The U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed that 57.55 BTC forfeited by Samourai Wallet developers will stay on the U.S. government balance sheet under Executive Order 14233, instead of being auctioned. Valued at about $6.3 million, this Bitcoin is designated for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, highlighting a shift in federal digital asset management.

Several EU states sending troops to Greenland prompted the US president to unveil new tariffs on those countries starting February 1, with a possible hike on June 1. While EU officials called an emergency meeting and US Democrats prepared legislation to counter the measures, Bitcoin's price held steady at just above $95,000 during the weekend. Analysts who reviewed Trump's tariff strategy over 12 months view this as step four in the broader trade confrontation and expect traditional markets to open lower as events unfold. Bitcoin, which previously dropped sharply during the April 2025 trade war, has so far shown greater resilience in the current Greenland-related dispute.

On January 17, The Sandbox token SAND rose nearly 15% after a tight consolidation. The surge came with spot volume around $140 million and Open Interest near $25 million, while price closed above the 20- and 50-day EMAs. Holder counts kept climbing through mid-January, signaling broader participation.

Recent price action shows Ethereum breaking from its usual correlation with the Russell 2000, even as U.S. small-cap stocks continue to climb. At the same time, the ETH/BTC pair has risen about 8% since October, pointing to stronger relative demand for Ethereum and hinting at a potential shift in altcoin market dynamics.

On 18 January 2026, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong rejected reports that the White House plans to drop support for the CLARITY Act. He said talks remain constructive and that officials asked Coinbase to help explore compromises with community banks, including on stablecoin yield-sharing provisions. The Senate Banking Committee delayed its markup, with negotiations expected to resume in the coming weeks.

Tokenized stocks have grown to a market size of $867 million in under a year, edging toward $1 billion as monthly transfer volume hits $2.3 billion and holders reach 159,000. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong remains optimistic about on-chain equities despite controversy over the Senate's CLARITY Act, while BNB Chain has recently overtaken Solana as the leading settlement layer for these assets.

Data from Ethereum Validator Queue indicate that the validator exit queue has dropped from a peak of 2.67 million ETH in September 2025 to zero, while the entry queue has climbed to 2.6 million ETH, with wait times extending to 45 days. Nearly 46.5% of Ether's supply is now locked in the proof-of-stake deposit contract, and analysts say these inflows and a staking yield near 2.8% are tightening ETH's supply-demand balance even though its $3,300 price remains below the August 2025 all-time high.

On January 17, 2026, Patrick Witt, Director of the White House Crypto Council, confirmed that the U.S. government is still working to build a strategic Bitcoin reserve funded only by judicially seized assets. The initiative, constrained by President Trump's executive order and complex inter-agency legal requirements, excludes open-market purchases while retained Bitcoins from Samourai Wallet developers and ongoing market shifts in Bitcoin are monitored for potential policy impact.