As 2026 trading begins, Delphi Digital reports that crypto investors are grappling with a "token identity crisis" as assets increasingly resemble equity, governance tools, or customer acquisition incentives. Securitize's IPO plans, MetaDAO's ownership tokens, Uniswap's fee switch, and CAC-style distribution models such as Worldcoin illustrate this shift, while regulatory moves in the US and Europe aim to clarify rules for institutions. Around $2.2 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options are set to expire, with Bitcoin trading near $88,970 and option positioning suggesting expectations for a possible move back above $90,000.

Turkmenistan has legalized cryptocurrency mining and trading under a licensing regime, with exchanges and miners supervised by the central bank. The legislation was signed in late November and came into force this week, while cryptocurrencies remain excluded as legal tender. The policy aims to diversify the gas‑dependent economy without loosening state control.

On December 30, Grayscale Investments filed a Form S-1 to convert its over-the-counter Bittensor Trust into a spot ETF on NYSE Arca under ticker GTAO. As of December 31, the trust held $7.97 million in digital assets, traded on OTCQX with 1.88 million shares, a 2.5% fee, and 0.0192 TAO per share.

According to CoinGlass figures cited by Ted Pillows, Ethereum logged losses in nine of twelve months in 2025, its most persistent slump since 2018. As of early January 2026, ETH trades near $3,020, up 1.6% on the day and down 11.2% year over year, with technicians eyeing $3,000 and the 200-day average.

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.