Blockchain investigators linked a wallet associated with an alleged US government crypto seizure theft to the launch of a Solana memecoin on Pump.fun that plunged about 97% within its first day. The token's market cap briefly reached about $915,000 before sliding below $25,000, while Bubblemaps said the deployer held 40% at launch and ZachXBT reported Friday tracing related wallets.

Former SEC attorney Teresa Goody Guillen filed a public comment on the SEC Crypto Task Force page supporting Ripple's contention that speculation alone should not trigger securities laws. She also circulated a discussion draft for the Digital Markets Restructure Act of 2026 proposing a new Digital Value Instruments category for assets that do not fit as securities or commodities.

Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler reported uncovering a 149 million-record cache of credentials stolen by infostealer malware from compromised personal devices, including 420,000 Binance logins and tens of millions of major platform accounts. Security experts said the leak reflects end-user device infections rather than a breach of Binance systems, while warning that newer infostealer strains are increasingly targeting crypto wallets, exchanges and browser extensions.

Valeo and Solana-based Natix are collaborating on an open-source multi-camera World Foundation Model designed to learn and predict motion for autonomous driving. They will release models, datasets, and training tools for developers, with an initial version expected within the next couple of months. The initiative targets safer, transparent deployment of physical AI systems.

Bitpanda will let users trade about 10,000 stocks and ETFs alongside crypto starting Jan. 29, according to an announcement. Stock and ETF orders will cost a flat 1 euro ($1.17) per trade, with access to real stocks across the European Union as the company advances a universal exchange model.

Tudou Guarantee, a Telegram-based escrow service tied to Huione Group, has reportedly begun winding down after returning around $130 million in USDT to public merchants since early 2026. The move, which followed an announced shutdown on its Telegram channel, could slow phishing and pig butchering schemes that flourished on the platform and had previously been linked to tens of billions of dollars in crypto transactions.

On Wednesday, crypto futures and perpetual contracts linked to the 500 largest cryptocurrencies saw around $200 million of short positions liquidated, marking the biggest squeeze since the Oct. 10 sell-off. Bitcoin and Ether led the move, with Bitcoin also outperforming the US dollar in early 2026 as geopolitical tensions and questions over Federal Reserve independence intensified.

Perpetual decentralized exchanges are expanding rapidly, with CoinGecko data showing their share of derivatives revenue increasing from 2.1% in January 2023 to 11.7% in November 2025. Delphi Digital's 2026 outlook argues that these onchain venues are structurally more efficient than fragmented and costly TradFi infrastructure, while Cantor Fitzgerald models a long-term price path for Hyperliquid's HYPE token based on a 15% compound annual growth rate and planned buybacks. Perp DEX trading volume also tripled in 2025 to $12.09 trillion, though it remains small beside the $846 trillion notional value of outstanding OTC derivatives reported in June 2025.

Standard Chartered is in early talks to build a crypto prime brokerage under SC Ventures, signaling a further push into digital assets by major banks. The bank also lowered its Ether outlook to $7,500 for end-2026 and $22,000 for end-2028, while lifting its 2030 target above $40,000.