Russia plans to finalize a national cryptocurrency regulatory framework for a vote at the end of June, with implementation targeted for July 1, 2027. The rules would open the market to both qualified and non-qualified investors, cap annual purchases of the most liquid coins for retail participants, and keep a domestic payments ban and licensing obligations for service providers in place.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg on Tuesday that the company aims to become one of the world's leading gold central banks and will actively trade its reserves. Bloomberg reported Tether holds around 140 tons of gold, valued at over $23.3 billion, stored in a Swiss nuclear bunker, and is buying one to two tons per week.

Solana Mobile opened claims for its SKR token to Seeker phone owners and active dApp participants, with eligible season 1 developers also included. The airdrop offers a 90-day claim window via the built-in wallet, draws on a 10 billion supply with 30% set for airdrops and launch unlocks, and features a linear inflation schedule starting at 10%.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev reiterated his support for the U.S. Senate's comprehensive crypto market structure bill in a Wednesday post on X, even after a planned markup was postponed. The Senate Banking Committee pulled its scheduled Thursday session late Wednesday following Coinbase's decision to withdraw support over concerns about tokenized equities, DeFi restrictions, and stablecoin reward limits.

On Wednesday, Lighter said users must stake LIT to deposit into its Lighter Liquidity Pool, with a 1:10 ratio allowing 1 LIT to unlock up to 10 USDC. The change takes effect immediately for new participants, while existing depositors have a two‑week grace period ending Jan. 28; fee waivers kick in at 100 LIT staked.

Ripple President Monica Long said in a Tuesday Bloomberg interview that the company intends to stay private, arguing its strong finances remove the need for an IPO. Ripple raised $500 million at a $40 billion valuation in November 2025 and spent nearly $4 billion on four acquisitions in 2025 to expand payments, treasury and custody services.

On Monday, decentralized perpetuals exchange Lighter saw its native LIT token climb 13.9% in 24 hours to roughly $3.04, as onchain activity pointed to a possible token buyback. The protocol highlighted that fees and buybacks can be monitored via its treasury account, while treasury data showed a higher LIT balance but no formal confirmation of an active repurchase program.

Caroline Ellison, former Alameda Research co‑CEO, is slated to leave federal custody on Jan. 21, 2026. She was sentenced in September 2024, began a two‑year term in November 2024, and moved to community confinement in October 2025. Earlier this month she accepted a 10‑year ban from serving as an officer or director of public companies or crypto exchanges.

Uniswap governance approved the "UNIfication" plan with 99.9% support on Thursday, Hayden Adams said on X. The proposal redirects part of trading fees from liquidity providers to the protocol to fund ongoing UNI burns, with an initial 100 million to be retired after a two-day timelock. UNI was $5.92 at 10:10 p.m. Thursday, up 18.9% in the past week.