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.

On 18 January 2026, analysis attributed to the Atlantic Council indicated that the China-backed mBridge cross-border payment platform has processed more than $55 billion in cumulative transactions and over 4,000 international payments. The pilot system links central banks from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, with the digital yuan accounting for nearly all of the activity.

Hong Kong will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Shanghai Gold Exchange at the Asian Financial Forum to develop a central gold clearing system. Paul Chan said a trial is planned within the year to cut costs, speed settlement and boost liquidity, alongside trade digitization projects connecting 2,300 firms and using AI and blockchain.