"Stand With Crypto launches salvo of Senate endorsements" Sep 30, 2026

Stand With Crypto, the Coinbase-backed advocacy group that says it has more than 3 million advocates, launched its first round of Senate endorsements after the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed to advance on September 15. The group says electing pro-crypto lawmakers is now a priority, making the endorsements a political response to the bill’s setback. Senate Democrats cited concern that President Trump could personally profit from the crypto industry as one reason for opposing the legislation, underscoring that support for crypto rules remains entangled with broader political concerns.

The CFTC was reportedly examining repeated trades associated with more than $5 billion in ether perpetual-futures volume over the past month. Reported ETH perpetual-futures trading volume reached about $539 million in 24 hours, while open interest was just $3.1 million. Kashi said it is not under investigation and denied wash trading, saying repeated trades resulted when market makers’ fixed quotes were repeatedly hit by faster traders. The company plans to end its volume-incentive program no earlier than October 13. It reported record September volume of $52 billion through September 29, compared with $38 billion in August.

Robinhood plans to make perpetual futures available to eligible US users in the coming months, with Bitstamp supporting the offering. The contracts are expected to cover Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, ADA, LINK and HYPE. Robinhood plans to offer up to 10x leverage on Bitcoin and Ether and up to 3x on the other contracts. Separately, the company aims to extend trading in selected US stocks and ETFs from 24 hours a day to 24/7, subject to regulatory review.

A 28-page Senate investigation alleges that USDT is central to Iran’s shadow banking system and terrorist-financing networks. The report says 87% of surveyed wallets implicated in Iranian terrorism financing had primarily transacted in USDT, and alleges that Tether repeatedly failed to freeze wallets despite public indicators of illicit activity. Senator Blumenthal asked the Justice and Treasury departments to investigate potential sanctions and banking-law violations, while raising concerns about Tether’s ties to Howard Lutnick and Beau Hines. Tether says it helped freeze roughly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT over the past year. The company argues that public blockchains make illicit transactions more visible and allow action when law enforcement provides credible information.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has begun accepting applications from crypto firms ahead of a regulatory regime set to take effect on October 25, 2027. Firms that want to keep operating in the UK must apply by February 28, 2027. The framework covers trading, transactions, staking, custody, asset admissions and disclosures, as well as market abuse, prudential standards and consumer protection. The FCA says authorization is not automatic, and firms’ existing money-laundering registration will not carry over.