On February 21, 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a 10% global tariff on imports from all countries, according to market reports. Several hours later, the administration increased this new universal rate to 15%, placing it on top of existing standard tariffs and moving forward without congressional or Supreme Court approval. The measure was described as taking effect immediately and aimed at generating substantial federal revenue.

Prediction markets set a new all-time high in January, reaching $12B in total volume and generating over $11 million in on-chain fees. Opinion contributed $6.14 million and Polymarket $2.62 million, while Coinbase launched a U.S. event-based trading platform in partnership with Kalshi.

On October 10, billions of dollars in crypto were liquidated as Binance's USDe yield drive exposed traders to excessive collateral leverage. The exchange's API glitches and the token's rapid depeg compounded losses across retail and institutional desks. Industry voices now call for stronger safeguards after prices briefly plunged near zero on multiple venues.

Tether expanded its physical gold holdings in 2025, with analysts estimating 116 metric tons for the year, including about 26 tons in Q3 and roughly 27 metric tons in Q4. Funded by profits from a roughly $187 billion USDT float, the issuer intensified a diversification strategy as XAUT captured about 60% of gold-backed stablecoin supply.

On January 26, 2026, Metaplanet disclosed a bitcoin impairment tied to December 2025 and revised its earnings guidance. Shares fell more than 7% after the update, as the company booked a 104.6 billion yen ($680 million) non-cash charge and projected a consolidated net loss of 76.6 billion yen while lifting revenue and operating profit forecasts.

A vulnerability tied to SwapNet router contracts on Matcha Meta led to around $16.8 million in losses, mainly hitting users who had disabled one-time token approvals. The attacker allegedly swapped roughly $10.5 million in USDC for about 3,655 ETH on Base before bridging funds to Ethereum, as multiple security firms reported cross-chain exposure and highlighted broader DeFi approval risks.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority began a final consultation on how Consumer Duty should apply to crypto firms, accepting feedback until March 12, 2026. It plans to open an application gateway in September 2026 ahead of full authorization requirements in October 2027. Bitcoin fell 6.24 percent over the week, underscoring ongoing market volatility.

The U.S. Department of Justice has closed its insider trading-related case against former OpenSea executive Nathaniel Chastain after his 2023 wire fraud and money laundering conviction was overturned by an appeals court in 2025. Under a one-month deferred prosecution agreement, prosecutors will dismiss the charges after Chastain partially served his sentence and forfeited 15.98 ETH, valued at about $47,000. Bitcoin, which recently traded at $88,993.89, has surrendered nearly all of its 2026 gains and may revisit the $87,000–$87,500 support band before attempting another upward move.

On January 21, 2026, Nansen launched an AI-driven trading feature for Solana and Base across its web and mobile apps. The product unifies on-chain analytics and execution, draws on over 500 million labeled wallet addresses, partners with Jupiter and OKX DEX for liquidity, and requires user confirmation on all trades, with certain jurisdictions excluded.