Weekly Preview | The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will review the Crypto Market Structure Act; TRUMP will unlock tokens worth over $270 million

Top News Preview:

• Binance Wallet will launch an exclusive Unitas (UP) Booster event on January 12;
• Aster announces Stage 4 airdrop claim time and rules, claim query function will open on January 14;
• U.S. Senate Banking Committee will review the Crypto Market Structure Act on January 15;
• BitMine plans to hold its annual shareholders’ meeting on January 15, elect 8 directors, and amend the company bylaws;
• Arbitrum (ARB) will unlock approximately 92.65 million tokens at 9:00 PM Beijing time on January 16, representing 1.86% of circulating supply, worth about $19.2 million;
• Official Trump (TRUMP) will unlock about 50 million tokens at 8:00 AM Beijing time on January 18, representing 11.95% of circulating supply, worth about $271 million

January 12

Exchanges:

Coinbase will support MKR migration to SKY, related services will be suspended from January 12

According to Coinbase Markets announcement, from January 12 to 14, 2026, Maker tokens will be migrated from MKR to SKY at a ratio of 1 MKR : 23,520 SKY. During this period, MKR trading and transfers will be paused. Users who do not wish to auto-convert must transfer MKR to a self-custody wallet before January 12.

Binance Alpha will launch CharacterX (CAI) on January 12

Binance Alpha will launch CharacterX (CAI) on January 12. Eligible users can claim airdrops using Binance Alpha points on the Alpha activity page after trading opens. Details will be announced separately.

Binance Wallet will launch an exclusive Unitas (UP) Booster event on January 12

Binance introduces two exclusive Unitas activities in Binance Wallet: 1. Booster event: complete phased tasks, support project early development, and share airdrop rewards of 30,000,000 UP tokens. 2. Token issuance event (TGE): eligible users can participate in pre-commitment before Unitas (UP) tokens go live for trading.

The Unitas Binance Wallet Booster event will start at 18:00 on January 12, 2026 (UTC+8). Rewards before the Token Generation Event (TGE), totaling 16,000,000 tokens (1.6% of total supply), will be unlocked on the TGE day; remaining rewards will be distributed proportionally at each stage. All Binance Wallet users holding sufficient Binance Alpha points (non-privileged wallets) can participate. Participation costs 5 Binance Alpha points.

Project Updates:

Berachain’s Infrared liquidity staking protocol will stop IR token airdrop claims on January 12

Berachain’s liquidity staking protocol Infrared announced details of the IR token airdrop. The airdrop aims to reward early community members who used Infrared continuously during the points program, Boyco pre-staking participants, and users actively involved in community activities (e.g., Discord interactions, surveys, community events, testnet participation). IR tokens have three main functions: staking to earn sIR for governance voting; buyback and profit sharing; token issuance to optimize protocol efficiency and revenue. All claims will be permanently closed at 08:00 on January 12, 2026 (UTC+8).

Logan Paul agrees to auction $5.3 million Pokémon card on January 12, potentially setting a new record high

According to Goldin and Netflix jointly, Logan Paul has agreed to auction his record-breaking Pikachu Illustrator card on Goldin Auctions on January 12, 2026. The card previously sold for $5.3 million, setting a Guinness World Record. An advance payment of $2.5 million has been made. The auction will be featured on Netflix’s “King of Collectibles,” with an estimated sale price of $7-12 million. As Pokémon’s 30th anniversary approaches, the collector’s craze continues to heat up.

January 13

Macroeconomics:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: December real income data to be released on January 13

Exchanges:

Binance supports FXS mainnet switch and rebranding to FRAX, related trading will be phased in from January 13

According to Binance announcement, the platform will support the mainnet switch of Frax Share (FXS) and rebrand to Frax (FRAX), with all FXS exchanged 1:1 for FRAX. Spot trading pairs for FXS will be delisted at 03:00 UTC on January 13; FRAX/USDT trading will open at 08:00 on January 15. FXS deposits, withdrawals, derivatives, leverage, lending, savings, and payments will gradually cease and migrate to FRAX. Binance will handle the technical transition automatically. Users should adjust holdings in advance to avoid potential losses.

Project updates:

Fogo Layer 1 blockchain will unlock 38.98% of tokens at network launch on January 13 and initiate community airdrop

Fogo, a Layer 1 blockchain project, cancels its initial $20 million token pre-sale (2% of total supply). Instead, FOGO tokens allocated for pre-sale will be airdropped to the community, and 2% tokens previously allocated to core contributors have been burned. According to tokenomics, 38.98% of tokens will unlock at network launch on January 13, including immediately tradable airdrop shares, tokens for foundation operations, and phased unlocks for core contributors. Token distribution includes about one-third to the foundation, 34% to core contributors (4-year lock-up), 8.77% to institutions, 7% to advisors, and 11.25% to the community.

U.S. publicly listed company Semler Scientific will hold a special shareholders’ meeting on January 13, possibly approving the proposed merger with Strive

Semler Scientific founder Eric Semler urges all shareholders to vote in support of the proposed merger with Strive, stating “Voting is now open, and the special shareholders’ meeting to approve the merger will be held on January 13.” Semler notes: “In this merger, SMLR (Semler Scientific) shareholders will receive Strive (ASST) shares at a 21.05x exchange ratio. After the merger, we will hold nearly 13,000 BTC, making the combined company one of the top five listed companies with BTC as a primary strategic reserve asset.”

Token unlocks:

Cheelee (CHEEL) will unlock approximately 20.81 million tokens at 8:00 AM Beijing time on January 13, representing 2.78% of circulating supply, worth about $11.6 million

January 14

Macroeconomics:

On January 14 at 21:30, U.S. releases November retail sales MoM, November PPI YoY/MoM, and Q3 current account;

Project updates:

Fermi mainnet hard fork on BNB Chain scheduled for January 14, 2026

BNB Chain developers tweeted that the Fermi hard fork upgrade on BSC mainnet is expected to activate at 10:30 on January 14, 2026 (UTC+8), supporting versions v1.6.4 and v1.6.5. The block interval will be shortened from 750 ms to 450 ms to improve network throughput and transaction processing efficiency.

Tom Lee urges BitMine shareholders to approve the proposal to increase authorized shares from 500 million to 50 billion before January 14

Ethereum asset management firm BitMine Immersion (BMNR) Chairman Tom Lee urges shareholders to approve the board’s proposal to significantly increase the company’s authorized shares from 500 million to 50 billion. Lee assures shareholders that this is not for dilution but to facilitate fundraising, trading, and future stock splits. Shareholders must vote on the proposal before January 14. The annual shareholders’ meeting is scheduled for January 15 in Las Vegas.

Aster announces Stage 4 airdrop claim time and rules, claim query function will open on January 14

According to Aster’s official announcement, Stage 4 airdrop will end at 23:59 UTC on December 21, 2025, accounting for 1.5% of total supply. The claim query function will open on January 14, 2026, with official claim period starting January 28. Users can choose to claim 50% immediately, with the remaining 50% burned; or wait until April to claim the full share. The airdrop features a flexible unlock mechanism to encourage long-term participation.

Additionally, the third phase of Aster’s airdrop will end on January 15, 2026.

( January 15

Macroeconomics:

On January 15 at 03:00, the Federal Reserve will release the Beige Book;

Policy & Regulation:

U.S. Senate Banking Committee sets hearing date for Crypto Market Structure Act on January 15

The legislative landscape for U.S. crypto industry takes a key turn as the Senate Banking Committee officially schedules a hearing for the “Digital Asset Market Transparency Act” (also known as CLARITY Act or Crypto Market Structure Act) on Thursday, January 15, 2026. Chairman, Republican from South Carolina, Tim Scott, announced this after a series of closed-door meetings earlier in January. Scott emphasizes that the committee will push for a formal vote regardless of difficulties. The Republican leadership views this deadline as strategically necessary, racing against the January 30 federal budget deadline to pass legislation, or risking another government shutdown. The committee aims to bring the bill to the full Senate for review next week, capitalizing on the current momentum of government support for crypto.

Project updates:

ChatGPT will cease service on WhatsApp on January 15, 2026, users can migrate to ChatGPT app

According to OpenAI, due to policy and terms adjustments on WhatsApp, ChatGPT will no longer be available on WhatsApp starting January 15, 2026. Users can continue conversations via ChatGPT on iOS, Android, Web, and Mac versions, with features like voice, deep research, and file uploads. Users can link their phone number to ChatGPT via the “1-800-ChatGPT” contact URL in WhatsApp, with chat history syncing to ChatGPT; after the deadline, WhatsApp conversations will no longer be automatically transferred, and chat export is not supported. OpenAI recommends completing the linking process promptly and provides guidance in the Help Center.

BitMine plans to hold its annual shareholders’ meeting on January 15 to elect 8 directors and amend bylaws

BitMine Immersion, listed on NYSE American, announced it will hold its annual shareholders’ meeting in Las Vegas on January 15, 2026. The meeting will elect 8 directors for a one-year term. Amendments to increase authorized common shares, approval of the 2025 comprehensive incentive plan, and a special performance-based compensation arrangement for the executive chairman are also expected to be approved.

MANTRA will deprecate all ERC20 versions of OM tokens on January 15, please migrate promptly

MANTRA, a Layer 1 blockchain focused on RWA assets, reminds via X that less than 8% of total OM tokens are ERC20 versions. All ERC20 OM tokens will be deprecated on January 15; users should migrate promptly.

Token unlocks:

Connex (CONX) will unlock approximately 1.32 million tokens at 8:00 AM Beijing time on January 15, representing 1.59% of circulating supply, worth about $20.4 million

Starknet (STRK) will unlock approximately 127 million tokens at 8:00 AM Beijing time on January 15, representing 4.83% of circulating supply, worth about $10.4 million

Sei (SEI) will unlock approximately 55.56 million tokens at 8:00 PM Beijing time on January 15, representing 1.05% of circulating supply, worth about $6.7 million

) January 16

Exchanges:

Binance will stop supporting certain network token deposits and withdrawals from January 16

According to Binance announcement, from 16:00 (UTC+8) on January 16, 2026, deposits and withdrawals for specific tokens on certain networks will cease: Dar Open Network (D) via Ethereum network, and Streamr (DATA) via BNB Smart Chain and Polygon networks. After this time, deposits via these networks will be rejected and may result in asset loss. Users can still deposit and withdraw these tokens via other supported networks.

Upbit will delist Groestlcoin (GRS) on January 16

Upbit announced that Groestlcoin (GRS) will be delisted by DAXA member exchanges. DAXA members may take measures such as issuing warnings, designating GRS as a trading warning asset, or stopping trading support. Upbit states it will end trading support at 15:00 KST on January 16, 2026. Withdrawals will still be supported within 34 days after trading support ends, until February 19, 2026.

Token unlocks:

Arbitrum (ARB) will unlock about 92.65 million tokens at 9:00 PM Beijing time on January 16, representing 1.86% of circulating supply, worth about $19.2 million

January 17

Token unlocks:

deBridge (DBR) will unlock about 618 million tokens at 8:00 AM Beijing time on January 17, representing 14.81% of circulating supply, worth about $11.6 million

ZKsync (ZK) will unlock about 173 million tokens at 4:00 PM Beijing time on January 17, representing 3.16% of circulating supply, worth about $5.9 million

January 18

Policy & Regulation:

UK Financial Authority launches regulatory sandbox for local stablecoin issuers, application deadline January 18

UK’s FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi outlined the agency’s digital innovation strategy in a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The FCA’s 2026 goals include finalizing digital asset regulations and advancing the GBP stablecoin issued in the UK. The FCA is working with the Bank of England to develop comprehensive regulations covering stablecoins, trading platforms, lending, staking, and custody, expected to be implemented in 2026.

The UK adopts a phased approach to crypto regulation to balance innovation and consumer protection. Recently, the FCA opened a regulatory sandbox for local stablecoin issuers wishing to test their solutions. The application deadline is January 18.

Token unlocks:

Official Trump (TRUMP) will unlock about 50 million tokens at 8:00 AM Beijing time on January 18, representing 11.95% of circulating supply, worth about $271 million