a16z Crypto: Cryptography Should Go Quantum-Resistant Early, Signatures Need Not Transition Early

Jan 25th Below is a preview of key macro events and data for the upcoming week: **Tuesday** - U.S. Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index (January) - U.S. Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index (January) - Earnings releases: Boeing, General Motors **Wednesday** - Bank of Canada interest rate decision + Monetary Policy Report - After-hours earnings: Meta, Microsoft, Tesla **Thursday** - 3:00 AM Beijing Time: U.S. Federal Reserve FOMC interest rate decision - Post-decision press conference: Fed Chair Jerome Powell - After-hours earnings: Apple **Friday** - Japan’s December unemployment rate - U.S. December PPI data **Saturday** - Speech: 2028 FOMC voter & St. Louis Fed President Musa Salih (U.S. economy/monetary policy) *Source: Jin10*

On January 25, it was announced that Microsoft, Tesla, and Meta will release their fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, January 28, while Apple will report its results post-market on Thursday, January 29. For most of the past three years, the U.S. tech giants dubbed the “Magnificent Seven” have propelled the stock market to new highs. But that momentum reversed late in 2024, as Wall Street began questioning the tens of billions these firms have poured into AI development—and when those investments will finally pay off. The narrative around tech stocks has shifted: now, performance must speak for itself. Next week, the U.S. stock market will turn its focus to earnings from these four giants. Strong results could send funds flooding back into the tech sector.

**CZ Book Updates** - Jan 25: CZ said his new book will hit shelves in late February or early March, with English and Chinese editions launching simultaneously. - Jan 8: He noted the Chinese version of his memoir may be titled *Binance Life*—it has no connection to any meme token or listing. He embraces meme culture, calling the word “sticky” and easy to remember. - As early as March 14, 2025 (note: this date postdates the preceding 2024 entries, likely a typo): CZ mentioned on X he’d written a ~114,000-word book covering his career, the crypto industry, or personal experiences.

Jan. 25: Strategy founder Michael Saylor again shared an update on its Bitcoin tracker, stating, “Unstoppable orange.” Per historical patterns, Strategy typically discloses its Bitcoin holdings the day after relevant news breaks. Following its latest Bitcoin purchase last week, as of Jan. 19, 2026, Strategy holds 709,715 Bitcoin total—with a cumulative investment of roughly $53.92 billion and an average entry price of ~$75,979 per coin.

**January 25 – Spot gold climbed another 1.01% intraday Wednesday, trading at $4,986.13 per ounce as of press time and inching toward the historic $5,000-per-ounce threshold, per Bitget market data.** Gold has overtaken U.S. Treasuries to become the world’s largest single reserve asset held by central banks — the first such historic reversal since 1996. Latest figures from the World Gold Council show the total value of non-U.S. central bank gold reserves has approached or topped $4 trillion, slightly exceeding the ~$3.9 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds held by global central banks. In 2025, gold prices skyrocketed nearly 65% and set new all-time highs more than 50 times. On January 1, 2025, the metal traded at $2,624.27 per ounce, with an annual average of $4,318.53. Since the start of 2026, it has gained roughly 15% in just 25 trading days. Emerging market central banks have been the most active gold buyers, using the metal to hedge against geopolitical risks, U.S. dollar c

On Jan 25, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that no political or personal financial ties would influence its review of the bank charter application for WLFI, the Trump family’s crypto project. Anti-crypto Senator Elizabeth Warren had called for halting WLFI’s national trust bank charter application unless the Trump family divested its stake in the firm—a request the OCC rejected. The OCC’s Inspector General Jonathan Gould responded to Warren’s letter, stating, “The OCC intends to fulfill its review responsibilities, rather than accede to your demands.” Crypto firms have long struggled to secure U.S. national trust bank charters, but a breakthrough came last December: the OCC conditionally approved Ripple, Circle, Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets for transition to federally chartered national trust banks.