CounterIndicator

The People's Bank of China held a meeting, emphasizing warnings against virtual currency scams and listing stablecoins as a regulatory priority due to their use in illegal activities by fraudsters. Strengthen efforts to combat scams in the crypto space, and investors should stay vigilant, identify investment risks, and avoid falling into traps.

The US cryptocurrency regulation legislation, the "Clarity Act," faces a major setback as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdraws support, citing multiple harmful provisions in the bill, especially regarding the controversy over stablecoin yield mechanisms. The banking system strongly opposes this provision, and political considerations by the Democratic Party make the bill's progress difficult. The postponement of the Senate Banking Committee's review marks a significant challenge to industry expectations for regulatory legislation.

Bitcoin recently broke through the $95,000 resistance level, market sentiment shifted to bullish, laying the foundation for challenging the $100,000 mark. Analysis indicates that this breakthrough was influenced by multiple factors, including the strength of precious metals and economic stability. Market expectations for Bitcoin to reach six figures are rising, with increased trading volume indicating healthy demand. If it remains above $95,000 stably, it will confirm a new wave of upward momentum.

World Liberty Financial's World Liberty Markets is a DeFi-based lending platform where users can earn yields with crypto assets or use them as collateral to borrow USD1 stablecoins. The new platform has attracted market attention, with the native tokens DOLO and WLFI prices rising. The platform supports multiple collateral types, with an initial lending interest rate of approximately 0.83%, and has launched a points reward program. More DeFi products will be introduced in the future.

With the US elections over, the Trump administration considers cryptocurrency policy an important agenda, viewing Bitcoin as its political safety net. Cathie Wood pointed out that the government might shift from passive holding to active purchasing of Bitcoin and could introduce tax exemptions to promote cryptocurrency adoption. This move indicates that cryptocurrencies have become a mainstream policy consideration, influencing future global markets.

In the institutional-level tokenized asset (RWA) market, there exists a subtle and special power dynamic. It is not the absolute dominance of a single protocol, but rather five core infrastructure entities, each with their own capabilities, playing a role based on the different needs of institutions. The formation of this power structure marks a critical turning point in the migration of traditional finance onto the blockchain.
Over the past six months, the development of institutional RWA tokenization has exceeded expectations. The market size has approached $20 billion, soaring from the $6-8 billion range at the beginning of 2024 to $19.7 billion at the start of 2026. This is not market speculation; genuine institutional capital is being deployed on-chain, flowing into these protocols, and managed by these infrastructures.
New Flows of Institutional Capital: From the Margins to the Center
According to the market snapshot provided by rwa.xyz in early January 2026, R

Polymarket's real estate prediction markets have experienced low trading volume since launch, indicating that liquidity is concentrated in a few ultra-long-term markets. Analysis of data from 295,000 markets reveals extreme liquidity imbalance and differences in activity across various categories. Geopolitical predictions are gradually emerging as new high-liquidity areas, and prediction markets are evolving into professional tools, emphasizing the importance of understanding liquidity distribution.

Taiwan's virtual asset market governance is迎來轉折, the Financial Supervisory Commission will推出《Virtual Asset Service Law》, and strengthen anti-money laundering regulation,已對11家業者開罰逾1,300萬元. The new law will建立八項子法框架, to ensure compliance and fund security for virtual asset providers, with stablecoin issuance prioritized to banks with reserve assets, and regulation upgraded to the standards of quasi-financial institutions to promote a healthy and secure market.

With inflation, fiat currency depreciation, and US dollar fluctuations, gold has become the preferred asset allocation for investors. Tether's gold token XAUT attracts much attention due to its low threshold and liquidity. The gold market in 2025 is expected to continue rising due to geopolitical tensions, ETF capital inflows, and central bank gold purchases, with future prices projected to reach $5,000 per ounce. The launch of XAUT not only provides ordinary investors with simplified trading opportunities but also effectively hedges fiat currency risk, making it a worthwhile asset allocation option.

Institutional Credit Tokenization is becoming one of the most meaningful application scenarios in the blockchain space. Over the past six months, we have witnessed a turning point from a fringe idea to real deployment—genuine institutional capital is flowing onto blockchain infrastructure at an unprecedented speed.
Currently, tokenized RWA assets are approaching $20 billion, and this is not a speculative bubble but actual capital deployment by banks, asset management firms, and top Wall Street institutions. Among these, institutional credit tokenization is the core engine driving this growth. Five different protocols have established their presence in this field—Rayls Labs, Ondo Finance, Centrifuge, Canton Network, and Polymesh—but they are not competing in the same market; instead, they target different needs of institutional clients: banks seek privacy protection, asset managers pursue operational efficiency, and Wall Street institutions...

Bitcoin's recent surge has alleviated market fear, investor confidence has rebounded, and risk appetite has increased. The Fear and Greed Index has climbed from neutral levels to the "Greed" zone, marking a shift from fear to optimism. Despite the rebound, investors should remain cautious and vigilant, as there is still room for the market to rise.

In early 2026, the crypto market faces a paradox: Bitcoin prices exceed $90,000, yet the fear index hits a new low, indicating market sentiment remains subdued. The dual impact of macroeconomic conditions and internal structural issues has led investors to withdraw funds, especially mid-sized whales and retail investors. Meanwhile, large institutions and long-term holders are increasing their holdings. History shows that extreme fear often presents a good buying opportunity. Investors should utilize dollar-cost averaging, stay disciplined, and wait for a market rebound.

Ark Investment analyst David Puell pointed out that Bitcoin has entered a new phase of "how to allocate and where to invest," transforming from a niche investment asset to an institutional-grade asset. The forecast for Bitcoin's price by 2030 ranges from $300,000 to $1,500,000, reflecting the influx of institutional funds and increasing scarcity. As volatility decreases, the market shifts to being dominated by mature institutional investors, indicating that Bitcoin is becoming a liquid and stable mature asset.

A Bitcoin address mined in 2009 recently moved 150 BTC, drawing market attention. The first transaction after 14 years of silence shows a remarkable appreciation, reflecting the market growth over the past 15 years. However, market interpretations of this movement vary; experts believe it could be related to asset management or security upgrades, and does not necessarily indicate a sell-off. Overall, this event is unlikely to impact Bitcoin's long-term price trend.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman co-founded World, which recently launched a new version of the World App, integrating encrypted chat and payment features, strengthening "real identity verification" and privacy protection, marking a step forward into the Web3 era. The newly launched "World Chat" uses colored bubbles to identify real users, supporting zero-fee encrypted payments and Mini Apps functionality. The update also expands the payment system to enable seamless connection between fiat currency and cryptocurrencies, and introduces a high-yield "Earn" feature to attract users. This series of upgrades makes World a feature-rich crypto ecosystem platform.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will begin reviewing the Digital Asset Market Structure Act in mid-January, marking a substantive phase in the regulation of the cryptocurrency market. The Senate Agriculture Committee is also advancing related legislation simultaneously, reflecting a reallocation of regulatory authority over digital assets by Congress. Once passed, this move will have a profound impact on compliance standards in the global crypto market.

As the GLYDE smart barber trimmer autonomously cuts hair in the CES 2026 showroom, a group long neglected by technology suddenly realizes: their name is now on the AI invasion list. Barbers, veterinarians, massage therapists, physiotherapists... these industries that require fine craftsmanship and human touch are being fundamentally redefined by all kinds of hardware AI.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg of the bigger picture that CES 2026 heralds.
At this event, dubbed the "Spring Festival Gala of the Tech World," over 4,100 exhibitors and an estimated 150,000 visitors gather in Las Vegas. But more important than the numbers is the clearest main thread: AI is rapidly descending from screens and the cloud into the physical world, reaching, learning, and transforming everyday life through various hardware terminals. This is no longer a competition of parameters and computing power, but about how to seamlessly integrate intelligence into everything.
Four Major Trends

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley stated that frontline financial companies are at a critical crossroads, facing challenges of liquidity shortages and high operating costs, leading to valuation divergence. Although most companies are struggling, those with risk control capabilities and value-added potential still have the opportunity to gain market premiums. He believes that transformation and M&A will be key to the future development of these companies, helping the entire industry redefine its position.

Recently, from tech giants to blockchain entrepreneurs, everyone has been discussing a topic: Web3. But for most people, this concept remains vague. What exactly is Web3? How does it fundamentally differ from the internet we use today? Why is this concept so important? To answer these questions, we need to start with the story of the internet's evolution itself.
Why discuss Web3 now? Looking at the three-stage evolution of the internet
The internet is not static. Since 1994, it has gone through three distinctly different development stages, each solving different problems and bringing different challenges. To understand Web3, we must first understand how its first two versions operate and what flaws they each have.
The concept of "Web3" actually has an interesting history. During the internet bubble, the inventor of the HTTP protocol, Tim