Ethereum's validator exit queue has dropped to zero for the first time since mid-2025, while the entry queue has expanded sharply as staking demand rises. The staking backlog, growing institutional participation, and record levels of ETH locked in the deposit contract are tightening circulating supply even as Ether trades below its all-time high.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has pushed back on reports of a rift with the White House, saying the administration remains engaged on the CLARITY Act even after Coinbase withdrew support for the current draft. He argued the bill's latest version could damage DeFi, tokenized stocks and stablecoin yield products, and indicated lawmakers are revising the proposal after a Senate Banking Committee markup was postponed.

Steak 'n Shake has disclosed a $10 million Bitcoin purchase for its corporate treasury, its first public Bitcoin allocation since enabling crypto payments in May 2025. The 91-year-old burger chain has formalized a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that channels all customer Bitcoin payments into long-term holdings, linking reserve growth to same-store sales performance.

U.S. mortgage lender Newrez will begin treating select crypto holdings as qualifying assets in its underwriting, with the change slated for February. Eligible assets include Bitcoin, Ether, spot ETFs tied to those coins, and U.S. dollar‑pegged stablecoins held with U.S‑regulated platforms. Valuations may be adjusted for volatility, and payments remain in USD.

Anchorage Digital is pursuing a $200 million–$400 million capital raise while weighing an IPO next year. The federally chartered crypto bank is expanding stablecoin, custody and wealth services, and it cited 2025 as a year of scale amid rising institutional demand. The firm previously raised $350 million in late 2021, valuing it above $3 billion.

On January 16, 2026, White House digital-assets advisor Patrick Witt said he received DOJ confirmation that Bitcoin forfeited in the Samourai Wallet case has not been sold and will not be sold under EO 14233. The statement followed analysts noting a 57.5 BTC transfer from a government wallet to a Coinbase Prime address in November.

On January 15, 2026, Glassnode said Ethereum is drawing a wave of first-time users, with month-over-month activity retention in the "New" cohort sharply higher. New active addresses rose from just over 4 million to around 8 million in the past month, and daily transactions reached a record 2.8 million amid lower fees and all-time-high stablecoin activity.

On January 14, 2026, California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation fined Nexo $500,000 for issuing unlicensed crypto-backed loans. The agency found at least 5,456 residents received loans without a state license and ordered all California customer funds moved to a licensed U.S. affiliate within 150 days.

On Thursday, South Korea's National Assembly approved amendments to the Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act to legalize the issuance and trading of tokenized securities, with the laws set to take effect in January 2027. The new framework enables blockchain-based securities to be issued on distributed ledgers and traded via licensed intermediaries, while regulators prepare supporting infrastructure and market participants position for growth in a sector projected to reach trillions of dollars globally.