Sanctions Tighten, Mortgages Lean Into Crypto

Welcome to our Crypto news in 10, a daily podcast bringing you the latest news about crypto in under 10 minutes.

Here’s your quick run of what matters on Monday, January 19, 2026...

A major policy shift out of Europe is targeting crypto services tied to Russia. A first-of-its-kind move in U.S. housing—one of the top five lenders will recognize crypto assets in mortgage approvals. A classic American burger chain is adding 10 million dollars in bitcoin to its balance sheet. A well-known crypto bank is raising fresh capital, with I.P.O. chatter picking up. And a check on E.T.F. flows—bitcoin funds bled late last week, while ether funds quietly stayed bid. Let’s jump in.

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Story one—Europe tightens the screws on Russia, and crypto is squarely in the frame.

The European Union’s nineteenth sanctions package, adopted in late October with effective dates rolling into January, expands prohibitions to crypto-asset services for Russian nationals and residents. It even singles out a ruble-linked stablecoin—A7A5—with a ban on transactions across the bloc.

The package also restricts engagement with Russia’s Mir payment card system and the Fast Payments System. It adds new financial prohibitions that reach third-country banks and platforms accused of sanctions circumvention.

Why it matters: the crypto-specific language is broad. EU operators are now largely barred from providing custody, exchange, and other crypto services to Russia—closing loopholes compliance teams have worried about for nearly two years. Officials frame it as a response to growing use of digital assets to route around prior measures. It’s a big compliance to-do for exchanges and custodians operating in the EU.

According to summaries from the Council of the EU and the European Commission, the crypto prohibitions—and the A7A5 ban—sit inside a wider package that also hits energy, banks, and special economic zones inside Russia.

Story two—a mortgage lender just made crypto useful without selling it.

Newrez—one of America’s top five mortgage lenders—will recognize certain crypto holdings in the mortgage approval process across its non-agency Smart Series products starting in February.

Practically speaking, eligible bitcoin, ether, and select stablecoins can count toward asset verification—and even income estimation—without forcing borrowers to liquidate right before closing. Newrez says it will apply market-adjusted valuations to account for volatility, and it will still require U.S. dollars at closing. The breakthrough is underwriting policy, not payment at the title table.

It’s a first among top-tier lenders and could nudge competitors—especially in jumbo and investment property segments where crypto-native wealth is common. The press release dated January 13 confirms the February rollout, with FAQs live on Newrez’s site.

Story three: Bitcoin... with fries.

Steak 'n Shake—the 91-year-old burger chain that rolled out Lightning Network payments across U.S. stores in 2025—disclosed it added 10 million dollars worth of bitcoin to its corporate treasury on Friday.

Management pitched it as building a strategic bitcoin reserve, funneling BTC sales from the register into holdings rather than converting to cash. Since adopting Lightning, the company says same-store sales climbed roughly 15 percent, and card processing costs dropped by about half.

Reports put the buy at roughly 105 bitcoin at recent prices, and frame it as the chain’s first publicly disclosed direct allocation since payments went live. Taken together, it’s a tidy case study in merchant adoption begetting treasury adoption—lower fees at checkout, then a balance-sheet bet to match.

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Story four—capital markets signal check: Anchorage Digital is raising.

Bloomberg and others report the federally chartered crypto bank’s parent is seeking 200 to 400 million dollars in new funding, with an I.P.O. on the table as soon as next year.

It would be Anchorage’s first major round since its 350 million dollar Series D, and it comes as the firm expands stablecoin issuance tooling and institutional custody, trading, and staking services.

Why it matters: in 2024 and 2025, public listings for crypto firms were sporadic and often delayed. A successful raise now—and credible I.P.O. prep—would hint that underwriting windows for regulated crypto infrastructure are reopening, even amid macro chop. Anchorage didn’t comment on timing in the reports, but the target range and I.P.O. intent are the headline.

Story five—E.T.F. flows, a quiet signal in a noisy market. With U.S. markets closed today for the MLK holiday, let’s look at the last full session.

On Friday, January 16, U.S. spot bitcoin E.T.F.s saw about 395 million dollars in net outflows—the worst daily print of the week. Fidelity, BlackRock, and peers were mixed, while Grayscale’s G.B.T.C. continued to leak.

Meanwhile, ether funds have quietly been stacking inflows. On Thursday, January 15, spot ETH E.T.F.s drew around 164 million dollars in net inflows. And on Friday, BlackRock’s ETHA alone pulled in roughly 149 million dollars, according to trackers.

The takeaway: institutions are tactically lightening bitcoin exposure into resistance, while keeping a toe in ETH ahead of this quarter’s scaling pushes on Layer 2s and steady E.T.F. demand. Keep an eye on whether BTC reclaims inflows when trading resumes tomorrow.

Quick recap... The EU’s newest sanctions package tightens the compliance perimeter for crypto providers in the bloc. Newrez is bringing crypto into mainstream mortgage underwriting without forced selling. Steak 'n Shake doubled down on BTC with a 10 million dollar treasury buy as its Lightning program matures. Anchorage is in the market for 200 to 400 million dollars, with I.P.O. plans back on the table. And E.T.F. flows show a split personality—bitcoin funds bled on Friday, while ether funds kept attracting cash.

We’ll be back tomorrow to see which of these threads move first when U.S. markets reopen.

Thanks for listening and see you tommorow!