The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light to a filing by NYSE Arca to list and trade shares of the Bitwise combined Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) ETF.

An Accelerated Process

The SEC approved the combined ETF on Thursday through an accelerated process. According to an official filing, the Commission specifically finds that the Proposal aligns with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which mandates that the rules of the Exchange be structured to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and, overall, to safeguard investors and the public interest.

Earlier in December 2024, the SEC also approved filings by Nasdaq and the Cboe BZX Exchange to list and trade crypto index ETFs by Hashdex and Franklin Templeton, respectively.

The ETF Race Is On

Meanwhile, numerous other firms have filed to introduce new cryptocurrency products to U.S. regulators, a shift in approach that began during the Trump administration. For example, former SEC Chair Gary Gensler was initially reluctant to approve Bitcoin ETF trading until a court order pushed the matter forward.

Several filings for crypto ETFs were submitted by companies like VanEck and ProShares just before Inauguration Day, aiming to list products that track assets like Litecoin, XRP, and Solana. Elsewhere, Coinbase Derivatives has sought approval to list SOL and Hedera futures, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

On January 29th, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick outlined new legislative priorities for 2025, which included a proposal to create a Texas Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve.

This move positions Texas alongside at least five other U.S. states, such as Arizona and Utah, where lawmakers are working to establish Bitcoin or altcoin reserves. In these states, strategic reserve bills have already made progress in their respective committees.

Growth And Security

In Texas, two public officials have introduced legislation to establish a Bitcoin reserve. The most recent proposal came by State Senator Charles Schwertner on January 16th. Schwertner emphasized that a Texas Bitcoin reserve would position the state at the forefront of the digital economy, driving growth and securing economic freedom for the state.

Previously, Texas Republican State Representative Giovanni Capriglione put forward legislation in the House of Representatives to create a Texas strategic Bitcoin reserve. The bill would allow payments of taxes, fees, and contributions in BTC, which could then be utilized to help fund the reserve.

Progress Is Underway

Bitcoin advocates argue that such strategic reserves modernize traditional financial systems, serve as a hedge against inflation, and reflect progress in the evolving economy. Countries like Chile and the U.S. are reportedly considering establishing their own cryptocurrency reserves.

U.S. President Donald Trump has also campaigned on the idea of creating a national strategic Bitcoin reserve, and Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced the BITCOIN Act to establish a similar reserve.

Cardano (ADA) rolled out its highly-anticipated Plomin upgrade on Wednesday, shortly after its competitor, Ethereum (ETH), launched its Pectra update last week.

With the upgrade now in effect, ADA holders are granted increased governance as they can now vote on key decisions which shape the future of the network, such as treasury proposals and hard forks.

Activating dReps

The Plomin upgrade comes just four months after Cardano introduced the Chang hard fork, which laid the groundwork for the changes implemented on Wednesday. The most notable change introduced is the full activation of Delegate Representatives (dReps), who will now vote on governance matters on behalf of ADA token holders.

Prior to this, the governance was primarily controlled by three founding entities, namely the Cardano Foundation, Input Output Global (IOHK), and Emurgo. Moving forward, the control previously held by these groups will be transferred to new Cardano governance organizations.

Improving Cardano

Before the Plomin upgrade, Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) were required to update their nodes and secure a 51% approval vote for the upgrade. By this week, approximately 85% of the nodes had adopted the new version, allowing the network to proceed with the changes.

Looking ahead, the Cardano community is already focusing on addressing a new set of challenges. In short, the goal is to make Cardano faster, introduce privacy features, and enhance utility for developers, said Giorgio Zinetti, CTO of the Cardano Foundation.

Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of Truth Social, announced plans to expand into financial services with the launch of Truth.Fi.

Diversification Is Key

Truth.Fi is a fintech brand focused on American growth, manufacturing, energy, and the Patriot Economy. The company also intends to diversify its cash holdings, which exceed $700 million, by investing up to $250 million in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Bitcoin (BTC), and other cryptocurrencies.

CEO Devin Nunes described Truth.Fi as the next step in the Truth Social movement. The company aims to offer investment products that prevent issues like censorship, debanking, and privacy violations by Big Tech.

The Trump Card

The Truth.Fi services are expected to launch in 2025, pending regulatory approvals and final agreements. This move comes after the success of $TRUMP, a meme coin backed by the U.S. President himself.

Interestingly, despite $TRUMP dropping to around $28 as of the time of this writing, it still managed to generate billions in on-paper gains for the Trump Organization, with Melania Trump also launching her own meme coin shortly afterwards.

Slime Miner, the first idle RPG built on the Kaia Chain, looks to push the boundaries of traditional gaming by bringing the industry to the forefront of Web3.

A Decentralized Economy

In Slime Miner, players control slimes mining minerals deep within the Earth, featuring over 40 unique resources, customizable drills, and special Hero and Neo Slimes to boost efficiency.

The game includes exploration modes like Time Expedition, Invasion Defense challenges, and competitive DigPrix events, while also offering a decentralized economy where players can mint NFTs, earn $KAIA tokens, and participate in seasonal airdrops.

Community-Focused

Focused on fostering a supportive and active community, Slime Miner allocates tokens to each server for rewards, rotates servers every season to welcome new players, and uses a halving token model to ensure sustainability.

Idle RPGs have long been a popular genre in the gaming world, but many wondered if they can be used to generate real money through gameplay. With its innovative features and engaging mechanics, Slime Miner stands to make a lasting impact on the genre while empowering users to earn passive income.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is set to hold public roundtable discussions on cryptocurrency regulation and market structure.

Enhancing Transparency

Acting Chair Caroline Pham announced the sessions will involve industry leaders, market participants, and public interest groups to discuss topics such as conflicts of interest, prediction markets, and digital assets.

The goal is to enhance transparency and public engagement for all kinds of policymaking processes, with Pham emphasizing the need for a balanced regulatory approach that supports innovation while ensuring economic growth.

Clear Regulatory Framework

Pham, who recently became Acting Chair, is known for advocating a clear regulatory framework for crypto markets. The CFTC mainly covers crypto assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), and derivatives such as crypto futures.

The CFTC is also reviewing Super Bowl sports betting futures and has issued a subpoena to Coinbase for information on Polymarket. These actions reflect how regulations are evolving to effectively manage the crypto space, with the CFTC working alongside the SEC to ensure market stability and innovation.

South Korean prosecutors are preparing to officially establish a dedicated unit to combat cryptocurrency-related crimes. Initially set up as a task force in mid-2023, the role of the unit has become more crucial due to the rise in crypto-related criminal activity.

The government plans to elevate the task force into a full department within the prosecution service by February or March 2025.

A Coordinated Approach

The unit, previously called the Joint Investigation Unit (JIU) for virtual asset crimes, has made significant progress over the past year. It has indicted 41 individuals, arrested 18, and seized various assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), altcoins, and luxury goods, totaling around $97.5 million.

With the increasing number of crypto-related crimes, the South Korean government recognizes the need for a more structured and coordinated approach. The new department will therefore not only include prosecutors but also key regulatory bodies like the Financial Supervisory Service, the Financial Intelligence Unit, and other important government agencies.

Efficiency Is Key

The JIU has already confiscated valuable assets, such as luxury properties and sports cars, in its ongoing battle against crypto fraud. With its workload increasing, the government believes that formalizing the unit will enable a more efficient response to the rising challenges in the local crypto sector.

The Ministry of Justice is also currently gathering public feedback on the revised proposal, with plans to finalize the official launch of the unit by early March 2025. This step is part of a broader strategy to regulate and manage the volatile and often unpredictable cryptocurrency market.

Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler is returning to the classroom, as he recently secured a teaching position at MIT Sloan School of Management.

His tenure at the SEC was marked by over 125 enforcement actions against major crypto firms and the approval of crypto ETFs in 2024.

AI And Finance

Gensler will co-direct the FinTech AI @CSAIL initiative, combining his Wall Street expertise and regulatory experience with cutting-edge tech research. He will also help bring together companies and researchers to explore the intersection of AI and finance.

Gensler had an interesting career as he held prominent positions in Goldman Sachs, the U.S. SEC, and now MIT. These positions placed him at the center of U.S. tech policy during a time of increasing regulatory pressure and global competition.

An Unpopular Decision

Before leading the SEC, Gensler taught blockchain at MIT in 2018 and published research on the financial risks associated with AI. While his academic role may not carry the weight of his SEC position, it will likely still be influential. 

Regardless, Gensler remains a controversial figure, with some in the crypto community expressing displeasure at his new role. Charles Hoskinson asked if he should pay someone to attend every lecture and just smile silently, while Devin Walsh said he was incredibly disappointed to see MIT rehire Gensler, calling the decision a waste of time, energy, and tuition funds.

Despite the recent launch of DeepSeek which triggered a crash in the U.S. stock market, several companies remain leaders in AI innovation and offer strong investment opportunities in 2025.

NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, And IBM
NVIDIA leads AI hardware with its high-performance GPUs. As of January 29th, 2025, its stock is $128.99, up 8.83%. Microsoft is also growing its suite of AI tools through Azure. As of January 29th, its stock is $447.20, up 2.91%.
Elsewhere, Amazon is using AI across services pertaining to e-commerce, logistics, and AWS. As of January 29th, its stock is $238.15, up 1.18%. IBM, meanwhile, is focusing on utilizing AI in business applications through its Watson platform. As of January 29th, its stock is $225.66, up 0.69%.

Tesla, Intel, Apple, And Oracle
As far as Tesla is concerned, its main AI focus is on autonomous driving. As of January 29th, its stock is $398.09, up 0.22%, maintaining its EV market edge. Intel is also expanding its AI services by implementing the technology in acquisitions and hardware. As of January 29th, its stock is $19.80, down 2.49%.
Unsurprisingly, Apple is also integrating AI into its ecosystem, boosting features like Siri. As of January 29th, its stock is $238.26, up 3.65%. Finally, Oracle is utilizing AI for its cloud and enterprise services. As of January 29th, its stock is $164.00, up 3.62%.

The market capitalization of AI agents has seen a dramatic decline of more than $2.5 billion in the past 24 hours, falling to just over $10.2 billion.

This sharp downturn coincides with the rise of DeepSeek, a Chinese LLM model that is gaining popularity due to its significantly lower costs and superior performance benchmarks compared to OpenAI, Google, and Meta models.

Market Reacts

DeepSeek charges only 14 cents per million input tokens, a stark contrast to GPT-4, which costs $15 per million input tokens. This pricing gap has prompted a re-evaluation of AI investments, impacting both cryptocurrency assets and technology stocks.

Notable AI agents have experienced significant losses, with AIXBT dropping 18.5%, AI16Z falling 24%, VIRTUAL slipping 14%, and GRIFFAIN seeing a 25% decrease in the past 24 hours. Fartcoin experienced the largest drop, plummeting by 31%, according to CoinGecko.

The wider AI crypto token market has also shown signs of weakness, with Near Protocol falling 10%, Internet Computer down 7%, Render dropping 14%, and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance down by 10%.

Meanwhile, NASDAQ dropped 3.6% on Monday, and Nvidia saw its stock plunge by nearly 20%, falling to $118 by mid-morning.

U.S Vs China

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would lead the world in AI and crypto, with a $500 billion investment into Project Stargate to support OpenAI and reinforce American AI supremacy.

However, given the rise of DeepSeek, with its lower resource requirements and relatively better performance, suggests that even large-scale U.S. investments might struggle to stave off further disruption. DeepSeek has also already surpassed ChatGPT as the top app on the App Store and overtaken OpenAI in U.S. Google search interest over the past week.

Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, appointed as Chair by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, unveiled the eight members of the Digital Assets Subcommittee on Monday during the mid-New York session.

Key Members

The Digital Assets Subcommittee members include Senators Thom Tillis (North Carolina), Bill Hagerty (Tennessee), Dave McCormick (Pennsylvania), Bernie Moreno (Ohio), Ruben Gallego (Arizona), Tina Smith (Minnesota), Mark Warner (Virginia), and Chris Van Hollen (Maryland).

This bipartisan group marks a milestone for the U.S. government in terms of their growing focus on effectively regulating digital assets and incorporating them into the broader financial ecosystem.

Biden To Trump
This development comes at a time of significant policy changes in the crypto sector. The administration under former President Biden introduced strict measures, including the controversial SAB 121 regulation and multiple lawsuits aimed at crypto companies.

However, shifts under President Donald Trump, who was inaugurated last week, suggest a new approach. An executive order by the Trump administration calls for comprehensive regulatory frameworks and outlines plans for establishing a national Bitcoin reserve.

DraftKings has reached a settlement agreement with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) over accusations that the company failed to pay for using NFL player likenesses in NFTs.

This settlement comes just days before the annual NFL Super Bowl, scheduled for February 9th, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Final Approval Still Pending

In a joint letter sent on January 27th to New York federal Judge Analisa Torres, both DraftKings and the NFLPA confirmed that they had mediated the lawsuit and agreed to a settlement in principle, pending the completion of a final settlement agreement.

The parties requested a 60-day stay of the case, which would extend the deadline to finalize the settlement until March 28th. Specific details of the settlement were not disclosed. Judge Torres, who handled the SEC lawsuit against Ripple, will need to approve the final agreement.

Back And Forth

In 2021, DraftKings teamed up with the NFLPA to create collectible NFTs of NFL players, which could be traded in a fantasy sports game called Reignmakers. However, DraftKings shut down its NFT marketplace in July 2023 and stopped paying the NFLPA, allowing the platform to terminate the contract.

In response, the NFLPA filed a lawsuit against DraftKings in August, seeking approximately $65 million in damages, based on the figures revealed during the case, although the final amount requested was redacted. The NFLPA also accused DraftKings of threatening to stop offering NFTs in 2023, although the two sides later renegotiated the contract.