Industry News

Tracks company news, strategic changes, funding activities, and personnel adjustments across the blockchain and crypto industries, delivering a full-spectrum industry overview for our users.

Weekly Funding Roundup | 7 Projects Secured Funding, Total Amount Reaches $332 Million (Jan 5 - Jan 11)

According to incomplete statistics from Odaily, between January 5 and January 11, 2025, seven blockchain-related funding rounds were disclosed globally, raising a total of $332 million. This marks a significant increase compared to the previous week. The largest single funding round was secured by stablecoin company Rain, which raised $250 million at a $1.95 billion valuation, led by ICONIQ. AI data exchange platform Protege followed with a $30 million Series A round led by a16z. Other notable raises include a $30 million strategic investment for Web3 gaming platform RuneSoul, a $15 million round for Bitcoin protocol Babylon with participation from a16z Crypto, and a funding round of over $10 million for RWA infrastructure provider TBook. Additionally, HabitTrade raised nearly $10 million for its regulated brokerage infrastructure, KOLECT raised $1.2 million in a pre-seed round, and digital payment infrastructure PhotonPay raised tens of millions in a Series B round. The funds are primarily allocated for global expansion, platform development, regulatory compliance, and advancing blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

marsbit01/13 08:45

Weekly Funding Roundup | 7 Projects Secured Funding, Total Amount Reaches $332 Million (Jan 5 - Jan 11)

marsbit01/13 08:45

Life K-Line Goes Viral Amid Escalating Controversy: Establishes Fund, Launches 'Cyber Merit Box' Feature, Founder Denies Issuing Meme Coin

"Life K-Line," an AI-powered fortune-telling tool combining traditional BaZi astrology with stock market-style K-line charts, went viral across Chinese social media and crypto communities in late 2025 and early 2026. The platform, created by founder 0xSakura, uses AI to generate a user’s 100-year life trajectory visualisation. It quickly gained massive attention, causing server crashes and sparking numerous meme coins. The project receiving early donations and platform incentives, the founder consistently denied any official link to meme coins. By early January, mainstream media like Guangming Daily covered the phenomenon. The project later introduced a "Cyber Donation Box" feature, allowing users to donate certain BSC tokens to access a premium version. A Life K-Line Fund was also established, pledging to burn 50% of certain donations and use the rest for public welfare and operations. Amid its rise, the founder reported doxxing and death threats, again clarifying no official token was issued. Meanwhile, an unofficial "Life K-Line" meme coin on BSC reached a market cap of $11.63 million before declining significantly.

marsbit01/13 07:54

Life K-Line Goes Viral Amid Escalating Controversy: Establishes Fund, Launches 'Cyber Merit Box' Feature, Founder Denies Issuing Meme Coin

marsbit01/13 07:54

After Eight Years, Behind Monero's New High, the Privacy Narrative Is Returning to the Core of Crypto

Eight years after its last peak, Monero (XMR) has surged past its 2017 all-time high, rising over 500% since early 2024. This signals a broader revival of the privacy narrative in crypto, moving beyond short-term trends to become a core infrastructure theme. Zcash (ZEC), another major privacy asset, recently faced governance turmoil as its development team resigned amid disputes with the board, causing a sharp price drop. Despite this, Zcash remains a decentralized protocol. Other projects are expanding privacy beyond currency. Humanity Protocol uses palm recognition and zero-knowledge proofs to create private digital identities. Railgun offers privacy for DeFi interactions, with over $4.49 billion in cumulative transaction volume. Pirate Chain enforces 100% privacy on all transactions. Tornado Cash, despite U.S. sanctions and legal battles, continues to see significant usage, with $2.5 billion in ETH inflows in 2025. Meanwhile, Dusk Network takes a compliance-friendly approach, offering auditable privacy for regulated applications like RWA tokenization. Together, these developments show privacy is evolving from a niche tool into a fundamental layer of the crypto ecosystem.

marsbit01/13 07:46

After Eight Years, Behind Monero's New High, the Privacy Narrative Is Returning to the Core of Crypto

marsbit01/13 07:46

When Polymarket Enters the Dow Jones, Prediction Markets Are Becoming Part of Serious News

Polymarket, a prediction market platform, has entered into an exclusive partnership with Dow Jones Media Group. Under the agreement, Polymarket’s real-time prediction probabilities will become the sole source of prediction market data across all Dow Jones consumer platforms, including dedicated data modules, event pages, and customized earnings calendars. This integration will reach audiences of major financial publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and MarketWatch. The collaboration signals a significant shift in how news is presented, moving beyond traditional expert analysis and polls to incorporate crowd-sourced, money-backed probabilistic forecasts on elections, economic trends, and cultural events. This endorsement from a highly credible financial news organization suggests prediction markets are increasingly viewed as serious informational tools rather than mere gambling platforms. 2025 has been a breakthrough year for prediction markets, with Polymarket and competitor Kalshi recording nearly $40 billion in trading volume and achieving multibillion-dollar valuations. Polymarket’s notably accurate predictions during the 2024 U.S. elections—where it consistently projected a Trump victory with high certainty—demonstrated the effectiveness of incentive-driven crowd wisdom. However, regulatory challenges remain. While Kalshi holds a CFTC license, it faces legal scrutiny in states like Nevada, where prediction markets are still considered unlicensed gambling. Polymarket has also encountered criticism around potential insider trading, highlighting the lack of clear regulatory frameworks. Despite these issues, the Dow Jones partnership marks a major step toward the mainstream acceptance of prediction markets as a credible supplement to traditional news.

Odaily星球日报01/13 07:27

When Polymarket Enters the Dow Jones, Prediction Markets Are Becoming Part of Serious News

Odaily星球日报01/13 07:27

Pump.fun-Linked Wallet Sends $148M Stablecoins to Kraken Again

An on-chain analyst reported that a wallet linked to Pump.fun transferred approximately $148 million in USDC and USDT to Kraken, continuing a pattern of large transfers observed over the past two months. These funds originated from Pump.fun's mid-2025 token sale. Since November 15, a total of $753 million in stablecoins from the PUMP ICO proceeds has been moved to Kraken. Pump.fun has previously stated these are routine treasury operations for diversification and reinvestment, not liquidations. The latest transfer occurs amid increased scrutiny of the platform's fee structure and slowing revenue growth. Neither Pump.fun nor Kraken has publicly commented.

TheNewsCrypto01/13 06:41

Pump.fun-Linked Wallet Sends $148M Stablecoins to Kraken Again

TheNewsCrypto01/13 06:41

Honored as the Best Web3 Venture Capital Institution of the Year at the 12th "Hong Kong Stocks 100 Strong Awards, HTX Ventures Deeply Empowers Hong Kong's New Web3 Financial Ecosystem

HTX Ventures, the global investment arm of Huobi HTX, was honored as the "Annual Best Web3 Venture Capital Institution" at the 12th "Hong Kong Stocks 100" Awards Ceremony held during the 2025 Hong Kong Wealth Management Summit. At the event, HTX Ventures’ representative Alec highlighted key investment focuses in the convergence of global wealth management and Web3, including yield-generating real-world assets (RWA), AI-driven automated asset management, and compliant stablecoins and payment gateways. He emphasized the importance of architectural flexibility, sustainable competitiveness, and ecosystem integration in supporting early-stage projects. Additionally, HTX DAO Ambassador Molly discussed the role of blockchain in RWA ecosystems, stressing its value in enabling transparency, automated settlement, and trust through smart contracts rather than mere tokenization. The award recognizes HTX Ventures' strategic investments in Web3 infrastructure and innovative applications, with a portfolio of over 300 projects and partnerships with top global blockchain funds. The firm continues to support Hong Kong’s development as a global Web3 hub by facilitating cross-industry collaboration and compliance-focused growth.

marsbit01/13 02:26

Honored as the Best Web3 Venture Capital Institution of the Year at the 12th "Hong Kong Stocks 100 Strong Awards, HTX Ventures Deeply Empowers Hong Kong's New Web3 Financial Ecosystem

marsbit01/13 02:26

Honored as the Annual Best Web3 Venture Capital Institution at the 12th "Hong Kong Stocks 100 Strong" Awards, HTX Ventures Deeply Empowers Hong Kong's New Web3 Financial Ecosystem

HTX Ventures, the global investment arm of Huobi HTX, was honored as the "Annual Best Web3 Venture Capital Institution" at the 12th "Hong Kong Stocks 100 Strong" Awards during the Hong Kong Wealth Management Summit on January 9, 2025. Alec, Head of HTX Ventures, participated in a roundtable discussion highlighting key investment trends, including yield-generating real-world assets (RWA) such as tokenized private equity and credit, AI-driven automated asset management compliant with SFC frameworks, and compliant stablecoins and payment gateways for cross-border trade. He emphasized the importance of architectural flexibility, sustainable competitiveness, and ecosystem integration in Web3 investments. Molly, Ambassador of HTX DAO, discussed the role of blockchain in RWA ecosystems, emphasizing its value in enabling transparent verification, automated settlements, and trust through smart contracts rather than mere asset tokenization. The award recognizes HTX Ventures' strategic focus on foundational Web3 infrastructure and real-world application integration. With over 11 years of experience and investments in more than 300 projects, HTX Ventures continues to support global blockchain innovation through funding, resources, and partnerships with leading funds and ecosystems.

marsbit01/13 02:19

Honored as the Annual Best Web3 Venture Capital Institution at the 12th "Hong Kong Stocks 100 Strong" Awards, HTX Ventures Deeply Empowers Hong Kong's New Web3 Financial Ecosystem

marsbit01/13 02:19

Crypto Morning Brief: WLFI Launches Lending Market, BitMine Plans to Slow ETH Accumulation

Crypto Briefing: Market Dynamics: Multiple institutions, including Citi and Goldman Sachs, have revised their forecasts, pushing the earliest expected Fed rate cuts to June 2024. Former Fed chairs have voiced support for Chair Powell amid an unprecedented criminal investigation. The new CFTC Chairman has rebranded a committee to focus on digital assets and AI, appointing leaders from Polymarket and Gemini. Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced an "NYC Token" to combat antisemitism, though details are scarce. Dubai has banned privacy coins and tightened stablecoin regulations. South Korea has lifted its ban, now allowing corporations to invest up to 5% of equity in top-20 cryptocurrencies. Key Developments: Trump-affiliated project WLFI (World Liberty Financial) has launched a lending market powered by Dolomite, supporting ETH, USDT, and its own tokens. Standard Chartered plans to establish a crypto custody brokerage service. Custodian BitGo has filed for a US IPO seeking up to $201M. ETH treasury firm BitMine warned it may slow its accumulation of Ethereum if shareholders do not approve a proposal to issue new shares this week.

marsbit01/13 01:19

Crypto Morning Brief: WLFI Launches Lending Market, BitMine Plans to Slow ETH Accumulation

marsbit01/13 01:19

BingX Introduces Silver Copy Trading to BingX TradFi Suite

BingX, a leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 AI company, has expanded its TradFi perpetual futures copy trading suite to include the Silver (SILVER) trading pair. This follows the recent addition of Gold (GOLD), marking the second precious metal now available for copy trading on the platform. The update further diversifies BingX's copy trading ecosystem, integrating traditional financial (TradFi) assets to provide users with more opportunities beyond crypto markets. The platform's TradFi suite is designed to offer seamless access, deep liquidity, and flexible leverage for a unified trading experience. According to Chief Product Officer Vivien Lin, this expansion reflects BingX's commitment to product depth and user choice, aiming to help users capture more market opportunities by leveraging proven trading strategies. Founded in 2018, BingX serves over 40 million users globally with a comprehensive suite of AI-powered trading products.

TheNewsCrypto01/12 15:09

BingX Introduces Silver Copy Trading to BingX TradFi Suite

TheNewsCrypto01/12 15:09

Can X’s new Smart Cashtags bring attention back to crypto?

X (formerly Twitter) has introduced "Smart Cashtags," a feature that integrates live price data and related content into posts mentioning stocks, cryptocurrencies, and on-chain assets. The tool aims to provide real-time financial information directly within users' timelines without requiring them to leave the platform. While pricing for on-chain assets is expected to be nearly real-time—benefiting newer tokens often excluded from standard data feeds—X has not yet confirmed trading capabilities. However, mockups suggest buy and sell prompts may be included. Analysts speculate that X could serve as a discovery layer, with partners like Coinbase and traditional brokers handling trade execution. If implemented, this could transform X from a social platform into a significant gateway for financial activity, potentially reigniting broader interest in crypto markets.

ambcrypto01/12 15:02

Can X’s new Smart Cashtags bring attention back to crypto?