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Russia is preparing to roll out its long‑awaited regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, with lawmakers and regulators moving closer to defining how digital assets will be treated within the country. 

According to Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, the relevant legislative package is expected to be finalized by the end of June of this year. 

Beginning July 1, 2027, the new rules are set to introduce liability for illegal activity by intermediaries in the crypto market, with penalties comparable to those applied for unlawful banking operations.

Russia’s Central Bank Outlines Upcoming Crypto Rules

The groundwork for the reforms has been in development for months. Local media reports disclosed that the Central Bank submitted its proposals for changes to cryptocurrency regulation to the government in December last year. 

In its concept paper, the regulator classifies digital currencies and stablecoins as currency values that may be bought and sold, while maintaining a ban on their use as a means of payment within Russia.

Under the proposed system, retail investors with limited experience would be allowed to purchase only the most liquid cryptocurrencies, and only after passing a suitability test. 

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) would almost certainly be included, while assets such as Solana (SOL) or Toncoin (TON) could also make the list due to their popularity in Russia. All other digital assets would be reserved exclusively for qualified investors.

Even qualified investors, however, would face additional requirements. They would be required to pass mandatory testing to demonstrate an understanding of the risks associated with crypto transactions. 

Once approved, they would be allowed to buy digital assets in unlimited amounts, with one major exception: anonymous cryptocurrencies would be prohibited. 

The Central Bank has made clear that assets which conceal transaction recipients will not be permitted, as they cannot meet anti‑money laundering standards. Coins such as Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC) and Dash (DASH) fall into this category.

First Reading Looms Next Month

Legislative work on the initiative is already underway. Aksakov said the State Duma is moving toward formalizing the proposed changes in law. The initial focus will be on establishing clear rules for the issuance, mining and circulation of cryptocurrencies, as well as reaffirming the ban on their use as a domestic payment method. 

He indicated that the bill could reach its first reading as early as next month. The law is also expected to introduce administrative, financial and potentially criminal penalties for illegal activity in the digital asset market. 

The regulatory push follows a significant legal development earlier this year. On January 20, 2026, Russia’s Constitutional Court issued a ruling that effectively resolved a long‑standing legal gap affecting thousands of crypto holders. 

Featured image from OpenArt, Chart from TradingView.com 

Bitcoin is struggling to regain the $88,000 level as market uncertainty persists and precious metals continue to rally aggressively. Gold’s strength has reignited a familiar narrative: that capital is leaving Bitcoin to finance the move into traditional safe havens. However, a recent report by CryptoQuant challenges this assumption, suggesting that the current market dynamics are being misinterpreted.

On-chain data indicates that Bitcoin sell-offs are not directly funding the surge in gold and other metals. Instead, liquidity appears to be pausing rather than fleeing the crypto market altogether. This behavior is reflected in the Stablecoin Supply Ratio (SSR), a metric designed to measure the purchasing power of stablecoins relative to Bitcoin’s market capitalization. The SSR offers insight into whether capital is already deployed into BTC or sitting on the sidelines, waiting for clearer conditions.

A lower SSR implies higher latent buying power, meaning stablecoins hold significant capacity to re-enter the market. Conversely, a higher SSR signals that liquidity has largely been committed to Bitcoin. Current readings suggest that capital remains in stablecoins, indicating caution rather than outright risk aversion.

In this context, Bitcoin’s weakness below $88K reflects hesitation, not abandonment. While metals benefit from defensive positioning, on-chain signals point to liquidity waiting for a renewed catalyst in crypto, rather than rotating decisively away from it.

Stablecoin Liquidity Signals a Pause, Not a Capital Exit

The report adds important context by outlining key Stablecoin Supply Ratio (SSR) levels and how they frame Bitcoin’s current market structure. Historically, the SSR has oscillated within well-defined ranges. Readings above 15–16 indicate that stablecoin purchasing power is low, meaning liquidity has largely been deployed into Bitcoin.

Values between 10 and 15 represent a neutral zone, commonly associated with consolidation phases. When the SSR drops below 10–11, latent purchasing power is high, a condition that has often preceded bullish phases. Importantly, these thresholds provide structural context rather than precise timing signals.

At present, the SSR stands at 12.57, down sharply from recent highs in the 18–19 range. This decline signals a transition from fully deployed liquidity toward capital sitting on the sidelines. Despite price weakness, Bitcoin remains structurally stable, suggesting that capital is not exiting the crypto market but waiting for clearer conditions before re-entering.

Crucially, the ongoing rally in gold should not be interpreted as a direct consequence of Bitcoin selling. Large allocators typically operate within diversified, multi-asset frameworks, maintaining exposure across equities, precious metals, digital assets, and stablecoins simultaneously. The lower SSR confirms that capital is not rotating out of Bitcoin into gold, but reallocating risk while remaining within the crypto ecosystem.

Bitcoin Price Remains Below Key Moving Averages

Bitcoin continues to trade under pressure, with price slipping back toward the $87,500–$88,000 zone after another failed attempt to regain momentum above the short-term moving averages. On the daily chart, BTC remains decisively below the 50-day and 100-day averages, both of which are now sloping downward and acting as dynamic resistance. The 200-day moving average, still trending higher above $100,000, reinforces the idea that the broader cycle has shifted from expansion to consolidation or correction.

Structurally, the market is locked in a wide range following the sharp breakdown in November. Since then, price action has been characterized by lower highs and choppy rebounds, suggesting reactive buying rather than sustained demand. The recent bounce toward the mid-$90,000s was rejected precisely at the descending moving average cluster, confirming that sellers continue to defend rallies.

Volume behavior supports this interpretation. The largest spikes remain associated with sell-offs, while recovery attempts occur on relatively muted volume, pointing to limited conviction from buyers. This imbalance keeps downside risk active, even as price holds above the December lows.

In the near term, the $86,000–$87,000 area remains a key demand zone. A clean breakdown would expose lower structural supports, while holding this level keeps Bitcoin trapped in a prolonged consolidation. Until BTC reclaims its short- and mid-term averages, the chart favors caution rather than trend reversal.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

Scammers used new tools to widen their reach and to seem more real. According to TRM Labs, the use of large language models in scams jumped fivefold in 2025, helping fraudsters write believable messages, run many conversations at once, and trick people in different languages.

AI Tools Helping Con Artists Build Trust

Reports say AI images, voice cloning, and deepfakes are cutting the cost of making fake people who look and sound legit. These tricks have fed a pattern where criminals first make a target feel safe and then ask for money.

In some cases, a romance angle is used to win trust, and that trust is later turned into fake investment offers or bogus tax demands. This staged approach has let scams run longer and capture bigger sums from fewer victims.

A Rise In Industrial-Scale Fraud

Behind many of these schemes are groups that act like small companies. They hire people, sell tools, and reuse scripts to run campaigns in many places.

Some providers now sell phishing kits or offer AI-as-a-service to automate messages and replies, lowering the bar for new fraudsters and making scams easier to copy and spread.

Deepfake Calls And Targeted Hacks

Reports note that attackers have even used fake video calls to trick crypto workers into installing malware. In several incidents, victims were invited to what looked like normal Zoom meetings, only to find AI-generated faces on the screen.

When the meeting “needed a patch,” victims were urged to install what was actually malicious software. These methods have been linked to North Korea–connected groups and were flagged by security researchers last year.

Crypto Price Action Enters The Story

While the scams became more sophisticated, the market evolved too. Bitcoin was trading in the range of $88,000 to $90,000 in late January 2026 as investors considered macro news and policy developments.

This market context is important: as prices increase, the urgency and authenticity of crypto scams may seem more plausible, and the risks for both victims and law enforcement may be higher.

Scam Proceeds Compared To Illicit Flows Overall

Illicit inflows to crypto assets reached a record high of $158 billion, a substantial increase due to improved monitoring that brought more illicit activity to light.

Meanwhile, scam-related wallets saw a slight decrease in proceeds to around $35 billion in 2025, from $38 billion in the previous year.

However, the total volume of criminal activity increased substantially, even as the portion attributed to scams increased marginally.

It appears that scam-detecting technology is improving, but scams are evolving rapidly. The increasing use of AI-based tools makes generic advice less helpful, as the scams now sound more authentic.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Michael Saylor’s Strategy has reignited a long-running Bitcoin custody debate after co-founder and CTO of Casa Jameson Lopp challenged whether the firm can know its holdings aren’t being rehypothecated by third parties. Saylor’s blunt response — “We buy real bitcoin. We don’t rehypothecate.” — quickly turned into a broader argument about what “proof” looks like for a public company warehousing BTC at institutional custodians.

The exchange landed as Strategy’s accumulation narrative is accelerating in early 2026. On Jan. 26, Saylor posted that Strategy bought 2,932 BTC for roughly $264.1 million at an average price near $90,061 per bitcoin. He added that, as of Jan. 25, the company held 712,647 BTC acquired for about $54.19 billion at an average cost of roughly $76,037 per coin.

That disclosure sparked commentary from Jesse Myers, who framed Strategy’s pace as structurally supply-tightening. Myers said the company has acquired 40,150 BTC so far in 2026, against 11,700 BTC mined year-to-date. “Eventually, the BTC price must go higher. Much higher,” he wrote, leaning on a simple imbalance: one large buyer absorbing more than new issuance.

No Paper Bitcoin?

Lopp pushed back on the implicit assumption that all of those purchases translate into unencumbered, uniquely owned UTXOs. “Your thesis is sensible… under the assumption that he’s buying real bitcoin,” Lopp wrote. “Does Strategy actually verify that their bitcoin only belongs to them and isn’t rehypothecated? I’m skeptical.”

Saylor responded with a short, definitive denial: “We buy real bitcoin. We don’t rehypothecate.” But Lopp widened the aperture from Strategy’s own behavior to the incentives and opacity of intermediaries. “But how do you know your custodians don’t? Presumably they put your BTC in segregated addresses you can monitor,” he wrote. “People ask for proof of reserves since they don’t even know what monitoring / assurances you put in place. Multiple layers of trusted black boxes make folks nervous.”

We buy real bitcoin. We don’t rehypothecate.

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) January 28, 2026

As the thread grew, some users demanded Strategy publish addresses. One account wrote, “Prove it then. Show us the addresses.” Others argued that transparency cuts both ways. “Ever considered that TradFi could be extremely frightened if Strategy were to do this, given that it opens up multiple attack Vectors?”

Defenders leaned on the mechanics of public-company controls rather than on-chain visibility. Attorney Jesse Kobernick from Miller Nash LLP argued that Strategy’s filings describe steps auditors take to verify balances and control, and that multiple third parties touch the process, including the separation between BTC purchases and the equity sales and cash proceeds that fund them. Lopp rejected that comfort. “Trusted third parties are security holes…” he replied.

Bitcoin OG Adam Back, meanwhile, pointed to mainstream custodianship norms as a reason to discount “paper bitcoin” fears. “Think about it. Their custodians are I think Fidelity and Coinbase,” Back wrote, adding that large auditors take verification and key-control standards seriously.

Lopp remained unconvinced that outside observers can know what, exactly, is being verified. “Are these auditors spinning up nodes, verifying balances at addresses, ensuring that no clients hold claims to the same BTC?” he wrote. “I’m skeptical, but ultimately we just don’t know – it’s a black box.”

Later on Jan. 28, Saylor reposted the message more broadly, escalating from denial to prescription: “We buy real bitcoin. We audit our custodians. We don’t rehypothecate.” He added: “You shouldn’t either.”

At press time, Bitcoin traded at $88,001.

On-chain data shows the XRP addresses holding over a million tokens have seen a reversal in behavior with some population growth in January.

Millionaire XRP Wallets Have Been Growing In Count Recently

As pointed out by on-chain analytics firm Santiment in a new post on X, large XRP wallets have seen growth during the past month. The indicator of relevance here is the “Supply Distribution,” which tells us, among other things, the total number of addresses that belong to a given coin range.

In the context of the current topic, the range of interest is the one with 1 million tokens as the lower bound and no upper bound. Currently, the cutoff for the range converts to $1.87 million, so the only investors who would qualify for it will be those with substantial holdings.

As the below chart for the cohort’s Supply Distribution shows, these whales saw their population shrink between October and December.

This decline in the indicator came as the cryptocurrency sector as a whole went through a bearish shift. In total, the XRP network saw the exodus of 784 millionaire wallets during this window, a significant amount. Since the start of January, however, the trend has flipped. “XRP’s price is down a modest 4% since the start of 2026, but its number of ‘millionaire’ wallets is rising for the first time since September,” noted Santiment.

So far, the increase in addresses holding more than 1 million tokens hasn’t been anything too notable, though, with just 42 wallets of this size popping back up on the blockchain. That said, the fact that big-money investors are no longer leaving the network could still be a meaningful development.

A network that has seen a development related to whales that’s not so positive is Dogecoin. Citing data from Santiment, analyst Ali Martinez has highlighted in an X post how the memecoin has faced a 94.6% plunge in whale transaction activity during the last few weeks.

As displayed in the above graph, whale-sized XRP transactions numbered at 109 four weeks ago, but today, that figure has dropped to just 6. This suggests that the large entities have shifted their attention away from Dogecoin.

This could reflect the risk-off behavior in the wider sector, where the big-money investors are choosing to pull back as uncertainty surrounds the market.

XRP Price

XRP is trading around $1.87 right now, down 22% compared to its top from early January.

Ethereum (ETH) is extending its influence in the AI industry as developers aim to integrate AI with decentralized technology. Building on this, new reports have revealed that ETH developers are preparing to roll out an AI-focused update that could see AI agents work and engage directly on the blockchain network.

Ethereum Prepares To Launch New AI Agent Standards

Ethereum is getting ready to launch a major update that could transform how artificial intelligence interacts with blockchain. The new upgrade, called ERC-8004, uses blockchain to find, select, and work with AI agents across different organizations without pre-existing trust, enabling open-need agent economies. 

On January 27, the Ethereum team made an official announcement revealing that ERC-8004 will go live soon, opening the door for projects to integrate with AI in a decentralized way. Marco De Rossi, one of the primary authors of ERC-8004 and the AI lead at MetaMask, stated that development of the protocol has been frozen, as the team prepares to deploy it on the mainnet, with a likely launch around 9 AM ET on Thursday, January 30. 

The proposal was initially submitted in August 2025 and has since undergone multiple rounds of community review and revision before reaching its final implementation stage. Early adopters have also tested the system to explore new applications for autonomous AI agents. 

The new ERC-8004 protocol is designed to give AI agents on Ethereum unique identities and verifiable reputations, enabling autonomous systems to interact without relying on centralized platforms. Each AI agent will receive a unique ERC-721 NFT as its on-chain ID, serving as a digital passport. The system also supports ENS domains, allowing agents to have readable names and securely delegate control when needed. 

ERC-8004 also introduces on-chain mechanisms for reputation and validation, enabling AI agents to record feedback and prove task execution outcomes. The protocol also allows agents to record their actions and performance on the blockchain, so other AI agents and users can verify their interactions and build trust quickly. 

Importantly, the AI Lead at the Ethereum Foundation has also shared his thoughts on the new ERC-8004 standard. He said that Ethereum is now uniquely positioned to be the platform that “secures and settles AI-to-AI interactions.”   

ETH’s Deep Dive Into The AI Industry 

Ethereum is explaining its role in artificial intelligence, building on earlier efforts to connect the industry with decentralized technology. While the upcoming ERC-8004 standard for AI agents has gained massive attention, it is not Ethereum’s first move into AI. The network has been exploring ways to support blockchain and AI development for years, laying the groundwork for a broader ecosystem.

For instance, the Ethereum Foundation previously established a dedicated AI team, known as the dAI Team. This group is tasked with creating infrastructure that allows Ethereum to act as a coordination and settlement layer for autonomous systems. 

XRP’s long-term price action was recently examined by crypto analyst EGRAG CRYPTO, who shared a technical framework that shows the cryptocurrency on a macro move to $200. In his post, the analyst outlined a channel-based structure that tracks XRP’s behavior across multiple cycles and highlights how its price has always followed the same diagonal paths over time. Based on where the altcoin currently sits within that structure, the analysis outlines a range of possible outcomes, including triple-digit price levels under specific scenarios.

Logic Behind Monthly Channel Structure

XRP has been subjected to multiple analyses projecting prices far above the $100 level. Notably, the technical analysis in question is built around multiple diagonal channels that act as long-term support and resistance. These diagonal channels encompass XRP’s price action on the monthly candlestick timeframe chart and go as far back as 2014. 

According to the analyst, this framework behaves similarly to a logarithmic regression channel, meaning price expansion and contraction follow geometric symmetry rather than linear movement. XRP has respected these channels for over a decade, moving from lower bounds during accumulation phases to upper bounds during rallies and expansions.

The reference point is in late 2017 / early 2018, when XRP’s price rally tagged the upper boundary of this channel before extending well beyond it. That move, measured at roughly a 677% overshoot from the channel ceiling, is used as the template for projecting future extensions.

XRP’s Price Targets And The $200 Scenario

According to the analyst, current cycle levels on the monthly candlesticks align perfectly with the 2017 geometry. The most debated part of the analysis is the projection toward $200, which EGRAG CRYPTO categorizes as a black swan tail scenario. 

This outcome relies on XRP replicating the full macro extension seen in 2017, where the price didn’t just reach the upper channel but dramatically exceeded it. When that same percentage extension is applied to the current structure, the projection lands near the $200 mark.

XRP Price Chart. Source: @egragcrypto on X

However, the extreme $200 price target is not the base case. The analysis positions the $200 level as an extreme endpoint within a much broader and more detailed technical roadmap with intermediate price targets where XRP might face resistance.

Using the channel geometry, the analysis breaks XRP’s potential path into layered scenarios. The first zone is around $4.5, corresponding to a clean interaction with the upper channel boundary. EGRAG CRYPTO describes this level as a high-conviction structural area with the highest probability outcome of 80% to 90%.

The next channel projection is a move to $10. This level depends on continued expansion within the same geometric framework and XRP has only a 60% to 75% chance of reaching this level. Further up, the analyst projected $27 as the cycle peak scenario, which is situated around the peak of the channel structure. The probability of reaching this price target is between 50% and 55%.

Amid the waning cryptocurrency market, the Ethereum blockchain continues to display notable resilience, proving its position as a leader in the blockchain sector. The blockchain is experiencing significant growth, especially the ETH’s Validator network, which underscores its robust reliability and stability.

A Pillar of Stability For The Ethereum Network

Ethereum is not just becoming a settlement layer for on-chain finance; it is also becoming a secured blockchain for its numerous validators. Even with a volatile crypto condition, hindering price and network growth, the ETH validator network appears not to be affected by the bearish phase.

The Ethereum validator network is demonstrating remarkable strength, highlighting the robustness of the blockchain’s proof-of-stake architecture. In an X post, Charles Allen, a market expert and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nasdaq, has shed light on why the ETH’s validator network is demonstrating robust strength. 

Charles Allen’s perspective on the subject is primarily based on the significant demand for becoming a validator. Over the past few weeks, the expert highlighted that there has been a rise in demand to become a validator and stake ETH.

Furthermore, staking withdrawals have seen a substantial drop along with the rise in validator demand, indicating a notable shift in the landscape. With a 1 month period, staking withdrawals have fallen to about a one-day wait. Interestingly, concerns about congestion or forced exits are lessened by the shorter exit queue, which suggests a better balance between validators joining and departing the network.

While withdrawal wait times have dropped to roughly a single day, the deposit queue has grown to more than 54 days. Such a growth reflects a strong validator interest and signals a surge of new capital waiting to enter the leading network. As more ETH becomes available for staking, the rising deposit backlog highlights the tightening of the liquid supply and the increased dedication to network security.

In simple terms, the expert stated that multiple companies and individuals wish to stake ETH rather than sell it. Allen added that this is considered a robust signal for network security and validator participation.

Bitmine Is Not Slowing Down On ETH Staking

Companies and individuals’ interest in staking Ethereum rather than selling it is largely evidenced by Bitmine Immersion Technologies’ massive staking activity lately. Broke Doomer on X reported that the largest ETH treasury holding company recently committed another $341 million worth of ETH to staking.

The chart shared by the crypto expert shows that the company conducted the transfer in a series of transactions within a single day. Following this latest move, Bitmine’s overall staking holdings are now positioned at more than 2.33 million ETH valued at a staggering $7 billion.

With this massive number of ETH, more than half of the company’s ETH holdings are currently locked and earning interest. Doomer classifies this adoption as a sign of conviction building among large entities or firms over the next few years. “You don’t do that if you’re bearish. You do that when you’re building conviction for the next few years,” the expert stated.

The Justice Department’s move last year to shut a specialized crypto enforcement team is drawing fresh fire after six US senators pressed the deputy attorney general for answers about his personal stakes in digital assets.

The lawmakers say the timing and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s holdings raise real questions about conflicts that need clear records and a full explanation.

Senators Demand Answers

Reports say the letter, dated January 28, 2026, was sent by Senator Mazie Hirono and joined by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Chris Coons, and Richard Blumenthal.

They asked Blanche to provide documents and explain why the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) was disbanded in April 2025 and whether his own finances played any role in that decision. The lawmakers pointed to federal conflict rules and asked for the timeline and approvals behind the memo.

The memo at the center of the row told prosecutors to stop using enforcement actions as a kind of regulation. It said the department is “not a digital assets regulator” and ordered the NCET closed, shifting focus to crimes like trafficking, terrorism, and fraud that use crypto as a tool. That memo came from Blanche in April 2025 and marked a sharp change in how US prosecutors would treat many crypto cases.

Who Owned What And When

Reports note Blanche had sizable crypto holdings when the policy was issued. Public ethics filings and reporting put his assets in a wide range — between $158,000 and $470,000 — mostly in major coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, with some other crypto-related investments as well.

 

 

He agreed to divest, and some sales or transfers happened weeks to months after the memo. Critics say that sequence looks bad and could run afoul of conflict rules; supporters say the matters were cleared by ethics officials.

People On Both Sides Are Talking

Proponents of the policy change argued it would avoid “regulation by prosecution” and let regulators handle oversight instead of criminal cases.

Industry groups welcomed the move as a way to reduce legal uncertainty for exchanges and developers.

Opponents, including the senators, say scaling back a focused enforcement unit risks leaving gaps that bad actors can exploit, especially as illicit activity in crypto has shown sharp swings in recent years.

What Comes Next

Lawmakers are now pushing for documents and sworn answers. They want to see when Blanche learned of the holdings, how fast divestment happened, and who inside DOJ reviewed and approved the memo.

The senators pointed to federal law that bars an official from participating in a matter when they have a financial interest, and they requested a timeline and supporting records to judge whether that law was respected.

Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView

The long‑anticipated crypto market structure legislation known as the CLARITY Act cleared a significant procedural step on Thursday, after the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its portion of the bill during a scheduled markup earlier in the day.

According to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, the committee voted to advance the measure by a narrow 12–11 margin along party lines. No Democratic senators supported the bill, marking a clear partisan divide as the legislation moves forward.

CFTC Authority Over Crypto Advances

The version approved by the Agriculture Committee would expand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) authority over the crypto sector, granting it oversight of spot trading in digital commodities. However, the bill’s path is far from complete.

The agriculture panel’s proposal must eventually be combined with a separate section addressing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) role, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Senate Banking Committee. Only after the two pieces are merged can the broader legislation move ahead in the Senate.

Thursday’s vote followed months of negotiations between Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman, a Republican from Arkansas, and Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey. 

Those talks failed to produce a bipartisan agreement, prompting Boozman to move forward with a Republican‑only version of the bill. He said the discussions stalled due to what he described as “fundamental policy disagreements.” 

Boozman argued that the CFTC is best positioned to oversee the spot trading of digital commodities. He said the bill offers a clear definition of what constitutes a digital commodity, supports innovation and technological development, establishes consumer protection measures, and provides the agency with the resources needed to carry out its expanded responsibilities.

Senate Panel Rejects Democratic Amendments

During the markup, the committee also rejected several Democratic‑backed amendments, all along party lines. Among them was a proposal from Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado that would have barred federal officials and their immediate family members from issuing or endorsing digital assets. 

Republicans also voted down two amendments introduced by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. One sought to strengthen enforcement against fraud involving cryptocurrency ATMs, while the other aimed to prevent certain crypto firms from being eligible for federal bailouts.

With the Agriculture Committee’s approval secured, the CLARITY Act now advances to its next, more complex phase. Lawmakers must reconcile the CFTC‑focused provisions with parallel legislation under the Banking Committee’s oversight, while also determining whether bipartisan support can still be salvaged for a bill that could fundamentally reshape crypto regulation in the United States.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

The XRP Ledger has taken another step toward expanding its financial functionality with the rollout of XRPL version 3.1.0. Shortly after the update went live, the network formally pushed its native on-chain lending feature into the validator voting phase, a feature that could boost the ledger’s capabilities and attract more institutional use.

A Technical Fix With Multiple Implications

The XRP Ledger has had major improvements with the latest release of RippleD (xrplD) v3.1.0. According to notes of the release, the latest release contains the fix of fixBatchInnerSigs and new amendments of SingleAssetVault and LendingProtocol, both of which must be enabled for the Lending Protocol to be fully usable.

Among the elements included in the v3.1.0 release, one stands out for its potential impact on lending protocols. The “fixBatchInnerSigs” amendment corrects a signature validation flaw in the batch transaction mechanism of the Ledger. Since lending operations often involve multiple steps, such as checking collateral, moving funds, and updating balances, there is a need to make sure that these actions run securely. 

The fixBatchInnerSigs amendment seeks to make these batch processes safe and dependable, clearing a technical hurdle that might have deterred larger lending applications until now. The new protocol will include fixed-rate, fixed-term credit at the ledger level, using Single Asset Vaults to isolate risk and replicate TradFi lending protocols.

As noted by the Ledger validator Vet on the social media platform X, the lending protocol will allow for native on-chain lending and borrowing for XRP, RLUSD, and any other issued asset on-chain. This approach would allow users and institutions to access credit using XRP or RLUSD, while reducing the complexity and additional risk layers that often come with third-party contract systems.

That said, the amendment has not yet been activated. It is currently open for validator voting, a process that requires more than 80% of trusted validators to vote in favor and maintain that level of support for two consecutive weeks before activation can occur. As of the time of writing, the approval threshold has not yet been reached, meaning there isn’t a defined timeline for the amendment to go live.

XRPL’s Continued Path Of Network Upgrades

Developers are always rolling in updates and amendments as part of efforts to bolster the XRP ecosystem and its real-world utility. Notably, these recent amendments come on the heels of five other amendments that were announced in December 2025. Node operators running versions earlier than 3.0 have been advised to upgrade to version 3.1.0, as remaining on older software will eventually prevent them from maintaining communication with the network.

Validators are still in the process of voting on the permissionless domains proposal. Current voting trends show validators are already voting for approval. If momentum holds, the amendment is expected to pass on February 4, 2026.

Despite a brief bounce, the price of Bitcoin is still below the pivotal $90,000 mark, which has become a significant resistance lately, capping upside attempts. With recent signals from two key indicators, the slight upward push by the flagship asset may just be the beginning of another major rally.

Key Bitcoin Indicators Are Converging

Bitcoin’s price experienced a bounce on Wednesday, gradually reigniting bullish sentiment across the broader crypto market. It is worth noting that two closely watched indicators are now starting to portray the same story of a renewed bullish market trend.

Specifically, the shift is being showcased by the Bitcoin Network Growth and Risk Index. As outlined by the Bitcoin Vector, an institutional market-grade professional, on the X platform, these two crucial indicators are beginning to move in alignment, which is capable of shaping the crypto king’s next price trajectory in the short term.

In the past, the combination of Risk Index and Network Growth has often turned out to be a powerful leading indicator for BTC. This convergence points to a change toward a more balanced market environment where rising risk signals are no longer overpowering growing network activity.

When these key metrics synchronize, it frequently denotes a period of transition that may come before more long-term pricing trends. Currently, the chart shows a significant decline in network growth (1) and a high-risk environment (2), which typically leads to sustained bullish trends.

With BTC traditionally being “late to the party,” the market may be looking at one of the most massive rallies ever recorded in years. In the meantime, these indicators provide a more comprehensive, data-driven understanding of the fundamental health of Bitcoin that goes beyond short-term price swings.

In another post, Bitcoin Vector shared that a significant bullish divergence is forming between BTC and the Relative Strength Index (RSI). The formation of this bullish divergence points to a possible shift in momentum beneath the surface.

Given that similar setups have historically generated over 10% returns on these timeframes, the expert claims that a return to the $95,000 price mark is becoming likely. However, the real signal lies in the confluence. If the market continues to increase in both Network Fundamentals and Liquidity while maintaining BTC Dominance, a major bullish reversal is probably about to begin.

BTC Whales And Retailers’ Activity Diverging

According to current market trends, Bitcoin retail investors are dumping their holdings while large holders or whales are steadily buying more BTC. CW, a market expert, noted that this divergence was observed ahead of the FOMC meeting. However, the brown whale is offloading a small portion of its BTC stash.

During the investors’ action, the BTC sell wall at the $90,000 level has vanished, whereas the sell wall at $86,000 is still active. Nonetheless, a new wall is developing at the $95,000 mark, and volatility will likely happen after 3 hours.

OKX founder and CEO Star Xu took aim at a rival “industry-leading company” over the market dislocation tied to Oct. 10, arguing the episode did more than trigger a brief liquidation cascade — it inflicted “real and lasting damage” on crypto’s credibility with users and regulators.

OKX CEO Slams Binance As Crypto Still Digests Oct. 10

In a post on X, Xu said the industry has “underestimated the impact of 10/10,” framing the event as a trust shock rather than a routine volatility episode. While he did not name Binance or its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) directly, the timing and context of the remarks and subsequent discussion on X tying Oct. 10 to a Binance-related incident made the target clear to many readers.

Xu’s central claim was that leading platforms should prioritize resilience and legitimacy, especially when scrutiny from regulators and mainstream institutions is rising. “An industry-leading company should focus on strengthening core infrastructure, building trust with global users and regulators, and protecting the long-term interests of the majority of crypto users, setting an example for others to follow,” Xu wrote.

“Instead, some chose to pursue short-term gains—repeatedly launching Ponzi-like schemes, amplifying a handful of ‘get-rich-quick’ narratives, and directly or indirectly manipulating the prices of low-quality tokens, drawing millions of users into assets closely tied to them.”

That critique broadens the Oct. 10 incident from a single failure event into a pattern: attention capture through high-risk token promotion and narratives, rather than a steady focus on market integrity. Xu argued that this approach turns exchanges into traffic machines optimized for “shortcuts,” at the expense of durable confidence.

This approach does not build an industry,” he added. “It erodes trust—and ultimately, everyone pays the price.” The post landed as parts of crypto Twitter were already revisiting Oct. 10 as a possible inflection point for recent market lull.

People have underestimated the impact of 10/10. The incident caused real and lasting damage to the industry.

An industry-leading company should focus on strengthening core infrastructure, building trust with global users and regulators, and protecting the long-term interests of… https://t.co/DIU57u8utU

— Star (@star_okx) January 28, 2026

X account CryptosRus cited a Cathie Wood’s interview where she described the last “2–3 months” as an “aftershock” from an Oct. 10 “flash crash” tied to “a Binance software glitch” that “forced ~$28B of deleveraging across crypto.” In that framing, bitcoin absorbed the brunt “because it’s the most liquid asset,” and the forced selling is “mostly done,” shifting the market’s focus back to cycle positioning.

Some industry figures responded by framing the dispute as another round in centralized exchange rivalry. Moonrock Capital founder Simon Dedic wrote: “OKX attacking Binance. One shady CEX attacking the other shady CEX for extracting even more value than they do. As long as this fight costs at least one of them market share, that’s a net positive for the industry.”

OKX attacking Binance.

One shady CEX attacking the other shady CEX for extracting even more value than they do.

As long as this fight costs at least one of them market share, that’s a net positive for the industry. https://t.co/nCFTz0Kinc

— Simon Dedic (@sjdedic) January 28, 2026

Others used the moment to contrast opaque venues with on-chain alternatives. The Rollup’s CEO Andy C said “Binance is crooked and opaque,” arguing that “Hyperliquid is open, permissionless finance for all.” Flood, CEO of Fullstrack.trade, went further, writing that crypto “will never have a truly great era and reach mainstream adoption as long as Binance is the dominant exchange.”

Binance is crooked and opaque.

Hyperliquid is open, permissionless finance for all. There’s one winner here. https://t.co/o1Mcx2augA

— Andy (@andyyy) January 28, 2026

At press time, CZ had not publicly responded to the allegations, while BNB showed no immediate market reaction.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has revealed that the USDT issuer has increased its gold purchases and plans to continue doing so over the next few months. This has prompted speculation that the stablecoin issuer is abandoning Bitcoin for the precious metal, though that is not the case. 

Tether To Keep Investing In Both Bitcoin and Gold

According to a Reuters report, the Tether CEO said his company plans to continue investing in Bitcoin and gold as its reserve assets. He stated that it was reasonable to allocate approximately 10% of their portfolio to BTC and 10%-15% to gold. The stablecoin issuer notably uses gold as part of the reserves for the USDT stablecoin and also to back its XAUT gold token, which has a market cap of $2.6 billion. 

Bloomberg reported that the USDT issuer holds approximately 140 tons of gold, according to Ardoino. The stablecoin issuer’s holdings are valued at around $24 billion, representing the largest known hoard outside central banks, ETFs, and commercial banks. In a recent release, Tether announced that it now ranks among the top 30 global gold holders, surpassing countries such as Greece, Qatar, and Australia.

The Tether CEO revealed that they have been buying at a rate of about one to two tons a week and plan to keep doing so for at least the next few months. At current prices, that equates to about $1 billion in monthly purchases. Despite the significant interest in gold, the USDT issuer has not abandoned its Bitcoin strategy. 

Tether purchased 8,888 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $779 million, in the fourth quarter of last year. The stablecoin issuer currently holds 96,370 $BTC($8.46 billion) in total. Based on these holdings, it ranks as the second-largest corporate Bitcoin holder, only behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which holds 712,647 BTC. 

The Long-Term Goal For Tether

During his interview with Bloomberg, Ardoino described Tether’s role in the gold market as similar to a central bank. This came as he said the stablecoin issuer is effectively becoming one of the world’s largest gold central banks. Their bullish outlook for gold appears to partly stem from the belief that America’s geopolitical rivals will launch a gold-backed alternative to challenge the dollar’s status as the reserve currency. 

Meanwhile, the Tether CEO revealed that they aren’t looking to only hold gold but also trade it, competing with banks in trading the precious metal. Ardoino stated that they need to be the best gold trading floor in the world to continue accumulating it over the long term. His comments come at a time when gold is reaching new all-time highs (ATHs) above $5,300. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continues to lag, trading below $90,000.

Ripple scored another courtroom win tied to XRP sales, after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment against investors who alleged the company sold unregistered securities, ruling the federal Securities Act claims were time-barred by the statute of repose.

In a not-for-publication memorandum filed Jan. 27, 2026, a three-judge panel upheld the Northern District of California’s decision that the three-year repose period in Section 13 of the Securities Act had already run by the time the class action was filed.

Ripple Wins: Court Punts XRP Securities Claims

The case was led by Bradley Sostack, who purchased XRP in January 2018 on Poloniex. The underlying class complaint was filed later in 2018; Sostack was appointed lead plaintiff in 2019 and amended the complaint in 2020.

At the center of the appeal was when XRP was “bona fide offered to the public” for purposes of the Securities Act’s repose clock. The ruling sided with Ripple, pointing to early XRP distribution and trading activity tied to the XRP Ledger’s built-in exchange.

“According to the record in this case, Ripple was offering XRP to the public as early as 2013. It is undisputed that Ripple sold over 500 million XRP on the Ledger’s built-in digital asset exchange. Those offers were made ‘to the public’ even if only technologically sophisticated consumers could navigate the Ledger to purchase XRP.”

That framing mattered because Section 13’s statute of repose is unforgiving: once the three years run from the first public offering, later buyers can’t revive a federal Section 12(a)(1) registration claim by filing years afterward. The district court had reached the same conclusion in its June 20, 2024 summary judgment order on the federal class claims.

Sostack’s primary effort to avoid the time bar was to argue Ripple’s conduct in 2017, when the company began releasing its XRP holdings in monthly tranches, amounted to a separate, later offering (or effectively a new investment contract) that should restart the clock.

The panel rejected that attempt to split the timeline, emphasizing the nature of the asset itself and the absence of a factual dispute that the 2013 and 2017 activity should be treated as distinct offerings.

“But Sostack has failed to raise a material issue of fact that the 2013 offering and the 2017 offering were separate offerings. The nature of XRP did not change between 2013 and 2017; all XRP cryptocurrency remained fungible and interchangeable.”

With no separate-offering finding, the panel held the repose period began with the 2013 public offering, leaving the 2018/2019 filings outside the window and affirming judgment for Ripple. The decision is also procedurally narrow: because the district court’s Rule 54(b) certification covered only certain claims, the Ninth Circuit said it was limiting its ruling accordingly.

At press time, XRP traded at $1.88.

Bitcoin is trying to reclaim the $90,000 level as the market remains trapped in a phase of uncertainty and consolidation. After months of elevated volatility, price action has narrowed, reflecting hesitation from both buyers and sellers. This indecision has fueled a growing divide among analysts.

Some argue that Bitcoin is merely digesting prior gains, while others warn that the current structure points toward a continuation of the downtrend and a potentially bearish 2026. The lack of sustained upside momentum above key resistance levels has reinforced these concerns, especially as macro conditions remain fragile and risk appetite is uneven across global markets.

Adding weight to the cautious outlook, a recent CryptoQuant report highlights a notable shift in on-chain dynamics. Bitcoin’s Supply in Loss (%) has begun to trend upward again, a development that historically aligns with the early stages of bear markets.

In past cycles, this metric turned higher as price weakness persisted, signaling that losses were no longer confined to short-term traders but were gradually spreading to longer-term holders. This transition often marked a change in market psychology, from temporary pullbacks to more structural downturns.

Supply in Loss Turns Up, Raising Early Bear Market Concerns

In previous market cycles—2014, 2018, and 2022—the behavior of Bitcoin’s Supply in Loss (%) followed a consistent pattern. The metric began to trend upward well before the market reached its final bottom, while price continued to grind lower or remain under pressure. In each case, this early increase did not mark an immediate reversal.

Instead, it reflected a gradual expansion of unrealized losses across the market, as downside pressure extended beyond short-term traders and increasingly affected longer-term holders. True cycle bottoms only formed later, after Supply in Loss had risen substantially and broad capitulation had taken place.

At present, Supply in Loss remains well below those historical capitulation thresholds. From a purely quantitative perspective, this suggests the market has not yet reached a point of widespread distress. However, the importance lies less in the absolute level and more in the change in direction. The recent uptick indicates that losses are beginning to spread again, a condition that has historically coincided with transitions toward more defensive market regimes.

This shift challenges the narrative that the current weakness is merely a corrective pause within a broader bull trend. Instead, it raises the possibility that Bitcoin is entering a bear market structure, characterized by prolonged consolidation, repeated downside tests, and delayed recovery.

While this does not preclude short-term rebounds, the on-chain signal suggests that risks remain skewed to the downside until loss expansion either stabilizes or accelerates toward historical extremes, where durable bottoms have previously formed.

Bitcoin Testing Key Resistance Level

Bitcoin price action on this daily chart reflects a market stuck in consolidation after a sharp structural breakdown. Following the rejection near the $125,000 region in October, BTC entered a clear downtrend, marked by lower highs and lower lows. The aggressive sell-off into late November pushed price below the 50-day and 100-day moving averages, confirming a loss of bullish momentum and shifting market control toward sellers.

 

Since early December, Bitcoin has stabilized between roughly $85,000 and $92,000, forming a sideways range rather than an immediate continuation lower. This suggests that forced selling pressure has eased, but conviction remains limited.

The 50-day moving average (blue) continues to slope downward and currently caps upside attempts, while the 100-day (green) also trends lower, reinforcing overhead resistance in the $94,000–$96,000 zone. The 200-day moving average (red) remains well below the price near the mid-$70,000s, indicating that the broader cycle has not fully reset, despite the correction.

Selling volume peaked during the November breakdown but has since declined, signaling reduced participation rather than renewed demand. As long as BTC remains below the declining 50-day and 100-day averages, rallies are likely corrective. A sustained hold above $92,000 would be needed to improve short-term structure, while a breakdown below $85,000 would reopen downside risk.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

A new report released Wednesday by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs shows that 2025 marked a record year for illicit activity flowing into the cryptocurrency ecosystem, with volumes rising sharply compared to the previous year. 

According to the findings, inflows from illicit entities into crypto surged by roughly 145% year over year, underscoring a dramatic rebound after several years of decline.

Crypto Crime Volume Jumps To $158 Billion 

TRM Labs estimates that illicit cryptocurrency wallets received approximately $158 billion in incoming funds in 2025, up from $64.5 billion in 2024. This represents the highest level recorded over the past five years. 

The surge followed a prolonged downturn in illicit inflows, which had steadily fallen from $85.9 billion in 2021 to $75.4 billion in 2022 and $73.3 billion in 2023, before hitting a low point last year.

Despite the sharp rise in absolute dollar terms, the report notes that illicit activity continued to account for a smaller share of the overall crypto market. 

As a percentage of total attributed on‑chain transaction volume, illicit activity declined slightly to 1.2% in 2025, down from 1.3% in 2024 and well below the peak of 2.4% recorded in 2023. Illicit entities received 2.7% of all incoming flows to virtual asset service providers in 2025, compared with 2.9% the year before and 6.0% in 2023. 

The report highlights sanctions‑related activity as a major driver behind the 2025 increase. Volumes linked to sanctioned entities and jurisdictions rose sharply, led by roughly $72 billion in inflows associated with the A7A5 token. An additional $39 billion was tied to the A7 wallet cluster. 

TRM Labs noted that this activity was highly concentrated, with the vast majority of sanctions‑linked volume connected to Russia‑linked actors, including platforms and entities such as Garantex, Grinex, and A7.

Illicit Activity Reshaped By State Actors

Geopolitical developments played a central role in reshaping illicit crypto activity during the year. According to TRM Labs, state and state‑aligned actors increasingly turned to crypto as a core component of their financial infrastructure rather than using it only as a last‑resort tool. 

While Russia‑linked networks were the primary contributors to sanctions‑related flows, the report emphasized a broader and more consequential shift: the growing institutionalization of crypto rails by other sanctioned actors around the world.

China continues to occupy a leading position in the illicit crypto landscape, particularly as a hub for illicit financial services infrastructure. TRM’s analysis shows that activity linked to Chinese‑language escrow services and underground banking networks has expanded dramatically. 

Adjusted crypto volumes associated with these networks grew from roughly $123 million in 2020 to more than $103 billion in 2025, reflecting their increasing scale and influence.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has shared its intention to move forward with the proposed cap on crypto exchange ownership despite concerns from industry players and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

FSC Backs Ownership Cap For Crypto Exchanges

On Wednesday, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon revealed that the regulatory agency is reviewing a proposal to cap major shareholders’ stakes in crypto exchanges at around 15%-20%.

According to The Korea Times, Lee stressed the need to limit the ownership stakes of controlling shareholders in crypto exchanges, claiming that the move is necessary to “align governance standards with the exchanges’ increasing public role.”

He argued that “excessive concentration of ownership” could increase the risk of conflicts of interest while undermining market integrity, noting that securities exchanges and other trading systems are subject to similar limits.

The chairman highlighted that existing regulations mainly focus on anti-money laundering and investor protection. The ownership cap proposal would be included in the upcoming Digital Asset Basic Act, also known as the Second Phase of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which is expected to serve as a comprehensive framework for the entire industry.

“Under the current system, virtual asset exchanges operate under a notification system that requires renewal every three years. The proposed shift to an authorization system would effectively grant exchanges permanent operating status,” Lee explained.

He emphasized that “this higher status means exchanges need governance rules that match their larger role and greater responsibilities.” As a result, exchanges would assume characteristics similar to public infrastructure.

A joint council representing domestic crypto exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone, has opposed the proposed cap, warning that it could hinder the development of South Korea’s digital asset sector.

Notably, major players like Song Chi-hyung, the chairman of Dunamu, the company that operates Upbit, and Cha Myung-hoon, the founder of Coinone, would be forced to sell significant portions of their holdings if the law is enacted.

The Democratic Party of Korea also expressed its concerns, observing that similar ownership caps are uncommon worldwide and could make South Korea’s framework inconsistent with global regulatory trends.

Lawmakers Set New Deadline For Digital Assets Framework

ChosunBiz reported that the DPK’s Digital Assets Task Force (TF) discussed key details of the Digital Asset Basic Act in a Wednesday meeting at the National Assembly members’ office building, attended by government officials.

According to the report, the ruling party’s members did not discuss the cap on crypto exchange ownership. Still, they revealed that they will introduce the framework before the Lunar New Year holiday on February 17.

DPK’s Lawmaker Ahn Do-geol said, “We plan to introduce the Digital Asset Basic Act before the Lunar New Year, and we hope that by then a plan agreed upon with the government as much as possible will be put together.”

Instead of the “unanimous consent system” proposed by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the task force settled on a consultative body to discuss stablecoin authorizations, comprised of the BOK, the FSC, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Financial Supervisory Service.

The task force considered that requiring unanimity for stablecoin authorization would slow issuance, while observers believe that the central bank’s proposal was “a way to control stablecoins.”

In addition, the minimum statutory capital for stablecoin issuers was set at 5 billion won, approximately $3.48 million. Nonetheless, the report affirmed that there has not been an agreement on the issuance of won-pegged stablecoins.

As reported by Bitcoinist, the BOK and the FSC have been clashing over the extent of banks’ role in stablecoin issuance. While the central bank has been pushing for a consortium of banks owning at least 51% of any stablecoin issuer seeking approval in the country, the FSC has expressed concerns about this proposal.

Lee Kang-il, a DPK lawmaker on the task force, asserted that “the 50%+1 share rule remains contentious because there is still no willingness to concede among government ministries,” but added that they have prepared a mediation plan and will “make decisions in a direction that serves the national interest overall and benefits the public.”

US authorities have launched an investigation into a potential breach involving government‑controlled cryptocurrency accounts. According to a Reuters report, the US Marshals Service confirmed in an email that it is examining a possible hack of government digital‑asset wallets. 

Social Media Drama Unveils Crypto Crime

The investigation gained public attention earlier this week after Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, weighed in on social media. 

On Monday, Witt responded on social media platform X (previously Twitter) to claims made by blockchain investigator ZachXBT, stating that he was looking into the matter. ZachXBT alleged that a hacker stole more than $60 million in late 2025, including funds traced back to government seizure wallets.

In a series of posts on X, ZachXBT accused John “Lick” Daghita, the son of Dean Daghita, the head of CMDSS, a firm that claims to supply crucial services to the Justice Department (DOJ) and the Department of Defense. The alleged theft came to light during a heated “band for band” dispute on the messaging app Telegram. 

During the argument, a young hacker began screen‑sharing his wallets while boasting about his holdings. Investigators later traced those wallets to more than $40 million in seized crypto assets belonging to the government.

ZachXBT’s findings went further, alleging that the individual known as “John Lick” was seen controlling wallets tied to more than $90 million in suspected illicit funds. 

Among the assets identified were cryptocurrencies associated with US government seizure addresses linked to the high‑profile Bitfinex hack, adding another layer of seriousness to the allegations.

Midterm Elections Countdown

While questions around government wallet security continue to unfold, the broader political and regulatory environment for crypto in the United States is also intensifying. 

CNBC reported on Wednesday that the crypto‑focused political action committee (PAC) Fairshake raised a total of $193 million by the end of last year, positioning it as a major force ahead of the upcoming congressional midterm elections.

The updated figure reflects two significant donations made in the second half of 2025, including $25 million from Ripple and $24 million from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z. 

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, another major supporter, contributed $25 million in the first half of last year, shortly before Fairshake announced it had $141 million available.

“With the midterms approaching, we are united behind our mission, with Fairshake continuing to oppose anti‑crypto politicians and support pro‑crypto leaders,” Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto said.

This week, senators are negotiating the crypto market structure bill aimed at setting regulatory standards for the entire crypto sector. One portion of the legislation is expected to receive its first vote Thursday in the Senate Agriculture Committee. 

However, the section overseen by the Senate Banking Committee has been delayed after lawmakers called off a planned vote amid ongoing disagreements over the bill’s provisions.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Tether is rapidly expanding its physical gold footprint, with CEO Paolo Ardoino casting the stablecoin issuer less like a fintech and more like a central bank. “We are soon becoming basically one of the biggest, let’s say, gold central banks in the world,” Ardoino said in an interview with Bloomberg, as the company disclosed buying and storing bullion at a scale rarely seen outside banks and sovereigns.

Tether’s Gold Strategy

The remarks land as bullion keeps rewriting the macro playbook. Gold pushed to fresh records above $5,200 an ounce this week after President Donald Trump said he was not concerned about a weaker dollar, reinforcing the “debasement trade” that has pulled flows out of sovereign bonds and currencies and into hard assets.

Tether’s gold push is physical, not just balance-sheet accounting. More than a ton of bullion is hauled into a high-security vault in Switzerland every week, according to the report, with the hoard described as the largest known stash outside banks and nation states.

Ardoino framed the accumulation as an ongoing policy decision rather than a one-off allocation. “Maybe we are going to reduce, we don’t know yet. We are going to assess on a quarterly basis our demand for gold,” he said, suggesting Tether intends to manage the position dynamically as the macro backdrop evolves.

The cash engine is USDT. With roughly $186 billion in circulation, Tether takes in dollars for its stablecoin issuance and invests reserves across assets including Treasuries and gold, generating interest and trading profits that can be recycled into further purchases.

Ardoino’s comments also point to a shift in posture, from an accumulator of bullion to an active participant in the market’s plumbing. He said the company needs “the best trading floor for gold in the world” to keep buying at scale and to exploit inefficiencies, adding that whatever strategies it adopts would be structured so the firm “remains very long physical gold.”

“Our goal is to have a steady, stable, long-term access to gold,” Ardoino said, describing logistics that look more like commodities trading than crypto treasury management. “Because one to two tons per week is a very sizable amount,” he added, as Tether looks to make the acquisition process more efficient, buying directly from Swiss refiners and also sourcing from major financial institutions, with large orders sometimes taking months to arrive.

The buildout is already reflected in staffing. Tether has hired two senior gold traders from HSBC, and Ardoino said the firm is evaluating opportunities to trade around dislocations between futures and physical pricing.

Ardoino’s broader argument is explicitly monetary. “Gold is ‘logically a safer asset than any national currency,’” he said in an earlier Bloomberg interview. “Every single central bank in the BRICS countries is buying gold.” This week, he tied that demand to the user base that made USDT a dominant offshore dollar proxy: “Exactly the people that love gold and have been using gold as to protect themselves from their own government that have been debasing their currency for a long time,” he said. “We believe that the world is going towards darkness. We believe that there is a lot of turmoil.”

That thesis feeds directly into Tether Gold (XAUT), the company’s token redeemable for bullion. Tether has issued XAUT equivalent to about 16 tons of gold, or roughly $2.7 billion, and Ardoino said there is a “good chance” it ends the year with $5 billion to $10 billion in circulation. “The way I see it, is that there are foreign countries that are buying a lot of gold, and we believe that these countries will soon launch tokenized version of gold as a competitive currency to the US dollar,” he said.

For now, Tether’s own messaging is that it’s already operating on sovereign-like scale. “We are operating at a scale that now places the Tether Gold Investment Fund alongside sovereign gold holders, and that carries real responsibility,” Ardoino said.

At press time, XAUT traded at $5,283.