Hong Kong's SFC set the cutoff for the legacy STREAMS platform at 12:00 AM on January 28, 2026, with a blackout until the morning of February 2, when STREAMS 2 becomes the only STR submission channel. During the gap, urgent STRs must be sent via email, phone, or fax. Paul Chan said stablecoin licensing will begin in Q1 2026, with HKMA approval and HK$25 million capital.

As of January 26 2026, BlackRock's Global Fixed Income CIO Rick Rieder has moved into pole position on Polymarket and Kalshi for the role of Federal Reserve Chair, ahead of Jerome Powell's term ending in May. Rieder's probability has climbed sharply, overtaking former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, as traders respond to his recent meeting with Donald Trump and favorable public comments from the former president and economic advisor Kevin Hassett.