U.S. spot XRP ETFs recorded their first net outflow day on Wednesday, January 7, with $40.8 million exiting the products and breaking a 36-day streak of inflows. The move was led by the 21Shares XRP ETF, which saw $47.25 million in redemptions, even as total XRP ETF assets remained around $1.53 billion and XRP stayed up more than 13% over the past week. The outflows came as XRP’s price pulled back from recent highs and Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs also posted significant redemptions, pointing to broader portfolio adjustments rather than a collapse in demand.

India's Income Tax Department recently told a parliamentary finance committee that crypto use, especially via offshore exchanges, private wallets, and DeFi, is making income detection and tax enforcement harder. Officials warned that anonymous, borderless transfers can bypass regulated intermediaries, even as India maintains a 30% tax on digital asset profits and a 1% tax deducted at source on every transfer. The Reserve Bank of India, in its latest Financial Stability Report, also argued that fast-growing private stablecoins could threaten financial stability and reiterated its preference for central bank digital currencies.

Bootstrap, the nonprofit supporting Zcash, attributed a recent governance conflict and board departures to legal constraints on raising external capital under its 501(c)(3) structure, after Electric Coin Company chose to spin out into a separate firm. The dispute focused on potential outside investment and privatization options for the Zashi self‑custodial wallet, while ZEC’s price dropped about 16% over 24 hours as large holders and new wallets accumulated millions of dollars’ worth of tokens.

On Jan. 1, 2026, China permitted commercial banks to pay interest on e‑CNY wallet balances, aiming to integrate the CBDC into bank balance sheets. On Jan. 7, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the shift gives China an edge, colliding with the GENIUS Act’s July 2025 prohibition on stablecoin yields and raising competitiveness concerns for US dollar stablecoins.

On January 8, 2026, Valour's Pi Swedish Krona ETP completed its fifth consecutive month on Sweden's Spotlight Stock Market with limited activity. Recent intraday quotes hovered around 19.32 SEK with turnover of approximately 143 units, while PI fell 1.6% over 24 hours to $0.2075 after a 7‑day gain of 3.2%.

Binance has introduced perpetual futures contracts for gold and silver under the tickers XAUUSDT and XAGUSDT, expanding its derivatives offering beyond purely crypto assets. The products, settled in USDT and operating under FSRA oversight in Abu Dhabi’s ADGM, give traders onchain access to precious metals price movements without physical delivery. Other major exchanges already list similar contracts, underlining growing demand for safe-haven exposure via crypto-native infrastructure.

At the very start of 2026, XRP surged about 30% before sliding 7.48% in 24 hours, prompting a fresh look at its short-term outlook. Based on this backdrop, ChatGPT outlined a base-case scenario with XRP at $2.15 on January 31, 2026, slightly above the current $2.08 level. Over a longer horizon for 2026, the model suggested the token could climb to roughly $5 if recent positive momentum and supportive factors persist.

World Liberty Financial is seeking a U.S. national trust bank charter through WLTC Holdings LLC, with its filing to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency aimed at placing stablecoin operations under federal oversight. The plan would transform WLFI into a regulated trust institution focused on USD1 issuance, reserves, and custody rather than consumer banking. Since 2024, the project has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and its bid has triggered intense political debate.