Data: Web3 social application Towns has over 400,000 total users, with over 200,000 token holders

**Forbes’ 2026 Crypto Outlook: 3 Key Industry Trends** On Jan. 2, Forbes published its 2026 Cryptocurrency Outlook, highlighting three core trends shaping the space: 1. Mutual reinforcement between crypto and AI trading; 2. Deepening institutional adoption; 3. Market cooling won’t slow industry progress. Forbes noted AI and crypto assets are increasingly competing for power resources, investment capital, and market attention—but predicted the two will maintain linkage in areas like trading sentiment, market reactions to interest rate/inflation news, and ability to absorb geopolitical shocks. Despite market volatility and regulatory disputes, institutional digital asset adoption will advance steadily. Large financial firms are no longer making marginal attempts; instead, they’re actively building infrastructure, recruiting specialized talent, and integrating crypto exposure into broader capital market strategies. Asset tokenization, custody solutions, and on-chain settlem

On January 2nd, HTX market data shows a rebound and price surge for several old-school altcoins and meme coins, including: - PEPE: Up 20.49% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $0.00000488 - NEIRO: Up 20.64% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $0.0001238 - ONE: Up 17.34% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $0.00406 - SSV: Up 17.16% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $4.51 - IMX: Up 15.67% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $0.251 - FIL: Up 14.33% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $1.475 - DOT: Up 12.05% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $1.998 - APT: Up 11.53% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $1.847 - OP: Up 11.34% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $0.2974 - SUSHI: Up 11.03% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $0.3 - AVAX: Up 10.3% in the past 24 hours, now trading at $13.6

Offshore yuan climbs above 6.97 against the U.S. dollar, peaking at 6.9678 and hitting its highest level since May 2023. (Cailian Press)

On January 2, the Trust Wallet browser extension was temporarily delisted from the Google Chrome Web Store, pushing back the release of an updated version designed to help victims of a recent security breach. Trust Wallet CEO Eowyn Chen noted the delay stems from a Google-side technical issue—not a new security incident. “We hit a system glitch on the Chrome Web Store while rolling out the update,” Chen said in a post on X. The update adds features for affected users to verify their status and file compensation claims tied to the Christmas hack. Until the revised extension is reinstated, Chen is urging users to stay vigilant: fake Trust Wallet extensions could surface on the Chrome Web Store while the official version is unavailable.

January 2nd — Following a turbulent end to 2025 that spotlighted digital asset reserve strategies amid the historic year, some reserve strategy executives predict 2026 will bring industry consolidation, asset diversification, and deeper institutional participation as regulation continues to mature. “Consolidation and mergers will be a key theme of 2026,” said Tyler Evans, Chief Investment Officer at KindlyMD. The Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin reserve firm transformed into a digital asset reserve institution last August after merging with Nakamoto Holding Company. “The market will have a clearer sense of who the winners are.” Hyunsu Jung, CEO of Hyperion DeFi (the reserve arm of Hyperliquid), also sees market consolidation on the horizon. He notes that increasingly discerning investors will view digital asset reserve institutions through a new lens: “The market will keep scrutinizing these firms’ value propositions, which should ultimately hinge on how they drive ecosystem growth via reve

**Bithumb Uncovers $201.8M in Dormant Crypto Assets Across 2.6M Accounts** On January 2, South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb revealed over $20 million in customer assets across approximately 2.6 million accounts were dormant. The disclosure is part of the exchange’s dormant asset recovery push targeting users inactive for over a year (no logins or trades). Bithumb stated total balances in inactive accounts hit roughly 291.6 billion South Korean won (≈$201.8 million), with some tagged accounts dormant for more than a decade. The largest single dormant holding is ~$2.84 million, while the longest dormancy period clocks in at 4,380 days (nearly 12 years). Some inactive holdings have seen returns exceeding 61,000% (≈610x)—pointing to early crypto adopters who joined during the market’s first boom but never came back. The exchange plans to directly notify eligible customers and help recover their accounts, framing the move as part of broader customer protection efforts, including