Regulatory Clarity, Market Crackdowns, and China’s Blockchain Boom

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

Here’s what’s moving crypto this Saturday, January 31, 2026.

Two top U.S. market regulators say they’re ready to roll out long-awaited crypto rules — even as Congress stalls. Tennessee draws a hard line on prediction markets, with a refund deadline today. Galaxy is launching a $100 million hedge fund to trade the volatility. A French crypto-tax startup reports a data-extortion incident affecting tens of thousands of users. And China’s government-backed push for blockchain startups is yielding eye-popping numbers.

Let’s dive in.

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Story one — signals from Washington.

In a joint interview this month, the new SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig said they’re prepared to lay out crypto rules designed to foster growth — even with Congress dragging its feet on a comprehensive market-structure bill.

The plan includes a formal memorandum of understanding between the agencies — think SEC leaning into tokenized securities and the CFTC steering digital commodities — plus targeted exemptions that let new crypto products launch under supervision.

It’s a pivot from the prior enforcement-first posture, and the chairs argue it’s key to keeping firms onshore. We’ll get more specifics at an upcoming event… but the headline is simple — regulatory clarity looks closer than it’s been in years. That’s noteworthy for token issuers, exchanges, and anyone building on-chain capital-markets rails.

Source — The Wall Street Journal.

Story two — Tennessee draws a bright red line on prediction markets.

Earlier this month, the state’s Sports Wagering Council sent cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Polymarket, and Crypto.com’s North American Derivatives Exchange. The order is simple — stop offering sports-event contracts to Tennessee residents, void pending contracts, and refund customer deposits by today… Saturday, January 31, 2026.

The letters cite state consumer-protection and gambling laws — and warn of escalating fines: $10,000 for a first offense, $15,000 for a second, $25,000 thereafter — with potential criminal referral if platforms don’t comply.

Kalshi has already gone to federal court to challenge the move, arguing that federal commodities rules should preempt state gambling law.

Why it matters — states are starting to test the border between federally supervised event-contract markets and state-regulated gambling… right as Washington mulls national guardrails. Expect more jurisdictional push and pull.

Source — The Block.

Story three — Galaxy is leaning into the chop.

Mike Novogratz’s firm is rolling out a $100 million hedge fund this quarter built to trade the volatility — allocating up to 30% to crypto tokens and the rest to traditional financial names most exposed to digital-asset adoption and regulation.

The fund will be run by Joe Armao. It already has backing from family offices, high-net-worth clients, and some institutions — with Galaxy seeding more capital.

The timing matters. After roughly a 28% drawdown from Bitcoin’s October highs, Galaxy thinks dispersion — the gap between winners and losers — will widen as policy, tokenization, and AI reshape finance.

For builders and traders, the takeaway is clear — 2026 looks like a stock-picker and strategy year, not just a beta year.

Source — Financial Times.

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Story four — a security and privacy heads-up from Europe.

French crypto-tax app Waltio says hackers tried to extort the company after stealing data tied to about 50,000 users’ 2024 tax reports — specifically emails, plus reported gains and losses.

The firm has filed a criminal complaint and warned of likely phishing attempts where attackers use those 'contextual elements' to look legitimate. No crypto wallets were compromised — but timing matters. Tax season is prime time for social engineering… especially when inboxes are already expecting confirmations and statements.

If you use Waltio, be extra skeptical of any 'urgent' messages about refunds or filing corrections — and confirm requests in-app or through official support channels.

Source — DL News.

Story five — China’s blockchain boom, by the numbers.

Local media tallied roughly 75,000 newly registered blockchain firms in 2025 — bringing the nationwide total to just under 290,000.

The surge lines up with Beijing’s five-year plan that wrapped in 2025, plus city-level 'special blockchain zones' offering funding and support. Much of the work targets permissioned networks and government or finance use cases — not degen DeFi — but the signal is unmistakable: the world’s second-largest economy is scaling blockchain expertise and enterprise deployment at speed.

For global teams, it’s a reminder that competitive pressure isn’t just about token prices. Talent, tooling, and throughput are compounding fast in state-directed programs overseas.

Source — DL News.

Quick context across today’s five stories…

If the SEC and CFTC deliver a workable blueprint — and if it meshes with whatever Congress eventually does — U.S. products and venues will accelerate. That, in turn, gives multi-strategy funds like Galaxy more regulated avenues to express views.

Meanwhile, Tennessee’s action shows the gray zone won’t stay gray — states will force choices on event-contract platforms long before federal rules are finalized.

And as Europe fights scams and data abuse case by case, and China scales its enterprise blockchain stack, the competitive map for crypto talent and capital is shifting in real time.

That’s it for today’s rundown. Regulators in D.C. are teeing up clarity, Tennessee is putting prediction markets on notice, Galaxy’s trading the turbulence, Waltio’s incident is a reminder to watch your inbox, and China is building at scale. Stay safe out there… and stay curious.

Thanks for listening and see you tommorow!