On January 30, 2026, Arthur Hayes said Bitcoin's slump stems from a roughly $300 billion pullback in U.S. dollar liquidity, not crypto-specific factors. He cited a $200 billion jump in the Treasury General Account and noted the USDLIQ index's nearly 7% six-month drop as evidence of tighter conditions.

Multiple outlets report President Donald Trump plans to nominate former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as the next chair, with an official announcement expected Friday morning. Prediction markets swiftly repriced the race, with Polymarket moving from about 30% to 95% and Kalshi at 93%, while markets braced for a more hawkish policy tilt.

On January 29, 2026, economist Peter Schiff said Bitcoin is now worth about 15.5 ounces of gold, 57% below its 2021 high and only roughly 10% above its 2017 peak in gold terms. As Bitcoin trades below $89,000 amid geopolitical tension and a cautious Federal Reserve, analysts highlight renewed demand for gold and silver as investors seek perceived safer assets outside government control.

Solana's active validator set has declined by 68% in three years, dropping from a peak of 2,560 nodes in March 2023 to 795, according to Solanacompass. Smaller, independent validators report that rising operating costs and fee competition from large zero-fee operators are pushing them out, while Solana's Nakamoto Coefficient has fallen from 31 to 20 over the same period, signaling increased network concentration.

Since the beginning of 2026, XRP has fallen about 4% in price while the number of wallets holding over 1 million tokens has started to rise again. On-chain data shows 42 large XRP wallets have returned since January 1 and smart money holdings have increased, even as analysts remain split on the token's short-term prospects amid broader market caution.

Strive said Wednesday it has retired 92% of the liabilities assumed in its Semler Scientific acquisition and purchased 333.9 BTC after completing its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock offering. Strong demand lifted the raise to $225 million from a $150 million target. The company's holdings now total 13,132 BTC, with $110 million of inherited debt already repaid.

Ripple has introduced Ripple Treasury as a corporate platform that merges GTreasury's enterprise software with Ripple's blockchain infrastructure following its $1 billion acquisition of the Chicago-based firm in October. The product is designed to accelerate cross-border payments, enhance liquidity management and reconcile fiat and digital assets through a unified dashboard, using Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin for settlements that are claimed to complete in three to five seconds.

On Wednesday, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon said South Korea's top regulator is advancing plans to limit major shareholders' stakes in domestic crypto exchanges to roughly 15%–20%. The proposed caps would be written into the forthcoming Digital Asset Basic Act as part of a shift from a notification regime to an authorization system that treats exchanges more like public financial infrastructure. Leading Korean platforms and some ruling party members oppose the plan, warning it could force founders to sell large holdings and diverge from global norms, while officials argue the rules are needed to reduce ownership concentration and strengthen governance.

Republican Rep. Logan Manhart introduced House Bill 1155 to let South Dakota's State Investment Council invest up to 10% of eligible funds in Bitcoin. On January 27, 2026, he announced the filing on X. The bill outlines exposure via direct holdings, qualified custodians or regulated exchange-traded products and sets stringent custody and security requirements.