Today’s Headlines:
X updates creator revenue sharing rules: reply posts no longer count towards earnings, only homepage timeline impressions are tracked
Cryptocurrency industry divides on market structure bill stance: Kraken, Ripple, a16z oppose Coinbase’s position
Caixin: Digital RMB smart contract development supports fully Turing-complete languages like Ethereum’s Solidity
ETHGas: GWEI idle investment eligibility query opens on January 20, community airdrop on January 21
Trove shifts to rebuilding DEX on Solana, TROVE token launch delayed to January 19
Data: ZRO, RIVER, PLUME and other tokens experience large unlocks this week, ZRO unlock worth approximately $44.5 million
CoinShares: Digital asset investment products saw net inflows of $2.17 billion last week
Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum protocol development needs to introduce simplification and “garbage collection” features to avoid bloat
Macro & Regulation
European stocks open sharply lower, US and European tariffs risks reignite
Trump threatens to impose tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland issue; European stocks open sharply lower today, STOXX 50 down 1.7%, Germany DAX down 1.3%, UK FTSE 100 down 0.4%, France CAC40 down 0.7%, Italy FTSE MIB down 1.6%.
China’s 2025 GDP growth target at 5%
According to the National Bureau of Statistics: preliminary estimates show that in 2025, GDP will reach 14,018.79 billion yuan, a 5.0% increase over the previous year. Per capita disposable income of residents nationwide is 43,377 yuan, a nominal 5.0% increase. In December, industrial power generation was 858.6 billion kWh, up 0.1% year-over-year. Online retail sales in 2025 are expected to grow by 8.6% year-over-year.
US Treasury Secretary Yellen: Four Fed chair candidates already, Senate will be satisfied
According to Jintou, US Treasury Secretary Yellen stated that Trump is committed to maintaining the Fed’s independence. We have four excellent Fed chair candidates. The Senate is expected to be satisfied with any of these candidates.
Earlier reports suggest Trump may abandon nominating Hasset; Kevin Waugh leads in the next Fed chair prediction.
US Treasury Secretary Yellen: Supreme Court unlikely to overturn Trump tariffs
According to Jintou, Yellen said the likelihood of the Supreme Court overturning Trump’s tariffs is low, and trade agreements with the EU are not yet finalized. Trump has emergency powers to impose tariffs.
Cryptocurrency industry divides on market structure bill stance: Kraken, Ripple, a16z oppose Coinbase’s position
According to The Verge, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong previously announced plans to withdraw support for the Crypto Market Structure Bill (CLARITY), stating “I’d rather have no bill than a bad one.” However, several major industry players oppose Coinbase’s stance. Kraken CEO Arjun Sethi said issues should be resolved through negotiation rather than abandoning bipartisan progress. a16z managing partner Chris Dixon, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and White House AI and crypto advisor David Sacks also expressed similar views, urging parties to resolve differences by the end of the month. Ledger’s global policy head Seth Hertlein noted it’s hard to imagine whether such favorable conditions will exist in the future, and industry generally feels that if legislation isn’t passed now, it may never be, or will be under very unfavorable conditions. The crypto industry does not want software usability or content publishing rights to change with each government change.
Project Updates
Caixin: Digital RMB smart contract development supports fully Turing-complete languages like Ethereum’s Solidity
According to Caixin, a technical insider familiar with Digital RMB revealed that the digital yuan’s account-based smart contracts are essentially “condition-triggered automated code,” similar to smart contracts on public blockchains, with the key difference being whether they are fully Turing-complete. The digital yuan’s account-based smart contracts are limited Turing-complete, strictly restricted within the central bank’s approved template scripts, supporting only predefined, simple condition-triggered functions mainly for security and risk control. Development supports multiple programming languages, including Ethereum’s Solidity and other fully Turing-complete languages. Technically feasible, but designing a standard access and audit mechanism acceptable to the financial system remains the core challenge.
ETHGas: GWEI idle investment eligibility query opens on January 20, community airdrop on January 21
Officially, ETHGas Foundation announced that the GWEI airdrop snapshot has been completed at 08:00 on January 19, 2026 (UTC+8). Eligibility query for GWEI airdrop opens at 21:00 on January 20 (UTC+8), and community airdrop occurs at 21:00 on January 21 (UTC+8). Eligibility is based on users’ historical Gas consumption on Ethereum mainnet and their social/community participation in Gasless Future projects. Qualified users must meet specific Gas usage thresholds via Gas ID, tracking their Ethereum mainnet Gas consumption, and participate in designated community activities, such as sharing Gas ID on X or engaging in social actions related to Open Gas Initiative.
Aster launches automatic buyback, 20%-40% of daily revenue used to repurchase $ASTER
According to Aster’s announcement, the platform has launched the Strategic Buyback Reserve mechanism, based on the Phase 5 buyback plan announced last month. Daily, 20%-40% of platform revenue will be automatically used to buy back $ASTER tokens. Initial on-chain buybacks have been executed via address 0x5E4969C41ca9F9831468B98328A370b7AbD5a397, aiming to dynamically respond to market conditions, reduce circulating supply, and strengthen long-term holder confidence.
X updates creator revenue sharing rules: reply posts no longer count towards earnings, only homepage timeline impressions are tracked
X product lead and Solana advisor Nikita Bier states that X has updated creator revenue calculation rules: reply posts no longer count towards earnings, only impressions from verified users (Premium) on the homepage are tracked. However, if reply posts appear on Premium users’ homepages, they will be counted.
Trove shifts to rebuilding DEX on Solana, TROVE token launch delayed to January 19
Trove recently announced abandoning deployment plans on Hyperliquid, instead rebuilding its TROVE token and perpetual contract DEX on Solana. Previously, liquidity providers supporting Hyperliquid withdrew 500,000 HYPE holdings, prompting strategic adjustments. TROVE token TGE is postponed to 24:00 on January 19 (UTC+8). The team will refund approximately $2.44 million to some ICO participants and handle subsequent distribution via multi-signature accounts.
CZ responds to Binance fiat withdrawal fee being too high: increased usage will lower rates, possibly related to banks
CZ posted on X responding to high Binance fiat withdrawal fees, saying: “New product, the more it’s used, the better the depth, and I understand the fee is from the bank. The more people use the product, the lower the fee.” Some community users previously reported a fixed fee of $25, with a one-day processing time, suitable for large withdrawals; the more you withdraw, the lower the relative fee. Some users also suggest the fee has already been reduced.
Michael Saylor releases Bitcoin Tracker again, likely to disclose increased holdings next week
Michael Saylor posted again about Bitcoin Tracker; based on past experience, Strategy may disclose increased holdings next week.
Earlier, Saylor said the Strategy website added a “BTC Rating” indicator.
FTX creditor representative: Next payout batch underway, some users report significantly increased KYC requirements
FTX creditor representative Sunil posted on X that some users have passed KYC verification for the next FTX payout but are asked to provide work history, trading strategies, transaction history, initial capital, etc., from the past 10 years. Others are still waiting for KYC approval. Previously, it was reported that the next payout batch requires registration before February 14, with KYC, W-8 BEN forms, and selection of payout distribution agents.
Binance Alpha to launch HeyElsa (ELSA) and ETHGas (GWEI) airdrops
Binance Alpha will launch HeyElsa (ELSA) on January 20; ETHGas (GWEI) on January 21. Eligible users can claim airdrops via Binance Alpha points on the Alpha event page after trading opens. Details to be announced later.
Binance to delist over 20 spot trading pairs including BTC/ZAR, ENS/BTC on January 20
According to Binance, to improve market quality, over 20 spot trading pairs including 0G/BNB, 1MBABYDOGE/FDUSD, ADX/ETH, AGLD/BTC, ALT/FDUSD, ARKM/BTC, ATOM/ETH, BTC/ZAR, ENS/BTC, ETH/ZAR, HOLO/BNB, HOLO/FDUSD, MOVR/BTC, NEWT/FDUSD, OP/ETH, ORDI/BTC, OXT/BTC, POLYX/BTC, SLP/ETH, SSV/BTC, STO/FDUSD, STORJ/BTC, and TRB/BTC will be delisted at 16:00 (UTC+8) on January 20, mainly due to low liquidity or trading volume. Only these pairs are affected; tokens can still be traded on other pairs. Users are advised to cancel related trading bots to avoid potential losses.
Binance Alpha to launch Acurast (ACU) on January 20
Official announcement states Binance Alpha will launch Acurast (ACU) on January 20. Eligible users can claim airdrops via Binance Alpha points on the Alpha Events page after trading opens. More details to be announced.
Solana Mobile: SKR first round distribution will exclude some Seeker anomalous clusters and return airdrop pool
Solana Mobile project lead Emmett posted on X that as SKR approaches launch, the team will identify additional Seeker anomalous clusters beyond existing anti-witch measures. Addresses associated with these clusters will be excluded from SKR claim eligibility in the first round and their tokens returned to the future airdrop pool. Emmett has not disclosed specific detection details but emphasized ongoing attention. The goal is to ensure fair distribution, ultimately benefiting genuine users and developers driving the platform. This move is expected to positively impact most users purchasing Seeker phones for actual use.
Hurun releases China AI Top 50, Cambricon ranks first with a valuation of 630 billion yuan
Hurun Research Institute’s “2025 Hurun China AI Top 50” shows AI chip company Cambricon ranks first with a valuation of 630 billion yuan, up 165% from last year; domestic GPU leader Mooresoft ranks second at 310 billion yuan; China’s first fully domestically produced high-end GPU company Muxi ranks third at 250 billion yuan.
Analysis & Opinions
Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum protocol development needs to introduce simplification and “garbage collection” features to avoid bloat
Vitalik Buterin posted on X emphasizing that trustlessness, “leaving the test,” and sovereignty are long-overlooked aspects of protocol simplicity. Ethereum development requires clear “simplification” or “garbage collection” features. “Simplification” has three criteria: 1. Minimize total code lines. 2. Avoid unnecessary dependencies on complex components. 3. Add more invariants: core properties the protocol can rely on, e.g., EIP-6780 (removing selfdestruct) limits each block to changing N storage slots, greatly simplifying client development. Garbage collection can be incremental or large-scale. Incremental aims to simplify existing functions, making them more concise. Large-scale examples include replacing PoW with PoS. Another approach is “Rosetta-style backward compatibility,” where complex but rarely used features remain available but are “downgraded” to smart contract code, not part of the core protocol, easing client development. The goal is to avoid long-term bloat from outdated protocol parts. Over time, Ethereum should slow its change pace and prevent useless features from becoming permanent burdens.
Vitalik calls for building a “better DAO,” emphasizing privacy and AI to combat governance fatigue
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin wrote that DAOs have deviated from their original purpose. The current dominant “token voting to control treasuries” model is inefficient and easily manipulated, failing to address human political weaknesses. He states DAOs are still necessary, especially in oracle design, on-chain dispute resolution, project initiation, and long-term maintenance. Vitalik stresses the importance of ZK tech for privacy, AI to alleviate governance fatigue, and considers communication platforms a key part of DAO stacks. He urges DAO governance design to focus on “communication layer” and “consensus tools” as core objectives.
