On January 12, 2026, cybersecurity researchers detailed how the GoBruteforcer botnet compromises Linux servers used by cryptocurrency and blockchain projects through weak credentials and exposed services. The malware targets FTP, MySQL, PostgreSQL and phpMyAdmin to build a distributed network for brute-force password cracking and data theft. Investigations also found crypto-specific campaigns and blockchain reconnaissance, including scans of TRON addresses to identify funded wallets.

On January 12, 2026, the Dubai Financial Services Authority enforced an updated Crypto Token Regulatory Framework that bans privacy-focused cryptocurrencies within the Dubai International Financial Centre. The rules also refine which assets qualify as fiat-referenced crypto tokens, excluding algorithmic models such as Ethena's USDe from stablecoin treatment and shifting token approval responsibility from the regulator to licensed firms.

On January 12 2026, cybersecurity researchers detailed how Chinese-speaking criminal syndicates have spent nearly a decade building pig-butchering romance scams into a commoditized, service-based industry across Southeast Asia. The report describes large compounds of forced labor, plug-and-play PBaaS toolkits, fake trading platforms, phishing apps and crimeware services like Penguin that sell stolen identities and social media accounts. These infrastructures collectively support industrial-scale online fraud and global money laundering operations.

Pi Network released its first update of 2026 this week, introducing a bundled developer library and SDKs designed to let apps add Pi payment functions in under ten minutes. The upgrade supports JavaScript, React, Next.js and Ruby on Rails stacks, aiming to cut integration complexity and reduce developer friction. It comes as the PI token trades far below its $2.98 all‑time high and faces large token unlocks and weak social metrics, alongside relatively low but recently rising trading volumes.

In 2026, ISO 20022 moves from implementation to enforcement, with unstructured addresses due for removal by November 2026, while G20 P2P ambitions and instant-payment upgrades gather pace. RedCompass Labs says these shifts, plus Visa's USDC settlement run rate above $3.5 billion by late November last year, could help turn crypto sentiment.

Zscaler ThreatLabz reported three malicious Bitcoin-themed npm packages that installed a remote access trojan dubbed NodeCordRAT. The packages bitcoin-main-lib, bitcoin-lib-js, and bip40 were removed from the npm registry in November 2025 after accumulating over 3,400 downloads, and the malware targets Chrome credentials, .env tokens, and MetaMask wallet secrets.

On January 8, 2026, Valour's Pi Swedish Krona ETP completed its fifth consecutive month on Sweden's Spotlight Stock Market with limited activity. Recent intraday quotes hovered around 19.32 SEK with turnover of approximately 143 units, while PI fell 1.6% over 24 hours to $0.2075 after a 7‑day gain of 3.2%.

On January 8, 2026, Amazon Web Services and Ripple were reported to be testing Amazon Bedrock's generative AI to improve monitoring and analysis of the XRP Ledger's system logs. The effort targets XRPL's globally distributed C++ infrastructure, where more than 900 nodes each generate tens of gigabytes of logs, and aims to cut incident investigations from multi-day efforts to just a few minutes. AWS engineers outlined a pipeline that ingests logs and code into services such as Amazon S3, Lambda, SQS, CloudWatch, and EventBridge so AI agents can better detect anomalies and explain network behavior.

On January 8, 2026, Bitcoin briefly dropped to $89,700 before rebounding to around $90,300, while Ethereum traded near $3,120 amid a wider market downturn. Major altcoins including XRP, BNB, Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano and others posted losses of up to 7% over 24 hours, as profit-taking, long liquidations and weakening institutional demand weighed on prices.