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In brief Newrez will begin recognizing Bitcoin and Ethereum for mortgages. That is, if the digital assets are held in a centralized fashion. The company will also apply a haircut to the value of the cryptocurrencies, citing volatility. Younger Americans may find it increasingly difficult to afford a home, but Newrez, a national wholesale mortgage lender, thinks Bitcoin and Ethereum could change that.The firm—which serviced a $778.3 billion portfolio of 3.7 million loans, as of last year—recently signaled that it would begin assessing both cryptocurrencies for mortgage qualification. Last week, it billed itself as the first major provider of mortgages…

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said she believes bitcoin is nearing the end of its current down cycle, arguing that the asset’s latest four-year drawdown will likely be the shallowest in its history. “We’re pretty well through the down cycle here,” Wood said in a CNBC interview, pushing back against fears that bitcoin still faces a prolonged correction. She noted that the most recent bull market was muted by historical standards, which she believes has limited the severity of the current pullback. “I know there’s a lot of fear about the four-year cycle,” Wood said. “We didn’t have much of…

Crypto majors are red following Trump’s tariff turmoil; BTC -2% at $91,100; ETH -4% at $3,105, SOL -3% at $129; XRP -2% to $1.93. CC (+12%), MYX (+5%) and SYRUP (+4%) led top movers. The NYSE began preparations for 24/7 tokenized stock and ETF trading. Steak ’n Shake revealed roughly $10M in Bitcoin exposure alongside the creation of a corporate BTC strategic reserve. Vitalik Buterin called for more sophisticated DAO governance models to improve accountability, coordination, and long-term sustainability. Bermuda outlined plans for a fully onchain national economy, working with Coinbase and Circle on payments, identity, and tokenized financial infrastructure.…

In brief Compass Point described $98,000 as a pivotal point for Bitcoin. The price serves as a key sentiment barometer, they wrote. Bitcoin fell after flashing a “golden cross” last week. Betting on Bitcoin before it reclaims the $98,000 mark might not be the best idea, following the asset’s recent downturn, according to analysts at investment bank Compass Point.That’s the current average cost for short-term holders, who have held the digital asset for less than 155 days—and are typically sensitive to price swings—they wrote in a Wednesday note.Last week, the price of Bitcoin climbed to a two-month high of $97,500,…

Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, walked onto the World Economic Forum’s Davos stage yesterday and said the quiet part out loud.The rules-based order, the thing leaders love to invoke when they want the world to behave, is fading.Carney called it a “pleasant fiction.”He said we are living through a “rupture.”He said great powers are using integration as a weapon, tariffs as leverage, finance as coercion, and supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.Then he reached for Václav Havel’s famous “greengrocer” from The Power of the Powerless, the shopkeeper who hangs a sign reading “Workers of the world, unite!” not because he…

In brief The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will issue licenses to stablecoin providers in the first quarter of 2026. Hong Kong brought in its stablecoin regime in August last year. The city is trying to strike a balance between welcoming providers and protecting investors. Hong Kong will issue a batch of licenses to stablecoin providers in the first quarter of this year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan told World Economic Forum attendees in Davos on Tuesday.This will be the first issued since Hong Kong’s new stablecoin licensing regime took effect on August 1 last year.Companies offering or marketing stablecoins to retail…

Delaware Life Insurance Company has become the first U.S. insurance carrier to offer a fixed index annuity (FIA) linked to a cryptocurrency-focused index, the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index.  The move allows retirement investors to gain indirect exposure to Bitcoin while retaining principal protection, a hallmark of traditional annuity products. The newly launched index blends 74% exposure to the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF with 25% exposure to the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) and a 1% cash allocation. It is designed with a 12% target volatility, using dynamic cash adjustments to moderate BTC’s price swings. “This…

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure The Senate Banking Committee delayed the anticipated markup of its crypto market structure bill draft, prompting the Agriculture Committee to take action. The Agriculture Committee is set to release its own version of the bill’s draft today, just ahead of a crucial vote scheduled for next week. Coinbase Faces Pressure To Negotiate Yield Deal Eleanor Terret, a reporter with Crypto In America who has been closely monitoring congressional developments regarding cryptocurrency, reported that staffers from the Banking Committee hope a successful bipartisan agreement spearheaded by their counterparts…

In brief Trump publicly backed the crypto market structure bill, saying he hopes to sign it “very soon.” The endorsement comes after a White House official appeared to criticize Coinbase for pulling support for the bill last week. Coinbase pulled support for the bill over language on stablecoin yield limits, a red line the company doubled down on this week. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he hopes to sign crypto’s coveted market structure bill “very soon,” likely adding pressure to a legislative effort that nearly went off the rails last week.“Now Congress is working very hard on crypto market structure…

In brief Research from blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic indicates that Iran’s central bank acquired over $500 million in USDT last year. All of the identified USDT has now left Iran-linked wallets, with the central bank having used the stablecoin to support the price of the Iranian rial. Elliptic affirms that the use of stablecoins and blockchain may hinder rather than help sanctions evasion. The Central Bank of Iran acquired $507 million in Tether’s stablecoin USDT over the past year, as part of efforts to shore up the Iranian rial and settle international trade.This is according to research by UK-based blockchain…

Ethereum is currently reporting the highest daily network growth in its history, a statistical surge that ostensibly signals a massive return of user activity.Over the past week, the Ethereum mainnet processed 2.9 million transactions, a new all-time high according to Token Terminal data.This activity was accompanied by a sharp jump in daily active addresses, which rose to approximately 1.3 million from roughly 0.6 million in late December.Critically, this explosion in throughput has occurred while transaction costs have remained negligible. Average transaction fees have stayed in the “pennies” range of $0.10 to $0.20 despite the record demand.Ethereum’s Onchain Activity (Source: Token…

In brief Local authorities in Guernsey have confiscated $11.4 million (£9 million) held in a local bank account linked to the OneCoin crypto scam. The Royal Court enforced an overseas forfeiture order under Guernsey’s proceeds of crime laws. The recovery shows the limitations of asset recovery and the value of earlier detection, Decrypt was told. Authorities in Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency, have seized $11.4 million (£9 million) in assets linked to the OneCoin fraud, one of the largest and longest-running crypto scams on record.Officials did not detail the digital assets involved, but placed their value at just under £9…

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong challenged skepticism earlier today toward Bitcoin from the head of France’s central bank during a World Economic Forum panel in Davos. Armstrong took a public stand on stage arguing that the asset’s lack of centralized control makes it more independent than traditional monetary authorities. The exchange unfolded after Banque de France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau questioned Bitcoin’s credibility, saying he places more trust in independent central banks with democratic mandates than in what he described as “private issuers” of Bitcoin.  Armstrong pushed back, emphasizing that BTC has no issuer at all. He described it as…

Bitcoin price surrendered the psychological $90,000 stronghold during early Asian trading hours on Jan. 21, marking a decisive breakdown that has effectively erased the asset’s gains for the start of 2026.According to CryptoSlate’s data, the world’s largest digital asset plummeted to a session low of $87,282 over the last 24 hours.This downturn was not an isolated event but part of a broader, market-wide sell-off that inflicted heavy damage across the digital asset ecosystem. Major alternative cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, XRP, Cardano, and Solana, all posted significant losses, mirroring the leader’s descent.Meanwhile, the sharp reversal marks the culmination of a brutal two-day…