On January 9, 2026, JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said crypto de-risking is moderating, with ETFs and futures indicators pointing to stabilization. They contrasted December withdrawals from Bitcoin and Ethereum with record global equity ETF inflows of $235 billion. The team also views MSCI's planned February 2026 inclusion of crypto-related firms in benchmarks as supportive.

SharpLink Gaming announced on Thursday that it has shifted $170 million in Ethereum to the Layer 2 network Linea as part of a broader plan to optimize its sizeable ETH holdings. The Minneapolis-based public company now has its entire 864,840 ETH treasury staked and intends to pursue additional DeFi strategies on Linea, while targeting higher but shareholder-aligned rewards.

In a report updated January 9, 2026, the CFTC issued a no‑action letter to Bitnomial Exchange and its clearing affiliate, enabling regulated prediction markets tied to crypto prices and economic data. Reports say Bitnomial must publish precise market timestamps and sales figures, maintain full collateral with 1:1 backing and no leverage, and furnish information to the commission on request.

On January 8, 2026, World Liberty Financial said its subsidiary World Liberty Trust filed for a U.S. national bank charter to oversee USD1 stablecoin issuance and custody. USD1 is currently held by BitGo, has a market value of $3.4 billion, and is backed by U.S. dollar deposits and short-term U.S. government bonds.

Cambodian authorities arrested Chinese-born tycoon Chen Zhi in Cambodia and extradited him to China over an alleged $12 billion crypto fraud that used so-called "pig butchering" scams. His network is accused of forcing staff to run cyber-fraud compounds, collecting 127,271 Bitcoin now valued at about $11.6 billion, which has been seized. The case has intensified concerns about how technology and cryptocurrencies are exploited for large-scale criminal activity.

On January 8 2026, ECB Governing Council member Álvaro Santos Pereira said euro-area inflation has essentially aligned with the central bank's 2% target, indicating price stability. He noted interest rates have been left unchanged for several consecutive meetings and argued that further progress now depends on structural reforms by European governments and EU institutions to address weak growth.

In early January 2026, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee came under pressure to decide whether the CLARITY Act crypto bill can move forward with bipartisan support. Lawmakers have been negotiating for months on market structure rules, and a bipartisan meeting was scheduled for January 6 to address regulatory issues before the Martin Luther King Jr Day recess. Senator Cynthia Lummis urged Democrats to join the markup, arguing that the bill would clarify jurisdiction, strengthen protections, and help keep crypto businesses in the United States.

On January 7 2026, Tether introduced Scudo, a micro unit equal to one‑thousandth of a troy ounce of gold designed to make its gold‑backed XAUT token easier to use in daily digital payments. The firm says Scudo should help users price, send, and receive smaller gold amounts, while XAUT remains backed by 1,329 gold bars and had a market value of $2.3 billion as of Tuesday. Tether is also expanding its gold‑linked ecosystem through Alloy, which lets holders lock XAUT as collateral to mint aUSDT, a token pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Coinbase and Gemini are shifting beyond core crypto trading into areas such as stocks, payments, prediction markets, derivatives, and stablecoins to build more predictable revenue. Analysts offer conflicting views on whether these moves will offset volatile trading, with some backing long-term growth and others keeping neutral or cautious ratings for 2026.