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

Jan 22 — Per on-chain analyst Ai Auntie (@ai_9684xtpa), DeFi whale nemorino.eth sold 3,000 WETH overnight at $3,095, then repurchased the full amount 5 minutes later at $2,991.29 in a T-trade to lower its average cost basis. The whale currently holds 7,104.13 WETH total, with an average cost basis of $3,045.24 and an ongoing unrealized loss of ~$390,000.

January 22 — Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic has found Iran’s Central Bank received over $500 million in USDT last year. All confirmed USDT has since left Iran-linked wallets, with the report noting the central bank may have used the stablecoin to support the Iranian rial’s value. Elliptic co-founder and Chief Scientist Tom Robinson said leaked documents detail purchases made via an entity called Modex—one he believes could be a crypto broker willing to transact with the Iranian government.

Jan 21: Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan 21, sparking notable market volatility. BlockBeats breaks down key takeaways from his remarks below: - Said he has no plans to use force, only eyeing Greenland. “This may be the most important statement I’ve made. Yesterday’s U.S. stock drop doesn’t matter—markets will double.” Market analysts note the remarks were intended to stem yesterday’s U.S. stock slide; U.S. stocks and crypto did see an immediate rebound. - Reaffirmed his support for crypto. Stated he’s committed to keeping the U.S. the “global crypto capital” to unleash innovation in savings and financing. Congress is currently crafting crypto market structure legislation (covering assets like Bitcoin); the bill is expected to be signed imminently, opening new avenues for Americans. - Soon to announce the new Fed chair (who?); said the pick will be a “respected person.” Also voiced concern the new chair could face “betrayal”: “Once people take

On January 21st, David Sacks—White House Advisor on Cryptocurrency and AI—stated that as Congress advances new market structure legislation, the lines between traditional U.S. banks and the crypto industry will gradually blur, ultimately merging into a "digital asset industry." He noted that banks may enter the crypto space in the future by issuing stablecoins, viewing the tokens as a tool to offer yields and compete with fintech firms. The legislation aims to regulate similar products equivalently, balance demands from various stakeholders, and further unlock institutional capital into the crypto market. (Source: CoinDesk)

On January 21, Category Labs—the development team behind the Monad blockchain—announced via an X post that it may conduct a public market buyback of up to $30 million worth of MON tokens in the first half of 2026, subject to applicable regulations. Category Labs noted the buyback is discretionary and may be initiated, paused, or terminated at any time. The announcement does not constitute a commitment to purchase a specific token amount; instead, it signals the team will consider opportunistic buybacks based on market conditions.

On January 21st, LookOnChain monitoring data reveals a whale deployed the degen-retard.sol contract roughly two years ago, withdrawing 99,153 SOL from Binance at ~$192 per SOL (valued at $19 million) and staking the tokens. Today, the whale dumped its remaining 98,328 SOL (valued at ~$12.34 million) and sold via a dollar-cost averaging (DCA) strategy. After staking SOL for nearly two years, the whale not only failed to profit but incurred losses exceeding $6.6 million.