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

On January 25, Daniel Li—founder of Liquid Capital (formerly LD Capital)—stated: “The crypto-friendly policies we’ve long discussed are gradually taking effect, especially as a crypto regulatory framework bill is highly likely to pass. This marks a landmark moment for the industry: the crypto sector has moved beyond past major hurdles and entered a new phase with a favorable macro development environment. We’re certain to see a wave of outstanding founders and high-quality projects emerge. It also clears the way for large-scale participation by U.S. financial institutions in crypto finance, enabling the crypto sector to fully integrate into the mainstream financial system.”

Galaxy Research Director Alex Thorn noted in an X post on January 25 that a key hearing in the cryptocurrency market structure legislative process will take place next week. Senate Agriculture Committee Republicans have released a discussion draft of the *Digital Commodity Exchange Act*. The bill is expected to eventually merge with related legislation from the Senate Banking Committee to form a comprehensive *Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act*. Since the Senate Agriculture Committee oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the draft focuses primarily on the digital commodity market—with its core provision granting the CFTC exclusive regulatory authority over the spot cryptocurrency market (including exchanges, traders, and brokers). The committee plans to hold a bill amendment hearing on Tuesday, January 27, where bipartisan lawmakers may propose changes. While the commodity-focused portion (including CFTC oversight of the spot market) is widely seen as les

**January 24 Update** Garrett Jin, an insider with the "BTC OG Insider Whale" group, posted on social media Wednesday that BlackRock executive Rick Rieder’s odds of becoming the next Federal Reserve Chair have risen to 59.9%—far ahead of Kevin Warsh’s 22%. Sources indicate former President Trump has completed interviews with candidates and holds a clear preference. Rieder is recognized for his central bank-level stability and bold proposals to reform the Fed. The decision could be announced as early as next week. Should Rieder be selected, two key benefits are anticipated: 1. Smoother onboarding for Real-World Assets (RWA), reduced regulatory friction, and accelerated institutional capital inflows. 2. Improved stability in U.S. Treasuries and bond markets, which would boost government bond issuance efficiency and strengthen balance sheet repair—aligning with the current administration’s policy priorities. Rieder’s leadership of the Fed would be a major positive for RWA a

Data from Coinglass shows that as of January 24: - If Ethereum breaks above $3100, cumulative short liquidation volume across major centralized exchanges (CEX) will hit $728 million. - Conversely, if Ethereum drops below $2800, cumulative long liquidation volume on major CEX will reach $704 million. BlockBeats Note: The liquidation chart does not display the exact number of contracts at risk of liquidation or their precise value. Instead, the bars on the chart reflect the relative significance of each liquidation cluster compared to neighboring clusters — i.e., the "intensity." This means the chart illustrates how strongly the underlying asset’s price will react when it hits a given level. A higher "liquidation bar" signals that the price will experience a more intense response from a liquidity cascade once it reaches that threshold.

January 24 — Coinbase has temporarily halted futures and perpetual contracts trading in its derivatives market, per official sources, with maintenance expected to last up to 3 hours.

On January 24, HTX market data shows ENSO has surged more than 79% in the past 24 hours, currently trading at $1.372.