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According to Caixin, as the rotating chair of the BRICS countries, the Reserve Bank of India has officially proposed to promote the establishment of a "BRICS Digital Currency Connectivity" system, aimed at utilizing blockchain technology to create a cross-border settlement network that bypasses the dollar and directly connects the payment systems of BRICS nations.This proposal is not simply about creating a brand new "BRICS currency," but rather a more pragmatic and operational "connectivity platform" or "settlement bridge," likely to be built on a permissioned blockchain (consortium chain). Central banks of each country will act as jointly maintained verification nodes, recording cross-border transactions on a distributed ledger, balancing sovereign control with the transparency and efficiency characteristics of blockchain.

According to Caixin, on February 2, 2026, after a meeting of the Financial Affairs Committee, the President of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Eddie Yue, stated that a total of 36 institutions have submitted applications for stablecoin licenses, including banks, technology companies, brokerages, asset management companies, investment firms, e-commerce, payment institutions, and startup/web3 companies. Among them, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) is highly anticipated as it is one of the three major note-issuing banks in Hong Kong.Additionally, two sources indicated that JD Technology (Hong Kong), which was previously reported to have withdrawn from the competition for the first batch of stablecoin licenses, has not actually withdrawn its application for a stablecoin license. JD Technology (Hong Kong) is also one of the three main experimental entities in the stablecoin testing sandbox.

According to Caixin, from January 29 to 30, within less than 24 hours, the usually safe Tokyo, Japan, and Hong Kong, China, experienced consecutive robberies targeting large amounts of cash in yen, with the amounts involved reaching 420 million yen (approximately 19 million RMB) and 51 million yen (approximately 2.29 million RMB), respectively.About 6 hours after the incidents, the police arrested 3 suspects at Hong Kong International Airport on charges of "robbery" as they were attempting to leave the country. Additionally, 2 staff members at a virtual currency exchange store in Tsim Sha Tsui were arrested, including a 28-year-old local man and a 29-year-old man from mainland China, who are suspected of assisting the robbers in handling part of the stolen money.Preliminary intelligence analysis indicates that the relevant Japanese companies may have been profiting by carrying yen cash to Hong Kong to exchange for Hong Kong dollars, and then purchasing duty-free goods in Hong Kong to take advantage of the tax price differences between the two regions.

The FBI has arrested former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding in Mexico City. The U.S. accuses him of orchestrating a transnational drug trafficking organization and extensively using cryptocurrencies and stablecoins for drug-related transactions and money laundering.FBI Director Kash Patel stated that Wedding will be extradited to the United States, facing multiple charges including cocaine trafficking and murder. Wedding has been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list since 2025, with a reward of up to $15 million. U.S. prosecutors claim that this criminal network, in collaboration with the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico, transported hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and California to the United States and Canada.The U.S. Treasury previously noted that the organization moved funds through multiple blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Solana, and BNB Chain, involving stablecoin payments and exhibiting multi-chain money laundering characteristics. In 2024, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Wedding, his associates, and shell companies, freezing multiple sets of cryptocurrency addresses. Prosecutors also accused him of having directed the murder of informants and orchestrated several violent retaliation actions related to drug trafficking.

According to Caixin, a person familiar with the technology of digital renminbi revealed that the digital renminbi's smart contracts are based on an account system, and they are essentially "condition-triggered automatic execution code," similar to smart contracts on public chains, with the difference being whether they possess complete Turing completeness.The smart contracts of the digital renminbi, based on the account system, are considered restricted Turing complete. Their programming is strictly limited to the template scripts permitted by the central bank, supporting only preset, simple condition-triggered functions. This design is primarily for security and risk control considerations.The development of digital renminbi smart contracts supports multiple programming languages, including Ethereum's Solidity and other fully Turing complete languages, so technically there is no issue. However, the core challenge lies in how to design a standard access and auditing mechanism that can be accepted by the financial system.

Caixin reported in "After Many Twists and Turns, Southeast Asian Gambling Kingpin She Lunkai is Extradited Back to China | Past Events · Future Events" that the only partner of She Lunkai's blockchain project "Asia-Pacific New City" is the Singapore blockchain company BCB Innovation Ltd. The Fincy payment software based on BCB's blockchain is also promoted within Asia-Pacific New City, aiming to create a Southeast Asian version of WeChat. Fincy and BCB share the same parent company and similar shareholders, providing fiat and cryptocurrency exchange transactions, as well as online gaming.Industry insiders point out that by offering exchanges between fiat and cryptocurrency and online games, it effectively introduces many unrelated participants, breaking down large sums of money into smaller amounts, which ultimately converge into a gambling platform disguised as a game, significantly weakening the regulation of the flow of funds.

According to the official page, Binance Alpha has launched CharacterX (CAI).

Binance Alpha will launch CharacterX (CAI), and Alpha trading will start on January 12, 2026, at 16:00 (UTC+8).Users holding at least 252 Binance Alpha points can claim the token airdrop. Claim 40 CAI tokens airdrop on the Alpha event page, first come, first served. If the event has not ended, the score threshold will automatically decrease by 5 points every five minutes.Please note that claiming the airdrop will consume 15 Binance Alpha points. Users must confirm their claim on the Alpha event page within 24 hours, otherwise, it will be considered a forfeiture of the airdrop.

According to official news, the MEXC Meme+ trading zone will launch CAI on January 12, 2026, at 18:00 (UTC+8), and the withdrawal service will be available on January 13, 2026, at 18:00 (UTC+8).

According to official news, Binance Alpha will launch CharacterX (CAI) on January 12. Once trading opens, eligible users can claim airdrops using Binance Alpha Points on the Alpha event page.

According to Caixin, starting from January 1, the balance of digital RMB wallets will begin to accrue interest. It is reported that its smart contracts are different from the "on-chain" smart contracts known for being built on blockchain due to Ethereum. Senior digital RMB experts point out that digital RMB is not built on blockchain, but rather based on a newly designed account system, where the central bank and commercial banks jointly maintain "the same ledger." By loading "smart contracts that do not affect the monetary function," digital RMB achieves programmability, supporting features such as targeted payments and automatic execution.In addition, Caixin also disclosed that only real-name authenticated digital RMB wallets can accrue interest, meaning that Type I, II, and III wallets can earn interest, while Type IV non-real-name wallets do not earn interest (as the ownership of Type IV wallets cannot be confirmed). After January 1, mobile banking apps from participating operating banks, as well as payment platforms like WeChat and Alipay, will gradually gain the authority to open digital RMB wallets.

Caixin reported details of Chen Zhi's assets within China, stating that he holds a 17.78% stake in Xiamen Jueshi Wushen Interactive Technology Co., Ltd., a company primarily engaged in mobile game development. He also holds a 70% stake in Chongqing Qusu Wuxian Equity Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd., which has invested in several interactive entertainment technology companies. Chen Zhi was also the controlling shareholder of Jiangmen Dacheng Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., which operates in the medical device sector, with a shareholding ratio exceeding 56%.In addition, Chen Zhi is the controlling shareholder of two listed companies in Hong Kong, and he has several insurance brokerage firms, securities companies, wealth management companies, and shell companies with unclear business activities. In December 2018, Chen Zhi took control of Zhihua Da, directly serving as the chairman and executive director after acquiring a 54.79% stake, until resigning from all positions in July 2025. In 2023, Chen Zhi took over all shares sold by the original major shareholder of Kun Group, gaining a 55% absolute controlling stake, but did not assume the role of executive director. Currently, these two listed companies have not suspended trading and have stated that the sanctions will not have any significant adverse impact on the group's business operations.

According to Caixin, Hainan Island has officially started its closed operation. Its geographical advantage lies in being backed by the domestic market, which is the second-largest economy in the world, and it surpasses Hong Kong in physical space and area. However, the Hainan Free Trade Port and Hong Kong are complementary; Hong Kong serves more as a global trade center, while Hainan acts as a node and hub for both domestic and international markets. Financially, there will also be functional discrepancies between the two, for example, financial "testing grounds" such as Bitcoin and stablecoins will be placed in Hong Kong rather than Hainan.

Digital RMB will undergo an important scheme upgrade. Starting from January 1, 2026, the balance of digital RMB wallets will officially be included in the interest-bearing mechanism. Without changing the "dual-layer operation structure," the digital RMB issued by bank-operated institutions will be adjusted from off-balance-sheet assets to on-balance-sheet management, and the reserve system will change from the original 100% reserve requirement to a partial reserve; non-bank payment institutions will still need to implement a 100% digital RMB margin system.Reports indicate that banking institutions can pay interest on customers' real-name digital RMB wallet balances and must comply with self-discipline agreements on deposit interest rate pricing. At the same time, they can independently carry out asset-liability management around the digital RMB wallet balances. The relevant balances will be legally included in the deposit insurance protection scope, enjoying the same security protection as deposits. For non-bank payment institutions, the margin property of digital RMB is no different from the existing customer reserve funds.

Caixin published an article titled "The Secrets and Deadly Risks of the U Card Crazy Spending on Xiaohongshu." The article points out that users can use a Visa-branded bank card to pay for ChatGPT Plus subscriptions, with the payment completed through USDT in a cryptocurrency wallet. This type of overseas bank card is commonly referred to as a "U Card," which is a foreign bank card used for payments based on the US dollar stablecoin. The Caixin article notes that there is a special legal risk associated with the issuance and use of U Cards within the country.

Caixin released the "2026 New Year Special Review and Outlook," which pointed out that in 2025, the "Trump Deal" made waves, with gold prices and virtual currencies competing for attention. In March, an executive order was signed to incorporate approximately 210,000 bitcoins held by the federal government into the national strategic reserve. Various transactions based on stablecoins and digital currencies were extensively implemented in 2025, and listed companies transformed into treasury companies specifically hoarding digital currencies, leading to speculation.However, the seizure of $15 billion in bitcoins by the U.S. from the Chen Zhi telecommunications fraud group raised concerns about transaction security, and by the end of the year, bitcoin had fallen from its historical highs. As we move into 2026, when Trump begins preparing for the midterm elections in November, it will be crucial to observe which areas his policies will adjust in response to feedback and how this will affect the performance of various asset classes, becoming a key theme to watch in 2026.

According to Caixin, the China Internet Finance Association disclosed that as of November 30, 2025, a total of 217 supply chain information service institutions have registered basic information with the association. From the banking sector, it is learned that the outstanding scale of accounts receivable certificates issued by relevant institutions is close to 3 trillion yuan. For banks and other financial institutions, how to explore "de-core" financing remains to be breakthrough."De-core" refers to financial institutions reducing their excessive reliance on the credit of core enterprises, using digital technologies such as big data and blockchain, and taking real data such as transaction records, orders, logistics, and cash flows of enterprises as the basis for credit assessment, to provide financing services for small and medium-sized enterprises in the chain.

Caixin published an article titled "Building a Firewall for Virtual Currency to Protect the Public's 'Wallet'", which points out: Recently, speculation and hype around virtual currencies have been on the rise. Establishing a firewall for virtual currencies relies not only on the full cooperation of various departments but also on improving relevant regulations, enhancing regulatory levels, strengthening technical monitoring capabilities in key areas, and protecting normal economic and trade activities.Data shows that in 2024, relevant departments prosecuted 3,032 individuals for money laundering crimes involving the transfer of criminal proceeds using "virtual currencies." Many individuals were drawn into this due to a lack of legal awareness. Scholars have analyzed 283 judgments of money laundering cases using virtual currencies and found that criminal groups heavily utilize marginalized youth from socio-economic backgrounds as tools for crime, with a significant regional concentration and a majority having a junior high or high school education.

Caixin disclosed details of the 60,000 Bitcoin case, which pointed out that Qian Zhimin purchased a total of 194,951 Bitcoins, taking over 70,000 with him on a laptop when fleeing China. The escape route was meticulously planned and involved multiple accomplices. Qian Zhimin's final sentence will be officially announced by the presiding judge at London time in 2025.It is reported that Qian Zhimin's defense lawyer has submitted reasons for a reduced sentence, stating that he has behaved well during detention, qualifying as a "model prisoner," and noted that he suffers from diabetes. The lawyer also emphasized that he pleaded guilty immediately during the hearing, effectively saving judicial resources.

According to Caixin, a core member of a drug trafficking group, Zhang Zhidong (also known as "Zhang Zhihong"), has been arrested and extradited to the United States. He has used multiple aliases, including the most well-known nickname "Brother Wang."Mike Vigil, former head of the International Operations Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), stated that "Brother Wang" was responsible for converting the profits from drug trafficking into cryptocurrency assets. Investigators found approximately 150 companies and 170 bank accounts associated with him, which received about 20 million dollars between 2020 and 2021.