On 19 January 2026, at 09:31, Washington's CLARITY Act stalled, a development some analysts frame as a constructive pause. Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe argues the draft risked locking in restrictive rules. Coinbase withdrew support, and CEO Brian Armstrong flagged tokenized equities, yield-bearing stablecoins, and DeFi user data access as unacceptable provisions.

A Bitcoin analyst known as PlanB argued that gold's roughly $10 trillion market cap increase last year could create profits that some investors might rotate into Bitcoin. Commentators note that even a small shift of these gains could move Bitcoin's price because the crypto market is smaller and more volatile than gold. Another analyst, Janey, projected that spot gold could break to a new high and potentially target $4,700 as the current consolidation holds above support.

Crypto markets started the week with sharp price swings as traders reacted to new US–EU trade tensions and looming macroeconomic data. Bitcoin briefly dropped below $92,000 and the total crypto market cap slid to about $3.21 trillion, while altcoins saw even steeper declines. Investors now face a packed calendar of US and Asian economic events, along with major corporate earnings and the Davos forum, which could inject further volatility.

Vanguard Group has reported, via regulatory filings, an approximately $505 million position in Strategy, a public company whose balance sheet is dominated by Bitcoin. The $12 trillion asset manager issued no formal announcement, opting to access Bitcoin's upside through listed equity rather than direct holdings.

In January 2025, French authorities released Ledger co-founder David Balland after kidnappers allegedly demanded a significant cryptocurrency ransom, highlighting how digital assets can fuel coercive, real-world crimes. Wrench attacks, where criminals use threats or violence to force victims to unlock wallets or authorize transfers, appear to be rising alongside total crypto market capitalization and the growth of visible on-chain wealth. Public-facing founders, influencers and OTC or P2P traders in regions such as Western Europe and parts of Asia-Pacific are described as especially exposed, prompting calls to reduce personal visibility, limit instantly accessible balances and treat data leaks and support impersonation as part of the same threat landscape.

On January 19, 2026, Fitch Ratings affirmed the long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating of Saudi Arabia at A+ and maintained a Stable Outlook. The agency cited net foreign assets near 70% of GDP, general government debt projected below 30% versus a 54% A+ peer median, and a 2.3% of GDP fiscal deficit in 2025 amid ongoing reforms.

Ethereum is now processing a record volume of transactions while average gas fees have fallen to about $0.15, the lowest level in the network's modern history. Recent protocol upgrades, a higher block gas limit and growing layer-2 usage have expanded effective capacity, while stablecoin transfers and increased staking activity indicate renewed confidence in Ethereum.

BTCC processed $5.72 billion in tokenized gold trades in 2025, with fourth-quarter volume at $2.74 billion. From the first to the fourth quarter, activity rose 809%, and Q4 represented 48% of the year alongside a 130% quarter-over-quarter increase. GOLDUSDT, PAXGUSDT, and XAUTUSDT were major drivers, while tokenized gold's market cap climbed 177% to $4.4 billion, according to CEX.IO.