4 hours ago
The US Department of Justice, astatine the absorption of President Donald Trump, has opened a transgression probe into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The DOJ alleges that the seat has misallocated funds successful the people of renovations of Federal Reserve bureau buildings, a assertion that Powell has denied.
The Fed seat said that the charges were politically motivated and “a effect of the Federal Reserve mounting involvement rates based connected our champion appraisal of what volition service the public, alternatively than pursuing the preferences of the President.”
Trump had antecedently toured the bureau buildings that were nether renovation, alleging that the Fed, astatine Powell’s direction, was supposedly implicit budget.
Trump has agelong sought to exert much power implicit the Federal Reserve and has expressed vexation implicit what helium sees arsenic insufficiently debased involvement rates.
Video connection from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell: https://t.co/5dfrkByGyX pic.twitter.com/O4ecNaYaGH
— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) January 12, 2026Coinbase pauses fiat services for Argentinians
Major US crypto speech Coinbase has halted fiat operations successful Argentina conscionable 1 twelvemonth aft entering the country’s market.
The speech reportedly halted Argentine peso-based services pursuing a reappraisal of its operations. It said that the “deliberate pause” volition springiness it clip to measure the sustainability of its merchandise offerings successful the region.
Argentine users won’t beryllium capable to bargain oregon merchantability USDC (USDC) with pesos oregon retreat funds to section slope accounts by the extremity of January.
Ana Gabriela Ojeda, a LATAM crypto manufacture observer, said specified pauses mostly travel erstwhile moving successful the section currency is excessively complex. “It is not a awesome against crypto oregon against stablecoins but alternatively a objection of the structural challenges of integrating section fiscal systems successful volatile markets.”
NFT Paris cancelled aft marketplace crash
Organizers of NFT Paris, an lawsuit focused connected non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and real-world assets, person cancelled the conference, citing marketplace conditions.
NFT Paris was initially scheduled for February, but organizers stated that “the marketplace illness deed america hard. Despite drastic outgo cuts and months of trying to marque it work, we couldn’t propulsion it disconnected this year.”
After hitting a monolithic precocious successful 2022, NFTs person struggled to marque a meaningful comeback. According to information from CoinGecko, full NFT marketplace capitalization is hardly supra $3 cardinal arsenic of publishing time, with a 24-hour trading measurement of conscionable $4 million.
NFT Paris attendees volition person their tickets refunded. They did not remark connected whether the lawsuit would beryllium rescheduled oregon whether they would big aboriginal events.
Source: NFT ParisUS authorities of Wyoming launches its ain stablecoin
Wyoming’s Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) is present disposable to the wide public. State legislators framed the plus arsenic a measurement guardant for fiscal innovation successful the state, which has boasted lax regulations for the integer plus industry.
Source: Mark GordonThe token, which is present unrecorded connected the Solana blockchain, tin beryllium bought connected Kraken and bridged to Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Ethereum, Optimism and Polygon.
Other states successful the US person shown involvement successful launching stablecoins. In October 2025, the Bank of North Dakota announced plans to motorboat a “Roughrider” coin.
Proponents of authorities stablecoins person cited their stableness — backing is usually secured by dollar reserves and US Treasurys — and little fees for transfers compared with accepted recognition cards.
Financial “influencers” get informing from Italian regulators
The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), Italy’s apical securities regulator, has warned influencers of their responsibilities successful promoting fiscal products.
Citing guidance from EU law, CONSOB warned “fin-fluencers” that “promoting a fiscal merchandise oregon work isn’t similar promoting shoes oregon watches.”
Promoting volatile assets similar cryptocurrencies, wherein investors tin suffer each of their capital, tin permission influencers legally liable for what they post, said CONSOB.
According to guidance from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), adjacent disclaimers similar “this is not fiscal advice” don’t excuse influencers from ineligible obligations.
ESMA’s enactment for influencers. Source: ESMAMoldova to align crypto rules with EU’s MiCA
On Jan. 16, Moldovan Finance Minister Andrian Gavrilita announced that his state would align its laws for crypto with the European Union’s Markets successful Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework.
In an interrogation with section media, helium said that his ministry is engaging with EU regulators to make a ineligible model that would let citizens to clasp and commercialized crypto. The caller laws volition reportedly beryllium a associated effort betwixt the Finance Ministry and the National Bank of Moldova, arsenic good arsenic the Anti-Money Laundering and securities authorities.
Crucially, the caller instrumentality would not admit crypto arsenic a means of payment. Moldova’s cardinal slope has warned astir the risks associated with crypto connected aggregate occasions, and Gavrilita himself has called crypto a speculative instrument.
“I spot [crypto] much arsenic a speculative domain, but citizens person the close to run them either way, and this twelvemonth we’ll person the legislation.”Magazine: Here’s wherefore crypto is moving to Dubai and Abu Dhabi
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