When Congress failed to pass the Clarity Act, many assumed crypto regulation in the United States would stall. Instead, the opposite happened. Within days, the SEC approved the first 3x leveraged bitcoin and ether funds, the CFTC floated a federal framework for leveraged retail crypto trading, and Treasury quietly withdrew a controversial wallet-surveillance proposal. Meanwhile, corporate bitcoin accumulation continues apace, with Strive emerging as a serious rival to Strategy in the crowded bitcoin-treasury space.
Strive's Bitcoin Buildout Outpaces Strategy
Strive purchased 2,000 bitcoin for roughly $169 million, a sum nearly six times larger than the 334 bitcoin Strategy added the same week. The purchase pushes Strive's total holdings to approximately 29,462 bitcoin, closing in on Marathon Digital, the mining company that has pivoted toward AI data centers and may reduce its bitcoin exposure over time. According to CEO Matt Cole, the purchase was funded primarily through preferred stock sales and warrant exercises, a financing structure that mirrors Strategy's STRC product but avoids the convertible debt that has complicated Strategy's balance sheet. Strive now carries roughly $1.29 billion in preferred stock with an estimated $168 million in annual dividend obligations. The company markets itself as debt-free, but preferred obligations are still senior to common equity and still require consistent cash payouts. The bitcoin-treasury sector increasingly separates into companies with a working capital model, miners repositioning around AI infrastructure, and a long tail of firms still searching for a sustainable strategy.
Triple-Leverage Crypto Funds Arrive With a Warning Label
The SEC approved the first US-listed products offering 3x daily exposure to bitcoin and ether, raising the prior cap of 2x leverage. The funds, built by Volatility Shares using regulated futures rather than spot crypto, are not yet trading. These products target three times the daily return of bitcoin or ether, not three times the long-term price trend, and the leverage resets every 24 hours. That daily reset creates volatility decay: a security can lose value over time even if the underlying asset finishes roughly flat, simply because of how gains and losses compound day to day. Investors treating these instruments as long-term bitcoin proxies risk a outcome very different from what they expect. They function best as short-duration trading tools, not buy-and-hold investments, and anyone considering them should understand the mechanics before allocating capital.
CFTC Moves Toward a Federal Rulebook for Leveraged Crypto Trading
With only one sitting commissioner, the CFTC proposed a new "crypto asset market" exchange category aimed at bringing leveraged, margined, and financed retail crypto trading under direct federal oversight. The agency cannot force crypto trading onto CFTC-regulated platforms without congressional authorization, but it can set standards for firms that choose to register. The proposed framework includes:
- Crypto-specific token listing standards
- Market surveillance and anti-manipulation rules
- Proof of reserves for pooled customer assets
- Capital requirements and segregation of customer funds
- Risk disclosures, KYC, and anti-money-laundering controls
- Token reviews covering supply concentration, insider holdings, and vesting schedules
The proposal also considers whether delivering crypto to a customer's external wallet within 28 days should count as "actual delivery" under existing law. Much of today's leveraged crypto trading happens offshore, often accessed by US users through VPNs or lightly regulated platforms. The CFTC's intent is to pull that activity onto domestic, rule-bound venues where customer protections are explicit rather than assumed.
Treasury Drops Wallet Surveillance Plans Amid Privacy Concerns
Separately, Treasury's financial crimes unit withdrew two earlier proposals: a 2020 rule that would have required identity verification for self-hosted wallet transactions above $3,000 and reporting of transfers above $10,000, and a 2023 rule targeting crypto mixing services. Both drew criticism for being difficult to enforce and for capturing legitimate privacy practices, such as splitting transactions or using fresh addresses, alongside illicit activity. FinCEN acknowledged the proposals risked chilling lawful use of self-custodied wallets, a notable concession given how aggressively mixer-related enforcement has been pursued in past years.
Banking Charters Remain a Flashpoint
Even as federal agencies soften some positions, friction continues elsewhere. Community banks have sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over its willingness to grant national trust charters to crypto firms, arguing these companies gain bank-like capabilities without matching deposit-insurance obligations. Despite that litigation, firms including Rain and Modern Treasury have filed new charter applications, suggesting the OCC intends to keep approving them. The underlying dispute, whether fintech firms taking no deposits should face the same rules as insured banks, remains unresolved and will likely shape how crypto companies access the traditional financial system going forward.