Circle minted 250 million USDC on the Solana network 6 hours ago

Stablecoin issuer Tether said on January 27 that it added roughly 27 metric tons of gold to its reserves in the fourth quarter of 2025—nearly matching analysts’ estimated 26-ton purchase in Q3. Its publicly disclosed third-quarter USDT reserve audit showed the company held about $12.9 billion in gold reserves as of the end of September, equivalent to roughly 104 metric tons at prevailing market prices then. USDT’s current circulation stands at around $187 billion, with reserves still dominated by U.S. Treasury bonds; gold accounts for roughly 7% of the total. Tether now ranks among the world’s top 30 gold holders, surpassing nations like Greece, Qatar, and Australia.

On January 27, encrypted payment network Mesh announced the completion of a $75 million Series C funding round, securing a post-investment valuation of $1 billion. The round was led by Dragonfly Capital, with participation from Paradigm, Moderne Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, SBI Investment, and Liberty City Ventures. To date, the company’s total funding has exceeded $200 million. Proceeds will be used to accelerate expansion into Latin America, Asia, and Europe, plus drive product development. Mesh positions itself as an asset-agnostic unified payment network serving over 900 million users. It lets users pay with any asset (including Bitcoin, Solana, etc.) while merchants settle instantly in stablecoins like USDC, PYUSD, or local fiat currency. Notably, a portion of this funding round was also settled in stablecoins.

Bitget Market Data (Jan 27) At the U.S. stock market open, the Dow Jones dropped 0.6%, the S&P 500 gained 0.27%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.5%. Crypto-related U.S. stocks were mixed, with key movers including: - Circle (CRCL): -1.03% - Coinbase (COIN): -0.52% - MicroStrategy (MSTR): -0.5% - BTCS Inc. (BTCS): +1.41% - BitMine Immersion (BMNR): +1.35% - SharpLink Gaming (SBET): +0.91%

Jan. 27 – Citigroup hiked its silver price target from $100 per ounce to $150 per ounce, citing robust speculative demand and tightening physical supply outside the U.S. The bank warned, however, that short-term profit-taking by Chinese investors could pressure prices. Silver futures surged to over $115 per ounce on Monday before falling 5.7% from that peak.

CNBC reported on January 27 that despite expectations of a new Federal Reserve chair appointed by former President Trump in the coming months, survey respondents only foresee a modest shift in the federal funds rate over the next two years. The survey results align broadly with federal funds futures market pricing, indicating both Wall Street insiders and economic forecasters do not expect the next Fed chair to make significant cuts to the overnight rate to reach the low level the president has pushed for. The market’s average forecast calls for two additional 25-basis-point rate cuts this year, totaling 50 basis points, with no cuts anticipated in 2027. The federal funds rate is projected to hold around 3% this year and stay at that level through 2027. Trump has said U.S. interest rates should rank among the lowest in the world and has called on the Fed to cut rates to 1%. Against the backdrop of roughly 2% inflation, this request would effectively result in a negative real i