Summary
gm, Bitcoin briefly dipped below $98,000 before rebounding to around $103,000. This fluctuation was largely attributed to the emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup that disrupted the tech sector with its cost-efficient AI model. The news triggered a broader market sell-off, leading to nearly $1 billion in liquidations across the crypto market. Meanwhile, MicroStrategy continued its aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy, purchasing an additional 10,107 BTC for $1.1 billion. Despite the market turbulence, some analysts view this dip as a potential buying opportunity, highlighting the resilience of long-term Bitcoin holders who continue to accumulate during price corrections.

News Headlines
📊 Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs Add $1.9 Billion During Trump's First Week

  • Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs experienced significant inflows, with nearly $2 billion in investments between January 19 and January 25.
  • Bitcoin garnered the majority of the inflows, with over $1.6 billion directed towards it, despite its price dipping slightly below $100,000 during this timeframe.

🌊 Ripple Obtains Money Transmitter Licenses in Texas and New York

  • Ripple Labs has obtained money transmitter licenses in Texas and New York, bringing its total to over 50 licenses across various jurisdictions.
  • These licenses will enable Ripple to provide cross-border payment solutions in the U.S., as both states have stringent regulations and compliance standards.

🌐 Ethereum Developers and L2 Leaders Push for Based and Native Rollups

  • Ethereum layer 2 executives are advocating for the adoption of 'based' and 'native' rollups to enhance network unification and security.
  • Transitioning to these rollups would mean forgoing hundreds of millions in revenues from existing centralized sequencers, but could lead to a more composable and secure network.

🔒 Bitcoin Self-Custody Shields Users from Institutional Risks, Says Trezor

  • Trezor emphasizes the critical role of self-custody in protecting Bitcoin holders from risks posed by centralized institutions as institutional interest grows.
  • Trezor's Bitcoin analyst Lucien Bourdon advocates for self-custody, stating it offers long-term security by allowing users to hold their own keys.

🔍 Venice AI Token Giving Private Access to DeepSeek Hits $1.6B Total Value

  • Venice AI, founded by Erik Voorhees, launched its Venice Token (VVV) on Ethereum layer-2 Base, achieving a fully diluted value surpassing $1 billion within two hours.
  • VVV holders gain access to the Venice AI API for private generative text, images, and code, leveraging the competitive DeepSeek R-1 model.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
1. Humanity Protocol (Undisclosed, $20M) - Human-centric blockchain
2. SOL Global (Post IPO, $14M) - Institutional-grade blockchain investment
3. World Liberty Financial (Undisclosed, $10M) - DeFi platform
4. Pell Network (Strategic, $3.5M) -  BTC restaking network
5. Accrue (Seed, $1.58M) - Cross-border payments platform

On-chain Data
1. Geodnet (geod) token unlocked today ($4.41M, 4.82%)
2. Open Campus (EDU) token unlocked today ($8.58M, 7.24%)
3. SingularityNET (AGIX) token unlocked today ($1.03M, 0.59%)
4. NAVI (NAVX) token unlock in 2 days ($412.5K, 1.05%)

Regulatory
🏛️ SEC Wins Partial Victory in Kraken Lawsuit

  • A federal judge dismissed Kraken's "major questions doctrine" defense against the SEC, ruling the agency's powers were within Congressional delegation.
  • However, the judge allowed Kraken's "fair notice" defense to proceed, suggesting the SEC may not have provided adequate notice about the legality of its operations.

💰 KuCoin Pleads Guilty, Agrees to $300M Settlement

  • KuCoin pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and agreed to pay nearly $300 million in fines and forfeitures.
  • The exchange will cease U.S. operations for two years, and co-founders Michael Gan and Ke Tang will step down from their roles.

🏦 OKX and Crypto.com Secure EU MiCA Licenses

  • OKX and Crypto.com obtained full licenses under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) from Malta's financial regulator.
  • The licenses allow the exchanges to provide regulated crypto services across the European Economic Area, leveraging MiCA's passporting feature.

🏈 DraftKings Settles NFL Union Lawsuit Over NFT Payments

  • DraftKings reached a settlement with the NFLPA regarding a lawsuit over non-payment for player likenesses in NFTs.
  • The case highlights complexities in NFT markets, especially regarding intellectual property rights and securities laws.

👨‍💼 Pro-Crypto Scott Bessent Confirmed as U.S. Treasury Secretary

  • The U.S. Senate confirmed Scott Bessent as the new Treasury Secretary with bipartisan support.
  • Bessent, known for his pro-cryptocurrency stance, opposes a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and aligns with Trump's economic policies.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Bitcoin is within an approximate horizontal trend channel in the short term, which indicates further development in the same direction. The currency is between support at points 99000 and resistance at points 106000. A definitive break through of one of these levels predicts the new direction. Negative volume balance indicates that sellers are aggressive while buyers are passive, and weakens the currency. The currency is overall assessed as technically slightly negative for the short term.

Ethereum - Ethereum shows weak development in a falling trend channel in the short term. Falling trends indicate that the currency experiences negative development and falling buy interest among investors. The currency is between support at points 3170 and resistance at points 3340. A definitive break through of one of these levels predicts the new direction. Volume tops and volume bottoms correspond badly with tops and bottoms in the price. Volume balance is also negative, which confirms the trend. The currency is overall assessed as technically negative for the short term.

Governance & Code
🦄 Uniswap DAO | Deploy Uniswap V3 on Abstract (Preliminary Discussion)
- This proposal seeks permission to deploy a canonical Uniswap V3 on Abstract, a Layer 2 blockchain built on Ethereum using the ZK stack. 

⚖️ Balancer DAO | Enable xRPL/RPL Gauge on Ethereum
- This proposal aims to enable the gauge for the xRPL/RPL pool on Balancer.

☁️ Sky DAO | Adding Sky Money Vault to Gnosis Safe DAPP UI
- This proposal requests $250,000 to fund the integration of Sky's USDS stablecoins into the Safe ecosystem, with an ongoing 3% revenue share for deposits made through Safe's UI.