Hey, Readers!

The week started a bit bumpy as Fed Chair Jerome Powell faces a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice.

Here are the top stories this week:

Other Headlines:

Breaking: Morgan Stanley becomes the first major U.S. Bank to file exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amid growing institutional demand for crypto ETFs.

Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), with nearly $1.8 trillion in assets, filed separate S-1 registration forms with the U.S. SEC to seek approval for Spot Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust on January 6, 2026.

The bank took a step forward and submitted registration paperwork for Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust on January 7, 2026.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) will manage the BTC, SOL, and ETH Trusts. However, the asset manager has not yet disclosed the custodian’s name for the filings or the exchange where the funds will be listed.

📝 Note: While Solana and Ethereum Trust plans to distribute rewards for “Staking Activities” to eligible holders, both Bitcoin and Solana Trusts will generate returns for tracking BTC and SOL prices.

The banking heavyweight’s crypto push highlights broader crypto adoption by mainstream financial institutions.

Many industry experts believe that regulatory clarity under Trump’s administration has encouraged prominent traditional banks to venture into speculative assets. Institutional and retail investors prefer crypto ETFs as they offer regulatory clarity, greater liquidity, and security.

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas posted on X, “I like this move by them. It's smart. They have like $8T in advisory assets and they already OK'd those advisors to allocate so might as well be in their own branded fund vs paying BlackRock or someone else.”

Balchunas believes that Morgan Stanley’s ETF venture is a smart move. The bank offers in-house or “branded ETFs,” instead of relying on third-party services or rivals like BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETFs. This could bolster participation from big players and outsiders and accelerate the growth of regulated crypto ETFs.

👉 Also Read: Michael Saylor Posts “Big Orange” — Is Another Massive BTC Purchase Coming Tomorrow?

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This week could be huge. Two Senate committees are preparing to hold the crypto market structure bill hearing and a possible vote on January 15.

On Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee, led by Senator Tim Scott, confirmed a markup hearing on January 15 to review selected sections of the bill before setting the stage for the final votes. Chairman Scott has earlier released a 278-page amended market structure draft at the midnight of January 12 to address several issues in the bill.

The Senate Agriculture Committee Chair, John Boozman, however, postponed the markup hearing to the last week of January to ensure broader support and accelerate the progress.

The renewed push could resolve unresolved disputes, particularly the need for stronger ethics, including President Trump’s and his family’s involvement in crypto ventures.

📝 Note: A markup refers to a meeting with committee members and lawmakers to debate, review, vote, or make amendments before the bill draft reaches the final vote.

Last year, the U.S. government shutdown stalled the progress of the much-awaited crypto market structure bill, despite ongoing negotiations. Lawmakers have now targeted January 2026 for a markup hearing and final passing of the bill.

Once the bill passes the final verdict, it will:

If the crypto market structure bill passes both the committees and the House, it will be sent to President Trump’s desk for approval and passed into law. It will open doors to clearer and friendlier rules governing the U.S. crypto industry.

👉 Also Read: Coinbase Threatens to Pull Support for Crypto Bill Over Stablecoin Rewards.

Ray Dalio recently reported that much of the S&P 500’s 2025 gains came not from real growth, but from the dollar quietly losing value. Reportedly down 10% last year!

He’s not alone. Several BlackRock, Fidelity, and Bloomberg analysts say to expect further dollar decline in 2026.

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One of the biggest crypto dramas unfolded on January 8. The entire core development team at Electric Coin Company (ECC) of the privacy-focused blockchain Zcash resigned amid an internal governance clash.

On January 8, the former ECC CEO and creator of Zcash, Josh Swihart, wrote on X that the majority of the ECC team are “constructively discharged*” due to untenable employment conditions. After the announcement, the Zcash token price dropped by almost 20% within 24 to 48 hours.

📝 Note: A constructive discharge is a legal condition when employees are compelled to resign due to intolerable working conditions.

The story continues…

In his post, Swihart stated that the abrupt departure of the entire team was triggered by internal disputes with Zcash’s nonprofit Bootstrap board, which is responsible for overseeing and supporting the network.

He specifically named Bootstrap board members, Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai (ZCAM) of “clear misalignment” with the core mission of Zcash. Their actions prevented the ECC team from performing their duties “effectively and with integrity.”

The mass departure followed the Dec 1 announcement of reorganising Zcash infrastructure and plans to bring core departments under unified leadership to maximize clarity and efficiency.

📝 Note: The Bootstrap is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit developed to support Zcash. ZCAM, on the other hand, is the core group of the four board members of the nonprofit Bootstrap organisation.

Swihart’s initial message and the sudden walkout of the core team raised concerns and increased investor uncertainty, accelerating selling pressure.

Despite the fallout, Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox emphasized that Zcash remains operational and open-source.

Road ahead: Earlier, Swihart confirmed that the ECC team intends to form a new company with “ECC's original mission.” On Jan 8, Swihart announced on X the launch of the new Zcash startup, cashz.org, with the same ECC team and Zashi.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin made a sensational post on X on January 3, declaring that the network has finally solved the long-awaited “blockchain trilemma.” Now, he is back with a new statement that digs deeper into the long-term sustainability of the protocol and introduces the “walkaway test.”

The Walkaway Test

On January 12, Buterin stated on X that Ethereum must pass the “walkaway test.” He emphasised that it is the need of the time that will make the network independent and secure. Even if the network is ossified, it will continue to perform and retain its value. He further claimed that the protocol must be “cryptographically safe for hundred years” and quantum threat resistant. It must run safely without continuous vigilance, major upgrades, and intervention from the core developers.

Read Buterin’s full statement here.

Last week’s quiz result: Option 2.

Keep playing folks! 🎲

Crypto wallet giant Ledger faces backlash due to a data breach incident involving its third-party payment processor, Global-e.

Here’s what happened: A pseudonymous investigator at Paradigm, called ZachXBT, warned Ledger customers on X about “unusual activity.” Ledger spokespersons said that the perpetrators unauthorisedly accessed Global-e’s cloud system and leaked customers’ personal data and contact details. Ledger reassured that no payment details were compromised in the incident.

Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (WLFI) files a “de novo” application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish the national World Liberty Trust Company (WLTC).

What happens next: Once WLTC is approved as a national trust bank, it will oversee the issuance, custody, redemption, and safeguarding of USD1, the dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by WLFI in early 2025. The company has claimed that the newly-founded trust bank will allow free conversion between the dollar and USD1 at launch. 

Based on CoinMarketCap data, 14 January, 2026, 12:29 AM, ET.