Things We're Reading – Week of January 5, 2026

Russia plans to impose prison terms of up to five years for unauthorized cryptocurrency mining starting in 2027, aiming to formalize and tax the industry amid economic pressures.

The UK government announced draft legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies similarly to traditional financial assets, introducing transparency standards and consumer protections.

Bitcoin's price remains around $90,000, bolstered by institutional investments and the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. and Europe.

Ethereum experienced the largest liquidation value in the last 24 hours, with positions totaling approximately $45.26 million being closed due to unfavorable price movements.

Visa officially launched USDC settlement services on the Solana blockchain, enabling faster and more efficient transactions.

OpenAI released GPT-5.2, enhancing AI capabilities in general intelligence, long-context understanding, and vision, available via ChatGPT's paid plans and API.

Google introduced Gemini 3 Flash, a speed-optimized AI model integrated into Search and Android apps, advancing multimodal reasoning across text, images, and video.

Nvidia entered a $20 billion licensing agreement with AI chip startup Groq, aiming to enhance AI inference capabilities and maintain market dominance.

Apple's top apps of 2025 feature significant AI integration, including Tiimo and Essayist, reflecting the growing role of AI in daily life.

TIME honored the 'Architects of AI,' including Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang, for revolutionizing the global landscape through artificial intelligence.