In its latest quarterly assessment released on Monday, the IMF increased its 2026 global growth forecast to 3.3% from 3.1%, while cautioning that higher tariffs and geopolitical frictions could hinder that expansion. The fund highlighted heavy investment in artificial intelligence and elevated equity valuations as key vulnerabilities, warning that even a moderate stock market decline could drag growth down to 2.9%. It also upgraded projections for the United States, China and India, and stressed that central banks should safeguard their independence and cut interest rates only when inflation expectations remain firmly anchored.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has publicly criticized Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse for backing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, arguing the bill has been mishandled politically and is unlikely to pass in the current environment. He has directed blame at Trump administration crypto lead David Sacks, while Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong opposes the proposal and says a bad bill is worse than none. The Senate Banking Committee has postponed its scheduled markup hearing as negotiations continue and lawmakers seek enough bipartisan support for the legislation.

On January 19, 2026, the Seoul Customs Service reported dismantling an illegal cryptocurrency exchange ring that laundered and exchanged about 148.9 billion won (approximately $113 million) between September 2021 and last year. Three Chinese men in their 30s were arrested and sent to prosecutors for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act after using mobile apps and tactics such as hwanchigi and peeling chains to move funds. The case was uncovered by the Korea Customs Service's 126-member Crime Fund Tracking Team amid a broader national crackdown on suspicious crypto-linked foreign exchange activity.

On Jan 19, 2026, crypto-linked investment products logged roughly $2.17 billion in weekly inflows, the largest of 2026 to date and the biggest since October, lifting assets under management above $193 billion. Bitcoin-focused vehicles drew about $1.55 billion and Ether nearly $500 million, while a Friday pullback saw nearly $378 million in outflows as geopolitical and policy headlines weighed.

Bitcoin fell to $91,920 late Sunday in New York, down 3.8% from about $95,500, as risk-off flows struck crypto majors. President Donald Trump said 10% tariffs on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland will begin Feb. 1, rising to 25% on June 1 unless a Greenland deal is reached. Coinglass reported $874.93 million liquidations in the past 24 hours.

On January 19, the New York Stock Exchange outlined a proposal to build a tokenized securities trading and on-chain settlement venue that would operate around the clock, subject to regulatory approval. The platform is designed to support USD-denominated orders, stablecoin funding and tokenized stocks that preserve traditional dividend and governance rights in a digital format.

Binance will remove 23 spot trading pairs on January 20, including 1MBABYDOGE/FDUSD, ADX/ETH and ORDI/BTC, while stating the tokens remain tradable via other pairs. ORDI fell approximately 12%, and broader market losses saw BTC briefly at $92,000. On January 19, Binance Australia restarted AUD deposits and withdrawals.

Crypto investment products saw $2.17 billion of net inflows in the week ending January 16, 2026, which CoinShares data shows is the largest weekly figure since October 10, 2025. Bitcoin led with $1.55 billion of new capital, while Ethereum and Solana together drew $541.5 million, and US-based products dominated regionally with $2.05 billion in inflows.