account access
US cryptocurrency exchange Kraken’s banking unit has been granted a limited-purpose master account by the US Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, giving it direct access to the Fed’s core payments system in a first for the crypto industry.
Kraken Financial, the exchange’s banking unit, has gained access to the Fed’s payment system, Fedwire, allowing it to move money on the same rails used by banks and credit unions, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City approved a limited-purpose account for Wyoming-based Payward Financial as a “Tier 3 entity,” according to a statement by the bank.
“With a Federal Reserve master account, we can operate not as a peripheral participant in the US banking system, but as a directly connected financial institution,” Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said. The approval gives the exchange the ability to settle directly on Fedwire, reduce dependency on correspondent banks and integrate fiat liquidity into crypto, he added.
The news marks a milestone for the crypto industry in the US, though the approval does not provide the full range of services available to banks, including payment of interest on reserves held at the central bank.
Several crypto companies in the US have been pursuing a master account with the Fed for years, with Caitlin Long’s Custodia Bank doubling down on efforts to obtain one through a court petition in late 2025.
Trump swipes at banks over stalled crypto bill
US President Donald Trump took a shot at banks on Tuesday amid negotiations over stablecoin yield payments that have stalled a crypto market structure bill from advancing in the Senate.
In a post to his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, trump said the stablecoin-regulating GENIUS Act “is being threatened and undermined by the Banks, and that is unacceptable — We are not going to allow it.”
“The Banks should not be trying to undercut The Genius Act, or hold The Clarity Act hostage,” he added. “They need to make a good deal with the Crypto Industry because that’s what’s in best interest of the American People.”
The House passed the CLARITY Act, which lays out how crypto would be regulated, in July, but the Senate is working on its own version due to procedural rules.
Banking groups have urged the Senate to include a ban on all stablecoin yield payments to close what they argue is a loophole in the GENIUS Act that allows third-party platforms to make stablecoin yield payments, which issuers are banned from giving.
