Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Donald Trump’s SEC Chair pick Paul Atkins’ confirmation hearing is reportedly set for March 27, Robinhood launched a prediction markets betting platform, and France temporarily lifted restrictions on Telegram founder Pavel Durov until April 7.

Paul Atkins hearing for SEC chair set for March 27 after delays

A confirmation hearing for Paul Atkins, US President Donald Trump’s pick to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission, is slated for March 27 after many delays, according to Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller.

Trump had nominated Atkins to lead the SEC on Dec. 4, but Atkins’ marriage into a billionaire family caused issues with financial disclosures and delayed his start date.

It isn’t clear whether the White House has produced those papers to the Senate, but Mueller said the slated hearing date “is the most momentum we’ve seen so far.”

Atkins married his wife Sarah Humphreys Atkins in 1990, whose family has ties to TAMKO Building Products LLC, a manufacturer of residential roofing shingles that reportedly turned over $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023.

Mueller said one former Senate Banking Committee staffer told her earlier this month that as Atkins “got named so early on […] people are starting to be like, ‘What the hell’s taking so long?’” 

Robinhood shares up 8% after launching betting markets hub

Robinhood has launched a betting markets hub as the online brokerage — best known for stock trading — expands its presence in emergent asset classes, including cryptocurrencies and event contracts, according to a March 17 announcement. 

Robinhood’s stock, HOOD, rose roughly 8% on the Nasdaq after the announcement, according to data from Google Finance.

The new betting feature will let users “trade contracts for what the upper bound of the target fed funds rate will be in May, as well as the upcoming men’s and women’s College Basketball Tournaments,” it said. 

The online brokerage is tapping Kalshi, the US’ first CFTC-regulated prediction platform, to operate the event contract platform, it said. 

Kalshi is already registered to list dozens of event contracts, covering outcomes ranging from election results to Rotten Tomatoes movie ratings.

Prediction markets have become increasingly popular in the US since September 2024, when Kalshi prevailed in a lawsuit challenging a CFTC decision to bar it from listing political event contracts.

By November, trading volumes across popular prediction markets neared $4 billion for contracts tied to the US elections.

Pavel Durov legal restrictions suspended until April 7: Report

Media platform TASS reported that French authorities have suspended judicial control of Durov for three weeks. Citing sources in the French prosecutor’s office, media outlet TASS reported that the agency’s interlocutor said judicial control in relation to Durov was suspended from March 15 to April 7. 

Parallely, the Telegram founder posted an update on the messaging application, saying he was already back in Dubai after spending months in France. Durov said the process is still ongoing but added that it “feels great to be home.”

In his post, Durov thanked the judges for allowing him to return to Dubai.