As of January 22, 2026, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded four days of net outflows totaling $1.62 billion, with daily redemptions peaking at $708.71 million on January 21. BlackRock's IBIT led withdrawals while BTC traded below $90,000, as basis trade yields slipped under 5% and CME futures open interest fell behind Binance.

Prosecutors in Gwangju are investigating the disappearance of a significant amount of Bitcoin seized in a prior criminal case, after an internal audit indicated the assets were missing. Officials suspect a phishing incident tied to a wallet password kept on a USB drive during storage, and have not disclosed the amount or valuation.

On January 22, 2026, DeFi Development Corporation launched DisclaimerCoin ($DONT) on Solana as a corporate memecoin experiment without utility, roadmap, or promises, while publicly telling traders not to buy it. The token's market cap briefly exceeded $26 million within hours, with fixed supply set at 420 billion tokens and 30% locked on the company’s balance sheet. On-chain data shows some wallets realized large gains before or just after the public announcement, intensifying scrutiny of trading activity around the debut.

On January 22, 2026, Binance founder CZ said at a Davos panel he is in talks with over a dozen governments to tokenize state-owned assets on-chain. Recent developments include Pakistan's plan to tokenize up to $2 billion of sovereign debt and the NYSE's January 19 confirmation of a tokenized trading platform, alongside a December SEC no-action letter for DTCC.

On Wednesday, Vitalik Buterin proposed embedding native distributed validator technology (DVT) into Ethereum's staking protocol to mitigate single-node failure. The design lets a validator register up to 16 keys and require threshold signatures for block duties. The move comes as more than 36 million ETH are staked across nearly one million validators, with staked value above $118 billion.

The SEC Crypto Task Force received two new written submissions calling for clearer treatment of self-custody rights and proprietary DeFi trading as US digital asset rules evolve. One filing cites Louisiana’s House Bill 488 to argue that federal measures should not undercut retail self-custody, while another from the Blockchain Association urges that on-chain proprietary traders in tokenized equities not be classified as dealers.

BitMine Immersion Technologies disclosed on January 20, 2026 that its Ethereum holdings have climbed to 4,203,036 ETH, worth about $13.5 billion after recent dip buying of roughly $110 million. The position now represents around 3.48% of Ethereum's estimated 120.7 million circulating supply, keeping the company on its path toward a self-imposed 5% ownership target.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig has launched the Future-Proof initiative to overhaul decades-old U.S. derivatives, crypto, and prediction market regulations as he begins his term at the agency. Taking office on December 22 after Senate confirmation on December 18, he aims to replace enforcement-led oversight with tailored rules for blockchain, AI-driven trading, and digital asset markets. The program will review existing frameworks, modernize requirements, and build on reforms advanced under former acting chair Caroline Pham.

Trump Media and Technology Group has scheduled February 2, 2026, as the record date for shareholders to qualify for its planned blockchain-based rewards token tied to DJT stock. Only ultimate beneficial owners of at least one full DJT share will be eligible, with additional conditions excluding stock borrowers and potentially complicating access for objecting beneficial owners. The token will offer perks linked to Truth Social, Truth+ and Truth Predict, but will not provide ownership rights, cash value, or profit claims.