On January 16, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that the roughly 58 BTC forfeited by Samourai Wallet developers will be held on the federal balance sheet within the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve under Executive Order 14233. Earlier reports had suggested a possible sale via SDNY and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Democratic lawmakers have sent a strongly worded letter to SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins criticizing the agency's decision to drop long-running enforcement cases against Ripple and other crypto firms. They argue that the SEC's retreat since January 2025, including dismissals involving Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and Tron founder Justin Sun, risks eroding investor protection and confidence in U.S. markets. The timing is portrayed as troubling given increased crypto industry lobbying and substantial political contributions.

On January 15, 2026, X head of product Nikita Bier said XRP is one of only three cryptocurrencies among the platform's most-searched cashtags, alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum. Tesla (TSLA), GameStop (GME) and Bitcoin Mining (IREN) also rank among leading tickers. CoinGecko data showed XRP fell more than 3% over the past week while Bitcoin gained roughly 5%.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju reports that retail traders have largely exited Bitcoin, with their funds moving into stocks, gold, and silver during the recent metals rally. At the same time, large investors and institutions are accumulating Bitcoin, supported by over $900 million of spot ETF inflows in early January and a Fear and Greed Index reading of 61 following the October 2024 liquidation event.

On January 14, 2026, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the latest Senate Banking draft of the Digital Asset Market Structure Act is materially worse than current regulations and cannot be backed in its present form. He highlighted a de facto ban on tokenized equities, strict DeFi restrictions, potential weakening of the CFTC and an end to stablecoin rewards as key dealbreakers, even as prediction markets still price the bill's passage odds above 50% and industry leaders like Mike Novogratz continue to express cautious optimism.

On Wednesday, senators on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee submitted 137 amendments to the Digital Asset Market Structure Act ahead of a 5:00 PM deadline. The changes focus on issues such as DeFi oversight, the treatment of digital commodities versus securities, and new limits on stablecoin rewards that have sparked a clash between banks and major crypto firms.

Monero's XMR decoupled from the wider crypto market and broke above its 2018 peak, entering price discovery. According to CoinGecko, it has moved into the top 15 by market cap after clearing the $542 resistance and advancing past $640, with XMR up 13.2% against Bitcoin in the last 24 hours.

According to Michael Saylor, Strategy has acquired 13,627 BTC for about $1.25 billion, its largest single purchase since July 29, when it bought 21,021 BTC for $2.47 billion. The company's average cost stands at $75,353 per Bitcoin, and BTC is at $90,547, according to CoinGecko; cumulative spend is nearly $52 billion.

Monero is approaching an all-time high near $542.33 after almost eight years of consolidation below key resistance in the $475–$520 zone. A prominent trader described XMR as having the strongest chart in crypto as it forms an ascending triangle pattern that is now near its apex.