Important Information
【Senate Banking Committee Again Delays Review of the 'Digital Asset Market Clarity Act' (CLARITY Act)】
The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee's review and discussion of the CLARITY Act, originally scheduled for January 15 (Thursday), was halted just hours before the meeting. The trigger was Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's public announcement that he "could not support the current text." Armstrong specifically pointed out that the draft is "worse than the current situation" in aspects such as "effectively banning tokenized stocks", "restricting DeFi, expanding government data access", "weakening CFTC while strengthening SEC discretion", and "diminishing stablecoin rewards". Multiple media outlets have reported that the banking industry's strong lobbying against limiting stablecoin "passive interest/rewards" has become one of the key obstacles to advancing the legislation.
Impact/Insight: If the terms of "restricting (or effectively prohibiting) stablecoin rewards" are not adjusted, it may solidify the advantages of bank deposits, increase customer acquisition and retention costs for crypto-native platforms, and alter the competitive landscape of stablecoins outside of trading scenarios (like storage and cash management). This issue will continue to influence the Senate's text adjustments and final voting type.
(X:https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/2011545247105355865)
Industry Dynamics
[Visa: Stablecoin settlement has reached approximately $4.5 billion annually, but mainstream merchants have yet to form a "scaled acceptance" network]
Cuy Sheffield, Visa's crypto head, stated that after expanding the USDC settlement pilot in the U.S., the annualized settlement volume for stablecoins has risen to approximately $4.5 billion. However, there is currently no scaled network for stablecoins on the "merchant acceptance side," and the vast majority of real consumption still requires settlement through card organizations and fiat currency.
Related assets: USDC (stablecoin)/Visa (NYSE: V), USDC is used in Visa's settlement pilot and integrated with several banks, with Visa being the direct promoter.
(Reuters: https://reuters.com/business/finance/visa-crypto-chief-bets-stablecoin-settlement-sees-volumes-growing-2026-01-14)
[BitGo submits IPO application and sets issuance terms: plans to raise approximately $189–201 million, with a target valuation of up to approximately $1.96 billion]
Crypto custodian BitGo updates S-1 and discloses an issuance range of $15–17 per share, plans to offer approximately 11.8 million shares, and aims to be listed on the NYSE under the ticker "BTGO," with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup as co-managers; several media reports suggest pricing may occur as early as the week of January 19.
Related assets: potential new stock BTGO/related crypto custody and brokerage firms, BitGo's scale and customer structure demonstrate a model effect on institutional custody, stablecoins, and tokenized asset custody sectors.
(Reuters: https://reuters.com/technology/crypto-custody-startup-bitgo-aims-raise-about-201-million-us-ipo-2026-01-12/)
Price Dynamics
[Bitcoin]$BTC
Driver Analysis: Although the CLARITY Act's review has been halted, the market interprets it as a phased event that "leaves space for negotiation," and risk assets have not significantly retreated; combined with factors such as the easing of ETF funding and macro inflation expectations this week, it has driven prices to continue rising.
[Ethereum]$ETH
Driver Analysis: Driven by the upward movement of BTC and the phase of regulatory uncertainty easing, mainstream assets have shown strength; at the same time, the Senate draft has not yet shown any direct negative clauses regarding the core narrative of Ethereum, and the market is primarily following the trend.
#加密日报 #Web3 #日报