Tether's CEO said no individual sender accounts for more than 5% of the company's total transaction volume, describing the token as a digital dollar. Tether now serves over 550 million users in emerging markets, positioning the stablecoin as a widely used dollar substitute in those regions. The statements outline how the issuer views its role in global payments and access to dollar-denominated value.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on March 13 denied Custodia Bank's request for a full court rehearing, ending the Wyoming-chartered bank's legal challenge over access to a Federal Reserve master account. The decision upholds an October ruling that regional Federal Reserve banks retain discretion in granting master accounts, which allow direct access to Fed payment systems without intermediary banks. Custodia, which focuses on digital asset services, applied for a master account in 2020 but was rejected in 2023 over concerns about its crypto-focused business model. In a dissent, Judge Timothy Tymkovich, joined by Judge Allison Eid, warned the ruling grants Reserve Banks potentially unreviewable discretion that conflicts with the Monetary Control Act of 1980 and raises constitutional issues.

Wells Fargo filed a trademark application for "WFUSD" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on March 9, covering cryptocurrency exchange operations, digital payment services and blockchain verification processes, USPTO records show. The application, now listed as live and pending, spans Class 009 for downloadable software used in digital asset trading and payment processing, Class 036 for cryptocurrency trading and exchange services, and Class 042 for software-as-a-service tools supporting asset tokenization and blockchain-based payment infrastructure. The filing follows earlier reports of JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and other major U.S. banks exploring a collaborative stablecoin initiative for 2025, and comes after Wells Fargo Strategic Capital's $5 million investment in blockchain analytics firm Elliptic and its participation in a $105 million Series B round for crypto trading infrastructure startup Talos at a $1.25 billion valuation.

French Hill, chair of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, said on March 14 that the CLARITY Act could address regulatory issues not covered by the GENIUS Act, PANews reports. He noted in an interview that parts of the banking sector remain uneasy about the proposed U.S. framework for crypto supervision, particularly regarding oversight of crypto companies. Hill recalled that the House approved the CLARITY Act last summer with bipartisan support, including 78 Democratic votes, as part of efforts to define how stablecoins and other digital assets function in U.S. financial markets. He added that policymakers are weighing whether crypto firms should face bank-level regulation, and said both parties agree stablecoins should not pay yields to holders.

Robert Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, said the firm will take a cautious stance and avoid introducing overly complex ETF structures, even as more structurally complex crypto ETF products may emerge in the market, Cointelegraph reports. He added that most investor demand remains concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum, though some interest has extended to other assets. BlackRock's Ethereum staking ETF, the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB), saw about $15.5 million in trading volume and $43.5 million in net inflows on its first trading day. The firm is also weighing a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, which would generate option premium income by selling covered call options on Bitcoin futures.

Tether's USDT stablecoin is being used to trade illegal gold from the Amazon region, a Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime report cited by Decrypt shows. Venezuela serves as a key destination for the unlawful Amazonian gold, with USDT described as an industry-leading stablecoin in these transactions.

HSBC and a consortium led by Standard Chartered are expected to be among the first recipients of stablecoin licences from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the South China Morning Post reports. These would mark Hong Kong's inaugural stablecoin licences, though the HKMA has not yet formally confirmed any approvals.

Senator John Thune said the US CLARITY Act on cryptocurrency regulation is unlikely to advance through the Senate Banking Committee before April, The Block reports. Key disagreements between banks and stablecoin issuers over several provisions remain unresolved, contributing to the delay.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is preparing to award its first stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered, with approvals potentially coming by March 24, Bloomberg reports. Officials said only a limited number of licenses will be granted in this initial batch, even though about 36 companies have applied under Hong Kong's Stablecoin Ordinance, which took effect in 2025. HSBC did not join the HKMA's 2024 stablecoin pilot but has been working with local and international crypto participants, while Standard Chartered joined the pilot through a joint venture with Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecom and plans to issue a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin. As part of the sandbox, the Anchorpoint joint venture has been testing stablecoins for ecommerce payments, cross-border transfers and tokenized asset trading, while OSL Group has launched USDGO, a US dollar-backed stablecoin for institutional clients.