U.S. CPI Comes in at 2.7% Annually, in Line with Expectations
The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) was announced at 2.7% annually. The data was in line with both market expectations and the previous period’s value. Fed rate cut expectations stood at 95% prior to the CPI data release and remained unchanged after the data. However, while traders see June as the most likely outcome, the latest data shows the probability of a Fed rate cut in April has risen to 42%, up from 38% prior to the data release.
ClearBank Partners with Taurus to Join Circle Payment Network
UK clearing bank ClearBank announced a partnership with crypto asset custody company Taurus to support dollar and euro-based stablecoin services. ClearBank will use the Taurus-PROTECT wallet infrastructure to offer digital asset services securely and compliantly. This will include support for MiCAR-compliant $USDC and $EURC. The move is said to be part of ClearBank’s plans to join Circle’s payment network.
Solana Policy Institute Calls on SEC to Distinguish Between CEX and DeFi
According to Solid Intel, the Solana Policy Institute sent a letter to the SEC calling for a clear distinction in regulation between centralized exchanges and decentralized $DeFi software without customer accounts. The institute emphasized that developers should not be considered intermediaries. This initiative aims to secure regulatory exemptions for open-source DeFi projects and protect developers from financial intermediary obligations.
WLFI Markets Officially Launches USD1 Rewards Program
Zak Folkman, co-founder and COO of the Trump family’s crypto project World Liberty Finance, announced the launch of WLFI Markets’ $USD1 rewards program. Users can earn points by providing $USD1, but it was noted that reward rates may vary depending on the promotional partners involved. It was stated that the program terms and conditions are subject to change without prior notice.
Pentagon to Fully Integrate Grok AI System by End of Month
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the Grok artificial intelligence system developed by xAI is scheduled to be fully integrated into the Pentagon network by the end of January. The system, which will cover approximately 3 million military and civilian personnel, will operate at the highest security level, Impact Level 5, on the GenAI.mil platform alongside Google Gemini. The system will support military planning and operations by utilizing X platform data in real time.
Digital Asset Market Transparency Act Could Bring XRP and SOL to Equal Status with BTC and ETH
According to Eleanor Terrett’s assessment, the Digital Asset Market Transparency Act could allow $XRP, $SOL, $LTC, $HBAR, $DOGE, and $LINK to be accepted as having the same status as $BTC and $ETH. The law will apply if these assets are used as underlying assets in exchange trading products by January 1, 2026.
PancakeSwap Proposes to Reduce CAKE Maximum Supply by 50 Million
The PancakeSwap community has opened a governance proposal for discussion that envisions reducing the maximum supply of the $CAKE token from 450 million to 400 million. The team argued that a cap of 400 million would be sufficient, noting that there is a growth fund of approximately 3.5 million $CAKE and that the likelihood of a return to an inflationary structure is low.
Polygon Labs Acquires Coinme and Sequence for Over $250 Million
According to Fortune, Polygon Labs announced that it has acquired two crypto startups, Coinme and Sequence, for over $250 million to strengthen its stablecoin payment network. Coinme has a licensed crypto ATM infrastructure across the US, while Sequence offers wallet and on-chain infrastructure solutions. Polygon stated that this move is positioned in opposition to Stripe’s stablecoin strategy and aims to create an end-to-end on-chain payment infrastructure.
