At the beginning of 2026, major cryptocurrencies and meme coins have rebounded from the prior year's downturn, while retail sentiment has turned more optimistic but remains highly reactive to short-term news. Social and sentiment data indicate that Bitcoin is trading increasingly in line with macroeconomic signals and ETF flows, as Ethereum, XRP and Solana see mixed yet notable shifts in discussion and price action. Meme coins, led by Dogecoin and its leveraged ETF performance, have also attracted renewed interest alongside whale activity and social media hype.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used UK-registered exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion to move about $1 billion between 2023 and 2025. Most transfers involved Tether's USDT on the Tron network, with IRGC-linked activity making up 56% of their volume. The flows accelerated from $24 million in 2023 to $619 million in 2024, then $410 million in 2025.

On the night of January 9 2026 and early January 10 2026, Hilir Perak police carried out three coordinated raids in Teluk Intan and seized a total of 41 cryptocurrency mining machines. Officers are investigating the suspects for property damage and electricity theft linked to the rigs, while stressing that mining with stolen power is a criminal offense that can cause serious safety risks and infrastructure damage.

On January 10, 2026, Wells Fargo Head of Macro Strategy Michael Schumacher said volatility across equities, FX, and rates has subsided, bolstering confidence in risk assets including cryptocurrencies. He added the Fed is likely to cut rates a few more times, but not immediately, preferring one or two months of additional data.

On January 9, Tether confirmed a strategic investment in Ledn, a Bitcoin-backed lender, with the deal reported at $40–$50M and valuing the company around $500M. The partnership aims to broaden Bitcoin-collateralized credit, support new products and markets, and improve USD₮ flows across Ledn’s fiat and stablecoin lending.

NextGen Healthcare has agreed to a court-approved settlement that could pay up to $7,500 to patients impacted by a cyberattack in March and April 2023. The incident allegedly allowed a third-party attacker to access sensitive personal data, including Social Security numbers, leading victims to claim ongoing costs for credit monitoring and other protective measures. The settlement fund is designated to reimburse verifiable, unreimbursed expenses that victims consider directly linked to the breach.

Venezuela's main stock benchmark, the IBVC, climbed 124% over five trading days last week following the removal of Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. Despite the dramatic move and renewed foreign interest, the market remains very small, with fewer than 40 listed firms and annual stock and bond trading barely exceeding $200,000 in 2026. A new ETF has been filed with the U.S. SEC to target companies linked to Venezuela, even as the bolivar slides and liquidity constraints persist.

On January 9, US spot crypto ETFs recorded $337.22 million in net outflows, led by redemptions in Bitcoin and Ethereum funds. Bitcoin ETFs offloaded 2,750 BTC, about $250 million, while Ethereum products saw 30,205 ETH out, near $94 million. Smaller inflows into XRP, Chainlink, Litecoin, and HBAR signaled selective reallocations.