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

Russia’s largest private bank Alfa-Bank has begun testing cryptocurrency trading services for select qualified investors. The test version supports assets including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, Litecoin, Tether USDt, USDC, Zcash, and others. Should Russia’s relevant regulatory framework be formally implemented, the bank plans to roll out the service to retail clients in the fourth quarter of 2026. Furthermore, Alfa-Bank intends to set up a digital asset custody entity, which will provide custody services not only for its own crypto operations but also for third-party institutions. As Russia’s digital asset legislation progresses, major lenders including Sber, VTB Bank, and T-Bank are also accelerating their cryptocurrency business initiatives.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, on-chain gold whale Antalpha has continued to accumulate Tether Gold (XAUT) over the past three months, purchasing a total of roughly 15,052 XAUT worth approximately $68.03 million, with all related transfers originating from Cobo. The latest data shows the address received another 1,000 XAUT about 15 minutes ago, valued at around $4.1 million, signaling its ongoing accumulation of tokenized gold assets.

According to CoinGlass data, the total open interest of Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ) contracts across all platforms stands at $92.23 million. Data shows that liquidity for this underlying asset is mainly concentrated on leading trading platforms, with Binance, Bitget and OKX ranking as the top three in open interest. Their respective open interest shares are 34.64% ($31.95 million), 26.43% ($24.38 million) and 12.22% ($11.27 million), collectively accounting for around 73% of the total market share.

Driven by escalating Middle East tensions and surging energy prices, ExxonMobil and Chevron are projected to report second-quarter net profits of $15 billion and $9.7 billion respectively, totaling approximately $24.7 billion — both figures more than tripling from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, refiners such as Marathon Petroleum and Valero Energy are also expected to post their highest profits in recent years. Amid persistently high gasoline and diesel prices, U.S. President Donald Trump has recently stepped up pressure on the energy sector, calling on retailers to lower fuel prices and directing the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether oil companies are engaging in price gouging. Analysts believe that with midterm elections approaching, high oil prices are continuing to drive up U.S. inflationary pressure, and the standoff between the Trump administration and major oil giants is likely to further escalate.

According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, Tether has minted 1 billion USDT on the Tron network.

According to Bitget data, WTI crude oil has plunged 3% intraday, currently trading at $72.27 per barrel.