People's Bank of China 2026 Work Priorities: Comprehensive upgrade of virtual currency trading regulation, strict investigation of domestic and overseas exchanges, and prohibition of financial institutions providing payment support. Digital Renminbi upgraded to version 2.0, enabling interest calculation and inclusion in deposit insurance.

Pi Network launches the first multi-signature wallet, marking a major upgrade in ecosystem security. The new wallet requires multiple keys to authorize transactions, eliminating the vulnerability where a single key theft results in total asset loss. Using the ed25519 encryption standard, it supports test transactions within the ecosystem. Developers and enterprises can securely manage shared funds, and community governance will also benefit. The multi-signature mechanism introduces additional authentication points to prevent unauthorized access, ensuring that even if some keys are lost, assets will not be compromised.

Milestone moment! HongRui Group of Hong Kong teams up with Korea's BuySell Standards to build a new blue ocean for Asian RWA digital finance. The digital financial cooperation between China and Korea has achieved a historic breakthrough! 1. Background of the Era: The Summit Between Leaders Charts a New Blueprint for Cooperation Recently, during the Korean President's visit to China, the 2026 China-Korea Economic and Trade Investment Cooperation Exchange Conference was grandly held in Beijing. This high-level exchange was jointly organized by relevant government departments of both countries and attracted over 500 fintech leaders, regulatory agency representatives, and industry giants from China, Korea, and ASEAN. The event focused on exploring the path to asset digitization in the Web3.0 era and promoting bilateral investment and trade cooperation to a new level. Just as this important diplomatic achievement was realized, the China-Korea Digital Finance and Industry Innovation Summit was held simultaneously as a key sub-forum of the exchange, providing a precise matchmaking platform for enterprises from both countries to deepen cooperation. And in this high

TD Cowen says U.S. crypto market structure reform likely slips to 2027--2029 as Democrats push Trump-focused conflict rules and CLARITY Act talks become the fallback. Summary TD Cowen expects comprehensive U.S. crypto market structure legislation to miss 2025 and likely pass around 2027, with f

The exit of Caroline Crenshaw from the SEC has shifted the commission to an all-Republican makeup, changing its regulatory focus on cryptocurrencies and investor protection. Her departure signals a new era for SEC policies towards digital assets.

Grayscale for the first time distributes Ethereum staking cash earnings to ETHE investors, $0.08 per share, symbolizing the official entry of the US crypto ETP into the interest-bearing era. Historic First Dividend! Grayscale ETHE Investors Receive $0.08 Cash Reward --------------------------------- Leading US digital asset manager Grayscale officially announced on January 5, 2026, that its "Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF (ETHE)" has completed the first round of staking income distribution. This move marks an important milestone in the history of US spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs), being the first such product to directly distribute the economic returns generated from on-chain staking to shareholders. According to the official announcement, the dividend this time is

Written by: Blockchain Knight Ethereum founder Vitalik posted on social media a review of 2025, pointing out that Ethereum has overcome the industry's long-standing scalability trilemma, achieving a major technological breakthrough. However, the network needs to choose between chasing speculative trends and fulfilling the original goal of being a "neutral global computer." He emphasized that the technological upgrades in 2025 are not the end, but the foundation for resisting the centralized subscription-based internet. V God declared that the era of the scalability trilemma (decentralization, security, and scalability being difficult to achieve simultaneously) has ended and has been implemented in actual running code. The core support comes from two major technological upgrades: PeerDAS mainnet has been activated, and ZK-EVM has reached production-level performance, with only security checks remaining. The integration of these two makes Ethereum both decentralized, consensus-driven, and high-bandwidth, enhancing network processing

Recently, there has been a lot of talk on Chinese social media about the "Singapore Collapse Theory," with rumors claiming that millionaires are fleeing, crypto companies are withdrawing, and luxury stores are closing. However, data shows a completely different picture: Singapore's luxury market is expected to grow by 7-9% in 2025, the number of local millionaires reaches 242,400, and domestic wealth is steadily taking over. All of this is not a decline, but an active strategic de-risking. Singapore is decisively moving away from dependence on short-term foreign speculative capital (especially some unclear sources of crypto hot money), and instead building a long-term sustainable development model supported by local wealth and strict regulatory compliance. For the crypto industry, this means the end of a "gold rush" era and the beginning of a more mature, more regulated "compliant port" era.

Grayscale for the first time distributes a staking yield of $0.083178 per share to ETHE shareholders, marking the beginning of the "interest-earning asset" era for crypto financial products. Regulatory easing promotes staking yields, becoming a competitive advantage in asset allocation, but underlying structural risks still exist, changing the traditional financial landscape.

By 2026, generative AI will face challenges in understanding and utilizing "correct" data, marking the beginning of a new era of semantic data design. Data quality and governance become critical, and the performance issues of intelligent AI agents are highlighted. The popularization of zero ETL architecture and vector data processing technologies will drive a reevaluation of the value of semantic layers and the establishment of interoperability standards. However, AI semantic understanding faces a shortage of ontology modeling talent, and future competition will revolve around precise data understanding.

The exit of Caroline Crenshaw from the SEC has shifted the commission to an all-Republican makeup, changing its regulatory focus on cryptocurrencies and investor protection. Her departure signals a new era for SEC policies towards digital assets.

As a builder deeply embedded in the AI agent and prediction market space, I can confirm: the shift a16z is forecasting for 2026 isn't speculation—it's already underway.

Financial technology has changed the way financial products are accessed over the past 20 years but has not altered the flow of capital. Stablecoins are breaking this pattern by enabling fintech companies to shift from "leasing bank APIs" to "owning financial infrastructure" through permissionless open networks, significantly reducing costs and enabling specialized services. This article is based on a piece by Spencer Applebaum, organized, compiled, and written by Techflow. (Previous context: South Korea temporarily halts "Won stablecoin," missing the Asian first launch; banks and the Financial Services Commission are at odds) (Additional background: People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng: Insist on cracking down on cryptocurrencies! Stablecoins are still in the early stages of development, with a strong push for digital RMB development) Table of Contents Fintech 1.0: Digital Distribution (2000-2010) Fintech 2.0: The New Banking Era

Financial technology has changed the way financial products are accessed over the past 20 years but has not altered the flow of capital. Stablecoins are breaking this pattern by enabling fintech companies to shift from "leasing bank APIs" to "owning financial infrastructure" through permissionless open networks, significantly reducing costs and enabling specialized services. This article is based on a piece by Spencer Applebaum, organized, compiled, and written by Techflow. (Previous context: South Korea temporarily halts "Won stablecoin," missing the Asian first launch; banks and the Financial Services Commission are at odds) (Additional background: People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng: Insist on cracking down on cryptocurrencies! Stablecoins are still in the early stages of development, with a strong push for digital RMB development) Table of Contents Fintech 1.0: Digital Distribution (2000-2010) Fintech 2.0: The New Banking Era

In May 2025, the Anza team spun off from Solana Labs designed and announced a comprehensive overhaul called the Alpenglow consensus architecture. This upgrade is not a gradual optimization but a complete redesign from the ground up, aiming to reduce the average block finality time of the Solana network from about 12 seconds to an astonishing 100 to 150 milliseconds, achieving nearly a 100-fold performance leap. The goal is to make Solana the first public blockchain to maintain decentralization while reaching the response levels of traditional Web2 applications. Meanwhile, the Solana ecosystem has shown strong momentum, with on-chain spot trading volume surpassing $1.6 trillion in 2025, exceeding all major CEXs except Binance, and liquidity and stablecoin supply continuing to migrate to high-performance chains. The success or failure of Alpenglow will directly determine whether Solana can support the next wave of institutional-grade, real-time applications.

On January 5, 2026, according to community reports, Blue Origin, the space exploration company founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is planning to accept cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum as payment for its "New Shepard" suborbital space travel program. If this news is officially confirmed, it will be the first time that cryptocurrency serves as the primary payment method for commercial crewed space flights, marking a milestone breakthrough for digital assets in high-end physical consumption scenarios. Currently, the ticket price for a single "New Shepard" flight is still estimated to be in the millions of dollars, with nearly 100 passengers having experienced it so far. If this move materializes, it will not only be a key business strategy for Blue Origin to catch up with competitor SpaceX but also potentially open a new "space-grade" application paradigm for the entire cryptocurrency payment field.

The UK has launched the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), requiring crypto platforms to collect user transaction and identity data and automatically report taxes, ending the era of anonymous investing. The relevant regulations will take effect in 2024 and will share data with other countries to enhance tax transparency and cross-border regulation.

PeerDAS brings live data availability sampling to Ethereum, supporting higher throughput without sacrificing decentralization. ZK-EVMs reached alpha production performance, setting the path toward ZK-based block validation from 2027 onward. Erasure coding and sampling let light clients ve

Written by: Zhang Feng According to Lu Lei, Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China, in his article titled "Digital Renminbi Will Transition from the Digital Cash Era to the Digital Deposit Currency Era" published in the Financial Times, the new generation of the digital renminbi system will officially be implemented on January 1, 2026, marked by the "Action Plan for Further Strengthening the Digital Renminbi Management Service System and Related Financial Infrastructure Construction" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"). This evolution is not only a technological upgrade but also a profound transformation in the form of currency, operational mechanisms, and governance logic. During this process, how to build a privacy and security governance system that effectively serves the real economy, strengthens financial regulation, and fully respects and safeguards users' personal information rights has become a core issue for the healthy development of the digital renminbi. 1. Basic Principles: Seeking a Dynamic Balance Between Strengthening Regulation and Respecting Rights

At the beginning of 2026, the XRP ecosystem ushered in a dual key catalyst. On the technical front, David Schwartz, the Chief Technology Officer of Ripple and co-creator of the XRP Ledger, who has served for over 13 years, officially stepped down, transitioning to Honorary CTO and remaining on the board, marking a smooth transition of an era. On the market front, the XRP spot ETF has accumulated a net inflow of $1.18 billion since its launch, defying market pressure in December 2025 to attract $499.9 million, forming a stark contrast to the outflows from Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee will review the key "Market Structure Act" on January 15, paving the way for clearer regulation of digital assets. The strategic handover of technical veterans, surging institutional funds, and potential regulatory benefits have collectively brought XRP into the market spotlight, with analysts generally optimistic about a mid-term price increase to $3.

Vitalik Buterin shared in a 2020 interview the core weakness of traditional monetary systems regarding public goods facing a cost-benefit imbalance. He proposed Quadratic Funding as a solution to amplify small contributions, reflecting the true social value of public goods and promoting long-term sustainability.

In the New Year of 2026, the U.S. military arrested Venezuelan President Maduro, triggering a major shift in the global energy landscape. The United States controls 18% of the world's crude oil, forming a powerful "energy fortress." This event marks the end of the "petrodollar" era and the beginning of the "AI dominance" era. At the same time, Bitcoin is gaining attention due to its decentralized nature and has become a safe asset to counter U.S. hegemony. Global capital faces a dilemma, and how to protect assets has become crucial.

Now is the era of the "Agentic Economy." This term, selected as a core keyword by the premium monthly publication "Blockchain Business Review" under TokenPost in January 2026, signifies a new economic paradigm where AI transcends being a mere tool to become an autonomous economic activity主体. Moreover, this massive trend has been validated even in the most conservative and core area of the financial system—the "payment and settlement" system. Recently, a working paper published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and a research team from the Bank of Canada demonstrated that generative AI (Gen AI) has the potential to assume the role of a bank's "Cash Manager," implying that the agentic economy is not a distant sci-fi future but an imminent reality. ◇ BIS Experiment: AI Unlocks the "Liquidity Management" Challenge

In 2025, mounting concerns over sustainability and the concentration of artificial intelligence power among a handful of U.S. corporations underscored the growing importance of decentralized AI. The 2025 AI Flashpoint: A New Era of Geopolitics The year 2025 stands as the definitive flashpoint

Ripple UAE adoption marks a defining moment for digital finance and national policy alignment. The United Arab Emirates has taken a bold step by recognising Ripple as an accepted fiat currency. This move places the country at the forefront of financial innovation and regulated crypto integration.

The year 2025 marked a turning point for yield-bearing stablecoins, which quietly evolved into one of the most prominent trends in decentralized finance. According to estimates, vaults containing these assets generated over $250 million in passive income over the past year. Investors who had

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, emphasizes a structural shift in global finance with $4.1 trillion in digital wallets, primarily in stablecoins. He believes asset tokenization can reduce investment friction, making it more efficient and accessible through mobile applications.

Author: @intern\_cc, Crypto KOL Translation: Felix, PANews Crypto options are expected to become a flagship financial instrument by 2026, thanks to the convergence of three major trends: traditional DeFi yields are being squeezed by the "yield apocalypse," a new generation of simplified "entry-level products" abstracts options into a one-click trading interface, and Coinbase's $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit has gained institutional recognition. Although on-chain options currently account for only a small portion of crypto derivatives trading volume, perpetual contracts still dominate the market. This gap is similar to the relationship between TradFi options on Robinhood

Deri Protocol has announced the removal of support for zkSync Era, Polygon zkEVM, and Manta Network following community voting due to low activity. Users must migrate their funds to other supported chains as trading on the removed networks will cease.

In brief Bitcoin whales started selling this year, some after a decade or more of holding BTC. The biggest sale from a Satoshi-era investor tallied $9 billion worth of Bitcoin. The sales have started to put downward pressure on the leading cryptocurrency's price. This was the year th

The 0G project aims to optimize AI workloads, integrate data publishing, storage, and computing, and address the structural issues of traditional blockchains through an EVM-compatible Layer 1 chain. Its four core components include an efficient computing architecture, a data availability layer, a distributed storage system, and a GPU-based computing marketplace. However, if the integration layer's performance declines, it will affect system adoption. The key is to convert ecological funding into sustained demand.

Market Trend The cryptocurrency market is in the final phase of 2025's consolidation and volatility. Due to liquidity shortages during Christmas week, the market exhibits typical "year-end stockpile battle" characteristics. Bitcoin and Ethereum prices are constrained by the largest-ever options settlement, significantly amplifying volatility. Although macro-level regulatory uncertainties still cast a shadow, institutions are accelerating their shift from "narrative-driven" to "fundamentals-driven" approaches. It is expected that 2026 will officially usher in an era of practical and deeply integrated institutional participation. Mainstream Coins BTC In the short term, there is a five-wave rebound opportunity to challenge $89,400. On the fundamental side, Japan's Metaplanet has continued to buy 4,279 BTC in Q4, reinforcing long-term holding confidence. However, caution is needed: the risk of long squeeze after settlement day still exists. If the $90,600 resistance is not broken, watch out for a price retracement to $88,000.

Musk put forward a subversive assertion: in the long run, money will disappear, and the real money is energy. When AI and robotics reach a certain height, humans may enter a post-scarcity society, and money will no longer be needed. He believes that Bitcoin is the first digital asset to directly link currency to energy consumption due to its proof-of-work mechanism, and that work may change from a survival necessity to a personal choice in the next 20 years.

This article documents an exclusive interview with Binance co-founder He Yi. She remains calm about the title of Co-CEO in the conversation, emphasizing that she values the role of "Chief Customer Officer" and a user-oriented spirit more. In the face of market controversy, she upholds the belief of "doing good deeds without asking about the future," dedicated to building a self-driven team and promoting the long-term development of the industry. (Background: After He Yi became Co-CEO of Binance, she responded to 34 highly condensed questions) (Additional context: Meme $DOYR 's market cap surpassed $15 million, caused by He Yi's typo) Table of Contents About CEO titles and responsibilities About Chief Customer Officer and being on the front lines About succession and organizational culture About self-motivation and personality About Binance's development stages About controversies and emotional management About BSC (BNB Chain) and competition with public chains

The leading global digital asset management firm Grayscale recently released its 2026 Cryptocurrency Market Outlook report, outlining clear investment themes and risk priorities for the upcoming new cycle. The core conclusion of the report is clear and compelling: compared to the still-distant threat of quantum computing, a well-defined regulatory framework—especially the Crypto Market Structure Act, which is expected to pass in the United States by 2026—will become the decisive force shaping the market in the coming year. Grayscale analysts predict that this legislation will introduce rules from traditional financial markets, such as registration, disclosure, asset classification, and insider trading protections, into the crypto space, paving the way for large institutional entry. If realized, this could mark the beginning of the early stage of the "institutional era" in the crypto market, characterized by institutional-led liquidity and on-chain direct interactions, transitioning from a retail speculation-driven market. This report, published by a giant managing over $18 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETF assets, undoubtedly provides investors with an authoritative roadmap to understand the next market-driving logic.

In brief Bitcoin whales started selling this year, some after a decade or more of holding BTC. The biggest sale from a Satoshi-era investor tallied $9 billion worth of Bitcoin. The sales have started to put downward pressure on the leading cryptocurrency's price. This was the year th

Introduction The advent of decentralized finance (DeFi) in 2008 in the form of Bitcoin ($BTC) started a new era in the world of economy. It was a heaven for those who sought anonymous transactions and disliked the interference and watchkeeping of banks. Appreciation of $BTC’s price attracted

Author: imToken Objectively speaking, for Crypto/Web3, 2025 will definitely be the most transformative year in the past decade. If the past ten years have been the "wild growth" of the crypto industry on the fringes of mainstream finance, then 2025 marks the first year of this species' official "legalization evolution": From stablecoins to RWA, from policy U-turns in Washington to regulatory frameworks in Hong Kong and the EU, the global regulatory logic is undergoing an epic paradigm shift. 1. United States: Crypto Enters a Period of Institutional Recognition For a considerable period, US regulation of the crypto industry has resembled a tug-of-war lacking consensus. Among them, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Gary Gensler has been particularly active, frequently using enforcement actions to define the legal boundaries of crypto assets, filing lawsuits,

Polymarket is evolving from a crowd-driven platform to a competitive market where speed and data processing matter. Experienced traders and machine learning tools are dominating, pushing casual users to adapt by enhancing their understanding of data and trends. The shift suggests a future where quick, informed decisions drive success in prediction markets.

Written by: Martin December 29, China People's Bank Vice Governor Lu Lei publicly announced that the "Action Plan for Further Strengthening the Digital Renminbi Management Service System and Related Financial Infrastructure Construction" will be officially implemented on January 1, 2026. The digital renminbi will transition from the "Digital Cash" phase to the "Digital Deposit" 2.0 era. The core highlight of this transformation is that the balance of real-name digital renminbi wallets will start earning interest, bringing tangible benefits to users. According to the deployment of the "Action Plan," banking institutions will accrue interest on the balances of first, second, and third-class real-name digital renminbi wallets, with interest rates referencing the bank's current deposit rates. Users do not need to take any additional actions, and the payment experience will remain unaffected. Meanwhile, anonymous fourth-class wallets opened with just a mobile phone number will still retain small payment functions, but their balances will not accrue interest for now, balancing convenience with compliance requirements.

Economist Henrik Zeberg warns that the global markets are approaching a dangerous blow-off top phase. The S&P 500 has surged 900% since 2009, with US market capitalization reaching 225% of GDP, surpassing the peaks of 1929 and 2000. This prosperity is built on the credit bubble created by zero interest rates and QE after 2008, with productivity and real growth lagging behind, signaling a severe correction marking the end of the post-2008 monetary era.

Author: Beosin Preface This research report is initiated by the Blockchain Security Alliance and co-created by alliance members Beosin and Footprint Analytics. It aims to comprehensively explore the global blockchain security landscape in 2025. Through analysis and assessment of the current state of blockchain security worldwide, the report will reveal existing security challenges and threats, and provide solutions and best practices. Blockchain security and regulation are key issues in the Web3 era. Through in-depth research and discussion in this report, we can better understand and address these challenges to promote the security and sustainable development of blockchain technology. 1. Overview of Web3 Blockchain Security Landscape in 2025 According to monitoring by Alert, a platform under blockchain security and compliance technology company Beosin, in 2025, the Web3 sector will face threats from hacking,

Author: Zen, PANews If we look at European century-old football clubs as long-term samples of "community products," what truly amazes us is never the number of trophies won, but rather the ability of people from different generations, social classes, and even nationalities to continuously invest time, money, and emotion over a hundred years to protect the same community. This precisely hits the core challenge faced by Web3 startups: the industry excels at discussing growth, incentives, tokens, and governance, but often lacks a sense of belonging and trust that can withstand cycles. Hype comes quickly and dissipates just as fast; many projects are like shooting stars across the night sky, fleeting and silent in the blink of an eye; most DAO attempts start with idealistic utopias but ultimately end in conflicts of self-interest. If we turn back the clock to the era when football clubs were born, we find a different, more straightforward, and long-term logic: clubs were initially created

Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China, Lu Lei, revealed that the Digital RMB will launch the 2.0 era on January 1, 2026. The core transformation is that real-name wallet balances will start accruing interest, upgrading from "digital cash" to "digital deposits." It will also be integrated into the deposit insurance system, providing national-level security guarantees, and will feature programmable capabilities through smart contracts.

Renowned financial institution Cantor Fitzgerald pointed out in its latest year-end report that the cryptocurrency market may be entering the early stages of a new "crypto winter," which could echo Bitcoin's approximately four-year cycle. However, unlike previous adjustments, this cycle is expected to be less chaotic, more institution-led, and increasingly defined by decentralized finance, real-world asset tokenization, and clearer regulations. The report data shows that the total on-chain RWA value has surged to $18.5 billion this year and is expected to surpass $50 billion by 2026. Although Bitcoin prices may face pressure, the market infrastructure and participants are undergoing profound structural changes, laying the foundation for a more sustainable growth in the next cycle.

Reflecting on the current state of DeFi as of 2025, it seems like another era altogether compared to what it was in 2021 Back then, total value locked was spread all over the place. DEXs were booming, yield aggregators were everywhere, and capital was constantly rotating as users chased the best re

In brief Bitcoin whales started selling this year, some after a decade or more of holding BTC. The biggest sale from a Satoshi-era investor tallied $9 billion worth of Bitcoin. The sales have started to put downward pressure on the leading cryptocurrency's price. This was the year th

Bitcoin is likely entering a phase of sustained but measured growth, rather than repeating the explosive rallies that defined earlier market cycles, according to senior executives at asset manager Bitwise. Speaking on CNBC, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said the firstborn

a16z in the latest wave of "2026 Big Ideas," three long-term partners investing in American industries, financial services, and enterprise software, present their key observations for 2026. The overall discussion focuses on three main directions: the acceleration of the electrical industry stack formation, the transformation of finance and insurance industries using AI systems as core architecture, and the rise of dynamic AI agent layers in enterprise software, beginning to shake the traditional system dominance. First direction: Electrical industry stack, driving a new wave of industrial revolution Electrical industry stack takes shape, pushing the industrial revolution into machinery Ryan McEntush, partner of the US dynamic investment team, pointed out that the key change in 2026 is the beginning formation of the "Electrical Industry Stack," driving the next industrial revolution. He stated that industrial progress is no longer confined to factories but extends into the equipment and machinery itself. Electric vehicles, drones

As education and internet penetration increase, along with the integration of AI technology transforming the global ecosystem, the industry truly lacks talents with "attention, influence, and execution." By 2026, those who can produce content ahead of trends, capture attention, and develop related tools will control the next wave of wealth flow. This article will deeply analyze three core skills that can cultivate competitiveness for the next decade: "Creator (Creator)", Clipper, and Vibe Coder, which will be invaluable from job seeking to entrepreneurship. When influence becomes the voice: How to become a content creator? In the internet era, "content creation" is no longer just a side job but a core engine of the digital economy. When renowned footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (Cristiano Ronaldo) starts managing a YouTube channel, MrBeast uses enticing thumbnails to