Latest Crypto News | Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Updates

JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum warned on the bank’s Q4 earnings call that yield-bearing stablecoins risk creating a “parallel banking system” by offering deposit-like interest without traditional bank safeguards. He called interest paid solely for holding stablecoins “dangerous and undesirable” and noted bank lobbying for Congress to bar third parties — including exchanges — from offering such yields. Barnum referenced the GENIUS Act and related Senate drafts that would prohibit pure holding rewards while allowing activity-based incentives (liquidity rewards, staking, governance or network-function incentives). He said JPMorgan supports appropriate regulation and is not opposed to blockchain innovation, citing the bank’s work on tokenized money market funds and a deposit-like token. Observers cited during the discussion estimate the stablecoin supply could rise by $25–75 billion within a year under clear rules, with market forecasts of up to $2 trillion by 2028. For traders, the debate raises regulatory uncertainty: stricter rules could restrict yield-bearing products, slow stablecoin growth and reduce liquidity migration from banks; looser treatment could accelerate adoption and shift deposits and liquidity into crypto platforms. Key items for traders: proposed limits on stablecoin yields, the GENIUS Act and Senate markups, potential large inflows into stablecoins under supportive regulation, and impacts on exchanges, lending platforms and issuers.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins told Fox Business the question of whether the U.S. will seize an alleged Venezuelan Bitcoin stash—reported around 600,000 BTC (roughly $56–60 billion at reported prices)—"remains to be seen." Atkins declined to comment on operational seizure decisions, saying those are for other parts of the administration. Major blockchain intelligence firms have not verified the large figure. Arkham stated it has not identified such holdings and is still assessing their existence. Publicly verifiable Venezuelan government wallets hold only about 240 BTC, per Bitcoin Treasuries. Chainalysis data shows Venezuela received roughly $44.6 billion in crypto from mid-2024 to mid-2025 and links regional crypto usage to inflation and sanctions; it also reported a 694% rise in inflows to sanctioned addresses in 2025. Traders should note three key points: the 600,000 BTC claim is unverified on-chain; confirmed government-held BTC is tiny by comparison; and any U.S. move to seize assets would carry large geopolitical and market implications. Primary keywords: Venezuela Bitcoin, U.S. seizure, Paul Atkins. Secondary/semantic keywords: Arkham, Chainalysis, sanctioned crypto, BTC holdings.

Senators Cynthia Lummis (R) and Ron Wyden (D) introduced the bipartisan Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act to create a safe harbor for non‑custodial blockchain developers, node operators and infrastructure providers. The draft ties regulatory liability to actual custody or control of user funds rather than to activities such as writing code, maintaining decentralized networks or providing self‑custody tools. Sponsors separated this proposal from larger, stalled market‑structure negotiations (including stablecoin and yield rules) so the developer protections can move independently. The bill mirrors earlier House language and responds to months of lobbying from exchanges, developer groups and advocacy coalitions seeking to reduce licensing and enforcement risk that pushed projects and talent offshore. Industry reaction is broadly positive about reduced legal tail risk, but stakeholders warn that precise definitions will be critical to prevent loopholes and misuse by bad actors. Market context cited a roughly $3.1 trillion total crypto market cap. Implication for traders: clearer legal treatment of non‑custodial developers likely lowers regulatory tail‑risk for many on‑chain protocols, which could support developer activity and on‑chain innovation; however, the ultimate market effect depends on final legislative text and definitions.

CoinShares’ weekly fund flows show a clear institutional rotation: digital-asset products recorded $454 million in net outflows as weaker-than-expected Fed rate-cut odds prompted investors to trim macro-sensitive holdings. Bitcoin products led withdrawals with $405 million redeemed and Ethereum products saw $116 million of outflows. The United States was the largest source of outflows ($569M), while Germany ($58.9M), Canada ($24.5M) and Switzerland ($21M) posted inflows. Product-level moves included $21M leaving multi-asset crypto products, $3.7M out of Binance-linked products and $1.7M from Aave-related vehicles. Notably, capital rotated into select altcoins rather than leaving crypto wholesale: XRP attracted $45.8M and Solana $32.8M; smaller inflows included Sui ($7.6M) and Chainlink ($3M). Market commentary noted stronger macro data reduced the chance of an early Fed cut, and trading flows saw selling during US hours with options traders rolling long-dated bullish calls to later expiries—keeping short-term volatility elevated. Key takeaways for traders: BTC and ETH are being treated as macro-sensitive portfolio anchors and are driving outflows; SOL and XRP are acting as tactical allocation targets; monitor US macro releases and Fed guidance for further flow-driven volatility and potential short-term leadership shifts across crypto sectors.

APEMARS (APRZ) has progressed through its presale rapidly: Stages 1–2 sold out and the project reports over 3.8 billion tokens sold, 350+ holders and roughly $79,347 raised. As of 13 January 2026 the sale entered Stage 3 (“Operation Banana Boost”) at $0.00002448 per token (earlier Stage 2 pricing was $0.00002066). The project advertises a planned listing price of $0.0055, implying a theoretical upside of ~22,367% from the current Stage 3 price (Stage 2 implied ~26,520% from its price). APEMARS promotes staking and referral rewards as token utilities to encourage holding and growth. The coverage contrasts this high-upside, time-sensitive presale with established Layer‑1 networks such as Solana (SOL) and Sui (SUI), noting Solana’s market cap (~$79–80B), price (~$140–$142) and substantial daily volume, and Sui’s smaller but growing market metrics and TVL. Both pieces emphasize that the article is promotional and not investment advice. Key trading takeaways: the presale offers extreme theoretical ROI if the token lists at the advertised price, but presales carry elevated execution, liquidity and regulatory risk; allocations are time-sensitive and can be highly dilutive at listing.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins told Fox Business on Jan. 12 that he expects a crypto market-structure bill to reach President Donald Trump for signature within the year. Atkins said the 2025 GENIUS Act was a useful step but that the new bill would be broader and clearer, assigning primary market oversight between the SEC and the CFTC to end the industry’s regulatory “gray zone.” He argued clear legislation would create market certainty and help make the U.S. a leading crypto hub. The Senate Agriculture Committee has delayed final consideration until late January, but Atkins’ comments indicate accelerating legislative momentum. He also briefly commented on reports that Venezuela might hold roughly $60 billion in Bitcoin. Key keywords: crypto market-structure bill, SEC, CFTC, regulation, market certainty.

Fors, a Solana-based prediction-market aggregator, has launched a public beta that unifies markets and liquidity across multiple Solana prediction platforms. The platform normalizes raw market data into comparable implied probabilities, composite prices and liquidity metrics, giving traders real-time market depth, cross-market visibility and improved price discovery. Key features include cross-platform order aggregation, shared liquidity pools, support for native Solana wallets, oracle integration, and use of Solana’s high throughput and low fees. Fors completed private testing in late 2024 and the beta includes audits and a bug-bounty programme. The team positions Fors as an information aggregator rather than a market-maker, a design choice intended to limit regulatory exposure. Use cases for traders include risk hedging, model validation, event monitoring and research. Short-term objectives are to test scalability and user adoption; longer-term success will depend on regulatory clarity and sustained technical reliability. For traders, the beta may reduce fragmentation and improve execution and price discovery on Solana prediction markets, potentially attracting more liquidity and participants.

Kazakhstan’s Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM) has stepped up anti-money laundering enforcement against unlicensed crypto services. Following a briefing to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, AFM actions in 2025 include closing 22 unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges, blocking more than 1,100 illegal online crypto services, and shutting 29 cash-out platforms. Authorities froze about 20,000 bank cards used as “drop” accounts, completed 1,135 criminal cases, dismantled 15 criminal groups and recovered 141.5 billion tenge (~$277 million) for victims. The financial sector severed ties with roughly 2,000 companies and flagged about 56,000 individuals for suspected money laundering. Meanwhile Kazakhstan’s regulated market continues to expand under the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC): trading on AIFC-licensed platforms reached $6.8 billion from January to September 2025, and 27 licensed crypto firms (including 12 exchanges) now operate under the AIFC framework. The crackdown aligns with global AML trends after a record year for crypto thefts and increased enforcement elsewhere. For traders, the enforcement raises compliance risk for shadow-market services, increases incentives to use regulated venues, and could reduce illicit liquidity flows into local crypto pairs and OTC markets.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman has postponed the planned January markup of the bipartisan Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to late January to secure broader support and resolve outstanding policy details. The bill would split regulatory authority between the SEC and CFTC, create an ETF safe-harbor for tokens listed in exchange-traded products as of Jan. 1, and set frameworks for stablecoin yields, DeFi protections, and digital-asset classification. Stablecoin yield language is the principal sticking point: banks are lobbying to restrict or ban interest-like rewards that could divert deposits, while major crypto firms (e.g., Coinbase) warn that strict bans would hurt revenue and competitiveness. The Senate Banking Committee’s parallel draft would bar payments solely for holding stablecoins but permit rewards tied to activity (staking, liquidity provision, transaction incentives). Boozman had signaled willingness to move forward without full bipartisan consensus but is now pausing to pursue further talks with lead Democratic negotiator Sen. Cory Booker and other stakeholders. The delay increases election-year political pressure and raises the chance the bill may slip into 2027 or be phased in through 2029 depending on midterm outcomes. Traders should monitor timeline shifts, stablecoin-yield wording, and any bank-driven concessions: these elements could materially affect exchange revenue models, demand for stablecoins, DeFi activity, and regulatory classification risk—leading to short-term volatility and longer-term structural impacts on token flows and product offerings.

Solana (SOL) attracted renewed institutional interest as spot ETF inflows totaled $10.67M, part of a selective rotation of capital across crypto ETFs (Bitcoin ~$117M, Ethereum ~$5.04M, XRP ~$15.04M). SOL traded higher — roughly $141–$142 in the latest update — with daily volume rising above $6.6B and market cap above $80B. Technicals show a bullish bias if SOL holds and closes above key levels: a sustained close above $144.63 would open a path toward a $159.10 breakout target, while intraday triggers around $141.3–$144.6 are being watched by traders for confirmation. Conversely, daily bearish divergence raises the risk of a corrective pullback toward sub-$130 if momentum fails; defending $138 is key to neutralize that risk. Earlier reporting noted smaller ETF inflows (~$2.93M) and highlighted $118 as a critical weekly support, with resistance between $129–$140 and short-term trigger levels near $126–$132 — details that remain relevant for traders managing layered risk. Key takeaways for traders: monitor ongoing ETF flow trends for signs of continued selective risk-on, watch closes above $141.3 and $144.63 for upside confirmation, manage stops around $138 (near-term) and the longer-term weekly support levels (notably $118), and expect short-term price moves to be driven by liquidity sweeps and resistance clusters between $129 and $150.

Bitcoin Core expanded its roster of trusted keyholders on Jan. 8, 2026, adding the pseudonymous contributor TheCharlatan (aka sedited) as the sixth trusted signer for the project’s master branch. Trusted keyholders control who can sign and merge commits recognized by Bitcoin Core verification tooling. The current list is Marco Falke, Gloria Zhao, Ryan Ofsky, Hennadii Stepanov, Ava Chow and TheCharlatan. Contributors reported broad support for the nomination, citing TheCharlatan’s experience with reproducible builds and validation logic—areas critical for release integrity and independent verification that distributed binaries match reviewed source code. The change is the first expansion of the trusted-keys group since May 2023 and underscores Bitcoin Core’s multi-key governance and peer-review safeguards designed to reduce single points of failure and legal risk. Market context: BTC was trading near the low- to mid-90k range at the times reported, with large institutional purchases (about $1.25bn / ~13,600 BTC by Strategy between Jan. 5–11 in one report) noted as a more immediate price driver. For traders, the addition is primarily a security and governance signal—positive for long-term protocol resilience but unlikely to be a direct short-term price catalyst. Relevant keywords: Bitcoin Core, trusted keys, commit access, reproducible builds, validation logic, BTC.

Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) to clarify that writing software or maintaining blockchain networks does not make developers or non-custodial service providers subject to federal or state money-transmission laws. The measure aims to provide a legal safe-harbor for open-source contributors and non-custodial operators who never control user funds, addressing legal uncertainty that has prompted developer flight overseas and raised prosecution concerns after convictions tied to Tornado Cash. BRCA echoes provisions already included in broader crypto market-structure legislation moving through the Senate Banking Committee, though language could change during markup. Industry groups — including the DeFi Education Fund, the Blockchain Association and Paradigm — have publicly endorsed BRCA and urged lawmakers to embed its protections in comprehensive market-structure bills. For traders, the bill could reduce regulatory risk for DeFi development, encourage onshore innovation, and improve long-term infrastructure stability; however, final protections depend on legislative negotiation and amendments.

Tether froze about $182 million of USDT across five TRON wallets after linking the addresses to alleged scams, with individual freezes ranging roughly $12m–$50m. The action is part of Tether’s ongoing compliance and anti-fraud measures: AMLBot reports Tether froze about $3.3 billion in USDT from 2023–2025 and blacklisted over 7,000 scam-linked addresses. Chainalysis data cited in reports shows stablecoins—led by USDT—accounted for roughly 84% of illicit transaction volume by end-2025. TRON remains a dominant host for USDT (over 82 billion USDT on the chain as of 2025), valued for low fees and fast settlement but also attractive to bad actors. Following the freezes, on-chain observers noted increases in funds moved to mixers and alternative chains, and some exchanges temporarily paused related deposits or withdrawals while assessing exposure. Critics warn that centralized freeze controls underscore custodial risk for holders. For traders: monitor TRON-based USDT liquidity, spread between USDT on TRON and other chains (ETH, BSC), exchange hot-wallet flows, and official Tether announcements to manage execution and funding-risk; expect potential short-term tightening of USDT liquidity on TRON, wider bid-ask spreads, and possible migration to other chains or stablecoins.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has written to SEC Chair Paul Atkins demanding clarity and action after the Trump administration’s August executive order that eases inclusion of crypto and private equity in 401(k) retirement plans. Warren warned that crypto’s high volatility, weak investor protections, and the potential for tokenization to circumvent SEC oversight could put ordinary workers’ retirement savings at risk. She cited a GAO report and recent market downturns, and asked the SEC whether public companies are valuing crypto exposures fairly, how the Division of Risk and Analysis is monitoring liquidity, price swings, market manipulation and fraud, and whether the Office of Investor Education will publish guidance for plan sponsors and participants. Labor groups including the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO oppose the policy, saying it could weaken SEC authority; meanwhile SEC Chair Atkins has signaled support for expanding crypto access and tokenization under Project Crypto while stating fraud will be pursued. Warren’s letter comes as Congress works on new crypto market-structure legislation. For traders: the debate raises regulatory uncertainty around tokenized assets and retirement-market flows, which could increase volatility and influence institutional demand if 401(k) plans begin allocating to crypto or if stricter oversight is imposed.

A Cato Institute analysis (Jan 8) concludes that regulatory pressure — including direct orders, informal guidance and vague communications from agencies such as the FDIC — is the dominant cause of most U.S. bank account closures. Analyst Nicholas Anthony categorizes closures as operational, religious, political and government-pressure, and finds government-driven cases account for the largest share. The report highlights that secrecy rules and vague “reputational risk” guidance limit banks’ ability to explain closures and leave customers with little recourse. It warns that Bank Secrecy Act-related compliance costs and agency signals have pushed banks to cut relationships, notably affecting crypto firms and remittance businesses after anti-money-laundering crackdowns. The study recommends legislative fixes: remove secrecy provisions that hide regulator–bank communications, curb reputational-risk-based enforcement, and amend parts of the Bank Secrecy Act to reduce incentives for over-cautious de-banking. For crypto traders: expect continued banking friction for crypto firms and customers while regulatory guidance remains unclear; potential policy changes could improve access but require congressional action. Keywords: de-banking, regulatory pressure, FDIC, Bank Secrecy Act, crypto banking access.

Digitap ($TAP) and Remittix (RTX) are vying to capture modern remittance flows as stablecoins displace legacy rails and older crypto solutions like XRP. Digitap positions itself as an “omni‑bank” neobank that unifies fiat, stablecoins and crypto in one dashboard, routes transfers across multiple rails (stablecoin networks, SWIFT, SEPA and legacy banking) to minimize cost and time, and offers a live iOS/Android app supporting 20+ fiats and 100 assets plus a Visa card partnership. Digitap claims sub‑1% fees and minute‑level settlement, and allocates 50% of platform profits to $TAP buybacks/burns and stakeholder rewards. Remittix focuses on crypto‑to‑fiat remittances with support for 40+ cryptos and payouts in 30+ countries at low, fixed fees and a Web3 wallet beta targeting migrants, remote workers and SMEs. Both projects are in crypto presales and marketed as PayFi solutions to seize the $117B opportunity left by XRP’s original remit focus. The reporting notes promotional origin and is not financial advice. For traders: Digitap’s broader utility, live app distribution via Visa and aggressive tokenomics make $TAP the higher‑conviction speculative candidate among the two; monitor presale dilution, on‑chain liquidity, regulatory risk around stablecoins and remittance KYC/AML, and any listing events that could trigger short‑term volatility.

World Liberty Finance has launched WLFI Markets, a consumer-facing web lending and borrowing platform built on the Dolomite protocol that went live on Jan. 12, 2026. The platform supports World Liberty’s dollar-pegged stablecoin USD1 as the primary asset for lending and borrowing and accepts WLFI, ETH, USDC, USDT and cbBTC as collateral. WLFI Markets will add a mobile app and further integrations over the next 18 months. The launch signals a strategic shift from token issuance toward DeFi consumer services by the firm founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. USD1’s circulating supply and market cap have grown rapidly—rising from about $128m to roughly $3.4bn over the past year—making it one of the largest fiat-pegged stablecoins by market capitalisation. World Liberty also filed on Jan. 7 with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form World Liberty Trust Company and pursue a national bank charter, which could place USD1 issuance, custody and conversion under federal oversight if approved. WLFI token saw a brief uptick on the news but was effectively flat over 24 hours at publication. Key SEO keywords: WLFI Markets, USD1 stablecoin, World Liberty Finance, Dolomite, crypto lending, WLFI token.

Apple has agreed a multi‑year, non‑exclusive partnership to integrate Google’s Gemini foundational models and cloud services into Siri. Reportedly worth about $1 billion per year, the deal follows Apple’s review of other providers (OpenAI, Anthropic) and aims to accelerate Apple’s AI roadmap while retaining Apple Intelligence and a privacy‑first approach. Technical integration is hybrid: on‑device processing for core tasks, Apple Private Cloud Compute for heavier operations, Gemini APIs for advanced multimodal features (text, image, audio, video), and federated learning for privacy‑preserving improvements. Apple confirmed a Gemini‑powered Siri overhaul due in spring 2026, with a developer beta expected in Q2 2026. New features include stronger conversational ability, complex task completion, personalized and proactive suggestions, and deeper integrations across iOS (Safari, Spotlight, third‑party apps). The agreement is non‑exclusive and structured to comply with antitrust remedies affecting prior Google‑Apple deals. Analysts expect the partnership to speed AI adoption across Apple’s ecosystem, drive demand for AI‑capable silicon, and create new developer opportunities. For crypto traders, the deal is relevant because it may raise demand for AI infrastructure, boost revenues for hardware and cloud providers that support AI workloads, and influence tokens or projects tied to AI compute, cloud services, or Apple/Google supplier chains — while Apple’s privacy and on‑device emphasis may limit direct data‑monetization use cases. Key SEO keywords: Apple Gemini, Siri overhaul, AI partnership, Gemini API, privacy‑preserving AI.

BitMine Holdings, the mining-focused firm led by Tom Lee, purchased roughly $76 million worth of Ethereum (ETH), signaling renewed institutional accumulation. Earlier reporting noted a larger, separate inflow of ETH to BitMine (tens of thousands of ETH) tracked via Arkham Intelligence and executed through venues such as Coinbase Prime and FalconX, suggesting multiple institutional channels were used. The acquisitions underscore rising institutional interest in ETH driven by network upgrades, portfolio diversification and growing institutional flows. Analysts cited in the coverage say ETH could outperform Bitcoin (BTC) in the near term. Traders should view this as a noteworthy institutional buy: it may provide short-term price support, tighten available circulating supply, and act as a bullish signal for momentum if accumulation continues. Key SEO keywords: Ethereum, institutional buying, ETH accumulation, Tom Lee, Bitcoin vs Ethereum.

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on the CLARITY Act, proposed legislation aiming to create the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for digital assets. The bill would classify assets (securities vs. commodities), divide oversight between the SEC and CFTC, and set unified rules for exchange registration, custody standards, stablecoin oversight, market‑manipulation controls (e.g., wash trading, spoofing), proof‑of‑reserves and real‑time surveillance for U.S. exchanges. Analysts and legal experts view the vote as a potential watershed that could replace ad hoc enforcement with statutory clarity, lower regulatory uncertainty, and attract institutional capital — potentially increasing liquidity, supporting more altcoin listings, and expanding ETFs, custody and structured products. Market indicators show higher trading volumes and increased volatility as participants position for the outcome. The bill aligns U.S. policy with frameworks such as the EU’s MiCA; passage could keep crypto business and capital in the U.S., while failure might push activity offshore. Immediate consequences include new compliance demands and costs for exchanges and clearer entry paths for banks and asset managers. The ultimate market impact depends on final legislative language and implementation timelines, which could cause short‑term frictions despite improving long‑term market structure.

Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin says the ecosystem lacks truly resilient decentralized stablecoins and outlined three core design constraints any next‑generation solution must address. First, stablecoins should target a more robust reference than a pure USD peg — e.g., a broader tracking index — to survive long‑run macro shocks. Second, oracle and governance security must resist capture and manipulation without forcing high fees or fragile tokenized control. Third, staking yield dynamics create capital competition: attractive ETH staking rewards raise the opportunity cost of locking ETH as stablecoin collateral and expose protocols to slashing/liquidity risks. Buterin proposed possible approaches — compressing staking yields to ~0.2%, creating low‑slashing staking categories, or designing slashable‑compatible collateral mechanisms — while cautioning these are exploratory, not endorsements. He also warned protocols must harden against bugs and network attacks and include shock‑handling mechanisms because ETH reserves alone can’t guarantee stability. The stablecoin market has grown (reported at $311.5B in 2026), but decentralized options (DAI, USDe, etc.) remain small versus centralized leaders (USDT/USDC >83% market share). For traders: this debate highlights potential product‑level shifts that could affect demand for ETH (staking economics) and on‑chain liquidity; proposals to reduce staking yields or create new staking categories could lower staking returns, freeing collateral for stablecoin activity and briefly pressuring ETH staking demand, while improved decentralized stablecoins would increase on‑chain dollar liquidity and composability over time. Keywords: decentralized stablecoin, Vitalik Buterin, oracle security, dollar peg, staking yield, Ethereum.

XYZVerse, a sports-focused Web3 ecosystem centered on the $XYZ token, closed a presale that raised over $15 million and has scheduled a Token Generation Event (TGE) with planned listings on major CEXs and DEXs at the end of January 2026. The project launched its flagship on-chain Counter‑Strike 2 (CS2) League featuring a combined prize pool of 500,000 USDT plus 5,000,000 $XYZ, 10 teams in 5v5 MR12 format, and fan engagement mechanics (map voting, predictions, digital collectibles) unlocked via a 100 USDT Access Pass. Smart contracts were audited by Pessimistic and SolidProof; the team completed KYC and disclosed a Revenue Router that directs platform revenue into buybacks, burns and prize/expansion funds. During the presale the token price moved from $0.0001 to $0.00715 (≈71×). The team referenced a possible listing price near $0.10 and published multiple post‑listing scenarios (conservative $0.12–$0.18; aggressive $0.40–$0.60). They also announced a Sustainability Initiative allocating 10% of partner net profits to periodic visible buybacks to help support demand and reduce circulating supply. For traders the most relevant datapoints are: presale size (~$15M), presale price progression (0.0001 → 0.00715), referenced listing price (~$0.10), upcoming end‑of‑January 2026 TGE/listings, audits/KYC, and the buyback mechanism. Short‑term listing momentum is plausible given presale funding and hype; medium‑term price support depends on tokenomics execution, platform revenue, and CS2 League adoption.

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission plans to lift a near nine‑year ban on corporate crypto investing by permitting listed companies and qualified professional investors to allocate up to 5% of their equity capital annually into the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Guidance is expected to be finalised in January–February 2026 and would restrict trading to the country’s five regulated exchanges; corporate crypto trading could begin after final approval, likely by late 2026. Regulators remain undecided on whether stablecoins such as USDT will qualify. The measure is part of a cautious, phased liberalisation aimed at reducing money‑laundering and market‑stability risks and sits alongside broader digital‑asset rule‑making, including proposed stablecoin licensing (100% reserves and guaranteed redemptions) and a CBDC plan targeting 25% of treasury transactions by 2030. Analysts say the change could unlock substantial domestic capital (potentially tens of trillions of won), shift some offshore corporate crypto activity back onshore, support blockchain startups and corporate treasuries, and boost local market infrastructure — though the 5% cap may limit inflows and slow the growth of specialist crypto investment firms compared with jurisdictions without such limits.

Large Shiba Inu (SHIB) holders have removed roughly 80–82 trillion SHIB from centralized exchanges since early December, reducing exchange balances from about 370.3T to ~290.3T (now ~28% of circulating supply). On-chain trackers (TKResearch Trading and other analytics) show these withdrawals concentrated in the past 60 days, with notable pulls from platforms including Coinbase at ~$0.0000085. SHIB price sits near $0.0000086 (Jan 12, 2026). The decline in exchange-held supply tightens short-term liquidity and lowers immediate sell pressure, but thinner order books increase price sensitivity to large trades and raise volatility risk. Earlier analytics noted exchange reserves were rising and derivatives activity (futures/options volume and open interest) had fallen, suggesting reduced leverage and some profit-taking near recent highs; however, whale transfers surged in parallel, indicating large holders are actively repositioning. Analysts interpret the recent net outflows mainly as accumulation for long-term holding, staking, or DeFi use rather than distribution — but warn that unless demand remains strong, concentrated holdings could exacerbate moves if deposits resume. Traders should monitor exchange balances, net flows, large wallet transfers, borrowable supply (short liquidity), derivatives open interest, and macro drivers (e.g., BTC consolidation) for short-term volatility signals and directional cues.

Seven senior UK parliamentary committee chairs, led by Labour MP Liam Byrne, have written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging a ban on cryptocurrency political donations to be included in the forthcoming elections bill. They say crypto donations can obscure donor identities, enable many micro-donations that skirt disclosure thresholds, and increase vulnerability to foreign interference — risks the Electoral Commission has warned are hard to manage. The letter, submitted January 11, intensifies scrutiny after reports that Reform UK signalled openness to receiving crypto donations; Reform says it does not permit anonymous crypto gifts. Government officials and the Electoral Commission note practical and procedural complexity, so ministers consider a blanket ban may be impractical for the immediate elections bill. The move comes ahead of local elections in May and is backed by advocacy groups including the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition. For crypto traders: watch UK regulatory developments closely. A parliamentary push toward restricting or banning crypto political donations could reduce institutional and public use of crypto for political funding, shift perception and flows, and raise regulatory risk premia for related assets — increasing short-term uncertainty and regulatory risk priced into markets.

Bitcoin (BTC) has stabilized in a tight range around $89.5K–$92K this weekend after a swift early‑2026 run to near $95K and a subsequent $5K correction. BTC is trading around $90K–$91K with market capitalization near $1.8–1.82 trillion and dominance close to 57%. The broader crypto market cap sits near $3.18–3.2 trillion. Recent market breadth is mixed: POL led weekly gains with roughly +44% to $0.17, while SUI, TAO, XMR and RAIN posted notable upside; XMR and RAIN were top 24‑hour gainers. On the downside, ZEC and CC fell double digits, joined by DOGE, MNT, UNI and HBAR, and certain tokens (e.g., HYPE, AVAX in earlier reports) showed sharp intraday drops, highlighting idiosyncratic liquidity risk. For traders, the tight BTC range implies reduced short‑term volatility and fewer momentum trades; key levels to watch are the $89.5K support and $92K–$93K resistance for breakout or breakdown signals. Monitor BTC dominance for rotation into or out of altcoins, and track leading altcoin movers (POL, SUI, TAO, XMR, RAIN) for continuation or retracement patterns. Key metrics: BTC price $90K±, BTC market cap ~ $1.8T, BTC dominance ≈57%, total crypto cap ~ $3.18T–$3.2T, and acute 24‑hour moves in select altcoins that could create short‑term volatility.

XRP whales have been reallocating capital into early-stage DeFi presales as XRP price pulled back. On-chain data and presale trackers point to heavy accumulation in Mutuum Finance (MUTM), a DeFi lending protocol running an active presale now in late phases. Key updates: XRP trades near $2.10 with a large whale base; MUTM presale reports ~18,800 holders and roughly $19M raised, with token price steps from ~$0.01 (Phase 1) to ~$0.035–$0.04 (Phase 6–7). Mutuum offers dual lending modes (peer-to-contract liquidity pools and peer-to-peer loans), collateralized lending with liquidation mechanics, a Halborn security audit, and plans for a Sepolia testnet in Q4 2025 to trial borrowing against ETH/USDT and mtToken yield distribution. Analysts and on-chain observers interpret the whale-driven inflows as a rotation toward higher-risk, early-stage small-cap crypto (MUTM) while XRP consolidates. Traders should note the presale’s strong demand and rising token prices as potential short-term momentum drivers for MUTM, while XRP’s price weakness may continue to push liquidity into presales. This is a press-release style market narrative; do your own due diligence before trading.

Pi Network released a unified developer library that bundles the Pi SDK with backend APIs to simplify and accelerate Pi payment integration. The package includes JavaScript/React frontend support and backend integrations for Next.js and Ruby on Rails, with documentation and demo videos that let developers add Pi payments in under 10 minutes. The core team frames this as an infrastructure-first push to drive real-world utility, developer experimentation, and merchant adoption throughout 2026. Market metrics (Jan 11, 2026): PI trading near $0.21, 24‑hour volume about $4.1M and market cap roughly $1.76B. Despite the tooling upgrade, PI’s price showed little reaction; supply-side pressure — roughly 4.5M tokens scheduled for release per day over the next 30 days (sometimes near 5.5M) — is cited as a factor that may increase short-term selling. Analysts note that infrastructure improvements can support long-term network value but are unlikely to produce immediate price gains without rising active users, diverse apps, and measurable on-chain usage.

A new analyst report finds Bitcoin mining now sources over 50% of its electricity from renewables (solar, wind, hydro) and is increasingly used to monetise otherwise curtailed or wasted clean power. Analyst Daniel Batten says miners absorb excess generation, shortening payback periods for solar and wind projects from roughly eight years to about 3.5 years and reducing grid-connection queues. Large firms and utilities — including Deutsche Telekom and Tepco — are deploying or experimenting with mining to monetise surplus renewable output. Reported public benefits include district heating from mining waste heat (Marathon Digital reportedly supplies heat to about 80,000 people in Finland), off-grid electrification in Africa through projects such as Gridless Compute, and support for conservation efforts like anti-poaching in Virunga National Park. The analysis challenges common criticisms of Bitcoin mining’s environmental impact, noting Bitcoin ranks 23rd in global electricity consumption but 59th in greenhouse-gas emissions versus national emitters (University of Cambridge data). The report argues green BTC mining reduces renewable curtailment, improves project economics, attracts industrial players, and can fund climate-tech and niche renewable development (for example reviving ocean thermal concepts) without expensive grid links. For traders: implications include improving ESG narratives around BTC, potential increase in institutional participation, and reputational and regulatory tailwinds that could support demand — factors likely to be gradually bullish for BTC fundamentals even if short-term price effects may be muted.