BREAKING: $435 million has been liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the past 12 hours.

Jan. 16 — Lael Brainard, a leading candidate for the next Federal Reserve chair, pushed back against concerns that she would struggle to convince other Fed officials to back her views if she takes office. Speaking Thursday, Brainard said: “I’m tough enough to win the debate. Anyone who’s spent five straight years at the White House fielding every question you can ask — like me — is tough enough to face a hostile situation and help people see why they’re right or wrong.” Brainard has long argued that Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues have cut interest rates too slowly, a view shared by former President Donald Trump. Fed watchers note that interest rate decisions are determined by majority vote of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), and a Trump-nominated chair may struggle to build consensus on significant rate cuts. Brainard also reiterated Trump’s view that the Fed under Powell has shown political bias: cutting rates ahead of the 2024 election but halting its

On January 16, Coinbase will list perpetual contract trading for Lighter (LIT). Its LIT-PERP market will launch at or after 18:30 UTC, subject to meeting liquidity conditions and availability in supported trading regions.

January 16 — Goldman Sachs is exploring opportunities in prediction markets, looking to capitalize on the fast-growing space focused on wagering on real-world outcomes. The firm’s CEO, Solomon, described prediction markets as “very interesting” and noted he personally met with the heads of the two biggest prediction market firms in the space over the past two weeks. “We have a team here in touch with them and conducting research,” Solomon stated during Thursday’s analyst conference call, which followed the bank’s release of fourth-quarter earnings. The entry of this mainstream Wall Street institution into prediction markets could boost the legitimacy and trading volume of this loosely regulated yet booming financial niche. Several market maker firms have already entered the space. (Jinse)

On January 16th, Kaito founder Yu Hu posted on X, announcing that KAITO will phase out YAPS and incentive-based rankings while launching KAITO Studio. KAITO Studio will function more like a traditional tiered marketing platform, where brands will selectively partner with creators based on predefined criteria and a clear project scope.

January 16 — Per The Wall Street Journal, the crypto industry and U.S. banking sector are locked in a fierce lobbying fight over yield-bearing digital tokens, a clash that threatens to derail legislative efforts to integrate cryptocurrencies into the mainstream financial system. At issue is what crypto firms call “yield” — regular interest payments tied to a holder’s stake, a mechanism common in stablecoins. From the banking side, offerings like Coinbase’s ~3.5% yield on stablecoins are viewed as analogous to high-yield deposits, but without the strict regulatory rules banks face when accepting public funds. Banking groups have sent multiple letters to lawmakers warning yield-bearing stablecoins could devastate U.S. small and midsize banks. By contrast, the current national average interest rate for U.S. interest-bearing checking accounts remains below 0.1%. This debate was among the reasons the Senate Banking Committee delayed a vote on its crypto market structure bill, originally

As of January 15, per HTX market data, KAITO temporarily dropped more than 13%—likely driven by reports that X is revising its API policy to revoke access for users posting applications on the platform and eliminate associated rewards. The token is currently trading at $0.595.