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.

Is It Ethereum? BlackRock CEO Wants ‘One Blockchain’ For Tokenization

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, speaking at the World Economic Forum, advocated for the rapid adoption of tokenization and called for a single common blockchain standard to streamline financial markets, reduce fees, and potentially reduce corruption. While he did not explicitly name a specific blockchain, BlackRock’s existing products and research strongly point to Ethereum as the leading candidate. The firm’s Ethereum-based tokenized fund, BUIDL, and its public-market crypto ETFs—including iShares Ethereum Trust—highlight its strategic alignment with Ethereum. BlackRock’s recent research further suggests Ethereum could serve as the foundational "toll road" for tokenization, noting that over 65% of tokenized assets currently reside on the Ethereum network.

bitcoinist01/22 16:02

Is It Ethereum? BlackRock CEO Wants ‘One Blockchain’ For Tokenization

bitcoinist01/22 16:02

U.S. Spot BTC and ETH ETFs See Nearly $1B in Combined Outflows as Altcoin ETFs Grab Spotlight

U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs experienced significant outflows on January 21, with nearly $1 billion withdrawn collectively. Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of approximately $709 million, led by BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC, while Ethereum funds recorded around $287 million in outflows. In contrast, XRP and Solana ETFs attracted inflows, with $7.16 million and $2.92 million, respectively. This shift marks a notable reversal from earlier January trends, reflecting mixed investor sentiment as altcoin ETFs gain attention amid declining interest in major crypto ETFs.

TheNewsCrypto01/22 14:10

U.S. Spot BTC and ETH ETFs See Nearly $1B in Combined Outflows as Altcoin ETFs Grab Spotlight

TheNewsCrypto01/22 14:10

Justin Sun Invests $8 Million in DeFi Project River as Token Rally Raises Trading Concerns

Justin Sun, founder of TRON, has invested $8 million in the DeFi project River, which focuses on cross-chain stablecoin infrastructure. Following the announcement, the RIVER token surged 24% to an all-time high of $49, despite the broader market rising only 1%. However, analytics firm CoinGlass warns that the price surge appears heavily driven by leveraged trading rather than genuine demand, with futures volume 80 times higher than spot trading. The investment aims to expand River’s protocol within the TRON ecosystem, including stablecoin pools and lending services. Analysts caution that the token’s volatility risk remains high due to its leverage-dependent price action.

TheNewsCrypto01/22 14:09

Justin Sun Invests $8 Million in DeFi Project River as Token Rally Raises Trading Concerns

TheNewsCrypto01/22 14:09

How Did the Idealism of Western Founders Get 'Taken Over' by Chinese Buyers?

Over the course of two days, two major decentralized social protocols, Lens Protocol and Farcaster, were acquired—by Mask Network and Neynar, respectively. Combined, these protocols had raised over $200 million, with Farcaster recently valued at $1 billion. This follows the earlier acquisition of Steem by Tron in 2020, meaning two out of three prominent decentralized social protocols are now been taken over by Chinese-led teams. The author explores why Chinese buyers are stepping in. One reason may be pricing: these acquisitions often target once-prominent projects now in decline. For instance, Farcaster’s monthly revenue has dropped over 95%, and Lens has only 50,000 monthly active users. Another factor is cultural: while Western founders often approach decentralized social with idealism—emphasizing user-owned data and censorship resistance—Chinese acquirers tend to view it as a business opportunity, prioritizing usability and growth over ideology. Suji Yan, founder of Mask Network, explicitly aims to move “decentralized social from the lab to daily life.” However, past acquisitions like Steem—which led to a community fork—highlight risks when new ownership clashes with original values. The piece questions whether true decentralization is possible when protocols can be sold, suggesting that technical decentralization doesn’t prevent centralized commercial control. Ultimately, the piece argues that the vision for a better social infrastructure remains, but the builders and operators may increasingly be pragmatic, commercially-driven teams—many from China.

比推01/22 12:42

How Did the Idealism of Western Founders Get 'Taken Over' by Chinese Buyers?

比推01/22 12:42

L2's 'Card Swipe' Era: When the Scaling Narrative Ends, Payments Become the Lifeline

The article discusses the growing "payment card" trend among Layer-2 (L2) networks as a strategy to survive a severe user activity and transaction crisis. It begins with Solana's criticism of Starknet's low usage (allegedly only 8 daily active users and 10 transactions) despite its high valuation, highlighting a broader issue of low traffic across many L2s, as evidenced by data from L2BEAT and DefiLlama. Key examples include Zero Network, which stopped producing blocks for weeks with minimal impact, and networks like Linea, Starknet, Scroll, and ZKsync exhibiting very low Transactions Per Second (TPS). With Base and Arbitrum dominating 80% of the Total Value Locked (TVL), other L2s face a significant valuation-to-usage disparity. Facing a lack of killer dApps, L2s are turning to cryptocurrency payment cards to generate consistent on-chain activity. Unlike custodial cards from exchanges (which use chains like Tron or Solana for batch settlement), L2s are leveraging non-custodial cards that require on-chain settlement for each transaction. Examples include: - **Scroll**: Partnered with Etherfi for gasless transactions and cashback subsidies. - **Gnosis**: Its Gnosis Pay card converts user assets to stablecoins for euro payments. - **Linea**: Used as a primary settlement layer for the MetaMask card. This shift provides a high-frequency, sustainable use case, driving transaction volume. Even Polygon is pivoting to payments, citing significant non-USD stablecoin transfer volumes and major acquisitions like Coinme. The conclusion is that L2s, after various failed narratives, are now prioritizing practical, low-cost payment solutions to ensure their survival.

marsbit01/22 12:06

L2's 'Card Swipe' Era: When the Scaling Narrative Ends, Payments Become the Lifeline

marsbit01/22 12:06

Bitcoin Took Top Spot In 2025 Crypto Payments, Litecoin Third-Most Used: CoinGate

In its 2025 report, payment processor CoinGate announced Bitcoin reclaimed its position as the most used cryptocurrency for payments on its platform, accounting for 22.10% of all transactions. This dethroned the previous leader, Tether (USDT), which held a 16.60% share. Litecoin secured the third spot with 14.40% of payments, attributed to its fast and cheap transactions. Ethereum and Tron both saw growth in their payment shares. The Bitcoin blockchain, including Lightning Network, was the most used network. The United States was the leading country for transactions. Notably, more merchants chose to settle payments in crypto, with stablecoins being the preferred method. Despite its payment dominance, Bitcoin's price was down over 9% at the time of writing, trading around $88,300.

bitcoinist01/22 11:32

Bitcoin Took Top Spot In 2025 Crypto Payments, Litecoin Third-Most Used: CoinGate

bitcoinist01/22 11:32

SagaEVM Chain Exploit Sees $7M Drained, Funds Moved to Ethereum

On January 21, the SagaEVM chain, part of the Saga Layer-1 ecosystem, was paused following a security exploit. The team identified the attacker’s wallet and confirmed approximately $7 million in assets were stolen, with some funds bridged to Ethereum and converted to ETH or other tokens. The chain was halted at block height 6,593,800 to prevent further unauthorized transfers. The attack involved contract deployments, cross-chain interactions, and rapid liquidity withdrawals. Saga is working with exchanges to blacklist the address and is conducting a forensic investigation. The exploit affected SagaEVM and related EVM environments, but the mainnet and validator security remained uncompromised.

TheNewsCrypto01/22 11:22

SagaEVM Chain Exploit Sees $7M Drained, Funds Moved to Ethereum

TheNewsCrypto01/22 11:22

Spot BTC, ETH ETF outflows deepen, but the market refuses to break

Despite significant outflows from major cryptocurrency ETFs, the market shows resilience. On January 21, Bitcoin ETFs saw $708.7 million in net outflows, led by BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. Ethereum ETFs followed a similar trend with $287.0 million in outflows, primarily from BlackRock’s ETHA. However, altcoins like XRP and Solana bucked the trend with inflows of $7.18 million and $3.0 million, respectively, indicating a potential capital shift toward higher-risk assets. Meanwhile, Grayscale filed for a NEAR spot ETF, signaling continued institutional interest. The data suggests cautious de-risking rather than panic, with the market refusing to break amid geopolitical uncertainty.

ambcrypto01/22 11:02

Spot BTC, ETH ETF outflows deepen, but the market refuses to break

ambcrypto01/22 11:02

Crypto Wallet Receives 6M WLFI, What Does it Translate Into?

A crypto wallet (0x55b9e0) has received 6.27 million WLFI tokens, worth approximately $1.06 million, from BitGo, sparking speculation of a potential price surge. The same wallet also acquired 324.85 ETH, valued at around $980k. The transaction follows key developments announced by Donald Trump Jr., co-founder of World Liberty Financial, regarding the upcoming World Liberty Forum in February 2026. The event aims to focus on American innovation and economic leadership. Meanwhile, the WLFI token has risen 1.41% in 24 hours and 28.61% over the past month, currently trading at $0.1706. Price predictions suggest a potential rise to $0.2572, though a drop to $0.0717 is also possible. The token's market cap stands at approximately $4.56 billion.

TheNewsCrypto01/22 09:18

Crypto Wallet Receives 6M WLFI, What Does it Translate Into?

TheNewsCrypto01/22 09:18

BitGo Raises Over $212 Million in IPO as Investor Interest for Crypto Infrastructure Grows

BitGo, the largest U.S. crypto custody firm, has priced its IPO above expectations at $18 per share, raising approximately $212.8 million. Trading is set to begin on January 22, 2026, on the NYSE under the symbol BTGO. The strong investor demand reflects a growing preference for regulated crypto infrastructure over speculative tokens. BitGo, which safeguards around $104 billion in digital assets, provides custody, wallet, staking, and settlement services to institutional clients. The IPO, led by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, coincides with stabilizing U.S. crypto regulations. BitGo recently received conditional approval for a U.S. banking charter, reducing legal risks and highlighting a market shift toward security and regulation.

TheNewsCrypto01/22 08:37

BitGo Raises Over $212 Million in IPO as Investor Interest for Crypto Infrastructure Grows