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

marsbitОпубліковано о 2026-01-16Востаннє оновлено о 2026-01-16

Анотація

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

Recommended Reading

"Wankeyun" Godfather Flees Overseas: The $200 Million Corruption Mystery of Former Xunlei CEO Chen Lei

This article tells the career story of former Xunlei CEO Chen Lei, from his peak as a technological idealist to his fall due to alleged corruption and misappropriation. The article reviews Chen Lei's journey from joining Xunlei, promoting shared computing and blockchain technology innovation, the success and crisis of the Wankeyun project, and ultimately his removal from office and exile overseas due to allegations of misusing company funds, internal and external conflicts, and legal disputes.

Hiring at $200K Salaries: Wall Street Marches into Prediction Markets

This article focuses on Wall Street's entry into prediction markets, with traditional retail-dominated markets gradually being taken over by institutions. Major companies like DRW, Susquehanna, and Tyr Capital are recruiting highly paid traders focused on cross-platform arbitrage and structural market opportunities. Prediction markets are increasingly becoming a new tool for hedge funds to manage investment risk, but opportunities for retail traders to arbitrage based on information asymmetry will be significantly reduced.

a16z: Two Suggestions for Crypto Industry Builders in 2026

This article discusses the current state and future direction of the crypto industry, suggesting that entrepreneurs should focus on product innovation rather than short-term market fit, and emphasizing the importance of regulation for the healthy development of the industry.

Delphi Digital: Crypto is Building the Foundation of Global Finance, 10 Predictions for 2026

This article explores how the crypto industry is rapidly developing and gradually becoming a key component of global financial infrastructure. It presents ten key predictions for the crypto industry in 2026, including the transformation of decentralized exchanges, the rise of the AI agent economy, the upgrade of prediction markets, changes in stablecoin yield distribution, innovations in unsecured lending in decentralized finance, the potential of on-chain forex, the performance of gold versus Bitcoin, the transformation of exchanges into "super apps," the growing demand for privacy infrastructure, and the divergence trend in the altcoin market.

Arthur Hayes: Bitcoin Trapped in 'Dollar Liquidity Anxiety', What is its Fate in an Easing Cycle?

This article analyzes the relationship between Bitcoin, gold, the Nasdaq index, and US dollar liquidity, explores potential future market trends, and discusses the impact of policy directions in the artificial intelligence (AI) field by the US and China on the economy and markets.

Пов'язані питання

QWhat action did X take regarding 'reward posting applications' and why?

AX revoked API access for 'reward posting applications' because they were causing a proliferation of low-quality AI-generated content and reply spam on the platform.

QWhich three cryptocurrencies will CME Group launch futures for on February 9th?

ACME Group will launch futures for Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM).

QWhat was the reason given by MilkyWay Protocol for its permanent shutdown?

AMilkyWay Protocol is shutting down due to decentralized finance demand not growing as expected, a short-lived restaking market, the interruption of its real-world asset tokenization plans, and insufficient funding.

QHow much did Bitmine invest in MrBeast's Beast Industries and when is the deal expected to close?

ABitmine invested $200 million in MrBeast's Beast Industries, and the deal is expected to close around January 19th.

QWhat new feature did Interactive Brokers introduce for its users regarding USDC?

AInteractive Brokers introduced 24/7 account funding using Circle's USDC stablecoin, allowing traders to send funds at any time via the Ethereum, Solana, or Base networks.

Пов'язані матеріали

Near Returns to the AI Stage: Transformation into a Public Chain Due to 'Payroll Difficulties,' Agent and Privacy Emerge as New Growth Narratives

NEAR Returns to AI Origins: From Payroll Struggles to Blockchain, Now Focusing on AI Agents and Privacy NEAR Protocol's journey began not with grand blockchain ambitions, but from a practical hurdle: its AI startup founders, including Transformer paper co-author Illia Polosukhin, couldn't efficiently pay international developers in 2017. This led them to pivot and build a high-performance, scalable blockchain. After years navigating various crypto narratives like sharding and cross-chain interoperability, NEAR is now leveraging its AI roots to re-enter the AI arena. A key driver is its "NEAR Intents" layer, which abstracts complex cross-chain transactions. Users simply state their goal (e.g., swap BTC for ETH), and a solver network finds the optimal route. This system has processed over $20B in cross-chain volume, generating significant fee revenue. A major growth area is private transactions via "Confidential Intents/Swaps," which hide trade details until settlement to protect against MEV and front-running. Remarkably, private swaps recently accounted for over 40% of NEAR's transaction volume, highlighting strong demand but also potential regulatory scrutiny. With its AI-founder pedigree, NEAR is positioning itself at the intersection of blockchain, AI agents, and privacy, aiming to become infrastructure for the emerging agent economy while navigating the challenges of its rapid adoption.

marsbit2 год тому

Near Returns to the AI Stage: Transformation into a Public Chain Due to 'Payroll Difficulties,' Agent and Privacy Emerge as New Growth Narratives

marsbit2 год тому

From Ethereum to AI's 'CROPS': What Exactly is This Set of 'Slow Variables' That Vitalik Repeatedly Emphasizes?

In recent discussions, Vitalik Buterin has frequently emphasized the concept of "CROPS," a framework defining core values for Ethereum's development. CROPS stands for Censorship Resistance, Capture Resistance, Open Source, Privacy, and Security. Initially outlined in the Ethereum Foundation's "EF Mandate," it represents a commitment to user sovereignty, ensuring that the network resists external control, remains open, protects privacy, and prioritizes security. The relevance of CROPS extends beyond Ethereum's foundational principles, becoming crucial in the context of AI integration. As AI agents begin handling wallet operations and automated transactions, the risk increases that users may cede control over their digital assets, privacy, and intentions to centralized AI service providers. A "CROPS AI" would therefore emphasize local execution where possible, privacy-preserving remote model calls (e.g., using zero-knowledge proofs), and transparent, verifiable processes to maintain user agency. Vitalik highlights a significant convergence between "CROPS Ethereum access layer" and "CROPS AI." Both address the same fundamental challenge: how users can access powerful services—be it blockchain data via RPCs or AI models—without exposing sensitive information or relinquishing ultimate control. This intersection points toward a future digital entry point that is more private, secure, and user-controlled. Ultimately, CROPS is not merely an abstract ideal but a practical guidepost. It steers development—from protocol resilience and wallet design to AI agent safety—towards a future where users retain self-sovereignty even as digital systems grow more complex and powerful. In an era of accelerating AI adoption, these "slow variables" of censorship resistance, openness, privacy, and security may define Ethereum's enduring value.

marsbit2 год тому

From Ethereum to AI's 'CROPS': What Exactly is This Set of 'Slow Variables' That Vitalik Repeatedly Emphasizes?

marsbit2 год тому

Zcash Bug Could Have Minted Unlimited ZEC Undetected

A critical vulnerability in Zcash's Orchard shielded pool, discovered by researcher Taylor Hornby on May 29, 2026, could have allowed an attacker to create an unlimited amount of undetectable counterfeit ZEC. The flaw, involving an under-constrained element in the Orchard circuit, existed from the pool's 2022 activation until an emergency fix was deployed by June 2, 2026. Hornby identified the bug using AI-assisted auditing tools and confirmed its exploitability in a test environment. Due to Orchard's privacy features, which hide transaction amounts and history, there is no cryptographic way to prove whether the vulnerability was exploited before the fix. While Shielded Labs assesses prior exploitation as unlikely, this uncertainty has sparked a debate on proving supply integrity in privacy-preserving systems. In response, Shielded Labs and other developers are exploring a network upgrade, potentially involving a new shielded pool and formal verification of the circuit rules to prevent future vulnerabilities and allow verification of the ZEC supply's integrity. ZEC's price fell nearly 45% following the disclosure.

bitcoinist2 год тому

Zcash Bug Could Have Minted Unlimited ZEC Undetected

bitcoinist2 год тому

Silicon Valley 'Startup Guru' Steve Hoffman: Web3 + AI Could Be a Trap

Silicon Valley investor and "Godfather of Startups" Steve Hoffman warns that combining Web3 with AI is likely a trap, not a promising venture. In an interview, Hoffman argues that while AI is a foundational technology touching all industries, Web3 adds complexity, friction, and regulatory risk without solving mainstream consumer or business needs. He advises founders to focus on deep, specialized applications where startups can out-iterate giants, rather than on generic features easily replicated by large tech companies. Hoffman observes that Silicon Valley will lead foundational AI research, while China excels at rapid, large-scale application and commercialization, particularly in robotics. He stresses that AI-driven autonomous agents capable of collaborative, multi-step tasks are 2-4 years away, which will cause significant job displacement. The solution is not to slow AI but to redesign business models around human-AI collaboration and reform social systems like education and retraining. For startups, Hoffman recommends focusing on vertical, expertise-heavy domains to build defensibility. He sees major opportunities in AI fraud detection and cybersecurity. Key founder mindsets include systemic thinking over feature-focus, relentless customer centricity, building adaptive teams, and deeply understanding AI's capabilities and limits. Hoffman is also leading a non-profit initiative to establish university centers aimed at training future leaders in responsible, human-value-aligned AI innovation.

marsbit3 год тому

Silicon Valley 'Startup Guru' Steve Hoffman: Web3 + AI Could Be a Trap

marsbit3 год тому

Token Inefficient, Economy Tokenless

The article "Tokens Aren't Economical, Economics Aren't Tokenized" analyzes a pivotal shift in the AI industry from a technology-driven narrative to one dominated by capital efficiency. It highlights two concurrent trends: a severe capital shortage due to the exorbitant and recurring costs of compute (e.g., OpenAI's high burn rate) and a wave of corporate spin-offs where major tech companies are separating their AI units (like Kuaishou's Kling and Baidu's Kunlunxin). The core argument is that AI's "anti-internet" business model, where user growth increases costs rather than profits, has created a disconnect between high valuations and actual cash flow. Spin-offs address this by allowing AI assets to be valued independently. Within a parent company, they are seen as cost centers, but as standalone entities, they are priced based on their growth potential and scarcity in the primary market, leading to massive valuation premiums (e.g., Kling's estimated value tripling post-spin-off). The industry is at an inflection point, moving from "model worship" to "value realization." The competition is evolving from a pure compute (GPU) race to a broader focus on systemic efficiency and full-stack engineering (involving CPUs and orchestration) to achieve viable commercialization. The year 2026 is framed as a critical moment where the industry must definitively answer how to economically translate AI capability into tangible business value, reshaping the sector's future power structure.

marsbit3 год тому

Token Inefficient, Economy Tokenless

marsbit3 год тому

Торгівля

Спот
Ф'ючерси
活动图片