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Fed to Sunset Coronavirus-Related Suspension of Bank-Capital Rule
Banks can no longer exempt Fed reserves and Treasurys from their leverage ratios.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:29 p.m. Published Mar 19, 2021, 3:19 p.m.
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The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Friday it will allow the expiration of an emergency suspension on certain bank-capital rules. The temporary measure was enacted last year when the coronavirus hit.
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The Fed had been letting banks exclude cash and government bonds on their balance sheet when calculating their Supplementary Leverage Ratios (SLR), a gauge of capital adequacy. That rule will not be extended and will expire at the end of March, the Fed said in a statement.
The Fed added that it would “seek comment” on adjusting the SLR exemption and will take action to make sure that the changes “don’t erode the overall strength of bank capital requirements.” In April 2020, the exemption allowed banks to support the Treasury market, and expand the size of their balance sheets.
The Fed's announcement "is causing a dollar pop and a bit of a dump in risk assets as it reduces bank liquidity," CrossTower Head of Trading Chad Steinglass said in an emailed statement.
Bitcoin, while often cast by cryptocurrency analysts as a potential hedge against inflation, is still considered by many Wall Street investors to be a risky asset, and it often ends up trading in sync with stocks rather than safer plays like bonds.
Prices for bitcoin briefly retreated early Friday as the decision was announced but have since recovered. As of 15:18 UTC (11:18 a.m. ET), the largest cryptocurrency was changing hands at $58,884.
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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Kevin O'Leary says power is now more valuable than bitcoin
"Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary is pivoting his crypto strategy from tokens to energy infrastructure, declaring that power generation is now the real prize.
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The big pivot: O'Leary has moved capital away from smaller tokens to focus on physical infrastructure like land, power, and copper.
- He believes power is now "more valuable than bitcoin" and has secured significant land deals with stranded natural gas in Alberta and the U.S.
- His thesis is driven by the massive energy needs of bitcoin mining and AI, noting that entities controlling power can serve either market.
- He advises investors to look at copper and gold, noting copper prices have nearly quadrupled for his projects in the last 18 months.
- He views Robinhood and Coinbase as "no-brainer" infrastructure investments, having reallocated capital from altcoins into these platforms. He describes Robinhood as the premier bridge for managing equity and crypto in one portfolio, while labeling Coinbase the "de facto standard" for businesses to manage stablecoin transactions and vendor payments once regulatory acts pass.
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