ETF analyst James Seyffart said there is "definitely movement at the SEC" toward a potential US spot BNB ETF, citing amended filings from VanEck and Grayscale tied to proposed BNB Chain based products. No approval date has been announced.

India has tightened rules on silver inflows, making it harder to bring bullion into the country. In a May 16 notice, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade shifted most silver imports from "free" to "restricted", requiring importers to obtain a government licence. The change follows a sharp hike in customs duties on precious metals to 15% from 6%, effective May 13. Including the Integrated Goods and Services Tax, the effective tax burden on imported silver now exceeds 18%. The measures come as India's silver import bill swelled to about $12 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2026. Import values jumped 150% in FY 2025-26, while volumes rose 42%, driven by higher global prices and a weaker rupee. The heavier foreign-exchange outlay has added pressure to the current account deficit. The restrictions apply widely, with limited carve-outs for certain Export Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones. Those exempt entities are barred from selling into the domestic market, leaving jewellers and bullion dealers subject to the new licensing requirement. Domestic prices reacted quickly: local silver prices rose about 7% after the duty increase. The decision marks a turn from the past two years, when tariffs had been reduced to curb smuggling and support legitimate jewellery trade. With import values now surging year on year, the government appears to have shifted priorities. The downside is that higher legal costs may not reduce demand; when the effective import levy exceeds 18%, incentives for grey-market supply typically increase, potentially reviving smuggling networks. For global silver markets, tighter Indian imports remove a meaningful source of demand. India is among the world's largest silver consumers, and a $12 billion annual import bill gives it outsized influence. For domestic jewellers and bullion dealers, the near-term impact is likely margin pressure: a 7% rise in local prices may be hard to pass through fully if end-demand proves price-sensitive, squeezing profitability across the supply chain.

CoinMarketCap reports that the U.S. Senate Banking Committee has advanced the CLARITY Act, a cryptocurrency market structure bill, sending it to the next legislative stage. The measure is not yet headed straight to a full Senate floor vote: lawmakers are expected to keep revising the text, and the biggest obstacles remain limited Democratic backing and ongoing disputes over ethics provisions. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said stakeholders are still working toward enactment, but significant negotiations remain. He said Democrats, Republicans, federal agencies, and the crypto industry continue to engage through the committee review process. The bill cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15"9. Next, it is expected to be combined with a separate piece overseen by the Senate Agriculture Committee, which focuses on the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) regulatory authority. Ethics language remains central to the debate. If enacted, the final package would create another federal framework for U.S. crypto regulation, following the Stablecoin GENIUS Act. Before any full-chamber vote, multiple amendments are anticipated, while banking lobbying groups continue pressing for an outright ban on stablecoin yield arrangements. Sen. Reuben Gallego, one of only two Democrats who supported the bill in committee, said he would oppose it on the Senate floor unless the final version includes ethics provisions. The bill also needs bipartisan support to clear the 60-vote threshold. With 53 Republicans in the Senate, passage would require at least seven Democrats to vote "yes" if all Republicans back it. TD Cowen Managing Director Jaret Seiberg raised his estimate of passage odds to 40% but cautioned that Democrats may insist on a separate vote on a conflict-of-interest amendment. He added that the standards could implicate U.S. President Trump, further complicating the bill's path. John O'Loghlen, Head of Coinbase Asia-Pacific, said a clearer U.S. crypto rulebook could speed up cross-border regulatory coordination. In markets, Bitcoin fell more than 5% to below $78,000 around the time of the report. Coin Bureau macro analyst Nic Puckrin said the bill's progress appeared partly priced in, while Middle East tensions and broader macro pressures continued to weigh on risk assets.

Poland's parliament has approved legislation to align the country's cryptocurrency market with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. The bill would give the Polish Financial Supervisory Authority powers to oversee the sector, impose sanctions, and temporarily block crypto accounts and transactions.

The Senate Banking Committee voted on May 14, 2026, to advance the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, bringing the U.S. closer to its first comprehensive law governing crypto market structure. A16z Crypto general counsel and head of policy Miles Jennings called the committee's bipartisan markup a milestone for the industry. He said the proposal builds on the GENIUS Act's stablecoin framework, enacted in July 2025, and could extend clearer protections for builders across a wider range of blockchain activity. Next, the bill heads to a full Senate vote. The Senate Banking Committee text is expected to be combined with a companion portion handled by the Senate Agriculture Committee into a single package. If the Senate passes the merged measure, it would move to the House. The House has already advanced its own version, HR 3633. That bill passed in July 2025 by a 294–134 vote, including support from 78 Democrats. A presidential signature would be required for final enactment. CLARITY reflects years of legislative efforts to define crypto oversight. Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced an early bipartisan framework in June 2022. FIT21 (the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act) cleared the House in 2024 with 279 votes, including 71 Democrats, adding momentum that helped drive Senate drafting through late 2025 into 2026. A central issue CLARITY seeks to address is the lack of clear jurisdictional lines between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Jennings criticized what he described as "regulationbyenforcement," arguing that shifting interpretations have burdened responsible developers while leaving room for misconduct. The bill aims to set standards for when a digital asset is treated as a security versus a commodity, establish oversight rules for crypto exchanges, and add consumer protections for digital asset trading. Jennings also argued that blockchain networks should not be treated like traditional companies. He said companies rely on centralized control, while networks coordinate participants through shared rules without a single controlling party. Applying corporate legal frameworks to networks, he warned, can elevate intermediaries that capture value that would otherwise accrue to users. A16z Crypto pointed to ridesharing and music streaming as examples of platform models where operators collect most of the revenue while contributors receive a smaller share. In contrast, Jennings said blockchain networks can function as infrastructure governed by transparent rules and operated by participants, allowing value to flow to the edges rather than concentrate at the center. He cited the GENIUS Act as proof of what targeted crypto legislation can enable, saying its July 2025 passage coincided with measurable adoption gains and helped bring stablecoins deeper into mainstream use, including integrations involving AI agents. Jennings framed the competitive backdrop as urgent. The European Union's MiCA regime and the United Kingdom's crypto rules already provide more defined frameworks than the U.S., he said. While no jurisdiction has perfected regulation, he warned that clearer rules abroad could ultimately draw startups, capital, and jobs away from the United States. A16z Crypto said CLARITY is intended to counter that risk by giving builders a legal foundation to launch blockchain networks domestically, raise capital within U.S. borders, and operate without the structural compromises imposed by years of regulatory uncertainty. The firm said it plans to publish a more detailed builder-focused breakdown of what CLARITY does and does not cover once the bill reaches the Senate floor and final amendments are known.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved the CLARITY Act, moving the crypto market structure legislation a step closer to a full Senate vote. The bill passed with support from Republicans and two Democrats, Sens. Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks, according to reports. The measure now heads to the Senate floor, where it will need at least 60 votes to advance. That implies backing from at least seven Senate Democrats. Industry leaders and regulators welcomed the committee action. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called it an "historic day," pointing to what he described as substantial changes since January across areas including stablecoin rewards, DeFi, CeFi and tokenization. Armstrong said Coinbase opposed earlier drafts and argued the pushback helped improve the final committee version. Ondo Finance also hailed the vote as a milestone for tokenization, saying clearer rules for tokenized assets could help bring in more institutional participation. SEC Chair Paul Atkins publicly congratulated the committee's leadership, and CFTC Chair Mike Selig said the vote moves the U.S. closer to becoming a global "crypto capital." Markets reacted positively. Bitcoin rose nearly 3% and moved back above $81,000, with broader crypto prices also higher. Despite the momentum, the bill faces key hurdles. Democrats are pressing for an ethics provision that would bar senior government officials from profiting from crypto while in office, a clause that could affect President Trump and his family given their reported involvement in multiple crypto projects. Republicans and the White House have opposed such language in the past, but sponsors may need a compromise to secure the votes required for passage. Gallego and Alsobrooks backed the bill in committee while negotiations over an ethics clause continue. Gallego warned he could oppose the bill later without stronger guardrails for elected officials. Sen. Elizabeth Warren reiterated her opposition, arguing the legislation could pose broader economic risks. Separately, some crypto advocates are urging lawmakers not to weaken developer protections tied to the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), included in Section 301 of the CLARITY Act. Advocacy group Coin Center said those protections are essential for the future of DeFi and should not be traded away in negotiations.

Leaders of the House Agriculture Committee are calling on President Donald Trump to appoint commissioners to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), underscoring the agency's role as the Senate advances consideration of the CLARITY Act.

An escalating dispute over an ethics provision tied to former President Donald Trump's crypto interests is emerging as the main obstacle to advancing the CLARITY Act in the Senate, where the bill will need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. Republicans control 53 seats, leaving sponsors dependent on at least seven Democratic votes for cloture. Lawmakers and analysts warn that the draft's lack of a conflict-of-interest provision could erode bipartisan backing. The current 309-page CLARITY Act text includes no conflict-of-interest language, a gap widely attributed to jurisdictional constraints at the Senate Banking Committee. Pressure is being driven by scrutiny of Trump family-related crypto activity, including involvement in World Liberty Financial and the TRUMP memecoin. A committee amendment offered by Sen. Chris Van Hollen that would have prohibited senior government officials from holding crypto business interests failed 11–13. At Consensus Miami 2026, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said the bill "will not move without an ethics clause," arguing that absent safeguards, "greed and corruption in Washington" could harm the industry. White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said ethics standards should apply broadly "from the president all the way down to the brand new intern on Capitol Hill," while rejecting efforts to target a specific officeholder. Cody Carbone, chief executive of the Digital Chamber, said reaching a negotiated package is likely necessary before the bill comes to the floor, noting lawmakers will want confidence the 60-vote threshold is attainable. Additional issues are weighing on negotiations. Two Democrats who backed the measure in committee — Sens. Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks — indicated their support depends on further progress on ethics. Banking trade groups continue to oppose the draft's stablecoin yield compromise, and law enforcement concerns remain unresolved. Senators still must settle the ethics dispute, address law enforcement issues, and respond to banking-sector objections before a floor vote. With the Senate calendar tightening ahead of the August recess and Coinbase calling bipartisan backing "nonnegotiable" at Consensus Miami, negotiators face a shrinking window to assemble a deal capable of clearing 60 votes.

Hyperliquid has stepped up its push in Washington as lawmakers debate how to regulate onchain derivatives. Co-founder Jeff Yan recently met with U.S. policymakers to argue that blockchain-based derivatives markets should be incorporated into the country's emerging regulatory framework, with discussions largely focused on the CLARITY Act. According to people familiar with the meetings, conversations zeroed in on the technical realities of how onchain trading functions, positioning the outreach as a policy education effort for legislators. The company also recently expanded its policy footprint in the capital. Hyperliquid launched the Hyperliquid Policy Center in Washington on February 18, led by Jake Chervinsky, who previously served as chief policy officer at the Blockchain Association. The group is intended to do more than hold congressional meetings, aiming to act as a conduit between DeFi trading markets and the traditional regulatory system. The CLARITY Act has emerged as the centerpiece of these exchanges. Hyperliquid's team believes there is an active window for integrating onchain derivatives into the U.S. regulatory structure. A key part of the Policy Center's work will be responding to criticism from established derivatives venues. Incumbents such as CME and ICE have raised concerns about risks posed by unregulated crypto trading platforms. Hyperliquid argues that onchain markets can deliver stronger transparency than traditional counterparts, since every trade, order, and liquidation on a blockchain-based system is publicly verifiable.