A US appeals court panel ruled 2-1 that New Jersey gaming regulators cannot proceed with an enforcement action against prediction market platform Kalshi over sports event contracts. The judges said Kalshi showed a “reasonable chance of success” that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state law and that the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over the contracts.

US Senate Banking Committee member Bill Hagerty said Monday that Republicans aim to start moving a digital asset market structure bill through the panel beginning next week. He said unresolved issues remain, but he expects the legislation could be reported out of the banking committee in April. The bill would also require action by the Senate Agriculture Committee before any potential floor vote.

Brazil has published Law No. 15.358, creating rules to combat organized crime and allowing confiscated cryptocurrency to be provisionally used by public security agencies. The measure also permits authorities to restrict transactions on crypto exchanges when digital assets are treated as instruments of a crime, with use of forfeited assets subject to a judge's authorization.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency's new interpretation of how federal securities laws apply to crypto is meant to provide clarity but is "a beginning, not an end." He added the SEC would move away from "regulation by enforcement" and, if Congress passes a market structure bill, the agency would defer to it while using the interpretation as a bridge in the meantime.

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said at the DC Blockchain Summit on Wednesday that the U.S. digital asset market structure bill is close to clearing Congress, with stablecoin yield and rewards remaining the primary obstacle. She indicated that disagreements between banking and crypto industry representatives over these returns are being worked through with the White House, and added that lawmakers believe concerns around DeFi have largely been resolved.

In a Tuesday notice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission outlined how it will interpret non-security crypto assets under federal securities laws and detailed a new token taxonomy for various types of digital assets. The agency said most crypto assets are not themselves securities, while tokenized traditional securities remain subject to securities rules. The announcement came as the SEC also reported the resignation of enforcement director Margaret Ryan, prompting public criticism from former official John Reed Stark.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced on Tuesday that her office filed gambling and related criminal charges against the companies behind prediction market platform Kalshi, alleging it ran an unlicensed betting operation in the state and offered election wagering. Kalshi disputes the case, arguing it operates a federally regulated financial exchange under the exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC and should not be treated like a state-regulated sportsbook or casino.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Market Participants Division issued a no-action letter to crypto wallet provider Phantom Technologies, allowing it to operate in certain ways without registering as a broker. Phantom says this position lets its non-custodial interface connect users to a registered exchange without assuming introducing broker obligations. The decision is among the first no-action responses for a crypto firm under CFTC Chair Michael Selig, who continues to assert the agency's authority over prediction markets while coordinating with the SEC.

A federal court in the Middle District of Alabama has granted a motion by former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao to dismiss significant portions of a February 2024 complaint alleging Binance, Binance.US and Zhao violated the Anti-Terrorism Act by facilitating transfers to Hamas. The judge ordered the plaintiffs to file a second amended complaint by April 10 or face the risk of total or partial dismissal, while Binance later characterized the ruling as a “full and complete legal victory.”