🪙 Trump Media Announces Digital Token Distribution for DJT Shareholders

🗣 Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. (TMTG) has announced its plan to distribute a new digital token to eligible DJT shareholders, with one token allocated per whole share. This initiative is positioned as a shareholder benefit rather than a financial instrument linked to company equity or earnings.

🔗 The token distribution will be conducted in collaboration with Crypto and will utilize the Cronos blockchain for its speed and interoperability. However, specific timelines and record dates for the distribution have not yet been disclosed.

📌 This announcement comes as TMTG and Crypto continue to expand their partnership. In August, the companies revealed plans to integrate Crypto’s digital wallet infrastructure across TMTG platforms, including Truth Social and Truth+.

💼 As part of their strategy to build a digital asset treasury, TMTG has established a new entity—Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, Inc.—which will merge with a SPAC backed by Yorkville Acquisition Corp.

🔔 Holders of the new digital token may receive periodic rewards such as perks or discounts on Trump Media products. However, the company clarified that these rewards will not involve profits from managerial efforts, a key point under securities law.

🚫 The tokens are expected to be nontransferable, not redeemable for cash, and available only to ultimate beneficial owners of DJT shares, excluding borrowed shares. Trump Media reserves the right to modify or terminate the program at any time.

📢 CEO Devin Nunes described the initiative as an experiment in shareholder engagement while emphasizing the need for regulatory clarity. He stated,

We look forward to utilizing Crypto’s blockchain technology and improving regulatory clarity to implement this first-of-its kind token distribution, reward Trump Media shareholders, and promote fair and transparent markets.

📈 This development follows a year of several Trump-linked crypto coins entering the market, including World Liberty Financial’s WLFI and its stablecoin USD1, as well as meme coins TRUMP and MELANIA.

💰 The announcement comes after TMTG signed a definitive agreement to merge with fusion power firm TAE Technologies in an all-stock transaction valued at over $6 billion.

📈 Ethereum Sets New Transaction Records as 2025 Ends

🚀 Ethereum made headlines as it concluded 2025 by achieving its highest single-day transaction count on December 29, with over 2.23 million transfers processed. This surge in activity continued into the new year, with December 30 and 31 also recording impressive numbers, alongside January 2, 2026, which saw nearly 2 million transactions.

📊 Despite a slight dip of about 1.5% from the previous month, Ethereum (ETH) started 2026 on a strong note, showing a year-to-date gain of 5.5%. The network's on-chain metrics reached new heights, consistently breaking daily transaction records.

On December 29, 2025, Blockchair recorded 2,230,801 confirmed transactions.

📈 Following this record-breaking day, December 31 logged over 2.13 million transfers, and December 30 had around 2.12 million. These figures surpassed the previous record set on January 14, 2024, which stood at 1.961 million transactions. Notably, January 1, 2026, also made it to the top ten with nearly 1.94 million transfers.

🔥 The data indicates a robust network performance as Ethereum transitioned into 2026. The clustering of high-transaction days suggests a sustained intensity in on-chain activity rather than isolated spikes, setting a challenging benchmark for future activity.

Sustained on-chain usage across decentralized finance, stablecoin transfers, and smart contract activity pushed Ethereum to multiple all-time-high transaction counts.

📈 As Ethereum moves further into 2026, the rising transaction volumes signal a strong ongoing network usage, indicating that the recent surge is not just a temporary anomaly but part of a growing trend in Ethereum's operational capacity.

📉 Market Expectations for the Upcoming FOMC Meeting

📊 With only 22 days left before the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on January 28, 2026, futures traders and prediction markets indicate a low likelihood of a rate cut. According to CME Fedwatch data, there is an 83.9% probability that the benchmark rate will remain unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%. Only 16.1% of the pricing suggests a 25-basis-point reduction, with virtually no chance of a rate hike.

📉 This cautious outlook is reflected in prediction markets as well. On Polymarket, bettors assign a 90% chance to no change in January, while Kalshi shows a similar distribution with an 88% probability for the Fed holding steady. This convergence across futures and prediction markets is significant, especially considering the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate cuts in 2025.

🚫 The Fed reduced rates three times in 2025, culminating in a December cut that brought the target range down to its lowest level since 2022. However, markets seem unconvinced that this momentum will continue into January. CME futures pricing suggests that traders expect the Fed to pause and assess the effects of last year’s reductions rather than extending the easing cycle immediately.

❗️ Political pressure for further rate cuts remains, with Donald Trump advocating for lower borrowing costs to stimulate economic activity. However, the market appears to believe that these appeals will not influence the Fed's decision for January. Fed leadership, including Jerome Powell, has emphasized the need for data confirmation before committing to additional easing.

✔️ Analysis from the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank suggests that Trump’s tariffs could unexpectedly exert downward pressure on inflation. Additionally, Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran has expressed a desire for a full percentage point in rate cuts this year. Despite this, markets have not faced significant restraint from Powell regarding rate cuts.

📈 Record Surge in Stablecoin Transactions Amid Pro-Crypto U.S. Policies

📊 Stablecoin transaction volumes reached an unprecedented $33 trillion in 2025, marking a 72% increase from the previous year. This surge was largely driven by a favorable regulatory environment in the United States under President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto administration.

💱 USDC led the way with $18.3 trillion in transactions, followed by Tether’s USDT with $13.3 trillion. Together, these two tokens dominated global stablecoin flows as their adoption spread beyond traditional crypto users.

📌 Key policy changes played a significant role in this growth. The Genius Act passed in July, established a clear legal framework for stablecoins which encouraged greater institutional interest. Major companies like Walmart and Amazon began exploring stablecoin initiatives, and World Liberty Financial, linked to the Trump family, launched its own token USD1 in March.

🔄 Data from Artemis also indicates a shift in stablecoin usage. While overall transaction volumes increased, the proportion of transactions on decentralized crypto platforms decreased. This suggests a move towards more mainstream and real-world applications.

📉 Despite USDT being the largest stablecoin by market capitalization at $187 billion, USDC dominates transaction flows due to its extensive use in DeFi. In contrast, USDT is more frequently used for payments, business transfers, and as a store of value.

📈 The growth of stablecoin transactions shows no signs of slowing down. In the fourth quarter alone, transactions reached $11 trillion, up from $8.8 trillion in the previous quarter. Bloomberg Intelligence predicts that total stablecoin payment flows could reach $56 trillion by 2030.

⚠️ Binance Founder Warns Against Meme Coin Speculation

🚨 Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance, recently cautioned traders about the risks of meme coin speculation. He emphasized that his casual posts on social media should not be interpreted as buy signals for meme coins.

But if you are going to ape into every meme coin people create based on my random tweets, you are almost guaranteed to lose money

he stated.

💬 Zhao's comments highlight a recurring issue in the crypto market where his offhand remarks often lead to rapid token launches and speculative trading. His tweets, which may include jokes or emojis, have been known to trigger immediate buying frenzies and significant price fluctuations. This behavior is fueled by market psychology, automated trading bots, and fear of missing out (FOMO) among traders who view his posts as catalysts for action.

⚡️ The BNB Chain's low fees and quick deployment tools further exacerbate this situation. They allow creators to respond to hype—such as a viral tweet from Zhao—within minutes, attracting speculative liquidity almost instantly. However, this often leads to short-lived price pumps before the tokens fade away.

📉 Last year, the meme coin market experienced a phase of "hyper-saturation," with over 13 million new tokens launched across major blockchains like Solana and BNB Chain. This surge, driven by low fees and easy deployment options, resulted in a staggering 99% failure rate. Approximately 12.87 million of these projects became "zombie tokens" or rug pulls within weeks due to insufficient liquidity. By early 2026, only a small fraction of the 2025 class managed to maintain significant market relevance.

💸 Broader market reports indicate that meme-related scams and rug pulls have caused losses of hundreds of millions of dollars each year. On-chain analyses consistently reveal manipulation across many top-performing tokens. These figures illustrate why Zhao's influence can lead to explosive short-term activity but rarely results in lasting value. Most late participants end up facing steep losses despite occasional headline-making wins.

🪙 NIP Group's Rapid Expansion in Bitcoin Mining

🚀 NIP Group (NASDAQ: NIPG), the parent company of esports brand Ninjas in Pyjamas, has made significant strides in bitcoin mining, producing 151.4 BTC worth approximately $14.2 million in revenue from September to November 2025. Their installed mining capacity has reached 9.66 EH/s, with an additional 1.64 EH/s expected soon, aiming for a total of about 11.3 EH/s. This positions NIPG among the top 20 publicly traded bitcoin miners and the largest in the Middle East and North Africa.

🔄 NIPG's foray into bitcoin mining began in July with the acquisition of 3.11 EH/s from Fortune Peak and Apex Cyber Capital. This was followed by a significant expansion in November, acquiring an additional 8.19 EH/s from various entities, raising their long-term target to 11.3 EH/s. This shift indicates that bitcoin mining has become a substantial business line for NIPG alongside gaming.

🔗 A key aspect of NIPG's mining strategy is its connections to Antalpha, the financing arm of Bitmain. After the November expansion, Apex Cyber Capital and Prosperity Oak Holdings held significant stakes in NIPG. Notably, Chiu Chang-Wei, a director at Antalpha, has ties to both Fortune Peak and Prosperity Oak. This suggests a pattern of Bitmain-aligned entities transferring hashrate to publicly listed companies through equity financing.

📈 The growing influence of Bitmain-aligned proprietary miners is evident, with Cango disclosing about 50 EH/s and NIPG nearing 11 EH/s. Together, these operations represent over 60 EH/s, positioning the "Bitmain camp" as a major player in the global bitcoin mining landscape. As public miners face challenges like compressed hashprice and rising costs, vertically integrated entities with access to proprietary hardware are consolidating their influence over the network's hashrate.

📈 Crypto ETFs Show Resilience Amid Volatility

📊 This week, crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a generally positive trend, with significant mid-week inflows overshadowing late selling pressures. Bitcoin and ether ETFs led the way, while XRP and solana quietly maintained their upward momentum.

💰 Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $1.42 billion on a trading volume of $21.77 billion, driven by strong mid-week demand. Blackrock’s IBIT was the standout performer, ending the week with $1.03 billion in net inflows.

massive entries on Jan. 14 and 15 that easily absorbed late-week selling

Fidelity’s FBTC also closed positively with $194.40 million in net inflows, despite heavy redemptions on Friday.

📈 Ether ETFs recorded their strongest week of the year with a $479.04 million net inflow and $7.74 billion traded. Blackrock’s ETHA led the category with $219.05 million in inflows. Grayscale’s Ether Mini Trust and ETHE added steady demand throughout the week, while Fidelity’s FETH finished slightly positive with $20.27 million.

📊 XRP ETFs continued to gain momentum, posting $56.83 million in net inflows. Grayscale’s GXRP was the main contributor with $23.75 million, supported by Bitwise’s XRP and Franklin’s XRPZ. Solana ETFs also extended their advance with $46.88 million in net inflows, led by Bitwise’s BSOL.

🔍 The week highlighted a key theme for January: short-term volatility has not deterred institutional confidence.

Dip-buying behavior remains intact, especially in bitcoin and ether

This suggests a constructive outlook for the broader ETF structure as we move further into January.

🚨 Breaking: Nasdaq Files with US SEC to Remove Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs Restrictions

👉 Read more

🌍 Circle Foundation Supports UN Digital Hub with Grant for Regulated Stablecoins

📈 Circle Foundation has announced its first international grant to the UNHCR’s Digital Hub of Treasury Solutions (DHoTS) during the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21, 2026. This grant aims to integrate regulated stablecoins and advanced digital financial infrastructure across 15 UN agencies to enhance the speed, traceability, and cost-effectiveness of humanitarian aid delivery.

💰 The grant builds on UNHCR’s USDC pilots and focuses on achieving near-instant cross-border transfers, local currency conversion, programmable disbursements, and system-wide transparency. Initial pilots have demonstrated potential cost savings of up to 20%, although implementation will be subject to agency governance, regulatory considerations, and jurisdictional rules.

Circle Foundation announced a grant to UNHCR’s DHoTS to integrate regulated stablecoins across UN systems,

the announcement stated.

🌐 The DHoTS now includes 15 agencies such as UNDP, IOM, and WMO, all of which will benefit from this initiative. The conversion of stablecoins for local use will be facilitated through integrations with banks, mobile-money operators, and fintech partners in local jurisdictions.

💰 ZBD Secures $40 Million Series C for Bitcoin and Blockchain Payment Expansion in Gaming

🚀 ZBD, a bitcoin payments startup based in New Jersey, has successfully secured $40 million in a Series C funding round led by Blockstream Capital, which committed $36 million. This funding will support the company's efforts to expand its video game payment software that facilitates bitcoin and other blockchain transactions.

🎮 In 2025, ZBD served 55 games with a team of 70 people. The newly acquired capital will help accelerate the rollout of a broader payment suite that aims to enable direct financial relationships between players and in-game payouts. However, participation and product availability will depend on platform integrations and applicable jurisdictional payment rules.

Who led ZBD’s $40 million round? Blockstream Capital led the round.

What does ZBD’s product do for game developers? It provides onchain payment rails enabling bitcoin payouts, peer transfers and loyalty rewards in games.

🪙 Peter Schiff Warns: Historic Gold Surge Signals Imminent U.S. Dollar Crisis

⚠️ Economist Peter Schiff recently highlighted a historic surge in gold and silver prices as a warning sign for the U.S. dollar and sovereign debt. On January 27, 2026, he stated on social media that this spike indicates a potential breakdown in confidence in the U.S. monetary system.

Gold closed just under $5,180, up over $170 today—the biggest one-day price increase ever. Gold is sending a clear warning that a U.S. dollar and sovereign debt crisis is imminent. Ignore this warning at your own financial peril,

Schiff emphasized.

📈 Earlier that day, he noted the initial rise in gold and silver prices, saying,

Gold just soared to a new record high. It’s trading above $5,130, up over $125 on the day. Silver is back above $111.

This rapid increase in precious metals prices led him to conclude,

This is a huge deal and what it portends for the U.S. is not good. Buy gold and silver now.

💰 Schiff has consistently advocated for gold and silver as safe investments, viewing their recent price increases as indicative of a broader loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar. He has also shifted his focus towards silver, arguing that its price rise reflects tightening physical supply and demand that the market has not fully recognized.

Silver’s rally signals tightening physical supply and rising demand that markets have not fully priced in, creating asymmetric upside risk,

he explained.

⁉️ US Court Sentences Chinese National to Nearly 4 Years for $37M Crypto Fraud

📌 A Chinese national received a 46-month (Nearly 4 years) federal prison sentence for his role in laundering over $36.9 million stolen from American victims through a sophisticated crypto investment scam operated from Cambodia. According to a DOJ release, Jingliang Su, 45, was also ordered to pay $26,867,242 in restitution following his guilty plea to conspiracy to operate an illegal money transmitting business.

🔗 United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner handed down the sentence, marking another victory in the Justice Department’s escalating campaign against international scam center operations. After gaining their targets’ trust, the scammers promoted fraudulent digital asset investments that appeared legitimate.

🔜 Co-conspirators created fake websites that resembled legitimate cryptocurrency trading platforms and convinced victims to send funds to these counterfeit sites. The scammers would then falsely inform victims that their investments were appreciating in value, when in fact the money had already been stolen.

🔔 “This defendant and his co-conspirators scammed 174 Americans out of their hard-earned money,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “In the digital age, criminals have found new ways to weaponize the internet for fraud.”

☄️ Base Restores Network Stability After Transaction Delays Triggered by Configuration Change

🚫 Base, the Ethereum Layer-2 network backed by Coinbase, has restored overall network stability following intermittent transaction inclusion delays and elevated transaction drops that affected users at the end of January. The incident began on January 31, when Base experienced periods of increased congestion that resulted in submitted transactions being delayed or in some cases dropped.

🔔 Base developers said blocks continued to be produced throughout the disruption but users saw higher-than-usual latency for transaction confirmation. In an update posted by the Base team the network confirms that the issue stemmed from an infrastructure configuration change related to transaction propagation. According to Base, a configuration adjustment caused the block builder to repeatedly fetch transactions that could not be executed due to rapidly rising base fees. As a result transactions were reprocessed inefficiently, leading to elevated drops and delays in transaction inclusion during peak congestion.

🔥 “On Jan 31, Base experienced elevated transaction drops and inclusion delays,” the team said, adding that the propagation change created a feedback loop in the transaction pipeline under volatile fee conditions. Base later confirms that the issue was mitigated by rolling back the configuration change, restoring normal transaction processing.

⚠️ Base said it has validated that the rollback successfully restored overall network stability. The team also announced plans to conduct a full root cause analysis (RCA) and publish a public postmortem in the coming days. “We have validated the fix restored overall network stability,” Base wrote, noting that intermittent congestion may still occasionally result in delays, but longer-term improvements are underway.

📊 The incident highlights the operational challenges Layer-2 networks face as activity scales rapidly, particularly during periods of heightened demand and fee volatility. To prevent similar disruptions from recurring, Base said it is taking several steps to strengthen its transaction handling infrastructure. Planned upgrades include optimizing the transaction pipeline by removing unnecessary peer-to-peer overhead, as well as tuning mempool queue behavior to improve transaction inclusion under stress.

➡️ Base expects this work to take approximately one month. The team said it is improving alerting systems and change monitoring processes during future infrastructure rollouts, aiming to detect transaction propagation issues earlier and respond more quickly.

🌐 China Bans Unapproved Yuan-Pegged Stablecoins Abroad to Protect Currency Stability

❗️ Chinese regulators have moved to tighten control over digital assets, banning the unauthorized issuance of yuan-pegged stablecoins overseas and extending restrictions to tokenized real-world assets linked to the country’s currency. In a joint statement released Friday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and seven government agencies said individuals and companies, domestic or foreign, may not issue renminbi-linked stablecoins without official approval.

🔔 Authorities argued that such tokens mimic key functions of money and could threaten monetary sovereignty. Stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies “perform some of the functions of fiat currencies,” the notice said, warning that circulation outside regulatory oversight could undermine the stability of the yuan. The rules also target services tied to tokenized financial assets, including blockchain-based representations of bonds or equities.

📈 Overseas entities are barred from offering related products to users inside China without permission from regulators. Beijing reaffirmed its longstanding position on crypto payments, stating that assets such as Bitcoin and Ether do not hold legal tender status and that facilitating transactions or related services constitutes illegal activity. The policy builds on a sweeping prohibition introduced by the central bank in 2021 that effectively removed cryptocurrency trading and payments from the domestic financial system.

❓ Legal scholar and former sovereign wealth fund executive Winston Ma said the restrictions apply to both onshore and offshore versions of the renminbi. The offshore yuan, known as CNH, is designed for foreign exchange flexibility while preserving capital controls. The measures appear to fit a broader strategy of limiting privately issued digital currencies while promoting the state-backed digital yuan.

☄️ China has spent several years developing the e-CNY central bank digital currency and recently allowed commercial banks to share interest with users holding digital yuan wallets in an effort to increase adoption.

⚡️ Solana Price Prediction: SOL Bounces 12% Overnight

❗️ The Solana price ($SOL) has pulled off a stunning 12% rally from the bottom, but one critical signal threatens to crash the party. The bounce came fast, pushing SOL away from dangerous levels. Yet, seasoned analysts are still bearish, adding doubts to bullish Solana price predictions.

🔔 Long-term holders are backing away from Solana at the worst possible time. HODLer Net Position Change data shows accumulation is slowing down dramatically after last week’s sharp pullback. These diamond-handed investors usually provide crucial price support during rough patches. But their conviction appears shaken, and that’s a massive red flag for sustainability.

➡️ Solana is still stuck in a descending channel and has now slipped below that structure into the $85 to $90 area, which is acting as short-term support for now. Trend wise, nothing has really changed. This is still a bearish setup with lower highs and lower lows firmly in place.

📌 Brazil's Ambitious Bitcoin Reserve Bill: A Step Towards Becoming a Crypto Powerhouse

‼️ Brazil is making strides to position itself as a leading pro-bitcoin nation. A new bill has been introduced in Congress, significantly expanding a previous proposal for a national strategic bitcoin reserve. This draft aims for the acquisition of up to 1 million BTC over five years.

the planned and gradual acquisition of bitcoins as strategic reserve assets of the Union to accumulate at least 1,000,000 BTC (one million bitcoins) over 5 (five) years

the new document establishes.

💰 Previously, the bill allowed for spending up to 5% of Brazil’s foreign reserves to diversify the National Treasury's assets with an inflation-resistant asset managed by the central bank. The new proposal includes several changes: a ban on selling bitcoin seized by judicial authorities, accepting bitcoin for federal tax payments, and providing incentives for companies that mine and hold bitcoin.

📢 Deputy Luis Gastao highlighted that these modifications adopt

more comprehensive approach, contemplating not only the establishment of the sovereign reserve, but also the guaranteeing fundamental rights related to the use and custody of digital assets.

💸 If approved, the bill would allow Brazil to spend nearly $68 billion to acquire 1 million BTC, potentially making it one of the countries with the strongest BTC reserves, surpassing the U.S. and China. However, the bill faces challenges as it must align with current central bank regulations, which do not recognize BTC as a reserve asset.

⚠️ Animoca Brands Secures VASP License from VARA for Crypto Services in Dubai

🌍 On February 16, 2026, Animoca Brands announced that it has obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) License from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). This license allows the company to offer virtual asset Broker-Dealer Services and Management and Investment Services from Dubai, excluding the Dubai International Financial Centre. With this authorization, Animoca Brands can begin operations for global institutional and qualified investors under VARA’s regulatory framework.

📈 The VASP License is a significant step for Animoca Brands’ expansion in the Middle East and enables the company to provide regulated digital asset services and investment activities from Dubai. This move complements its existing platforms such as Moca Network, Open Campus, Anichess, and The Sandbox, and supports its management of a portfolio comprising over 600 companies and digital assets.

Receiving the VASP license from VARA is an important milestone

said Omar Elassar, managing director for the Middle East and head of Global Strategic Partnerships at Animoca Brands.

📝 The VARA VASP License permits Animoca Brands to perform VA Broker-Dealer Services and VA Management and Investment Services from Dubai. The announcement of the license came on February 16, 2026, and it covers operations in and from the Emirate of Dubai. Under this license, Animoca Brands can serve global institutional and qualified investors from its Dubai operations. The VASP License was granted by VARA, which was established in 2022 under Dubai Law No. 4 of 2022.

🗣 Eric Trump Predicts Bitcoin Will Reach $1 Million

🔔 Eric Trump recently expressed his bullish outlook on Bitcoin, predicting that the cryptocurrency will eventually reach $1 million per coin. In an interview with CNBC on February 18, he stated,

I've never been more bullish on bitcoin in my life.

Despite a recent market pullback, Trump remains optimistic about Bitcoin's future.

💼 The interview, which took place during the World Liberty Forum, also featured Donald Trump Jr. and focused on the brothers' crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLFI). Trump linked his $1 million target for Bitcoin to increased institutional participation, regulatory clarity, and Bitcoin's fixed supply. He emphasized that these factors make his prediction inevitable.

📊 Eric Trump is the co-founder and executive at American Bitcoin Corp. (Nasdaq: ABTC), which went public in September 2025. The company currently holds approximately 6,039 BTC, placing it among the top 20 public corporate holders of Bitcoin worldwide. Additionally, he co-founded World Liberty Financial, which focuses on stablecoin infrastructure and digital asset services.

💵 During the CNBC discussion, the Trump brothers described stablecoins as a potential means for channeling global capital into the United States. They argued that U.S. dollar-pegged tokens could attract funds from unstable foreign currencies.