Crypto Today: Senate Bill, Bybit Bank Accounts, Worldcoin Surge
Developments in digital assets on Thursday included the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee advancing a crypto market structure bill, crypto exchange Bybit announcing plans to roll out retail bank accounts in February, and Worldcoin surging 40% on reports of an OpenAI-linked project focused on “proof of personhood.”
US Senate Agriculture Committee advances crypto market structure bill
The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee moved forward a comprehensive crypto market structure bill on Thursday after a brief markup that highlighted partisan disagreements.
Lawmakers considered three amendments, each failing along party lines. Democratic members raised issues related to ethics, conflicts of interest, and oversight, including a measure that would have prohibited elected officials from holding digital assets, but none secured sufficient support.
The committee voted 12–11 to advance the legislation, sending it to the full Senate for future consideration. Proponents said the bill would offer long-awaited regulatory clarity for digital asset markets, while opponents cautioned it could dilute investor safeguards and broaden the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s authority.
Before a Senate floor vote, the measure is expected to be aligned with related crypto proposals under review by the Senate Banking Committee.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman speaking at markup. Source: Senate Agriculture Committee
Bybit to launch retail bank accounts in February
Bybit, among the largest crypto exchanges by trading volume, said Thursday it plans to introduce retail banking services on its platform beginning in February.
The firm unveiled “My Bank powered by Bybit” during a live online keynote on Thursday.
CEO Ben Zhou said the service will provide users with a personal IBAN (international bank account number) to send and receive funds across banks in multiple currencies, with U.S. dollar transfers available at launch.
The initiative extends Bybit’s offerings beyond crypto trading, coming about a year after it was hit by a $1.4 billion hack.
Bybit said users will be able to access personal bank accounts upon completing Know Your Customer (KYC) verification, enabling fiat deposits, bill payments, salary receipts, and crypto trading under their own name.
The company said it is working with several banking partners, including Qatar National Bank (QNB) and DMZ Finance, with which it partnered in September 2025 on tokenized asset initiatives.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou announced the company’s plan to launch banking services in a keynote on Thursday. Source: Bybit
According to Bloomberg, Bybit is also collaborating with startup lender Pave Bank, which is licensed in Georgia. The service is expected to support transfers in up to 18 currencies and remains subject to regulatory approvals.
Worldcoin spikes 40% as OpenAI reportedly plans biometric X rival
Worldcoin rallied 40% on Wednesday after a report indicated that OpenAI is developing a bot-resistant social media platform requiring “proof of personhood.”
A Tuesday Forbes report, citing people familiar with the effort, said OpenAI aims to build a “humans-only platform” to differentiate it from existing social networks. The Verge reported the project has been in development since early 2025, with a team of roughly 10 people working on it.
Forbes’ sources said identity verification could be handled via Apple’s Face ID or the World Orb eyeball scanner, which has been used by World, the blockchain and crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
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