On January 18, 2026, South Korea's National Assembly approved legislation to create a dedicated regulatory framework for tokenized securities, with implementation slated for January 2027. The law sets clear rules for issuing, trading, and safeguarding blockchain-based representations of traditional assets under existing financial oversight. Regulators plan to use the transition period to help banks, brokerages, and asset managers integrate distributed ledger settlement with established clearing infrastructure.

French President Emmanuel Macron intends to ask the European Union to trigger its anti-coercion instrument after US President Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff on products from eight European nations starting February 1. Trump has also warned that tariffs could rise to 25% in June unless a deal is reached for the purchase of Greenland, putting the recently finalized but not fully approved EU-US trade agreement in jeopardy. EU ambassadors and European political leaders are now weighing potential responses, including possible countermeasures against the United States.

Scott Bessent told NBC that Europe is too weak to secure itself, arguing this is why President Donald Trump, now in his second term, is pushing for U.S. control of Greenland and will not back down. He said Trump is using emergency powers to impose new tariffs on eight European countries starting February 1, which could rise in June if no Greenland-linked deal is reached, and added that the Supreme Court is unlikely to block this approach while he also called for more oversight of the Federal Reserve.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong addressed speculation about the Trump administration's stance on the crypto market structure bill, stating the White House remains engaged in discussions with banks on community-focused solutions. Following Armstrong's criticism of the Senate Banking Committee's draft, which he argued threatens CFTC authority and stablecoin rewards, Senate Chairman Tim Scott postponed further consideration of the bill. Bitcoin traded around $95,132.21 on January 18, 2026, while analysts warned that potential changes to the bill could reshape stablecoin rules and CFTC oversight.

Truist is increasing a range of business banking fees, with changes effective January 1, 2026. Mobile deposit items now cost $0.25 each, monthly maintenance moves to $35–$55, and ACH credits and debits rise to $0.25. The bank says the adjustments reflect operational costs and urges clients to review available waivers.

Silver trades at $90.13 with a 24-hour gain of 0.08% and a 12.92% rise over the past 7 days. Peter Schiff highlighted strength in mining stocks and expects a strong rally, while analysts note support above $88.60 with upside targets near $91.80 and $93.00. The $100 psychological level remains in focus.

Over the latest week in crypto, U.S. XRP spot ETFs have absorbed $1.52 billion in XRP, equal to 1.20% of the asset’s market capitalization, while the token’s price remains range-bound. In the same 24-hour window, Shiba Inu’s burn rate dropped 86.14% to 749,126 SHIB, and TRON founder Justin Sun stated he would pay $30 million for a one-hour conversation with Elon Musk. Market watchers are also monitoring weekday volatility patterns as traders weigh key levels in XRP, SHIB and Bitcoin.

Chinese EV manufacturers such as BYD and Geely are gaining limited access to Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney removed the additional 100% tariff and introduced a yearly import ceiling of 49,000 vehicles. A 6.1% duty still applies in Canada, while Europe has moved from steep tariffs to pricing arrangements, even as China's exports hit 2.6 million EVs and BYD's European deliveries jumped sharply in 2025. Analysts say Canada's partial reopening, after imports were driven to nearly zero in 2024, could become an important first step for Chinese brands in the broader North American market.