On January 25, 2026, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said a top‑10 global bank's chief now sees crypto as their No. 1 priority after meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He also highlighted work on the CLARITY Act, momentum around "stablecoin clarity" in Washington, and the expectation that AI agents will default to stablecoins for payments.

In comments posted on X following Justin Drake's disclosure of a new post-quantum cryptography team at the Ethereum Foundation, Pantera Capital general partner Franklin Bi argued that Wall Street is significantly less prepared for quantum threats than many assume. He contended that blockchains such as Ethereum are better positioned for a coordinated global upgrade, while traditional financial institutions remain largely at the awareness stage despite some quantum-safe pilots and growing warnings about systemic risk.

Scroll co-founder Ye Chen's verified X account was taken over in a phishing campaign where attackers posed as X employees and sent fake copyright violation notices with malicious links. The hijacked profile, redesigned to resemble an official X account, targeted prominent crypto founders, executives and investors with time-limited threats of account restrictions. The incident adds to a series of social engineering attacks in 2025 and early 2026 that have hit major crypto brands, media outlets and individual developers across multiple platforms.

On January 21, 2026, the Senate Agriculture Committee unveiled a discussion draft of the Digital Commodity Exchange Act to grant the CFTC exclusive oversight of U.S. spot cryptocurrency markets. A hearing is set for January 27, 2026. The proposal could affect assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum by defining a clearer framework for exchanges and brokers.

On 21 January 2026, KONNI, a North Korean advanced persistent threat group, was reported to have used AI-generated PowerShell backdoors against blockchain and cryptocurrency developers in Japan, Australia, and India. The operation relied on Discord to distribute malicious ZIP archives containing a staged infection chain that established persistent access to victim systems. The campaign highlights the use of large language model-generated code in real-world attacks on crypto-focused development teams.

Polymarket traders now assign a 78% chance of a U.S. government shutdown before January 31, according to Polymarket, following renewed budget tensions on Capitol Hill. On January 25, 2026, commentator Collin Rugg noted the odds briefly jumped to 85% after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected moving an appropriations bill with DHS funding. The rising risk further clouds the delayed CLARITY Act’s legislative timeline.

According to Polymarket market data, bettors now assign a 77% chance the U.S. government will shut down before the end of January, a 67% jump over the past 24 hours. The shift followed remarks from President Donald Trump on Thursday and a Saturday warning from U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer about DHS funding, while the CLARITY Act’s path through Congress remains uncertain.

Nifty Gateway, Gemini's NFT marketplace, said it has entered "withdrawal-only mode" today and will fully close on February 23, 2026. The platform advised users to move USD, ETH, and NFTs to external wallets or Gemini accounts, noting gas fees apply and some credit card purchases may face a 72-hour hold. Gemini plans to focus on a "super app" and its Gemini Wallet.