On January 14, 2026, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari stressed the importance of Federal Reserve independence while addressing a Department of Justice criminal investigation into Chair Jerome Powell and alleged Trump administration pressure on the central bank. Kashkari framed the administration's actions as a monetary policy issue, defended Powell, and noted that while political tensions could add to market volatility, there is no direct, specific impact on cryptocurrencies at this stage.

On January 13, the U.S. Senate released a 278-page bipartisan crypto market structure bill after extensive negotiations in Washington. The draft sets activity-based limits on stablecoin rewards that could advantage banks and constrain non-bank firms, and allows a 48-hour window for amendments.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission has proposed capping major shareholders' ownership in cryptocurrency exchanges at 20%. On Tuesday, DAXA, representing the five largest platforms, opposed the measure, warning of market disruption and possible forced stake reductions for figures such as Song Chi-hyung and Cha Myung-hun. The plan could also affect Naver's 20 trillion KRW agreement with Dunamu.

On January 12, the Financial Services Commission of South Korea ended a nine year prohibition, permitting listed companies and registered professional investment institutions to gain crypto exposure. The framework caps allocations at up to 5% of net assets into the top 20 tokens and affects about 3,500 entities, with exchanges required to apply staggered execution and size limits. Uncertainty around stablecoin classification may influence corporate participation.

The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council has directed Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com to stop offering sports event contracts to residents and to void existing agreements, with refunds due by January 31, 2026. Noncompliance could lead to fines of up to $25,000 per violation and potential felony charges under state law. The move underscores growing state-level scrutiny of crypto-linked derivatives and their overlap with federal regulation.

On January 11, a report said Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro used Tether (USDT) to help PdVSA settle oil trades under U.S. sanctions. Tether reiterated cooperation with U.S. authorities and freezes wallets on official request. USDT was near $0.99 with a $186.76 billion market cap and about $37.36 billion in 24-hour volume.

Nasdaq Inc. and CME Group Inc. plan to relaunch the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index (NCI™) on January 8, 2026, positioning it as a renewed benchmark for institutional participation in digital assets. The index, which includes major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, is expected to support market transparency and infrastructure as Bitcoin trades above $90,000 with a market cap of $1.81 trillion. Analysts suggest the move could encourage new institutional-grade crypto products and reinforce the sector's overall maturity.

Elon Musk stated on the X platform that the service will release as open source the code used to recommend both organic and advertising posts, with the first release set for seven days after his announcement and subsequent updates every four weeks. The move follows a sharp rise in bot-driven crypto posts, including a reported 7.75 million bot messages in one day and a 1,224% jump in such activity, and could alter how sensitive the algorithm is to crypto-related content.

Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Council has issued cease-and-desist directives to Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com, requiring them to shut down sports betting contracts in the state and refund users by January 31, 2026. The council argues these unlicensed sports event markets violate state gambling law and could trigger civil penalties or criminal exposure for non-compliance. The decision adds to mounting U.S. regulatory pressure on crypto-based prediction and betting platforms.