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The U.S. Senate Banking Committee plans to submit the final version of a bipartisan crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, before midnight on Jan. 13, Eleanor Terrett, host of the program Crypto in America, reported on X. She added that, according to a Senate source, a provision related to stablecoin revenue has been identified as the main sticking point.

KRAKacquisition, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by an affiliate of crypto exchange Kraken, is seeking to list on Nasdaq, The Block reported. The company has filed an S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering. It aims to raise $250 million and, if approved, will trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker KRAQU. KRAKacquisition has not yet identified a specific merger target. The move comes as Kraken itself has previously stated it is pursuing an IPO with a target of listing this year.

An address linked to Aleksey Bilyuchenko, who was indicted in connection with the Mt. Gox hack, has deposited 926 BTC, worth $83.92 million, to an anonymous exchange over the past 15 hours, on-chain analyst Emmett Gallic reported on X. The address currently holds 3,000 BTC, valued at $275 million.

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan stated on X that the proposed market structure legislation, the CLARITY Act, is akin to Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog known for predicting the length of winter. He explained that if the bill is reconsidered by Congress but ultimately fails to pass, the crypto winter could persist. Conversely, Hougan suggested that if the bill is enacted into law, the market could advance toward all-time highs.

The Thai government has ordered its Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to strictly enforce the crypto travel rule to block gray money, defined as funds from unclear sources, according to local media outlet The Nation Thailand. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has unveiled a new enforcement roadmap to strengthen cryptocurrency regulations. The initiative includes the establishment of a new Data Bureau tasked with integrating national financial data to prevent money laundering.

South Korea's Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) issued a statement on Jan. 13 expressing strong opposition to a government proposal that would cap a major shareholder's stake in a cryptocurrency exchange at 15-20%. According to Yonhap News, DAXA argued that the plan could hinder the development of the domestic digital asset industry and market. The alliance also warned that such a rule could cause South Korean users to move to overseas exchanges. DAXA emphasized that at a time when the focus should be on developing the digital asset industry, regulations that could undermine property rights and the market economy order should be reconsidered.

Whale Alert reported that 214,992,494 USDC has been transferred from an unknown wallet to Coinbase. The transaction is valued at about $215 million.

CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index has risen two points from yesterday to 28. The index measures the performance of the top 100 cryptocurrencies, excluding stablecoins and wrapped tokens, against Bitcoin over the last 90 days. An altcoin season is declared if 75% of these altcoins outperform Bitcoin during that period. A score closer to 100 indicates an altcoin season, while a lower score suggests a Bitcoin season.

An address presumed to belong to the Pump.fun (PUMP) team deposited stablecoins worth $148 million to Kraken about an hour ago, according to EmberCN. The funds are reportedly proceeds from the project's initial coin offering. Over the past two months, since Nov. 15 of last year, the team has deposited a total of $753 million in stablecoins to the exchange. While the industry has raised suspicions that the transfers are intended for cashing out, the Pump.fun team has previously denied these claims.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Paul Atkins has stated that this week will be an important one for cryptocurrency.

Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) accounted for 77% of all fines levied by South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) over the past two years and four months, Digital Asset reported exclusively. While VASP-related sanctions represented only 4.2% of the 95 total cases during the period, they comprised the vast majority of the 54 billion won ($39.1 million) in total penalties. The single largest fine was imposed on Dunamu, amounting to 35.2 billion won ($25.5 million).

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell one point from yesterday to 26, remaining in the fear category, according to data from Alternative. The index measures market sentiment on a scale from zero, indicating extreme fear, to 100, representing extreme greed. It is calculated based on volatility (25%), trading volume (25%), social media mentions (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin's market cap dominance (10%), and Google search volume (10%).

An address presumed to belong to Bitmine has staked an additional 154,208 ETH, worth $480 million, Onchain Lens reported. The address is now staking a total of 1,344,424 ETH, valued at $4.15 billion.

Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson has argued that the Trump administration's cryptocurrency policy has been more detrimental to the industry than the Biden administration's. In an interview with CoinDesk, he stated that while President Trump's election initially inspired optimism in the crypto sector, that hope was instantly shattered by the launch of memecoins by the president and first lady. Hoskinson asserted that the fallout from this event halted bipartisan regulatory reform efforts that were underway in early 2025, transforming crypto into a partisan issue. He claimed that without the memecoin launch, both the stablecoin bill (GENIUS Act) and the crypto market structure bill (CLARITY Act) would have already been passed.

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee has postponed a planned markup of the crypto market structure bill, known as the CLARITY Act, from Jan. 15 to the last week of January, Eleanor Terrett of Crypto in America reported. Committee Chairman John Boozman said the delay is necessary to allow more time to build bipartisan support for the legislation.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins has taken a noncommittal stance on the possibility of the U.S. seizing Bitcoin allegedly held by Venezuela, Cointelegraph reported. Speaking to Fox Business, Atkins addressed claims that Venezuela may hold as much as $60 billion in BTC. He said he could not verify the authenticity of those reports and that it remains unclear what action the U.S. would take if such an opportunity arose. Speculation about a secret vault of BTC and USDT—allegedly used by Venezuela to evade international sanctions—intensified after the U.S. captured President Nicolás Maduro. While some estimates place the country’s holdings as high as $60 billion, officially confirmed on-chain reserves amount to only about 240 BTC.

Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has warned that securities backed by Bitcoin carry a level of risk comparable to speculative-grade investments, Cointelegraph reported. Fitch identified Bitcoin's inherent price volatility and counterparty risk—the possibility that a party in a financial transaction could default on its contractual obligations—as the main risk factors. The agency noted that a sudden drop in volatility could breach the collateral maintenance ratio, which is the value of Bitcoin collateral relative to the issued debt. This could cause the collateral's value to plummet and lead to investor losses. Fitch added that the bankruptcies of crypto lenders such as BlockFi and Celsius demonstrate how collateral-based models can quickly collapse during periods of market stress.

U.S. President Donald Trump has implemented an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran, Walter Bloomberg reported.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $91,000. BTC is trading at $90,971.4 on the Binance USDT market.

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Cynthia Lummis have introduced a standalone bipartisan bill, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), according to reporter Eleanor Terrett. The bill's provisions were previously introduced in the House by the Republican Majority Leader and included in the CLARITY Act. The legislation aims to protect the rights of developers to write code and of individuals to self-custody their digital assets. The BRCA is currently being discussed for inclusion in the Senate's negotiations on a market structure bill, but its incorporation into the final version is uncertain.

The three major U.S. stock indices finished in positive territory. The S&P 500 rose 0.16%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.26%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.17%.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a noted crypto critic, has argued that an executive order from the Trump administration could put investors at risk by allowing pension and retirement funds to hold cryptocurrency, according to CNBC. Warren has sent an official letter to SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins requesting more detailed information on the matter.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams publicly supported the NYC Token at a press conference in Times Square, according to Decrypt. Adams described the token as a commemorative asset and stated that proceeds will be used to combat antisemitism and anti-American sentiment, as well as to fund blockchain education. He explained that a significant portion of the funds raised will be allocated to non-profit organizations, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and scholarships for underprivileged groups. The NYC Token has not yet been officially launched, and Adams said he is not currently receiving any compensation for his involvement with the project.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has launched an Innovation Advisory Committee composed primarily of figures from the cryptocurrency industry, according to CoinDesk. CFTC Commissioner Mike Selig, who is reorganizing the innovation-focused advisory body, named several crypto company CEOs as its first members, including Tyler Winklevoss of Gemini, as well as leaders from Kraken, Crypto.com, Bitnomial, and Bullish. The committee also includes representatives from prediction market platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi, and traditional financial institutions such as Nasdaq, CME, ICE, and Cboe. Selig stated that the goal is to create fit-for-purpose market structure regulations that reflect technologies like AI and blockchain.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned President Donald Trump that an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell could negatively affect financial markets, according to Axios. Bessent noted that such a probe could heighten market uncertainty and undermine confidence.