On Thursday, 15 January, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote on the CLARITY Act, a comprehensive crypto market structure bill. The proposal would clearly define digital commodities and digital assets, grant the CFTC control over digital commodity spot markets, and leave securities-like oversight with the SEC. If approved, it could tighten rules on market manipulation, require stronger transparency from exchanges, and potentially draw more institutional capital into U.S. crypto markets.

From early 2025 into early 2026, BTC's volume dominance slid from 45–50% toward 30–35%, while altcoins expanded above 55% and often 60–65%. ETH's share fluctuated between 20% and 30%. On-chain metrics show Ethereum addresses climbed from about 300 million to 370 million, but BNB Chain led with past 730 million addresses and roughly 4.4 million daily active users.

Memecoin metrics swung from a mid-December slide to an early January rebound. Sector capitalization climbed from around $38 billion to near $48 billion before easing to $44.69 billion, with volume up 17.42% to $4.75 billion. BONK, SHIB, and PEPE posted double-digit weekly gains, while smaller tokens like WIF and FARTCOIN also advanced.

In 2025, BNB Chain quietly became the most actively used major EVM network, overtaking rival chains on key on-chain metrics as the market moved toward 2026. While Ethereum continued to dominate in fees and settlement value, BNB Chain led in active addresses and transactions, reflecting more routine, retail-driven usage rather than short-lived hype cycles.

Bitcoin's price action in 2026 remains range‑bound after peaking above $126,000 in October 2025 and retreating to the $90,000 area by January 2026. According to CryptoQuant and a post by analyst Darkforst on X, negative Exchange Netflows, a short‑term holder cost basis near $103,000, and losses of roughly 15% highlight ongoing stress despite support between $85,000 and $92,000.