In a survey conducted between Jan. 12 and Jan. 30, 2026, Independent Reserve reported that the share of Australians using cryptocurrency to pay for goods and services rose from 6% to 12%. Online shopping was the most common use case, followed by payments for freelancing and video game services, while around 30% of investors said they had faced delayed or rejected banking transactions when dealing with exchanges. The report suggested that clearer licensing and regulation could ease banking friction and improve confidence for both banks and crypto users.

On April 25, a luncheon for top TRUMP memecoin holders will be held at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, with 297 wallets invited and the top 29 eligible for a private reception. Santiment data shows whale wallets holding over 1 million TRUMP have climbed to 83, coinciding with a more than 50% price jump to a $4.35 peak before easing to $3.71. CoinCarp figures indicate over 91% of TRUMP's supply is in the top 10 wallets, and more than 97% is controlled by the top 100 holders.

Texas-based apparel firm Beba and the DeFi Education Fund have moved to voluntarily dismiss their 2024 lawsuit against the US SEC over the treatment of free token airdrops. The case was withdrawn without prejudice, allowing them to revive the challenge if future SEC guidance on airdrops proves lacking. The filing points to work by the SEC Crypto Task Force, speeches from Commissioner Hester Peirce, and a recent White House directive as evidence of a changing regulatory approach.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to dismiss its two-year enforcement action against BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji with prejudice, following a reassessment of the evidentiary record referenced in a joint filing last Thursday. The regulator’s July 2024 complaint had alleged that Al-Naji raised over $257 million through BTCLT token sales and misused more than $7 million on personal expenses, but he has now waived any claim for legal fee reimbursement as part of the resolution.

On a Thursday announcement, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on six individuals and two companies accused of enabling North Korea-linked IT worker fraud networks across multiple countries. The action freezes any US assets tied to those named, blocks their access to US financial services and targets cryptocurrency transactions allegedly used to launder $2.5 million and support the DPRK weapons program.

In January, a proposal to hand control of Aave's brand assets and intellectual property to its DAO was rejected, raising fresh questions about the protocol's long-term governance model. Aave founder Stani Kulechov later argued that DAOs are hard to operate at scale and should reduce the scope of tokenholder voting while keeping transparent, on-chain accountability for leadership teams. His remarks followed controversy around the "Aave Will Win Framework" proposal, which led a major delegate to exit over concerns about governance standards and voting dynamics.

Bitcoin climbed back above $70,000 on Tuesday, coinciding with a rise in optimistic social media sentiment that Santiment linked to U.S. President Donald Trump's latest remarks about the conflict with Iran. Despite this renewed FOMO, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index stayed at an "extreme fear" reading of 15, while Google Trends interest in "Bitcoin" has eased from its March 5 high.

Bhutan, a major nation-state Bitcoin holder, moved 175 BTC worth about $11.85 million from its primary address to a newer wallet on Monday, according to Arkham. Blockchain data shows the coins remain at the destination address as of Tuesday, while earlier transfers this year were reportedly linked to sales in the $5–10 million range. Arkham estimates Bhutan now holds roughly 5,400 BTC, and officials have previously said mining proceeds help pay for public services.

A major US banking trade association is reportedly exploring a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over its conditional national trust bank charters for crypto firms. Since December, the OCC has issued conditional approvals to companies including BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Ripple, Paxos, Crypto.com, Bridge and Stripe, while others such as Zerohash and World Liberty Financial have applied. The banking group argues that these charters could introduce risks to consumers and the broader financial system by operating under a different oversight framework than full-service national banks.