Stablecoin payment flows could reach $56.6 trillion by 2030, rising from $2.9 trillion in 2025. The path implies roughly an 81% compound annual growth rate over five years, supported by broader institutional use and greater reliance in economies facing inflation and instability.

Analysts at VanEck project Bitcoin could reach $2.9 million by 2050, assuming a 15% CAGR with BTC settling 5–10% of international trade and 5% of domestic trade. They also see central banks allocating 2.5% of assets to Bitcoin, positioning it as a long-duration monetary hedge.

Bank of America has lifted Coinbase shares to a buy rating, pointing to easing tax-loss selling, reversing short interest and the exchange’s push to bring traditional finance onchain. The bank estimates COIN could climb about 38% from current levels to $340, while shares have swung between $151.8 and $419.8 over the last year. Analysts also highlight a potential Base network token and crypto-friendly policy under President Donald Trump as additional catalysts, though competition and market corrections remain risks.

World Liberty Financial said on Wednesday that WLTC Holdings filed with the OCC for a national trust bank charter to oversee USD1 issuance, custody and conversion. The firm aims to accelerate institutional use of its stablecoin by bringing those functions in-house, including fee-free minting and redemption, rather than relying on third-party providers.

On Wednesday at 1:01:11 UTC, Ethereum's second BPO hard fork increased the blob limit from 15 to 21 and raised the blob target from 10 to 14. The change lets rollups batch more data, potentially lowering costs, while one blob equals 128 KB, lifting per-block storage to 2,688 KB.

On Monday, Bill Miller IV told CNBC that Bitcoin looks prepared to break above its prior record in 2026, citing stronger technicals, a crypto‑friendly Trump administration and Wall Street adoption. CoinGecko shows BTC at $93,750, 25.6% below the Oct. 6 peak of $126,080 but 7.1% higher year to date.

On Saturday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured, and by Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump was publicly floating the idea of military action in Colombia while also warning Mexico and criticizing Cuba. Over the same period, Bitcoin climbed from $89,990 to above $93,000, with market watchers noting the swift operation in Venezuela limited broader crypto market turmoil. Trump also reiterated that resource-rich Greenland remains a strategic focus for U.S. national security, despite repeated pushback from Danish and Norwegian officials.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado, a 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Bitcoin advocate, is among three contenders to replace Nicolás Maduro after his Saturday capture. Prediction market Kalshi puts her at 28% to lead by end‑2026, trailing Edmundo González Urrutia at 32% and ahead of Delcy Rodríguez at 27%.

In December, tokenized RWA value on Solana rose nearly 10% to a record $873.3 million, with holders up 18.4% to 126,236. Six spot Solana ETFs have gathered $765 million in inflows, and Western Union selected Solana for stablecoin settlements, setting up additional momentum as 2026 begins.