Spot Gold Rapidly Retreats Below $5500, Down 1.72% in 15 Minutes

January 29 – Official sources confirm that Flying Tulip, the unified on-chain financial system founded by Sonic Labs founder Andre Cronje, will launch its token sale on CoinList. The public sale aims to raise $200 million, representing 20% of the total FT token supply (20 billion tokens). The token is priced at $0.10, with a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $1 billion. The sale runs from 00:00 UTC on February 3 through 21:00 UTC on February 6, with a minimum purchase of $100. Flying Tulip intends to integrate spot trading, lending, perpetual contracts, insurance, and a native stablecoin (ftUSD) into a single protocol framework. Tokens in the sale are protected by a "Perpetual PUT" structure. Participants will receive FT NFTs with redemption rights, enabling them to: hold the NFTs, burn tokens to redeem their original investment amount, or unlock tokens for free trading (forfeiting redemption rights upon unlocking).

**January 29 Market Update: U.S. Stocks Mixed, Crypto Stocks Mostly Lower (Bitget Data)** U.S. stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, January 29, per Bitget market data: - Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.03% - S&P 500: Edged lower - Nasdaq Composite: +0.17% Cryptocurrency-related stocks were predominantly lower, with only two notable gainers: - Circle (CRCL): +4.12% - Bitmine (BMNR): +1.02% Most crypto-linked equities fell, including: - Coinbase (COIN): -0.66% - MicroStrategy (MSTR): -1.94% - Bullish (BLSH): -1.35% - Gemini (GEMI): -0.33% - SharpLink Gaming (SBET): -0.2% - Bit Digital (BTBT): -2.7% - ETHZilla (ETHZ): -3.4% - BTCS Inc (BTCS): -3.28% - ALT5 Sigma (ALTS): -3.2% - American Bitcoin (ABTC): -1.89% - Kindly MD (NAKA): -0.9%

On January 29, Lighter announced via social media a new rule: users must stake LIT tokens to gain access to LLP. For LLP allocations exceeding staked LIT coverage (1 LIT covers 10 USDC), the team will gradually refund the excess to users. Starting tomorrow, daily refunds will cap at the higher of 3% of the uncovered amount or 100 USDC, with funds sent directly to users’ USDC balances. The mechanism aims to better align the interests of LIT stakers and LLP holders. Critically, LLP allocations are now verifiable—rules have been encoded into a zero-knowledge proof (ZK) circuit. In two weeks, traders will be able to use LLP as collateral, a move that will boost Lighter’s capital efficiency and enhance the utility of both LLP and staked LIT.

On January 29, MegaETH officially announced via social media that it will launch its mainnet on February 9.

On January 29, Mizuho Securities reversed its stance on Circle, upgrading CRCL shares to a "Neutral" rating and lifting its target price to $77. The firm said Wednesday that the surging popularity of prediction market platform Polymarket could push the company’s stock higher. Analysts Dan Dolev and Alexander Jenkins noted: “All bets on Polymarket settle in USDC, meaning Polymarket’s growth will directly fuel USDC’s expansion. We anticipate the forecast market’s momentum will persist through 2026, translating to a rise in USDC’s market value and incremental revenue for Circle.”

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (Reuters) - The White House will convene a meeting on Monday with banking and cryptocurrency industry executives to advance the CLARITY Act—legislation to regulate stablecoins that has stalled amid rifts between the two sectors—Reuters reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Hosted by the White House’s Cryptocurrency Working Group, the gathering will bring together leaders from major industry trade groups. It will center on how the bill addresses interest and other benefits crypto firms offer customers holding dollar-pegged stablecoins, the sources said. The meeting could help the feuding sectors find common ground on the legislation, while underscoring the Trump administration’s push to get the bill passed. Trump actively courted the crypto industry during his 2024 campaign and vowed to advance mainstream adoption of digital assets.