On 8 January, the Financial Intelligence Unit of India said ID-only verification is insufficient, and from 12 January crypto users will face live selfie liveness tests, biometric checks, precise location capture, and penny-drop bank verification. ICOs are labeled high risk, transfers must carry sender and recipient data, and exchanges must keep records for at least five years, following ₹28 crore in fines last fiscal year.

On 7 January, Rep. John Snyder filed HB 1039 to establish a Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve Fund outside the state treasury, while Sen. Joe Gruters introduced SB 1040 and SB 1038 to enable trust custody. Eligibility requires a 24‑month average market cap of at least $500 billion; Bitcoin qualifies, while Ethereum at roughly $380 billion does not.

In the first week of 2026, WisdomTree used Rule 477 under the Securities Act of 1933 to withdraw its Form S-1 for the WisdomTree XRP Fund, originally filed on 2nd December 2024. The move removes the risk of a formal SEC stop order while XRP ETFs have seen strong demand, including $19.12 million of net inflows on 6th January and a cumulative total of $1.25 billion, even as XRP’s spot price slipped 4.9% to $2.25. Other institutions remain optimistic, with Standard Chartered previously outlining a price target of $8 for XRP by the end of 2026.

During the first week of 2026, BlackRock's clients accumulated 3,948 BTC valued at $371.89 million and 31,737 ETH worth $100.23 million. On January 5, Bitcoin ETFs saw $697.2 million of inflows, with IBIT taking $372.5 million and ETHA $102.9 million, as BTC reached $93,700.64 and ETH $3,234.78.

During the latest political upheaval in Venezuela, Bitcoin's spot inflows jumped by about 1,671% within five minutes and coincided with a sharp shift in market sentiment. After briefly dipping 0.5% to $89,300 around 2:00 a.m. ET, BTC rebounded above $90,000 by 9:00 a.m. and was last trading near $92,731.61, while traders weighed rising interest in Bitcoin as a potential safe-haven asset.

On January 2, 2026, US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs logged $645.8 million in net inflows, according to Farside Investors. IBIT drew $287.4 million of Bitcoin's $471.3 million, while ETHE led Ether with $53.7 million; BTC and ETH had fallen 1.56% and 1.39% over 30 days.

On 3 January, Bitcoin briefly slipped about 0.5% to $89,300 during reports of U.S. military action in Venezuela before rebounding to trade near $90,000 and later around $91,399.76. Analysts highlighted how Venezuela’s oil reserves and potential regime change could reshape energy costs, mining economics and risk-on appetite across crypto markets.

According to a16z crypto's 2026 outlook, blockchain is expected to fade into the background as core infrastructure while AI agents, on-chain credit origination, and privacy-centric networks reshape the ecosystem. The report highlights KYAs for autonomous agents, a move from tokenized RWAs to programmable credit, and zero-knowledge-based privacy as key competitive advantages.

BitMine Immersion Technologies added 118,944 ETH (~$352.16M) to staking, raising its staked total to 461,504 ETH valued at $1.37B under its "Alchemy of 5%" plan. On-chain watchers flagged a new wallet receiving 32,938 ETH from FalconX, hinting at further buys. In 2025, Ethereum led net inflows above $4.2B as ETH traded near $2,980 and BMNR was around $27.15.