Important news from last night and this morning (January 7th - January 8th)

Solana Mobile will airdrop 2 billion SKR tokens to Seeker users on January 21st.

Solana Mobile announced that it will airdrop its native token SKR to Seeker mobile users and ecosystem developers on January 21, 2026 at 10:00 AM (UTC+8), with the initial airdrop representing 20% of the total supply (2 billion SKR). The first quarter of Seeker activity saw 265 dApps, 9 million transactions, and $2.6 billion in trading volume. Note that early Solana Saga mobile users are not included in this airdrop.

Bitmine has pledged an additional 19,200 ETH, bringing the total pledged amount to 827,000 ETH.

According to Onchain Lens, Bitmine pledged an additional 19,200 ETH today, worth approximately $60.85 million. To date, Bitmine has pledged a total of 827,008 ETH, with a total value of $2.62 billion.

Flare launches its first XRP spot trading pair on Hyperliquid

According to The Block, Flare announced that FXRP, issued through its FAssets system, has officially launched on the Hyperliquid platform, marking the first time XRP spot trading has been available on the platform. Previously, Hyperliquid only supported XRP perpetual contract trading. FXRP is a cross-chain token pegged 1:1 to XRP, allowing it to circulate across multiple chains and supporting one-click redemption to the XRP mainnet via Flare smart accounts in the future.

PMX trading bot attacked, users lose $230,000

According to an official announcement from PMX, its Polycule trading bot was compromised by a vulnerability exploited by hackers last night, resulting in the theft of user funds. The source of the vulnerability has been identified, and a patch and audit will be released this weekend. PMX stated that only approximately $230,000 in user funds were affected, and once the system is restored, affected users on the Polygon blockchain will be compensated through a vault, restoring their balances to pre-attack levels.

Wyoming's official stablecoin, FRNT, has been officially launched to the public through Kraken and deployed on the Solana blockchain.

According to an announcement from the Wyoming Stable Token Commission, the state of Wyoming has officially launched its government-backed fiat-reserve stablecoin, FRNT, through the Kraken exchange, becoming the first publicly issued and fully reserve-backed stablecoin in the United States. FRNT is deployed on the Solana blockchain and can be bridged to multiple blockchain networks, including Ethereum and Arbitrum, via Stargate. The coin is available to individuals and institutions, supports near-instantaneous settlement, and has transaction fees as low as $0.01. Its reserve interest will be used to support education within the state.

Anthropic plans to raise $10 billion at a valuation of $350 billion.

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic plans to raise $10 billion in a new funding round, valuing the company at $350 billion before the new investment. Sources say Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Kotaui Management plan to lead the round. The round is expected to close in the coming weeks, though the total deal value may change. The company previously raised $13 billion in a funding round last September, nearly tripling its valuation to $183 billion.

World Liberty applies for a U.S. national banking license.

According to The Wall Street Journal, World Liberty Financial, the crypto business owned by the Trump family, said its entity, World Liberty Trust, has filed a de novo application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) seeking a nationwide banking license.

Coinbase has included RAY, ENERGY, ELSA, and FUN in its listing roadmap.

Coinbase has announced that Raydium (RAY), Energy Dollar (ENERGY), Elsa (ELSA), and Sport.fun (FUN) have been added to its listing roadmap. Trading on these tokens will require market-making support and technical infrastructure conditions to be met. Specific timing will be announced later.

A certain whale's BTC long positions have grown to $259 million, making it the top BTC long position on Hyperliquid.

According to on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, the whale 0xFB7…5e0A3's BTC long positions have grown to $259 million, making it the top long position in Hyperliquid's BTC holdings. He just deposited another 20 million USDC as margin, currently holding 2,830 BTC in long positions, with an average opening price of $92,318.6, a floating loss of $1.982 million, and a liquidation price of $81,157.4; the stop-loss sell order triggered at $93,300 has not yet been cancelled.

$4.85 million worth of ZKP tokens were transferred from a team wallet to Binance.

According to onchainschool.pro, around 21:41 today, $4.85 million worth of ZKP tokens were transferred from a team wallet to Binance.

Fireblocks acquires crypto accounting platform TRES Finance for $130 million

According to Fortune magazine, blockchain infrastructure company Fireblocks has reached an agreement to acquire crypto accounting platform TRES Finance for $130 million in cash and equity. This is Fireblocks' second acquisition in three months, following its acquisition of crypto wallet startup Dynamic for approximately $90 million last October. Fireblocks co-founder and CEO Michael Shaulov stated that the acquisition of TRES will help the company provide enterprise clients with more comprehensive cash management solutions. Founded in 2022, TRES Finance's platform helps corporate TFOs and accountants track the flow of crypto assets across multiple platforms and wallets. Its clients include venture capital firm CoinFund, analytics platform Nansen, and the development team behind the crypto wallet Phantom. TRES completed an $11 million funding round in late 2023, and co-founder and CEO Tal Zackon stated that the acquisition price is higher than the company's most recent valuation.

Upexi disclosed that it has increased its holdings by 67,594 SOL tokens, bringing its total holdings to over 2.174 million tokens.

According to Globenewswire, Nasdaq-listed Solana treasury company Upexi updated its SOL holdings, disclosing that it has increased its holdings by 67,594 SOL tokens, bringing its total SOL holdings to 2,174,583 tokens as of January 5, 2026, with a market value exceeding $300 million at current prices. In addition, the company announced a share buyback of 416,226 shares at an average price of $1.92 per share, and continues to actively deploy capital for further SOL purchases and share buybacks.

US ADP employment figures for December were 41,000, below the expected 47,000.

According to Jinshi News, the US ADP employment figure for December was 41,000, below the expected 47,000 and the previous figure of -32,000.

Decentralized protocol Babylon raises $15 million, led by a16z Crypto.

According to Fortune magazine, Babylon, a decentralized protocol co-founded by Stanford University professor David Tse, has raised $15 million in funding. The round was led by a16z Crypto, a subsidiary of Andreessen Horowitz. The project's valuation was not disclosed. Babylon has developed a protocol called BTCVaults, designed to allow Bitcoin holders to directly use their Bitcoin as collateral without going through third parties such as exchanges or stablecoin issuers, while retaining control of their assets. The protocol plans to integrate with the lending protocol Aave in the second quarter of 2026. Tse stated that its goal is to use cutting-edge technology to help users bypass intermediaries and generate returns more directly from their Bitcoin assets. Founded in 2021, Babylon currently has a team of over 40 people and has not yet generated revenue.

A major whale recently deposited 15.5 million USDC into Hyperliquid and went long on 20.7 million BTC.

According to MLM monitoring, a "whale" holding 30,060 stETH (worth $97 million) and $370 million in assets deposited on the Aave platform deposited 15.5 million USDC into Hyperliquid in the past 33 hours and went long on 2,070 BTC ($191 million) in the past 12 hours. He has set a take-profit price of $93,300 for the entire position.

WisdomTree withdraws its S-1 registration application for its spot XRP ETF.

According to Cryptopolitan, WisdomTree has officially withdrawn its proposed registration application for a spot XRP ETF. In a filing submitted Tuesday, the company stated that it has "decided not to proceed with" the product launch at this time and requested the SEC to withdraw its registration statement and all accompanying exhibits and amendments. WisdomTree had previously filed its S-1 registration document for a spot XRP ETF with the SEC in December 2024.

Riot Platforms sold 1,818 bitcoins in December 2025, raising $161.6 million.

According to The Block, Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) sold 1,818 Bitcoins in December, netting $161.6 million, reducing its Bitcoin reserves to 18,005 from 19,368 at the end of November. The company stated that its average Bitcoin price was $88,870, down 8% from $96,560 in November, but total Bitcoin sales revenue increased by 337% month-over-month, from $37 million to $161.6 million. Notably, according to its disclosures, the December sell-off marked Riot's largest single-month Bitcoin sale and is only the third net reduction in its reserve holdings in 2025. The update report shows that the company produced a total of 460 Bitcoins that month, an 8% increase from 428 in November, but an 11% decrease from 516 in December 2024. This sell-off comes at a time when mining profitability is under severe pressure. Data shows that hash rates were at cyclical lows for most of the last quarter. Riot's Bitcoin sale coincides with a shift in its capital strategy. The company revealed that earlier this month, Riot Games adjusted its market equity offering plan, replacing the previous offering with approximately $150 million in remaining funds with a new plan that allows for a maximum stock offering of $500 million.

Rumble and Tether jointly launch the non-custodial crypto wallet, Rumble Wallet.

According to Globenewswire, video-sharing platform Rumble and stablecoin issuer Tether announced the joint launch of Rumble Wallet, a non-custodial crypto wallet that integrates directly into the Rumble platform. The wallet will support USDT, XAUt, and Bitcoin, allowing users to tip creators directly in cryptocurrency. It also supports embedding cryptocurrency payments into video-sharing platforms, eliminating the need for intermediaries such as ad networks, banks, or payment processors, allowing creators to receive payments directly from viewers. MoonPay will provide Rumble Wallet users with end-to-end cryptocurrency inflow and outflow.

Prince Group founder Chen Zhi arrested and extradited to China

According to the Beijing Daily, reporters from the International Communication Liaison Station of the Guangxi International Communication Center (Cambodia) and the Cambodia-China Times have learned that Chen Zhi, founder and chairman of the Prince Group, was arrested in Cambodia and has been repatriated to China for investigation by relevant authorities.

The "whale that profited from multiple ETH swings" has increased its BTC long position to 1700 BTC, and is currently experiencing a floating loss of $600,000.

According to on-chain analyst Ember's monitoring, the "whale that profited $96.67 million through multiple ETH swings" has been gradually increasing its position, and has now added 1,700 BTC to its long position (worth $156 million). The opening price was $92,580, the liquidation price was $84,526, and it is currently experiencing a floating loss of $600,000.

a16z Crypto: Privacy will become the most important competitive advantage in the crypto space by 2026.

According to The Block, Ali Yahya, general partner of a16z Crypto, stated in a blog post published on Tuesday that privacy will become the most important competitive differentiator for blockchain networks by 2026. Privacy is a key missing feature hindering the full shift of global finance to on-chain development, and it's a feature that most blockchains still lack. Although throughput and transaction fees across networks have converged, privacy alone is now a powerful factor in differentiating different chains and locking in users. The emphasis on privacy extends beyond blockchain itself. Shane Mac, co-founder and CEO of XMTP Labs, wrote in a16z Crypto's blog post that with growing concerns about quantum computing, the next stage of secure communication will require a combination of decentralization and encryption. Mac called for the establishment of open protocols without a single controlling entity, where users have full ownership of messages and identities. a16z Crypto also emphasized the necessity of "confidentiality as a service," positioning privacy as a core infrastructure. Adeniyi Abiodun of Mysten Labs pointed out that institutions need cryptographic guarantees for access to sensitive data; the lack of native data access controls will force enterprises to adopt centralized systems that limit interoperability, while programmable access rules and other mechanisms can unlock on-chain systems. Security is also a core issue. Daejun Park, a crypto engineer at a16z Crypto, said that the attacks in the DeFi field in 2025 exposed the limitations of the current audit-led security model, and the industry needs to shift from "code is law" to "standards are law".

Market news: Morgan Stanley submits Ethereum ETF application to the US SEC

According to market sources, Morgan Stanley has submitted an application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an Ethereum ETF. This follows yesterday's report that Morgan Stanley submitted S-1 filings for the Solana Trust and the Bitcoin Trust to the SEC.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has set January 15 as the date for its review of the cryptocurrency market structure bill.

According to Finance Feeds, the legislative landscape for the US cryptocurrency industry has reached a critical turning point, with the Senate Banking Committee officially setting the date for deliberation on the Digital Asset Market Transparency Act (CLARITY Act, also known as the Crypto Market Structure Act) for Thursday, January 15, 2026. Committee Chairman Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, announced the decision after a series of tense closed-door meetings in early January. Senator Scott emphasized that the committee would proceed with the formal vote regardless of the difficulties encountered. The Republican leadership views this deadline as strategically necessary, racing against time to complete legislation before the January 30 deadline for critical federal spending, which could trigger another government shutdown. The committee hopes that next Thursday's vote will allow the bill to reach the full Senate for consideration, given the current administration's continued strong support for cryptocurrencies.

Binance will list Binance Life (Binance Life) and zkPass (ZKP) and add seed tags to them.

According to the official announcement, Binance will list Binance Life (Binance Life) and ZKPass (ZKP) on January 7, 2026 at 22:00 (UTC+8) and open the following spot trading pairs: Binance Life/USDT, Binance Life/USDC, Binance Life/TRY, ZKP/USDT, ZKP/USDC, ZKP/TRY. Deposits for Binance Life and ZKP will open one hour later; withdrawals are expected to open at 20:30 (UTC+8) on January 7, 2026. Seed tags will be applied to both Binance Life and ZKP.

Barclays invests in stablecoin clearing platform Ubyx

According to Cointelegraph, Barclays has made its first investment in a stablecoin-related company, Ubyx, a US-based stablecoin clearing platform, though the specific size of the investment was not disclosed. Ryan Hayward, Head of Digital Assets and Strategic Investments at Barclays, stated, “As the token, blockchain, and wallet space continues to evolve, expertise will play a crucial role in providing connectivity and infrastructure to enable seamless interaction for regulated financial institutions. This investment aligns with Barclays’ approach of exploring opportunities based on new digital currencies such as stablecoins.” Previously, in June of last year, stablecoin startup Ubyx completed a $10 million seed funding round, led by Galaxy Ventures.

Ethereum's second BPO hard fork has increased the blob limit to 21.

According to Cointelegraph, Ethereum's second BPO hard fork has increased the blob limit to 21, thereby improving network scalability and reducing costs.