On January 2, 2026, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang Yong said South Korea's economy remains solid despite the won's slide and vowed to resist US-bound investments that could unsettle FX. Authorities rolled out support measures last week as the won neared 1,500 per dollar, and the policy rate was held at 2.5% in late November.

Flow Foundation said it has moved into Phase Two of its recovery plan after a $3.9 million exploit disrupted the network on December 27, 2025. Developers are working to restore EVM functionality, execute validator-approved cleanup transactions, and test fixes on the Cadence chain, with completion expected to take several days.

Turkmenistan's Law on Virtual Assets took effect on January 1, 2026, after parliamentary approval in November and presidential assent in late 2025, creating a legal regime for crypto mining, trading, and exchanges under central bank oversight. The framework keeps crypto use under tight control, bans it for payments, and is expected to support only gradual, limited industry growth, while leveraging excess natural gas for mining and mirroring cautious regulatory trends also seen in Russia's recent mining reforms.

PeckShield said total crypto losses from hacks fell to about $76 million in December, a 60% drop from November's $194.2 million across 26 major incidents. The month included a $50 million address‑poisoning scam and around $27.3 million lost to a multisig key leak, while Trust Wallet and Flow added $7 million and $3.9 million, respectively.

On December 31 2025, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said Pakistan could become one of the world's leading cryptocurrency markets by 2030 if it maintains its current pace on regulation and adoption. He highlighted the country's young population, recent regulatory steps, and moves into tokenization and Bitcoin reserves as key drivers. Zhao also urged young entrepreneurs to build in crypto and blockchain and encouraged Pakistan to accelerate tokenization of its stock market and government assets.

South Korea's consumer prices rose 2.3% year-on-year in December, remaining above the Bank of Korea's 2% goal for a fourth straight month. Core inflation held at 2%, pointing to limited scope for a near-term rate cut. Analysts said high food costs, a weak won and firm housing demand continue to pose upside risks.

In a December 30 filing, interim US Attorney Jay Clayton asked a New York federal judge to reject the DeFi Education Fund's amicus brief in the criminal case against Anton and James Peraire-Bueno over a $25 million Ethereum MEV exploit. Prosecutors argued the brief repeats legal arguments already decided and adds no new facts, while DEF warned the prosecution could chill DeFi development and a retrial window has been floated for late February or early March 2026. The case is being closely followed across the crypto sector because of its potential impact on MEV practices and developer risk.

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley has argued that the sharp decline of Iran's currency and rising protests in Tehran underscore Bitcoin's role as a hedge against currency devaluation. Since the June war with Israel, the rial has lost over 40% of its value, inflation has climbed above 42%, and gold coin prices have hit record highs while authorities have tightened rules on Bitcoin mining. Iranians are facing mounting economic pressure from sanctions, banking troubles, and soaring food prices, while some analysts say restrictive crypto policies are limiting people's ability to protect their savings.

UK consumer card spending fell 0.2% in 2025, marking the first annual drop since 2020 as households reacted to higher living costs and weak income growth. While discretionary outlays such as clothing and entertainment rose only modestly, spending on health, beauty, and pharmacy items jumped 9.5%, showing a shift toward smaller indulgences despite overall caution.