Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is once again calling for the establishment of a legal framework for stablecoins, saying they could gain broad consumer adoption and need appropriate safeguards.

Residents of Panama City will soon be able to pay local taxes and fees using cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, ether, and popular dollar-pegged stablecoins.

A senior official at Russia’s Ministry of Finance is calling for the country to develop its own stablecoin after a U.S.-dollar-pegged crypto asset commonly used by Russian firms was frozen under international sanctions.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Fed Chair Powell Says Stablecoin Rules Are ‘a Good Idea' as Lawmakers Revisit Crypto Oversight
• Canada to Launch First Spot Solana ETFs With Staking This Week
• Russia Eyes National Stablecoin After $30M USDT Wallet Freeze Escalates Sanctions Tensions

Fed Chair Powell Says Stablecoin Rules Are ‘a Good Idea' as Lawmakers Revisit Crypto Oversight

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is once again calling for the establishment of a legal framework for stablecoins, saying they could gain broad consumer adoption and need appropriate safeguards.

Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell said the U.S. is seeing a shift in how digital assets are viewed. After a wave of collapses and fraud cases in 2022 and 2023, he noted the sector is entering a phase of “mainstreaming,” and regulation is overdue.

The Federal Reserve worked with Congress to try to get a “legal framework for stablecoins,” Powell said. “We were not successful.” He added, however, that he believes “the climate is changing” and as such Congress is again eyeing a legal framework for stablecoins.

“Depending on what’s in it, that’s a good idea. We need that. There isn’t one now,” he said.

Panama City to Accept Bitcoin, Ether for Taxes and Fees Under New Initiative

Residents of Panama City will soon be able to pay local taxes and fees using cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, ether, and popular dollar-pegged stablecoins.

Mayor Mayer Mizrachi announced the update late Wednesday, saying the city has found a workaround that allows public institutions to accept crypto without passing new legislation. 

“Legally public institutions must receive funds in $, so we partner with a bank that will take care of the transaction receiving in crypto and convert on spot to $,” Mizrachi wrote on X.

Russia Eyes National Stablecoin After $30M USDT Wallet Freeze Escalates Sanctions Tensions

A senior official at Russia’s Ministry of Finance is calling for the country to develop its own stablecoin after a U.S.-dollar-pegged crypto asset commonly used by Russian firms was frozen under international sanctions.

Osman Kabaloev, deputy director of the ministry’s financial policy department, said Russia needs a new stablecoin solution following the block of $30 million worth of tether (USDT) in wallets tied to the Garantex exchange. 

Garantex, a key platform for Russian crypto users, had its infrastructure seized by U.S. and EU law enforcement earlier this year. The exchange was sanctioned by the European Union in February due to ties with Russian banks and alleged involvement in sanction evasion. 

Shortly afterward, Tether froze wallets associated with the platform, disrupting payments and suspending crypto withdrawals.

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