Month: January 2026

Belarusian President signs order establishing framework for crypto banking

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Key Takeaways The President of Belarus has formalized rules for crypto banks through a new decree. Only firms residing in the High-Tech Park and registered with the National Bank can operate as cryptobanks. Share this article Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree establishing a legal framework for cryptobanks in the country. The decree, issued on Friday, is intended to establish Belarus as a hub for financial technology, specifying that cryptobanks are joint-stock companies permitted to integrate traditional banking and payment services with activities involving digital tokens. Under the…

CLARITY Act Fight Over Dollar Yield and DeFi Liquidity

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Since missing its Jan. 15 markup date and being pushed to the end of the month, the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act is becoming a proxy fight over who gets to intermediate US dollar yield onchain — open decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and payment rails, or a narrow club of large custodians and banks? With the latest draft tightening how rewards on stablecoins can be offered, critics, including stablecoin issuers and institutional DeFi platforms, warn the bill risks exporting onchain credit offshore rather than making it safer in the…

Ripple’s XRP Bounce Loading? Key Indicators Flash Bullish Signal

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XRP trades near $2.06 after rejecting $2.13. MACD, RSI, Elliott Wave, ETF inflows, and exchange outflows suggest a possible reversal. Ripple’s native cross-border token is trading near key levels after retreating from the $2.13 zone. Price action has slowed, but signs from momentum indicators suggest a potential shift. Momentum Indicators Show Early Signals The 4-hour chart shows XRP still moving within a descending channel. It is holding inside this structure, with buyers responding near the lower boundary. The $2.00 area, labeled as a liquidity pocket, remains a level of…

Riot stock rises on AMD lease and Rockdale land acquisition

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Key Takeaways Riot Platforms purchased 200 acres of its Rockdale, TX site for $96 million, fully financed by Bitcoin. The company signed a 10-year Data Center Lease with AMD to deliver 25 MW of critical IT load, starting in January 2026 and completing in May 2026. Share this article Shares of Riot Platforms (RIOT) rose over 7% premarket on Friday after the company secured a major data center lease with AMD and completed the full acquisition of its Rockdale site. The company closed the fee simple acquisition of 200 acres…

Web3 Fundamentals Return in 2026

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Crypto entered 2026 with a familiar dichotomy: The industry is maturing, but its decentralized identity is at risk. Still, following years heavily dominated by speculation, 2025 became the year that pushed builders and investors toward fundamentals and proved that blockchain can support real-world goods, services and infrastructure. In this week’s episode of Byte-Sized Insight, Cointelegraph explores what that shift looked like on the ground, particularly through the lens of the emerging “machine economy.” DePIN brings “real-world” crypto closer Leonard Dorlöchter, co-founder of peaq, argues that 2025 was a turning point…

Major Pullback or Explosive BTC Breakout Next?

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Bitcoin is grinding higher into a heavy resistance pocket while spot supply on exchanges keeps shrinking. Structurally, that’s a bullish backdrop, but technically, the price is pressing right into an area where profit-taking is expected. Therefore, either the price breaks and holds above this ceiling, or a corrective pullback into the mid-range would occur. Bitcoin Price Analysis: The Daily Chart On the daily chart, BTC has pushed back into the $95K resistance band, which lines up with the 100-day moving average. This is the same zone that rejected the asset…

Path to $4.5K ETH Rally?

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Ether (ETH) traded at $3,310, up 11% year-to-date, as renewed ETF buying and record on-chain activity placed it on a path toward $4,500 over the next few weeks. Key takeaways: Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $474.6 million in inflows over four days, outpacing new supply amid a surge in institutional buying.  Ethereum network activity exploded, with active addresses rising to a 28-month high.  Traders expect ETH to rally to $4,500 as long as key support levels hold. Ethereum ETFs attract nearly $500 million Ether has seen a sharp increase in demand…

DeFi Captures 5x Fee of Blockchains, Value Drifts to Front-End Apps

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Revenue in the crypto industry is increasingly flowing to user-facing applications rather than the underlying blockchain networks, according to recent data, signaling a potential shift in where investors and developers focus their attention. Decentralized finance (DeFi) applications now capture five times the fees generated by blockchains, according to data shared by Jamies Coutts, chief crypto analyst at crypto intelligence platform Real Vision. The trend suggests that more of the industry’s fees will be captured by DeFi applications like wallets, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and other protocols, while the underlying networks will…

Huione-Linked Illicit Crypto Escrow Tudou Guarantee Appears to Shut Down

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A Telegram-based escrow service linked to an illicit online marketplace appears to be winding down operations after refunding more than $130 million in stablecoins, a move that analysts say may disrupt a major hub for crypto-related scams. Tudou Guarantee, a service linked to the Huione Group, has apparently refunded $130 million in Tether USDt (USDT) to the group’s public merchants since the beginning of 2026, according to data shared by blockchain analytics company Bitrace. Refunds began with about $3.7 million on Jan. 1 and peaked at about $18.1 million on…

JPMorgan forms new unit to help companies tap into private capital

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Key Takeaways JPMorgan is setting up a dedicated advisory team for private market fundraising. The move is a response to the structural shift toward private markets, where companies are increasingly choosing private funding over public offerings. Share this article JPMorgan Chase is establishing a new unit focused on helping companies raise private capital, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The new unit, called Private Capital Advisory and Solutions, will combine M&A advisory with capital markets expertise to connect companies seeking private funding with investors and provide guidance on early-stage equity,…