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.

On 18 January 2026, data from Alphractal indicated that waning search and social interest in Bitcoin and altcoins is now reflected in on-chain stablecoin activity. USDT volumes on Ethereum and Tron are losing momentum, while USDC usage is growing in a measured way that aligns more with institutional or treasury-style behavior than speculative trading.

On 18 January 2026, GameFi project Axie Infinity saw its AXS token more than double in a week and jump 43.58% in 24 hours to about $1.86, with daily trading volume near $971.2 million against a market cap of roughly $313.7 million. The rally coincides with heavy spot and futures activity and upcoming structural changes such as a reputation-based Axie Score system and the bonded AXS (bAXS) token, which are drawing renewed attention to GameFi tokens.

Ethereum is holding above the 21-period EMA on the three-week chart, which several technical analysts view as a sign of ongoing strength rather than a major top. They interpret the current sideways action as reaccumulation within a broader uptrend, with a higher-probability scenario of further upside as long as this key support does not break.

On 17 January 2026, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich argued that Bitcoin is largely absent from corporate balance sheets because it rarely reaches board-level discussion. He said it conflicts with standard treasury assumptions on volatility, return predictability, and accounting, and that only a few firms accept perception risk and long-term skepticism to adopt it.

On 17 January 2026, the White House began weighing whether to continue supporting the Digital Asset Market Structure Framework after relations with Coinbase deteriorated. The reassessment follows Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong rejecting the draft and a mid-January Senate Banking Committee markup being paused, leaving the bill’s trajectory and broader US crypto regulatory plans uncertain.

On January 10, a high-value crypto wallet was compromised through a social engineering scheme, leading to the loss of more than $280 million in digital assets. The attacker rapidly converted large Litecoin and four-figure Bitcoin holdings via instant swaps, privacy coins such as Monero, and cross-chain bridges like THORChain, causing notable market volatility. Investigators have not linked the theft to any state-backed group, and the victim's identity remains undisclosed.

On 17 January 2026, Cathie Wood reiterated in ARK Invest’s 2026 outlook that Bitcoin’s fixed issuance schedule gives it a structural scarcity edge over gold. She noted that gold supply historically expands as prices rise, while Bitcoin’s programmed halvings drive annual supply growth below 1% and toward about 0.4% later this decade, supporting her long-term price projection of roughly $1.2 million by 2030. Wood also highlighted Bitcoin’s low correlation with traditional assets and its asymmetric upside versus gold, arguing it has a distinct role in diversified portfolios.

According to on‑chain analyst Darkfost, Bitcoin’s short‑term holder realized price sits near $102,000, with spot trading below that mark. On January 16, 2026, trader Merlijn The Trader highlighted a potential double bottom and said a clean break above $102,000 implies a move toward $110,000, while holding around $95,500 maintains structure and a drop under $87,500 invalidates.