Cointelegraph

Layer-2 network ZKsync released a 2026 roadmap that puts privacy, deterministic control and native interoperability at the center of its strategy for institutional digital asset adoption.

Its plan, published by Matter Labs co-founder and CEO Alex Gluchowski, frames zero-knowledge technology as a foundational infrastructure for regulated finance. 

The roadmap follows a year of infrastructure delivery. In 2025, the network rolled out core components including Atlas, Prividium and Airbender. According to Gluchowski, these systems were designed to meet operational realities faced by banks, enterprises and governments, where confidentiality and performance are critical requirements. 

With regulatory conditions improving across jurisdictions, ZKsync argued that the remaining challenge for institutional adoption is infrastructure. Because of this, the 2026 roadmap transitions from technical foundations into real-world deployments. 

Source: Alex Gluchowski

Privacy and control as the core focus

At the center of the roadmap is Prividium, the network’s privacy-focused execution environment. 

Instead of treating privacy as an optional feature, the platform is positioned as the default layer for enterprise applications, enabling institutions to execute transactions without exposing their balances, counterparties or internal decision-making logic. 

The company said its goal is to integrate private execution directly into enterprise workflows, including identity management, approval processes, auditing and compliance reporting. 

“Sensitive financial data cannot be public without breaking competitiveness, confidentiality, and law,” Gluchowski wrote. “This is obvious to anyone in traditional finance, yet has been routinely overlooked in crypto.”

In addition to privacy, ZKsync also emphasized that control is equally important to institutions. The roadmap highlighted performance isolation, deterministic access rules, and the ability to contain operational errors without relying on external consensus. 

“A clearing house must reliably process margin calls during market stress; on shared networks, unrelated activity can consume blockspace and jeopardize risk-critical operations,” Gluchowski said. 

Such features mirror expectations in traditional financial environments. 

Related: Dubai free zone shifts crypto token vetting to licensed companies

From isolated chains to orchestrated systems

ZKsync also plans to evolve its ZK Stack from a framework for individual chains into an orchestrated system of public and private networks. 

The roadmap envisions native cross-chain connectivity that allows applications to access liquidity and shared services across ZK chains and Ethereum without the need for external bridges. 

The company said that the institutional partnerships they initiated in 2025 are progressing toward production, with deployment expected to serve millions of users. 

If realized, the roadmap would mark a shift toward experimental pilots toward large-scale institutional use of zero-knowledge infrastructure. 

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

BNB Chain’s Fermi upgrade, which goes live Wednesday, will cut BNB Smart Chain (BSC) block times from 0.75 seconds to 0.45 seconds and push transaction finality to “around one second,” positioning the network as one of the fastest major Ethereum Virtual Machine chains. 

The hard fork completes the final phase of BNB Chain’s “short block interval” roadmap and is framed as a performance and reliability upgrade rather than a cosmetic tweak.

With Fermi, BSC validators will produce blocks every 0.45 seconds, nearly halving the time it takes for transactions to be confirmed onchain. 

Nina Rong, executive director at BNB Chain, told Cointelegraph that the goal is “faster without compromising reliability,” pairing shorter blocks with strengthened fast-finality rules so confirmation guarantees remain predictable even under congestion.

Fermi Upgrade of BSC. Source: BNB Chain documentation

The upgrade refines the network’s consensus rules so validators stay in sync despite the tighter block schedule. According to BNB Chain’s documentation, Fermi also introduces stricter propagation and voting parameters intended to reduce finality delays when the network is busy.

Related: BNB Chain Fermi hard fork scheduled for January activation

Built for latency-sensitive use cases

BNB Chain is pitching Fermi squarely at latency-sensitive applications such as onchain trading, real-time decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and interactive gaming decentralized applications (DApps). 

Rong said the upgrade is designed to improve “real-world performance, not just peak throughput,” targeting conditions where network activity spikes and confirmation times need to remain stable for users and traders.

​Most DApps and smart contracts will not need code changes, and the transition is expected to be largely seamless for end users. However, Rong noted that teams relying on precise block timing should re-check their assumptions, as blocks will now arrive significantly faster than before.

​Lessons from past congestion

Like other high-throughput chains, BNB Chain has faced congestion and degraded user experience during speculative surges and high-volume trading events. 

Rong says those episodes informed Fermi’s design. The upgrade tightens fast-finality voting rules and validator coordination specifically to keep the chain responsive and confirmation times predictable under heavy load.

​She emphasized that the changes aim to ensure validators “stay in sync to keep the network stable,” even when block production accelerates. The network has also lined up post-fork monitoring and a follow-up release to handle cleanup and stabilization, giving validators tools to detect and address issues quickly if they arise.

Related: Ondo tokenizes over 100 US stocks and ETFs on BNB Chain

​BNB Chain’s 2025 performance

BNB Chain was one of the busiest blockchains of 2025 by transaction volume and user activity, ranking second only to Solana by total onchain transactions, with roughly 3.89 billion transactions recorded in 2025.

BNB Chain was among the busiest in 2025. Source: Nansen

That growth was powered by a combination of low fees, aggressive performance optimizations, and an active DeFi and memecoin ecosystem. 

By pushing block times to 0.45 seconds with a targeted finality of “around one second,” Fermi places BNB Chain in a different performance bracket from the Ethereum base layer, which offers stronger decentralization guarantees but substantially slower throughput and confirmation speed, producing a block around every 12 seconds. 

At the same time, BNB Chain continues to offer an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible environment that differs from non-EVM, ultra-high-throughput rivals like Solana, appealing to developers who want speed without leaving the EVM ecosystem.

​Fermi is also part of BNB Chain’s 2026 tech roadmap, which focuses on high-performance infrastructure, predictable latency, and scaling the base layer for heavier, more complex workloads. 

21Shares, a major global exchange-traded product (ETP) provider, has expanded access to its investment product combining exposure to Bitcoin and gold.

The 21Shares Bitcoin Gold ETP (BOLD), which tracks both Bitcoin (BTC) and gold, debuted trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Tuesday, according to an official announcement.

“Now that retail investors in the UK have access to crypto ETPs, 21shares is dedicated to delivering a wider selection of innovative regulated products,” 21shares CEO Russell Barlow said.

The LSE rollout comes years after 21Shares debuted BOLD on SIX Swiss Exchange in April 2022. The company has since listed the product on major European exchanges, including Deutsche Boerse Xetra, Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Paris and Nasdaq Stockholm.

BOLD asset allocation: Two-thirds in gold and one-third in Bitcoin

Developed in partnership with investment research platform ByteTree Asset Management, BOLD is 100% physically backed by its underlying assets and allocates the majority of its assets to gold.

As of Jan. 12, the 21Shares Bitcoin Gold ETP holds 65.85% gold, valued at $4,604.10 per ounce, and 34.15% Bitcoin, priced at $90,806 at the time of writing, according to the fund’s data.

Underlying assets in the 21Shares Bitcoin Gold (BOLD) ETP. Source: 21Shares

“By allocating equal risk to both assets, BOLD offers a balanced approach for investors seeking to hedge against inflation,” the fund’s description said, citing gold’s long-standing role as an inflation hedge and Bitcoin’s growing reputation as “digital gold.”

“Bitcoin and gold are increasingly seen as complementary assets in a world of persistent inflation and monetary uncertainty,” Charles Morris, ByteTree founder and chief investment officer, said.

He noted in a post on X that the fund has begun trading on the LSE under the ticker “BOLD” in British pounds sterling and “BOLU” in US dollars.

Exchanges trading the 21Shares BOLD ETP, local ticker and currency. Source: 21Shares

The 21Shares BOLD ETP has a net asset value of $50.3, with total assets under management of $40.2 million, and an annual management fee of 0.65% covering custody, administration and ongoing operation.

The fund is one of numerous crypto ETPs operated by 21Shares, including products tracking altcoins such as Aave (AAVE), Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK) and Polkadot (DOT).

At the end of last week, 21Shares held about $4 billion in assets under management (AUM) for European crypto ETPs, representing roughly 2% of the $181.9 billion in global crypto ETP AUM, according to data from crypto asset manager CoinShares.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

The $26 million exploit of the offline computation protocol Truebit stemmed from a smart contract flaw that allowed an attacker to mint tokens at near-zero cost, highlighting persistent security risks even in long-running blockchain projects.

Truebit suffered a $26 million exploit that resulted in a 99% crash for the Truebit (TRU) token, Cointelegraph reported on Friday.

The attacker abused a loophole in the protocol’s smart contract logic, which enabled them to mint “massive amounts of tokens without paying any ETH,” according to blockchain security company SlowMist, who published a post-mortem analysis on Tuesday.

“Due to a lack of overflow protection in an integer addition operation, the Purchase contract of Truebit Protocol produced an incorrect result when calculating the amount of ETH required to mint TRU tokens,” SlowMist said.

The smart contract’s price calculations were then “erroneously reduced to zero,” enabling the attacker to drain the contract’s reserves by minting $26 million worth of tokens “at nearly no cost,” the post mortem states.

Since the contract was compiled with Solidity 0.6.10, the prior version didn't include built-in overflow checks, which caused calculations exceeding the maximum value of “uint256” to result in a “silent overflow,” causing the result to “wrap around a small value near zero.”

Truebit exploit post-mortem analysis. Source: SlowMist

Related: Fake MetaMask 2FA security checks lure users into sharing recovery phrases

The exploit shows that even the more established protocols are threatened by hackers. Truebit was launched on the Ethereum mainnet nearly five years ago in April 2021.

Smart contract security attracted interest at the end of last year, when an Anthropic study revealed that commercially available artificial intelligence (AI) agents had found $4.6 million worth of smart contract exploits.

Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.5, Claude Sonnet 4.5 and OpenAI’s GPT-5 collectively developed exploits worth $4.6 million when tested on smart contracts, according to a research paper released by the AI company’s red team, dedicated to discovering code vulnerabilities before malicious actors.

Chart of AI exploiting revenue from simulations. Source: Anthropic

Related: Bitcoin investor loses retirement fund in AI-fueled romance scam

Smart contract bugs largest attack vector of 2025

Smart contract vulnerabilities were the largest attack vector for the cryptocurrency industry in 2025, with 56 cybersecurity incidents, while account compromises ranked second with 50 incidents, according to SlowMist’s year-end report.

Contract vulnerabilities accounted for 30.5% of all the crypto exploits in 2025, while hacked X accounts accounted for 24% and private key leaks for 8.5% in third place.

Distribution of causes for security incidents in 2025. Source: SlowMist

Meanwhile, other hackers are switching strategies from protocol hacks to exploiting weak links in onchain human behavior.

Crypto phishing scams emerged as the second-largest threat of 2025, costing crypto investors a cumulative $722 million across 248 incidents, according to blockchain security platform CertiK.

Crypto phishing attacks are social engineering schemes that don’t require hacking code. Instead, attackers share fraudulent links to steal victims’ sensitive information, such as the private keys to crypto wallets.

Still, investors are becoming wiser to this threat, as the $722 million is 38% less compared to the $1 billion stolen through phishing scams in 2024.

Magazine: Meet the onchain crypto detectives fighting crime better than the cops

Ukraine has blocked access to the prediction market platform Polymarket, classifying its activities as unlicensed gambling under national law.

The decision was issued by the National Commission for the Regulation of Electronic Communications (NCEC) on Dec. 10, 2025, under Resolution No. 695. The ruling requires internet service providers to restrict access to online resources that organize, conduct, or facilitate gambling without a valid license.

As part of the enforcement, the domain polymarket.com has been added to Ukraine’s public register of blocked websites, effectively cutting off local access to the platform, local news outlets reported on Monday.

Polymarket differentiates itself from traditional betting sites by allowing users to buy and sell shares tied to the outcome of real-world events, with prices reflecting market-implied probabilities, rather than offering fixed odds.

Ukraine slams Polymarket over war-related bets

The ban on Polymarket comes as Ukrainian authorities have criticized the platform for facilitating bets on geopolitical events linked to Russia’s invasion.

Polymarket is restricted across 33 other countries, including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Iran, Singapore, Iraq, North Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Australia.

Polymarket already blocks some regions in Ukraine. Source: Polymarket

Founded in 2020 by Shane Coplan, Polymarket has grown into one of the most prominent prediction platforms globally, with an estimated valuation of $8 billion. All bets on Polymarket are placed using the USDC (USDC) stablecoin on the Polygon blockchain, making transactions and settlements publicly verifiable.

Related: CFTC issues no-action letter to Bitnomial, clearing way for event contracts

US lawmaker to ban insider trading on prediction markets

As Cointelegraph recently reported, US Representative Ritchie Torres is preparing legislation that would restrict insider trading on prediction markets, following scrutiny over a highly profitable bet linked to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The proposed measure, known as the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026, would bar federal lawmakers, political appointees, and executive branch employees from trading contracts tied to political or policy outcomes when they possess nonpublic information gained through their official roles.

Last week, Tennessee’s sports betting regulator also ordered Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com to halt the offering of sports event contracts to residents of the state.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

Nigeria is rolling out a new approach to cryptocurrency oversight that relies on tax and identity systems rather than blockchain surveillance, as part of a sweeping reform of its tax regime.

Under its newly implemented tax reforms, crypto service providers are required to link transactions to the Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) and, where applicable, National Identification Numbers (NINs). 

The framework, which took effect on Jan. 1, is embedded in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025 and marked one of the country's most sweeping tax overhauls. 

By requiring identity disclosure at the reporting layer, Nigeria aims to make cryptocurrency activity visible to tax authorities without requiring the monitoring of blockchain infrastructure itself.

With this, transactions that were difficult to associate with individuals can be matched against income declarations, tax filings and historical records. 

Identity-based reporting replaces onchain surveillance

Under the new framework, virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in Nigeria must file regular returns with tax authorities with details of the nature and value of the digital asset transactions they facilitate. 

These reports are required to include customer identification data, including names, contact details and tax IDs, with NINs being mandated for individual users. 

The law also enables tax authorities to request additional information from service providers and requires long-term retention of transaction and customer records.

VASPs are also mandated to flag suspicious and large transactions to tax agencies and financial intelligence units, extending oversight into the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) framework. 

For local regulators, the approach provides a more practical alternative to blockchain analytics, which can be technically complex and costly. By anchoring compliance to tax and identity systems, authorities can follow crypto flows as they interact with regulated entities. 

The framework attempts to close enforcement gaps left by earlier legislation. According to local news outlet Tech Cabal, even though Nigeria introduced a tax on crypto profits in 2022, compliance was uneven because of the difficulty of linking trades to identifiable taxpayers. 

The mandatory use of TINs and NINs seems to be designed to close this enforcement gap. 

Related: Ghana passes law to legalize crypto trading, central bank governor says

A global shift in crypto tax enforcement

Nigeria’s model mirrors a broader international trend toward identity-based crypto reporting.

The NTAA aligns with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which also took effect on Jan. 1. 

According to the OECD, Nigeria is among the second batch of countries committed to implementing the global framework by 2028.

Nigeria’s adoption of such mechanisms signals its intent to integrate into this emerging global reporting network.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

Italy’s securities regulator, the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa (CONSOB), has amplified a new factsheet from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), warning social media finance influencers, or “finfluencers,” that European Union rules on investment recommendations and advertising apply fully to crypto and “get rich quick” content.

In a Monday communication, CONSOB highlighted the ESMA’s finfluencers document, published on Thursday, which warns creators that “promoting a financial product or service isn’t like promoting shoes or watches.”

Pushing contracts for difference (CFDs), forex, futures, certain crowdfunding products, and volatile cryptocurrencies can, according to the communication, mean losing 100% of invested capital, and influencers remain legally responsible for what they post, even if they are not finance professionals. 

The ESMA’s factsheet also stresses that paid partnerships must be clearly labeled as advertising. Short disclaimers like “this is not financial advice” do not neutralize regulatory obligations, and giving personalized investment tips without a licence may amount to regulated investment advice.

Notice for Finfluencers. Source: ESMA

​The CONSOB notice highlights the ESMA’s messaging, urging users to distrust “get rich quick” claims and influencers to check whether the operators they communicate with are authorized, to avoid facilitating crypto scams.

ESMA and national regulators tighten the net

CONSOB’s notice slots into a wider European clampdown on finfluencers. The ESMA first addressed investment recommendations on social media in an October 2021 public statement under the Market Abuse Regulation, warning that misleading posts and undisclosed conflicts can qualify as market abuse or non‑compliant investment recommendations. 

The authority notes that breaches can carry administrative fines of up to 5 million euros (around $5.8 million) for individuals, with higher ceilings for firms, and that in some EU states market abuse offences can be criminally prosecuted.

​Other national regulators have already experimented with tailored finfluencer tools. In 2023, France’s Autorité des marchés financiers and the advertising authority, Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité (ARPP), launched a Responsible Influence Certificate, a training and testing scheme required for influencers who want to work with ARPP member brands on financial promotions, including crypto. 

In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority also finalized its social media financial promotions guidance in 2024 and later fronted a campaign with “Love Island” star Sharon Gaffka to warn that unauthorized or non‑compliant investment and crypto promotions could amount to illegal financial promotions.

Celebrity and creator crackdowns

The regulatory focus reflects a broader backlash against celebrity and creator‑led hype around risky products.

In 2022, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission fined Kim Kardashian $1.26 million for unlawfully touting EthereumMax (EMAX) tokens on Instagram without properly disclosing a $250,000 payment. 

A separate class action lawsuit in 2023 targeted a group of so‑called “FTX influencers,” seeking $1 billion in compensation, alleging that prominent YouTubers and other online personalities misled followers by promoting products linked to the collapsed exchange.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

Major US cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is backing a new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that plans to go public through a Kraken-affiliated sponsor.

KrakAcquisition, a new blank check company backed by Kraken, Tribe Capital and Natural Capital, on Monday filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $250 million in an initial public offering (IPO).

Incorporated in July 2025 as a Cayman Islands exempted company, KrakAcquisition plans to offer 25 million units at $10 each and expects to apply to list the units on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “KRAQU,” according to the SEC filing.

While the SPAC is targeting businesses in crypto infrastructure, Kraken reportedly filed a separate confidential Form S-1 in November seeking to list its common stock in a potential IPO as well.

Kraken personnel involved in the SPAC

In the filing, KrakAcquisition said the company has not selected a specific business combination target and has yet to engage in any substantive discussions regarding a potential deal.

The SPAC highlighted several advantages of Kraken’s participation as a sponsor partner, including deep ecosystem access, enhanced diligence, operating experience and regulatory expertise.

At the same time, KrakAcquisition noted that Kraken “will not be contractually obligated” to execute any business combination, adding: “We expect that Kraken’s participation as a partner in our sponsor will incentivize it to assist us, without additional compensation.”

Source: SEC

However, Kraken has key personnel involved in the SPAC’s management team.

Among them is Sahil Gupta, KrakAcquisition’s chief financial officer, who has also led Kraken’s strategic initiatives since late 2024.

Kraken’s vice president of strategy and corporate development, Robert Moore, will serve as a director of KrakAcquisition upon completion of the offering.

Related: Crypto custody company BitGo seeks up to $201 million in US IPO

“While we may pursue an initial business combination in any business or industry or sector, we intend to concentrate our efforts on companies in the digital asset ecosystem,” KrakAcquisition’s SEC filing reads.

Source: SEC

The company’s mission is to accelerate the next phase of growth for the teams building the bridge between decentralized finance and traditional finance, KrakAcquisition said.

Cointelegraph approached KrakAcquisition and Kraken for comment regarding the proposed IPO, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

The Solana Policy Institute, a nonprofit focused on blockchain policy, urged the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to distinguish between centralized crypto exchanges and non-custodial decentralized finance (DeFi) software, arguing that developers should not be regulated as intermediaries.

The Friday letter urges the SEC to protect the developers of DeFi apps by recognizing that developing and publishing non-custodial code is not the same as intermediating or controlling the underlying funds. 

The letter argues that treating developers of non-custodial protocols under the Exchange Act 3b-16 would be inappropriate, as this applies to exchange operators that custody assets, control execution flow, and act as intermediaries:

“Transactions that take place via a smart contract protocol are not the regulatory equivalent of trading on an exchange or ATS and should not be treated as such.”

The institute called on the SEC to issue guidance on differentiating between non-custodial software tools and exchanges with brokers. 

It also urged the agency to amend Act 3b-16 to exclude open-source code from the “exchange” definition and adopt a custody-and-control-based framework to draw lines between intermediated and disintermediated blockchain activity.

Solana Policy Institute letter to SEC. Source: SEC

Related: Standard Chartered said to plan crypto brokerage, trims ETH forecast

The letter further argued that treating DeFi code in the same manner as centralized trading platforms risks “discouraging innovation” and pushing activity offshore to “unregulated channels,” thereby reducing the competitiveness of the US.

To protect DeFi developers and onshore activity, the SEC should establish “clear, durable lines between software tools and actual intermediaries that exercise custody, discretion, or control over funds or transactions,” the letter adds.

The issue of developer liability has drawn heightened attention in recent years, particularly after criminal cases involving developers of non-custodial protocols, such as Tornado Cash co-founders Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev, who were found guilty of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business despite their protocol being non-custodial and never controlling user funds.

Related: OKX founder defends asset freezes after user admits buying KYC accounts

US Senators push for blockchain developer protection

Separately, US Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced legislation Monday seeking to protect blockchain developers who don’t directly handle user funds and are exempt from money transmitter regulations.

Source: Cynthia Lummis

The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act seeks to clarify that writing software or maintaining networks shouldn’t trigger federal or state money-transfer requirements, which have been a growing concern for developers.

“Blockchain developers who have simply written code and maintain open-source infrastructure have lived under threat of being classified as money transmitters for far too long,” wrote Lummis in a statement, adding that the bill seeks to provide developers with more clarity for building the “future of digital finance without fear of prosecution.”

The long-awaited crypto market structure bill, also known as the CLARITY Act, includes similar developer protection measures.

The US Senate Agriculture Committee has delayed its markup of the crypto market structure bill until late January, with Chairman John Boozman saying the panel needs additional time to secure broader bipartisan support. Boozman said Monday that the committee has made “meaningful progress” and held “constructive discussions,” but emphasized that advancing a bill with cross-party backing remains the priority.

 Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

Thailand has launched a campaign against so-called “grey money,” tightening oversight across physical gold markets and digital assets as part of an effort to close money laundering loopholes, according to local reports.

The push, reportedly ordered by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, brings traditionally separate asset classes under a single framework that combats illicit finance. 

Local media outlet The Nation reported that the initiative targets areas that have been exploited by criminal networks to move and store value outside of the banking system. This includes gold bars, online gold platforms and crypto. 

“Today, we are not only addressing modern digital threats but also ‘analogue’ financial crimes,” Charnvirakul said in a Friday meeting at the Ministry of Finance. “We must work as a single, integrated force to protect the public interest and the integrity of our financial system.”

Establishing a national hub for real-time threat monitoring

Charnvirakul reportedly said that an integrated force is necessary to combat “constantly evolving” criminal methods. Because of this, the government plans to establish a national data hub that enables real-time monitoring and creation of risk profiles for suspicious activity. 

On the gold side, the Anti-Money Laundering Office was instructed to lower the mandatory reporting threshold for physical gold purchases. At the moment, only transactions exceeding 2 million Thai baht (about $63,000) are subject to reporting requirements. 

However, authorities said criminals are deliberately breaking the amount into smaller purchases to avoid detection. In addition, regulators are also considering new business taxes and stricter audit requirements for online gold trading platforms, according to The Nation. 

For digital assets, the government ordered the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission to strictly enforce the Travel Rule. 

Under this global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standard, licensed crypto asset service providers must collect and transmit identifying information about both the sender and recipient of certain transactions, particularly in wallet-to-wallet transfers facilitated by exchanges. 

At the moment, no official reports indicate whether self-custody wallets are being restricted or banned. Based on available information, the obligations apply to regulated intermediaries, including exchanges and custodial wallet providers. 

Despite this, stricter Travel Rule enforcement could indirectly affect withdrawals to self-custody wallets.

Exchanges may impose enhanced verification, additional disclosures, or tighter controls on outbound transfers to comply with their reporting requirements, even if self-custody remains permitted. 

Related: Survey finds 6 in 10 of Asia’s rich plan to ramp up crypto buying

Thailand’s broader crypto regulatory posture

Thailand has historically taken a structured, regulator-led approach to crypto that favors licensing, clear rules and active supervision. The country was among the first in Southeast Asia to introduce a comprehensive crypto regime that placed exchanges, brokers and dealers under SEC oversight. 

In 2024, Thailand’s SEC cracked down on crypto advertising, warning crypto exchanges against glamorizing investments. The regulator warned market participants to adhere to ad guidelines that require businesses to prove facts stated in their campaigns. 

On April 9, the country targeted foreign crypto peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, sharpening measures to combat crimes involving digital assets. 

The latest push on “grey money” shifts the approach. By framing crypto and gold as parallel channels, Thailand signals that digital assets are no longer treated as a regulatory outlier. Instead, they are folded into a broader, data-centric enforcement model. 

Magazine: ‘China’s Ethereum’ in civil war, Japan to embrace Bitcoin ETFs: Asia Express

A new US Senate CLARITY Act draft allows crypto companies to offer activity-based rewards to stablecoin users.

The proposal, titled the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, reveals that certain rewards and incentives tied to the use of stablecoins would be permitted. However, the provision notes that offering rewards does not cause a stablecoin to be treated as a security or a bank-like product.

“Families and small businesses benefit from clear rules of the road,” Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott, who released the amended draft, said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph. “This bill reflects months of serious work, ideas, and concerns that have been raised across the Committee, and it gives everyday Americans the protections and certainty they deserve,” he added.  

Stablecoin rewards have become a major point of contention between crypto companies and banking groups. Banking groups have argued that yield-bearing stablecoin products resemble deposit-taking or unregulated investment vehicles. However, crypto firms say such programs function more like loyalty points or payment incentives common in fintech.

Draft bill exempts payments, loyalty, staking rewards

Under the draft, the prohibition would not apply to incentives connected to everyday financial activity. These include rewards linked to payments, transfers, remittances and settlement, as well as benefits tied to the use of wallets, accounts, platforms or blockchain networks. Loyalty and promotional programs, subscription-based incentives, and rebates related to the use of stablecoins are also covered.

The exemption extends further into crypto-native activity. According to the text, rewards associated with providing liquidity or collateral, as well as participation in governance, validation, staking or broader ecosystem activity, would be permitted.

Draft bill identifies permissible activities. Source: Senate

However, the draft clarified that a digital asset service provider “may not pay any form of interest or yield (whether in cash, tokens, or other consideration) solely in connection with the holding of a payment stablecoin.”

Meanwhile, the US Senate Agriculture Committee has delayed its markup of the crypto market structure bill until the final week of January, with Chairman John Boozman citing the need for more time to secure broad bipartisan support.

Related: Charles Hoskinson doubts CLARITY Act timeline, says Trump crypto czar should quit

Community banks urge Congress to close stablecoin yield “loophole”

Last week, a group of US community bankers urged Congress to amend the GENIUS Act, arguing that stablecoin issuers are exploiting a loophole that allows yield to be passed to tokenholders indirectly through exchanges and other partners.

The bankers warned that reward programs offered by crypto exchanges could pull billions of dollars away from community banks, weakening their ability to lend to small businesses, farmers, students and homebuyers.

The Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association, two major crypto advocacy groups, rebuffed the banks in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee last month, arguing “payment stablecoins are not used to fund loans” and that the revisions would stifle innovation and consumer choice.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

Global investment management firm VanEck is confident that the first three months of the year will be a risk-on environment for investors, citing clarity around fiscal policy, monetary direction, and major investment themes. 

“As we move into 2026, markets are operating in an environment with something investors have not had in years: visibility,” stated VanEck in a Q1 2026 Outlook on Tuesday. 

However, regarding Bitcoin (BTC), it stated that the typical four-year cycle “broke in 2025, complicating short-term signals.”

“This divergence supports a more cautious near-term outlook over the next 3–6 months,” it stated, noting that this outlook was not unanimous, with some company executives “remaining more constructive on the immediate cycle.”

A risk-on outlook is generally good news for riskier investments such as AI and tech stocks, and crypto. However, Bitcoin has decoupled from stock and gold markets in recent months following the massive deleveraging event in October.

Fewer fiscal and monetary surprises ahead

“One of the most important developments for markets is the gradual improvement in the US fiscal picture,” VanEck stated. 

“While deficits remain elevated, they are shrinking as a percentage of GDP from the historic highs reached during the COVID period,” they continued to explain.  

“This fiscal stabilization is helping anchor longer-term interest rates and reduce tail risks.”

Related: What the Fed’s divided 2026 outlook means for Bitcoin and crypto

The VanEck outlook is more medium-term than focused on immediate events, Justin d'Anethan, head of research at Arctic Digital, told Cointelegraph.

“One can’t help but look at price action, which often is its own narrative as confirmation,” he said, adding:

“With BTC rising in a low-leverage environment, it feels like a lot of last year’s fluff was taken out, leaving bulls a tad more realistic, and bears tamed in their apocalyptic prophecies. We see a lot of indicators in deep oversold territory, edging to get back up.” 

“While conflict with the US administration and the Fed might not help things, geopolitical uncertainty and a broadly bullish sentiment on risk assets seem to bode well for crypto, as it plays catch-up,” he added. 

Market trajectory for H1 2026 is relatively clear

Meanwhile, HashKey Group senior researcher Tim Sun told Cointelegraph that following the fluctuations and adjustments in late 2025, the market trajectory for the first half of 2026 has become relatively clear.

“With the US midterm elections approaching, both fiscal and financial conditions are expected to further favor risk assets,” he said. 

“Fiscal stimulus, accommodative monetary conditions, and favorable regulatory developments collectively form a classic risk‑on macroeconomic window in the first half of 2026. In such an environment, Bitcoin and the broader crypto market stand to benefit.”

Crypto investor Will Clemente commented that “this environment is literally what Bitcoin was created for.” 

“The President is coming after the Fed chair. Metals are ripping as sovereigns diversify reserves. Stocks and risk assets are at record highs. Geopolitical risk is rising.”

Analyst tips Bitcoin to go back to six figures

MN Fund founder and crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe is confident that BTC prices will reclaim six figures before the end of January. 

There has been no dip below the 21-day moving average with “buyers stepping in to accumulate Bitcoin at these regions,” he said on Monday. 

“Given the fact that the markets have hung in this range for such a long time, it shows the significance of the potential breakout levels,” he stated before predicting that a clear move above $92,000 will result in $100,000 in a maximum of ten days. 

BTC had tapped the $92,000 level at the time of writing early Tuesday morning in Asia after a dip to the low $90,000 area on Monday. 

BTC has been trading sideways for almost two months. Source: TradingView

Magazine: One metric shows crypto is now in a bear market: Carl ‘The Moon’

Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan has slammed the idea that Bitcoin shouldn’t be used for investment and 401(k)s because of its volatility — arguing that some stocks are also prone to even larger price swings.

Hougan made the comments on the same day US Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for answers on how it would mitigate risks involved in allowing crypto in retirement funds. 

In August last year, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Labor Department to reevaluate restrictions around alternative assets in defined-contribution plans, opening the door for cryptocurrencies to be included in 401(k) retirement plans.

During an interview with Investopedia Express Live on Monday, Hougan called previous attempts to block Bitcoin (BTC) investment by management companies like Vanguard and regulators' advice against inclusion in 401(k)s “ridiculous.”

“This is just another asset. Does it go up and down? Absolutely. Is there risk in it? Absolutely. But it's actually less volatile over the last year than Nvidia stock, and you don't see any rules about banning 401(k) providers from offering Nvidia stock,” he said.

Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan says Bitcoin can be less volatile than some stocks, and bans on investing in it are ridiculous. Source: YouTube 

Shares in US tech giant Nvidia hit a yearly low of roughly $94.31 in April 2025, before spiking to a high of over $207 by October, representing a price swing of 120%. 

On the other hand, Bitcoin fluctuated between a low of $76,000 in April and a high of $126,080 in October, amounting to a 65% swing between the two.

Crypto in 401(k)s has been a long-sought-after opportunity for crypto firms aiming to reach more retail investors and achieve greater financial system legitimacy.

Warren demands SEC answers on crypto in 401(k)

Meanwhile, US Senator Elizabeth Warren is demanding answers from the SEC about how it will mitigate any risks for 401(k) plans that choose to invest in “alternative investments,” like crypto.

In an open letter published on Monday, Warren argued that crypto in retirement plans might not lead to better outcomes for participants due to higher fees and expenses “that typically come with them,” along with crypto’s volatility.

“For most Americans, their 401(k) represents a lifeline to retirement security rather than a playground for financial risk. Allowing crypto into American retirement accounts creates fertile ground for workers and families to lose big,” she added.

Warren has demanded that SEC Chair Paul Atkins answer whether the regulator is taking into account volatility when valuing crypto holdings for publicly traded companies no later than Jan. 27.

She also wants to know if the SEC has assessed the use of manipulative practices in crypto markets and if the regulator will publish research and other educational materials to help raise investor awareness.

Crypto in 401(k)s will be normalized, eventually

Outside of Trump's executive order, in May, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration announced a “neutral stance, neither endorsing nor disapproving,” of crypto in 401(k)s after rescinding a compliance release from 2022 that had previously discouraged the practice.

Related: Crypto in US 401(k) retirement plans may drive Bitcoin to $200K in 2025

Hougan said it’s unclear if 401(k) providers will start to invest in crypto during 2026, but predicts it will eventually happen and become normalized.

“These are very slow-moving institutions, but we're moving in that direction, and eventually it'll be normalized like other assets, which is how it should be,” he added.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

A Tennessee federal judge has temporarily stopped state regulators from taking action against the prediction markets platform Kalshi, which had sued the state after being ordered to cease offering sports event contracts.

In an order on Monday, Judge Aleta Trauger supported Kalshi’s earlier motion for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order against the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council and the state’s attorney general while the court case moves ahead.

The judge said Kalshi “will suffer irreparable injury and loss” by the regulator’s actions, and the company “is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims and its rights will likely be violated” unless the regulator is restrained.

The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council sent Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com cease-and-desist letters on Friday, ordering them to stop offering sports event contracts in the state.

Source: Daniel Wallach

The regulator accused all three of offering sports wagering products without a license. It ordered them to stop offering the products in Tennessee, void all contracts, and refund all users in the state by Jan. 31, threatening fines of up to $25,000 per offense.

Kalshi sues Tennessee, arguing it overstepped

Shortly after receiving the letter, Kalshi sued the Sports Wagering Council; its chair, William Orgen; and its executive director, Mary Beth Thomas, along with state attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti.

The company argued that, as a federally designated derivatives exchange, it is subject to the “exclusive jurisdiction” of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“Tennessee’s intent to regulate Kalshi intrudes upon the federal regulatory framework that Congress established for regulating derivatives on designated exchanges,” Kalshi said.

Kalshi has made similar arguments in lawsuits it has launched against other state regulators, which had also issued the company and some of its rivals with cease-and-desist letters, arguing that prediction market platforms must be licensed at the state level.

Courts in Nevada and New Jersey have sided with Kalshi to block state regulators from taking action while the company’s lawsuits play out, but a judge in Maryland denied Kalshi’s request for a temporary block.

Tennessee’s action against Kalshi is frozen until a preliminary injunction hearing slated for Jan. 26, and the platform is free to continue operating in the state.

Magazine: Meet the onchain crypto detectives fighting crime better than the cops

US Securities and Exchange Commission chair Paul Atkins says he is confident that the crypto market structure bill will make it onto US President Donald Trump’s desk this year. 

In an interview with Fox Business on Monday, Atkins discussed the regulatory outlook for crypto this year. Atkins praised the passing of the GENIUS act in 2025, noting that the bill provides an important part of regulatory clarity in the US.

Moving forward, he highlighted the bipartisan crypto market structure bill as the next key boost to the domestic crypto sector. 

“This [bill] fits in with the President’s focus on making America the crypto capital of the world, so if you have clear legislation and clear rules, then you have certainty in the marketplace,” he said, adding:

“We’re behind it, we’re very bullish on the effects of the bill getting to the president to be signed this year and I think that will really be a huge help to the crypto marketplace.”

Source: Paul Atkins

On Monday, the US Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, pushed back the final markup of the bill to the end of January, stating that it needs more time to finalize details and garner support for the legislation.

The Senate Agriculture Committee had initially slated a markup for the bill on Thursday, as that would coincide with a markup of the same bill by the SEC-overseeing Senate Banking Committee. The latter’s markup will still go ahead on Thursday as planned. 

With anticipation for the crypto bill growing, one factor that may throw a spanner in the works is a potential government shutdown, which may happen if the House fails to pass a set of government spending bills by Jan. 30.

On X, Atkins said the most important thing the government can currently do for investors is to “bring crypto asset markets out of the regulatory gray zone.”  

“Passing bipartisan market structure legislation will help us future-proof against rogue regulators, ensuring that we achieve President Trump’s goal to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world,” Atkins said. 

The crypto market structure bill is seen as a major step in the right direction for establishing clear oversight for the US crypto market, with the bill aiming to give the SEC and CFTC primary oversight on the industry.  

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

The US banking industry has been pushing “myths” about stablecoin yields to protect itself, and Congress should prioritize consumers rather than highly profitable banks, argues crypto lecturer and author Omid Malekan. 

“I am disappointed that market structure legislation seems to be held up by the stablecoin yield issue. Most of the concerns bouncing around Washington are based on unsubstantiated myths,” said Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, Omid Malekan, on Monday. 

He stated that the passage of crypto market structure legislation in Washington “now seems to partially depend on the question of whether stablecoin issuers should be able to share their economics with third parties.”

The primary conflict is a “yield bottleneck” regarding who gets to profit from the interest on stablecoin reserves.

The banking lobbies have labeled this a “loophole” that they want closed. They fear that if users can passively earn around 5% risk-free yields on stablecoins, customers will withdraw billions from low-interest bank accounts in a “deposit flight,” destabilizing community banks, explained technologist Paul Barron on Saturday. 

However, there are several counterarguments to these banking industry concerns, said Malekan. 

Stablecoin growth doesn’t hurt bank deposits

The idea that stablecoin growth can only lead to shrinking bank deposits is false, he argued. 

Stablecoins may actually increase bank deposits since most stablecoin demand comes from abroad. As issuers must hold reserves in Treasury bills and bank deposits, this wuld create more banking activity overall.

Secondly, stablecoin competition won’t hurt lending, just bank profits, said Malekan. Banks can compete by paying higher interest rates to depositors. Currently, the national average savings account yield is a paltry 0.62%, according to BankRate.

Related: US community banks join campaign to shut a GENIUS Act ‘loophole’

Thirdly, banks are not the dominant credit source since they provide only about 20% of US credit. Most lending comes from non-bank sources like money market funds and private credit, which could benefit from stablecoin adoption through cheaper payments and lower Treasury rates, he argued. 

Savers deserve consideration in addition to borrowers

It’s also a myth that community and regional banks are particularly vulnerable to stablecoin adoption. 

“It’s the large ‘money center’ banks that are more vulnerable,” the author said.

“The only reason this myth persists is because it’s pushed by an unholy alliance of large banks trying to protect their profits and crypto startups trying to sell smaller banks their services.”

Malekan said savers deserve consideration in addition to borrowers. Preventing stablecoin issuers from sharing yields with users essentially protects bank profits at savers’ expense, when both savers and borrowers matter for a healthy economy.

Prioritize consumers over bank profits 

The academic concluded that Congress should prioritize innovation and consumers rather than protecting highly profitable big banks. 

“Most of the concerns raised by the banking industry on this topic are unproven and unsubstantiated. Congress has done a great job of putting American progress ahead of corporate interests so far; it shouldn't stop now.”

Lawyer and Senate candidate John Deaton reminded his X followers on Monday that senators are being pressured by the Banking Lobby to not allow third-party platforms like Coinbase to pay yield on stablecoins. 

“The banks are not your friends. And neither are career politicians [...] who support them,” he said. 

Coinbase has reportedly threatened to withdraw support for the CLARITY Act if it restricts stablecoin rewards beyond disclosure requirements. 

John Deaton recommends a book by G. Edward Griffin that critiques the Federal Reserve System, suggesting it was created in secrecy by powerful individuals. Source: John E Deaton

Magazine: One metric shows crypto is now in a bear market: Carl ‘The Moon’

Eric Adams has made his first major public move since leaving the New York City Mayor’s Office, launching a New York City–themed crypto token aimed at addressing anti-semitism and “anti-Americanism.”

In a post to X on Monday, Adams announced the launch of the “NYC Token, with a link to a website that says it also aims to inspire the next wave of innovation in NYC.

“I always say there are two types of Americans, those who live in New York and those who wish they could,” Adams said in a video, adding that “We’re about to change the game.”

“If you can't make it to New York, we're going to bring New York to you,” Adams said, suggesting that the NYC-themed token was poised to “take off like crazy.”

Proud to launch @buynyctoken, a new token built to fight the rapid spread of antisemitism and anti-Americanism across this country and now in New York City.

Now live at https://t.co/zowY9Ri3aK pic.twitter.com/qBMzV88Tmj

— Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) January 12, 2026

In an interview with FOX Business, Adams explained that proceeds from the NYC Token would provide funding to non-profits to raise awareness about antisemitism and anti-Americanism through education programs. It will also be used to fund education about blockchain and crypto and support scholarships for NYC students in underserved communities.

“[There’s a] wave of anti-Americanism that is sweeping not only on Ivy League college campuses but in the cities, so the goal is how do we use blockchain technology with this token, and a substantial amount of money raised from this token is going to fight those initiatives.”

NYC Token plunges soon after launch

Adam’s new memecoin, however, saw a rocky launch.

DEXScreener data shows that the Solana-based token fell from $0.47 to the $0.10 roughly 30 minutes after launching, with the market cap falling from near $500 million to less than $110 million at the time of writing.

There are also unverified accusations that the team behind the token has intentionally removed liquidity, with crypto analyst Rune citing blockchain data suggesting investors have been scammed out of more than $3.4 million.

Cointelegraph reached out to Adams for comment but didn’t receive an immediate response.

Questions remain over what’s next for the NYC token

The NYC Token website provides little information on the project’s direction. The website’s “Buy NYC Token” and “Read Whitepaper” buttons also currently don’t work.

However, information on its tokenomics states that 40% of the NYC tokens are allocated to community rewards, 25% to liquidity, 15% to development, and the remaining 20% split between marketing and the team.

The website also suggests that Adams may pursue more than a token launch, stating: “We’re creating a decentralized financial ecosystem that's as ambitious as the city itself.”

NYC has taken a change in direction

Adams was officially replaced by Zohran Mamdani on Jan. 1 following Mamdani’s victory over crypto advocate and former New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, on Nov. 4.

Related: Crypto custody company BitGo seeks up to $201 million in US IPO 

Adams was one of the most pro-crypto mayors in the US when leading the mayor’s office and was well-known for converting some of his earliest paychecks into crypto.

Mamdani, however, adopts a far more anti-capitalist stance, a position that has drawn criticism from many in the crypto industry, with some warning that his leadership could drive tech talent out of the city.

Magazine: One metric shows crypto is now in a bear market: Carl ‘The Moon’

US President Donald Trump has pledged to make major tech companies “pick up the tab” for their power usage to prevent everyday Americans from paying more for electricity.

“I never want Americans to pay higher electricity bills because of data centers,” said Donald Trump on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday.

He blamed the Democrats for surging household electricity bills and vowed to work with major American tech giants to “secure their commitment to the American People,” with an announcement in the coming weeks.

The average price of electricity per kilowatt-hour in the average US city has increased around 40% over the past five years, according to the St. Louis Fed. 

The POTUS said that Microsoft, with whom his team has been working, will make major changes beginning this week “to ensure that Americans don’t ‘pick up the tab’ for their power consumption, in the form of paying higher utility bills.”

“We are the ‘hottest’ country in the world, and number one in AI. Data centers are key to that boom, and keeping Americans free and secure, but the big technology companies who build them must ‘pay their own way’.” 

Data center power demand surging 

In 2025, US data center demand accounted for 5.2% of America’s total power usage, or 224 terawatt hours (TWh), up 21% from the previous year, according to Visual Capitalist.

By 2030, McKinsey & Company projected that electricity consumption from US data centers could top 600 TWh, or 11.7% of all American power.

Related: Bitcoin is now 56.7% green: Here’s how it could get even cleaner

Cooling accounts for 30% to 40% of total facility energy use, while servers and IT equipment consume approximately 40% to 60% of total facility power, according to Network Installers.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency estimates that AI-focused data center electricity demand is growing at around 30% annually, compared to 9% for conventional server workloads.

US data center power consumption is set to surge 3 times by 2030. Source: Visual Capitalist

Bitcoin mining power usage

Bitcoin mining is also a power-hungry operation that relies on huge data centers to crunch the numbers in search of the next block. 

However, last week, ESG expert Daniel Batten compared the national rise in US utility bills between 2021 and 2024 to the part of the country where there was an anomalously high concentration of Bitcoin mining, Texas, finding that they were very similar.  

“Neither in the data nor in peer-reviewed studies is there evidence to support the claim that Bitcoin mining increases power bills for consumers,” he concluded. 

Bitcoin mining also has several other documented environmental benefits, such as removing bottlenecks to on-grid renewables, funding green energy research and development, and eliminating harmful methane emissions. 

Magazine: 9 weirdest AI stories from 2025: AI Eye

Meta is reportedly set to lay off around 10% of staff from its metaverse arm Reality Labs this week, as the firm focuses its resources on artificial intelligence. 

According to a report from the New York Times (NYT) on Monday, citing sources close to the matter, Meta could announce the cuts to the division as soon as Tuesday. 

Reality Labs has around 15,000 staff members. The division focuses on virtual reality (VR) gear such as headsets, as well as operating the firm’s metaverse platforms Horizon Worlds and Horizon Workrooms. 

The cuts are expected to hit around 10%, equating to 1,500 people.   

Cointelegraph reached out to Meta for comment.  

Meta cutting metaverse budget

Meta has been making gradual cuts to its metaverse budget over the past year as the firm ramped up its focus on artificial intelligence (AI). 

In early December, Meta’s shares spiked after reports emerged that the firm was potentially slashing 30% from its metaverse budget and reallocating the funds to AI.   

The NYT report also states that Meta plans to reallocate some of its money from Reality Labs to increase the budget of its wearables division, which focuses on smart glasses and wrist-worn devices such as the Meta Neural Band. 

Boxing in Meta’s metaverse. Source: Meta

The firm, formerly known as Facebook, changed its name to Meta in October 2021 as part of a major pivot from social media to the metaverse, VR and augmented reality.  

Meta has lost over $70 billion on Reality Labs since the unit was launched in August 2020, with the arm posting $4.4 billion worth of operation losses in Meta’s last financial earnings report from Q3 2025.  

Related: CFTC forms innovation committee to help shape rules for crypto, AI

At the time, the metaverse was one of the most trending sectors in crypto and traditional tech, user adoption has failed to hit mainstream levels. 

Currently, gaming-oriented metaverse platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite dominate the market, with hundreds of millions of active daily users. However, these platforms are outliers, with the rest of the sector having minuscule usage metrics in comparison. 

Meanwhile, big-name blockchain metaverses such as The Sandbox saw just 776 unique active wallets engage with the platform over the past 30 days, per data from DappRadar. Some have even claimed Meta’s Horizon Worlds sees less than 900 daily active users.   

While Meta may be cooling down on the metaverse, CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears to still be bullish on the growth potential of the metaverse, once calling 2025 a “pivotal year” for the industry.

Magazine: Bitget’s Gracy Chen is looking for ‘entrepreneurs, not wantrepreneurs’

The US Senate Agriculture Committee has pushed its markup of the crypto market structure bill to the end of January, saying it needs more time to garner support for the legislation.

Committee Chairman John Boozman said on Monday that he wanted to advance a bipartisan-supported bill and has “made meaningful progress and had constructive discussions as we work toward this goal.”

“To finalize the remaining details and ensure the broad support this legislation requires, additional time is needed before moving to markup,” he added. “The committee will mark up this legislation during the last week of January.”

The crypto industry is highly anticipating the bill as it would define how the country’s market regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, would police crypto.

Source: Senate Ag Committee Republicans

The Senate Agriculture Committee oversees the CFTC and initially slated a markup for the bill on Thursday to coincide with a markup of the same bill by the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees the SEC, and is still to go ahead.

The market structure bill under consideration in the Senate is separate from the House’s CLARITY Act, which it passed in July, due to procedural rules.

Requests for ethics, stablecoin yield changes

Some of the changes that lawmakers and lobbyists are pushing to include are a ban on all stablecoin yield payments and provisions for ethics laws.

A number of Democratic Senators are pushing for conflict-of-interest guardrails in the bill, with provisions to prohibit public officials, including President Donald Trump, from profiting from any connections to crypto companies.

Bank lobbyists have also pushed for a ban on third-party platforms, such as crypto exchanges, from offering stablecoin yields after the GENIUS Act prohibited issuers from doing so.

Crypto lobby groups and companies have pressed for lawmakers to exclude software developers and non-custodial platforms from being classified as intermediaries, and therefore subject to finance rules.

Investment bank TD Cowen said earlier this month that the midterms could diminish the support needed to pass the bill, and it was more likely to pass in 2027, with its final implementation in 2029.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026