Crypto Morning Brief: X Revokes API Access for 'Reward Posting Apps', Bitmine Invests in MrBeast

marsbitPublished on 2026-01-16Last updated on 2026-01-16

Abstract

Crypto Morning Brief: X Revokes API Access for 'Reward Posting Apps', Bitmine Invests in MrBeast Key market developments include better-than-expected US jobless claims and the Senate Banking Committee canceling a meeting amid Coinbase controversy. CME Group announced new futures for Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar. X (formerly Twitter) revoked API access for applications that reward users for posting, citing a flood of AI-generated spam. Interactive Brokers now supports 24/7 USDC deposits for accounts, with plans to add more stablecoins. State Street launched a new digital asset platform. In notable closures, MilkyWay Protocol is shutting down permanently, and Polygon laid off nearly 30% of its staff as it pivots to a payments-focused strategy. CoinGecko's co-founder responded to acquisition rumors, stating the platform is operating normally while evaluating strategic opportunities. Finally, Bitmine announced a $200 million investment into MrBeast's Beast Industries.

Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

Yesterday's Market Dynamics

US Initial Jobless Claims for the Week Ending Jan 10: 198K, Expected 215K

According to Jinshi Data, US initial jobless claims for the week ending January 10 were 198,000, compared to an expectation of 215,000. The previous week's figure was revised from 208,000 to 207,000.

Senate Banking Committee Cancels Market Structure Hearing Due to Coinbase Controversy

As reported by EleanorTerrett, the Senate Banking Committee announced the cancellation of a market structure hearing originally scheduled for tomorrow, citing the controversy with Coinbase that occurred today. A new date for the hearing has not yet been set.

CME Group to Launch Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar Futures

CME Group announced it will launch futures for Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM) on February 9th, expanding its crypto derivatives product portfolio.

Fogo Announces Airdrop Claim is Open

According to an official announcement, the SVM Layer1 blockchain project Fogo has opened airdrop claims.

X Revokes API Access for "Reward Posting Apps"

According to X product lead and Solana ecosystem advisor Nikita Bier, the X platform is revising its developer policy and will no longer allow applications that reward users for posting on X. Bier stated that such apps have led to a large amount of AI-generated low-quality content and reply spam on the platform. The X platform has revoked the API access for these applications, and user experience is expected to improve soon. For developer accounts whose API access has been terminated, the X platform stated it will assist in transitioning their business to Threads and Bluesky.

Interactive Brokers Launches 24/7 Account Funding with USDC, Plans to Expand Stablecoin Options

According to The Block, traditional brokerage firm Interactive Brokers announced that traders can now use Circle's USDC for 24/7 account funding operations, enabling round-the-clock trading functionality.

The company's CEO, Milan Galik, stated that stablecoins offer a faster, lower-cost, and globally accessible funding option compared to traditional wire transfers. This integration is supported by crypto infrastructure provider Zerohash. Users can send USDC via the Ethereum, Solana, or Base networks, and the system will automatically convert it to US dollars and deposit it into the brokerage account. Interactive Brokers plans to expand support to include more stablecoin options such as Ripple's RLUSD and PayPal's PYUSD as early as next week.

State Street Launches Digital Asset Platform to Expand Crypto Business

According to Bloomberg, global custody banking giant State Street Corporation announced the launch of a digital asset platform aimed at expanding its business in this rapidly growing asset class. A statement from the Boston-based company said the new platform will develop and support money market funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and cash products including tokenized deposits and stablecoins.

MilkyWay Protocol Announces Imminent Permanent Shutdown

According to an official announcement from MilkyWay Protocol, the protocol is shutting down permanently and will begin the liquidation process.

The announcement stated that the decision to close stems from decentralized finance (DeFi) demand not growing as expected, the transient nature of restaking demand, the interruption of plans for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and insufficient funding.

MilkyWay completed a snapshot on January 14th and will automatically distribute protocol fees proportionally to MILK token holders in the form of USDC. All liquid staking functions are disabled effective immediately, and existing positions will be automatically unstaked. MilkyWay initially launched as the first liquid staking token (LST) provider for Celestia, later expanding to the Initia and Babylon ecosystems, and attempted to launch services including restaking, RWA tokenization, and payment cards.

Polygon Lays Off Nearly 30% of Staff, Shifts to Payments Strategy

According to BeInCrypto, Polygon has reduced its workforce by approximately 30%, a move that is part of integration measures following its acquisitions of Coinme and Sequence. The company is shifting from traditional scaling and DeFi narratives to an "open money stack" strategy centered around stablecoin payments. Polygon's CEO confirmed the layoff decision but stated that with the addition of newly acquired teams, the overall headcount is expected to remain stable.

Coingecko Co-founder Responds to Sale Rumors: Regularly Evaluate Strategic Opportunities, Platform Operating Normally

In response to previous reports that crypto data platform CoinGecko was considering a sale at a valuation of approximately $500 million, the company's co-founder and CEO Bobby Ong posted on X, stating that he has received many inquiries about a potential platform sale. Having operated CoinGecko for 12 years, like any growing and profitable company, they regularly evaluate strategic opportunities to strengthen the business and accelerate their mission. He declined to comment on specific acquisition talks for now but expressed excitement about possibilities that could help better serve users and support institutional adoption of cryptocurrency. CoinGecko will continue to operate as usual, with no changes to how they work or provide trusted data.

Bitmine Announces $200 Million Investment in MrBeast's Beast Industries

According to Prnewswire, Bitmine announced a $200 million investment in MrBeast's Beast Industries. The transaction is expected to be completed around January 19th.

Market Dynamics

What Signals Can Be Read from the Trading Data of India's Largest Asset Manager SBI's IPO?

India's largest asset manager, SBI Funds Management, successfully listed on July 21 with a nearly $10 billion IPO, attracting approximately 42 times subscription. However, the first-day closing price rose only about 6.3%, falling short of the 16% premium anticipated in the grey market. This signals robust demand for core Indian financial assets but also disciplined pricing, indicating the IPO market is selectively open for strong brands with clear growth narratives. The low reported underwriting fees, which led some global banks to reduce participation, highlight a shift in pricing power towards powerful issuers like SBI. Its strong brand, banking parent, and stable cash flows reduced reliance on traditional investment banking sales channels, with local brokers playing a larger role. This fee dynamic may not be replicable for weaker issuers. SBI's performance is seen as a key test for India's IPO pipeline, including potential future large listings like Reliance Jio and NSE. Its success with tempered gains sets a new price anchor: high-quality assets can launch, but excessive valuation premiums are constrained. The true measure of a sustained market reopening will be whether subsequent major offerings can proceed smoothly at reasonable valuations.

marsbit16m ago

What Signals Can Be Read from the Trading Data of India's Largest Asset Manager SBI's IPO?

marsbit16m ago

Can Japan Buy Growth with AI? Will the Bond Market Believe It?

Japan's cabinet has introduced the 2026 Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform, shifting its primary fiscal target. The new framework moves away from the traditional annual primary balance goal and instead prioritizes a stable reduction of the debt-to-GDP ratio. This change is tied to a strategy of increased "responsible proactive fiscal" spending, aiming to boost long-term growth through investments in strategic sectors like AI, semiconductors, energy, and robotics. The government estimates total public and private investment in 62 key technologies could exceed 370 trillion yen by 2040. The market reaction has been mixed and cautious. While equity markets may respond to policy signals, bond markets are focused on fiscal credibility. Concerns center on whether the weakening of the clear primary balance anchor could lead to looser fiscal discipline. If investors doubt that these strategic investments will generate sufficient productivity gains, tax revenue, and nominal growth to outpace rising interest costs, they may demand higher yields on Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs). Recent volatility in the yen and JGB yields, with the 10-year yield briefly reaching 2.9%, reflects this skepticism. The success of this new framework hinges on two factors: whether Japan can achieve a nominal growth rate consistently higher than its long-term interest rates, and whether future budgets demonstrate disciplined control over bond issuance. The government's narrative is that strategic investment is essential to break Japan's cycle of low growth, aging, and labor shortages. However, the bond market will continuously assess the credibility of this plan, pricing the risk that it may represent fiscal expansion rather than a viable growth strategy.

marsbit25m ago

Can Japan Buy Growth with AI? Will the Bond Market Believe It?

marsbit25m ago

Misjudged A-Shares: Resilience, Expectations, and Confidence

China's A-share market recently faced selling pressure, especially in tech sectors, initially triggered by a global tech sell-off that began in South Korea. However, the article argues this is a case of "mistaken injury" and highlights the market's underlying resilience. This resilience stems from three main pillars: **1) Tech Sector Fundamentals:** Unlike Korea's market dominated by a few memory chip stocks, China's tech sector is diversified across computing, communications, electronics, and semiconductors, supported by dual narratives of global AI supply chains and domestic substitution. Core areas like optical modules and fiber optics continue to show strong earnings growth. **2) "National Team" Support:** State-backed institutions and large corporations have made significant market purchases and announced buybacks, providing liquidity and signaling confidence. This is seen as a stabilizing policy signal, often associated with market bottoms. **3) Broader Market Pillars:** Other major sectors are showing endogenous recovery momentum. Consumer stocks benefit from stabilizing CPI and signs of sector recovery (e.g., liquor price hikes). Cyclical sectors like aluminum have high earnings, potential price increases due to tight supply, and low valuations. The financial sector offers stable dividends and low valuations. The conclusion is that the sell-off was driven by external contagion, not a collapse in fundamentals. With strong policy support and recovering momentum across key sectors, the A-share market possesses the toughness to regain stability.

marsbit56m ago

Misjudged A-Shares: Resilience, Expectations, and Confidence

marsbit56m ago

Quantum Computers Haven't Arrived Yet, but Satoshi's 1.1 Million Bitcoin Pose the First Problem

A zero-knowledge proof tool can help modern Bitcoin wallets migrate assets before quantum attacks in milliseconds. However, approximately 1.1 million bitcoins mined by Satoshi Nakamoto before 2012 are fundamentally unprotected by such solutions, as they reside in older P2PK addresses lacking the hierarchical structure required for this cryptographic rescue. This exposes a critical divide: post-2012 HD wallets can potentially "upgrade" signatures using tools like Project Eleven's, while early coins are cryptographically isolated. The community faces a political, not technical, dilemma with four contentious options: 1) Let quantum attackers seize the coins, risking market instability; 2) Hard fork to freeze vulnerable addresses, seen as violating property rights; 3) Implement extreme spending limits to slow any attack; 4) Redistribute "orphaned" coins, breaking immutability. Each solution threatens a core Bitcoin tenet. The market is already pricing in this governance risk, as evidenced by institutional divestment citing uncertainty. The true crisis isn't the arrival of quantum computing, but the community's inability to reconcile its foundational principles with an existential technological shift.

marsbit1h ago

Quantum Computers Haven't Arrived Yet, but Satoshi's 1.1 Million Bitcoin Pose the First Problem

marsbit1h ago

Where Will the Next Bull Market's Main Battlefield Be? The Answer Lies in These Two Types of Assets

Matt Hougan, Bitwise's CIO, identifies the fusion of traditional finance and on-chain finance as the core driver for the next crypto bull market. He expects this cycle, propelled by real-world utility and global finance adoption, to be the largest yet, centered on stablecoins, asset tokenization, 24/7 trading, instant settlement, and institutional DeFi growth. The article outlines two primary investment approaches tied to this trend. The first focuses on native crypto applications with strong revenues and sustainable tokenomics, exemplified by Hyperliquid (HYPE). Its Layer-1 chain is gaining significant trading volume from traditional assets like oil and equities. Its model of using 99% of revenues for token buybacks is a key strength. The second approach targets established traditional firms building at scale on crypto rails, like Robinhood. The launch of its Robinhood Chain, enabling global trading of tokenized stocks and DeFi activities, represents a major move towards this fusion. The author also notes other serious contenders like Coinbase, Figure, BlackRock, and JPMorgan. Ultimately, the thesis is that the most profound success will come when blockchain technology seamlessly integrates into finance, becoming invisible to end-users. Investors are advised to position ahead of this convergence.

Foresight News1h ago

Where Will the Next Bull Market's Main Battlefield Be? The Answer Lies in These Two Types of Assets

Foresight News1h ago

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