Month: January 2026

Senate Agriculture and Banking Committees to hold markup on digital asset legislation on January 15

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Key Takeaways Two Senate committees plan markup hearings on January 15 to advance sweeping digital asset legislation. The focus of the hearing is to debate and advance legislation targeting crypto market structure. Share this article The US Senate Agriculture and Banking Committees will both hold Jan. 15 markups on crypto market structure legislation that aims to clarify regulatory frameworks for digital assets, defining roles for both the CFTC and SEC. If approved by both committees, the bills would be reconciled and coordinated with the House-passed CLARITY Act before heading to…

China hacks US Congressional Committee email systems as part of Salt Typhoon espionage: FT

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Key Takeaways Chinese intelligence hacked US Congressional Committee email systems as part of the Salt Typhoon cyber espionage campaign. The intrusions targeted email accounts from the House China committee, foreign affairs committee, intelligence committee, and armed services committee. Share this article US officials say the Ministry of State Security, the Chinese intelligence service, accessed email systems used by congressional staff on powerful House committees, including those overseeing China policy, foreign affairs, intelligence, and defense, according to the Financial Times. The intrusions are part of Salt Typhoon, a long-running MSS cyber-operation…

Ethereum and Solana ETFs Record Historic Trading Volumes in Early 2026

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Ethereum and Solana ETF trading accelerated sharply in early January amid increasing institutional interest in crypto assets. Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have recorded unusually high trading volumes in recent sessions. Such a pattern indicates increased investor activity as ETF markets for major cryptocurrencies continue to mature. Growing Institutional Interest In its latest analysis, Santiment reported that Ethereum ETF trading volume surged to record levels in early January, with the 2nd and 5th seeing the highest daily volumes on record outside of a single anomaly observed on August…

Trump’s World Liberty Financial Seeks Bank Charter for USD1

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The Trump family’s crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, has filed for a national trust banking charter to accelerate the institutional adoption of its USD1 stablecoin. World Liberty said on Wednesday that its subsidiary WLTC Holdings filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a charter that would allow it to issue, custody, and convert its stablecoin in-house, rather than rely on third-party providers such as BitGo. “Institutions are already using USD1 for cross-border payments, settlement, and treasury operations,” said World Liberty CEO Zach Witkoff. “A national…

Bitcoin’s 2026 Rally Has Legs

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Bitcoin and Ethereum are rising in early 2026, but policy decisions in Washington could define the uptrend’s future. Crypto markets have opened 2026 on a strong footing. Top assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as speculative tokens such as Dogecoin, have posted even sharper gains, according to a report by Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan. For the 2026 rally to continue, the market needs to cross three hurdles. Factors Influencing 2026 Outlook In a market outlook published this week, Hougan said the rally could extend further…

World Liberty Financial files OCC trust charter to launch USD1 stablecoin bank

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Key Takeaways World Liberty Financial is seeking a national trust charter to bring USD1 issuance custody and conversion under federal oversight. The move signals growing institutional demand for regulated stablecoin infrastructure as USD1 supply tops $3.3 billion. Share this article World Liberty Financial said WLTC Holdings LLC has filed a de novo application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish World Liberty Trust Company National Association, a proposed national trust bank focused on stablecoin operations. If approved, the charter would allow the trust to issue USD1,…

BNB Chain Activates opBNB Fourier Hard Fork, Cutting Block Times in Half

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Halving block times on opBNB shifts the focus from raw throughput to user experience, especially for latency-sensitive DeFi apps. BNB Chain’s Layer 2 network opBNB completed its Fourier mainnet hard fork on January 7 to cut block times in half. The upgrade marks a meaningful step in BNB Chain’s scaling push, improving transaction speed and reinforcing its position as one of the busiest blockchain ecosystems in terms of user activity. Fourier Hard Fork Halves Block Times on opBNB The Fourier upgrade went live at 03:00 UTC on January 7,…

Solana Stablecoin Market Cap Surges as RWA Market Grows

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The market capitalization of stablecoins on the Solana layer-1 blockchain surged by $900 million over a 24-hour period on Tuesday.  Stablecoins, blockchain tokens backed by fiat currency or debt assets, surged to a market cap of $15.3 billion on the Solana network, according to DeFiLlama.  The dramatic surge came as decentralized finance platform Jupiter launched its JupUSD stablecoin, developed in partnership with synthetic stablecoin issuer Ethena. The Solana stablecoin market cap surges. Source: DeFiLlama Solana’s stablecoin ecosystem is dominated by Circle’s USDC (USDC), a dollar-pegged token, which accounts for over…

Important Pi Network (PI) Reminder Concerning All Pioneers: Details Here

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Check out the latest announcement coming from the popular project. The team behind the controversial project Pi Network issued a crucial reminder to all users (known as Pioneers). PI has posted a modest price uptick since the beginning of the year, and now the analysts are divided on its future performance: some anticipate a major rally in the coming months, while others remain skeptical. Providing Clarity Pi Network is among the most talked-about topics in the cryptocurrency space, naturally leading to a surge in X accounts featuring the project’s…

Crypto Reps to Fly into DC this Week to Address Market Structure Bill

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With a markup event on legislation to address digital asset market structure scheduled for next week, representatives from cryptocurrency companies are expected to fly into Washington, D.C., and some will engage with lawmakers on the bill. Speaking with Cointelegraph on Tuesday, Cody Carbone, CEO of crypto advocacy organization The Digital Chamber, said it was “possible, if not likely,” that the Senate Agriculture Committee would hold a markup on its version of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA) — the market structure bill — at the same time as the Senate…