In a recent development, Charles Schwab has initiated spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading under the ‘Schwab Crypto’ brand via its Premier Bank, as confirmed during the Q1 earnings call on Thursday. The phased rollout first allows employee access, followed by early-access registrants, before extending to the entire client base. Custody and settlement are managed by Paxos, with a noteworthy fee structure of 75 basis points per trade—significantly higher than ETFs.
Rick Wurster, CEO, hinted during the call that prediction markets, particularly financial event contracts distinct from sports or political wagers, might be introduced in the future. Schwab, holding $11.8 trillion in client assets and employing 16,000 financial advisors, is aligning with major financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, which filed for a Bitcoin income ETF, and Morgan Stanley, revealing $1.24B in Bitcoin ETF exposure during Q1, while launching its own at 0.14%. These developments mark significant crypto investments by leading US finance entities.
At the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on Thursday, CFTC Chair Mike Selig addressed concerns from senators about the agency’s dual stance: defending prediction markets aggressively and failing to regulate Hyperliquid, an offshore perpetual futures exchange operating without CFTC oversight. Selig maintains that federal jurisdiction is exclusive regarding prediction markets, supporting this with a filed amicus brief. For the challenges posed by Hyperliquid, he suggested that the Clarity Act could address regulatory gaps.
In another sector, Tether allocated up to $127.5M towards Drift Protocol’s recovery following a North Korean hack on April 1 that siphoned approximately $285M from the Solana-based platform. This forms part of a broader $147.5M package with partners, aimed at repaying user losses through linked credit facilities tied to Drift’s trading revenue over time. Subsequently, DRIFT token surged by 20%. Unlike its previous setup, Drift is now reinstating USDT as the settlement layer instead of USDC—a shift considering Solana’s current market cap where USDC outweighs USDT by 2.65 times.
Tether’s intervention contrasts with Circle’s criticized delay in freezing stolen USDC funds; an attacker transferred $232M from Solana to Ethereum via Circle’s cross-chain protocol, but Circle waited for a court order before acting. Tether’s bailout effectively shifted stablecoin dominance on one of Solana’s key platforms.
Foundation, once a leading NFT art platform during the 2021 boom, announced its closure following an unsuccessful sale attempt to Blackdove. Kayvon Tehranian, CEO, expressed in an open letter that Foundation’s survival via sale was not feasible anymore. The company will operate for one more year, with users advised to migrate from the platform.
This is part of a broader trend where platforms like MakersPlace (closed in January 2025), Nifty Gateway (announced closure in January 2026 with 650,000 NFTs remaining), Christie’s digital art department (shut last fall), and Sotheby’s Metaverse team (dismantled in 2024) have ceased operations. Only OpenSea remains operational amid the closures.