Market Performance
| Asset / Index | Value ($) | Daily Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | 90,447.0 | -0.98% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | 3,124.28 | -1.31% |
| Bitcoin Spot ETF | -486.10M | Net Outflow |
| Ethereum Spot ETF | -98.30M | Net Outflow |
| Nasdaq (NAS100) | 25,585.1 | -0.27% |
| S&P 500 (SPX) | 6,920.92 | -0.34% |
| Russell 2000 (RUT) | 2,562.2 | -0.28% |
| U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) | 98.371 | -0.01% |
| VIX Volatility Index | 15.38 | +4.27% |
| U.S. 10-Year Yield | 4.14317 | -0.71% |
| Brent Crude Oil (BRENT) | 60.480 | -0.38% |
| LBMA Gold (XAU) | 4,428.86 | -0.61% |
| LBMA Silver (XAG) | 75.480 | -3.22% |
“Prepared at UTC 07.50 am”
Today’s Key Events
- US President Trump to Receive Presidential Intelligence Briefing and Attend Policy Meeting
- US Initial Jobless Claims
- ECB 1- and 3-Year Inflation Survey
Fed Expected to Hold Steady in January Due to Strong Data
In the US, December ADP employment data came in close to expectations, while the previous month was revised upward, indicating that employment remained generally stable. The ISM services PMI data, at 54.4, exceeded expectations, showing continued vitality in the service sector. In contrast, November JOLTS data remained weak due to the impact of the government shutdown. The overall picture shows that the “no hiring, no firing” balance in the labor market has been maintained. This outlook suggests that the Fed will find limited justification for a rate cut in January.
Trump Shifts Toward a More Populist Line Ahead of Midterm Elections
Trump announced his support for a bill that would limit large institutional investors’ purchases of single-family homes in order to increase housing affordability. This move is expected to have a significant impact on housing-focused private equity strategies. He also signed an executive order requiring defense industry companies to reduce dividends and share buybacks. Companies were asked to allocate more resources to capacity expansion, R&D, and defense investments. According to Bloomberg, Trump will deliver his State of the Union address on February 24, ahead of the midterm elections.
US Takes Control of Venezuela’s Global Oil Sales
The US is officially implementing a global sales plan for Venezuelan oil, aiming to control exports and revenue flows indefinitely. Washington is demanding that Caracas sever its economic ties with China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba. U.S. Energy Secretary Wright emphasized that their goal is not to seize oil, but to control the flow of funds. Officials say 30-50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil subject to sanctions have been stockpiled and will soon arrive in the U.S. This move could reshape geopolitical balances in energy markets.
US Oil Giants Meet at the White House to Discuss Venezuela Investments
Trump will meet with executives from Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil at the White House on Friday. The main agenda item for the meeting will be energy investments in Venezuela. Chevron is reportedly seeking to expand its license to broaden its area of operations and sell Venezuelan oil to third countries. The US administration aims to ensure that Venezuelan oil returns to the global supply chain in a controlled manner. The meeting is seen as a critical turning point in US energy policy.
Canadian Prime Minister Carney Seeks Economic Diversification with China Visit
Canadian Prime Minister Carney will visit China from January 13 to 17 with the aim of reducing his country’s economic dependence on the US. This visit will be the first by a Canadian Prime Minister since December 2017. Discussions are expected to focus on trade, energy, agriculture, and international security. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the US. Total merchandise trade between the two countries reached $85.8 billion in 2024.
US Treasury Secretary: Seized Bitcoins Added to Strategic Reserves
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that Bitcoin seized by law enforcement will no longer be sold at auction. According to Fox Business, these assets have begun to be added to the government’s “strategic Bitcoin reserves.” Bessent specifically emphasized that the US has no plans to purchase Bitcoin on the open market. However, he stated that the currently seized assets will be held long-term.
Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum Should Prioritize Increasing Bandwidth, L2 Critical in the Long Term
Vitalik Buterin stated that increasing bandwidth is safer and more sustainable than very low latency in Ethereum’s scaling strategy. He said that thanks to PeerDAS and ZKP technologies, the scalability of the network could be increased thousands of times and that this does not conflict with decentralization. He emphasized that latency has natural limits due to physical laws and the global node structure. Buterin said that 2–4 seconds of latency is a reasonable target and that applications requiring higher real-time performance will rely on L2 solutions. He also mentioned that a localized “city blockchains” approach could emerge in areas such as artificial intelligence.
MSCI’s Hidden Clause Could Cut Passive Capital Flows to Strategy
MSCI announced that it would not remove Bitcoin treasury company Strategy from its indices, but a noteworthy technical clause came to the fore. According to this clause, new shares issued via ATMs will not be included in the MSCI index weighting. This will prevent passive funds from purchasing new shares, limiting capital inflows to Strategy. Consequently, the company’s “endless financing cycle,” which relies on printing new shares, buying Bitcoin, and supporting the price through ETF purchases, will weaken. It is noted that a similar effect could apply to other Bitcoin treasury companies like Metaplanet and Capital B.
New Crypto Phishing Methods and Critical Security Vulnerability Discovered in Claude Code
Security researcher 23pds revealed that new phishing and social engineering techniques targeting crypto users have become widespread recently. Users were warned not to click on unknown links and not to sign suspicious transactions. Meanwhile, Adam Chester announced that he had discovered an elevation of privilege and command execution vulnerability in Anthropic’s Claude Code tool. The vulnerability, recorded as CVE-2025-64755, allows commands to be executed without user permission. It was noted that the PoC code for the vulnerability has been made public.
The Reason Behind dYdX Lagging Behind Hyperliquid: The Liquidity Model
According to Jarsy CEO Han Qin, the main reason dYdX lags behind Hyperliquid is its liquidity responsibility mechanism. dYdX’s “protocol-unbacked” design leads to market makers quickly exiting under extreme market conditions. This results in a loss of depth and a weakened user experience. Hyperliquid, on the other hand, takes on liquidity responsibility with a more centralized structure and treasury support. This approach offers a more attractive environment for high-leverage perpetual futures.
Zcash Development Team Resigns En Masse, New Company Being Formed
Josh Swihart, CEO of the Zcash development team Electric Coin Company, announced that the management structure had deviated from the Zcash mission. The entire ECC team resigned en masse due to decisions made by the ZCAM board of directors. Swihart stated that hiring conditions were unilaterally changed, making it impossible to continue working. The team announced they would establish a new company to protect and develop Zcash. The statement specifically emphasized that the Zcash protocol itself was unaffected by this process.
