As of January 12, XRP, Ethereum and Shiba Inu are highlighted as leading cryptocurrency picks, with market data showing XRP around $2.03, ETH near $3,104.79 and SHIB at $0.0000083. These assets are trading with modest daily losses or slight gains, while Bitcoin holds close to $90,347.51 and broader market moves remain mixed.

Crypto exchange MEXC has introduced a promotional campaign centered on its peer-to-peer marketplace, allocating a $200,000 airdrop pool for users making their first-ever deposit on the platform via P2P. The event runs from Jan. 4, 2026, at 11:00 UTC until Jan. 31 at 16:59 UTC, with a fixed 10 USDT reward available to eligible participants on a first-come, first-served basis. Users must register on the event page, complete a net P2P deposit above $100 within seven days, and comply with withdrawal and eligibility restrictions to receive rewards.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has pushed back its decisions on the Canary Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) ETF and the T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF through extended 19b-4 review periods. At the same time, the regulator opened a public comment window on a proposal to list standardized options on the Grayscale CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF, which tracks five large-cap digital assets.

CoinGecko reported 11.6 million cryptocurrency tokens failed in 2025, representing 86.3% of all failures since 2021. Q4 2025 alone saw 7.7 million collapses after the October 10 deleveraging wiped out $19 billion in leveraged positions. Overall, 53.2% of GeckoTerminal listings have gone defunct across the period, with meme coins bearing most of the damage.

On January 12, crypto markets advanced, with Bitcoin at $92,300 (+1.3%) and Ethereum at $3,150 (over 1%). Solana rose 2.5% to a $144 high, while Monero briefly reached an all-time high of $596 before easing to $563. FET and Render showed technical breakouts, and Bitcoin Hyper's ICO raised over $30.3 million.

Coinbase is warning it may pull its support for the US Senate's digital-asset market structure bill if lawmakers expand restrictions on stablecoin rewards beyond disclosure rules ahead of the January 15 markup. Banking industry groups are pressing for broader yield curbs than those in the GENIUS Act, while Coinbase argues that platform-based incentives, which it shares via USDC interest income and a 3.5% rewards offer on Coinbase One balances, are a critical revenue source and strategic tool for maintaining dollar dominance.

On 12 January 2026 at 09:35, analyst Ran Neuner said the crypto market appears to be leaving a free‑fall phase and building a tentative base, with Bitcoin breaking a short‑term downtrend and defending former resistance. He cautioned that a major long‑term resistance lies ahead, while broader participation and venue spreads imply confidence is returning but still unconfirmed.

Tether froze roughly $182 million in USDT within 24 hours on Jan. 11, targeting five Tron wallets with balances from about $12 million to nearly $50 million. The tokens were locked at the contract level. Since 2023, over $3 billion has been frozen, and stablecoins now dominate illicit-activity metrics.