Cointelegraph

Financial regulators in France have reportedly flagged 90 crypto firms that remain unlicensed under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework ahead of a key deadline in June.

France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) warned that around 30% of the unlicensed firms have not responded to the authority’s request on whether they plan to obtain the required license, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Stephane Pontoizeau, executive director of the market intermediaries and market infrastructures supervision directorate at the AMF, told Reuters the regulator notified the companies in November to remind them that the country’s transition period ends on June 30.

Crypto companies that fail to comply with the MiCA framework will be forced to cease operations by July, the report states.

40% of unlicensed crypto firms in France not seeking MiCA licenses

Of the 90 crypto firms registered in France without a MiCA license, around 40% have reportedly said they do not intend to apply, AMF’s Pontoizeau said. Another 30% indicated that their license applications were in progress.

The regulator did not provide details on which companies have declined to seek a license or which remain unresponsive.

Cointelegraph reached out to the AMF for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

MiCA licenses in France include CoinShares and Relai

Since the MiCA framework came fully into force in late 2024, France’s AMF has issued licenses to a handful of crypto companies.

Among them are CoinShares, a major crypto investment firm licensed in July 2025, and Switzerland’s Bitcoin (BTC) app Relai, which received a MiCA license from the AMF in October.

The news adds to concerns over the EU’s enforcement challenges around the MiCA framework.

The Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Europe’s primary supervisory body overseeing MiCA compliance, said in December that it expects crypto companies without MiCA authorization to have “orderly wind-down” plans in place once the transitional period ends.

An excerpt from ESMA’s statement on MiCA transitional measures. Source: ESMA

Also in December, the European Commission proposed giving the ESMA a centralized supervisory role over all EU crypto companies.

The proposal has raised industry concerns, with critics warning it could slow licensing and hinder startup growth.

French authorities have supported giving ESMA centralized supervisory powers, while member states such as Malta have openly opposed the move.

France has emerged as a leading critic of the EU’s passporting regime, warning that some companies may seek MiCA licences in jurisdictions with more lenient standards.

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

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has dropped plans to make a centralized digital ID mandatory for workers, softening a flagship policy that would have required every employee to prove their right to work via a government‑issued credential rather than traditional documents like passports. 

The move follows months of backlash from critics, including UK Member of Parliament Rupert Lowe, Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage, and other cross‑party politicians, civil liberties groups and campaigners. 

Opponents warned it risked building an “Orwellian nightmare,” centralizing sensitive data in a honeypot vulnerable to hacking, and mission creep into areas such as housing, banking and voting.

Nearly three million people signed a parliamentary petition opposing digital ID cards. Lowe celebrated the policy shift in a video on X, saying he was off for “a very large drink to celebrate the demise of mandatory Digital ID,” while Farage said it was “a victory for individual liberty against a ghastly, authoritarian government.”

Demise of the UK’s digital ID. Source: Rupert Lowe

​UK waters down mandatory digital ID after public backlash

Officials now say digital right‑to‑work checks will remain mandatory, but when the UK’s digital ID scheme is introduced around 2029, it will be offered on an optional basis alongside alternative electronic documentation, rather than being imposed as the only route to employment verification. 

That partial rollback highlights how public unease over tying basic rights like work to a single government‑run identifier is reshaping policy, echoing wider debates over central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the European Central Bank’s digital euro, where both civil society groups and some lawmakers have pushed for hard privacy guarantees rather than blanket traceability.

Digital euro and EU digital ID explore privacy‑preserving designs

As the UK softens its stance, the European Union is moving ahead with its own digital identity framework and digital euro plans, but has explored using zero‑knowledge proofs so citizens can prove attributes (such as age or residency) without exposing all underlying personal data.

These types of measures, along with decentralized identity technologies and privacy‑preserving tools on blockchains, such as zero‑knowledge credential systems and privacy‑enhancing smart contract designs, aim to reconcile compliance with data minimization, offering an alternative to centralized databases that store all user information in one place.

Crypto privacy tools rise as policymakers test onchain ID controls

Against that backdrop, privacy‑focused crypto tools, from privacy coins like Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR) to decentralized identity protocols, continue to attract attention from users worried about financial surveillance and data breaches, as regulators step up scrutiny and explore ways to embed identity checks into DeFi and self‑hosted wallets.

The US Treasury’s proposed DeFi ID framework and renewed interest in privacy tokens have shown that policymakers are actively testing ways to fold stronger Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer controls into onchain infrastructure at the same time as builders push privacy‑preserving alternatives.

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Ripple is expanding its regulatory footprint in Europe after receiving what it described as a preliminary e-money authorization from Luxembourg’s financial regulators.

The blockchain payments company said in a Wednesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph that it had received preliminary approval for its Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).

Ripple said the step moves it closer to a full authorization, which would allow the company to provide regulated payment services in stablecoins and other digital assets across the European Union under passporting rules, subject to meeting remaining conditions.

“Gaining our preliminary approval is a pivotal step, enabling Ripple to provide essential digital asset infrastructure to our clients across Europe,” said Cassie Craddock, Ripple’s managing director for the UK and Europe.

Ripple’s deep and ongoing commitment to Europe

Ripple’s preliminary EMI approval in Luxembourg was issued in the form of a “green light letter” from the CSSF, marking a key step toward Ripple receiving its full EMI authorization, subject to relevant conditions.

The approval highlights its commitment to Europe, a key region for Ripple, where the company has multiple offices.

Ripple has 15 offices around the world, including London, Dublin, Luxembourg, Geneva and Reykjavik. Source: Ripple

“Thanks to the CSSF’s progressive and sophisticated approach to supervision, Luxembourg is establishing itself as a premier hub for financial innovation by providing the harmonised framework and legal certainty that our industry needs,” Craddock said, adding:

“Regulatory clarity is the bedrock of institutional adoption, and by prioritizing MiCA-compliant operations, Ripple is empowering the region’s businesses to lean into the next era of financial innovation.”

Ripple’s MiCA license application in process

Ripple’s regulatory progress in Luxembourg marks its second approval within a week, following EMI and crypto asset business authorizations granted by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to its local subsidiary, Ripple Markets UK, last Friday.

The company is also pursuing approval under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. Ripple aims to achieve full MiCA compliance by securing a crypto asset service provider (CASP) license in the coming months.

Related: ‘We still plan to remain private,’ says Ripple president on IPO

The new licenses from the EU and the UK will add to Ripple’s portfolio of more than 75 regulatory authorizations globally, making it one of the most licensed crypto companies worldwide, the company said.

Among those approvals, Ripple holds money transmitter licenses in 43 US states and territories, as well as authorizations in Singapore, Dubai and the Cayman Islands and additional approvals obtained through acquired platforms such as Layer2 Financial and Hidden Road.

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

Active users on the Ethereum network have overtaken major layer 2s as long-term development strategies begin to pay off.

The number of active addresses on Ethereum exceeded 791,000 on Monday, higher than that of the network’s major L2 players, including Base, Arbitrum and Optimism, according to data from Nansen.

Daily average transaction costs have also reached new lows. On Monday, average transaction fees were only $0.15. The average fee for a transaction on Ethereum was as high as $11 just one year ago.

These metrics for Ethereum utility come ahead of ambitious plans by developers to make the network bulletproof.

Ethereum has more daily active addresses than prominent L2s. Source: Nansen

Active addresses on Ethereum overtake L2s, fees cost pennies

Over the last year, the number of active addresses on the Ethereum network has increased 71% from 460,000 accounts recorded a year ago.

Daily transactions on Ethereum have also been hitting all-time highs, and are cheaper than ever. On Tuesday, there were 2.1 million transactions on the Ethereum blockchain with an average transaction fee of $0.15.

Daily transactions on Ethereum are seeing record highs. Source: Etherscan 

Transacting on Ethereum was notoriously expensive in the not-so-distant past. In late 2021 to mid-2022, when decentralized finance was exploding and the non-fungible token craze had reached its zenith, some users reported gas fees of over $200.

This raised questions around how usable Ethereum could really be. Then in 2023, L2 networks exploded to scale the network as major players like Coinbase jumped on board. The crypto exchange launched its own L2, Base, with mainnet opening for users in August of that year. 

Last year saw two major upgrades to Ethereum. In May, the Pectra upgrade increased the capacity of blobs — a tool for storing transaction data. More blob space helps rollups post transaction data cheaper and can contribute to lower fees.

Blob capacity was further increased in the Fusaka upgrade, which activated on Dec. 3, 2025. Fusaka also introduced Peer Data Availability Sampling, which created a system wherein validators didn’t need to download entire blobs, but could use small samples for transaction verification. 

In addition to lower fees and more addresses, developers are now more frequently choosing Ethereum as a settlement layer. According to Token Terminal, the number of new smart contracts created and published on Ethereum reached an all-time high of 8.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

This indicator of future network activity comes at a time of increased competition between layer 1s like Ethereum, Tron, Solana and BNB Chain. Solana and BNB Chain are the industry’s top networks by transactions and active addresses, driven largely by their high throughput and popularity for retail and memecoin activity.

As the race heats up, Ethereum developers are looking for ways to future-proof the network.

Ethereum for 100 years

On Monday, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said on X that the network needs to get to a point where developers can eventually walk away. 

He said that building applications is “not possible on a base layer which itself depends on ongoing updates from a vendor in order to continue being usable.” Buterin said that the blockchain must have “the traits that we strive for in Ethereum's applications. Hence, Ethereum itself must pass the walkaway test.”

The network is far from such a point, and Buterin suggested a number of key factors to get it “to a place where Ethereum's value proposition does not strictly depend on any features that are not in the protocol already.”

These included:

Full quantum-resistance.

Architecture that can expand to sufficient scalability, thousands of times over.

State architecture that can last decades.

A general-purpose account model.

A proof-of-stake model that can “last and remain decentralized for decades.”

A block-building model that is resistant to centralization. 

Buterin added that every year, Ethereum developers should “tick off at least one of these boxes, and ideally multiple.” 

Major changes are coming to Ethereum in 2026. The upcoming Glamsterdam fork will bring perfect parallel processing to the network and also increase the gas limit to 200 million from its current 60 million. It will also make further increases to blob size. 

Perfect parallel processing will purportedly increase transaction bandwidth and allow for larger block sizes without increased gas limits. 

The forthcoming upgrades aim to increase Ethereum’s throughput to 10,000 transactions per second. Source: Growthepie

As Ethereum continues to make network upgrades, the data is showing more activity on its L1. The pay-off could soon be a network developers can walk away from, and on which future generations of app developers can build.

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

Pakistan has reportedly signed an agreement with a company connected to World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture linked to the family of US President Donald Trump, to explore the use of its dollar-pegged stablecoin for cross-border payments.

The agreement involves SC Financial Technologies, a little-known company linked to World Liberty Financial, and marks one of the first publicly known partnerships between Trump-linked crypto ventures and a sovereign state, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter.

Under the arrangement, World Liberty Financial will collaborate with Pakistan’s central bank to integrate its USD1 stablecoin into a regulated digital payments framework. The token would operate alongside Pakistan’s emerging digital currency infrastructure, potentially supporting cross-border transactions such as remittances, the source told Reuters.

Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and details surrounding SC Financial Technologies remain limited.

USD1 stablecoin has a market cap of $3.4 billion. Source: CoinMarketCap

Related: Pakistan may be a crypto leader in 5 years at current pace: CZ

Pakistan to announce stablecoin deal during Witkoff visit

Pakistan is expected to formally announce the deal later on Wednesday during a visit by World Liberty chief executive Zach Witkoff to Islamabad, according to the report.

World Liberty has already attracted attention for its role in major transactions. In May last year, MGX, a state-backed investment firm from Abu Dhabi, used World Liberty’s stablecoin to facilitate the purchase of a $2 billion equity stake in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Earlier this week, World Liberty also launched World Liberty Markets, a new onchain lending and borrowing platform built around its USD1 stablecoin and WLFI governance token. The platform allows users to post crypto collateral such as Ether (ETH), tokenized Bitcoin (BTC) and major stablecoins.

Related: Bitcoin, blockchain should form Pakistan’s new financial rail, minister says

Pakistan pushes to become global crypto hub

Pakistan has been steadily advancing its digital finance agenda as it seeks to become a major global crypto hub.

The country has taken major steps to formalize its crypto ecosystem, including establishing the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, permitting crypto exchanges Binance and HTX to operate in the country, building a Bitcoin reserve, and exploring real-world asset tokenization to attract foreign investment and boost liquidity.

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

It could take many years for the crypto market structure bill to be implemented due to a lengthy rulemaking process, according to Paradigm’s vice president of regulatory affairs, Justin Slaughter.

The market structure bill has advanced to the Senate committee stage with bipartisan text and ongoing negotiations. It’s set for a markup with the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, while the Senate Agriculture Committee has delayed its hearing until Jan.27.

If the House of Representatives and the Senate pass the bill, and US President Donald Trump signs it into law, it could still take nearly two presidential terms for all the rules to come into force, Slaughter predicted in a X post on Tuesday.

He said that because there are “45 rulemakings required in this bill alone,” it’s likely that “the process of implementing this bill will not just run through this presidential term, it will probably run through the entirety of the next one.”

Source: Justin Slaughter

The crypto industry has long been asking for regulatory clarity from lawmakers. 

Similar legislation has been slowed by rulemaking

Rulemaking involves individual regulators and agencies fleshing out the details of a law passed by legislators. It can include publishing proposed rules, seeking public comment, and issuing final regulations that have the force of law, which can be a lengthy process.

“Speaking from experience, Dodd-Frank still isn't finished today, and most of the non-CFTC rules were finished in that from 2013-2018, 3 to 8 years after passage,” Slaughter added.

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

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was a major US financial reform enacted in 2010 in response to the 2008 financial crisis, which subsequently took years of agency rulemaking before its rules reshaped markets.

Bill could die a few times before passing

The crypto market structure bill still has to pass before any rulemaking can start, and Slaughter speculates that could also take a while.

“I'll be watching on Thursday to see if there is a bipartisan process or things fall apart. But I've never seen a major bill that passed into law that didn't die a few times before it ultimately came though, so hope always springs eternal.”

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

Ethereum digital asset treasury (DAT) BitMine has just staked another huge batch of Ether, bringing its total amount staked to over 1.5 million ETH. 

Tom Lee-chaired BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) added 186,560 ETH (worth around $625 million) to the “Beacon Depositor” address, reported Lookonchain on Wednesday.

This brings the total amount staked by the world’s largest Ethereum (ETH) DAT to 1,530,784 ETH, worth a whopping $5.13 billion, equating to 4% of the total 36 million ETH staked on the Beacon Chain.

This share could still increase as the company holds a total of just over 4 million ETH, of which 37% has now been staked. 

The move comes just a few days after it crossed the 1 million milestone in staked Ether. 

On Monday, the firm reported that it held 4,167,768 ETH, 192 Bitcoin (BTC), almost a billion dollars in cash, and a $23 million stake in Eightco Holdings.

Meanwhile, the Ethereum staking validator entry queue has skyrocketed to 2.3 million ETH, its highest level since August 2023. 

Bitmine continues to stack and stake Ether. Source: Arkham Intelligence

Bitmine stock rises in after-hours trading

BitMine stock climbed 3.8% in after-hours trading on Tuesday to reach $32.35, according to Google Finance. 

The company has had a solid start to the year, with share prices gaining 11.5% year to date in tandem with the broader rise in crypto markets. 

Related: Crypto treasury buying outpaces Bitcoin supply at 3-to-1

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, who chairs the firm, remains bullish on Ether and crypto in 2026 following a tumultuous end to 2025. 

“We continue to view the leverage reset post October 10th, 2025, as akin to the ‘mini crypto winter.’ 2026 is the year crypto prices recover and with stronger gains in 2027-2028,” said Lee on Monday. 

ETH price surges 7% on the day

Meanwhile, the price of Ether has just seen its largest daily gain in 2026, rising 7% over the past 24 hours. 

The asset tapped $3,375, its highest level since Dec. 10, on Coinbase in early trading on Wednesday, according to TradingView.

Ether is approaching the upper bands of a two-month sideways channel and needs to break resistance above $3,400 to see any further meaningful momentum. 

Ether price hits resistance at the 200-day EMA. Source: TradingView

Magazine: Trump rules out SBF pardon, Bitcoin in ‘boring sideways’: Hodler’s Digest

Stablecoin issuers and third-party platforms that pay interest to stablecoin holders are creating an “undesirable” parallel banking system, says JPMorgan financial chief Jeremy Barnum.

Barnum told investors during the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Tuesday that its advocacy to ban all yield payments on stablecoins is “in the spirit of the GENIUS Act legislation,” which banned issuers from paying yield on their tokens.

“The creation of a parallel banking system that has all the features of banking, including something that looks a lot like a deposit that pays interest without the associated prudential safeguards that have been developed over hundreds of years of bank regulation is, an obviously like, dangerous and undesirable thing,” he said.

Bank lobbyists have pressured Congress to ban third parties, such as crypto exchanges, from being able to offer yields and rewards to users holding stablecoins on their platforms, arguing it could undermine the banking system and cause significant outflows.

JPMorgan wants “appropriate regulation”

Barnum acknowledged that JPMorgan had been “quite involved in the whole blockchain technology space for some time,” with the company working on tokenized money market funds and a stablecoin, or what it calls a “deposit token.”

“We always embrace competition,” he added. “So this is not about saying that we don't want to compete, but it's about avoiding the creation of a parallel ecosystem that has all the same economic properties and risks without appropriate regulation.”

Jeremy Barnum, pictured at a company conference in May, says stablecoins can create a “dangerous and undesirable” system. Source: JPMorgan

Barnum said while blockchain technology “is cool and there's interesting stuff there,” the bank’s thinking on stablecoin regulation was based on “how does this actually make the consumer experience better?”

“In the cases where it does, we either need to get involved or improve our own service offering,” he added. “In the case where it doesn't, sometimes it's a little bit of a solution in search of a problem. So I think the question of the ‘risk’ to existing business models and banking system deposits needs to be looked at through that lens.”

Signs lawmakers may tighten stablecoin laws

Banking groups have pushed for a ban on all stablecoin payments to be added to crypto market structure legislation currently working its way through the Senate.

The Senate Banking Committee is set to debate a bill on Thursday. It released a draft of the bill on Monday that included a provision that only allowed companies to offer activity-based stablecoin rewards, compared to being able to offer rewards just for holding the token.

The Senate Agriculture Committee has delayed its markup on the bill until later this month as the committee’s Republicans said on Monday they had to garner more support from Democrats for the bill to advance.

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

Scammers and fraudsters increasingly used impersonation scams to steal crypto from unsuspecting users last year, with a 1400% year-over-year spike in cases, according to Chainalysis. 

Impersonation scams involve fraudsters posing as a trusted person or organization in an effort to trick victims into handing over crypto, passwords, account access and other sensitive information. 

In a crypto crime report on Tuesday, Chainalysis said fraudsters have been incorporating multiple tactics into their operations.

“For example, many pig butchering and investment scams incorporate elements of impersonation, social engineering, and even technical- or wallet-focused scams,” they said. 

The average amount stolen through impersonation scams also increased by over 600%, which Chainalysis called a “concerning trend.”

One of the more prominent examples of impersonation scams in 2025 involved scammers masquerading as crypto exchange Coinbase to steal nearly $16 million from victims. 

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office indicted a man in December, alleging he was behind the fraud. The accused has pleaded not guilty to the range of offences, including grand larceny, money laundering and scheme to defraud. A trial date is yet to be set.  

Source: Chainalysis

AI aids with “industrialization of fraud”

Artificial intelligence has made scams more effective and is part of the “industrialization of fraud,” said Chainalysis, with scammers using complex tools from dedicated vendors to dupe more victims.

Chainalysis found that scams using AI were 4.5 times more profitable, while operations were more efficient with higher daily revenue and increased transaction volume.

“These metrics suggest both higher operational efficiency and potentially broader victim reach. The increased transaction volume indicates that AI is enabling scammers to reach and manage more victims simultaneously, a trend consistent with the industrialization of fraud we’ve been tracking,” they said.

“In contrast, the increased scam volume suggests that AI is likewise making scams more persuasive.”

No “silver bullets” to preventing crypto scams

The increase in scams has also prompted an increase in law enforcement action in 2025; however, Chainalysis urged authorities to focus more on preventing harm through enhanced detection tools and greater adoption of real-time fraud and mule detection systems in 2026. 

At the same time, more resources should be allocated for enhanced cross-border law enforcement coordination and support for institutions and enforcement in low-capacity jurisdictions, they said. 

Related: Global sanctions linked to record flows into illicit crypto addresses

“There are no silver bullets to tackling such entrenched, industrial-scale scamming activity and to be effective, a multi-pronged response is required.”

“As we move into 2026, we expect further convergence of scam methodologies as scammers adopt multiple tactics and technologies simultaneously,” Chainalysis added. 

How to counter impersonation scams

A group of crypto security experts told Cointelegraph last year that some of the best ways to counter social engineering scams is to reduce human trust points through actions like automating defenses.

It was also recommended to never disclose sensitive data like passwords or key phrases, because a legitimate company would never ask for them, to assume every interaction and unsolicited message could be fraudulent and to always verify authenticity.

Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice

Corporate digital asset treasuries (DATs) added a net 260,000 Bitcoin to their balance sheets over the past six months, far outpacing the estimated 82,000 coins mined over the same period. 

Over the past six months, Bitcoin (BTC) treasuries held by public and private companies have increased from approximately 854,000 BTC to 1.11 million BTC, on-chain analytics provider Glassnode reported on Tuesday.

This equates to an expansion of around 260,000 BTC, worth roughly $25 billion at current market prices, or 43,000 BTC per month.

The growth in treasuries highlights “the steady expansion of corporate balance-sheet exposure to Bitcoin,” stated Glassnode.

Bitcoin miners, which produce on average 450 BTC per day, mined around 82,000 coins over the same period, which could indicate a favorable supply-demand dynamic at play.

Bitcoin DAT balances increased 30% in six months. Source: Glassnode

Strategy has 60% of the total BTC balance

The lion’s share of the 1.2 million BTC held in public and private company treasury balances is held by Michael Saylor’s Strategy.

Strategy currently holds 687,410 BTC, or 60% of the total, worth around $65.5 billion at current market prices. 

The firm resumed its purchases this month after a brief hiatus, revealing that it acquired an additional 13,627 BTC between January 5 and 11 in its largest purchase since July.

Related: Strategy kickstarts 2026 with $116M Bitcoin buy as Q4 paper loss hits $17B

The second-largest corporate Bitcoin DAT is MARA Holdings with 53,250 BTC worth around $5 billion, according to Bitcoin Treasuries.  

Bitcoin ETFs could add to demand 

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds could add to this supply-and-demand dynamic if the inflow trend continues this year. “Bitcoin’s price will go parabolic if ETF demand persists long-term,” said Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan on Tuesday.

“Since ETFs debuted in Jan 2024, they’ve been buying more than 100% of the new supply of bitcoin. But the price hasn't gone parabolic, because existing holders have been willing to sell. If ETF demand persists - and I think it will - eventually, these sellers will run out of ammo.”

Spot BTC ETFs in the US saw net inflows of almost $22 billion in 2025, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) taking the lion’s share. 

However, they have had a mixed start to 2026 with current data showing $1.9 billion inflows and $1.38 billion outflows, resulting in a net aggregate inflow of just over $500 million.

Magazine: Trump rules out SBF pardon, Bitcoin in ‘boring sideways’: Hodler’s Digest

Recent US regulatory action seeking to restrict prediction markets hasn’t slowed activity in the first weeks of 2026, with trading volumes hitting a record $701.7 million on Monday.

Prediction market Kalshi accounted for two-thirds of total trading volume at $465.9 million, while competitors Polymarket and Opinion tallied $100 million worth of trades, Dune Analytics data from Gate Research shows.

The $701.7 million tally beat the previous record of $666.6 million set the day before, with Kalshi leading trading volumes by a similar margin.

Daily trading volume on prediction markets since September 2024. Source: Dune Analytics

Prediction markets have become one of crypto’s hottest use cases, with adoption accelerating exponentially since August.

Several crypto exchanges, including Coinbase and Gemini, have, or are planning to, integrate prediction markets, while self-custody wallets like MetaMask have made similar moves.

The integrations and rising trading volumes have attracted interest from Wall Street, with market leaders Polymarket and Kalshi now boasting multibillion-dollar valuations.

Prediction markets back under the microscope

Prediction markets went back under regulatory spotlight earlier this month when an anonymous Polymarket user bet roughly $30,000 that Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro would be ousted as president just a few hours before he was captured — a bet that paid them out more than $400,000 and sparked concerns about insider knowledge. 

Related: Bitchat tops app charts in Uganda as authorities cut internet 

New York lawmakers are also set to review legislation seeking to ban certain markets tied to politics, sports, the stock market, and others.

Connecticut, New York, Nevada, and New Jersey are among the other US states that have attempted to place restrictions on prediction market operators — prompting retaliatory legal action.

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

Earlier this week, news broke that Ukraine blocked access to Polymarket in December, classifying prediction markets as gambling.

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

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry has set Jan. 27 for its markup hearing for its crypto market structure bill, which is touted to bring “clarity and certainty” to the market. 

In an announcement on Monday, the Committee — which oversees the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) —  confirmed that its final markup will take place six days after the release of the legislative text on Jan. 21. 

“This schedule ensures transparency and allows for thorough review as the committee moves forward with legislation to provide clarity and certainty for crypto markets,” said committee chairman John Boozman.

“I’m grateful to Senator Booker, who continues to be a great partner, as well as our staff for their hard work and dedication to create new rules to protect consumers while also supporting American innovation,” he added. 

Source: Senate Ag Committee Republicans

A Senate markup provides a chance for committees to debate bills, finalize details, and suggest amendments. Once the process is complete, the committee then votes to send the bill in edited or unedited form for consideration on the floor by the full senate.  

Related: Crypto’s 2026 comeback hinges on three outcomes, Wintermute says  

If the Senate passes the bill, it still has to pass through the House of Representatives before it can arrive on President Donald Trump’s desk.

Lengthy government shutdowns held back crypto bills last year and there’s potential for another shutdown later this month if a set of government funding bills doesn’t pass, though a full shutdown is understood to be unlikely.

Earlier this week, US Securities and Exchange (SEC) chairman Paul Atkins said he’s “bullish” on the chances of Trump signing the bill this year. 

The Senate Banking Committee, which oversees the SEC, has scheduled its markup on Thursday. 

Under the crypto market structure bill, the SEC and CFTC are primed to be the primary overseers of the US crypto industry, with the bill being praised by many and bringing clarity to the industry and removing regulatory gray area.

While the bill has positive momentum behind it. There are still some sticking points, including rules around stablecoin yield and decentralized finance. 

The Senate Banking Committee released an amended draft of the bill this week, looking to bar crypto asset providers from offering passive yield on stablecoin holdings, which is a point of contention shared by US banking groups.

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

Retail traders spooked by the massive crypto liquidation event in October fled back to major cryptocurrencies as their hopes for an altcoin season were dashed, according to Wintermute.

Since around 2022, retail traders have been net sellers of majors such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), preferring altcoins instead, but that pattern broke in 2025, according to Wintermute’s “Digital asset OTC market 2025” report released on Tuesday. 

The October 10 liquidation event and market crash “marked a clear inflection point,” accelerating retail’s rotation back into Bitcoin and Ether, the firm said.

Data shows that retail investors were actively reducing exposure to the majors at the time, but quickly pivoted back into them after the record leverage flush. 

“This shows the immediate defensive posture following the liquidation shock and growing concerns of contagion and an imminent bear market.”

Wintermute reported that by the end of the year, retail positioning had converged with institutional, “prioritizing liquidity and resilience over peripheral risk.” 

Retail’s “defensive consolidation” rotated back into majors. Source: Wintermute

Altcoin rallies lacked conviction

The move back into majors prevented any altcoin season this cycle, and altcoins “materially underperformed” in 2025. 

“Narratives continued to emerge, but failed to persist,” the report stated.

The average altcoin rally lasted roughly 19 days in 2025, down from around 60 days the year before, “reflecting reduced conviction and more tactical risk-taking,” Wintermute added.

Related: VanEck says policy clarity could make Q1 a ‘risk-on’ quarter

This does not mean that there was a lack of narratives, but a market “showing clear signs of exhaustion,” where rallies quickly faded. 

From 2022 to 2024, altcoin rallies typically lasted from 45 to 60 days with sustained narratives including memecoins and AI. However, the median length of altcoin rallies in 2025 was just 20 days. 

“This led to altcoin rallies feeling like tactical trades rather than high conviction trends.”

Altcoin rallies lasted less than half the time in 2025. Source: Wintermute

October crash fears are subsiding

While altcoins have yet to see any real momentum going into 2026, fears and panic over the October crash have subsided, leading to renewed confidence going forward. 

Earlier this month, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan said, “One of the reasons I think we’ve rallied to start this year is that investors have put October 10 in the rearview.”

Total market capitalization is at its highest level so far this year, following a 10%, or $300 billion, gain since Jan. 1 to reach $3.34 trillion on Wednesday, according to CoinGecko. 

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Bitcoin’s price could be heading for the psychological $100,000 level after breaking $95,000 on Tuesday, with analysts attributing the recent rally to a surge in spot buying. 

“Seems like this rally on Bitcoin is led by spot buying,” crypto analyst Will Clemente said in an X post on Tuesday. Over the last 24 hours, Bitcoin (BTC) has rallied 4.65%, trading at $95,190 at the time of publication, according to CoinMarketCap. 

Traders shorting the asset were caught offside, with $269.21 million in Bitcoin short positions liquidated, according to CoinGlass data.

Source: Will Clemente

It is a bullish sign for Bitcoin (BTC) holders as spot buying means investors are buying the underlying asset itself, not paper contracts like Bitcoin futures or options, which can artificially inflate the asset’s price without real demand.

“Quite clear” Bitcoin is going to run to $100,000

MN Trading Capital Michael van de Poppe said in an X post on Tuesday that it is “quite clear that this is going to run to $100K in the coming week and that dips are for buying.” 

Bitcoin has failed to reclaim the $100,000 level after falling below it on Nov. 13 last year. 

According to crypto prediction markets platform Polymarket, Bitcoin has 51% odds of reclaiming $100,000 by Feb. 1 and a 23% chance of reaching $105,000. 

However, historically, January has been a modest month for Bitcoin, averaging a 4.18% gain since 2013, while February has typically been much stronger, delivering an average return of 13.12%.

Van de Poppe added, “the bull market hasn't died, it's about to start.” 

Crypto sentiment at extreme lows for over two months

If Bitcoin returns to the six-figure price level, it could trigger new excitement in the market, according to crypto sentiment platform Santiment.

“There will likely be retail FOMO creeping in if crypto's top asset begins teasing $100K in the next few days, " Santiment said in an X post on Tuesday.

Related: Bitcoin shrugs off CLARITY Act delay by rallying above $93K

Crypto sentiment has been largely negative since early November, not long after the significant $19 billion market liquidation on Oct. 10. 

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has bounced between ‘Fear’ and ‘Extreme Fear’ over this period. On Wednesday, the Index posted a “Fear“ score of 26.

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Stablecoin adoption on fintech Revolut’s banking platform showed “exponential growth” in 2025, with stablecoin payment volumes increasing 156% to $10.5 billion as stablecoins carve their place in global payments.

While Revolut hasn’t published official payment volume data for 2025, crypto researcher Alex Obchakevich estimated that the share of stablecoin volume on Revolut compared to total payment volumes has nearly doubled to 0.583% compared to 2024.

“Despite the small absolute share, the dynamics are impressive,” Obchakevich said, citing data from Dune Analytics.

Revolut’s stablecoin payment volume and estimated total payment volume for 2024-2025. Source: Obchakevich Research

Bloomberg Intelligence predicted on Thursday that stablecoin payment flows would increase at an 81% Compound Annual Growth Rate to $56.6 trillion by 2030, fueled partly by rising retail adoption.

Revolut is playing its role, having upped its stablecoin strategy in October by launching a feature to exchange US dollars for the USDC (USDC) and Tether (USDT) stablecoins at a 1:1 rate without any commissions or hidden fees. 

Stablecoin payments between $100 and $500 most common

Obchakevich noted that the most common transfer amount range was between $100 and $500, making up between 30% to 40% of all transactions. 

“This indicates that Revolut users actively use stablecoins for everyday medium-sized payments, not just for large transfers.”

Split of Revolut stablecoin payments by transfer amount. Source: Dune Analytics

Ethereum, Tron dominate Revolut stablecoin volumes

Revolut supports several blockchains, including Ethereum, Tron, Polygon, Solana, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

Ethereum has seen over two-thirds of Revolut stablecoin volume, while Tron ranks second at 22.8%.

The stablecoin market currently sits at $312 billion, with the US Treasury estimating in April that it would reach $2 trillion by 2028.

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Revolut isn’t the only institutional player pushing retail stablecoin adoption.

Remittance platform Western Union is set to launch a stablecoin settlement system on Solana sometime in the first half of 2026, while MoneyGram and Zelle are also rolling out stablecoin solutions to fuel faster cross-border payments.

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US Senator Elizabeth Warren is pressuring the country’s banking regulator to hold off on considering World Liberty Financial’s bid for a bank charter until US President Donald Trump divests his interest in the crypto platform. 

In a letter on Tuesday, Warren asked Comptroller of the Currency, Jonathan Gould, to delay reviewing World Liberty’s application for a national trust bank until Trump “eliminates all financial conflicts of interest involving himself or his family and the company.”

“We have never seen financial conflicts or corruption of this magnitude,” Warren said. “The United States Congress failed to address them when it passed the GENIUS Act into law—so it is incumbent for the Senate to address these real and serious conflicts of interest as it considers crypto market structure legislation.”

A World Liberty subsidiary, WLTC Holdings, filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency earlier this month for a bank charter allowing it to issue, custody and convert its stablecoin, USD1.

Elizabeth Warren speaking at a nomination hearing for Jonathan Gould in March. Source: Senate Banking Committee

President Trump and his sons Barron, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are listed as World Liberty’s co-founders, and the platform has generated billions of dollars in paper wealth for the family.

Warren has “no confidence” in OCC’s Gould

The stablecoin-regulating GENIUS Act, which Trump signed into law last year, set up the OCC as the main regulator for stablecoin issuers, and the bureau is responsible for approving applications and supervising such companies.

Warren told Gould she had “no confidence that you will fairly assess the application pursuant to the legal standard for approval” due to his past dismissal of questions asking how he would ensure Trump would not influence the OCC.

She added that Gould would be in charge of rules that influence the profits of World Liberty and would be responsible for enforcing laws against it and the company’s competitors.

“You would be in charge of these functions while serving at the pleasure of the President,” Warren said. “In effect, for the first time in history, the President of the United States would be in charge of overseeing his own financial company.”

Jonathan Gould speaking at a nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee in March. Source: Senate Banking Committee

Warren is the most senior Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, which is set to debate a crypto market structure bill on Thursday. 

The Senate Agriculture Committee was originally set to debate the bill at the same time, but the committee’s Republicans on Monday delayed that until later this month to garner more bipartisan support, as some lawmakers had pushed for the bill to include conflict-of-interest guardrails.

A Banking Committee draft of the bill released on Monday showed there was no inclusion of ethics provisions as requested by Democrats, but further negotiations and amendments are expected before it advances.

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A combination of protocol-level upgrades, stablecoin activity, and a shift in crypto sentiment has helped push Ether wallet creation to its highest levels in history. 

Over the last week, an average of 327,000 new wallets have been created per day, with Sunday recording the highest number ever for a single day at over 393,000, Santiment analysts said in an X post on Tuesday.

New wallets can signal that fresh users, developers, or institutions are entering the ecosystem.

Data also shows that non-empty Ether wallets are now at 172.9 million, which is also at an all-time high.

Ether (ETH) is currently $3,330, up 7.5% in the last 24 hours after moving between $3,068 and $3,292 in the last week, according to CoinGecko.

An average of 327,000 new Ethereum wallets have been created every day over the last week. Source: Santiment

Santiment analysts suggest the surge in new wallets could partly be because of the Fusaka upgrade in December, which “made using Ethereum cheaper and easier,” by improving data handling on-chain and cutting the cost of posting information from L2 networks back to Ethereum.

“This reduced fees and made interacting with apps and rollups smoother, encouraging many new users to open wallets and start using the network,” they said.

Crypto sentiment shift and stablecoins

Along with the major protocol upgrade, Ethereum may also be benefiting from general sentiment improvement as investors and developers reset their strategies in the new year. 

Santiment analysts said holder sentiment shifted from negative to neutral and positive in mid-December, “which often coincides with more retail users signing up and creating addresses.”

There was also more interest from new users to enter the ecosystem to explore DeFi, non-fungible tokens and other apps toward the end of the year. 

Related: Crypto’s 2026 comeback hinges on three outcomes, Wintermute says

A spike in stablecoin transfers on Ethereum in late 2025 could also be a factor, as it showed the “network was being actively used for payments and settlements,” according to Santiment.

“This kind of real financial activity tends to bring in new participants who create wallets to send, receive, or hold stablecoins and other tokens.”

More than half of all Ether is in staking 

More than half of the total supply of Ether is in staking contracts, according to on-chain analytics platform Nansen. The ETH2 Beacon Deposit Contract holds over 77 million tokens, representing the total of validator stake deposits used to secure the network.

Crypto exchange Binance holds nearly 4 million Ether in its wallets on behalf of users, while fellow exchange Coinbase has around 2.3 million. 

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Bitchat has become the most-downloaded app in Uganda as state officials confirmed that internet access has been cut off and will remain inaccessible during the presidential election, which starts on Thursday.

It marks the third straight election in which Ugandan authorities have cut internet access, a move officials said is necessary to mitigate the spread of online misinformation.

However, critics argue that shutting off the internet suppresses election-related information and can potentially manipulate the outcome.

The internet shutdown took effect on Tuesday at 6:00 pm local time, according to Uganda Communications Commission executive director Nyombi Thembo, in a statement on X.

Bitchat, an internet-free encrypted messaging app powered by Bluetooth mesh networks, currently sits at the top of app charts on the Apple App Store and Google Play in Uganda.

Other top applications include Virtual Private Network apps, highlighting that access to information remains one of the most urgent needs in Uganda as Thursday's vote approaches.

Bitchat’s ranking in the free section of the Apple App Store in Uganda. Source: Appfigures

Last week, Thembo said the internet wouldn’t be cut off. 

“Why would you use Bitchat when there is internet, internet will be there, use internet,” he said last week. He also claimed his team has the technical capacity to turn off Bitchat. 

Data shared by Calle on Jan. 5 showed that over 400,000 Ugandans had downloaded the app, a figure likely far higher now.

Uganda has now cut internet access three times

During the 2016 election, long-time Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni imposed a nationwide block on internet and social media access, citing security and safety concerns.

A similar situation also unfolded in 2021, when a four-day internet blackout started on election night. 

Bitchat is being used in all corners of the globe

Bitchat has since become a critical solution for people in countries where internet access has been disrupted — whether due to government interference or natural disasters.

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In September, nearly 50,000 Nepalese users turned to the app to circumvent a temporary social media ban as corruption protests unfolded, while a similar situation played out in Madagascar roughly three weeks later.

Many Jamaicans also flocked to the app in November when Hurricane Melissa struck, which saw 185-mile-per-hour winds batter the Caribbean region and knock out regular communication channels.

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Old Glory Bank, a crypto-friendly lender, said it will merge with Digital Asset Acquisition Corporation to form a Texas-based company listed on Nasdaq.

In a Tuesday notice, Old Glory and special purpose acquisition company Digital Asset Acquisition Corporation said they plan to form OGB Financial Company as part of an effort to go public under the ticker symbol OGB. The deal is expected to close “at the end of the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2026,” subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

“We intend for Old Glory Bank to be the first chartered bank to fully integrate crypto into daily banking,” said the bank’s co-founder and chief innovation officer, Michael Shaw, adding:  

“[W]e are confident that, in the future, our customers will have the ability to easily move money on and off chain, as well as instantly deposit crypto into their bank account, by exchanging crypto into fiat utilizing our patent-pending OGB Freedom Offramp.”

Source: Old Glory Bank

Founded as the First State Bank of Elmore City in Oklahoma more than 100 years ago, Old Glory Holding Company acquired the bank in 2022, rebranding the merged entities as Old Glory Bank. The company said at the time that the bank would “provide digital-first banking solutions”

Other crypto companies encroaching on banking sector

In December, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved five national bank charter applications for companies tied to the crypto industry, including Ripple Labs and Circle.

World Liberty Financial, the crypto company tied to US President Donald Trump and his family, also filed for a national trust banking charter last week. The company’s CEO, Zach Witkoff, said the move was aimed at accelerating “issuance, custody, and conversion” for its stablecoin.

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Strive’s stock fell about 12% on Tuesday after the asset manager announced an all-stock deal to acquire Semler Scientific, a transaction that will significantly expand its Bitcoin holdings.

The company, co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, said on Tuesday that it has secured shareholder approval for the acquisition, which would add Semler Scientific’s 5,048.1 Bitcoin to Strive’s existing treasury. Following the transaction, Strive's total Bitcoin holdings would rise to 12,797.9 BTC.

Strive is already the 11th largest publicly traded Bitcoin holding company, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET data. The company also disclosed the purchase of an additional 123 Bitcoin for its corporate treasury, lifting its standalone holdings to 7,749.8 BTC.

As part of the deal, Strive plans to monetize Semler’s operating business and pursue steps to retire existing obligations, including a $100 million convertible note and a $20 million loan from Coinbase, subject to market conditions.

The merger includes a 1-for-20 reverse stock split of the combined company’s Class A and Class B common shares, a move that would reduce the number of shares outstanding.

Source: Yahoo Finance

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Digital asset treasury stocks struggle after initial boost

Public companies that have shifted toward holding digital assets on their balance sheets have often seen volatile stock price reactions, with shares rallying sharply after treasury-strategy announcements before giving back a significant portion of those gains.

That volatility has already played out at Strive. After announcing its Bitcoin treasury strategy on May 7, its stock surged from $0.61 to a peak of $13.01 on May 22, a gain of more than 2,000%, before reversing course. The shares are currently trading at about $0.97.

Semler Scientific's shares experienced a similar rise-and-retrace dynamic. In late May 2024, the company announced board approval to adopt Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset and the purchase of 581 BTC. Shares climbed to $67.17 by Dec. 9, up from roughly $30 in early May. The stock trades at about $20 at this writing.

Source: Yahoo Finance

A related, though slower-moving, pattern unfolded with Metaplanet, a Japan-based hotel operator that is now the world’s fourth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder, with 35,102 BTC on its balance sheet. 

The company’s stock was trading near $34 when Metaplanet announced its Bitcoin treasury strategy in April 2024, later climbing to roughly $232 by July and reaching a closing high of $1,781 on May 16, 2025. It has since retraced to around $528, according to Yahoo Finance data, still remaining well above pre-announcement levels.

Source: Yahoo Finance

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