On January 16, Donald Trump indicated he would like Kevin Hassett to continue serving at the White House National Economic Council while also weighing him as a possible Federal Reserve Chair. Speculation over potential successors to Jerome Powell has driven notable shifts in prediction market odds, particularly for Hassett. At the same time, Ethereum is trading at $3,270.86 with a market cap of USD 394.78 billion and a 24‑hour volume of USD 23.24 billion, highlighting crypto’s sensitivity to interest rate expectations.

XRP's performance against Bitcoin is showing a bullish technical pattern, with the XRP/BTC pair eyeing a potential 50% to 55% upside move after rebounding from the midline of the monthly Bollinger Bands near 0.00001988 BTC. This setup challenges XRP's historically weak track record versus Bitcoin in February, where its median return has been negative while Bitcoin's has been positive. If the current pattern plays out, analysts suggest it could mark the start of a rare XRP/BTC supercycle similar to the 2017-2018 phase.

Amid sanctions, high inflation, and a weakening rial, Iranians turned to crypto for savings and transfers in 2025. According to Chainalysis, activity totaled an estimated $7.78 billion, and IRGC-linked wallets comprised more than half of value in Q4 2025, receiving over $3 billion versus around $2 billion in 2024. Usage spiked during late December 2025 protests and internet restrictions.

On January 16, 2026, State Street (NYSE: STT) fell 3.5% to $131.48 as of 10:20 AM EST, down from a $136.20 prior close, despite topping Q4 EPS and revenue estimates. Investors focused on $226 million in repositioning charges and a 2026 expense outlook of 3–4%, above Visible Alpha's 1.6% consensus, alongside a low single-digit net interest income guide.

On 16 January 2026, total crypto market value slipped to about $3.23 trillion after a roughly 1.8% daily drop, according to Coindoo. Bitcoin held near $95,000 with dominance close to 59%, and Ethereum traded around $3,300. Altcoin momentum faded as volumes declined and sentiment gauges stayed neutral.

On January 16, 2026, Coinbase began rolling out stock trading to a limited set of users, expanding beyond crypto into U.S. equities and competing with Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Robinhood. CEO Brian Armstrong aims to build a multi-asset platform with tokenized equities. Last year, Robinhood shares rose 186% while Coinbase fell 12%.

On January 16, 2026, Belgium's KBC Bank said it will offer crypto trading to private investors via the Bolero platform, with rollout planned for mid-February under the EU's MiCAR framework. According to its press release, KBC filed a CASP notification and will begin with Bitcoin and Ethereum, operating a closed-loop model with strict KYC/KYT controls.

QXO, Inc. slid in premarket trading on January 16, 2026 after it priced a public offering of 31,645,570 shares at $23.80, about a 6.7% discount to the prior $25.52 close. The stock traded at $23.44, down $1.58 or 6.31% as of 8:18 AM EST. The deal is expected to close on January 20, 2026, with BofA Securities as sole underwriter and an option for up to 4,746,835 additional shares.