TRM Labs said in a January 9 report that UK‑registered exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion enabled about $1 billion in flows linked to Iran's IRGC. Illicit share peaked at 87% in 2024, with transfers largely in USDT on TRON, and corporate records tied Zedcex to sanctioned financier Babak Morteza Zanjani.

On January 9, Bitcoin hovered around $90,700 with 24-hour volume near $12.18 bn as crypto ETFs recorded $343.8 mn in net redemptions. BTC now trades within a tight band between support at roughly $90,000 and resistance at $91,520, forming a symmetrical triangle that could precede either a breakout toward $93,011–$94,800 or a slide toward $89,241–$87,921.

Ethereum is experiencing a renewed wave of long-term capital commitment as staking demand climbs and more supply is taken out of circulation. Over 1.7 million ETH, valued at roughly $5.5 billion, is now queued for validator activation, with new stakers facing delays of nearly a month. This shrinking liquid supply, combined with institutional yield strategies and anticipated network upgrades, is tightening underlying market conditions around key price support levels.

Tether has worked with U.S. authorities to block wallets allegedly linked to Venezuelan oil trade sanctions evasion involving PdVSA. The company’s actions have intensified scrutiny of stablecoins, even as USDT holds its $1.00 peg with a market cap of $186.72 billion and 24-hour trading volume of $37.45 billion. These enforcement-aligned freezes are prompting debate over stablecoin compliance and future regulatory expectations.

On January 11, 2026, India's Financial Intelligence Unit announced new KYC rules requiring crypto exchanges to collect customer selfies, geographic coordinates and bank verification via the penny drop method. The guidelines also ban mixing services and anonymous tokens, tighten reporting duties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and require regular KYC updates based on risk. Exchanges must register as reporting entities, obtain PAN and additional ID documents, and use liveness detection software to confirm users' physical presence.

According to local media, a tax employee in Bobigny misused internal government software to compile files on crypto specialists, billionaire Vincent Bolloré, and public officials, then sold one dossier for €800 that led to a violent home attack on a prison officer in Montreuil. Her appeal was rejected on Jan. 6, highlighting how insider abuse of French state databases and new crypto wealth registries is turning self-custody into a physical coercion and identity-security problem.

Ethereum is consolidating around $3,000 as tokenized assets on its network scale, with stablecoins near $190 billion and other segments measured in the billions. On January 10 and 11, 2026, Merlijn The Trader and Ted Pillows flagged a potential ETH rotation and a possible move toward $3,500–$3,600 if the $3,000 support holds.

On January 11, a report said Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro used Tether (USDT) to help PdVSA settle oil trades under U.S. sanctions. Tether reiterated cooperation with U.S. authorities and freezes wallets on official request. USDT was near $0.99 with a $186.76 billion market cap and about $37.36 billion in 24-hour volume.