On January 3, 2026, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong defended the economic design of content and creator coins on Base and Zora after former Coinbase engineer Hish Bouabdallah said the model is largely speculative and zero-sum. Armstrong argued that liquidity pools on Zora link content coins to creator coins, while critics pointed to the 67% crash in YouTuber Nick Shirley's token as evidence of structural flaws in current SocialFi experiments.

Senator Cynthia Lummis is pressing Congress to move the CLARITY Act forward, saying it would establish clear crypto rules and retain firms in the U.S. Lawmakers will review the bill on January 15, and Senate passage would require 60 votes. The discussion unfolds amid U.S. debt above $38 trillion and quicker crypto policy moves abroad.

Coinbase's institutional strategy chief John D'Agostino told CNBC that market-structure legislation will take longer than stablecoin rules, with bipartisan momentum targeting 2026. The Senate Banking Committee scheduled a CLARITY Act markup for January 15 after delays over DeFi oversight and token standards, as competitive pressure from Europe's MiCA accelerates action.

In 2025, wallet drainer phishing attacks across EVM chains caused $83.85 million in losses, an 83% decline from nearly $494 million in 2024, with victim counts also falling sharply. Security researchers note losses still tracked market rallies, highlighted by a $6.5 million Permit-based theft, emerging EIP-7702 signature exploits, and a continuing shift toward smaller, retail-focused scams.

On 3 January 2026, industry figures highlighted that the U.S. CLARITY Act is advancing slowly because it is intended as a broad, long-term framework for digital asset market structure rather than a narrow crypto bill. While Europe proceeds under MiCA, institutional investors are already positioning for 2026, when many expect U.S. regulatory clarity, a key Senate session on 15 January, and a potential new growth phase for Bitcoin and Ethereum to intersect.

Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs linked ongoing cryptocurrency thefts to the 2022 LastPass breach, saying affected wallets have been drained in waves over months or years. The United States Secret Service last year reported seizing more than $23 million in crypto tied to decrypted vault data. TRM also observed laundering via Wasabi Wallet's CoinJoin.

On January 2, 2026, cybersecurity firm Hackless warned that an automated campaign was siphoning small sums from hundreds of wallets across EVM-compatible networks. Onchain investigator ZachXBT said losses were typically under $2,000 per address, with early clues pointing to spoofed MetaMask emails and malicious browser extensions.

Global crypto phishing losses fell 83% in 2025 to $83.85 million, with victims down 68% to 106,106. Quarterly losses shifted with market cycles, peaking at $31.04 million in Q3 and easing to $13.09 million in Q4. Permit-based signature exploits drove large incidents, including a $6.5 million theft in September.