The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s notice to Coinbase (COIN) that it’s likely to be accused of breaking securities laws could foreshadow an agency effort to break the back of the crypto sector as it now operates, but it also may finally force court rulings that define how the industry can move forward.

The biggest U.S. banks have not stepped forward to welcome homeless crypto businesses scrambling for banking services after fleeing the wreckage of Silvergate Bank, Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank.

As the wreckage that started inside crypto banking threatens financial institutions beyond the sector’s border, the federal government is eager to make it clear that it’s not going to let it get out of hand. But is it a bailout?

Circle Internet Financial’s $3.3 billion cash reserves problem was seemingly solved Sunday when federal regulators promised that depositors of failed Silicon Valley Bank would be made whole in short order. But Circle’s USDC stablecoin isn’t out of the woods.