On January 12, 2026, Ukrainian authorities ordered communication providers to block access to prediction market platform Polymarket, citing unlicensed gambling activities. The decision, issued under Resolution No. 695 by the National Commission for State Regulation of Communications and Informatization, has led to uneven access across the country while more than $410 million in Ukraine-related bets and $270 million in completed wagers are tied to the platform. Polymarket’s dependence on USDC and Polygon leaves it navigating recurring geo-blocks in multiple jurisdictions.

On January 12, 2026, World Liberty Financial launched World Liberty Markets, a digital asset lending platform on Ethereum linked to the Trump family. The service supports stablecoins, ETH, USD1 and WLFI to expand utility and liquidity, with plans for mobile apps and tokenized assets to broaden access.

Bernstein’s latest report warns that political and industry tensions over stablecoin yields are compressing the timeframe for passing the U.S. Crypto Market Structure Act, which must advance by Q2 2026 to avoid prolonged delays. The dispute between banks and crypto firms over interest-like returns on stablecoins threatens to slow legislation impacting a stablecoin market already valued at about $275 billion, with future trillion-dollar potential at stake.

On January 12, 2026, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was subpoenaed as the Department of Justice launched an investigation into alleged political pressure tied to rate-setting and his prior testimony on renovations. U.S. equities fell the same day, with the Dow down 290 points (0.6%), the S&P 500 off 0.4%, and the Nasdaq lower by 0.3%.

Elon Musk has said on X that the platform's recommendation algorithm will be published as open source within seven days and refreshed every four weeks with detailed developer notes. The initiative aims to increase transparency around how organic and advertising posts are surfaced, drawing both support and skepticism from the crypto community and aligning with calls for auditable social media systems.

Grayscale transferred 8,242.844 ETH and 1,188 SOL, valued around $25 million, to a Coinbase Prime address. The activity was observed in recent days and reflects its use of institutional services. Grayscale and Coinbase have not issued public statements on the specific transfers.

On January 11, 2024, the U.S. SEC approved the first spot Bitcoin ETFs, a landmark step that expands regulated access to Bitcoin for institutional investors. The decision comes 15 years after Hal Finney's "Running bitcoin" tweet and coincides with Bitcoin trading at $90,673.58 on January 11, 2026. These ETFs and the recent market data together highlight Bitcoin's shift from a niche experiment to a major financial asset class.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on January 15 to examine the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act and broader cryptocurrency market structure legislation. Lawmakers including Rep. French Hill, Sen. Tim Scott, and Sen. Cynthia Lummis aim to clarify SEC and CFTC jurisdictions over digital commodities and investment contracts, while analysts note Bitcoin’s recent volatility ahead of the session.

On July 2, 2025, Tether Ltd. carried out its largest sanctions-related freeze, blocking 42 cryptocurrency addresses tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and about $1 billion in flows primarily in USDT on Tron through UK-registered exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion. The action, identified and detailed by TRM Labs, is prompting closer scrutiny of sanctions-evasion risks, while USDT continues trading near its $0.999 peg with a market cap of 186,712,276,063 and a sharply lower trading volume.