On January 11, a report said Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro used Tether (USDT) to help PdVSA settle oil trades under U.S. sanctions. Tether reiterated cooperation with U.S. authorities and freezes wallets on official request. USDT was near $0.99 with a $186.76 billion market cap and about $37.36 billion in 24-hour volume.

Nasdaq Inc. and CME Group Inc. plan to relaunch the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index (NCI™) on January 8, 2026, positioning it as a renewed benchmark for institutional participation in digital assets. The index, which includes major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, is expected to support market transparency and infrastructure as Bitcoin trades above $90,000 with a market cap of $1.81 trillion. Analysts suggest the move could encourage new institutional-grade crypto products and reinforce the sector's overall maturity.

Elon Musk stated on the X platform that the service will release as open source the code used to recommend both organic and advertising posts, with the first release set for seven days after his announcement and subsequent updates every four weeks. The move follows a sharp rise in bot-driven crypto posts, including a reported 7.75 million bot messages in one day and a 1,224% jump in such activity, and could alter how sensitive the algorithm is to crypto-related content.

Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Council has issued cease-and-desist directives to Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com, requiring them to shut down sports betting contracts in the state and refund users by January 31, 2026. The council argues these unlicensed sports event markets violate state gambling law and could trigger civil penalties or criminal exposure for non-compliance. The decision adds to mounting U.S. regulatory pressure on crypto-based prediction and betting platforms.

Binance Wallet announced an exclusive Booster and Token Generation Event for Unitas (UP), with subscriptions opening on January 12, 2026 at 18:00 (UTC+8). The event targets a $50,000 raise in BNB for 10 million UP under an over-subscription model, capping each user's deposit at 3 BNB with proportional allocation.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies has appointed Young Kim as its new Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, reporting to Chairman Thomas "Tom" Lee. The leadership change is tied to Bitmine's plan to expand its Ethereum holdings from the current 3.43% of ETH supply toward a 5% target, a move that could affect Ethereum liquidity and market structure. Recent market data shows Ethereum trading around $3,092.87 with a market capitalization near $373.29 billion.

The U.S. SEC has excluded cryptocurrencies from its 2026 priority-risk agenda, a change highlighted by Changpeng Zhao. Market observers say reduced regulatory focus could ease investor concerns and improve liquidity. Zhao tempered expectations, noting his "supercycle" call might be wrong.

On January 9, 2026, the Zcash Foundation said it will keep Zcash a decentralized, open-source protocol after the Electric Coin Company's core team resigned over governance conflicts with Bootstrap Project. Market analysts noted ZEC faced heavy selling, dropping 20% in a day, while CoinMarketCap showed a $432.95 price and $1.44 billion in 24-hour volume.

President Donald Trump has announced a $200 billion mortgage-backed securities purchase program through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, intended to push U.S. mortgage rates lower and ease housing affordability pressures. The move, framed as a large-scale market intervention using existing executive authority, has drawn comparisons to quantitative easing and is expected to influence mortgage costs, housing dynamics, and broader financial conditions.