On 12 January 2026, Miami-based World Liberty Financial, which lists Donald Trump as co-founder emeritus, launched its World Liberty Markets lending and borrowing venue to deepen usage of its USD1 stablecoin. The platform supports USD1 alongside WLFI, Ether, tokenized Bitcoin, USDT and USDC, and is built on Dolomite's DeFi infrastructure to let users lend assets or borrow against collateral. Company executives also outlined plans for tokenized real-world assets, a mobile app, a debit card and a potential US bank charter to broaden USD1's role in both crypto and traditional finance.

Late on Sunday, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said he is facing a criminal investigation over allegations he misled Congress about renovation work at the central bank’s Washington DC headquarters. He argues the probe is really about his refusal to follow Donald Trump’s calls for faster interest rate cuts, raising doubts over the Fed’s independence and what this could mean for financial markets and Bitcoin.

Corporate Bitcoin investor Strategy purchased 13,627 BTC last week for $1.25 billion, marking its largest buy since July 2025 and pushing its holdings to 687,410 BTC. The coins were acquired at an average price of $91,519, funded mainly through at-the-market equity programs using MSTR common stock and STRC preferred shares.

According to the Dubai Financial Services Authority, revised crypto rules taking effect on January 12 ban privacy coins and anonymity tools, including mixers, in or from the DIFC. The framework narrows "fiat crypto token" status to fiat-pegged, reserve-backed assets and shifts token‑listing accountability from a regulator-maintained list to licensed firms.

Over the past 24 hours, Monero's price climbed to a new all-time high of nearly $600 before easing to about $577, valuing the coin at over $10.5 billion and placing it 18th by market cap. Analysts are split between forecasts for further gains toward $800–$1,000 and warnings that its elevated RSI near 78 could precede a sharp correction, similar to previous peaks above $500 that were followed by steep declines.

The Bank of Italy modeled an extreme Ether price shock to zero in a new study, examining how validator incentives, staking security and block production would react. It assesses potential spillovers to settlement and payment uses built on Ethereum and outlines policy options for supervisors, including either ruling out public chains or imposing robust risk‑mitigation measures.

An early Ethereum whale completed the distribution of more than 154,000 ETH, moving the final 26,000 coins to Bitstamp. The holder bought at a $517 average and could realize about $274M in net gains, while ETH held above $3,100 and daily volumes approached $20B.

On 12 January 2026, crypto traders are watching three key macro and policy catalysts: U.S. CPI, PPI and the Senate's review of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. CPI and PPI readings could shift expectations for 2026 rate cuts and near-term volatility across Bitcoin and altcoins. The Clarity Act's progress may shape longer-term sentiment by signaling whether U.S. regulation is moving toward clearer oversight of digital assets.