Month: January 2026

Wall Street Moves Onchain as Banks Embrace Digital Assets

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For years, major banks treated cryptocurrency primarily as a risk to be contained. That posture is now giving way to a more deliberate form of engagement. Rather than debating crypto’s legitimacy, banks are increasingly deciding how and where to integrate it, from regulated investment products to blockchain-based payment rails. This shift is on full display in this week’s Crypto Biz. JPMorgan is extending its US dollar deposit token onto new blockchain infrastructure, signaling that tokenized cash is moving closer to production use within global banking.  Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, is positioning…

Donald Trump Says No Pardon Issuance to FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried

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Trump explained in an interview that he would not grant clemency to SBF, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Nicolás Maduro, and others. Hopes of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) receiving a pardon have been shattered. The United States’ president, Donald Trump, confirmed in a recent interview with The New York Times that he would not issue a presidential pardon to the imprisoned FTX founder. The latest comment came about a year after SBF and his parents sought a pardon from the president. Trump Shatters SBF’s Pardon Hopes Last year, Trump issued pardons to…

CLARITY Act Needs Bipartisan Support in Senate Banking Committee: Analyst

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The passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, also known as the CLARITY market structure bill, hinges on bipartisan support in the United States Senate Banking Committee, according to Alex Thorn, head of research at crypto investment firm Galaxy. Typically, the Senate needs at least 60 votes to advance legislation, and Republicans need seven to 10 Democrats to vote yes on the CLARITY Act, Thorn said on Friday. If Republicans can secure four votes from Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, it is “likely” that all 17…

Nasdaq and CME relaunch crypto index to meet rising demand for trusted benchmarks

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Key Takeaways Nasdaq and CME rebranded their joint crypto index to support institutional demand for transparent benchmarks. The Nasdaq CME Crypto Index will serve as a foundation for regulated ETFs and diversified crypto strategies. Share this article Nasdaq and CME Group have reintroduced the Nasdaq Crypto Index under a new name, the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index (NCI), aiming to provide institutions with a regulated, transparent benchmark for digital asset exposure. The relaunch comes as demand grows for governance and transparency in crypto investing. The NCI is calculated by CF Benchmarks…

US Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Ban Politically-Related Prediction Bets

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New York Representative Ritchie Torres, with the backing of more than 30 other Democrats in the House of Representatives, has introduced legislation following a Polymarket user netting $400,000 on a bet related to the removal of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.  In a Friday notice, Torres said he had introduced the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026. According to the New York representative, the bill would prohibit “federal elected officials, political appointees, Executive Branch employees, and congressional staff from buying, selling, or exchanging prediction market contracts tied to…

Hyperliquid (HYPE) Price in Trouble? Flag Pattern Signals Drop to $19

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Hyperliquid (HYPE) forms a bear flag near $25; analysts warn of possible drop to $19–$17 amid weak momentum and bearish structure. Hyperliquid (HYPE) is showing signs of weakness across multiple timeframes, as traders point to a bearish price structure and fading momentum. The asset is trading at around $25 as of press time, with a market capitalization of $6 billion, ranking it #31 in the crypto market. HYPE has seen an almost 3% drop in the last 24 hours, despite a modest gain of 2% over the past week.…

Metaplanet jumps 5% today, pushing 2026 gains to 35%

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Key Takeaways MetaPlanet sees a significant surge of over 35% in its market value in 2026. Despite renewed momentum, shares remain deeply below their May 2025 peak. Share this article Metaplanet shares rose more than 5% today, extending gains to over 35% year-to-date as investor focus returns to the company’s Bitcoin strategy. Metaplanet has accumulated more than 35,000 Bitcoin since launching its treasury program in April 2024. The company confirmed its latest purchase on December 30, buying 4,279 Bitcoin for roughly $451 million and reaching the 35,000 BTC milestone just…

Crypto Traders Turn to Bots in Sideways Markets, HTX Says

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Cryptocurrency traders increasingly leaned on automated strategies in 2025 as volatile but largely range-bound markets made directional bets harder to sustain, according to a year-end recap from HTX. The Seychelles-based exchange, formerly known as Huobi, said the trend was most visible in the growing use of grid-based trading bots on its spot platform. According to HTX, grid trading volume rose 97% year over year in 2025, while capital allocated to grid strategies doubled. The increase was especially pronounced in stablecoin pairs, where grid trading volume rose 352% year over year, compared…

Bitcoin Steadies as ETF Flows Reverse and Altcoins Reprice

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Cryptocurrency markets experienced a limited recovery this week as investor liquidity gradually returned after the holidays. Bitcoin (BTC) topped a weekly high of $94,458 on Monday, before declining to about $90,937 at the time of writing on Friday. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) demand saw a sharp reversal after $1.1 billion in inflows on the first two trading days of the new year. The ETFs have since logged three consecutive days of outflows, with a cumulative $398 million sold on Thursday, according to Farside Investors data. In the broader…

How Bitcoin Difficulty Adjustments Are Stabilizing the Market

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Falling mining difficulty is easing pressure on miners, potentially reducing forced BTC sales and quietly stabilizing the market. Bitcoin’s mining difficulty began to fall in early January 2026, easing pressure on miners just as BTC continued to trade below the closely watched $100,000 level. The shift matters because miners remain one of the market’s largest natural sellers, and any relief on their margins can help steady price action during periods of consolidation. This latest adjustment comes with Bitcoin hovering around $91,000, following weeks of tight range trading that has…