US SEC launches cryptocurrency task force to develop regulatory framework
According to Jinshi, Mark Uyeda, acting chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has established a cryptocurrency task force "committed to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrency assets." Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead the task force. The focus of the task force will be to help the commission draw clear regulatory boundaries, provide a practical registration path, develop a reasonable disclosure framework, and wisely deploy law enforcement resources. Senior advisors Richard Gabbert and Taylor Asher serve as chief of staff and chief policy advisor to the task force, respectively.
Trump responds to coin issuance: I don’t know much about TRUMP coin, I just know that I launched it
According to Jinshi, Trump responded to the coin: I don't know if it (TRUMP coin) is profitable, I don't know much about it, I just know that I launched it. I heard it was very successful.
Trump: Signed pardon for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht
According to Jinshi.com, US President Trump said he had signed a pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web Silk Road.
Trump: OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle will invest $500 billion in artificial intelligence
According to Reuters, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that three leading companies will make huge investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Trump said at the White House that OpenAI, SoftBank (9984.T) and Oracle (ORCL.N) will form a joint venture called "Stargate" with a planned investment of $500 billion. Trump said he would use an emergency executive order to help advance the project.
Eric Trump, the second son of Trump, posted on X: “I think now is the best time to invest in the United States. Bet on our markets, energy, technology and cryptocurrencies, bet on a country that has broken free from restrictions and shackles and now has unlimited potential. There is no doubt that Biden has left a mess, but this mess will be fixed, and the next four years will be brilliant. Transformative wealth will be created, and I hope everyone enjoys the process.”
The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has updated its website logo from the Dogecoin DOGE logo to another dog illustration.
Crypto market maker CLS Global pleads guilty following FBI sting operation and investigation
According to Reuters, CLS Global, a cryptocurrency financial services company based in the United Arab Emirates, agreed on Tuesday to plead guilty to U.S. charges that it provided services to assist in market manipulation involving a digital token created at the request of the FBI to uncover fraud in the cryptocurrency industry. CLS Global was one of three companies and 15 individuals indicted by federal prosecutors in Boston last year following an undercover investigation called Operation Token Mirrors, which marked the first time the FBI personally directed the creation of digital tokens and set up fake cryptocurrency companies to entrap fraudsters. Prosecutors pointed out that CLS was one of three market makers that provided illegal trading services to cryptocurrency companies and agreed to assist in manipulating the market for the FBI-backed NexFundAI token (which runs on the Ethereum blockchain) during the sting operation. CLS admitted in court documents that it agreed to provide services, including fake trades, for the NexFundAI token. On Tuesday, prosecutors announced that CLS will plead guilty to two charges of fraudulent manipulation of cryptocurrency trading volume and pay a fine of $428,059. In addition, CLS will be prohibited from participating in cryptocurrency trading on trading platforms available to U.S. investors or providing services to U.S. cryptocurrency customers. CLS Global also committed to conduct annual certifications of its business practices and agreed to settle related civil charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Kenya proposes law requiring digital asset businesses to have local offices
According to Bloomberg, the Kenyan government is drafting a law requiring virtual asset service providers to set up offices locally to strengthen supervision of the fast-growing digital asset industry. The proposed policy does not apply to assets that cannot be transferred, traded or used for payment and investment outside a closed ecosystem. It aims to address gaps in the legal and regulatory framework in the field of virtual assets and address issues such as consumer protection, governance, data privacy and cybersecurity. Kenya introduced a 3% income tax on digital asset transactions in 2023, but has not yet established a comprehensive industry regulatory framework. The government hopes to fill the regulatory gap through this move while addressing industry risks such as money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion, fraud and cybercrime.
According to official news, Ethereum re-staking protocol EigenLayer announced the launch of Rewards v2 mainnet on X platform. The Rewards v2 protocol upgrade was launched on the mainnet at 04:30 on January 22, 2025, Beijing time. Rewards v2 aims to bring greater flexibility, efficiency and customization to rewards in the EigenLayer ecosystem. Rewards v2 adopts the EigenLayer governance process (EigenGov) recently announced by the Eigen Foundation. This is also the first mainnet upgrade proposed and executed by the Eigen community. Rewards v2 introduces multiple features: 1. Operator-oriented rewards: AVS can reward operators based on performance or custom logic; 2. Variable operator fees: Operators can set their own rates for each AVS, providing economic flexibility. 3. Batch reward collection: Pledgers and operators can claim multiple rewards in one transaction, thereby reducing gas fees. These upgrades enable the Automatic Verification Service (AVS) to dynamically incentivize operators, allowing for the customization of reward mechanisms that better meet their specific needs.
Coinbase CEO: Future stablecoin regulation may require full backing by U.S. Treasury bonds
According to Cointelegraph, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes that upcoming U.S. stablecoin regulations may require issuers to fully back their dollar-denominated tokens with U.S. Treasuries - a move that could make it more difficult for offshore companies to serve the U.S. market. In an interview during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Armstrong said he expects stablecoin regulations to become clearer in the near future. Two of the requirements may be that all stablecoin operators in the United States must fully back their tokens with U.S. Treasuries and complete regular audits. He specifically pointed out that stablecoin issuer Tether may be one of the companies most affected by the new regulations, and if Tether cannot comply with any new U.S. laws, Coinbase will delist USDT. At the same time, Coinbase plans to continue to provide USDT services to help customers acquire other crypto assets. "There are a lot of people holding Tether, and if we want to help them transition to a system that we think is safer, we want to provide them with an exit channel," Armstrong said. As previously, in order to meet the implementation of the Crypto Asset Market Regulation (MiCA), Coinbase has delisted Europe's USDt and other non-compliant stablecoins. However, a Coinbase spokesperson said the stablecoin could potentially be relisted if it “met MiCA compliance requirements at a later date.”
Circle acquires Hashnote to enter asset tokenization market
According to CoinDesk, Circle announced the acquisition of Hashnote, the issuer of the $1.3 billion tokenized money market fund USYC, to further expand its layout in the field of stablecoins and asset tokenization. The acquisition aims to integrate USYC with Circle's core stablecoin USDC to achieve the conversion between on-chain cash and yield-generating collateral. Circle has also reached a cooperation with crypto market maker Cumberland DRW to provide liquidity and settlement support for USDC and USYC. At the same time, Circle plans to introduce USDC to the institutional blockchain platform Canton Network to promote seamless interaction between traditional finance and decentralized markets.
Obol Collective to Airdrop 7.5% of OBOL Tokens to Ethereum Node Operators
According to The Block, Obol Collective announced that it will launch and airdrop its new token OBOL to network participants including independent Ethereum stakers, Rocketpool node operators, and Obol Techne Credential holders. The airdrop is based on a snapshot on January 13 and is planned to be carried out in three phases, the first of which will be launched on Tuesday this week. The OBOL token will serve as Obol's governance mechanism to support decentralized validator technology (DVT). DVT further decentralizes the security of the Ethereum network by allowing multiple people to jointly operate Ethereum validators. 7.5% of the total supply of this airdrop will be allocated to three major participants: 1. Users participating in the "1% Decentralization" funding program; 2. Professional and amateur operators who run Obol nodes on the mainnet and testnet for a long time; 3. Family and independent stakers, aiming to ensure the neutrality and decentralized future of Ethereum. The unlocking of the airdrop tokens will be determined by community governance voting, and it is expected that the exchange listing plan will be promoted in the next 1-2 months.
Bloomberg ETF Analyst: Rex has submitted applications for Doge ETF and Trump ETF
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas tweeted that Rex has submitted applications to regulators and plans to launch Doge ETF and Trump ETF. Graphics and text information show that the REX Foundation has submitted applications to regulators for a variety of cryptocurrency ETFs, including Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), Ripple ($XRP), Solana ($SOL), Trump ($TRUMP), Bonk ($BONK) and Dogecoin ($DOGE).
Vitalik proposes using ZKP technology to establish an anonymous voting mechanism for ETH holders
In response to the community's discussion on ETH holders' participation in the governance of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), Vitalik Buterin supported the establishment of an anonymous voting tool similar to "anoncast" for ETH holders. Through zero-knowledge proof (ZKP), users can verify the amount of ETH they hold and set the frequency of speaking according to the proportion. For example, a user holding N ETH can express his opinion once every (120 million/N) seconds. He suggested implementing this mechanism on decentralized social platforms such as Farcaster or Lens Protocol to ensure that the entire process is intermediary-free and fully trusted. Vitalik believes that this method can not only avoid the noise interference of social media, but also truly reflect the collective voice of ETH holders, while demonstrating the potential of Ethereum technology.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin responded to the controversy on social media about the leadership change of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) in a tweet. He made it clear that the decision-making power of the new EF leadership team is currently in his hands, and the ongoing reforms are aimed at introducing a formal board of directors for the foundation, but before that, the decision-making power still belongs to him personally. Vitalik criticized the pressure on social media, saying that it undermined the working environment of excellent developers and made EF management more difficult. He pointed out that this behavior not only did not contribute to the achievement of goals, but also reduced his interest in catering to these requests. In addition, he defended Aya Miyaguchi's accusations, pointed out that there was a translation bias in the relevant quotes, and criticized the attacks against her as "pure malice."
Upbit to launch VTHO trading pairs with KRW and USDT
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit will support VeThor Token (VTHO) KRW and USDT trading pairs. The deposit function was opened within an hour after the announcement, KRW market trading will start at 20:00 on the same day, and USDT market trading will start at 21:00. Users must confirm that they use the VeChain network for deposits and withdrawals, and other networks are not supported.
Bitstamp plans to launch regulated crypto derivatives trading service in Europe
According to CoinDesk, cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp plans to launch regulated crypto derivatives trading services in Europe, including perpetual contract products. Bitstamp holds a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) license, which lays the foundation for its regulated derivatives trading in Europe. This move responds to Europe's increasing clarity on crypto asset regulation, with the goal of grabbing market share from offshore platforms such as Deribit. Bitstamp was also recently acquired by Robinhood.
Pump.fun transfers approximately $28 million of SOL to Kraken
According to Onchain Lens, Pump.fun has just transferred 116,054.56 SOL to Kraken, worth about $28 million. Since 2025, it has transferred a total of 692,877 SOL to Kraken, with a total value of about $139 million. Its total income has reached 2,365,753 SOL, currently worth about $570 million.
KULR adds $8 million to Bitcoin investment, total holdings reach 510
According to CoinDesk, energy management system manufacturer KULR announced that it purchased Bitcoin for $8 million, increasing its total holdings to 510 Bitcoins, with a total investment of $50 million and an average purchase price of $101,695 per Bitcoin. KULR announced in December 2024 that it would adopt Bitcoin as part of its reserve assets. As of now, the company's Bitcoin yield in 2025 has reached 127%. Since the strategy was announced, the company's stock price has risen by 90%, while Bitcoin has risen by 7% during the same period.
According to the announcement of Genius Group, the company has increased its Bitcoin reserves to a total of 420, with a total value of US$40 million, and the average purchase price is US$95,912 per Bitcoin. This increase includes the recent addition of US$5 million, which is in line with the company's "Bitcoin-first" strategy announced in November 2024, which is to invest more than 90% of current and future reserves in Bitcoin and set an initial target of US$1.2 billion. So far, the company has completed the purchase through reserve funds, ATM financing tools, and a US$19 million crypto loan with Arch Lending. Genius Group is an AI-driven education company with Bitcoin as its core, providing personalized education and AI solutions to more than 5.4 million users worldwide.
MicroStrategy purchased 11,000 additional Bitcoins, with a total value of approximately $1.1 billion
According to the Form 8-K filed by MicroStrategy, the company purchased approximately 11,000 bitcoins between January 13 and January 20, 2025, with a total amount of approximately US$1.1 billion and an average purchase price of approximately US$101,191 per bitcoin (including fees). The funds for the purchase of these bitcoins came from the proceeds from the company's issuance and sale of shares through the Sales Agreement. As of January 20, 2025, MicroStrategy has accumulated approximately 461,000 bitcoins, with a total purchase amount of approximately US$29.3 billion and an average purchase price of US$63,610 per bitcoin.
According to SoSoValue data, last week (January 13 to January 17), Bitcoin spot ETFs had a net inflow of $1.96 billion in a single week. Among them, BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF IBIT had a net inflow of $746 million, ranking first, with a historical cumulative net inflow of $38.41 billion; Fidelity's ETF FBTC ranked second with $680 million, with a historical cumulative net inflow of $12.84 billion; Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust GBTC had a net outflow of $87.68 million, with a historical cumulative net outflow of $21.65 billion. On January 17, Bitcoin spot ETFs had a total net inflow of $1.076 billion. Among them, IBIT had a net inflow of $376 million, FBTC had a net inflow of $326 million, and GBTC had a net inflow of $20.76 million. As of press time, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs was $121.28 billion, accounting for 5.85% of the total market value of Bitcoin, with a historical cumulative net inflow of $38.18 billion.
ZachXBT transferred 16348.95 SOL to Wintermute address
According to lmk.fun (formerly Scopescan), the on-chain detective ZachXBT transferred 16,348.95 SOL (about $3.89 million) to the Wintermute address. These SOLs are likely to be processed through over-the-counter (OTC) transactions.
A whale liquidated 41 million ZACHXBT and made a profit of about $1.18 million
According to Aunt Ai, a large investor liquidated 41 million $ZACHXBT at $0.06943, making a profit of about 4,886.88 SOL (about $1.18 million) at a cost price of $0.04043. The sell-off directly caused the price of $ZACHXBT to fall to $0.02134. It was later stated that ZachXBT also withdrew liquidity from its public address investigations.sol, involving 91.19 million ZACHXBT and 16,111 WSOL, with a total value of about $5.64 million. After removing liquidity, Zach added 96.19 million ZACHXBT (about $4.3 million) back to the one-sided liquidity pool and left SOL.
Trump family crypto project WLFI exchanged 5252 ETH into stETH and pledged it to Lido
According to Onchain Lens monitoring, early this morning, the Trump family's crypto project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) exchanged 5,252 ETH (worth US$17.43 million) into stETH and pledged it to Lido.
