March 5 (UPI) — The Trump administration is closing investigations into cryptocurrency marketplaces as President Donald Trump seeks to grow the United States’ footprint in the digital asset space.
Trump has taken several actions meant to signal his deregulation of cryptocurrency while calling for the United States to build a digital stockpile, moves that experts expect may lead consumers to be more comfortable investing in digital assets.
“Certainly at the moment the expectation is we are going to get a clearer regulatory framework. A more permissive regulatory approach,” William Luther, associate professor of economics at Florida Atlantic University, told UPI. “So individuals who may have otherwise been hesitant to purchase or use cryptocurrency will see that the government is more favorable to these assets than it was previously. That will give them a bit more confidence to enter into this space.”
Regulations and enforcement
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped two key cases against cryptocurrency marketplaces since Trump has taken office.
Last week, the SEC agreed to drop charges against Coinbase for allegedly illegally selling securities, according to Coinbase. The company, a cryptocurrency exchange marketplace, said in a statement that it was a case that “should never have been filed in the first place.”
Robinhood Cryptocurrency announced that the SEC was ending its investigation into the company over potential violations of securities law. Like Coinbase, Robinhood said in a statement that the investigation should not have happened.
“Robinhood Crypto always has and will always respect federal securities laws and never allowed transactions in securities,” Dan Gallagher, chief legal, compliance and corporate affairs Officer for Robinhood Markets, said in a statement. “As we explained to the SEC, any case against Robinhood Crypto would have failed.”
Both investigations were launched under the administration of former President Joe Biden, but Luther explains that Trump and Biden’s policies as they relate to cryptocurrency are not all that different.
“It’s not that the prior administration was opposed to crypto to the extreme,” he said. “Even Gary Gensler, when he was at the SEC, wasn’t stamping out cryptocurrencies. He even indicated at times that some of the things that they were trying to do to limit the reach of cryptocurrency, particularly to retail users, wouldn’t apply to assets like Bitcoin, which he described as not being a security.”
Gensler, the chair of the SEC under the Biden administration, was often characterized as aggressive when it came to enforcing regulations on cryptocurrency firms. His focus on the asset was primarily in mitigating fraud and penalizing fraudsters.
Cryptocurrency is the most common form of payment fraudsters are paid with in ransomware attacks, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, an arm of the U.S. Treasury Department.
Trump has nominated Paul Atkins to be the next chair of the SEC. Atkins is a former co-chair at the cryptocurrency advocacy group the Token Alliance.
Embracing crypto
In his remarks from Miami last week, Trump said he is committed to making America the “crypto capital.” His Jan. 23, executive order suggests he is interested in spurring along the adoption of digital assets in the United States and establishing a government stockpile.
Trump has commissioned the establishment of the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, charging it with identifying regulations, proposing regulatory frameworks and evaluating the potential creation of a national digital asset stockpile.
The government has long held cryptocurrencies, at least relative to the history of their existence. It has acquired cryptocurrencies by seizing them through its enforcement efforts, much like it has acquired cash, cars and other goods.
“Make no mistake. The U.S. government owns crypto because that’s what criminals have been using,” Aaron Klein, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told UPI. “Just like the U.S. owns some Ferraris too.”
Biden similarly commissioned research into cryptocurrency, directing the Federal Reserve to explore whether the government should create its own cryptocurrency in 2022.
Months later, the Federal Reserve came back with a recommendation for the government to explore creating a cryptocurrency that it referred to as a digital dollar.
“Innovation is one of the hallmarks of a vibrant financial system and economy,” then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “But as we have learned painfully from the past, innovation without appropriately addressing the impact of these developments can result in significant disruptions and harm to the financial system.”
The Trump Administration is not yet following up on this recommendation. In fact it is moving in the opposite direction. As part of Trump’s executive order, he has prohibited the Central Bank or any agency from establishing, issuing or promoting a digital currency in the United States or abroad.
$TRUMP
Hours before taking the oath of office, Trump launched a meme coin called $TRUMP. A meme coin is an often volatile form of cryptocurrency derived from internet memes.
Trump’s coin experienced an almost immediate spike in value after launching but has collapsed since. With its initial spike it was trading as high as $31. The current value is a fraction of a cent, down more than 97% since launching.
First lady Melania Trump also launched a coin just as Trump was taking office. $MELANIA has also plummeted in value since launching. A coin was worth about $2 when it launched and is now worth about $0.85.
The first family’s venture into cryptocurrency as they moved into the White House raises immense ethical concerns, Klein said.
“It’s a five-alarm bell fire,” he said. “There’s massive fraud in the meme coin space. Whatever the actual details of the Trump meme coin turn out to be, giving the appearance of legitimacy of a meme coin to the president-elect gives the impression that he is prioritizing his own wallet over the good of society.”
A chief ethical concern in a president, or president-elect, launching a new business venture is that it creates a conflict of interest. The president is uniquely positioned to have a direct impact on the business they own or are invested in. This is why presidents have historically divested from their business dealings while in office.
Trump has refused to do so. In 2017, again days before taking the oath of office, Trump announced he would not divest from the Trump Organization, a company that holds a majority of his investments and various business ventures.
Argentina is reckoning with an ethics conundrum involving its president and cryptocurrency as well. President Javier Milei has been accused of fraud for allegedly promoting the cryptocurrency $Libra.
Milei argued that he did not endorse or promote $Libra after sharing a link to a website that sells it in February.
“The world wants to invest in Argentina,” Milei said in the post sharing a link the cryptocurrency marketplace.
Following Milei’s alleged endorsement, the value of $Libra grew from a fraction of a cent to nearly $5 before falling. It is valued at a fraction of a cent again. Milei’s political opponents in the Argentine National Congress have called for him to be impeached.
Milei’s actions demonstrate the influence a president can have on the cryptocurrency trade, an influence Trump exercised when launching his meme coin. Likewise his broader embrace of cryptocurrency through policy and public comments signals to consumers that the United States is a crypto-friendly environment.
“When the president of the United States promotes an asset it tends to move the needle for people to buy it,” he said.
Key Takeaways:
Sanctions pressure continues to test the resilience of crypto networks tied to restricted financial activity. Blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis on April 17 examined Grinex after the sanctioned exchange suspended operations. The review described the shutdown as a new stress point for infrastructure tied to sanctions evasion.
Grinex claimed a cyberattack cost about 1 billion rubles, or $13.7 million, and published the source and destination addresses involved. Chainalysis then assessed the transfers using on-chain data rather than relying on the exchange’s narrative. The analysis found that the stolen assets were mainly a fiat-backed stablecoin before being moved through a Tron-based decentralized exchange into TRX.
“In the case of the alleged Grinex hack, the stablecoin funds were quickly swapped for a non-freezable token, thereby avoiding the risk of having the stablecoins frozen by the issuer,” the blockchain analytics firm stated, adding:
“This frantic swapping from stablecoins to more decentralized tokens is a hallmark tactic of cybercriminals and illicit actors attempting to launder funds before a centralized freeze can be executed.”
Chainalysis argued that this behavior does not fit a typical Western law enforcement seizure because authorities can request freezes from centralized stablecoin issuers. The firm instead said the rapid conversion raises questions about whether the activity aligns with a conventional external hack.
Those conclusions rest on more than the attack claim alone. Chainalysis noted that the decentralized exchange used in the swap had previously served Garantex, the sanctioned predecessor to Grinex, as a liquidity source for hot wallets. That detail is notable because Chainalysis has already described Grinex as the direct successor to Garantex after international enforcement disrupted the earlier platform. The company also tied Grinex to A7A5, a ruble-backed token issued by sanctioned Kyrgyzstani company Old Vector.
According to the analysis, A7A5 was built for a narrow Russia-linked payments ecosystem aligned with cross-border settlement needs under sanctions pressure. Chainalysis added that the exfiltrated funds were still sitting in a single address at publication time, leaving a live trail for future forensic review.
The broader takeaway was less about one theft than about the financial system surrounding it. Chainalysis observed that the episode is the latest disruption inside a “shadow crypto economy.” That phrase captured the firm’s larger conclusion that Grinex, Garantex, A7A5, and related services formed an interlinked network designed to keep value moving despite sanctions. Chainalysis further disclosed that it labeled the relevant addresses in its products to help customers identify exposure as the funds move downstream. Even without final attribution, the firm made clear that Grinex’s suspension damages a key channel within that sanctioned ecosystem.
At 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time today, the market price for a single Bitcoin (BTC) is $75,746.90. That’s a $960.86 jump from where it was trading yesterday morning and about $9,200 lower than it was one year ago.
Bitcoin is widely recognized as the pioneering cryptocurrency and continues to hold the top spot in terms of name recognition and market size. Its market capitalization is roughly $1.33 trillion, putting it far ahead of second-place Ethereum with about $233 billion in market cap.
At a basic level, Bitcoin functions as a decentralized digital currency. Instead of relying on a central authority like a bank or government, it runs on a peer-to-peer network of computers. This design lets people transfer value straight to others without using a traditional financial intermediary.
Many investors turn to Bitcoin as a potential hedge against inflation in the U.S. dollar or as a way to branch out beyond conventional investments. Over the past decade, it has posted stunning gains, often outperforming major stock indexes, which has played a big role in its popularity.
At the same time, Bitcoin shares a key trait with other cryptocurrencies—it can be extremely volatile, with frequent and sometimes dramatic price changes.
Since it was introduced in 2009, Bitcoin has been highly volatile and often headline-grabbing. One early milestone in its history involves developer Laszlo Hanyecz, who famously spent 10,000 Bitcoins on pizza. Today, those coins would be valued at more than 668 million dollars.
Over the last decade or so, Bitcoin’s price has climbed more than 15,000%. This tremendous growth comes with a trade-off, as cryptocurrencies are known for their unpredictability. Bitcoin has undergone severe pullbacks—sometimes dropping tens of thousands of dollars within months—as well as dramatic recoveries. At the close of 2025, it was trading roughly 30% below the all-time high it hit that very October.
Several different dynamics can move Bitcoin’s price up or down, including:
If you’ve decided to invest in Bitcoin, there are multiple ways to do it. Here are some of the main options.
The most straightforward route is to buy Bitcoin directly. You set up an account with a crypto exchange, connect it to your bank, and then use your deposited cash to buy Bitcoin.
For those who prefer a more traditional investment vehicle, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds are an alternative. A Bitcoin ETF holds Bitcoin on behalf of its shareholders, and its shares trade on standard stock exchanges. This option lets you skip the process of managing your own crypto wallet and can reduce the risk of losing access to your funds because of a password mistake or wallet issue.
Investors who don’t want to buy Bitcoin directly can also consider stocks of companies in the crypto space. These might include tech companies that support blockchain technology, public crypto exchanges, even payment processors. Because these companies may earn revenue from Bitcoin-related activity, their share prices can offer indirect exposure to Bitcoin’s performance.
For retirement-focused investing, a Bitcoin IRA is another great option. Like a standard IRA, it’s a tax-advantaged account with similar contribution limits and tax rules, but it lets you allocate some of your retirement savings to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as alternative investments.
Bitcoin might be the best-known name in crypto, but it is not your only choice. When weighing where to put your money, you may want to compare it with a few other major coins.
See our newsroom’s recent coverage of what’s been happening on the cryptocurrency scene:
When compared with long-standing blue-chip names such as Procter & Gamble or Walmart, Bitcoin is still a newcomer. That makes predicting its long-term behavior challenging. But its recent history has been impressive. As more companies start accepting Bitcoin as a payment method, its price may get a further boost, and as the asset matures, it might eventually see somewhat smoother price movements.
However, Bitcoin should not be treated as a sure bet. It’s wise to invest only money you can afford to have tied up and to ensure your broader portfolio is diversified, so other investments can help offset Bitcoin’s volatility.
For most people, Bitcoin is better viewed as a long-term, higher-risk holding than as a quick trade. It is not ideal for investors who are uncomfortable watching large price swings. But if you plan to hold it for years and keep it as a piece of a balanced portfolio, investing in Bitcoin could make sense for a portion of your overall strategy.
While the answer is obviously unknowable, crypto experts are generally optimistic about the short-term success of Bitcoin. Some models price it at more than $700,000 by 2030, with conservative estimates closer to $300,000.
As of this writing, Bitcoin reached its highest price ever on Oct. 6, 2025, pricing at a whopping $126,198.07.
Yes, you can buy a fraction of a Bitcoin. Most cryptocurrency exchanges offer fractional investing, meaning you can buy portions of crypto coins. Thanks to fractional investing, you can invest in Bitcoin with as little as a few dollars.
If you want to invest directly in Bitcoin by owning the currency, you’ll typically open an account with a cryptocurrency exchange. Once the account is created, you can transfer money to your crypto account from your bank and place an order for Bitcoin and other tokens or coins. You can also indirectly invest in Bitcoin via an ETF or a business that uses Bitcoin.
You can use your Bitcoin holdings in several ways, from selling for cash to trading it for other coins. In some cases, you can also pay for purchases, such as with Tesla and Microsoft.
Bitcoin has well outperformed the stock market since its launch, but its extreme volatility makes it far less than a guarantee to be a better investment than stocks.
Key Takeaways:
The change appeared in a help center update published during the week of April 14–16, 2026, and is not applied across all users. Instead, prompts surface in specific cases tied to higher-tier plans, advanced capabilities, or internal safety reviews.
According to Anthropic, the goal is to limit abuse, enforce platform rules, and meet legal obligations. The company frames the rollout as part of routine integrity checks rather than a universal onboarding requirement.
Users who encounter the prompt must provide a physical, government-issued photo ID and complete a live selfie scan. Anthropic details that the process typically takes less than five minutes and requires a camera-enabled device.
Accepted documents include passports, driver’s licenses, and national ID cards. Digital copies, screenshots, or temporary paper IDs are rejected, along with non-government credentials such as student or employee cards.
The verification workflow is handled by Persona, which processes ID data on Anthropic’s behalf. Anthropic says it does not store the underlying ID images on its own systems. Instead, Persona retains the data under contractual limits, while Anthropic maintains access to verification results when needed for account review or appeals.
The company states that all data is encrypted and used only for identity confirmation, fraud prevention, and compliance. Anthropic also says identity data is not used to train its AI models and is not shared for marketing purposes. Disclosure is limited to legal requirements.
The move reflects growing pressure on AI platforms to address misuse, including fraud and impersonation. Anthropic has also cited age restrictions, with some under-18 accounts reportedly suspended pending verification.
Reaction from users has been mostly unfavorable. “Claude now requires government ID verification (via Persona) before subscription,” one critic wrote. “ChatGPT doesn’t. Gemini doesn’t. Anthropic just handed their competitors a gift,” the X account added. On Reddit, one person stated:
“Goofy. Cannot wait till we have capable off-line LLMs that doesn’t cost a fortune to run.”
The co-founder of the media brand Bankless, Ryan Sean Adams, also shared his view. “AI KYC is here. New claude subscribers asked for gov ID & photo,” Adams wrote. “Not even a regulatory requirement – Anthropic just doing it because they want to. But regulatory is coming Next up will be laws: No AI without gov-issued ID All AI use tracked to individual – no private AI.”
The backlash has been amplified by comparisons to competitors. Platforms like OpenAI and Google’s Gemini do not currently require government ID verification for standard chatbot use. Others competitors, like Venice AI, are private alongside the use of local models.
That difference has led some users to question whether stricter controls could push activity toward less restrictive services. Others argue the shift signals a broader move toward KYC-style checks in consumer AI.
For now, the system remains targeted rather than universal. But its presence suggests identity verification may become a more common layer as AI platforms expand access to more capable tools.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/Scott-Naso-022526-1-079e2e33c43a473590695ebdb06147b3.jpg?w=80&resize=80,80&ssl=1 "Single Dad Says Grandparents’ Rights Trial Has Cost Him More Than 0K, but He'll Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Daughter Safe")
‘Little Rascals’ star Bug Hall arrested in Ohio
Arkansas TV meteorologist Melinda Mayo retires after nearly four decades on air
ABC Kite Fest Returns to Austin for Annual Celebration – Austin Today
Dem fundraising giant in the hot seat as GOP lawmakers demand answers over dodged subpoena
‘Dr. Pimple Popper’ Sandra Lee had a stroke last fall. Here’s how the TV doc is bouncing back
Trump blasts Spanberger ahead of Virginia meetings, says state faces tax base exodus like New York, California
Woman discovers missing nose ring traveled to her lungs, causing month-long cough
Byron Allen’s “Comics Unleashed” replacing Colbert’s “Late Show”
