Stablecoin

On February 1, 2026, the U.S. SEC signaled a policy shift during opening remarks at a joint SEC–CFTC harmonization event. Chairman Paul S. Atkins said Congress is nearer to bipartisan market-structure legislation, with regulators aiming for clearer, principle-based rules over enforcement-led actions. Cooperation with CFTC Chair Mike Selig was emphasized.

According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, Abu Dhabi vehicle Aryam Investment 1, backed by UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, signed a $500 million deal to acquire a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial four days before Donald Trump's January 2025 inauguration. Half the consideration was paid upfront, sending $187 million to Trump family entities and at least $31 million to entities linked to co-founder Steve Witkoff's family, while the arrangement later intersected with U.S. decisions on advanced AI chip sales to the UAE.

In early 2025, Aryam Investment 1, backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, acquired 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million, according to documents cited by The Wall Street Journal. Around $187 million went to Trump family-controlled entities, with additional payments to firms tied to co-founders. Aryam became the largest outside shareholder, and executives linked to G42 joined the board.

Crypto ETFs saw a $1.7 billion weekly net outflow, the biggest since mid-November, with cumulative three-month outflows at $2.6 billion. Bitcoin products led with about $1.1 billion redeemed, followed by Ethereum at $630 million and XRP at $18 million. On 29 January and the next day, outflows reached $817 million and $510 million, marking four straight redemption days.

On January 11, South Korea announced the end of a nine‑year ban on corporate crypto investing, and, as of February 1, 2026, regulators were weighing a 10% equity cap for listed firms and professional investors, up from 5%. The Financial Services Commission also floated a 15–20% ownership ceiling for exchange shareholders, drawing pushback from industry groups and academics.

Hong Kong has implemented a licensing regime for fiat-denominated stablecoin issuers under a stablecoin ordinance that took effect in August, with regulators now processing applications. Officials have described digital assets as a new growth area and expect to publish the first list of approved stablecoin issuers in Q1 2026.

According to Paolo Ardoino on X, USDT expanded by $50 billion in 2025, underscoring demand outside traditional banking. Tether.io's Q4 2025 report showed $192.8 billion in assets against $186.5 billion in liabilities, a $6.3 billion surplus, with reserves anchored by U.S. Treasuries and a network built for low-friction settlement.

In 2025, TRM Labs reported that wallets it classifies as illicit received around $158 billion in crypto inflows, the highest level in five years, largely tied to Russia-linked sanctions designations and better attribution. The firm noted that the A7A5 token and the A7 wallet cluster together accounted for over $100 billion in incoming value connected to Russian actors, including Garantex and Grinex, while illicit activity still represented only 1.2% of total on-chain volume.

On January 31, 2026, a U.S. court sentenced Chinese national Jingliang Su to 46 months in federal prison and ordered $26,867,242 in restitution for laundering over $36.9 million from American victims. The scheme routed funds to Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, converted them to Tether (USDT), and moved them to a wallet in Cambodia.

On 30 January, HTX listed USDe and ENA fell to a new low at $0.1484, with a brief bounce to $0.157 that was quickly sold off. Glassnode indicators show ENA has traded below its realized price for over two months, and the share of supply in profit has stayed under 10% since mid‑November.