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

BlockBeats News: Multiple crypto KOLs have recently revealed that meme launch platform pump.fun is offering lucrative recruitment packages (a $20,000 signing bonus plus $30,000 monthly compensation) to users of rival platform FOMO to migrate to its app. The agreement comes with strict migration terms and payment conditions, requiring users to transfer funds and positions, use a dedicated wallet, publicly declare it as their sole wallet, permanently delete their FOMO accounts, prohibit use of this wallet on competing platforms, and include a non-disparagement clause. This controversial poaching move unfolds against the backdrop of pump.fun’s persistent revenue slump and FOMO’s record revenue growth. Per DefiLlama data, pump.fun earned $6.49 million in revenue over the past seven days, holding an undisputed top position, though pressure from trailing competitors remains intense. FOMO generated $2.64 million in revenue over the same period, having grown rapidly since July and hitting successive all-time highs. Additionally, Flap — a meme coin platform that has performed well recently on BSC and the Robinhood chain — recorded $1.39 million in revenue. Against this backdrop, paired with pump.fun’s newly launched social trading feature this week, it is evident that pump.fun’s high-value poaching agreement is designed to nip its fast-growing rival in the bud. Notably, despite the highly controversial nature of this action, crypto lawyer Ariel Givner analyzed that pump.fun’s move does not violate any laws or regulations, representing a standard commercial transaction.

Nodes supporting BIP-110 rejected blocks lacking the required support signal at block height 961,632, triggering a Bitcoin fork. However, the new chain only produced two blocks roughly eight hours after launch, with no indications that miners plan to keep it running. According to BIP-110 monitors, the forked branch is currently at block height 961,633, while Bitcoin’s main chain has reached block height 961,681. BIP-110 is a one-year rule adjustment proposal aimed at restricting non-financial data writes in Bitcoin transactions, including uses like Ordinals inscriptions. The proposal requires at least 1,109 blocks (55%) to signal support over a roughly two-week cycle of 2,016 blocks to activate, but only 51 blocks (2.53%) supported it in the prior cycle.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan told CoinDesk in an interview that Bitcoin could reach $1.3 million by 2035, with massive institutional capital inflows as the key driver. Hougan noted that global institutions manage $100 trillion to $200 trillion in assets; even a 1% allocation to Bitcoin would translate to $1 trillion to $2 trillion in funds, enough to support the price target. Retail investors have pushed the crypto market from scratch to a $2 trillion market capitalization, and over the next decade, institutional capital will lead growth, driving the total market cap to even higher levels.

According to data from Cypherpunk, Zcash’s privacy pool Ironwood has surpassed Orchard to become the largest shielded pool on the Zcash network. The data shows Ironwood currently holds approximately 1,904,394 ZEC, valued at around $955 million based on the price at the time of statistics. This milestone was achieved roughly 11 days after Ironwood’s activation.

Police in Hengli, Dongguan, China recently foiled a virtual currency investment fraud case, safeguarding 1.1 million yuan in cash five minutes before the victim was set to complete an offline transaction with scammers, preventing significant financial losses. According to reports, the victim, identified only as Ms. Li (alias), met an unfamiliar netizen online who lured her with a "virtual currency internal investment channel"—promising low entry barriers and high returns—and created forged profit screenshots to fake investment gains. The scammers then induced Ms. Li to withdraw 1.1 million yuan in cash for delivery, claiming the funds were needed for "offline cash exchange for US dollar top-ups". After detecting risk clues, Dongguan police promptly activated their early warning and interception mechanism, dispatched officers to the bank to dissuade Ms. Li, and successfully blocked the fund transfer ahead of the transaction. (Source: Dongguan Release)

Anas, founder of Solana perpetual contract protocol FlashTrade, announced the shutdown of the project and is seeking to sell its existing tech stack to compensate FAF holders. He attributed the shutdown to factors including severe internal team disagreements, market contraction, and prolonged lack of profitability, stating, "What hurt me the most personally was the Solana Foundation’s disregard for us," adding that the foundation only fully supports one team as it believes this aids Solana’s success. Anas also emphasized he does not blame the foundation for the project’s failure, noting he was overly emotional about the situation. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko responded shortly after, stating the foundation cannot determine a product’s success; its main role is to assist with go-to-market (GTM) efforts and expand exposure during product launches, and whether attention translates to users ultimately depends on the product itself.