The popular AI framework Virtuals Protocol will host an in-person meet-up in Hong Kong on Friday, January 17.

Data from prediction market platform Predict.fun shows that the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal will pit Norway against England. As of press time, the market assigns England a roughly 64% probability of advancing, while Norway’s advancement odds stand at around 35%. Notably, Norway, making its first-ever appearance in the World Cup quarterfinals, has already notched its best result in team history. The side’s top striker Haaland has netted 7 goals in the tournament, including a brace in just 11 minutes during the previous round to help Norway eliminate Brazil. For England, Kane has contributed 6 goals, with players like Bellingham and Gordon also consistently chipping in offensively. However, England has conceded goals in two straight knockout matches. Against the in-form Haaland, containing his performance will be the key to deciding the match’s winner.

According to Defillama data, Polymarket generated $1.88 million in revenue over the past 24 hours, surpassing Canton and Hyperliquid to rank as the 3rd highest-earning crypto protocol. The protocol’s cumulative revenue has exceeded $94 million.

U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs recorded a combined net inflow of $281.8 million this week, ending an 8-week streak of outflows that began in early May. Specifically, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of roughly $197.4 million last week, putting an end to their own 8-week outflow cycle. Prior to this, Bitcoin ETFs had logged a cumulative outflow of about $8.26 billion over those 8 weeks—the longest consecutive outflow period since they started trading in January 2024. Ethereum spot ETFs, meanwhile, posted a net inflow of approximately $84.4 million last week, also wrapping up 8 straight weeks of outflows. Before that, Ethereum ETFs had seen roughly $1.2 billion in outflows over 8 weeks, matching the all-time longest outflow record set between February and April 2025. The current rebound remains modest relative to the earlier outflows: Bitcoin ETFs have recouped only around 2.4% of the funds lost in the prior 8-week period, while Ethereum ETFs have recovered roughly 7%. As of early 2026, Bitcoin ETFs have a year-to-date net outflow of about $5.34 billion, and Ethereum ETFs have a year-to-date net outflow of approximately $1.35 billion.

JPMorgan Chase is testing AI agents that can autonomously adjust the proportion of stock and bond investments to dynamically rebalance portfolios based on changes in market conditions. Test results show that in a 20-year historical backtest, the best-performing AI model delivered an annualized return 0.7 percentage points higher than the traditional "60/40" stock-bond portfolio, while also boasting lower volatility. All 8 AI agents tested by JPMorgan achieved higher risk-adjusted returns. However, the bank noted that the results are still based on simulated tests and do not represent actual investment performance. JPMorgan also warned that large-scale adoption of AI could lead to convergence of trading strategies, increase crowded trades, and amplify market volatility under stressed conditions.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) official website updated the first-phase progress report on Changjiang Storage’s IPO counseling work on July 10. A total of 31 personnel from two securities firms, CITIC Securities and China Securities Construction Investment, form the counseling team. The current counseling period runs from May 19 to June 30, 2026, with work carried out via multiple methods including on-site due diligence, centralized training sessions, and targeted issue communications. The next phase of counseling will focus on two areas: First, for issues identified during the process, coordinate timely discussions between intermediaries and the company, develop standardization plans, and urge the counseled entity to fully implement rectification requirements. The working group will also continue to push the company to improve its corporate governance and internal control systems, enhancing its standardized operation level. Second, urge the company to thoroughly understand laws, regulations and rules related to issuance, listing and standardized operation, and clarify its responsibilities and obligations in areas such as information disclosure and fulfillment of commitments. (Jinshi)

Real Vision’s chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts has stated that Bitcoin may be entering the late stages of its current bear market. While the bear market is not yet over, downward momentum has begun to weaken. The current BTC price is roughly 50% lower than its all-time high of $126,100 set in October 2025. Coutts described the current trend as a “typical bear market,” pointing out that Bitcoin’s volatility has fallen by around 50% compared to the previous cycle, suggesting this downturn may not be as severe as prior bear markets. However, he cautioned that all current trend indicators remain clearly bearish, and markets do not mechanically replicate historical cycles. He noted that longer-term momentum indicators are starting to show bullish divergence, signaling that negative momentum is decelerating—but this does not mean Bitcoin has technically exited the bear market. Beyond tightening global liquidity, deteriorating on-chain demand was a key factor driving Bitcoin’s earlier decline. On long-term price projections, Coutts is cautious about Bitcoin reaching $1 million by 2030; instead, he forecasts BTC will rise to $200,000–$250,000 over the next two to three years. He also warned that the Bitcoin community needs to address the potential threat of quantum computing more definitively by 2027, as major protocol upgrades could take approximately five years to complete.