Sharps Technology to Launch Institutional Validator Node on Solana Network in Partnership with Coinbase

A Bitcoin Core maintainer has for the first time expanded the number of trusted key holders with main commit access to the Bitcoin Core software, per a Protos report dated January 12. On January 8, 2026, pseudonymous developer TheCharlatan (also known as “sedited”) officially joined as the sixth member of the group, joining existing key holders Marco Falke, Gloria Zhao, Ryan Ofsky, Hennadii Stepanov, and Ava Chow. Of the 25 members in Bitcoin Core’s GitHub development community, only these six PGP keys currently hold recognized commit access. At least 20 core contributors endorsed TheCharlatan’s promotion during group discussions. The nomination cited: “He’s a reliable code reviewer, has made substantial contributions to critical codebase areas, handles user and developer code releases carefully, and deeply understands the technical consensus process” — with no objections raised. TheCharlatan holds a Computer Science degree from the University of Zurich, is a South African dev

Jan. 12 – Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the removal of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is “deeply concerning,” and noted markets should focus on the Fed’s independence. (Oriental Fortune Network)

Jan. 12 – J.P. Morgan’s Securities Trading Division warned that the Trump administration’s recent pressure on Fed independence threatens the U.S. stock market, at least in the short term. News of a criminal probe into the Fed roiled U.S. markets Sunday night, sending stock index futures and the dollar lower while funds flowed into safe havens like gold. J.P. Morgan Global Market Insights Director Andrew Taylor noted: “While macro and corporate fundamentals support tactical bullishness, risks to Fed independence are acting as a headwind for market upside. We remain cautious near-term—these Fed independence risks could push U.S. markets to underperform short-term.” (FXStreet)

On January 12th, Bitget market data showed that at the U.S. stock market open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 300 points, the S&P 500 Index fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.39%. Cryptocurrency-related stocks had mixed performance, with the following changes: - Coinbase (COIN): +0.13% - Circle (CRCL): -3.02% - MicroStrategy (MSTR): -0.25% - Bullish (BLSH): +0.73% - Gemini (GEMI): -2.55% - Bitmine (BMNR): -0.23% - Bit Digital (BTBT): +1.6% - ETHZilla (ETHZ): -1.46% - BTCS Inc (BTCS): -0.35% - ALT5 Sigma (ALTS): -0.62% - American Bitcoin (ABTC): -2.73% - Kindly MD (NAKA): -0.28% ### Notes on American English adaptation: 1. **Conciseness**: Used "+/-" for percentage changes (standard in U.S. financial news) instead of repeating "rose by/fell by". 2. **Terminology**: Replaced "varied" with "mixed performance" (common in market recaps) and "opening" with "market open" (colloquial U.S. financial jargon). 3. **Readability**: Organized

**Forbes: Ukraine Blocks Access to Prediction Platform Polymarket** Ukrainian authorities have restricted access to prediction platform Polymarket, Forbes reported on January 12. The National Commission for State Regulation of Communications and Informatization (НКЕК) issued the block under Resolution No. 695. The regulator cited Polymarket’s lack of a recognized gambling operating license as the basis for the restriction. Polymarket’s domain has been added to Ukraine’s public list of prohibited internet resources. Electronic communications providers are required to block access to sites facilitating unlicensed gambling activities, per the resolution. Enforcement is inconsistent: some Ukrainian users cannot access the site, while others report no restrictions. As of December 24, roughly 240 Ukraine-related bets had been completed on Polymarket, totaling over $270 million. There are also 120 active bets on the platform worth more than $140 million.

January 12, per HTX market data, DOLO surged more than 30% driven by news that “WLFI Launches Lending Market Supported by Dolomite,” and is currently trading at $0.053. BlockBeats earlier reported that World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s crypto project, launched a Dolomite-supported lending market to expand its stablecoin’s use cases. The service went live Monday, supporting the firm’s native tokens—stablecoin USD1 and WLFI token—as well as Ethereum, tokenized Bitcoin, and leading stablecoins USDC and USDT.