Crypto Today: Senate Committee Advances Crypto Market Structure Bill

The US Senate Agriculture Committee just advanced a sweeping crypto market structure bill in a tight 12–11 vote. This went down after a markup session that was pure partisan drama — Democrats tried to push amendments about ethics and barring elected officials from holding digital assets, but all three proposals got shut down along party lines.

Supporters are hyped because this could finally bring regulatory clarity to digital asset markets. Critics are warning it might weaken investor protections and give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) too much power. Before this hits the Senate floor, it needs to be reconciled with parallel crypto legislation from the Senate Banking Committee.

Bybit — one of the biggest crypto exchanges by volume — is going full banking mode. They announced "My Bank powered by Bybit," launching in February. Users will get a personal IBAN to send/receive funds across banks in multiple currencies, with USD transfers available at launch.

CEO Ben Zhou dropped this during a live keynote. After KYC verification, users can deposit fiat, pay bills, get salaries, and trade crypto — all under their own name. This comes about a year after Bybit got hit with a $1.4 billion hack.

Bybit is partnering with Qatar National Bank (QNB), DMZ Finance, and startup lender Pave Bank (licensed in Georgia). The service is expected to support up to 18 currencies, pending regulatory approvals.

Worldcoin (WLD) pumped 40% after reports that OpenAI is building a bot-free social media platform that requires "proof of personhood." According to Forbes, OpenAI wants a "humans-only platform" to compete with X.

A small team of about 10 people has reportedly been working on this since early 2025. Verification would likely use Apple's Face ID or the World Orb eyeball scanner — the same tech from the Worldcoin project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.