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

Per monitoring by Onchain Lens, HyperLabs—the development team behind Hyperliquid—has completed the 7-day unbonding process for 3.75 million HYPE tokens. The tokens are now reflected in its spot balance, valued at approximately $330 million. Notably, these tokens will not be sold on the public market; instead, they are earmarked for an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction the team struck with an undisclosed entity. To date, 1.875 million HYPE has been allocated to five OTC buyer wallets, with each receiving 375,000 tokens—accounting for 50% of the total 3.75 million HYPE allocated in this OTC deal.

According to Bloomberg, Eric Trump, the second son of U.S. President Donald Trump, told attendees at Singapore’s Token2049 conference that large-scale investments in AI will ultimately become the fastest driver of growth for digital assets. Citing an example of AI agents booking vacations, he said such agents would use crypto wallets instead of fiat currencies for transactions, adding that the faster AI integrates into daily life, the faster the crypto industry will expand. Eric noted that Bitcoin has recently rebounded above $80,000, a sign that capital is flowing back to the crypto market from AI investments, and he believes funds will continue to rotate between AI and crypto assets. Additionally, he said the growth of dollar-backed stablecoins could boost demand for U.S. Treasuries. He also emphasized the "public welfare" value of asset tokenization, arguing that tokenizing high-end real estate, artworks, and music royalties would allow a broader public to invest in assets that were previously mainly accessible to wealthy investors. When discussing banks, he said financial institutions had previously tried to hinder the development of digital assets, but now they are racing to adopt crypto technologies.

According to Bloomberg, cybersecurity consultant Jonathan Spalletta has been found guilty by a New York jury in connection with the theft of nearly $55 million from crypto trading platform Uranium Finance. Prosecutors alleged he carried out two attacks in 2021, which led to the platform’s shutdown following the fund theft. The jury reached its verdict after over two hours of deliberation. Spalletta faces up to 20 years in prison on money laundering charges tied to his use of crypto mixing services such as Tornado Cash. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff scheduled a sentencing date for February 16. Law enforcement seized more than $3 million worth of rare Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering cards, plus approximately $31 million in crypto assets from his Maryland residence. Prosecutors further stated that he spent over $600,000 on an ancient Roman coin commemorating the assassination of Julius Caesar, and $137,000 on an original Wright Brothers aircraft component that had been taken to the moon by Neil Armstrong. His defense counsel argued that he only used publicly available functions within smart contracts, rather than forging credentials or deploying malicious code, and thus did not commit hacking.

U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill stated that while the SEC and CFTC have taken steps to advance crypto regulation, these actions still fall short of the long-term stability congressional legislation can deliver. After the Senate failed to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act last month, the two regulators unveiled related rulemaking plans, but Hill argues permanent legislative changes are still needed to ensure the U.S. retains its leadership in digital assets and blockchain technology. In an interview with Fox Business, Hill said he remains hopeful Congress will pass the CLARITY Act during the post-midterm election lame-duck session. Between the November election and the swearing-in of the new 2027 Congress, the Senate will only have 22 legislative days. Election results could sway lawmakers’ voting stances on the bill. The two regulators currently have a combined seven vacant commissioner seats: after Hester Peirce announced her resignation last week, the SEC is left with only Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioner Mark Uyeda, while CFTC Chairman Michael Selig is the agency’s sole serving commissioner.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin’s monitoring, the 3.75 million HYPE tokens (valued at $332 million) that HyperLabs, the development team behind Hyperliquid, applied to unstake seven days ago have been successfully redeemed just two minutes ago.

Against the backdrop of rising oil prices and further escalating tensions in the Middle East, investors flocked to safe-haven assets, leading to a notable strengthening of the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. Following an increase in Iranian attacks targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) rose as much as 0.5%, moving in lockstep with oil prices and now approaching its year-to-date high. Among G10 currencies, nearly all have fallen against the U.S. dollar, with the euro posting the weakest performance, underperforming other major currencies. Catherine Brooks, head of research at XTB, said in a report: "The U.S. dollar is acting as a counter-cyclical asset, attracting safe-haven inflows as other asset classes are sold off." (Jinshi)