The Nasdaq Stock Exchange and CME Group have combined their crypto benchmarks by renaming the Nasdaq Crypto Index to the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index, which currently tracks major assets such as Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, Chainlink, Cardano and Avalanche. Executives and analysts expect crypto index benchmarks and exchange-traded products to gain traction as the digital asset market becomes more complex and investors increasingly seek passive, diversified exposure.

On January 8, 2026, engineer David said Bitcoin's miner energy floor is $93,000, with full-cycle break-even near $96,000. He noted roughly $1.2 billion flowed into spot ETFs this week while miner hedging compressed price around $90,000–$96,000. Hedge strength sits near 100% at the year's start and is projected to drop toward ~43% by late January.

In the third quarter of last year, U.S. workers received 53.8% of GDP through wages and salaries, the lowest share since the BLS labor share series began in 1947. Over the same period, labor productivity registered its fastest increase in two years, while employers added 50,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate eased to 4.4% amid subdued hiring. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin highlighted that firms are leaning on productivity gains, keeping hiring modest even as GDP and corporate profits expand.

On January 9, 2026, Pump.fun announced a redesigned creator fee system with fee‑sharing so teams can split percentages across up to 10 wallets. The update addresses low‑risk coin creation incentives from Dynamic Fees V1 and aims to improve transparency; weekly platform volume reached $6.6 billion.

On 9 January 2026, US Senators intensified debate over the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA), a Republican-backed bill that would redefine federal oversight of digital assets. Democratic lawmakers are insisting on strict conflict-of-interest rules to stop public officials, including the president, from profiting from crypto ties, warning the bill could stall without such safeguards. The proposal, which passed the House as the CLARITY Act and may expand Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority, now faces added pressure from election politics and impending leadership changes.

Hedera Hashgraph's HBAR entered 2026 with a 21% rise to $0.133 before slipping back to the $0.12 area, where a double bottom near $0.10 has formed. A trader named Cosmic expects the price to revisit $0.05 in Q1 2026, even as sentiment for a strong RWA-led breakout in Q4 and into 2027 remains. On-chain and technical metrics, including developer activity leadership among RWA projects and key resistance near $0.14, suggest a more nuanced setup than a simple pullback scenario.

On 9 January, the latest U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed 50,000 jobs added and an unemployment rate near 4.4%, with average hourly earnings around 3.8% YoY. Despite the softer-than-expected labour figures, the total cryptocurrency market capitalisation remained broadly stable above $3 trillion, hovering near $3.07 trillion after a volatile fourth quarter. This muted price response points to a cautious, wait-and-see stance as investors focus more on future inflation data and Federal Reserve guidance than on single data releases.

On-chain metrics point to mounting sell pressure on Shiba Inu, with the SHIB exchange reserve at 82 trillion coins and exchange net inflows turning positive, according to CryptoQuant. These readings suggest more tokens are moving to trading venues, raising the risk of sell-offs and potential price weakness.