PNC Bank CEO Says Stablecoins Must Choose: Be a Payment Tool or a Money Market Fund
PNC Bank CEO Bill Demchak told investors that stablecoins must be classified either as payment tools or as money‑market‑fund‑like investment products. He warned that offering interest blurs that line and would subject tokens to the same strict oversight applied to traditional financial instruments. The comment came amid a congressional debate over the GENIUS Act and the pending Clarity Act, which aim to define stablecoin rewards and interest. Demchak highlighted banks’ demand for clear regulatory separation while noting crypto firms’ lobbying power in Washington.
Crypto Card Spending Hits $18 Billion Annualized as Stablecoin Use Shifts to Everyday Payments
Crypto credit and debit cards have surged from roughly $100 million in early 2023 to over $1.5 billion monthly by late 2025, creating an $18 billion annualized spend that nearly matches peer‑to‑peer stablecoin transfers. The market grew at a 106 % compound annual growth...
Riot Platforms Surges 11% as Lease Deal with AMD Marks Major AI Infrastructure Pivot
Riot Platforms surged 11% after buying a 200‑acre Texas parcel for $96 million, funded by selling about 1,080 bitcoin, and signing a 10‑year, 25 MW data‑center lease with AMD. The AMD agreement is expected to generate $311 million in revenue, with options that...
Early 2026 Tailwinds for Bitcoin Miners as Hashrate Falls, Profitability Improves: JPMorgan
JPMorgan reports that U.S.-listed bitcoin miners added $13 billion in market value during the first two weeks of 2026, bringing the sector’s total capitalization to roughly $62 billion. A modest rise in Bitcoin price combined with a 2 % drop in network hashrate...
CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Gains 3.1%, Leading Index Higher
The CoinDesk 20 Index rose 0.3% to 2,985.7 points on Thursday, driven by strong gains in Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Aave (AAVE). BCH led the pack with a 3.1% increase, while AAVE added 1.4%, pushing ten of the twenty assets higher....
From Memecoins to Machines: Why Web3’s ‘Real Economy’ Narrative Is Relevant in 2026
In 2025 the crypto sector pivoted from meme‑driven speculation to measurable fundamentals, driven largely by decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN). Projects began reporting on‑chain revenue, making protocol earnings the new benchmark for valuation. This shift underpins the emerging "machine economy,"...
Web3 Revenue Shifts From Blockchains to Wallets and DeFi Apps
Revenue in crypto is increasingly captured by user‑facing DeFi applications rather than base‑layer blockchains. Data from Real Vision and DeFiLlama shows DeFi fees are five times higher than blockchain fees, with stablecoin issuer Tether alone generating $563 million in the last...
Huione-Linked Tudou Guarantee Winds Down Amid $130M USDT Refunds: Bitrace
Tudou Guarantee, a Telegram‑based escrow tied to Cambodia’s Huione Group, has refunded more than $130 million in USDT since early 2026 and announced it is winding down operations. The refunds, which peaked at $18.1 million in a single day, signal a retreat...
Finunion Makes Crypto Payments Actually Work for Businesses
Finunion has launched a live B2B crypto payments platform that lets companies invoice, collect and manage crypto transactions without extra integrations. The system supports one‑time and recurring invoices, generates payment links, and consolidates all activity in a single dashboard. Payments...
TZERO, North Capital to Unveil ATS Connector Agora
tZERO Group and North Capital Investment Technology have launched Agora, a technology network that links alternative trading systems (ATS) to broaden market access for tokenized and private securities. The platform lets securities listed on one ATS be traded by qualified...
Trump Says ‘Venezuela Leaker’ Jailed as Polymarket Accounts Go Quiet
President Donald Trump announced that the "leaker on Venezuela" has been arrested, reigniting scrutiny of prediction‑market platforms. Blockchain analysts linked the leaker to a cluster of Polymarket wallets that posted outsized bets on Venezuelan political outcomes just before the news...
DDC Enterprise Buys 200 Bitcoin in First 2026 Treasury Move
DDC Enterprise announced the purchase of 200 Bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to 1,383 BTC and pushing the company to the 44th‑largest public Bitcoin holder. The acquisition was made at an average cost of $88,998 per coin, resulting in a...
Belarus Creates Legal Framework for ‘Cryptobanks’ in New Presidential Decree
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 19 establishing a legal framework for “cryptobanks,” which are joint‑stock companies that can combine token‑based operations with traditional banking services. The decree requires cryptobanks to obtain resident status in the state‑backed Hi‑Tech Park and to register with...
Nexo Becomes Audi Revolut F1 Team Sponsor in 4-Year Deal
Crypto lender Nexo has inked a four‑year, tens‑million‑dollar sponsorship with the Audi Revolut Formula 1 team, securing category exclusivity for digital assets. The deal embeds Nexo’s branding on the car livery, driver helmets and pit‑crew apparel, and follows a three‑year partnership...
Southern Utah Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Crypto-Linked Wire Fraud Scheme
Brian Garry Sewell, a 54‑year‑old from Washington County, Utah, was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. Prosecutors said he defrauded at least 17 investors of roughly $2.9 million between 2017 and 2024 and ran...
Crypto Exchanges Face Ban in South Korea as Google Play Updates Rules
Google announced that, starting Jan. 28, crypto exchange and custodial wallet apps on Google Play in South Korea must upload proof of acceptance of their Virtual Asset Service Provider registration with the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit. The rule targets offshore platforms,...
Moldova Moves to Regulate Crypto Under EU-Style MiCA Rules
Moldova announced plans to adopt its first comprehensive cryptocurrency law by the end of 2026, mirroring the European Union’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA). The draft, being prepared by the finance ministry, the National Bank, the market regulator and the...
Two Prime Selected to Manage $250 Million in Bitcoin for Digital Wealth Partners
Digital Wealth Partners has appointed Two Prime to manage roughly $250 million in bitcoin for its institutional clients, expanding an existing relationship. Two Prime offers a suite of bitcoin‑focused services, including one of the world’s largest bitcoin‑secured lending operations. The mandate...
Polygon Trims Workforce Amid $250M Stablecoin Payments Pivot
Polygon Labs announced a strategic pivot toward a payments‑first model, centered on stablecoin rails and an "Open Money Stack." The shift follows a $250 million acquisition of crypto‑ATM firm Coinme and developer platform Sequence. Sources indicate up to 30% of staff...
KBC Bank to Launch Bitcoin and Ether Trading in Belgium Under MiCA
KBC, one of Belgium’s largest banks, will begin offering Bitcoin and Ether trading to retail investors on Feb. 16 via its Bolero platform, using a proprietary custodial solution. The service complies with the EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA) and follows...
Trusted Smart Chain Completes CertiK Audit, Advancing Secure RWA Tokenization
Trusted Smart Chain announced the successful completion of a comprehensive security audit by CertiK, a leading blockchain audit firm. The audit examined smart‑contract logic, permissioning and threat resilience, confirming the network’s readiness for tokenized securities and real‑world asset issuance. By...
EMCD Reports Strong 2025 Growth as It Scales Beyond Mining Into a Global Crypto-Finance Platform
EMCD reported a 58% increase in hashrate to 34.11 EH/s, supported by over 66,500 miners in more than 100 countries. The firm’s crypto‑finance suite expanded, with Coinhold savings locking $60 million and generating $3.7 million in rewards, while its exchange processed $90 million in...
Good Tokens Broadens Adoption of Blockchain-Based Solutions for Global Good
Good Tokens, the nonprofit arm of KaJ Labs, announced a push to expand blockchain‑based solutions for humanitarian, education, sustainability, and digital equity projects. The initiative leverages decentralized ledgers and AI to increase transparency, efficiency, and accountability in social‑impact programs. By...
US Housebuilder to Launch Crypto Rewards After SEC ‘No-Action’ Letter
US homebuilder Megatel Homes announced the launch of MegPrime, a crypto‑rewards platform that issues MP Tokens for rent payments. The SEC issued a no‑action letter, allowing the program to proceed provided MegPrime follows the outlined compliance plan. Users can earn...
State Street Rolls Out New Crypto Tokenization Tools
State Street announced a new institutional digital‑asset platform designed to tokenise traditional assets such as money‑market funds, ETFs and stablecoins. The service combines blockchain connectivity, custody, and tokenisation tools for large‑scale investors. It builds on prior collaborations, including a Solana‑based...
More People Are Using Ethereum for the First Time, Data Shows
Ethereum on‑chain activity has surged in the last month, driven primarily by a wave of first‑time wallet creations rather than increased trading by existing users. Glassnode’s month‑over‑month retention data shows the “new” cohort spiking as ether steadied near $3,300 and...
Yieldseeker Unveils New Brand Identity as Platform Surpasses 3,700 Active AI Agents
Yieldseeker, the AI‑driven DeFi platform, announced a fresh brand identity as it crossed the 3,700‑active‑agent threshold. The rebrand signals the service’s shift toward a more mature, institution‑friendly image while retaining its focus on autonomous yield optimization. Users can launch self‑learning...
Iranians Grab Their Bitcoin as Protests Rage and Rial Tanks
Iranian protesters are rapidly moving Bitcoin from local exchanges into personal wallets as street demonstrations intensify and the rial collapses. Chainalysis data shows a sharp rise in withdrawals between Dec. 28 and Jan. 8, coinciding with an internet blackout. The rial has...
Interactive Brokers Accepts USDC Deposits; Ripple's RLUSD Coming Soon
Interactive Brokers announced that eligible clients can now fund their brokerage accounts with the stablecoin USDC, enabling 24/7 deposits that are converted to U.S. dollars within minutes. The service is powered by ZeroHash, which handles the conversion for a 0.30%...
XRP Falls 4% on Crypto Market Weakness Even as ETF Inflows Stay Strong
XRP slipped about 4% to $2.07 as traders sold into resistance near $2.13, despite strong institutional backing. Spot XRP ETFs have amassed roughly $1.26 billion in net inflows with no outflow days, while exchange‑held supply dropped below 2 billion tokens. Ripple secured...
Dogecoin Drops 4% as Traders Sell Rallies and Support Gives Way
Dogecoin fell 3.5% to $0.139, breaking the $0.1420 support level amid volume that spiked to 108% above its 24‑hour average. The decline was driven by active selling rather than low‑liquidity drift, with rallies near $0.1402 quickly extinguished. Technical patterns showed...
Bitcoin Slips to Nearly $95,000 as Senate Delay and Risk-Off Moves Weigh on Crypto
Bitcoin slipped to just under $95,000 after the Senate Banking Committee postponed markup of a key crypto‑market‑structure bill, ending a brief rally that had pushed the price near $97,000. Trading volume fell 13 percent and more than $320 million was liquidated,...
The Next Big Push Forms as Dogecoin and Bittensor Cool and Zero Knowledge Proof Targets $1.7B Setup
Dogecoin steadied near $0.137 after the 21Shares spot ETF received approval, with futures volume spiking 654 % as traders await confirmed inflows. Bittensor (TAO) remained confined between $280 and $286, eyeing a breakout above the $300 resistance that could unlock a...
Uniswap Lands on OKX’s X Layer as Exchange Deepens DeFi Strategy
Uniswap has launched on OKX’s X Layer, becoming the network’s preferred decentralized exchange. The integration lets X Layer users trade Uniswap’s token pairs and liquidity pools with layer‑2 gas costs and no fees from Uniswap Labs. X Layer, an EVM‑compatible...
Crypto Coin Minute for January 16th, 2026 at 05:15 AM Pacific Time.
On Jan 16, 2026 major cryptocurrencies slipped, with Bitcoin at $95,432 (‑1.45%) and Ethereum at $3,305 (‑1.64%). California fined crypto lender Nexo $500,000 for offering unlicensed loans, highlighting regulatory pressure on DeFi credit services. The Sui mainnet experienced a six‑hour outage...
West Virginia Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Allow State Crypto Investments
West Virginia Senator Chris Rose introduced the Inflation Protection Act, allowing the state treasury to allocate up to 10% of its portfolio to precious metals, Bitcoin and other digital assets that exceed a $750 billion market‑cap, as well as to regulated...
Swift to Build Shared Blockchain Ledger for Tokenised Assets
Swift is adding a blockchain‑based shared ledger to its global payments network after successful interoperability trials that coordinated tokenised bond issuance, settlement and lifecycle events. The trials involved BNP Paribas, Intesa Sanpaolo and Société Générale and demonstrated delivery‑versus‑payment using both fiat and the...
DTCC Aiming to Make All 1.4 Million Securities in Its Custody Digitally Eligible
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation announced plans to make all 1.4 million DTC‑eligible securities digitally eligible through its tokenization platform. The initiative, built on the Securrency acquisition, will let participants convert assets to and from tokenized forms in as little...
Felix Protocol to Launch Spot Equities on HyperEVM
Felix Protocol announced a partnership with Ondo Finance to launch spot equities on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid’s Layer 1 blockchain. The initial rollout will list over 100 U.S. stocks, with a roadmap to exceed 1,000 equities in the coming months. By routing liquidity...
Ondo Finance TVL Doubles to Over $2B in Less Than a Year
Ondo Finance’s total value locked (TVL) surpassed $2 billion this week, more than doubling its level from early March 2024. The surge is anchored by its tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, OUSG, which now holds over $820 million in short‑term Treasury bills. Ethereum...
California Penalizes Nexo $500,000 for Risky Crypto Loans
California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation fined Nexo Capital $500,000 for offering 5,456 crypto‑backed loans to state residents without a required financing license. The loans, issued between July 2018 and November 2022, lacked any credit‑worthiness assessment and were marketed...
Bitcoin Whale Balances See 21% Bounce After Fastest Sell-Off Since 2023 Ends
Bitcoin whale addresses added roughly 46,000 BTC this week, marking a 21% rebound and the first positive one‑year net change since November 2025. The surge follows the steepest weekly drawdown for whales since early 2023, which saw a 220,000‑BTC loss....
Goldman Is 'Spending a Lot of Time' On Crypto, Prediction Markets Efforts, CEO Solomon Says
Goldman Sachs is intensifying its research into crypto‑adjacent technologies, especially tokenization, stablecoins, and CFTC‑regulated prediction markets. CEO David Solomon said a large internal team is evaluating how these tools could augment the firm’s trading and advisory services. He disclosed recent...
House Democrats Slam SEC for Dropping Crypto Cases with Trump Ties
Three senior House Democrats wrote to SEC Chair Paul Atkins demanding the agency resume crypto enforcement after it dismissed more than a dozen cases, including actions against Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and Tron founder Justin Sun. The lawmakers allege the dismissals...
France: AMF Plans to Tackle AI in Finance, Tokenization, More in 2026
The French securities regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), unveiled its 2026 agenda, centering on confidence‑building measures across the financial sector. AI governance sits at the core of the plan, with a finalized roadmap slated for the year. The...
Citrea Unveils U.S. Treasury-Backed Stablecoin for Its Bitcoin Ecosystem
Citrea, a Bitcoin layer‑2 platform, launched ctUSD, a U.S. dollar‑pegged stablecoin backed 1:1 by short‑term Treasury bills and issued by Moonpay. The token leverages zero‑knowledge proofs to settle transactions directly on Bitcoin, eliminating the need for bridged dollar assets that...
Coinbase Fears Tokenization Rival Securitize, Says Citron Research
Coinbase has withdrawn support for a crypto market‑structure bill, prompting Citron Research to back tokenization platform Securitize and its SPAC vehicle Cantor Equity Partners II (CEPT). Citron argues that clearer regulations would benefit Securitize, which has issued over $4 billion in tokenized...
Inside Stripe’s Crypto Strategy with Privy CEO: Wallets as Global Financial Accounts and the End of Decentralization Dogmas
Stripe is deepening its crypto ambitions by integrating Privy, the developer‑focused embedded‑wallet platform it bought in June, into its stablecoin and blockchain initiatives. The company launched Stablecoin Financial Accounts that let users in over 100 countries send, receive and hold...
Sats Terminal Integrates Morpho Into Borrow, Expanding DeFi Borrowing Options for Bitcoin Holders
Sats Terminal announced the integration of Morpho into its Borrow interface, giving Bitcoin holders a non‑custodial DeFi borrowing option alongside existing centralized venues. The upgrade lets users wrap BTC, bridge it to the EVM, and secure stablecoins from Morpho while...
YouHodler’s Tony Severino Shares 2026 Crypto Predictions for BTC, ETH and More
YouHodler analyst Tony Severino predicts 2026 will be Bitcoin’s pivotal year, with the $74,000 support zone acting as a litmus test for a continued bull market. He warns that failure to hold $100,000 could signal a shift to a bear...