MarketWhisper

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced the schedule for the crypto gateway, with the application window opening officially in September 2026 and the new regulations taking effect in October 2027. Existing AML, payment, or electronic money registrations will be fully invalidated, and all operators must reapply for authorization under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA). The FCA has set a strict application period of at least 28 days. Applicants who miss the deadline or are rejected will only be allowed to serve existing customers and will ultimately be required to exit the UK market in an orderly manner.

A five-year跨越, involving 127,271 Bitcoin (currently worth approximately $15 billion), is placing cryptocurrency at the center of the global geopolitical game. The massive Bitcoin assets of Cambodian scam empire leader Chen Zhi mysteriously disappeared after being "looted" by hackers in 2020, and suddenly reappeared in a wallet controlled by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2025.
The Chinese technical report pointed out that this four-year "silence" is highly unusual, and its operational pattern "more closely resembles a state-level hacking organization." This controversy, dubbed "Black Eats Black" by public opinion, not only questions the boundaries of "on-chain justice" but also nakedly reveals how national power penetrates the crypto realm, writing a shocking chapter in the fight for asset control in the digital age.

MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor on January 12th designated the strongest assets of the past decade: Digital Intelligence (NVDA), Digital Credit (MSTR), and Digital Capital (BTC). Over the weekend, he released Bitcoin Tracker information, hinting at further Bitcoin accumulation. MicroStrategy has accumulated the largest corporate BTC holdings globally, with an average cost well below the market price. As Bitcoin consolidates, MicroStrategy's actions could serve as a catalyst for a breakout.

The global social platform X (formerly Twitter) recently announced the upcoming launch of the “Smart Cashtags” feature. This innovative tool allows users to add asset tags (such as $BTC) in their posts, and by clicking directly, they can view real-time prices, trend charts, and related discussions for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and traditional stocks, completely breaking down the barriers of app switching.
This move is expected to enable X’s over 500 million global monthly active users to seamlessly access crypto market information without leaving their social timeline, greatly lowering the entry barrier. This is not only a key step for X towards becoming a “super app,” but also has the potential to reshape social media-driven “social trading” and market price discovery mechanisms, bringing unprecedented retail attention and liquidity to the crypto market.

After Tesla purchased Bitcoin for 1.5 billion USD in February 2021, their holdings stabilized at 11,509 coins, now worth over 1 billion USD. Although some sales in 2021-2022 improved liquidity, they have never fully exited over the four years, enduring price crashes and market turbulence, becoming one of the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holders and setting a long-term holding example for other companies.

GD will hold the "K-Spark" concert in Malaysia on January 31, featuring artists such as ITZY and HWASA. The organizer, Machi Production, was exposed by artist Huang Zhiwei for owing actor Huang Zhiwei performance fees for "Shocking Arena," and Chris Wong's virtual currency investment website is actually a scam, with refunds only given for one period before going silent. Huang questions why the management company is cooperating with an inexperienced controversial company.

XRP has fallen for six consecutive days to $2.0721 but is still up 11.5% this year. The US XRP spot ETF has accumulated inflows of $1.22 billion, with Canary leading at $394 million. Ripple emphasizes that the $2.25 billion acquisition and the UK license will demonstrate practicality by 2026. The Senate's review of the Market Structure Bill on January 15 is a key catalyst, breaking through $2.2 and opening a mid-term target of $3.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirms the completion of a $2.25 billion strategic acquisition in 2025, including a $1.25 billion purchase of Hidden Road, which will be renamed Ripple Prime. Ripple has obtained an electronic money license from the UK FCA, paving the way for the RLUSD stablecoin. Garlinghouse emphasizes that XRP will accelerate adoption through institutional infrastructure in 2026.

Recently, the blockchain world detected a market-shaking transaction: an early Bitcoin network miner transferred 2,000 BTC for the first time in over 15 years, worth approximately $181 million at current market prices. This massive asset originated from block rewards mined in 2010, stored long-term in 40 ancient P2PK addresses, and was eventually consolidated and sent to a major CEX.
On-chain analysis experts pointed out that this is the largest "Satoshi era" whale activity since November 2024. Such holders typically act at critical market turning points. Although this transfer is widely interpreted as a potential sell signal, the Bitcoin market has shown remarkable depth and resilience, with prices not experiencing a structural decline. This fully validates the current market liquidity and also marks Bitcoin's transition from a high-volatility asset to a mature, stable macro asset class.

Maji Gege Huang Licheng reopened a 10x leveraged ZEC long position of 888.88 coins on January 11, with an overall unrealized loss of $410,000. Holding a 25x leveraged ETH long position of 10,900 coins, valued at $33.62 million, which has retraced over $2 million from the high point on January 7. He has transformed into a crypto investor, and after experiencing multiple liquidation events, his birthday wish at 53 is actually "not to be liquidated."

X officially launches the Smart Cashtags feature, allowing users to tag financial assets in posts and instantly view price charts, news, and market trends. Solana plays a central role in the early integration, with tokens like $BONK debuting alongside BTC and NVDA. X has 700 million users, and this fusion of social and market features could significantly boost on-chain activity and liquidity on the Solana network.

Amidst the intertwined uncertainties of multiple markets, the precious metals market is ushering in a historic moment. On Monday Beijing time, the spot gold price temporarily broke through the $4,600 per ounce mark, hitting a record high; spot silver prices also surged simultaneously, approaching historic peaks.
The core driving forces behind this round of market rally stem from a dual crisis: on one hand, the U.S. Department of Justice threatened to bring criminal charges against the Federal Reserve, triggering deep concerns about the independence of the central bank and shaking the foundation of the dollar's credibility; on the other hand, deadly protests continue to escalate within Iran, sharply increasing geopolitical risks and reinforcing the safe-haven attributes of precious metals. Meanwhile, weak U.S. employment data solidified market expectations of at least two rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, providing sustained macro liquidity support for zero-yield gold and silver. This bull market in precious metals, catalyzed by systemic risks, geopolitical turmoil, and shifts in monetary policy expectations, signals that the global markets are entering a new phase characterized by high volatility and high risk.

In 2025, the Russian Federation Social Fund (i.e., the Pension Fund) received approximately 37 million public inquiries, with questions about cryptocurrencies becoming one of the hottest topics. The public eagerly asked whether pensions could be paid in digital assets and whether mining income should be included in social welfare calculations, forcing officials to repeatedly clarify that national payments are still made solely in rubles.
This unprecedented "cryptocurrency consultation wave" is not accidental; it is driven by the explosive growth of Russia's crypto economy — the country currently contributes over 16% of the world's Bitcoin hash rate, with a daily mining output of about 1 billion rubles. Meanwhile, from mid-2024 to mid-2025, its on-chain cryptocurrency transaction volume reached $376.3 billion, ranking first in Europe. This phenomenon sharply reveals the widening gap within a sovereign country between the rapidly developing crypto market practices and the lagging traditional financial regulatory framework, also indicating that the global crypto compliance process will face more complex national cases.

XRP has experienced six consecutive days of decline recently, with the price falling back to around $2.07. In the short term, market sentiment has been pressured by profit-taking and uncertainty surrounding the review of the "Market Structure Act." However, beneath the surface of apparent weakness, there are underlying currents: since the launch of the US XRP spot ETF market in mid-2025, it has accumulated a net inflow of $1.22 billion, providing strong support below.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has publicly expressed optimism for 2026, emphasizing the continued growth in XRP's practical value and the company's comprehensive global licensing strategy. Analysts believe that despite short-term technical weakness, strong ETF demand, improved regulatory outlook, and increasing practical utility are laying a solid foundation for XRP's medium-term rebound. The market is closely watching the key psychological support level of $2.00.

A16Z completes the largest fundraising in history with $15 billion, with partner Ben Horowitz claiming it will be invested in AI and crypto. However, 45% of the $6.75 billion will go to growth funds, with an estimated only $1-1.5 billion (7-10%) flowing into crypto. This contrasts with the single $4.5 billion dedicated crypto fund in 2022, which ultimately lost 40% and became a stain on A16Z's history.

The controversy surrounding the Pi Network "mainnet launch" has reignited. Core community members have firmly refuted rumors that the project officially launched its mainnet in February 2025, emphasizing that it is still in the "testing-focused" stage. Although the project released new developer tools aimed at simplifying payment integration in early 2026, the native token Pi Coin's price has continued to stagnate, hovering around $0.21, in stark contrast to the overall recovery trend of the cryptocurrency market.
This debate over the definitions of "closed mainnet" versus "open mainnet" not only reflects serious trust issues within the community but also highlights the core challenges Pi Network faces as it transitions from long-term experimentation to a truly usable ecosystem: clear communication, technical delivery, and value realization.

Ethereum is approaching $3,110, up 0.5% in 24 hours. The staking queue has surged to 1.759 million ETH ($5.5 billion), reaching a new high in 2023. New validators must wait 30 days, and the exit queue has dropped to zero. Technicals remain on trend, with the 50-day and 100-day moving averages converging at $3,110. After breaking through $3,180, it tests $3,300, and with accelerating momentum, it could reach $3,420.

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor posted a mysterious tweet on January 11th containing only the words “Big Orange,” which immediately caused a sensation in the cryptocurrency community. The market widely speculated that this could be a sign that the company is about to announce another large Bitcoin purchase. As the world's largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder, Strategy currently owns 673,783 Bitcoins, worth over $61 billion.
At the time of this “signal” release, Bitcoin's price was oscillating near the critical level of $91,000, with the market closely watching whether potential buying pressure could help it break through the $92,000 resistance. This article will analyze Saylor’s “Twitter code,” Strategy’s unique capital operation model, and the potential impact of this “whale” movement on short-term market sentiment and price trends.

The Pi coin team has released a unified developer library, reducing integration time from several hours to less than 10 minutes. The new library supports four major frameworks: JavaScript, React, Next.js, and Ruby on Rails, lowering the technical barrier. This move aligns with Pi coin's 2026 strategy to build a practical, application-oriented ecosystem, promoting rapid deployment of real-world applications.

The Russell 2000 Index first broke through the 2,600 point mark, reaching a new all-time high, which is seen as a key signal of the return of market risk appetite. This milestone occurred against the backdrop of multiple liquidity injection measures, including the Federal Reserve's purchase of government bonds and the U.S. government's launch of a $200 billion mortgage-backed securities purchase program.
The shift in risk sentiment in traditional financial markets has brought potential capital rotation hopes to the cryptocurrency market, which has been declining for three consecutive months. Meanwhile, the CLARITY Act, set to take effect in the first quarter of 2026, aims to regulate the market and reduce manipulation, and is expected to attract more institutional investors to enter, laying the foundation for the next cycle of the crypto market.