U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act on Monday, seeking to confirm that software authors and network maintainers who do not handle user funds are not money transmitters. Similar protections appear in the market-structure bill set for a Senate Banking Committee markup on Thursday.

As of January 13, 2026, U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act to clarify that crypto software developers who do not custody user funds should not be treated as money transmitters. The bipartisan measure sits within broader congressional work on crypto policy, including debates on stablecoins and decentralized finance.

On Monday, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced a new Innovation Advisory Committee to guide oversight of blockchain and AI. Chair Mike Selig plans to nominate 12 CEO Innovation Council participants as charter members. Additional nominations are open until Jan. 31, 2026.

Senators Ron Wyden and Cynthia Lummis introduced a bipartisan, standalone version of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act on Monday evening. The bill seeks to clarify that developers and infrastructure providers who do not control user funds should not be treated as money transmitters, aiming to provide federal clarity for blockchain software and network operations.

On January 12, 2026, Ukrainian authorities ordered communication providers to block access to prediction market platform Polymarket, citing unlicensed gambling activities. The decision, issued under Resolution No. 695 by the National Commission for State Regulation of Communications and Informatization, has led to uneven access across the country while more than $410 million in Ukraine-related bets and $270 million in completed wagers are tied to the platform. Polymarket’s dependence on USDC and Polygon leaves it navigating recurring geo-blocks in multiple jurisdictions.

Dubai's DFSA implemented updated crypto rules that took effect on 12 January 2026. The measures ban privacy tokens and "privacy devices" within the DIFC and replace the regulator's token whitelist with firm-led suitability assessments, while easing limits on fund participation and opening access for brokers and custodians using compliant assets.

On January 12, 2026, Bakkt Holdings, Inc. said it entered an agreement to acquire Distributed Technologies Research Ltd. in an all‑equity deal. Bakkt will issue Class A stock equal to 31.5% of the "Bakkt Share Number," about 9.1 million shares based on the current figure, and plans a corporate name change to "Bakkt, Inc." on January 22.

World Liberty has launched World Liberty Markets, a peer-to-peer platform for crypto lending and borrowing that runs on USD1. USD1's market cap stands at $3.4 billion, and the venue supports WLFI, Ether, tokenized Bitcoin, USDT, and USDC. WLTC Holdings filed an OCC application five days ago to create a federal trust bank for stablecoins.