On jan 7 Barclays announced a strategic investment in Ubyx, a U.S. firm that builds settlement and clearing systems for regulated stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The deal — terms undisclosed — marked Barclays’ first direct stake in the stablecoin settlement space and signaled a deliberate push by a major bank into regulated digital-money infrastructure.
Author: liam
liam
Liam writes about Web3 and decentralized finance, focusing on how protocols, applications, and governance models are used in practice. His coverage centers on real adoption, integration, and the mechanics behind decentralized systems. Market developments and regulatory context are part of his reporting when they intersect with Web3 or DeFi activity.
RAIN surged 13% after a KuCoin listing and climbed to a new intraday all-time high of $0,009356, propelled by a sudden expansion in liquidity and trading access. The move has left traders debating whether the jump reflects sustainable demand or a shorter-lived liquidity spike.
EDF and droppRWA formalized a Memorandum of Understanding in January 2026 to study tokenisation of real‑world energy assets across Saudi Arabia, a move pitched as aligning with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. The partnership targets fractionalisation, improved liquidity and blockchain‑based carbon credit frameworks for large energy projects.
Polymarket’s political betting business has positioned the platform as a material source of stablecoin demand, and its growth dynamics could help push stablecoin adoption higher through 2026. The outcome depends on two constraints: whether Polymarket can curb wash trading and how regulatory rulings shape its operating model.
Kinexys, the blockchain technology unit of JPMorgan Chase, announced this Tuesday the native integration of JPM Coin into Canton Network. This strategic collaboration with Digital Asset seeks to optimize the mobility of regulated digital cash for institutional clients during this year. According to Naveen Mallela, global co-head of Kinexys, this project has the potential to unlock liquidity and improve capital efficiency.
Marcos Viriato, co-founder and CEO of Parfin, argues that blockchain was born to decentralize power and operate under transparency. However, current digital financial infrastructure risks becoming a political instrument instead of a tool for autonomy. According to the expert, technology will only reach its full potential if it remains neutral, compliant, and globally interoperable at all times. In this way, the focus must return to solving real problems such as efficiency and access.
RAKBank has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) to issue a new UAE dirham stablecoin. According to Raheel Ahmed, group CEO, this progress represents an important milestone in the digital assets journey of the institution. Thus, the bank is preparing to launch a payment token fully backed by the local currency very soon.
Analyst Steph is Crypto identified that the digital asset is replicating the historical behavior of the precious metal. This XRP breakout pattern could drive the price toward levels never seen during the course of this year 2026. The technical projection is based on a five-wave structure that already showed success in other financial markets.
Bitcoin began January with a 7.4% rebound that redirected attention to the Bitcoin liquidation map. According to analyst Crypto Dan, reclaiming the historical cost basis is fundamental for the bulls. This technical movement shows an asymmetry that could accelerate the price toward new historical highs soon.
ADEN launched a points program aimed at formalizing user incentives across its perpetual contract exchange. The move ties quantified user behaviour to future ecosystem rewards and is intended to shift incentives away from short-term speculative activity toward sustained participation.