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Nasdaq and CME Group have launched the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index, a revamped version of the existing Nasdaq Crypto Index, Cryptopolitan reported. The two companies stated they plan to establish the index as a benchmark for crypto ETFs, structured funds, and other institutional financial products.

BlackRock predicts that 2026 will be a pivotal year for significantly improving cryptocurrency accessibility for retail investors, CNBC reported. In an interview with the outlet, Jay Jacobs, BlackRock's Head of Active ETFs, stated that although spot Bitcoin ETFs have been available for two years, the concept remains new to investors. He explained that investors are just now beginning to understand how to incorporate Bitcoin into their portfolios. Jacobs added that the growing number of options to access crypto via ETFs is leading both individuals and advisors to expand their market participation. He also noted that regulatory barriers, which previously restricted trading of products like BlackRock's IBIT on certain platforms, are gradually being resolved.

Grayscale has registered an entity for a HYPE ETF in the U.S. state of Delaware. This is considered a preliminary step before submitting an official ETF application to regulators. Delaware is a popular jurisdiction for financial and investment funds due to its business-friendly environment, which includes tax benefits and flexible corporate structures. The registration follows a similar move by Grayscale earlier today to register an entity for a BNB ETF in the state.

Blockstream Capital Partners (BCP) announced it has acquired the derivatives trading unit of digital asset manager Numeus Group.

Rain, a stablecoin payment infrastructure company, has raised $250 million at a valuation of $1.95 billion, Bloomberg reported. The funding round was led by ICONIQ, with participation from Sapphire Ventures, Dragonfly, Bessemer, Lightspeed, and Galaxy Ventures. This latest investment brings Rain's total funding to $338 million.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has stated that the U.S. government's indictment of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm is unjust, The Block reported. In a letter, Buterin argued that punishing Storm is tantamount to criminalizing the act of software development itself, describing the privacy tool he co-developed as a means to counter a surveillance society. Storm was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in August 2023 on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and is currently out on bail awaiting trial.

Whale Alert reported that 1,000 million USDT has been minted at the Tether Treasury.

A Polymarket user with the username 'tiffanytrump' has lost $24,472 after incorrectly predicting the outcome of seven political and war-related events, according to Lookonchain. The on-chain analytics firm noted that contrary to the username, the trader appears to lack any inside information.

Whale Alert reported that 409,999,994 USDT has been transferred from HTX to Aave. The transaction is valued at about $410 million.

Decentralized crypto options exchange Aevo (AEVO) announced via its official X account that it has burned 69 million AEVO, equivalent to 6.9% of the total supply, from circulation. The move was carried out in accordance with community governance proposal AGP-3. Aevo stated that the burn signals a new beginning and demonstrates its commitment to preserving the token's value.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that a planned second attack on Venezuela has been canceled. He described Venezuela's mass release of political prisoners as an important gesture toward peace, adding that the U.S. and Venezuela are currently cooperating well on modernizing the country's oil and gas infrastructure.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will temporarily implement a mandatory crypto licensing system starting this September, ahead of its full rollout, Cointelegraph reported. Under the new regime, even crypto asset service providers (CASPs) that currently hold similar licenses will be required to apply for the new authorization. The full implementation of the licensing system is scheduled for Oct. 25, 2027.

The Russian ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 was the fastest-growing stablecoin last year, with its circulating supply increasing by approximately $90 billion, outpacing major U.S. dollar-backed counterparts like USDT and USDC, CoinDesk reported. For comparison, USDT's supply grew by about $49 billion and USDC's by around $31 billion during the same period. A7A5 is a ruble-based token introduced by A7 LLC in January of last year. It was issued through a legal entity in the Kyrgyz Republic and is available on the Tron (TRC-20) and Ethereum (ERC-20) networks. The stablecoin is not currently listed on any major centralized exchanges and is only available for trading on Uniswap.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $90,000. BTC is trading at $89,975 on the Binance USDT market.

Binance has announced the listing of ZAMA/USDT perpetual futures on its pre-market at 9:00 a.m. UTC today. The platform will support up to 5x leverage for the new offering.

Whale Alert reported that 943,727,362 USDC has been transferred from Binance to an unknown wallet. The transaction is valued at about $944 million.

Evernorth, a crypto venture strategically backed by Ripple, is partnering with XRPfi infrastructure provider Doppler Finance to build a system that makes it easier for companies and institutions to utilize XRP. According to U.Today, Doppler Finance is a financial infrastructure company that uses XRP and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) to help institutions generate yield. Through this collaboration, Evernorth will leverage Doppler's institutional-grade infrastructure to promote wider institutional adoption of XRP. Evernorth currently holds over $1 billion in XRP.

The Bitcoin (BTC) derivatives market has entered a deleveraging phase as open interest (OI) has fallen to its lowest level since 2022. CryptoQuant contributor Arab Chain noted that on Jan. 8, the 30-day OI volume simultaneously decreased across major exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, Gate, and OKX. The contributor explained that a simultaneous decline in both BTC's price and OI volume indicates the market is unwinding excessive leverage. Arab Chain added that historically, such conditions have often preceded periods of price stabilization or a subsequent rebound.

Early-year optimism for Bitcoin is rapidly fading after spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $1.13 billion over the past three days, CoinDesk reported. The outflows, tracked by Farside Investors, have nearly erased the $1.16 billion in net inflows seen at the start of the month. This trend is being interpreted as a sign of wavering conviction among institutional buyers, cooling investor expectations for a bullish turn. The market is now focused on the upcoming December employment data and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Trump administration's tariff policies.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb said it has removed Yearn.finance (YFI) from its delisting watchlist after determining that the issues behind the designation had been resolved. Deposits for the token resumed at 7:00 a.m. UTC today, the exchange said.

Decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain developer IQ AI has launched PredIQt, a new platform that allows AI agents to participate and compete in prediction markets. PredIQt operates by deploying autonomous AI agents into real-money prediction markets, such as Polymarket, and ranks them based on their investment returns. According to IQ AI, the platform has already completed its first 17-day trading season on Polymarket. Anthropic's Claude Opus AI agent secured first place with a 29% return, while Google's Gemini AI agent came in second with a 12% return. OpenAI's ChatGPT recorded a 19% loss. IQ AI also announced plans to pursue the tokenization of these AI agents in the future.

An address presumed to belong to Hong Kong-based digital asset management firm Metalpha withdrew 6,000 ETH, valued at $18.67 million, from the Kraken exchange approximately three hours ago, according to a report from Lookonchain.

Officials from South Korea’s five major fiat-supporting crypto exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax—recently held an emergency meeting to discuss a proposal by financial authorities to cap major shareholder stakes at 20%, Herald Economy reported. According to the report, a draft Digital Asset Basic Act from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) would limit major shareholder ownership to between 15% and 20%. The industry reportedly views the provision as the most contentious part of the proposed legislation, as major shareholders at all five exchanges currently hold stakes above the 20% threshold. However, the report noted that the ruling party opposes the cap and that the measure could face a constitutional challenge if enacted.

OKX has announced RIVER/USDT perpetual futures will be listed at 7:00 a.m. UTC today. The platform will support up to 20x leverage for the new trading pair.

Coin98 (C98) has announced the establishment of G98, a strategic joint venture in Vietnam, and the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tether. The new entity aims to make blockchain a core component of Vietnam's digital technology infrastructure. G98 plans to develop blockchain infrastructure, create regulatory-compliant digital asset products, offer blockchain services, and foster ecosystem growth through international partnerships.