On January 12, the Financial Services Commission of South Korea ended a nine year prohibition, permitting listed companies and registered professional investment institutions to gain crypto exposure. The framework caps allocations at up to 5% of net assets into the top 20 tokens and affects about 3,500 entities, with exchanges required to apply staggered execution and size limits. Uncertainty around stablecoin classification may influence corporate participation.

According to the analysis, the crypto market slipped into a weekend lull, with volatility muted across major assets. Ethereum is holding above $3,000, XRP is flashing a short-term 26/50 EMA cross, and Shiba Inu’s trading activity has thinned to near zero. The setup leaves traders watching key moving averages for confirmation.

Early Monday, Bitcoin traded close to $92,000 while major Asian equity benchmarks posted modest gains and oil continued to climb. Traders focused on upcoming US inflation data, lingering tariff uncertainty and shifting Federal Reserve policy risks, with Bitcoin hovering near the $91,000 pivot level amid cautious positioning.

On 12 January 2026, South Korea's Financial Services Commission finalized guidance to restore corporate access to crypto trading, reversing a 2017 prohibition. Eligibility will be limited to listed companies and licensed professional investors, with tight exposure caps and execution controls. Roughly 3,500 entities are expected to qualify once the rules take effect.

US exchange Coinbase may reconsider support for the CLARITY Act if it restricts stablecoin rewards offered via exchanges. A Senate Banking Committee markup is set for Thursday, while Coinbase's Q4 stablecoin revenue totaled $247 million alongside $154.8 million from blockchain rewards, underscoring the potential impact on crypto platforms.

In 2025, stablecoin issuers generated roughly $5 billion from deployments on Ethereum, according to X. Startups reported a 400% year-over-year rise in stablecoin card usage and payment volumes, while ERC20 stablecoin activity approached record highs, per CryptoQuant. U.S. lawmakers are also weighing changes to yield rules, with a markup set for the 15th of January.

Bitcoin’s New Year advance is stalling near the key $90,000 support area after multiple failed attempts to hold above that level since November 2025. Morgan Stanley has filed for both Solana and Bitcoin ETFs with staking features, while Shiba Inu briefly touched $0.00001 and XRP jumped about 32% in January, drawing a cautionary technical warning from John Bollinger. Bitcoin has also posted its first post‑halving red year as traders monitor tight ranges and potential Sunday volatility around $85,000 to $90,000.

Coinbase Global Inc. is warning US lawmakers it could withdraw support for a major digital asset bill if new rules severely restrict its ability to pay rewards on stablecoins held on its platform. The exchange wants any changes limited to stronger disclosure requirements, arguing broader bans or exclusive rights for licensed banks could threaten an estimated $1.3 billion in annual stablecoin-related revenue. The dispute over rewards, which follows the GENIUS Act's stablecoin framework passed in July, is now weighing on bipartisan support for the market structure legislation planned for early 2026.