US cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is backing a newly formed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that plans to go public through a Kraken-affiliated sponsor. KrakAcquisition, a blank-check company jointly backed by Kraken, Tribe Capital, and Natural Capital, filed documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday (January 13) to raise up to $250 million through an initial public offering (IPO). According to the SEC filing, the exempted company, registered in the Cayman Islands in July 2025, plans to issue 25 million shares ($10 each) and apply for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “KRAQU.” While the SPAC primarily targets companies in the cryptocurrency infrastructure sector, Kraken reportedly filed a separate confidential S-1 form last November seeking potential IPO opportunities for its common stock. (Cointelegraph)

Early morning on January 13th, Beijing time, Apple and Google jointly issued a statement announcing a multi-year, in-depth cooperation agreement.

After burning $70 billion on virtual worlds, Meta signals a dramatic retreat from the metaverse as artificial intelligence takes over the company’s future.

PayPal will soon be a payment option in Google’s new AI-powered checkout through the Universal Commerce Protocol, which connects AI agents, retailers, and payment providers. The protocol was developed with major retailers and aims to make online shopping easier, more secure, and interoperable across different platforms.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says a nascent crypto sector could mirror the explosive growth of stablecoins, calling the opportunity “huge” as blockchain technology continues to reduce friction in global markets. In a new discussion hosted by Goldman Sachs, Armstrong points to the rise of stablecoins as a case study. source: https://dailyhodl.com/2026/01/13/coinbase-ceo-brian-armstrong-details-huge-prediction-on-nascent-crypto-sector-heres-his-outlook/

According to PANews, a crypto investment executive and his family in Verneuil-sur-Seine, France, were attacked by three armed intruders last Friday night. The family was assaulted and tied up with zip ties. The day before, another investor was kidnapped, beaten, and abandoned 50 kilometers from his home near Cholet. These incidents are part of a growing trend of '$5 wrench attacks' in France, where criminals use violence to force victims to surrender their crypto assets. This has sparked widespread concern over data breaches and security risks.

An updated Senate draft of the market structure bill prohibits yield "solely in connection with the holding of a payment stablecoin. " source: https://decrypt.co/354386/banks-win-key-battle-as-crypto-bill-bars-stablecoin-interest-payments

OKX Wallet announced that it will officially upgrade its Boost ranking rules on January 14, 2026 at 11:00 (UTC+8). The new rules introduce an on-chain token score evaluation system. Tokens consistently ranking in the top three will be placed on OKX exchange's listing watchlist for faster review; lower-ranking tokens may be removed from the ranking and have their trading volume bonus cancelled. Simultaneously, the top three tokens in the daily ranking will receive an additional 50% Boost trading volume bonus. Furthermore, Meme tokens that meet criteria such as market capitalization, liquidity, and community activity will also have the opportunity to be included in the Boost ranking and will be subject to the same rules.

CoinDesk's latest monthly report for December shows that Gate's market share in derivatives rose to 11% that month, making it the centralized trading platform with the largest increase in derivatives market share in December. Looking at the whole year, Gate's cumulative increase in derivatives market share was 9.32%, ranking first among centralized trading platforms, with an increase more than double that of the second-ranked platform. Furthermore, in the spot market, Gate's market share growth in December remained firmly in third place. With its dual-pronged approach in both derivatives and spot markets, Gate is becoming a significant force driving changes in the industry's market structure. At the business and brand levels, Gate is simultaneously advancing several important developments. The Gate App has been revamped, with the homepage showcasing an international promotional video in collaboration with the F1 Red Bull Racing team for the first time; Gate Pay has officially launched its institutional account function, providing merchants and institutional users with a one-stop, multi-tiered account management solution. At the same time, Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han was named one of Entrepreneur Middle East's "The 100" 2025 list; at the inaugural BeInCrypto 100 Awards, Gate won both "Best Centralized Exchange" and "Best Brand of the Year", while Gate Ventures won Best VC of the Year.

The fifth episode of the third season of "Blockchain Masters," a light-hearted variety show about the Web3 industry, jointly launched by Jinse Finance, Twinkle, and Dashu Finance, and produced by HTX DAO and OracleX, was officially launched on January 8, 2026.

According to data from msx.com, crypto stocks generally rose in pre-market trading in the US, with Strategy up 3.11%, BitMine up 3.56%, Coinbase up 0.91%, Sharplink Gaming up 2.4%, and DeFi Development Corp up 4.69%. msx.com is a decentralized RWA trading platform that has listed hundreds of RWA tokens, covering US stock and ETF tokens such as AAPL, AMZN, GOOGL, META, MSFT, NFLX, and NVDA.

Analysts see AI data centers and energy-backed computing power as strategic infrastructure in 2026, similar to how oil reserves are managed. source: https://cryptonews.com/exclusives/how-ai-and-tokenized-dollars-will-anchor-the-2026-global-economy/

على الرغم من أغلاق الاسواق اليابانية بمناسبة عطلة رسمية الا أن الين اليابانى واصل الانهيار مقابل باقى العملات الرئيسية الاخرى. وفى هذا الصدد قفز زوج الجنيه الاسترلينى مقابل الين اليابانى GBP/JPY الى مستوى المقاومة 213. com source: https://www.tradersup.com/%d8%aa%d8%ad%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d9%81%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a9/%d8%aa%d8%ad%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%84-%d9%81%d9%86%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%86%d9%8a%d9%87-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%b1%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%86%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7/%d9%88%d8%ac%d9%87%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%a4%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%81%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%89-%d8%aa%d8%b4%d8%a8%d8%b9-%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a1/151359

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan calls Bitcoin 401(k) fears “ridiculous,” noting BTC’s lower volatility than Nvidia and “derisking” of Bitcoin due to the diversification of its investor base. source: https://cryptonews.com/news/bitwise-bitcoin-401k-ridiculous-nvidia-volatility/

Ethereum's goal is to become the home of trustless and trust-minimized applications, whether in finance, governance, or other fields.

Chinese AI company DeepSeek is rapidly expanding in Africa, Russia, Belarus, and other markets using low-cost, open-source models backed by government subsidies. Microsoft warns that U.S. tech firms risk falling behind as their paid, controlled AI systems struggle to compete on price and accessibility.

Just weeks after leaving office, Eric Adams unveiled a New York–themed memecoin pitched as a social good. On-chain data now suggests a chaotic — and controversial — debut.

a16z is transforming into a more ambitious organization—a full-stack coordination engine that encompasses both technological and political realities.

The official acceptance of digital currency payments by the Iranian Ministry of Defense's export center (Mindex) marks a strategic shift for Iran, transforming it from a "small-scale tax haven" to a national-level "military payment layer."

Since the beginning of 2026, the commodity bull market led by gold and silver has intensified, sweeping the market with an even more surging upward trend.