Morning News | X revokes API access for reward posting applications; State Street launches digital asset platform; Ripple invests $150 million in LMAX
January 15 Market Important Events Overview整理：ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Senate Banking Committee Cancels Market Structure Adjustment Meeting Due to Coinbase Controversy
- Infinex: Public Offering Subscription Amount Exceeds $7.2 Million, TGE Scheduled for January 30
- Thunderbolt Sues Former CEO Chen Lei, Accusing Him of Misappropriating Company Funds for Illegal Cryptocurrency Trading
- X Revokes API Access for Reward Posting Apps, KAITO Drops Over 15% Temporarily
- Ripple Invests $150 Million in LMAX, Promoting RLUSD Stablecoin for Institutional Market Settlement Applications
- State Street Launches Digital Asset Platform, Enters Tokenized Deposits and Stablecoin Market
- CoinGecko Co-founder Responds to Sale Rumors: Business Operations as Usual, Regularly Evaluating Strategic Opportunities
What Important Events Happened in the Last 24 Hours?
State Street Launches Digital Asset Platform, Enters Tokenized Deposits and Stablecoin Market
According to ChainCatcher, Bloomberg reports that global custodian giant State Street has announced the launch of a digital asset platform, intending to introduce tokenized money market funds, ETFs, stablecoins, and deposit products.
This plan will be advanced in collaboration with its asset management department and partner institutions, marking its shift from backend services to direct participation in asset issuance. Previously, State Street partnered with Galaxy Digital to issue tokenized funds and is considering providing crypto custody services in the future.
Tom Lee: Vitalik and Sam Altman to Attend BitMine Shareholders Meeting
ChainCatcher reports that BitMine Chairman Tom Lee stated in an interview with 3PROTV that Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are expected to attend today's (January 15) annual shareholders meeting. The meeting will vote on the proposal to increase the authorized shares from 500 million to 50 billion.
Tom Lee emphasized that if the proposal is not approved, the company will not be able to issue new shares to purchase more Ethereum or make acquisitions. Regarding dilution concerns, he stated that the company has never issued shares below net asset value. Additionally, BitMine will present its development roadmap for 2026, including growth sources beyond staking yields, and reveal potential acquisitions of other crypto treasury companies in the future.
X Revokes API Access for Reward Posting Apps, KAITO Drops Over 15% Temporarily
ChainCatcher reports that Nikita Bier, head of X products and Solana ecosystem advisor, stated: "We are revising the developer API policy: applications that reward users for posting on X (the so-called InfoFi) will no longer be allowed. This mechanism has caused a lot of low-quality AI content and reply spam on the platform.
We have revoked the API access for these applications, so your X experience will soon start to improve (once the bots realize that posting no longer earns money).
If your developer account is terminated as a result, please contact us proactively, and we will assist you in migrating your business to Threads and Bluesky."
As a result of this news, KAITO dropped over 15% temporarily.
MilkyWay Protocol Announces Gradual Shutdown and Permanent Closure
ChainCatcher reports that MilkyWay Protocol has announced that it is gradually shutting down operations and will permanently close. MilkyWay stated that the demand and adoption of decentralized finance did not meet expectations, and WayCard was launched too late to alleviate financial pressure.
MilkyWay's revenue mainly comes from liquidity staking fees, of which the protocol retains 10%. As part of the shutdown process, the earned protocol fees will be returned to MILK token holders by proportionally distributing USDC to eligible snapshot holders.
First Financial: The Tax Reassessment Period for Overseas Income Can Be Backdated to 2017 at Earliest
ChainCatcher reports that the tax reassessment period for overseas income of tax residents in mainland China has been extended, with the earliest backdating to 2020 or even 2017. Since 2025, many tax residents have received prompts and notifications from tax authorities, requiring them to self-check their domestic and foreign income and timely file tax returns, with the reassessment scope mainly covering the past three years, focusing on 2022 and 2023.
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Drop to 198,000, Below Expectations
ChainCatcher reports that according to Jin10, the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending January 10 was 198,000, below the market expectation of 215,000, with the previous value revised from 208,000 to 207,000.
Ripple Invests $150 Million in LMAX, Promoting RLUSD Stablecoin for Institutional Market Settlement Applications
ChainCatcher reports that according to market news, Ripple and LMAX Group announced a multi-year strategic partnership, with Ripple providing $150 million in financing to support the widespread use of the RLUSD stablecoin as collateral and settlement assets in LMAX's global institutional trading system.
RLUSD will support crypto, perpetual contracts, CFDs, and some fiat currency cross products, aiming to enhance cross-asset margin efficiency and achieve 24/7 on-chain settlement. The partnership also includes RLUSD custody through LMAX Custody's isolated wallets and integration with Ripple Prime to expand institutional liquidity and reduce market fragmentation.
ChainCatcher reports that according to The Paper, Thunderbolt has filed a lawsuit against former CEO Chen Lei and his core team, accusing them of harming the company's interests, with a claim amount of 200 million yuan. The case has been accepted by the relevant court in Shenzhen. Chen Lei recruited his hometown friends and acquaintances through Thunderbolt's former senior vice president Dong Xue, placing them in key positions within the company, and used illegal means such as fabricating transaction links and drafting false contracts to siphon off company funds, involving a significant amount.
The new management has already cleaned up and adjusted Thunderbolt's related business and personnel. Additionally, Chen Lei is also suspected of misappropriating tens of millions of company funds for illegal cryptocurrency trading, which is explicitly prohibited by the state.
Chen Lei joined Thunderbolt as Chief Technology Officer in 2014 and was promoted to CEO in 2017. In 2020, Thunderbolt dismissed him on suspicion of embezzlement. Subsequently, the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau initiated an investigation into Chen Lei and others suspected of embezzlement. To evade investigation, Chen Lei and former Thunderbolt senior vice president Dong Xue have left the country.
Infinex: Public Offering Subscription Amount Exceeds $7.2 Million, TGE Scheduled for January 30
ChainCatcher reports that Infinex announced on the X platform that the public offering has ended, with 868 participants raising a total of 7.214 million USDC, allocating about 5 million dollars (5% of INX supply) and refunding about 2.21 million dollars. After identifying and removing about 1.2 million dollars from witch addresses, the maximum allocation per participant is 245,000 dollars, with 99.5% of participants receiving full allocation. Refunds have been issued to users' Infinex accounts.
Additionally, the TGE will take place on January 30.
Kashkari: Tension Between Federal Reserve Responsibilities and Inflation Targets
ChainCatcher reports that Federal Reserve official Kashkari stated that there is tension between the Federal Reserve's responsibilities and inflation targets.
He Yi Responds to Solana and Starknet Activity Controversy: We Are All Friends, Let's Keep the Peace
ChainCatcher reports that in response to Solana's mockery of Starknet's "only 8 daily active users and only 10 daily transactions," and Starknet's subsequent response "Who told Solana this little brother's data?", He Yi posted on social media, stating: "Take a deep breath and relax, we are all friends, let's keep the peace."
He Yi also added "peanuts, sunflower seeds, mineral water," calling for the public to view the related discussions with a more relaxed mindset to avoid excessive controversy arising from on-chain data comparisons.
Sui Network Resumes Normal Operations This Morning
ChainCatcher reports that Sui's official Twitter announced at 5:24 AM today that the network has resumed normal operations and is fully operational, with transactions flowing normally. If users still encounter issues, please refresh the application or browser page. A complete event review will be released in the coming days.
ChainCatcher previously reported that the Sui mainnet experienced a network failure, and the Sui core team is actively seeking solutions. Currently, decentralized applications (dApps) such as Slush or SuiScan may be unavailable, and transaction speeds may be slow or temporarily unable to process.
ChainCatcher reports that CoinGecko co-founder responded to market rumors about "considering selling CoinGecko for an estimated $500 million," stating that they have been operating CoinGecko for nearly 12 years and, like any growing and profitable company, will regularly evaluate strategic opportunities to strengthen the business and accelerate the mission.
CoinGecko is currently in a favorable position—business growth, strong profitability, and increasing institutional demand. CoinGecko's business operations are running as usual, with no changes to the way they work or deliver data.
Senate Banking Committee Cancels Market Structure Adjustment Meeting Due to Coinbase Controversy
ChainCatcher reports that according to Eleanor Terrett, the Senate Banking Committee has announced the cancellation of the market structure adjustment meeting originally scheduled for tomorrow due to the controversy with Coinbase that occurred today. A new meeting date has not yet been determined.
Robinhood CEO: The U.S. Should Take a Leadership Role in Crypto Policy and Support the Market Structure Bill
ChainCatcher reports that Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev stated on the X platform that staking is one of the most demanded features on the Robinhood App, but due to the current deadlock, customers in four states are still unable to use it.
Stock tokens have been opened to EU customers but have not yet launched in the U.S. The U.S. should take a leadership role in crypto policy by protecting consumers and unleashing innovation for everyone through legislation. He supports efforts to pass the market structure bill in the U.S. Congress, stating that while there is still work to be done, a path has been seen, and he will assist BankingGOP and SenateBanking in pushing the bill through.
Meme Hot List
According to the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of January 16, 09:00,
The top five hot tokens on ETH in the past 24 hours are: SHIB, LINK, PEPE, UNI, ONDO
The top five hot tokens on Solana in the past 24 hours are: TRUMP, PENGU, Fartcoin, FO, ME
The top five hot tokens on Base in the past 24 hours are: PEPE, MINKY, BASED, BSC, SKYA
What Interesting Articles Are Worth Reading in the Last 24 Hours?
Personal Account: Three Years as a Crypto VC, Losing Tens of Millions in Blood and Tears Lessons
From joining Crypto VC in August 2022 to leaving in July 2025, I personally handled 55 direct investments + invested in 9 funds.
Rug accounted for 14/55 (25.45%): the disaster area is NFT projects, all went to zero, one "star project" backed by a big IP had a booming early NFT but the team had shallow Web3 experience, the founder showed little interest in issuing tokens, and after core members left, it soft rug; another "music + Web3" project, after leaving a giant, did the project for years, but nothing landed, quietly went cold. There was also a Dex project's "executive entrepreneurship dream": the founder made the team work under the table while pocketing the money, and core employees ran away; a "potential stock" from a university lab basically all failed.
Solana Publicly Mocks Starknet's Market Value, Citing Old Data and Facing Doubts
Last night, Solana's official X account posted, "Starknet currently has only 8 daily active users and only 10 daily transactions, yet its market value still reaches $1 billion, with a fully diluted market value (FDV) as high as $15 billion."
This tweet quickly sparked heated discussions in the market, attracting responses from industry figures including Bubblemaps, MegaETH, and Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen. Many users began to question: "With 8 daily active users, 10 transactions, and a $1 billion market value, how does Starknet explain this?"
Hiring with a $200,000 Annual Salary, Wall Street Enters the Prediction Market
It has finally arrived, the prediction market once built by political supporters, speculative retail investors, and opportunists is now welcoming a group of silent yet deadly new players.
According to the Financial Times, several well-known trading firms, including DRW, Susquehanna, and Tyr Capital, are forming dedicated prediction market trading teams.
DRW released a job advertisement last week, offering a base annual salary of up to $200,000 for traders who can "monitor and trade active markets in real-time" on platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi.
A Crypto Market Structure Bill That Offends Everyone
On January 15, Beijing time, crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that due to Coinbase's public opposition, the Senate Banking Committee's internal review of the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" scheduled for this Thursday in the U.S. has been canceled, and no subsequent schedule has been announced.
This Thursday was originally the day for internal reviews by both the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee, the latter of which was postponed to the end of the month due to bipartisan disagreements, while the former was just revealed to be postponed with an undetermined subsequent schedule.
Risk warning
Risk warning
