On Wednesday, Lighter said users must stake LIT to deposit into its Lighter Liquidity Pool, with a 1:10 ratio allowing 1 LIT to unlock up to 10 USDC. The change takes effect immediately for new participants, while existing depositors have a two‑week grace period ending Jan. 28; fee waivers kick in at 100 LIT staked.

Ripple President Monica Long said in a Tuesday Bloomberg interview that the company intends to stay private, arguing its strong finances remove the need for an IPO. Ripple raised $500 million at a $40 billion valuation in November 2025 and spent nearly $4 billion on four acquisitions in 2025 to expand payments, treasury and custody services.

On Monday, decentralized perpetuals exchange Lighter saw its native LIT token climb 13.9% in 24 hours to roughly $3.04, as onchain activity pointed to a possible token buyback. The protocol highlighted that fees and buybacks can be monitored via its treasury account, while treasury data showed a higher LIT balance but no formal confirmation of an active repurchase program.

Caroline Ellison, former Alameda Research co‑CEO, is slated to leave federal custody on Jan. 21, 2026. She was sentenced in September 2024, began a two‑year term in November 2024, and moved to community confinement in October 2025. Earlier this month she accepted a 10‑year ban from serving as an officer or director of public companies or crypto exchanges.

Uniswap governance approved the "UNIfication" plan with 99.9% support on Thursday, Hayden Adams said on X. The proposal redirects part of trading fees from liquidity providers to the protocol to fund ongoing UNI burns, with an initial 100 million to be retired after a two-day timelock. UNI was $5.92 at 10:10 p.m. Thursday, up 18.9% in the past week.

On Monday, Ethereum treasury firm BitMine, led by Tom Lee, added about $88 million in ETH to its holdings, according to onchain data. The NYSE-listed company now reports owning 4,066,062 ETH acquired at an average price of $2,991 per token, valuing its treasury at roughly $12 billion. BitMine's strategy focuses on accumulating 5% of Ethereum's circulating supply while its BMNR stock and ETH price both declined that same day.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Terraform Labs' court-appointed plan administrator Todd Snyder has sued Jump Trading, co-founder William DiSomma, and former president Kanav Kariya, seeking $4 billion in damages. Snyder alleges Jump profited through a clandestine arrangement tied to TerraUSD, while a Jump spokesperson called the case a "desperate attempt" and vowed a vigorous defense.

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to interview Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Wednesday as one of five candidates to succeed Jerome Powell as Fed Chair. Waller, known for his supportive views on stablecoins and DeFi, currently has a 15% chance of being nominated on Polymarket, compared with higher odds for Kevin Hassett and Kevin Warsh. Some market observers expect that a new Fed Chair more inclined toward rate cuts could become a constructive signal for the crypto market.

On Monday, Ark Invest led by Cathie Wood increased positions in BitMine, Coinbase, Circle, Block, Bullish and its Ark-21Shares Bitcoin ETF, according to its trade filing. Purchases included $17 million in BitMine, $16.26 million in Coinbase and $10.8 million in Circle across ARKK, ARKW and ARKF, as all six holdings finished the day lower.