CryptoCity

Grayscale for the first time distributes Ethereum staking cash earnings to ETHE investors, $0.08 per share, symbolizing the official entry of the US crypto ETP into the interest-bearing era.
Historic First Dividend! Grayscale ETHE Investors Receive $0.08 Cash Reward
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Leading US digital asset manager Grayscale officially announced on January 5, 2026, that its "Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF (ETHE)" has completed the first round of staking income distribution. This move marks an important milestone in the history of US spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs), being the first such product to directly distribute the economic returns generated from on-chain staking to shareholders.
According to the official announcement, the dividend this time is

Former Venezuelan President Maduro is on trial in the US, insisting on his innocence. The United Nations Security Council is debating US military actions, with different countries holding divergent views on their legality, leading to a stalemate in Venezuela's political situation.
Venezuela's Maduro arrested, Vice President takes over as interim President
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After Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was detained by US forces and forcibly taken to the United States, the political situation in Venezuela has become highly tense.
Today, Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are being tried in a US court, facing four federal charges including conspiracy to drug terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, illegal possession of machine guns, and destructive devices.
Maduro insists he is innocent and remains the legitimate President of Venezuela, even though Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has become acting President.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) fully enters the crypto ecosystem following the passage of the 《GENIUS Act》, expanding into stablecoins, tokenization, and auditing services, symbolizing mainstream finance's official embrace of digital assets.
Regulatory breakthroughs become catalysts, PwC announces full entry into the crypto ecosystem
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As the US cryptocurrency regulatory environment enters a historic transformation, one of the Big Four accounting firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), officially announces a significant expansion of its digital assets and stablecoin business.
PwC US Senior Partner and CEO Paul Griggs recently told the Financial Times that with the passage of the 《GENIUS Act》 and the rollout of new regulations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the digital asset industry now has a clear framework for institutional development.
Griggs stated

Tom Lee predicts Bitcoin will hit a new high as early as January, though he also warns of a potential 15% pullback in the first half of the year. Nonetheless, he remains optimistic about a rebound in the second half and the long-term bullish trend driven by AI.
Tom Lee: Bitcoin Could Reach a New High as Early as January
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Founder of asset management firm Fundstrat and Chairman of Ethereum reserve company BitMine, Tom Lee, made a surprising statement during an interview with CNBC on 1/5. He said that the rally of Bitcoin ($BTC) has not yet stopped and that it could reach a new all-time high as early as the end of January this year.
According to CoinDesk, although Bitcoin may not break the $200,000 mark by the end of 2025 as Tom Lee previously predicted, he emphasized that investors should not assume the cryptocurrency's price has already touched

The surge in artificial intelligence demand has caused memory prices to skyrocket, leading to the most severe shortage in 20 years. Gaming consoles like the PS6 may be delayed until 2028 for release. The continuous increase in memory prices has raised the cost of gaming hardware, and it is estimated that the prices of gaming consoles will rise by 10% to 15% in the coming years.

Parcl partners with Polymarket to launch a housing price prediction market, using on-chain indices as the settlement benchmark to promote the financialization of real estate and trigger a short-term surge in PRCL prices.
Parcl provides the settlement benchmark, and Polymarket for the first time incorporates housing prices into its prediction markets
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The crypto prediction market platform Polymarket announced yesterday (1/5) that it has partnered with on-chain real estate data provider Parcl to officially launch a housing price-focused prediction market product, allowing traders to directly bet on the rise or fall of specific city housing price indices.
According to both parties, this collaboration involves Parcl providing a daily updated independent housing price index, which will serve as the settlement basis for the Polymarket market, Poly

Ledger's partner Global-e experienced a data breach, resulting in unauthorized access to some users' personal information. Ledger emphasized that private keys and fund security were not affected but warned users to beware of phishing scams. This incident has once again raised concerns about the security of third-party vendors.

Turkmenistan legalizes crypto mining and trading on New Year's Day, adopting a licensing system approved by the central bank, without recognizing its payment status. The policy shift aims to attract foreign investment through energy advantages and to control financial risks.
Turkmenistan is the only neutral country in Central Asia. On New Year's Day, it officially legalized cryptocurrency mining and trading activities, establishing a licensing system regulated by the central bank. This policy signifies a major change in Turkmenistan's national economic strategy. According to recent reports, the law incorporates virtual assets into civil law, allowing registered and approved enterprises and individuals to participate in cryptocurrency mining and trading. However, it still does not recognize cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, legal tender, or securities. Domestic internet and information flow remain under strict government control. Why is Turkmenistan gradually opening up to cryptocurrency mining and trading? The following is an analytical report.
Turkmenistan's Energy Resources and Mining Costs Connection
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Tether invests in SQRIL, betting on the cross-border QR payment infrastructure, not pushing USDT, with a long-term strategy and regulatory considerations for building banking infrastructure.
Not developing consumer-end products, Tether invests in the "underlying infrastructure" of payments
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Stablecoin issuer Tether recently invested in Southeast Asia's cross-border payment startup SQRIL, drawing market attention. However, contrary to external expectations, this investment is not accompanied by any wallet products, $USDT traffic diversion, or consumer applications. Instead, Tether chooses to bet on a set of payment infrastructure that is "almost invisible to users."
Image source: SQRIL Stablecoin issuer Tether recently invested in Southeast Asia's cross-border payment startup SQRIL
SQRIL focuses on building

The event of Venezuelan President Maduro's arrest has refocused the international community on this South American oil-producing country. Venezuela has issued oil-backed tokens and used Tether to counter sanctions. After Maduro's detention, the US's desire to control its energy resources may impact the geopolitical landscape involving China, Russia, and Taiwan.
The arrest of President Maduro shocked the world—an overview of South America's oil nation
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U.S. special forces raided the Venezuelan president's residence last weekend, successfully executing a "decapitation operation" that stunned the global audience.
Maduro's arrest has brought renewed attention to this South American oil-producing country. Since Maduro took office in 2013, facing increasingly severe US economic sanctions, the Venezuelan government has launched a series of financial experiments and geopolitical maneuvers to resist sanctions.
Venezuela's Path of Using Cryptocurrency to Counter Sanctions
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Sun Yuchen highly praises Google Gemini 3 for its language understanding and emotional interaction, stating it surpasses OpenAI, can handle mixed Chinese and English, and improves sleep experiences, even sparking the idea of buying Google stock.
Sun Yuchen shared his experience using Google's latest upgraded Gemini 3 on LinkedIn. He expressed high admiration for this AI, believing it to be smarter than OpenAI, especially in language understanding and emotional communication. According to his description, Gemini 3 not only easily comprehends multilingual conversations with mixed Chinese and English, understanding what he's saying, but also solves his problem of poor sleep caused by scrolling on his phone at night, becoming an indispensable AI soulmate in his life. He also mentioned that he is considering investing in Google stock, but since the stock price is currently too high, he plans to wait.

After the arrest of the Venezuelan president, Nobel laureate María Corina Machado has become a popular candidate to succeed him. She has previously advocated for incorporating Bitcoin into the national reserves, aiming to lead the country out of financial tyranny and transform it into a technological hub.
Venezuelan President Arrested, Bitcoin Advocate Becomes a Top Presidential Candidate
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Following the U.S. "decapitation operation" that led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro, the transfer of power in Venezuela has become a global focus. Now, María Corina Machado, a Bitcoin advocate and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is seen as one of the leading contenders to take over after Maduro.
Prediction Market

After the governance vote failed, Aave Labs publicly stated for the first time that non-protocol revenue will be shared with AAVE, attempting to resolve the conflict over the attribution of value between the DAO and Labs.
Speaking out after the failed governance vote, Aave Labs signals revenue sharing
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Following a highly controversial governance vote, Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov rarel y posted on the official governance forum, systematically explaining Aave's future development direction, and explicitly stating for the first time that Aave Labs intends to share "non-protocol income" with $AAVE token holders.
This statement is seen as Aave Labs extending an "olive branch" to the DAO community. Previously, $AAVE holders rejected a proposal

Polymarket Sparks Controversy Over Large Profits, Suspected of Insider Trading on Sensitive Political Information, US Congress Moves to Legislate, Officially Increasing Market Regulation.
Timing of Large Profits Is Sensitive, Polymarket Trading Behavior Raises Questions
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The crypto prediction market platform Polymarket has recently become a hot topic of discussion. A newly created account placed large bets on contracts related to the removal of Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, just hours before the US took military action against Venezuela and detained President Nicolás Maduro. Ultimately, after the news was announced, the account made over $400,000 in profit in less than 24 hours.
Image source: Polymarket A newly created account in the US placed large bets on military action against Venezuela and the detention of President Nicolás Maduro

Hong Kong prosecutors escalate charges against key figure Zhu Jiahui in the JPEX case, with money laundering allegations increased to 4 counts and transferred to the District Court, highlighting the legal risks of influencer promotion of crypto platforms.
Prosecutors escalate charges, Mr. Zhu's money laundering allegations rise to 4 counts
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According to reports from Wen Wei Po, Hong Kong prosecutors continue to intensify enforcement efforts against the JPEX scam case. Recently, they formally added 3 counts of money laundering against the well-known crypto influencer "Mr. Zhu" Zhu Jiahui.
According to court documents, prosecutors allege that Zhu Jiahui, between 2020 and 2023, processed approximately HKD 18.78 million in suspicious funds through 4 bank accounts, suspected of knowingly or should have known that the funds involved were proceeds of crime, yet still handled them.
With the new charges, Zhu Jiahui currently faces a total of 4 counts of money laundering. The case's nature has also shifted from the original