Today's top news highlights:

The New York Stock Exchange announced that it is developing a tokenized securities platform.

The Central Political and Legal Work Conference called for conducting forward-looking research on emerging issues such as virtual currencies and proactively proposing legislative suggestions.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate: Intensify anti-money laundering efforts, with a focus on punishing crimes such as money laundering through underground banks and virtual currencies.

An IT professional's Bitcoin account, worth over 80 million yuan, was seized by police in two different locations; the charges in the case have been changed multiple times.

Bermuda announces plans to build the world's first fully blockchain-based national economic system.

Musk: The X algorithm is open source, but still needs significant improvement.

YZi Labs launches the third season of EASY Residency, and adjusts to a year-round rolling enrollment model.

Garrett Jin, a whale: The current Bitcoin market is fundamentally different from that of 2022; it's too early to be bearish.

Regulation & Macro

The Central Political and Legal Work Conference called for conducting forward-looking research on emerging issues such as virtual currencies and proactively proposing legislative suggestions.

According to the official WeChat account of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Central Political and Legal Work Conference was held in Beijing from January 18th to 19th. The conference studied and planned the political and legal work for 2026, emphasizing the need for forward-looking research and proactive legislative suggestions on emerging issues such as the protection of the rights and interests of new employment groups, virtual currencies, and the low-altitude economy. It also stressed the importance of strengthening research on new technologies, strictly preventing the use of blockchain and other encryption technologies to evade regulation, and legally cracking down on the use of artificial intelligence technologies to generate and disseminate false information.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate: Intensify anti-money laundering efforts, with a focus on punishing crimes such as money laundering through underground banks and virtual currencies.

According to Xinhua News Agency, at the National Procurators' Conference held in Beijing on January 19, the Supreme People's Procuratorate made arrangements for fully utilizing the power of the rule of law to serve high-quality development. The Supreme People's Procuratorate required procuratorial organs to safeguard economic and financial security according to law, severely punish serious economic crimes, and promote a rule-of-law business environment. The Supreme People's Procuratorate also required the severe punishment of crimes such as smuggling and exporting strategic minerals to safeguard national strategic interests; to work with the State Financial Regulatory Commission and other relevant departments to govern the chaos of illegal intermediaries in the financial sector according to law, severely punish crimes such as illegal fundraising and financial fraud, crack down on the entire chain of financial "black and gray industries," ensure the sound operation of the financial system, and protect the property safety of the people; and to intensify anti-money laundering efforts, focusing on punishing crimes such as money laundering through underground banks and virtual currencies. The Supreme People's Procuratorate proposed to work with the China Securities Regulatory Commission to deepen the rule of law in the capital market, improve the securities procuratorial resident work mechanism, and severely punish securities crimes such as financial fraud and market manipulation to safeguard the security of the capital market.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister stated that the country's government is seeking investment partners to mine Bitcoin.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, the Ethiopian Prime Minister stated that the country's government is seeking investment partners to mine Bitcoin.

The People's Bank of China: Both the one-year and five-year Loan Prime Rates remain unchanged.

The People's Bank of China kept the one-year and five-year loan prime rates (LPR) unchanged at 3% and 3.5% respectively, marking the eighth consecutive month of no change.

Bermuda announces plans to build the world's first fully blockchain-based national economic system.

According to Circle's official website, the Bermuda government announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos that it plans to build the world's first fully on-chain national economic system with the support of Circle and Coinbase. This plan will promote digital payments, asset tokenization, and financial education through the stablecoin USDC, alleviating the problems of high local payment costs and limited infrastructure. Circle and Coinbase will provide blockchain infrastructure and tools for the government, banks, merchants, and others. This initiative is based on Bermuda's digital asset regulatory framework introduced in 2018.

South Korea plans to remove the "one exchange, one bank" restriction, promoting the legalization of cryptocurrency derivatives trading with corporate accounts.

According to the Korea Herald, South Korean financial authorities are pushing forward with reforms to the digital asset regulatory system, planning to abolish the "one exchange – one bank" binding restriction, allowing the issuance of crypto derivatives and participation of corporate accounts in trading, in order to break the current market monopoly structure and promote liquidity. Regulators believe that although this restriction is not legally mandatory, it has long been a constraint on exchange competition and user choice due to anti-money laundering requirements. Subsequent policies will be incorporated into the second phase of legislation for the Digital Asset Basic Law, and both parties in the National Assembly have reached a consensus on some aspects of regulatory easing. PANews Note: South Korea's "one exchange to one bank system" means that each exchange can only sign a real-name verification agreement for deposit and withdrawal accounts with one bank, and vice versa. This system naturally evolved from strengthening anti-money laundering (AML) and accountability, and the financial authorities have now initiated discussions and improvements regarding its abolition or significant relaxation.

Hong Kong industry insiders oppose stricter regulations on asset management virtual asset licenses, arguing that it could hinder traditional institutions from entering the market.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association (HKSFPA) has publicly opposed the regulator's proposal to remove the "exemption threshold" for virtual asset investment by Type 9 asset management firms. The association argues that this measure would force even funds allocating only 1% of their assets to Bitcoin to apply for a full virtual asset management license, resulting in disproportionate compliance costs and potentially discouraging traditional asset management firms from exploring crypto assets. Furthermore, the association criticizes the proposed requirement for assets to be held solely by licensed custodians, which could restrict the operation of Web3 venture capital funds, and calls for the introduction of flexible arrangements between self-custody and offshore custody.

An IT professional's Bitcoin account, worth over 80 million yuan, was seized by police in two different locations; the charges in the case have been changed multiple times.

According to The Paper, Li Dong, an IT professional in Shenzhen, was investigated by police in Zhangjiajie, Hunan and Changge, Henan, on charges including "operating a casino" for possessing a large amount of Bitcoin. Zhangjiajie police seized 103 BTC and converted them into nearly 50 million yuan, while Changge police seized 80 BTC, totaling over 80 million yuan. The case was later transferred to charges of "theft and infringement of citizens' personal information," and was heard in the Changge City Court in January. The court adjourned and will reschedule for a later date.

The EU will hold an emergency summit to address Trump's "island-grabbing" tariffs.

According to Xinhua News Agency, European Commission spokesperson Olof Gir stated on the 19th that the EU will hold an emergency summit in Brussels, Belgium on the 22nd to discuss issues such as US President Trump's announcement of tariffs on European countries opposing the US acquisition of Greenland, and to assess possible EU countermeasures. Gir said that in response to Trump's tariff threats, EU-US contact and communication are continuing "at all levels." The EU is also holding intensive consultations with member states on possible countermeasures. The EU will "make every necessary effort" to protect its own interests. Gir stated that the EU's primary task is "engagement, not escalation." However, he said that if the US implements the aforementioned tariffs, "the EU has the tools at its disposal and is prepared to respond."

Project Updates

Musk: The X algorithm is open source, but still needs significant improvement.

Musk stated in a post on the X platform that although the X recommendation algorithm still has many issues, the team is working hard to improve it and has open-sourced the new algorithm so that the outside world can monitor the adjustment process in real time. This algorithm is based on the same Transformer architecture as xAI's Grok model. Earlier this month, Musk stated that a new X platform algorithm would be open-sourced within seven days, a process repeated every four weeks.

The New York Stock Exchange announced that it is developing a tokenized securities platform.

According to Businesswire, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has announced it is developing a tokenized securities trading and on-chain settlement platform and will seek regulatory approval for it. The platform will support a tokenized trading experience, including 24/7 operation, instant settlement, USD-denominated orders, and stablecoin-based funding. Its design integrates the exchange's Pillar matching engine and a blockchain-based post-trade processing system, and will support multi-chain settlement and custody. Upon regulatory approval, the platform will provide the NYSE with a new trading venue supporting the trading of tokenized stocks interchangeable with traditional securities, as well as natively issued digital security tokens. Tokenized shareholders will enjoy traditional shareholder dividends and corporate governance rights. The trading venue is designed in accordance with established market structure principles and will be distributed to all qualified broker-dealers through non-discriminatory channels.

K33 launches cryptocurrency-backed lending service, supporting both BTC and ETH as collateral.

Norwegian publicly listed company K33 announced the launch of a crypto lending service backed by Bitcoin and Ethereum, initially open to select eligible customers. Loans will be issued in stablecoins such as USDC. K33 stated that it will also incorporate its own Bitcoin holdings into the service, creating a profitable digital asset solution.

Impossible has announced details for the Flying Tulip pre-orders, with the public run starting on January 27th.

According to an announcement from Impossible Finance, the Flying Tulip project token FT will be offered in an early public sale, valued at $1 billion, priced at $0.1 per token, with 100% unlocking at TGE and a principal protection mechanism. The pre-sale will be conducted in three rounds: 1) IDIA Staker Exclusive Round: January 21-23, limited to users who have staked $IDIA, totaling $15 million; 2) IDIA Staker Reward Round: also from January 21-23, limited to participants who have staked more than 20,000 IDIA and participated in full, with allocation based on excess allocation ratio; 3) Public Round: January 27, 12:00 to January 29, 24:00 (UTC+8), minimum investment of 10 USDT, with a weighted allocation bonus for deposits made in the first two days. All participants must complete KYC and will receive NFTs representing allocation and refund rights.

Pendle introduces the sPENDLE mechanism to replace vePENDLE and introduce liquidity staking.

According to Pendle's official announcement, vePENDLE will be completely replaced by the sPENDLE mechanism. sPENDLE is a transferable, composable, liquid staking token with a 14-day exit period. Protocol revenue will be used to buy back PENDLE and distribute it to active sPENDLE holders; those not participating in governance will forfeit their current rewards. The original manual voting emission mechanism will be upgraded to an algorithmic model, expected to reduce emissions by 30%. A snapshot of existing vePENDLE will be taken on January 29th, and up to 4x virtual sPENDLE will be awarded based on the remaining lock-up time, with a gradual transition over two years.

Pump.fun established its investment arm, Pump Fund, and launched a hackathon with a prize pool of $3 million.

Pump.fun announced that its newly established investment arm, Pump Fund, will launch the "Build in Public" hackathon with a total prize pool of $3 million. The hackathon will fund 12 projects, providing $250,000 to each project, representing a valuation of $10 million. Participants must issue tokens and publicly build their projects. The event emphasizes a user-market-centric judging mechanism. Non-crypto projects are also welcome to participate. Registration closes on February 18th, and the first batch of winners will be announced within 30 days.

Registration for the Zama public token auction is now open, and bidding will begin at 16:00 on January 21st.

According to Chainwire, crypto privacy protocol Zama has announced details of its upcoming public token auction. The auction will be a single-price, sealed-bid Dutch auction using the company's proprietary fully homomorphic encryption technology. Registration for the public auction is now open. Bidding will begin on January 21, 2026 at 16:00 (UTC+8) and end on January 24, 2026. Token generation is scheduled for February 2, 2026, at which time tokens purchased through the public auction are expected to be fully unlocked. Participants must register and verify in advance, submitting bids in USDT using a verified single wallet address, specifying the total purchase amount and the maximum price they are willing to accept per token. After the auction, the system will calculate a uniform liquidation price. Bids at or above this price will be allocated tokens according to the liquidation price, while unsuccessful bids or the difference in price will be returned to the original wallet.

Previously, it was reported that the Zama mainnet launched a staking function, with 18 operational nodes participating .

PancakeSwap: The maximum supply of CAKE tokens has now been adjusted to 400 million.

PancakeSwap announced on its X platform that the proposal to reduce the maximum supply of CAKE tokens has been approved, and the maximum supply has now been adjusted to 400 million CAKE tokens.

Magic Eden: Starting February 1st, 15% of all revenue will be directly injected into the ME token ecosystem.

According to official news, Magic Eden announced that starting February 1st, the platform will directly inject 15% of all revenue into the ME token ecosystem to establish long-term value sharing between the platform and the ecosystem. This revenue will be distributed equally: 50% will be used to repurchase ME tokens on the open market, and 50% will be distributed to $ME stakers in USDC according to their staking weight. This move will replace the previous repurchase mechanism, which was limited to market revenue. USDC rewards can be claimed monthly, with the first claim opening in March. Rewards must be claimed within 90 days; otherwise, they will expire.

OpenAI plans to launch its first hardware device in the second half of 2026.

According to *Walter Bloomberg, Chris Lehane, OpenAI's head of policy, revealed that the company plans to launch its first hardware device in the second half of 2026. Since acquiring Jony Ive's AI hardware company io, CEO Sam Altman has teased a simple, screenless AI device, but specific details have remained limited. Lehane stated that OpenAI expects to release the product by the end of 2026, although a sales date has not yet been determined.

MakinaFi suffered an attack that resulted in the loss of approximately 1299 ETH, with some funds being preemptively processed by MEV.

According to PeckShieldAlert, the MakinaFi platform was attacked, and hackers stole approximately 1,299 ETH, worth about $4.13 million. Some transactions were preemptively processed by the MEV builder (address 0xa6c2…). The stolen funds are currently stored in two addresses: 0xbed2…dE25 (approximately $3.3 million) and 0x573d…910e (approximately $880,000).

Later reports indicated that MakinaFi advised users to withdraw liquidity from the DUSD Curve pool and had enabled a security mode to address the vulnerability incident .

MegaETH will launch its mainnet on January 22nd, with a global stress test to begin first.

According to MegaETH's official announcement, its mainnet will launch on January 22nd, initially undergoing a 7-day global stress test, aiming to process 11 billion transactions and achieve 15,000 to 35,000 TPS. During the test, multiple on-chain interactive applications will be launched to verify the system's stability under high load. The mainnet will then officially open, initially integrating USDM-powered DeFi and consumer applications.

OKX will delist spot trading pairs for multiple currencies including ULTI, GEAR, and VRA.

OKX has announced the delisting of USDⓈ and USDT spot trading pairs for the following cryptocurrencies: ULTI, GEAR, VRA, DAO, CXT, RDNT, and ELON. Specifically, the USDⓈ spot trading pairs will be delisted from 16:00 to 18:00 (UTC+8) on January 27, 2026, and the corresponding USDT spot trading pairs will be delisted from 16:00 to 18:00 (UTC+8) on January 30. Deposits for these cryptocurrencies were suspended at 16:00 on January 20, and related trading services such as buying, selling, and instant swaps will be suspended from 16:00 on January 24. Withdrawals will be suspended from 16:00 on April 20.

Binance Alpha will launch the HeyElsa (ELSA) airdrop today at 16:00, with a minimum requirement of 235 points.

According to a Binance Wallet announcement, the Binance Alpha platform will open trading for HeyElsa (ELSA) at 16:00 (UTC+8) today. Users holding at least 235 Alpha Credits can claim a 200 ELSA airdrop on a first-come, first-served basis. If the reward is not distributed, the credit threshold will automatically decrease by 5 credits every 5 minutes. Claiming the airdrop will cost 15 credits, and users must confirm within 24 hours, otherwise it will be considered a forfeit.

Binance Alpha will launch on January 22nd.

According to a Binance Wallet announcement, the Binance Alpha platform will launch the FIGHT (FIGHT) token on January 22. Eligible users can claim the airdrop using Alpha Points on the Alpha event page after trading begins. Specific rules and claiming details will be announced separately.

Binance Alpha will launch the Acurast (ACU) airdrop today at 18:00, with a minimum requirement of 241 points.

According to a Binance Wallet announcement, the Binance Alpha platform will list Acurast (ACU) for trading at 18:00 (UTC+8) on the same day. Users holding at least 241 Alpha Points can claim a priority airdrop of 320 ACU tokens on a first-come, first-served basis. If the rewards are not distributed, the point threshold will automatically decrease by 5 points every 5 minutes. Claiming will consume 15 points and must be confirmed on the Alpha event page within 24 hours, otherwise it will be considered a forfeiture of the claim.

Analysis & Opinions

Analysis: A recovery in the crypto market in 2026 requires ETF expansion, large-cap market leadership, or a return of retail investor attention.

According to Windtermute analysis, the traditional "four-year cycle" of the crypto market has become ineffective, and the market performance in 2025 signifies the industry's shift from speculation to a more mature asset class. The market in 2025 exhibited extreme concentration. Bitcoin ETFs and Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) formed a "capital siege," providing sustained demand for large-cap assets, but capital did not naturally rotate to the broader market. Over-the-counter trading data shows that the wealth transmission effect from Bitcoin to Ethereum, then to blue chips and altcoins, was significantly weakened in 2025. The average rebound cycle for altcoins shortened from 60 days in 2024 to 20 days. The report points out that for the market to break through concentration in 2026, at least one of the following three conditions needs to be met: 1. ETFs and DATs expand their investment scope: Currently, new liquidity is still confined to institutional channels, and their investable scope needs to be expanded. ETF applications for SOL and XRP have shown early signs of this. 2. Strong rise in large-cap assets: A strong rise in Bitcoin or Ethereum could generate a wealth spillover effect, driving the broader market. 3. Retail investor attention returns: Retail investor attention is shifting from currently hot stock market themes such as AI and rare earths back to the crypto sector, bringing new funds and stablecoin minting. The market trend in 2026 will depend on whether these catalysts can truly channel liquidity beyond at least a few large-cap assets.

Garrett Jin, a whale: The current Bitcoin market is fundamentally different from that of 2022; it's too early to be bearish.

Garrett Jin, suspected to be the "1011 insider whale," posted on the X platform that comparing the current Bitcoin market to that of 2022 is extremely unprofessional. He believes that there are fundamental differences between the two in terms of long-term price structure, macroeconomic background, investor composition, and distribution of tokens.

He pointed out that the current macroeconomic environment is the complete opposite of the high-inflation and interest rate hike cycle of 2022: the situation in Ukraine is easing, CPI and risk-free interest rates are declining, and in particular, the AI technological revolution is likely to drive the economy into a long-term deflationary cycle. Interest rates have entered a phase of rate cuts, and central bank liquidity is returning to the financial system, which defines the risk-averse behavior of capital. Since 2020, Bitcoin and the year-on-year change in CPI have shown a clear negative correlation, and under the AI-driven technological revolution, long-term deflation is a high-probability outcome.
From a technical perspective, 2021-2022 formed a weekly M-top pattern, while 2025 represents a breakout from the upward channel, which, statistically, is more likely a "bear trap" before a rebound. He pointed out that for a bear market like the one in 2022 to repeat itself, stringent conditions must be met simultaneously, including a resurgence of inflationary shocks, the central bank restarting interest rate hikes or quantitative tightening, and a decisive drop in prices below $80,850. It is premature to be bearish before these conditions are met.
In terms of investor structure, the period from 2020 to 2022 was a highly leveraged speculative market dominated by retail investors. However, since the launch of Bitcoin ETFs in 2023, structural long-term holders have entered the market, effectively locking up supply and significantly reducing trading speed and volatility. Bitcoin has shifted from a historical volatility of 80-150% to a range of 30-60%, becoming a distinctly different asset. The current market has entered a more mature institutional era, characterized by stable underlying demand, locked supply, and institutional-level volatility.

Investment and Financing

YZi Labs launches the third season of EASY Residency, and adjusts to a year-round rolling enrollment model.

According to an official announcement from YZi Labs, its EASY Residency program will shift from a fixed-batch admissions system to a year-round rolling admissions model for its third season, and will establish long-term startup centers in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. The program offers selected projects up to $500,000 in investment, including a $150,000 SAFE investment and an additional $350,000 on top of the unlimited SAFE program. Selected teams will receive office space, housing allowances, and resources from partners such as Amazon AWS. Three global demo days will be held throughout the year, the first of which will take place in April during the TOKEN2049 conference in Dubai. The third season focuses on Web3, AI, and biotechnology, seeking early-stage projects in areas such as on-chain trading markets, stablecoins and payment infrastructure, tokenized real-world assets, enterprise AI agents, robotics, and new drug development. Accelerator mentors and speakers include prominent industry figures such as Binance co-founders Changpeng Zhao and He Yi, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Coinbase has reached an agreement to acquire prediction market company The Clearing Company.

According to its official blog, Coinbase announced an agreement to acquire The Clearing Company, a startup focused on prediction markets, to accelerate its prediction market business development as part of its vision of becoming an "all-encompassing exchange." The acquisition aims to leverage The Clearing Company team's expertise in prediction markets to expand and strengthen the scale of prediction market trading on the Coinbase platform. The company began offering prediction market trading to users last week, allowing them to trade the outcomes of real-world events within a familiar interface. Coinbase stated that this acquisition, combining professional talent with compliant market access, will lay the foundation for long-term expansion in this field.

mechanism

Strive's perpetual preferred stock has reached a par value of $100 for the first time, which may help it continue to increase its Bitcoin holdings.

According to CoinDesk, Strive's perpetual preferred stock (SATA) reached a par value of $100 per share for the first time last Friday, a level that allows it to sell more shares to raise funds for further Bitcoin purchases. The stock offers a 12% dividend yield, resulting in an effective yield of 12.2%. Strive currently holds 12,797 bitcoins on its balance sheet, with its common stock priced at $0.94. The SATA structure is similar to Stretch (STRC), a similar product from another Bitcoin reserve company, Strategy. Trading above par value means the company can raise cash through an at-the-market (ATM) issuance channel to increase its Bitcoin holdings. STRC reached par value earlier this month, with $755 million in trading volume last week, of which $582 million occurred above par value, the highest single-week total to date.

Bitmine added 86,848 ETH to the stake, worth approximately $279.4 million.

According to Onchain Lens, Bitmine has newly staked 86,848 ETH, worth approximately $279.4 million. To date, the entity has staked a total of 1,771,936 ETH, worth approximately $5.65 billion at current prices.

FG Nexus sold another 2,500 ETH, still holding over 37,000 ETH.

Ethereum treasury company FG Nexus sold another 2,500 ETH today, worth approximately $8.04 million. It currently holds 37,594 ETH, worth approximately $119.7 million at current prices. Previously, the company transferred 10,975 ETH, worth approximately $33.6 million, to Galaxy Digital between November 18th and 19th, 2025.

Bhutan's sovereign wealth fund, Drug Holdings, used an address linked to Aave to leverage its long positions in ETH.

According to Emmett Gallic, citing Arkham data, an address linked to Bhutan's sovereign wealth fund, Drug Holdings, appears to be engaging in leveraged long positions: withdrawing 42,000 ETH and $54 million USDT from Binance, converting the USDT to ETH and depositing it into Aave, and borrowing $275 million USDT to further purchase ETH. This leveraged position currently amounts to approximately 117,000 ETH, worth about $459 million.

Trend Research lent out 10 million USDT and transferred it to Binance, seemingly preparing to further increase its ETH holdings.

On-chain data shows that the address controlled by Trend Research borrowed 10 million USDT from Aave and transferred it to Binance five minutes ago, seemingly preparing to further increase its Ethereum holdings. Currently, this address holds 626,778 ETH, with a market value of approximately $1.94 billion, an average cost basis of $3,105.5, and a current unrealized profit of $53.52 million.

Cardone Capital disclosed that it has increased its Bitcoin holdings by another $10 million.

Grant Cardone, CEO of real estate investment firm Cardone Capital and a billionaire, announced last night on the X platform that Cardone Capital is adding another $10 million worth of Bitcoin to its real estate hybrid portfolio.

Important data

Sky Protocol repurchased 31.57 million SKY tokens last week, bringing its total repurchase amount to over $102 million.

According to official data released by Sky, Sky Protocol repurchased approximately 31.57 million SKY tokens last week for $1.9 million. To date, this decentralized buyback mechanism has cumulatively invested over $102 million.

Machi's 25x leveraged long position on Ethereum was partially liquidated, resulting in a floating loss of over $1 million.

A suspected whale is selling 13,000 ETH, worth $41.75 million.

A major whale borrowed 155 million USDT and purchased 65,700 stETH in the past four hours.

A major whale has added another 8,085 ETH to its position, bringing its total holdings to 50,537.79 ETH in the past 24 hours.

On-chain HYPE's major long positions are all deeply trapped, with the top-ranked whale, suspected of having insider information regarding HYPE's listing, suffering a paper loss of $21.3 million.

A "buy high, sell low" whale panicked again, selling 4,000 ETH, worth $12.44 million.

31,000 ETH transferred from Cumberland to Coinbase institutional account

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