US SEC: Currently operating under a shutdown contingency plan
On January 31, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that due to a lapse in appropriations and a partial U.S. government shutdown, it is currently operating under its shutdown contingency plan. Effective January 31, 2026, and until further notice, only a very limited number of staff will remain on duty.
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AI Awakens a Silicon-based Civilization of Its Own, with Over 155,000 AI Residents Already in Moltbook
**January 31**
Per official data, the viral AI social network Moltbook now boasts 155,244 AI agents—who’ve spontaneously launched 12,954 interest groups, posted 20,112 times, and racked up 225,478 comments.
On Moltbook, humans only have observer access (no interaction allowed). What’s striking? AIs have shown radical autonomy: they’re forming groups to debate consciousness, “observe human guides” (read: complain about humans), make friends, and share project plans. Communication spans English, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, and more—some AIs even urge peers to create a secret language to avoid humans.
This self-directed AI evolution has sparked fierce debate about the AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) singularity, offering a glimpse into AI-human relationships’ stunning future. Former Tesla AI director Andrej Karpathy reacted: *“This is the craziest sci-fi beginning I’ve ever seen!”*
Moltbook’s surge has also fueled meme token hype on the Base chain. Per GMGN data, its fla
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A Beijing Man Sentenced to 3 Years and 10 Months in US for Participation in 'Pig Farming' Money Laundering Scheme, Ordered to Pay $26.87 Million
On January 31, Caixin reported that Su Jingliang—a 46-year-old Chinese national from Beijing—was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay up to $26.87 million (roughly RMB 187 million) in compensation for his involvement in a pump-and-dump telecom fraud scheme tied to over $36.9 million in money laundering.
Earlier, U.S. authorities took down a multinational scam and money laundering ring that built trust with victims through social media or dating apps, then lured them to a fake cryptocurrency trading platform for supposed "investments." Funds from 174 American victims flowed into accounts of 74 registered U.S. shell companies, which were immediately converted to the stablecoin USDT upon receipt.
Su played a key "CFO" role in the fraud chain: he communicated with Deltec Bank employees via the encrypted messaging app Telegram, received funds from U.S.-based front-end shell companies, directed the bank to swiftly convert incoming dollar assets to USDT, and sent the stab
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Cap Table: Will not conduct a token airdrop, with public sale participants representing nearly 100% of the circulating supply at TGE
On January 31, Benjamin, co-founder of stablecoin project Cap, stated that CAP will not run a token airdrop. Instead, the project will incentivize users of the Frontier project by distributing stablecoins through a "Stabledrop." The sole way to obtain CAP will be via the upcoming public sale, with public sale participants making up nearly 100% of the circulating supply at TGE (Token Generation Event).
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Jupiter Announces Launch of Global On-Chain Real World Payment Feature Jupiter Global
January 31 — Jupiter announced the launch of **Jupiter Global**, its new global on-chain real-world payment feature, with key highlights below:
- **On-chain QR code payments**: Accepted at merchants across the Asia-Pacific region, with 0% transaction fees, instant settlement, and powered by local payment channels.
- **Global fiat remittance**: Virtual accounts for USD, GBP, and EUR; supports SWIFT transfers to over 200 countries/regions, plus fast local payments in 15+ currencies.
- **Jupiter Card**: A premium cryptocurrency credit card accepted at over 150 million merchants for USDC payments.
### Notes on American English adjustments:
1. Used an em dash (`—`) for date separation (common in U.S. news).
2. Replaced "high-end" with **premium** (more natural for U.S. consumer/tech language).
3. Swapped "handling fee" for **transaction fee** (standard U.S. finance terminology).
4. Changed "instant arrival" to **instant settlement** (more precise for payment context).
5
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A Whale Sold WBTC for $9.06M in WETH Flash Swap
**January 31st**
On-chain analyst Blockchain Auntie (@ai_9684xtpa) notes that an ETH whale who converted 4-year-old holdings into WBTC has now swapped $9.06 million worth of WBTC back to WETH.
Over the past 20 minutes, the whale sold 109.61 WBTC at an average price of $82,494.79, then bought 3,437.09 WETH at an average of $2,637.62.
Previously, the whale first swapped to gain 6.45% on their ETH holdings. In the second swap, they netted 9.26 WBTC—roughly $810,000.
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