On January 17 2026, the White House was reported to be weighing the withdrawal of support for the Senate Committee's nearly 300-page Clarity Act after Coinbase abruptly pulled its backing. The administration is said to be urging Coinbase to rejoin talks and accept a stablecoin yield framework that aligns with banking interests, after CEO Brian Armstrong argued the bill would harm consumers. The clash has postponed a key Senate vote and underlined Coinbase's growing influence over US crypto legislation.

Goldman Sachs is evaluating how the Clarity in Digital Assets Markets Act could affect tokenization and stablecoins. CEO David Solomon highlighted regulatory implications during the company's Q4 2025 earnings call. On May 29, 2025, French Hill introduced H.R. 3633, and NASAA raised concerns about state anti-fraud protections.

The Trump administration has intensified its confrontation with the Federal Reserve by supporting a criminal investigation into chair Jerome "Jay" Powell over a $2.5bn headquarters renovation, raising fears of political interference in U.S. monetary policy. Markets have so far remained stable as investors expect the Fed to resist demands for rapid rate cuts, while Republican lawmakers, global central bankers, and Wall Street figures rally in defence of the Fed's independence. The widening backlash is complicating Trump's plans to reshape the central bank as Powell's term as chair nears its end.

On January 17, 2026, President Donald Trump said he is considering an executive action to set a one‑year 10% ceiling on credit‑card interest, with a January 20 deadline. The plan is part of a broader affordability agenda focused on housing and 401(k) down payments, while major banks and trade groups warn the cap could tighten credit and disrupt unsecured lending.

A high-timeframe trader has outlined a Bitcoin fractal that closely aligns the current market cycle with the structural pattern observed before the 2021 bull run. The comparison includes similar distribution phases, a drop to the 0.382 Fibonacci level, and recovery attempts capped by descending resistance, while also framing $100,000 as a key psychological barrier. Within this framework, potential moves toward the $98,000–$99,000 area and a median short-term cost basis near $95,000–$100,000 are highlighted, with a sustained break above $104,000–$105,000 flagged as the level that would invalidate the fractal thesis.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said on X on Friday that 2026 should mark a shift back to self-sovereignty and trustlessness, arguing the network has diluted its values for mainstream adoption. He called for private payments, easier full-node operation and dapps without centralized servers, and cited the Kohaku release and Glamsterdam fork as steps expected to address these issues.

Humanity Protocol’s H jumped over 10% in the last 24 hours, backed by a 148% spot-volume surge and Open Interest above $100 million. Binance Alpha contributed 81% of spot activity and held a 565 liquidity score, while holders climbed to 31.26k and market cap hit $470 million. A 25 January unlock of about 105 million H could curb momentum.

On January 17, 2026, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said a Senate Banking market-structure draft could block stablecoin interest and weaken the CFTC. In a Fox Business interview, he alleged major banks seek to undermine Donald Trump's crypto agenda and added Coinbase cannot support the bill after a 48-hour review.