According to BlockBeats, researchers and developers anticipate that 2026 will be a pivotal year for Ethereum as it leverages zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) to achieve exponential scaling. During this period, some Ethereum validators will transition from re-executing transactions to directly verifying ZK proofs, fundamentally altering blockchain operations. This shift is expected to be comparable in scale to Ethereum's 2022 transition from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS), known as 'The Merge.' Ethereum researcher Justin Drake has indicated that the initial validators will begin verifying ZK proofs for each block instead of re-executing all transactions. This approach will provide immediate scaling benefits for Layer 1 and lay the groundwork for achieving 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) in the future. Currently, the Ethereum mainnet processes approximately 30 TPS. During Devconnect, Drake demonstrated that ZK proof verification could be performed using an old laptop, predicting that by the end of 2026, around 10% of validators will switch to the ZK verification mode, known as Lean Execution Phase 1. This transition is expected to significantly reduce hardware requirements for validation nodes while maintaining network decentralization. Ethereum Besu client engineer Gary Schulte highlighted that future computationally intensive tasks will primarily be handled by block builders and ZK provers, allowing ordinary validators to perform lightweight checks. This development creates conditions for increasing the gas limit and overall throughput. Ethereum's roadmap currently remains in Phase 0, which involves voluntary validation. It is projected to enter Phase 1 in 2026, where some validators will switch to ZK verification, and progress to Phase 2 in 2027, mandating block producers to generate ZK proofs for comprehensive ZK execution.

According to PANews, Whale Alert has reported that the USDC Treasury has minted 90 million USDC on the Ethereum network. This development highlights ongoing activity within the cryptocurrency sector, particularly in stablecoin issuance. The minting of USDC, a widely used stablecoin, reflects its continued demand and utilization in various financial transactions and decentralized finance applications.

According to BlockBeats, the meme coin sector has seen a substantial decline in 2025, nearing its lowest point of the year. As of December 19, the total market capitalization of meme coins fell to $35 billion, marking a 65% drop from the year's peak, before slightly rebounding to approximately $36 billion. In contrast, on Christmas Day 2024, the market capitalization of meme coins had approached $100 billion. Concurrently, trading activity within the sector has also decreased, with annual trading volume dropping 72% to $3.05 trillion, indicating a shift away from highly speculative assets by retail investors. The market generally views meme coins as a "thermometer" of retail risk appetite. The significant contraction in market capitalization reflects a more cautious environment in the current crypto market, with a noticeable decline in investment appeal. CoinGecko highlighted that the surge in meme coins in 2024 was closely linked to the U.S. presidential election, with election-themed tokens gaining rapid popularity on social media, on-chain activities, and launch platforms. However, this political narrative has adversely affected market sentiment in 2025.

According to PANews, BNB Chain developers have announced via Twitter that the BSC mainnet Fermi hard fork upgrade is scheduled to be activated on January 14, 2026, at 10:30 (UTC+8). The supported versions for this upgrade are v1.6.4 and v1.6.5. This upgrade aims to enhance network throughput and transaction processing efficiency by reducing the block interval from 750 milliseconds to 450 milliseconds.

Polymarket and Kalshi achieved multi-billion dollar valuations as investors bet the companies will scale exponentially. source: https://www.theblock.co/post/383360/trump-victory-musk-tweets-nfl-prop-bets-historic-year-predictions-2026?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss

币安 Alpha 页面显示，SentismAI（SENTIS）空投第二轮奖励已开放申领。符合条件的用户需至少持有 240 个币安 Alpha 积分，可按先到先得方式领取 320 枚 SENTIS 代币；若奖励未被完全领取，积分门槛将每 5 分钟自动下调 5 分。申领空投将消耗 15 个币安 Alpha 积分，用户需在 Alpha Events 页面于 24 小时内完成确认，逾期将视为放弃领取。

The lowdown on how the switchover to ZK-proofs is expected to work this year as part of Ethereum’s plan to scale to 10,000 TPS. source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/2026-is-the-year-ethereum-starts-scaling-exponentially-with-zk-tech?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

In the ongoing battle against digital fraud, South Korea has decided that a simple ID card and a signature are no longer enough to secure a mobile phone. Starting this week, the Ministry of Science and ICT is rolling out a mandatory facial recognition system for anyone signing up for a new mobile number. While the goal is noble: stop “voice phishing” and identity theft, what could possibly go wrong when real-time biometric verification is involved?For years, South Korea has been plagued by sophisticated scams. As of November 2025, over 21,500 voice phishing cases were reported, often involving “burner” phones registered under stolen or fabricated names source: https://medium.com/pivx/your-face-is-now-your-sim-card-09a560037e00?source=rss----430d9242e45e---4

Malicious code was injected into version v2. 68 of TrustWallet Chrome extension. It did not even need authorization to drain your funds. source: https://u.today/multimillion-trustwallet-hack-heres-what-is-known-so-far

A US healthcare firm has agreed to pay out millions of dollars to settle a class action lawsuit filed over a data breach. According to the settlement administrator’s portal, Alabama Cardiology Group will pay $2. 225 million to settle the lawsuit accusing it of negligence in the handling of patients’ data source: https://dailyhodl.com/2025/12/26/healthcare-firm-handing-up-to-5000-to-victims-after-hack-exposed-full-names-social-security-numbers-bank-account-info-and-confidential-medical-details/

埃隆-马斯克（Elon Musk）在 X 平台上开发的人工智能聊天机器人 Grok 受到了维塔利克-布特林（Vitalik Buterin）的称赞，因为它能给出不可预测的回复，挑战用户的政治偏见，促进更真实的互动。

使用最广泛的加密货币钱包之一--Trust Wallet 遭到大规模黑客攻击，估计损失超过 600 万美元。

意大利竞争管理机构已下令Meta公司允许竞争对手在WhatsApp上使用人工智能聊天机器人，同时调查其滥用主导地位的可能性。Meta公司计划上诉，称该政策保护了其系统，但监管机构担心这会限制人工智能市场的竞争和创新。

Nvidia 宣布斥资 200 亿美元收购 Groq 的核心资产，这一具有里程碑意义的举措加强了 Nvidia 在人工智能芯片市场上的优势地位，并重塑了人工智能基础设施的竞争格局。

Keonne Rodriguez 是 Samourai Wallet 的联合创始人，他开始在联邦监狱服刑五年，并在圣诞节前分享了他最初几天的个人经历，描述了收监过程和适应监狱生活的情况。

菲律宾加大了对无证加密货币平台的打击力度，互联网服务提供商开始阻止全球主要交易所的访问，这标志着当地加密货币法规的执行将朝着更加严格的方向发生决定性的转变。

Pudgy Penguins 在为期一周的假日活动中，将其动画人物投影到拉斯维加斯球体上，推广其实体产品而非 NFT。尽管 NFT 市场举步维艰，但这一展示活动帮助这个诞生于加密货币的品牌接触到了主流受众，支持了商品销售并提高了知名度。

Kraken 正式推出了面向欧盟国家和英国居民的万事达加密借记卡--Krak 卡。Krak 卡将允许用户无缝消费 400 多种加密货币和法定货币。

在用户报告最近一次更新后出现未经授权的钱包流水后，Trust Wallet 证实其 Chrome 扩展程序 2.68 版受到安全事件影响。该公司告诉用户禁用扩展并立即升级，同时表示在调查期间其移动应用程序和其他版本不受影响。

在加密货币交易所 Binance 上市该国首个与索姆挂钩的稳定币之后，吉尔吉斯斯坦朝着将数字资产嵌入其金融体系的方向又迈出了一步，此举表明国家层面对基于区块链的支付和基础设施的信心日益增强。