🚨NEW: Heading into Memorial Day weekend, here are a few crypto policy and market structure developments from this week worth recapping: 📌The Senate left for a week-long recess without passing the border security reconciliation package amid disagreements over its contents, meaning the Clarity Act will now be competing for Senate floor time when lawmakers return the first week of June. With Republicans still split over funding issues, an already tight calendar, and competing priorities including a housing bill, a farm bill, and a looming FISA deadline on June 12, the possibility that crypto market structure legislation ultimately gets put on the Senate floor in July are fueling questions about what that would mean for its chances of final passage before the August recess. This week, Senate staff began working behind the scenes to merge text between the Agriculture and Banking Committee products, with technical drafting work expected to continue throughout the recess. 📌A tweet from SEC Commissioner @HesterPeirce clarifying the scope of the SEC’s expected tokenization exemption sparked strong reactions over what the ‘right’ form of tokenization should look like. Peirce suggested she expects the exemption would not extend to so-called ‘synthetic’ products, which generally provide exposure to a stock’s price without necessarily giving investors direct ownership or traditional shareholder rights. @crypto is now reporting that the @SECGov has delayed the rollout of the exemption, which it had initially reported was expected this week, after market participants allegedly raised concerns over parts of the framework, including the possibility of so-called “third-party” tokenized products being issued without the backing or consent of the underlying public companies. 📌President Trump signed two executive orders this week aimed at making it easier for fintechs and crypto firms to integrate into the financial system. Part of that effort included directing the Fed to evaluate whether those firms could receive more direct access to features usually reserved for traditional banks, like master accounts. Importantly, the EO does not force the Fed to do anything and does not guarantee crypto firms access to master accounts. What it does do is formally pressure the Fed to re-evaluate its standards and practices while legitimizing the broader conversation around giving non-traditional banks access to the payments system. It may also provide important legal signals about whether the Board of Governors believes the Federal Reserve Banks can act independently with respect to master account decisions. As it turns out, Fed Governor Waller is already moving ahead with his own version of this through his proposed payment account, or “skinny master account,” framework. The next phase rolled out on Wednesday with a proposed rulemaking that included a couple of changes from the first proposal: 1. Raising the asset cap from $500 million or 10% of assets (whichever is less), to an overall cap of $1 billion. 2. Temporarily pausing all new “Tier 3” master account applications until not later than December 2026 (most crypto firms are considered Tier 3). 3. Establishing formal review timelines — 45 days for insured institutions and 90 days for uninsured firms. 📌Kevin Warsh was sworn in as the 17th Chair of the Federal Reserve this week, pledging to lead a “reform-oriented Fed” focused on “escaping static frameworks and models.” President Trump told Warsh to “do his own thing” and “be independent” as the cameras rolled in the East Room of the White House. Jerome Powell is expected to stay on Board of Governors for the foreseeable future.(Eleanor Terrett)