Binance has enabled USD withdrawals via SWIFT, expanding fiat access across more than 70 countries as of January 2026. The service, facilitated by BPay Global licensed in Bahrain, offers direct USD on- and off-ramps to crypto, with early market feedback described as positive and no public comments from regulators.

On January 10, a high-value crypto wallet was compromised through a social engineering scheme, leading to the loss of more than $280 million in digital assets. The attacker rapidly converted large Litecoin and four-figure Bitcoin holdings via instant swaps, privacy coins such as Monero, and cross-chain bridges like THORChain, causing notable market volatility. Investigators have not linked the theft to any state-backed group, and the victim's identity remains undisclosed.

On January 17, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney advanced a Canadian auto production bill aimed at countering U.S. tariff pressure and retaining local manufacturing. The plan links a China trade arrangement to a quota of 49,000 EVs at a 6% tariff, includes a C$35,000 price-cap segment, and is set for a February rollout by Industry Minister Melanie Joly.

Global equity markets are trading at elevated valuations, with the MSCI World Index at 20 times forward earnings while Q4 results start to roll in. Investors are relying on strong profit growth from AI leaders, banks, consumer goods firms, and defense contractors to justify last year's rally and avoid renewed volatility. At the same time, shifting tariffs, oil supply threats, and surging defense spending are adding fresh uncertainty across regions.

On January 17, Nansen CEO Alex Svanevik publicly criticized Coinbase Advanced's revised trading fee structure, pointing to a 1.2% Taker fee and 0.6% Maker fee. His remarks on X triggered debate over cost transparency for active traders, while Coinbase has not yet issued an official response. Bitcoin meanwhile trades around $95,504.92 with a market cap of $1.91 trillion and sharply lower 24-hour volume.

A proposed $10,000,000 class action settlement arising from an August 2022 cyberattack on Nelnet would allow affected borrowers to claim up to $5,000 with documented out-of-pocket losses. The incident allegedly exposed data of 2,501,324 OSLA and Edfinancial customers. Claims and opt-out or objection are due March 5, with final approval hearing set for May 5.

By the end of 2025, assets tied to metal and mining ETFs worldwide exceeded $750 billion, with precious metals driving most of the expansion. Gold ETFs held over $500 billion and silver ETF assets tripled to about $75 billion, while NYSE Arca and London together hosted roughly three-quarters of sector ETF capital. ETF structures and listing venues are reshaping capital flows and the physical supply–demand balance for key metals.

On 17 January 2026, BlackRock was observed shifting more than $1.24 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum across several days, involving withdrawals rather than direct liquidation. On-chain tracking indicates these flows are linked to portfolio and custody rebalancing, while BlackRock continues to hold hundreds of thousands of BTC and millions of ETH, maintaining significant exposure to both assets.