On January 21, 2026, CoinGate released its 2025 data report, indicating a structural shift in business crypto usage. The processor handled 1.42 million payments, with Bitcoin at 22.1%, stablecoins at 29.8%, and USDC orders up 1264% year-over-year. Merchant settlements in stablecoins rose to 25.2%, while USDC captured 83.4% of payouts as automation via API became standard.

On January 20, 2026, an analysis argued that in 2025 and early 2026 most bridge losses stemmed from overwhelmed operators and validator coordination, not exotic exploits. Nine figure sums vanished within minutes as funds moved through privacy tools and DEXs before alarms fully registered. The piece stresses that design and operations, not just code, defined outcomes.

On January 18, 2026, South Korea's National Assembly approved legislation to create a dedicated regulatory framework for tokenized securities, with implementation slated for January 2027. The law sets clear rules for issuing, trading, and safeguarding blockchain-based representations of traditional assets under existing financial oversight. Regulators plan to use the transition period to help banks, brokerages, and asset managers integrate distributed ledger settlement with established clearing infrastructure.

On January 17, 2026, an analysis explained why public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum deliver much lower throughput in practice than their theoretical benchmarks suggest. Because networks must balance security, decentralization, and scalability, real-world performance is constrained by consensus design, propagation delays, mempool congestion, and conservative block size choices, though users can partially mitigate these limits with Layer-2 solutions and fee strategies.

On January 17, 2026, Rokas Baltrusaitis outlined how fatigue undermines crypto security, leading to rushed approvals, skipped checks, and subtle risk judgment errors. The article argues that 24/7 markets and convenience tools intensify decision overload, making attention management a primary defense. It recommends adding review friction, segmenting wallets, and routinely revoking stale permissions.

Published on January 17, 2026, this analysis explains how modern crypto scams operate within audited code and governance to redirect value without overt violations. Tactics include altering fees, rebalancing strategies, and rerouting execution after users commit capital. It warns that audits and documentation validate process, not economic fairness.