22nd January 2026 > > Probit, Trump, & the CLARITY Act.

tl;dr

Probit is closing its services permanently. Trump and cryptos. The CLARITY Act.

Market Snap

Market Wrap

Once again Trump’s tariff threats were a buying opportunity, for stock investors anyway.

$480mm of outflows on Tuesday and another $710mm yesterday from the spot BTC ETFs seems to give those who still believe in the four-year cycle – a cycle that suggests BTC could breach $70k to the downside in 2026 – some Justification for their belief.

We have spent two months trading in a tight range around $90k which is uncharacteristic behaviour for BTC. We are due for some fireworks, one direction or the other.

Curious Crypto’s Commentary – Probit

Centralised cryptocurrency exchange Probit (https://www.probit.com/en-us/) has announced a “Global Service Termination”.

If you have used Probit, you must withdraw your cryptos before February 25^th this year. After that, you will be charged fees to withdraw by March 31^st. From April 1^st, withdrawals will be suspended and you will lose access to any assets held at Probit.

If you are a Probit user, this is not a task to be put off for another day.

Curious Crypto’s Commentary – Trump

I know that around some dinner tables the mere mention of Trump is met with Pavlovian distaste.

Trump’s stance on cryptos is important to us. If you are afflicted, as are all the inhabitants of the self-declared Democratic Republic of Islington, with involuntarily shuddering at the mere mention of Trump, may I gently suggest you find something else to do other than read the rest of today’s CCC.

…

At that annual expense jamboree World Economic Forum held in Davos, Trump made some interesting crypto-related comments, which are worth knowing about. He patted himself on the back for the relatively quick and smooth passage of the GENIUS Act last year, as a defence against China’s crypto ambitions:

“But it’s, much more importantly, we have to make it so that China doesn’t get the hold of it. And once they have that hold, we’re not going to be able to get it back.”

The world is never as simplistic as Trump likes to make out, but I for one much prefer a strong US presence rather than a strong Chinese presence in cryptos (https://www.curiouscryptos.com/post/27th-february-2025-interregnum-1-1-1-1-1).

Trump also name-checked the CLARITY Act which is currently floundering in the Senate without bi-partisan agreement on several issues, whilst also taking heat from Coinbase:

“Now, Congress is working very hard on crypto market structure legislation — Bitcoin, all of them — which I hope to sign very soon, unlocking new pathways for Americans to reach financial freedom.”

I wish I shared his conviction that he will “sign very soon” for it doesn’t look that way to me.

Curious Crypto’s Commentary – The CLARITY Act

January started with enthusiasm that the negotiations for the final draft of the CLARITY Act would see bi-partisan agreement and swift passage to allow it to be signed by Trump early in 2026. However, the mark-up that was to be debated in the Senate Banking Committee has opened a divide within the political sphere, and within the crypto industry itself. Coinbase has publicly stated that the Act is detrimental to the crypto industry though that is not the house view here at CC Towers.

The Agricultural Committee is formulating its own draft which should see the light of day next week. It is likely to differ significantly from the Banking Committee’s version. Getting agreement on one of them and then amending it to encompass some very disparate points of view in the other draft is not a task to be underestimated.

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, is more upbeat about the Act’s prospects than the CCC:

“The White House has been super constructive here. They did ask us to see if we can go figure out a deal with the banks, which we’re currently working on.”

This issue Brian is referring to is the successful lobbying by TradFi to mute the competitive impact that stablecoin adoption will have on the fat fees that TradFi makes from its customers when using fiat. In its current format, the CLARITY Act prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest-like rewards to holders of the stablecoin, an issue that directly affects Coinbase given its central role in USDC, a far superior stablecoin to the more widely used USDT.

Here at the CCC we take issue with Brian and Coinbase on this narrow point. This is not a hill to die on. Rapid passage of the CLARITY Act would be of immense benefit to the crypto revolution. Better to fight this specific battle from a position of strength later rather than allow the naysayers more scope to hinder progress today.

Literally everyone in the world would benefit from this Act becoming law, especially the world’s poor and dispossessed. We must all hope that common sense prevails, and soon.