From late 2025 through July 2026, the EU’s MiCA framework will require exchanges, custodians, stablecoin issuers and other crypto intermediaries to secure authorization to keep operating. The rules exclude fully decentralized protocols and self-custody wallets from CASP status, but critics argue that heavy compliance costs, front-end control and additional traceability via the Transfer of Funds Regulation could sideline smaller DeFi startups and push services to geo-block EU users.

An on-chain alert shared by ZachXBT has highlighted a coordinated wallet-draining campaign across several EVM-compatible blockchains, with cumulative losses already exceeding $107,000 and most affected wallets losing under $2,000 each. Investigators report that the stolen funds are being routed through related addresses, but no specific wallet provider, dApp, or exploit vector has yet been identified. The pattern raises broader concerns about stealthy attacks on self-custody users interacting with multiple chains and protocols.

Updated on January 2, 2026 at 11:27 AM UTC, this roundup highlights ten active crypto airdrops and their qualification steps. According to the piece, Bitcoin hit $89,000 as sentiment improved, and rewards range from up to $100,000 to a $750 million pool. Items include Hyperliquid Season 2, OpenSea's SEA token, Polymarket, and more.

In December 2025, tokenized real-world assets on Solana rose nearly 10% to a record $873.3 million, alongside an 18.4% jump in holders to 126,236. Institutional momentum has been fueled by six Solana ETFs approved in October 2025, Western Union’s choice of Solana for a stablecoin remittance platform serving 150 million customers, and expanding RWA products such as US Treasuries and tokenized equities. Despite SOL trading near $125 at the start of 2026, well below its early-2025 peak, the network has generated $110 million in 30-day onchain app revenue and is seen by firms like Bitwise and Galaxy Research as a key beneficiary of stablecoin and tokenization growth.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin changed his X profile picture to a Milady NFT, coinciding with the collection's floor price jumping almost 30% within a day. Milady Maker's minimum price climbed to about 1.07 ETH as trading volume and sales spiked, while Buterin also shared a New Year message outlining Ethereum's key technical progress in 2025 and longer-term mission.

Bitcoin miner Cango secured a fresh $10.5 million commitment from Enduring Wealth Capital Limited and saw its shares up more than 3% in pre‑market ahead of its first full trading day. The deal supports Cango's 50 EH/s operations and 2026 AI/HPC expansion, with analysts assigning $3–$4 targets and citing significant undervaluation.

On 2 January 2026, dozens of countries began gathering detailed crypto transaction records ahead of the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework's planned data exchanges in 2027. Platforms in 48 jurisdictions must now log wallet activity, trades, and transfers under new tax transparency rules, with the UK enforcing particularly strict reporting duties. A further group of countries is expected to join from 2028, signaling a shift toward cross-border visibility of crypto holdings and gains.

Coinbase plans to emphasize stablecoins, Base and an 'everything exchange' through 2026, per CEO Brian Armstrong. In a New Year's post he reaffirmed the vision, and in December the firm launched stock trading and prediction markets while rebranding its wallet as an 'everything app'.