On January 17, 2026, Japan's government said it is investigating X over sexually suggestive images generated by Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok and has demanded immediate improvements. Officials in Tokyo are weighing legal options, while other countries and regions including the Philippines, Indonesia, Canada, California, the EU and several European states are already examining or restricting Grok over explicit or degrading image outputs.

Debate in the US Senate over the Clarity Act has revived attention on XRP and other token-backed exchange-traded funds, with reports indicating the bill may clarify how ETF underlying assets are treated under existing rules. Since their November 2025 debut, XRP spot ETFs have reportedly attracted about $1.37 billion in inflows, fueling community discussion about whether in-kind structures could let holders use these products in a bank-like way. Some XRP advocates argue that, once legal status is clearer, investors may treat regulated ETFs as a preferred place to park tokens while preserving access.

Bitcoin started an important week trading just under its 50-week MA and EMA cluster, while U.S. spot ETF inflows have reached about 3.8K BTC so far this year. The inflow pace is slightly ahead of roughly 3.5K BTC over the same 2025 period and appears consistent with prior seasonal patterns, as price consolidates near the mid $90,000s.

Arkham reported that the so-called $10B Hyperunit Whale, linked to Garrett Jin, expanded an existing Ether long by $66.2 million, taking the position to about $733.3 million and pushing overall ETH, SOL and BTC long exposure above $900 million. At the same time, chart data showed Ethereum's market dominance stabilizing around 12.5% near a key support zone, with MACD turning bullish and trading volume rising after a rebound from early 2025 lows.

On 17 January 2026, Cathie Wood reiterated in ARK Invest’s 2026 outlook that Bitcoin’s fixed issuance schedule gives it a structural scarcity edge over gold. She noted that gold supply historically expands as prices rise, while Bitcoin’s programmed halvings drive annual supply growth below 1% and toward about 0.4% later this decade, supporting her long-term price projection of roughly $1.2 million by 2030. Wood also highlighted Bitcoin’s low correlation with traditional assets and its asymmetric upside versus gold, arguing it has a distinct role in diversified portfolios.

On January 17 2026, California's financial regulator ordered Nexo to pay a $500,000 penalty for issuing more than 5,456 crypto-backed loans in the state without a license. The action requires the company to transfer California customer funds to a licensed U.S. affiliate within 150 days and has cast doubt on Nexo's plans to resume operations in the American market.

On January 10, 2026, an investor reportedly lost more than $282 million in Litecoin and Bitcoin after attackers accessed a hardware wallet through a social engineering scam around 23:00 UTC. The stolen coins were quickly moved across multiple blockchains, with a large share allegedly converted into Monero via instant exchanges, coinciding with a sharp XMR price surge over the following four days.

On January 17, 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority registered the Pi Network white paper under entry number 549, filed by PiBit Ltd, marking a formal step for the project in the EU. The registration does not yet make Pi an approved crypto asset under MiCA, as the project must still satisfy EU requirements on areas such as anti-money laundering, data protection, and financial reporting. Meanwhile, Pi Coin trades around $0.2051, up 0.28% in 24 hours but remaining over 90% below its all‑time price as daily volume drops 33%.