The European Council will hold an emergency meeting to coordinate a response to President Donald Trump's 10% tariffs on eight EU countries. Leaders aim to finalize a unified stance before the levies take effect on February 1, considering a €93 billion retaliation plan and potential use of the EU's anti-coercion instrument.

X reported record creator payouts at the end of 2025 under its "Year of the Creator" plan, centered on written content and higher revenue sharing. The platform will grant a $1 million reward to the single highest-earning U.S. article published between January 16 and 28, requiring at least 1,000 words of original writing. Elon Musk positioned this as a strategic push to boost high-impact creator work, though observers note ongoing questions about the long-term sustainability of such incentives.

On January 18, 2026, Lookonchain reported that a long-standing Bitcoin holder sold 500 BTC worth $47.77 million, part of a 5,000 BTC stash held for over a decade. The seller has been trimming since December 2024 at six-figure prices, and on-chain metrics show older holders have cooled while institutions absorb supply.

Vanguard Group, overseeing about $12 trillion in assets, disclosed via routine filings a new position of roughly $505 million in shares of Strategy. The move offers indirect Bitcoin exposure through a public equity and marks Vanguard's first known allocation to a Bitcoin treasury company as of January 18, 2026.

Ripple received preliminary approval for an EMI license in Luxembourg after a recent UK authorization. SHIB formed a short-term bullish crossover with a potential 22% path to $0.00001054. XRP saw $45.8 million weekly inflows, up 428%, while Strategy bought 13,627 BTC for about $1.25 billion.

Shiba Inu closed below its 20-day moving average, breaking a key support that had underpinned bullish sentiment after the January 4 peak at $0.00000965. With SHIB trading around $0.00000840, the move exposes downside room toward the lower Bollinger Band near $0.00000718, implying a potential decline of about 14.36% if past patterns repeat. Momentum and volume readings now tilt bearish, as the 20-day average turns into resistance and buyers have yet to show strong defense around current levels.

Berachain’s BERA token has climbed 15.48% in the past 24 hours and 62.58% over the last week after the foundation unveiled its “Bera Builds Businesses” model, which focuses on cash-flow-generating ventures. Despite this rally, BERA remains 69.64% below its October peak, and traders face added uncertainty from a controversial downside-protection deal tied to Brevan Howard’s Nova fund, whose refund clause expires on 6 February 2026.

On January 18, 2026, Kevin Hassett said on Fox News' The Sunday Briefing that he is comfortable remaining in the White House, effectively taking himself out of consideration to lead the Federal Reserve. Trump had publicly told him last week he preferred he stay in the West Wing, while the shortlist now centers on Christopher Waller, Kevin Warsh, and Rick Rieder.