PA Daily News | Bitmine conducts its first ETH staking, bringing the total staked amount to 154,000 ETH; Hyperliquid's annual revenue reached $843 million, with over 600,000 new users.

Today's top news highlights:

1. All three major U.S. stock indexes closed slightly lower, while spot silver rose by 10%.

2. Aave Founder: DAO's revenue this year exceeded the total of the past three years, reaching $140 million. The investment in AAVE was not used for voting on proposals.

3. Tom Lee: Ethereum's price could reach $7,000-$9,000 by early 2026.

4. Binance Wallet exclusively launches TGE tranche 43 on COLLECT, open for subscription on December 27th.

5. Cryptocurrency exchange bit.com will scale back its operations in an orderly manner and launch a user asset migration plan.

6. Bitmine pledged another 79,300 ETH, bringing the total pledged amount to 154,000 ETH.

7. In 2025, Hyperliquid's total revenue was approximately $843 million, with over 600,000 new users.

8. Lighter TGE and airdrops will take place within the year, with airdrops accounting for 25% of the total and being unlocked.

Macro

Pakistan has busted a transnational cryptocurrency scam involving $60 million.

Pakistani authorities in Karachi have dismantled a transnational cryptocurrency investment scam network involved in approximately $60 million in fraudulent schemes. The raid seized 37 computers, 40 mobile phones, over 10,000 international SIM cards, and 6 illegal payment gateway devices. The scam group employed long-term social engineering through social media and instant messaging tools, posing as traders or "insiders" to lure victims into fake cryptocurrency and forex trading platforms, gradually swindling them out of their funds with promises of high returns. Once victims had invested close to $5,000, the scammers would demand additional fees under the guise of taxes, withdrawal fees, or account verification fees. After payment, account access would be frozen, and all communication would be cut off.

Currently, the judge has detained 22 suspects, including eight foreign nationals, pending trial. The National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has initiated investigations under multiple provisions of the Electronic Crime Prevention Act and the Pakistan Penal Code.

U.S. stocks closed slightly lower, while spot silver rose by 10%.

According to CLS News Agency, the three major U.S. stock indexes all closed slightly lower. The Nasdaq fell 0.09%, but rose 1.22% for the week; the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.04%, but rose 1.2% for the week; and the S&P 500 fell 0.03%, but rose 1.4% for the week.

Spot silver rose 10% intraday, breaking through $79 per ounce, with a year-to-date gain of over 173%. Spot gold rose 1.12% to $4,531.1 per ounce, with a cumulative weekly gain of 4.44%.

Blockchain concept stocks generally fell, with Strategy (MSTR) up 0.06%; Strategy (MSTR) down 1.18%; Twenty One Capital (XXI) down 1.36%; and Circle (CRCL) down 1.66%.

JPMorgan Chase has frozen the accounts of several stablecoin startups operating in high-risk countries.

In recent months, JPMorgan Chase has frozen accounts used by at least two rapidly growing stablecoin startups operating in high-risk countries such as Venezuela. The bank's move highlights the risks that crypto transactions pose to banks, as they must understand their business dealings and the source of their funds.

A former Russian police officer has been sentenced to seven years in prison for confiscating his phone, stealing 20 million rubles worth of Bitcoin, and using violence to extract a confession.

According to Russian media outlet Bits.media, a former traffic police officer in Russia has been sentenced to seven years in prison for confiscating a mobile phone from a detainee in 2022 and transferring Bitcoin worth 20 million rubles into his own account. The officer not only stole the Bitcoin but also used violence to extract confessions from detainees. He will serve seven years in a regular prison and must pay 20 million rubles in compensation to the victims. He will also be stripped of his police rank.

Coinbase CEO: Former customer service representative arrested in India following May data breach.

According to Bloomberg, Coinbase Global Inc. CEO Brian Armstrong stated that a former customer service representative has been arrested in India. This comes months after hackers bribed customer service staff to obtain customer information. In May, the company stated that hackers bribed contractors or employees outside the United States to steal sensitive customer data and demanded a $20 million ransom. This was one of the most high-profile security breaches experienced by cryptocurrency trading platforms. At the time, Coinbase estimated that the cost of remediating the incident could reach as high as $400 million.

Opinion

Trader Eugene: I've already gone long on some small-cap altcoins.

Trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio posted on his personal channel that he has gone long on some small-cap altcoins. Eugene believes, "Almost everyone is watching from the sidelines, even the whales are just observing without actually making a move, yet the price has consistently failed to break the $84,000 low. Trading volume has plummeted across the board, it feels like the sellers are exhausted. Just a few large buyers entering the market will quickly tear apart the already thin positions. Considering the significant price volatility, going long below $90,000 is very attractive to me. I'd rather act now than stand by and do nothing at $95,000 or even $100,000. January is usually a very volatile month, so I expect this volatility to return in some form as December draws to a close."

Aave founder: DAO's revenue this year exceeded the total of the past three years, reaching $140 million; the investment in AAVE was not used for voting on proposals.

Aave founder and CEO Stani.eth stated on the X platform that the recent DAO vote has concluded, raising important questions about the relationship between Aave Labs and $AAVE token holders. This was a productive discussion, crucial for Aave's long-term health. While the process was somewhat chaotic, debate and disagreement are inherent characteristics of decentralized governance.

Stani.eth stated, “I am committed to making the economic benefits between Aave Labs and $AAVE token holders clearer. Our explanation in this regard is not yet perfect and we will strive to improve it in the future. In addition, there is one point that has been overlooked in this discussion: the DAO has already generated $140 million in revenue this year, exceeding the total revenue of the past three years, and $AAVE token holders have control over this fund. In the future, we will more clearly explain how the products developed by Aave Labs create value for the DAO and $AAVE token holders.”

Regarding the widely discussed issue of his $15 million investment in $AAVE tokens, Stani.eth clarified: "These tokens were not used to vote on recent proposals, and that was never my intention. This is my life's work, and I support my beliefs with my own money."

Previously, it was reported that the proposal regarding the ownership of Aave's brand assets was rejected, with over 55% voting against it and 41% abstaining.

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer: Bitcoin Could Reach $1.3 Million by 2035

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that Bitcoin is not just another highly volatile asset; it has the potential to become one of the highest-returning investments over the next decade. Using conservative assumptions, Hougan constructed a model predicting that Bitcoin's price will reach $1.3 million by 2035.

Sharplink CEO: Stablecoins, RWA, and sovereign wealth funds will drive Ethereum's TVL to grow tenfold by 2026.

Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom stated that the surge in stablecoins, tokenized RWAs, and growing interest from sovereign wealth funds could drive Ethereum's TVL to grow tenfold by 2026.

Joseph Chalom predicts that the stablecoin market will reach $500 billion by the end of 2026. Tokenized RWA will reach $300 billion by 2026, with the assets under management of tokenized assets growing tenfold, expanding from tokenization of individual funds, stocks, and bonds to tokenization of entire fund portfolios. Sovereign wealth funds' holdings of ETH and the scale of tokenization will grow five to tenfold. On-chain AI agents and prediction markets will become mainstream, driving significant activity on Ethereum.

Solana co-founder predicts that by 2026: the stablecoin market will exceed one trillion US dollars, and 100,000 humanoid robots will be shipped.

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko posted some predictions about 2026 on X, as follows:

• The total market capitalization of stablecoins has exceeded one trillion US dollars.
• Quantum computing (QC) and controlled nuclear fusion (Fusion) will remain as difficult to truly realize as they are today;
• AI will solve a millennia-old problem;
• 100,000 humanoid robots were shipped.
• Starship has completed two successful commercial flights.

Tom Lee: Ethereum price could reach $7,000-$9,000 by early 2026.

Tom Lee stated on the Power Lunch program that as Wall Street accelerates the tokenization of assets and puts financial activities on-chain, the price of Ethereum could climb to $7,000 to $9,000 by early 2026.

Tom Lee points out that as Wall Street experiments with on-chain settlement and tokenized securities, Ethereum's investment value is increasingly linked to its use as financial infrastructure. Lee cites the initiatives of Robinhood and BlackRock. He states that this shift can improve the efficiency of traditional finance while laying the foundation for the practical application of Ethereum. Lee adds that as Ethereum gains wider adoption, its price could eventually reach $20,000.

Project Updates

Huma Season 2 Airdrop Part 2 has begun; applications close on January 26th.

Huma Finance has launched Season 2 airdrop Part 2, with applications closing on January 26th at 21:00 (UTC+8). Eligible wallets that missed Part 1 can continue to apply in Part 2; however, for LP users who have transferred or withdrawn their locked PST and mPST, their Part 2 airdrop allocation will be reduced accordingly.

Lighter TGE and airdrops will take place within the year, with airdrops accounting for 25% of the total and being unlocked.

Pilla.eth, Lighter's Head of Marketing, shared some details about TGE during an AMA, including: Token Generation (TGE) and the airdrop will take place in 2025; the airdrop will account for 25% of the total supply and will be unlocked; there will be no claiming process, and the tokens will be directly distributed to the Lighter wallets of TGE holders; details of the token economic model will be gradually released, and 50% of the token supply will be allocated to the community; there will be a buyback, but the specific amount is yet to be determined; there will be no official Lighter NFTs, but there will be some community NFTs; and the Meme coin airdrop is a rumor.

Binance Wallet exclusively launches TGE tranche 43 on COLLECT, open for subscription on December 27th.

According to the official announcement, Binance Wallet will exclusively list COLLECT in TGE Phase 43. The subscription period is from 4 PM to 6 PM (UTC+8) on December 27, 2025. Eligible users must use Binance Alpha Points to participate. An additional 120 million COLLECT tokens will be used for future events; details will be announced separately.

Users with over 240 Binance Alpha Points can participate in the COLLECT TGE event.

According to the official announcement, Binance Alpha Points users with 240 or more can participate in the COLLECT TGE event through the Alpha event page. Participation in this event will consume 15 points.

Cryptocurrency exchange bit.com will be scaling back its operations and initiating a user asset migration plan.

According to an official announcement, cryptocurrency exchange bit.com has announced its closure, will systematically scale back its existing business, and will simultaneously launch a "user asset migration plan".

The UXLINK community has proposed a buyback and strategic reserve program, starting in December, to use profits to buy back at least 1% of UXLINK tokens each month.

UXLINK announced that the community has unanimously approved the buyback and strategic reserve proposal. UXLINK will launch the program this December, using project profits each month to buy back no less than 1% of the total supply of $UXLINK and deposit it into the strategic reserve.

The LayerZero community vote failed to pass the proposal for an activation protocol fee mechanism; a second vote will be held in 6 months.

The LayerZero community vote on "whether to activate the protocol fee mechanism" failed because the required quorum was not reached. The next vote will be held in six months. The proposal included deciding whether to activate the LayerZero protocol fee mechanism, with fees not exceeding the cost of verifying and executing each LayerZero message. Fees collected would be converted into ZRO and destroyed.

Important data

BlackRock deposits over $114 million worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum into Coinbase.

According to Onchain Lens, BlackRock has deposited 1,044 bitcoins worth $91.9 million and 7,557 ETH worth $22.41 million into Coinbase, and is likely to continue depositing more.

In 2025, Hyperliquid's total revenue was approximately $843 million, with over 600,000 new users.

According to ASXN's 2025 year-over-year review data, Hyperliquid's total trading volume in 2025 reached $2.95 trillion, with an average daily trading volume of approximately $8.34 billion and 198.9 billion transactions. It added approximately 609,700 new users. Total platform revenue for the year was approximately $843 million, and total fees were approximately $908 million. Perpetual contract revenue reached $808 million, and spot trading revenue was approximately $35.25 million. Net inflows for the year were $3.87 billion, with spot trading volume reaching $116.8 billion and HIP-3 trading volume reaching $11.01 billion.

Bitmine has pledged 74,900 ETH for the first time; if it pledges all of its holdings, the annual interest could reach $371 million.

According to on-chain analyst Ember, Ethereum treasury company Bitmine has been staking its ETH holdings to earn interest: 74,880 ETH ($219 million) were deposited into Ethereum PoS staking 50 minutes ago.

This marks Bitmine's first staking activity. It currently holds 4.066 million ETH, with an APY of approximately 3.12%. If all of these were staked, it could earn approximately 126,800 ETH in interest annually, worth $371 million at the current price of $2,927.

Bitmine has staked another 79,300 ETH, bringing its total staked amount to 154,000 ETH.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Bitmine has staked another 79,296 ETH, worth $232 million. Its total staked ETH is 154,176, worth $451 million.