Fed chair hit with DOJ probe as crypto sector braces for more turbulence

A sequence of disparate but connected developments is amplifying uncertainty across monetary policy and digital assets. In Washington, the Justice Department has initiated a criminal inquiry into the Federal Reserve Chair prompted by allegations tied to renovation spending, a step that turns what had been political friction into formal legal scrutiny and raises fresh questions about separation between the executive branch and central bank autonomy. The probe arrives against a backdrop of public pressure from the President over interest-rate decisions, which could deepen institutional strains and invite market sensitivity to policy signals. In the crypto arena, the largest U.S. exchange has suspended peso-denominated services in Argentina, citing an operational reassessment; the decision restricts local on-ramps and signals that volatile currency environments and banking integration problems can compel global platforms to pull back. A Europe-facing event focused on non-fungible tokens was canceled after organizers concluded that market conditions and low trading activity made the program unviable, underscoring how speculative asset classes remain fragile despite periodic headlines. Market data reinforce that fragility: total NFT capitalization is near the low single-digit billions with only marginal daily volumes, challenging business models that depend on event revenues and sustained collector demand. Meanwhile, a U.S. state has issued a publicly available stablecoin deployed on a high-throughput blockchain and listed on a major exchange, illustrating a novel experiment in state-backed digital money that could introduce legal and operational questions about reserve management, cross-chain settlement, and jurisdictional reach. Regulators are reacting: Italy’s securities authority reminded social-media promoters that marketing financial instruments carries legal obligations under EU guidance, tightening the compliance landscape for content creators. Moldova signaled it will harmonize local crypto rules with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework while explicitly stopping short of recognizing crypto as legal tender, a compromise designed to enable trading under guardrails rather than endorse payments use. Taken together, these stories reveal three themes: the politicization of high finance, structural stress in crypto business models when local infrastructure is weak, and a regulatory tide moving toward clearer — and often stricter — expectations. The immediate market consequence is heightened operational and legal risk for institutions that bridge traditional finance and digital-asset ecosystems. Longer term, expect more selective market participation, a faster pivot toward compliance-heavy offerings, and policy battlegrounds where state-level innovation clashes with national and supranational rules. For investors and policymakers, the currents advise caution: monitor legal developments at the Fed, watch service maps from global exchanges, and assess whether state experiments in stablecoins prompt regulatory responses or interoperability headaches.