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.

White House digital assets advisor Patrick Witt said he received confirmation from the US Department of Justice that Bitcoin forfeited in the Samourai Wallet case has not been sold and will remain in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The transfer of 57.5 BTC from a US-controlled address to Coinbase Prime in November had prompted allegations of a breach of Executive Order 14233, which requires forfeited Bitcoin to be held rather than liquidated.

X's head of product Nikita Bier said on Thursday the platform will block apps that pay users to post and revoke their API access, prompting Kaito to end "Yaps" and Cookie DAO to wind down "Snaps". KAITO fell 17.7% to $0.57 and COOKIE dropped 15.5% to $0.038, while the InfoFi market cap declined 13%.

US Senator Cynthia Lummis reportedly expects the Senate Banking Committee to postpone its markup of the CLARITY Act after Coinbase withdrew its backing over DeFi and stablecoin reward provisions. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the current draft, which ends stablecoin rewards and raises concerns about tokenized stocks and financial privacy, would be worse than existing rules and could materially affect the firm's revenue.

Vitalik Buterin said on Monday that Ethereum must reach a "walkaway" state where its core value endures even if developers cease active work on the protocol. He highlighted the need for long-term cryptographic safety, quantum resistance, scalable tools like ZK-EVM and PeerDAS, and a block-building model resistant to centralization and censorship to help Ethereum remain robust for a century. Buterin also called for more decentralized, diversified-asset-backed stablecoins to reduce dependence on any single national currency.

On Monday, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced a new Innovation Advisory Committee to guide oversight of blockchain and AI. Chair Mike Selig plans to nominate 12 CEO Innovation Council participants as charter members. Additional nominations are open until Jan. 31, 2026.

Vitalik Buterin said in a post on X on Sunday that Ethereum needs more resilient decentralized stablecoins, highlighting risks from USD pegs, oracle attacks, and staking incentives. He floated reducing staking yields to around 0.2% and redesigning staking to avoid slashing, while the stablecoin market reached $311.5 billion in 2026.

US exchange Coinbase may reconsider support for the CLARITY Act if it restricts stablecoin rewards offered via exchanges. A Senate Banking Committee markup is set for Thursday, while Coinbase's Q4 stablecoin revenue totaled $247 million alongside $154.8 million from blockchain rewards, underscoring the potential impact on crypto platforms.

On Sunday, X's head of product Nikita Bier outlined a "Smart Cashtags" feature that will show real-time prices for cryptocurrencies and stocks, with a public rollout targeted for February. The concept includes smart contract data and asset "mentions," and one mockup hints at in-app trading with Buy and Sell buttons.