Amid a significant shift in the US government's attitude towards digital assets, PwC, one of the Big Four accounting firms, is increasing its investment in cryptocurrencies and related businesses. Paul Griggs, PwC's US head, stated that this strategic shift began last year, primarily benefiting from the appointment of pro-crypto regulatory officials and the advancement of several digital asset-related legislations in the US Congress. Griggs pointed out that the regulatory framework surrounding stablecoins and the Genius Act are helping to boost market confidence in these assets, and asset tokenization will continue to develop, requiring PwC to be deeply involved in this emerging ecosystem. The report states that these statements reflect that changes in the policy environment are prompting traditional blue-chip institutions to reassess and gradually enter the digital asset market, which they had previously maintained a cautious stance towards. (Financial Times)

Japanese and South Korean stock markets surged today. The Nikkei 225 index closed up 1493.32 points, or 2.97%, at 51832.80 on Monday, January 5th, led by gains in chip and heavy industry stocks. South Korea's KOSPI index closed up 147.89 points, or 3.43%, at 4457.52 on Monday, January 5th, a record closing high, again led by gains in chip and defense stocks; Samsung Electronics rose 7.47%, its biggest one-day gain since March 24, 2020. (Jinshi)

OpenAI is reportedly looking to buy Pinterest, giving it access to billions of images, a shopping platform, and advertising tools. The deal could let OpenAI integrate its AI into visual discovery and shopping, putting it in closer competition with Google, Meta, and Amazon.

CryptoQuant data shows that Binance's average monthly Bitcoin inflow per transaction has increased to approximately 29.7 BTC in recent months, nearly 34 times higher than at the beginning of 2021, reflecting a significant increase in the activity of large Bitcoin holders (whales) on the platform. This metric represents the average amount of Bitcoin per inflow transaction, suggesting that institutional or large funds are accelerating their entry into the exchange.

SolanaFloor stated on the X platform that in 2025, nearly $9 billion in assets transferred from other blockchains to Solana via cross-chain bridges. Of this, over $5 billion came solely from Ethereum.

According to PANews, a trader known as 'beachboy4' incurred losses exceeding $2 million over 35 days despite achieving a 51% win rate in 53 prediction trades on Polymarket. The trader's largest single profit was $936,000, while the biggest loss reached $1.58 million, with an average bet of approximately $400,000 per trade, indicating high-risk behavior. The trader frequently purchased 'consensus direction' at high prices ranging from 0.51 to 0.67, creating a structure with limited upside and complete downside. The absence of stop-loss, hedging, or early profit-taking mechanisms led to most losing positions being wiped out. The trader often placed bets on 'high-confidence' events, such as popular NBA or soccer teams, in transparent and efficient markets, resulting in losses due to structurally imbalanced strategies rather than bad luck. Lookonchain highlighted five practical lessons: avoid entering at high prices, manage single-trade risk, implement timely profit-taking and stop-loss strategies, assess risk-reward ratios, and steer clear of markets without competitive advantages.

Bitcoin Core development activity saw a clear resurgence in 2025, marking a reversal of a multi-year slowdown and signaling renewed momentum behind Bitcoin’s core protocol maintenance. According to contributor data, 135 developers contributed code to Bitcoin Core in 2025, up from roughly 112 contributors in 2024. source: https://www.ethnews.com/bitcoin-core-development-rebounds-in-2025-as-contributor-count-climbs/

Coinbase has temporarily suspended its Argentine peso (ARS) on- and off-ramps, halting local fiat services while keeping all crypto trading fully operational.

null source: https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/2008058447754109192

Peer-reviewed studies contradict claims that Bitcoin mining destabilizes grids or increases costs, showing it uses more renewable energy instead. source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/expert-debunks-9-common-myths-about-bitcoin-mining-energy-use?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

María Corina Machado, Bitcoin advocate, is the second-favorite to lead Venezuela, behind Edmundo González Urrutia. source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/bitcoin-leader-emerges-as-top-contender/

According to Cointelegraph, Visa-issued crypto cards experienced a substantial increase in usage in 2025, with the total net spend rising by 525% over the previous year. Data from Dune Analytics reveals that the total net spend for six crypto cards, issued by blockchain projects in collaboration with Visa, escalated from $14.6 million in January to $91.3 million by the end of December. The six cards monitored include those from crypto payment platforms GnosisPay and Cypher, as well as decentralized finance projects EtherFi, Avici Money, Exa App, and Moonwell. Among these, the Visa-partnered EtherFi card led the pack with a total spend of $55.4 million, significantly outpacing Cypher, which secured the second spot with $20.5 million. These figures highlight the rapid adoption of crypto cards among users and underscore the strategic significance of crypto and stablecoins within Visa's global payment ecosystem, as noted by Polygon researcher @obchakevich_ on X. The increase in spending volume indicates that crypto has evolved from an experimental technology to a fully integrated tool for everyday financial transactions. Visa is poised for further growth with its crypto cards in 2026, as the company has intensified its focus on stablecoin ventures in recent months. The traditional payments firm now supports stablecoins across four blockchains and has been actively forming partnerships and enhancing infrastructure to expand access to these assets for both retail and institutional clients. In mid-December, Visa advanced its efforts by launching a stablecoin advisory team dedicated to assisting banks, merchants, and fintechs in launching and managing stablecoin products.

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A small group of newly created Polymarket wallets made over $630,000 by betting on the removal of Venezuela’s president shortly before a surprise US military operation confirmed the outcome. The timing raised insider trading concerns and prompted US lawmakers to move towards banning government officials from trading on prediction markets.

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Ilya Lichtenstein, the hacker behind one of the largest Bitcoin thefts in history, has been released from prison — not through a presidential pardon, but under a criminal justice law signed by Trump during his first term.

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