Crypto’s Reality Check: Power, Politics & Protocols

The first NiftyNoon episode of 2026 breaks down where crypto stands after the holiday pause — institutionalized, scrutinized, and politically exposed.

In this episode:

• Polymarket’s insider trading controversy and regulatory response

• Wall Street’s ETF acceleration across BTC, ETH & SOL

• MSCI backs away from excluding Bitcoin treasury firms

• NFTs enter MoMA as markets contract elsewhere

• Nike exits RTFKT; cultural vs speculative value diverges

• Aave and Zcash expose deep DAO governance fault lines

Crypto didn’t ease into 2026 — it walked straight into a power test.