On January 8, 2026, Nasdaq and CME Group announced the relaunch and rebranding of the Nasdaq Crypto Index as the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index to strengthen digital asset benchmarks for institutional investors. The index is designed to cover a broad portion of the crypto market, with a particular focus on Bitcoin and Ether, supporting products such as ETPs and derivatives and addressing the growing demand for transparent institutional-grade benchmarks.

Rain closed a $250 million Series C, announced January 9, led by ICONIQ, valuing the stablecoin payments firm at $1.95 billion. The company plans to expand infrastructure across five continents, integrate US ACH and European SEPA, and grow Visa-linked stablecoin cards serving 150+ countries. Additional backers include Sapphire Ventures, Dragonfly, and Bessemer, bringing total funding to over $338 million.

On December 11, 2025, South Korea's Supreme Court ruled that Bitcoin held on centralized exchanges can be seized in criminal proceedings, citing a 55.6 BTC case. The decision establishes a legal precedent for virtual assets and is expected to influence procedures on platforms such as Upbit and Bithumb.

Community banks urged Congress to revise the GENIUS Act, arguing some stablecoin issuers indirectly offer interest via exchanges, undermining deposit competitiveness. The Act was signed in July 2025 and is slated for enforcement in November 2026. USDC remains at $1.00 with a market cap near $75.72 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

On January 6, 2026, Solana published its 2025 annual data review, reporting total revenue of $23.9 billion and 116 billion transactions, both at record levels. Seven applications each generated more than $1 billion in revenue, while ETF net inflows linked to the ecosystem reached $1.02 billion. The report also noted steady growth in active wallets, lower fees, and a Solana price of $139.95 with mixed performance across recent time frames.

On January 6, 2026, Morgan Stanley filed an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. SEC for a Solana Trust, aiming to broaden its crypto investment product lineup. The move focuses on offering institutional exposure to Solana (SOL), which was priced at $138.50 with a $78.03 billion market cap and 2.43% dominance, while its 90-day performance showed a 37.62% decline.

A confidential TD Cowen analysis indicates U.S. cryptocurrency market structure legislation might not be passed until 2027, with implementation possibly extending to 2029, due to political divisions and conflict-of-interest concerns. Some lawmakers, including Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, still point to progress toward an early 2026 markup, underscoring disagreement over the timeline. The uncertainty comes as Bitcoin trades above $93,000 and market participants look for clearer regulatory signals.

Charles Schwab plans to introduce spot Bitcoin trading in the first half of 2026, with CEO Rick Wurster signaling confidence in the asset's long-term outlook despite recent market weakness. The firm has seen rising client engagement with crypto, and Bitcoin was priced at $87,883.45 with a $1.76 trillion market cap and a 27.86% 90-day decline as of January 1, 2026. Schwab's potential expansion into digital assets would add another major traditional financial institution to the growing list of crypto market participants.

On January 1, Justin Sun withdrew about $38 million in USDC from Lighter LLP after an earlier $200 million deposit, according to MLM Monitor. His subsequent acquisition of roughly 13.25 million LIT tokens represents 1.33% of total supply and 5.32% of circulating supply, prompting close market scrutiny as LIT trades near $2.60 with a market cap around $649 million.