According to PANews, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued a warning to the public regarding an unlicensed virtual asset trading platform known as International Standard Carbon Asset Technology Company, also referred to as "iSCAT" or "iSCAT Exchange." This platform, which previously operated in Hong Kong, claims to offer cryptocurrency trading services and has been promoting its services through social media to attract investors to its website and mobile application. On January 10, 2025, the SFC added "iSCAT" and/or "iSCAT Exchange" along with its associated websites to its list of suspicious virtual asset trading platforms. The SFC has reiterated its warning to investors about the risks of trading on unregulated virtual asset platforms. Investors may face the risk of losing their entire investment if such platforms cease operations, face hacking incidents, or experience any asset misappropriation.

According to CoinDesk, 2025 is anticipated to be a significant year for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as highlighted by Laser Digital, the digital asset arm of Nomura. The company suggests that over a dozen crypto ETFs could be introduced in the U.S. this year, contingent upon approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The report from Laser Digital last week indicated that asset managers have already submitted 12 filings to the SEC. Among the proposed products are a ProShares ETF that measures the S&P 500's return in bitcoin, a combined bitcoin/ether ETF, and products based on litecoin, XRP, and Solana. Laser Digital predicts that a bitcoin/ether ETF is likely to receive approval first. The successful launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. in January of the previous year set a promising precedent. Blackrock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) managed to gather approximately $53 billion in assets under management within its first 11 months, surpassing all prior ETF launches. The report also notes that with the appointment of crypto-friendly Paul Atkins as the new chairman of the SEC and the departure of Gary Gensler, the ongoing legal challenges against crypto companies are expected to diminish. This shift in leadership is seen as increasing the likelihood of approval for these new ETFs. Laser Digital forecasts that the ETF market will continue to expand in terms of assets under management (AUM) and will experience broader adoption by institutional investors in 2025. This growth is anticipated to be further supported by President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to return to office with a team of regulators favorable to cryptocurrency. Additionally, asset manager Grayscale has expressed intentions to convert its Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL) into an ETF by December, signaling further developments in the crypto ETF landscape.

According to Odaily, the U.S. dollar may continue to strengthen if the belief that the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting cycle has ended becomes dominant in the market. Following the release of robust U.S. employment data on Friday, Bank of America's baseline scenario suggests that the Federal Reserve will maintain its current stance for an extended period, with the likelihood of the next move leaning towards a rate hike. If the Fed's next action appears to be a rate increase rather than a cut, it will further bolster the dollar's bullish momentum. This week, at least five Federal Reserve officials are scheduled to speak, with particular attention on FOMC permanent voting member and New York Fed President John Williams.

Andrew Tate has hailed himself as the unofficial Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and has vowed to fix the mess created by the current government. In a video clip uploaded on X, Tate was seen harshly criticizing the current political establishments, calling them corrupt and an utter failure.

The dollar could get stronger if the view that the Fed's rate-cutting cycle may be over dominates the market. After the release of strong US employment data on Friday, Bank of America's "baseline scenario" is that the Fed will remain on hold for a long time, and the probability of the next move is "biased towards rate hikes." If the Fed's next move looks like a rate hike rather than a rate cut, it will add fuel to the bullish momentum of the dollar. At least five Fed officials will speak this week, with a focus on FOMC permanent voting member and New York Fed President Williams. (Jinshi)

The sudden pause, which began on January 11, has drawn backlash and fueled skepticism about the platform’s intentions. Mudrex explained the decision to Cointelegraph, stating that the suspension is aimed at upgrading its compliance framework to prevent misuse by bad actors. Mudrex Defends Withdrawal Pause for Stronger Infrastructure According to Cointelegraph, Edul Patel, co-founder and... source: https://www.altcoinbuzz.io/cryptocurrency-news/mudrex-halts-crypto-withdrawals-sparking-community-concerns/

Bitget market data shows that PROM briefly broke through 9 USDT and is currently trading at 9.036 USDT, with a 24-hour increase of 28.67%.

According to Odaily, QCP Capital has indicated that inflation appears to be resurfacing as the U.S. economy shows signs of overheating. Last Friday, non-farm payrolls surged by 256,000, significantly exceeding the forecast of 164,000. Following the release of last week's macroeconomic data, any speculation about imminent interest rate cuts has dissipated, leading to a sharp decline in the stock market. Additionally, tariffs potentially implemented during the Trump era have sparked further inflation concerns. Despite the unfavorable macroeconomic environment and persistent rumors about the Silk Road, cryptocurrencies seem to have found stability, with support levels at $91,000 and $3,100 remaining intact. Implied volatility is also at relatively low levels and continues to decline, with only a slight bearish skew in the front-end market before Trump's inauguration. While the volatility market shows little reaction, cryptocurrencies are not yet out of the woods. The macroeconomic storm continues to loom, with the Producer Price Index (January 14), Consumer Price Index (January 15), and initial jobless claims (January 16) set to be released, potentially fueling market volatility. As the U.S. economy heats up, this week will be a true test for cryptocurrencies to demonstrate their role as a hedge against inflation.

QCP Capital wrote that inflation is suspected to be back, and the US economy does show signs of overheating, with non-farm payrolls surging by 256,000 last Friday, far exceeding the forecast of 164,000. After the release of macro data last week, any rumors of an imminent rate cut disappeared, and the stock market fell sharply. The possible tariffs in the Trump era have also raised more inflation concerns. Despite the unfavorable macro environment and the lingering rumors of Silk Road, cryptocurrencies seem to have gained a foothold, as the support levels of $91,000 and $3,100 currently remain unchanged. Implied volatility is also at a relatively low level and continues to decline, with a slight bearish bias in the front-end market just before Trump's inauguration. Although the volatility market has not reacted much, cryptocurrencies have not yet escaped the dilemma. The macro storm is still shrouded, and the producer price index (January 14), consumer price index (January 15) and initial jobless claims (January 16) are about to be announced, which may add fuel to the market fire. As the U.S. economy heats up, this week will be a real test for cryptocurrencies to see if they can work as a hedge against inflation.

With more accessible gateways, improved technology and developer tools, and applications that solve real problems, blockchain technology will be integrated into everyday life starting in 2025.

A significant portion of FTX repayments will likely be reinvested into cryptocurrencies, thanks to the promising growth prospect of the crypto market for 2025, industry insiders told Cointelegraph. source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/ftx-distribute-1-2-b-trump-inauguration?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss%3Ft%3D1736761100050&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Shaw, founder of ai16z, posted on the X platform: "It's time to start building. I will take care of some internal affairs in the next two days, and then I will start the stream development of Eliza v2. Version v2 will be more flexible and extensible, and can support more use cases and complex interactions. Compared with the current framework version, the changes in version v2 include full autonomy, a unified wallet abstraction layer, a plug-in registry, easy setup and installation of new features, event-driven/easy to access, modularity and common types, so you can cover and modify it according to your own use cases."

WhatsApp is developing a feature that allows users to create personalised AI chatbots with custom traits, profiles, and images. This feature, currently in development, will be integrated into the app with a dedicated tab for managing and exploring AI characters.

Travis Ford, 35, CEO and co-founder of Wolf Capital, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces up to five years in prison, with sentencing pending.

Projects, Artificial Intelligence, Seize the Opportunity: 9 Early AI Projects Worth Paying Attention to Golden Finance, Selected 9 Early AI Protocols.

The glowing red sky from the fires that has devoured Southern California has taken everything from residents; homes, offices and memories. But a 70-year-old woman has lost more than her home; she had lost all her life savings after discovering that both her crypto wallet and private keys were both stored at home. Since no backup or recovery phrase was created, the woman is now locked out of her crypto assets. The 70-year-old woman's nephew took to social media to describe the family's plight, writing "Most of her savings were in crypto and she lost her wallet and seed phrase, and doesn't have backups. I feel sick. This is all she had." Sparked a conversation on crypto wallet protection This tragic event has highlighted how crucial it is to securely store both the wallet and private key separately. The private key serves as the gateway to a crypto wallet, and without it, there is no way to regain access to the funds. In this instance, the absence of a robust backup system has led to the permanent loss of her savings, highlighting a critical vulnerability that crypto holders must address. While this is a unfortunate event for the family, but it also acts as a precautionary tale for crypto owners to adopt secure storage practices. Experts have recommend keeping seed phrases offline and in multiple secure locations, with many advocating for storage solutions designed to withstand fire or water damage, such as metal backup plates. With the emergence of newer technologies, like seedless wallets and multi-signature systems, it also offers users with a more advanced and reliable way to safeguard their digital assets. Crypto companies also suffered losses from the fire But this 70-year-old woman is not the only person who have lost their valuable digital asset in this fire. Similarly, a few crypto companies in the city have also suffered severe losses after they found themselves in the pathway of the flames. Swan Bitcoin, which has employees based near Santa Monica, and blockchain infrastructure provider BlockDaemon, headquartered in Los Angeles, both reported significant losses, including the destruction of hardware wallets containing valuable cryptocurrency assets after their companies were unfortunately struck by the incoming fire. In the past, we would hardly associate natural disasters with digital assets. But this saga has proved otherwise, and that our digital assets can be vulnerable to fires as well if they are not properly protected. This incident serves as a wake-up call for cryptocurrency holders to reassess their approach to securing digital assets. The loss of funds in this case could have been mitigated with more effective backup strategies or the use of advanced wallet solutions. As natural disasters become increasingly common, crypto users must take proactive steps to protect their holdings against unforeseen events.

Messari has laid off 15% of its full-time staff as part of a restructuring to focus on its core products amid ongoing challenges in the crypto industry. This follows a broader trend of workforce reductions across major tech and crypto firms in response to uncertain market conditions.

Over 7 million OpenSea user emails have been fully exposed after a data leak from the marketplace’s automation vendor in mid-2022, giving scammers new opportunities for phishing. Is your email at risk?

More and more countries are considering Bitcoin as a strategic reserve, which shows that Bitcoin is gradually being seen as one of the most stable and immutable assets in the world.

Bezos believes that it is more important to predict the narrative that will remain unchanged in the next 10 years than to predict the changes in the next 10 years. In the Crypto industry, in addition to paying attention to many predictions, the key is to grasp the unchanging trends.