Hong Kong plans to issue its first stablecoin licences in the first quarter of 2026 as part of its wider push to develop a regulated crypto ecosystem. The city already licences cryptocurrency trading platforms and has been advancing tokenisation projects, including green bonds and digital asset pilots.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed a "native DVT (Distributed Validator Technology)" concept on the Ethereum Research forum, suggesting that DVT be directly written into the Ethereum staking protocol layer to further promote validator decentralization while improving network security. According to this proposal, a single validator can register multiple independent keys, which together form a validator identity. Key operations such as block proposals and witnessing require a pre-defined threshold of keys to jointly sign before being considered valid, thus reducing the risk of a single point of failure or a compromised node causing a validator to go offline. Under reasonable threshold settings, the existing slashing mechanism can still function normally. Vitalik stated that this design allows validators to participate in staking without completely relying on a single node; as long as more than two-thirds of the nodes remain honest, the validator can continue to operate normally. Unlike current DVT schemes that rely on external coordination layers and complex deployments, this proposal advocates for native support of related mechanisms at the protocol layer. Validators meeting the minimum staking multiple requirement can configure up to 16 keys and set signature thresholds, essentially operating as a single validator with multiple standard nodes collaborating. In terms of performance, Vitalik believes the additional overhead of this scheme is limited, adding only one round of delay to block production, without causing additional delay to the witnessing process, and is compatible with different signature schemes, thereby reducing the risk of long-term reliance on a single cryptographic assumption. He also pointed out that native DVT is not only a tool for technical improvement but also helps improve decentralization metrics. By lowering the operational threshold of fault-tolerant staking, more individuals and institutions can choose to stake themselves rather than rely on large service providers, thereby increasing the diversity of validator distribution, including metrics such as the Nakamoto coefficient. Currently, this idea is still in the proposal stage and requires further extensive discussion and evaluation within the Ethereum community; it has not yet entered the specific implementation process.

Nikolay Shulginov, Chairman of the Energy Committee of the Russian State Duma, stated that illegal cryptocurrency mining activities cost Russia nearly 20 billion rubles (approximately $250 million) annually for the country and economy. Shulginov pointed out that illegal mining leads to power shortages, overloading the power grid, and impacting other electricity demand, including for social infrastructure and new housing construction. Direct losses to the energy system exceed 10 billion rubles, with tax revenue losses reaching approximately 9.6 billion rubles. These figures were provided by the Stolypin Institute for the Economy of Growth. Although Russia officially legalized cryptocurrency mining, including Bitcoin, at the end of 2024, allowing businesses and individuals to conduct mining activities upon registration and tax payment, less than one-third of miners have currently completed the necessary declarations. Some regions have implemented bans on mining due to power shortages, but with limited effectiveness. Shulginov revealed that the Irkutsk region in Siberia remains the most concentrated area for illegal mining, with the highest number of underground mining operations uncovered in 2025. To combat these activities, Russia has submitted a bill proposing fines of up to 2 million rubles for illegal mining, with repeat offenders facing fines of up to 10 million rubles, and does not rule out the introduction of criminal liability. (cryptopolitan)

Galaxy, led by Michael Novogratz, is launching a $100 million hedge fund to profit in both rising and falling markets. source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/galaxy-enters-crypto-hedge-fund-arena/

Qinbafrank posted on X. U.S. President Donald Trump is currently engaged in discussions with European leaders at the Davos summit. The talks are focused on various issues, and there is speculation that Europe might be willing to make concessions if the discussions do not involve sovereignty control. The outcome of these talks could have significant implications for international relations and economic policies.

Bitcoin fell to lows of $87,800 on Tuesday before bouncing to above $89,000. Losses for BTC came as gold hit new record high above $4,870. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz says bulls need to take out bears around $100,000-$103,000. Bitcoin dipped to around $87,800 on Tuesday, breaking lower as risk assets struggled source: https://coinjournal.net/news/bitcoin-touches-lows-of-87800-as-gold-hits-new-record-high/

According to the latest exchange rankings data from CoinMarketCap (CMC), cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex has risen to 40th place overall, a significant jump from its previous ranking of approximately 215th. According to the official introduction, Poloniex's ranking improvement is mainly attributed to its focus on the Meme market in 2025. Data shows that Poloniex listed 296 new cryptocurrencies in 2025, of which 196 Meme coins saw gains exceeding 100% after opening. Poloniex stated that based on market feedback in 2025, its focus for new listings in 2026 will continue to be on the Meme market, allowing users to capture more early alpha opportunities.

Blockchain sleuth EmberCN posted on X that besides Trend Research, which holds 651,300 ETH through leveraged loans, another major Ethereum whale known as '7 Siblings' has also accumulated a substantial amount of ETH using similar methods. The '7 Siblings' entity has deposited 596,800 ETH across eight addresses on the lending protocol Spark, making them the largest depositor on the platform. They have borrowed $193 million in stablecoins, including DAI, USDT, and USDS, from Spark. During the market downturn in October and November last year, these stablecoins were used to purchase 49,287 ETH at an average price of $3,531. Currently, this investment has resulted in an unrealized loss of $27.7 million. The addresses ranked 2nd to 7th, 10th, and 11th on Spark belong to '7 Siblings.'

On January 21, a notable trading address known as '20 Million Band Hunter' executed a reduction in its PAXG short position, according to BlockBeats. The address, identified as 0x880a…, decreased its PAXG short position by 78.14 tokens. Following this reduction, the total value of the PAXG short position stands at approximately $1.494 million. The position currently shows a floating loss of around $151,000, with a loss percentage of 50.66%. The average holding price is $4,399.04, while the liquidation price is $61,360.732. This address is recognized for its high-frequency, multi-currency trading style, with an average holding period of about 20 hours. Since October of last year, it has reportedly turned an initial capital of approximately $20 million into nearly $100 million in profits.

솔라나 모바일은 안드로이드 기반 스마트폰 시커(Seeker) 사용자들을 대상으로 자사의 새로운 알트코인인 SKR을 에어드롭 방식으로 배포할 예정이라고 발표했습니다. 계속 읽어보세요: 솔라나의 기대작 신규 알트코인이 에어드롭을 발표했습니다! 참여 대상은 누구일까요? source: https://kr.bitcoinsistemi.com/solanas-highly-anticipated-new-altcoin-announces-airdrop-who-eligible/

Solana Mobile has announced it will be distributing an airdrop of its new altcoin, SKR, to owners of the Android-based smartphone Seeker. Continue Reading: Solana’s Highly Anticipated New Altcoin Announces Airdrop! Who Won? source: https://en.bitcoinsistemi.com/solana-s-highly-anticipated-new-altcoin-announces-airdrop-who-won/

Gold and silver have surged to record highs as investors seek safety amid geopolitical tensions. Bitcoin has struggled, dipping below $88,000 before recovering slightly, reflecting increased volatility compared with traditional safe-haven assets.

Gold surged to a fresh all-time high of $4,739 per ounce in futures trading as investors rushed into traditional safe-haven assets amid escalating geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

Solana Mobile has officially launched its SKR token airdrop, opening claims to Seeker smartphone users and early developers in its decentralized app ecosystem.

Grayscale and 21Shares' dividend practices have led to record-breaking staking rates, indicating that Ethereum is rapidly transitioning into an "interest-bearing asset."

The crypto market and crypto-related stocks are under short-term pressure due to the "sell-off in the US".

World Liberty Financial will host an invitation-only World Liberty Forum at Mar-a-Lago, bringing together around 300 senior leaders from finance, technology and policy to discuss the future of money and regulation. The announcement follows the launch of its new crypto lending platform and plans to expand its stablecoin and digital banking services.

What we are experiencing is a structural transformation from "valuation" to "value".

Crypto Market: Tom Lee's View on the Bitcoin Supercycle (Golden Finance): Bitcoin Remains "Digital Gold"

ABC Investment Method: Anything But Crypto.