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

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent once again issued a statement calling for the passage of the Crypto Market Structure Act, also known as the CLARITY Act. "I strongly urge all parties to remain at the negotiating table, agree to advance the resolution on this bill, and continue pushing forward the legislative process. Failure to do so will send an unsettling signal to both our allies and adversaries: that the United States is unwilling to lead in the digital asset space and is prepared to abandon measures to strengthen national security to address the misuse of these assets."

Decentralized SocialFi platform Zora’s new CEO D. Goens announced that the protocol has made several major adjustments this summer: On the product front, Zora expanded its network support beyond Base to include Robinhood, Solana, and BNB Chain, while rolling out a custom pairing feature that has enabled over 4,000 trading pairs supporting stocks, meme coins, and mainstream assets. On the team side, the company completed layoffs, scaling its headcount to fewer than 10 people, and deeply integrated AI technology to improve operational efficiency. In terms of leadership, co-founder Jacob stepped down as CEO, with fellow co-founder D. Goens taking over the role. The new CEO noted that future priorities will include advancing ZORA token buybacks and holder reward mechanisms, restarting community incentive distributions, accelerating mobile product iteration, and committing to enhanced communication transparency with the community.

Cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger SAS has announced the appointment of Oded Blatman as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Security Officer (CSO), integrating the company’s internal technical systems and security functions under the management of a single executive. Blatman, who previously worked at blockchain firm Fireblocks, will take full responsibility for network and infrastructure security, product security, physical and workplace security, internal IT, and enterprise risk management.

According to HTX market data, the crypto market has seen a slight correction, with Bitcoin falling below $78,000 this morning and currently trading at $78,300. Ethereum is at $2,467, BNB down 4.2% in the past 24 hours at $722, and SOL at $101. ZEC rose against the trend, once approaching a new high of nearly $1,300, now trading at $1,242 with a 5.03% 24-hour gain. HYPE is at $83.4. The total crypto market capitalization has declined 1.1% in 24 hours to $2.75 trillion. Leading gainers among altcoins include: IOST up around 118% in 24 hours, currently priced at $0.001851; KAT up around 25% at $0.00604; VTHO up around 24% at $0.000559; SC up around 21% at $0.000912; MINA up around 16% at $0.0944; IQ up around 10% at $0.000836. Leading losers: SOPH down around 29% at $0.004413; Niu Lai down around 20% at $0.07731; FORM down around 19% at $0.2653; QKC down around 19% at $0.002634; HEI down around 15% at $0.1197; MARSCOIN down around 15% at $0.1097.

Former US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden has defended the meme coin LAPTOP following its sharp price plunge, stating that as many have observed, the token saw extreme volatility in its first hours of trading. Headline news has been uniform: the token is down 99%, tied to the “Biden crime family” and similar narratives—none of which are true. The reality is that the liquidity available at launch could not support the massive attention it received, compounded by technical issues and predatory “snipers” who tried to enter ahead of liquidity providers, driving the price up before it settled to a healthy level. The team’s tokens are locked, with no sales, and I personally made no profit from this. I’m already accustomed to traditional and social media trolls distorting reality to fit their own narratives. The token’s fully diluted valuation (FDV) exceeds $1 billion. We are actively exploring optimal solutions to improve liquidity and continue engaging with the community. This journey is far from over; the official team built this community for the long term from the start, and that remains our focus. I will keep doing what I do best: ignore the noise and reclaim the narrative. Per GMGN data, within nearly 12 hours of launch, the meme coin LAPTOP created by Hunter Biden saw its FDV surge past $300 billion at its peak, plunge to $12 billion at one point, and currently trades at $18 billion, marking a roughly 99.4% drop from its peak.

According to Bitget market data, South Korea’s KOSPI index opened 0.06% higher at 7055.77 points. SK Hynix rose 1%, while Samsung Electronics edged lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index opened 0.59% lower at 64755.71 points.