According to the Dubai Financial Services Authority, revised crypto rules taking effect on January 12 ban privacy coins and anonymity tools, including mixers, in or from the DIFC. The framework narrows "fiat crypto token" status to fiat-pegged, reserve-backed assets and shifts token‑listing accountability from a regulator-maintained list to licensed firms.

On January 8, India's Financial Intelligence Unit issued updated guidelines that classify crypto exchanges as VDA service providers and tighten AML/KYC. Platforms must conduct live ID checks, collect PAN, IP and geolocation data, and verify bank accounts via penny-drop. Exchanges welcomed clearer compliance, while the framework mandates five-year record retention and tools to detect mixers.

A new report by Cato Institute analyst Nicholas Anthony, published Thursday, concludes most U.S. debanking cases arise from direct or indirect government pressure. The Institute's account highlighted the study on January 8, 2026. The analysis distinguishes government-driven debanking from political, religious, and operational closures, and notes crypto firms are frequently affected.

Viewership for cryptocurrency videos on YouTube has fallen to its weakest level since early 2021, reflecting a broader pullback in retail engagement with digital assets. Commentators including Benjamin Cowen and Tom Crown say social interest has dropped across major platforms, consistent with bear-market behavior and fatigue from poor returns and scams. At the same time, on-chain indicators suggest Bitcoin sentiment is stabilizing around the $90,000 area, even as Ethereum signals stay mixed and long-term bulls maintain optimistic price targets for 2026.

US spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs saw $749.6 million in net outflows between January 6 and January 9, after a near $700 million inflow on January 5. Bitcoin funds led with $681 million in redemptions, while XRP and Solana ETFs drew $38.1 million and $41.1 million in fresh capital.

On January 9, the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council ordered Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com to immediately stop offering sports-related contracts to state residents and refund all customer funds by Jan. 31, 2026. Regulators allege the CFTC-registered platforms are running unlicensed sports wagering in violation of the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act and warn that noncompliance could trigger civil penalties, criminal referrals and potential gambling-promotion charges.

On January 8, 2026, Nasdaq and CME Group unified their crypto benchmarks by reintroducing the Nasdaq Crypto Index as the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index. The multi-asset gauge includes Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, Chainlink, Cardano, and Avalanche, and is calculated by CF Benchmarks with quarterly rebalancing to support regulated products exceeding $1 billion in assets.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman is weighing whether to delay a January 15 markup of a broad crypto market structure bill as bipartisan negotiations with Cory Booker continue. The talks aim to strengthen cross-party backing for the legislation while parallel action in the Senate Banking Committee and pressure from the White House highlight growing urgency around digital asset regulation. At the same time, US community bankers are urging Congress to tighten the GENIUS Act to curb stablecoin-related rewards they say could pull deposits from local banks.

On Friday, Betterment customers reported an unauthorized notification urging them to send up to $10,000 in Bitcoin and Ethereum for a promise of triple returns within a three-hour window. Betterment later said the message mimicked an official promotion but was sent via a third-party communications platform and was not a real offer. The incident coincides with ongoing social engineering and wallet-drain campaigns targeting EVM-compatible networks through phishing and malicious extensions.