Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in a January 21, 2026 post that he intends to fully migrate back to decentralized social media in 2026, arguing that healthier mass communication requires open competition rather than engagement algorithms. He highlighted his current use of the Firefly multi-client interface for X, Lens, Farcaster and Bluesky, while warning that many token-based social projects create bubbles around influencers instead of supporting quality content.

Suki Yang, now CEO of Icon Trading after roles at Electric Capital, Pantera Capital and CertiK, is focused on building a system-driven institutional crypto trading platform that goes beyond individual judgement. The firm emphasizes a unified architecture for risk, execution and research, aiming for explainable, repeatable returns as crypto markets mature and narrative-driven inefficiencies fade.

Digital asset investment products took in $2.17bn last week, the strongest weekly total since October 2025. Flows were concentrated early in the week before reversing on Friday with $378M in outflows. Bitcoin led with $1.55 billion, while Ethereum and Solana recorded $496M and $45.5M respectively.

Clear Street analyst Owen Lau says prediction markets’ rapid growth in 2024–2025 has thrust the sector into a regulatory clash between federal and state authorities. The stakes include roughly $400 billion in annual trading and $4 billion in potential state tax revenue, with court cases delivering mixed outcomes and appeals continuing.

On January 16, President Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 19 establishing a legal framework for crypto banks. The measure defines these entities as joint-stock companies combining digital token operations with banking and payments and requires High-Tech Park residency and inclusion in a National Bank registry, according to BELTA.

Tokenized gold surged in 2025, contributing around 25% of net RWA growth as market capitalization rose from roughly $1.6 billion to $4.4 billion. Trading volume reached $178 billion for the year, with Q4 exceeding $126 billion and surpassing the combined activity of five leading gold ETFs.

On January 14, 2026, BVNK said it will power stablecoin functionality for Visa Direct, enabling businesses to pre-fund payouts in stablecoins and send funds to recipients in digital dollars. Visa Direct handles around $1.7 trillion in annual volume, while BVNK reports processing more than $30 billion in stablecoin payments each year, with services starting in approved markets.

On January 12, 2026, Bakkt Holdings, Inc. said it entered an agreement to acquire Distributed Technologies Research Ltd. in an all‑equity deal. Bakkt will issue Class A stock equal to 31.5% of the "Bakkt Share Number," about 9.1 million shares based on the current figure, and plans a corporate name change to "Bakkt, Inc." on January 22.

Between January 5 and January 11, Strategy reported purchasing an additional 13,627 bitcoin for roughly $1.25 billion at an average cost of $91,519 per BTC, including fees. As of January 11, the company holds 687,410 BTC acquired for about $51.80 billion, funded largely through sales of MSTR common stock and STRC preferred shares under its at-the-market programs.