Monat: Januar 2026

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H100 Group signs preliminary deal to acquire Swiss Bitcoin firm Future Holdings

  • H100 Group signs preliminary deal to acquire Future Holdings AG.
  • Bitcoin tops $92K as mining difficulty dips to 146.4 trillion.
  • Adam Back supports the expansion of corporate BTC treasury operations.

Sweden-listed H100 Group has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire Swiss Bitcoin treasury company Future Holdings AG.

The deal, backed by Bitcoin pioneer Adam Back, aims to expand H100 Group’s presence into Switzerland’s institutional crypto market.

Future Holdings AG, co-founded and funded by Adam Back, specialises in managing Bitcoin treasuries for corporate clients.

The transaction is currently a non-binding letter of intent, with formal documentation and regulatory approvals needed before closing.

H100 Group Bitcoin treasury strategy

H100 Group has been actively growing its Bitcoin holdings through convertible loan agreements and treasury acquisitions.

By acquiring Future Holdings AG, H100 Group gains access to established Swiss infrastructure for managing institutional Bitcoin assets.

The proposed purchase consideration is around CHF 600,000, which includes Future Holdings’ cash on hand and payment in newly issued H100 shares.

This acquisition aligns with H100 Group’s strategy to strengthen its position as a leading corporate Bitcoin treasury company.

Adam Back’s involvement adds credibility and highlights the growing trend of institutional Bitcoin adoption across Europe.

Future Holdings AG previously raised significant capital, roughly CHF 28 million, to develop its Bitcoin treasury solutions.

The company’s expertise in regulatory compliance and treasury management makes it a valuable partner for H100 Group.

This move reflects a broader pattern of Bitcoin treasury consolidation in public markets, with firms seeking to combine expertise and infrastructure.

Bitcoin price breaks $92 as Bitcoin mining difficulty drops

Notably, the Future Holdings AG acquisition deal comes amid notable Bitcoin market developments.

To start with, Bitcoin has surpassed $92,000.

In addition, the mining difficulty has adjusted downward to approximately 146.4 trillion, providing temporary relief for miners after months of rising difficulty.

The decline in mining difficulty signals a slight decrease in total hash power, which can affect block times and miner profitability.

For H100 Group, these market conditions highlight the growing importance of strategic BTC treasury management.

Corporate treasury companies like H100 and Future Holdings AG are positioning themselves to benefit from both price growth and institutional adoption trends.

Adam Back has been instrumental in supporting these initiatives, contributing capital and expertise to strengthen Bitcoin treasury operations.

Bitcoin price outlook

Market analysis shows that Bitcoin’s price momentum remains strong as it surpasses $92K.

However, short-term volatility is expected, with potential retracements near support levels around $88,000 to $90,000.

Bitcoin price analysis
Bitcoin price analysis | Source: TradingView

Continued institutional adoption, such as the H100–Future Holdings deal, could provide upward pressure on BTC.

Mining adjustments, macroeconomic conditions, and liquidity events may also influence price movements over the coming weeks.

Also, with H100 Group expanding its Swiss operations, the alignment of corporate treasury strategies and rising BTC prices may create further market interest.

The post H100 Group signs preliminary deal to acquire Swiss Bitcoin firm Future Holdings appeared first on CoinJournal.

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South Korea moves to reopen corporate crypto investing after long freeze

  • Companies would be limited to investing up to 5% of their equity capital.
  • Only top market cap tokens on major regulated exchanges would be eligible.
  • Stablecoin inclusion remains under regulatory discussion.

South Korea is preparing to reopen its digital asset market to corporate money, marking a major shift after nearly a decade of tight restrictions.

Financial regulators are updating long-standing guidelines that have barred companies from holding crypto assets since 2017, a period defined by concerns over money laundering and market instability.

The proposed changes would allow listed companies and professional investors to allocate a limited portion of their balance sheets to cryptocurrencies.

The move signals a recalibration of policy as Seoul seeks to strengthen its digital finance ecosystem while keeping risks contained through strict guardrails.

Corporate access returns

According to a report by the Financial Services Commission, legal entities will be permitted to invest up to 5% of their equity capital in crypto assets.

The information was reported by the Seoul Economic Daily.

Regulators are expected to release the final version of the guidelines in January or February.

Once in place, companies will be able to engage in virtual currency transactions for investment and financial purposes, ending a nine-year prohibition.

The FSC first outlined a phased easing of corporate crypto rules in February 2025 and shared the latest draft with its crypto working group on Jan. 6.

The approach reflects a gradual opening rather than a wholesale liberalisation.

Tight limits on assets

The planned framework places clear limits on where and how companies can invest.

Corporate purchases will be restricted to the top 20 crypto assets by market capitalisation, narrowing exposure to the most liquid and widely traded tokens.

Transactions will also be confined to South Korea’s five largest regulated exchanges, reinforcing oversight and compliance standards.

The inclusion of dollar-pegged stablecoins remains unresolved.

The report said regulators are still debating whether assets such as Tether’s USDT should be permitted under the new rules.

These conditions are designed to address the same financial crime risks that prompted the original ban, while recognising that the domestic market has matured since 2017.

Market impact expectations

The reopening of corporate access could unlock significant capital flows into crypto markets.

Seoul Economic Daily noted that the scale of potential investment runs into tens of trillions of won.

By way of illustration, the report pointed to internet giant Naver, which holds around 27 trillion won in equity capital.

Under the proposed cap, the company could theoretically deploy funds equivalent to roughly 10,000 Bitcoin.

Beyond direct market inflows, the change could alter corporate strategy.

Large South Korean firms have previously invested in digital assets overseas to avoid domestic restrictions.

Easing local rules may redirect that activity back home, supporting blockchain startups, digital asset treasuries, and related infrastructure.

Broader digital currency strategy

The corporate crypto shift sits alongside a wider push into digital currencies.

The government has outlined plans to execute 25% of national treasury transactions through a central bank digital currency by 2030 as part of its 2026 Economic Growth Strategy.

The government also plans to introduce a licensing regime for stablecoin issuers.

Under the proposal, issuers would need to maintain 100% reserve backing and provide legally guaranteed redemption rights for users.

Together, these measures suggest South Korea is seeking to integrate crypto assets, stablecoins, and a CBDC into a single regulatory framework rather than treating them as isolated experiments.

The post South Korea moves to reopen corporate crypto investing after long freeze appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Tether freezes $182M in USDT, highlighting centralized control in stablecoins

  • The action was detected by Whale Alert and ranks among the largest single-day USDT freezes.
  • Tether has frozen over $3 billion in assets from more than 7,000 addresses since 2023.
  • Stablecoins now account for the majority of illicit crypto activity tracked by Chainalysis.

Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, froze more than $180 million worth of USDT within 24 hours, underscoring the growing role of centralized control and law-enforcement coordination in the stablecoin market.

The event stands out not only for its size but also for what it reveals about issuer-level control in the crypto economy.

As regulators scrutinise digital dollars more closely, the mechanics behind this freeze offer insight into how compliance now shapes on-chain liquidity.

Large-scale freeze on Tron

On Jan. 11, Tether froze roughly $182 million worth of USDT held across five Tron-based wallets in a single day.

The action was flagged by on-chain tracker Whale Alert, which showed individual wallet balances ranging from about $12 million to nearly $50 million.

The timing and concentration of the freezes marked it as one of the largest single-day USDT enforcement events recorded on the Tron network.

The wallets were not drained or moved.

Instead, the tokens were locked at the contract level, making them unusable while remaining visible on-chain.

This approach is consistent with how fiat-backed stablecoins are restricted when issuers respond to external requests.

Enforcement-linked coordination

While Tether did not publish a detailed explanation, the freezes appear linked to cooperation with US authorities, including the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Historically, similar actions have followed investigations tied to scams, hacking incidents, sanctions breaches, or other forms of illegal crypto usage.

Tether maintains administrative control through special keys embedded in the USDT smart contracts it issues.

These keys allow the company to halt or freeze tokens at the issuer level.

Such functionality is central to how stablecoin operators comply with anti-money-laundering rules and legal enforcement demands, particularly when funds are suspected of being linked to criminal activity.

Scale of past USDT freezes

Data from analytics firm AMLBot places the Jan. 11 action in a broader context.

Between 2023 and 2025, Tether froze more than $3 billion in assets spread across over 7,000 addresses.

That cumulative figure far exceeds comparable actions by other stablecoin issuers, underlining USDT’s dominant role in enforcement-led interventions.

Tron has become one of the largest settlement layers for USDT, with more than $80 billion in circulation on the network.

Its low fees and fast settlement times have driven adoption, particularly in emerging markets and high-frequency trading environments.

At the same time, this scale makes Tron-based USDT a focal point for monitoring illicit flows.

Centralisation and market implications

The episode has renewed debate around centralised control in stablecoins.

Unlike decentralised assets such as Bitcoin, USDT can be paused or frozen by its issuer when legal pressure is applied.

This structural difference has practical consequences for users who rely on stablecoins as cash equivalents.

According to Chainalysis, stablecoins accounted for around 84 % of illicit crypto activity by the end of 2025.

The data reflects how dollar-pegged tokens have become a primary medium in fraud cases and sanctions-related transfers.

As enforcement actions grow in size and frequency, issuer-controlled stablecoins continue to sit at the intersection of regulatory compliance and decentralised finance.

The post Tether freezes $182M in USDT, highlighting centralized control in stablecoins appeared first on CoinJournal.