20th January 2026 > > Trump's tariffs & NYSE.

tl;dr

Tariffs are bad for business. The New York Stock Exchange is gearing up for the tokenisation revolution.

Market Snap

Market Wrap

Risk assets are taking Trump-induced pain, and not for the first time. Following yesterday’s holiday in the US, there is the distinct possibility of a major sell-off today on the US open. More details below.

Curious Crypto’s Commentary – Trump’s Tariff Wars & Greenland

We are back to playing the tariff game again, this time over whether the inalienable right to self-determination applies equally to all people be they based in Europe, or the Indian Ocean, or anywhere else for that matter, or whether it is selectively disapplied when it suits certain politicians to advance their own personal political agenda.

Whenever Trump threatens tariffs all risk assets take a hit but the recent ATH’s seen in US stock markets seem to imply that it is only ever a temporary phenomenon that is invariably a buying opportunity. The CCC is very much against the use, or even the threat, of tariffs, but the worst fears of the world’s economists of the impact of tariffs on open economies appear to be wrong in magnitude, but that’s economists for you. This so-called profession is never knowingly right about anything at all, ever.

I make no predictions about how the Greenland saga will work out, except for this. There will be an agreement, an accommodation, an outcome that will allow for the exploitation of Greenland’s natural resources for the benefit of the Western world, and a greater realisation that the twin threats of genocidal Putin and mass-murderer Xi must be taken rather more seriously than we do at present.

Curious Crypto’s Commentary – Tokenisation

Following the news that DTCC has been authorised by the SEC to “Offer New Tokenization Service, Paving the Way to Tokenized DTC-Custodied Assets” (https://www.curiouscryptos.com/post/4th-january-2026-tokenisation-crypto-industry-predictions) the NYSE is wasting no time in preparing for the forthcoming battle to trade tokenised stocks:

https://ir.theice.com/press/news-details/2026/The-New-York-Stock-Exchange-Develops-Tokenized-Securities-Platform/default.aspx

The NYSE will develop “… a platform for trading and on-chain settlement of tokenized securities, for which it will seek regulatory approvals.” This platform will operate 24/7/365 and will allow for fractional share trading.

Settlement will be instantaneous, and across multiple blockchains. Lynn Martin, President, NYSE Group, explains:

“For more than two centuries, the NYSE has transformed the way markets operate. We are leading the industry toward fully on-chain solutions, grounded in the unmatched protections and high regulatory standards that position us to marry trust with state-of-the-art technology. Harnessing our expertise to reinvent market infrastructure is how we’ll meet and shape the demands of a digital future.”

The reinvention of TradFi markets driven by the crypto revolution begins in earnest in 2026. Don’t miss it.