Hong Kong licensed virtual asset trading platform EX.IO has announced that it has been officially approved by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to conduct virtual asset over-the-counter trading services under the existing virtual asset trading platform license framework. The over-the-counter trading service has now been officially launched and is open to eligible investors. The initially supported currencies include cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USDT, USDC, USDTTRC20, as well as fiat currencies such as US dollars and Hong Kong dollars.

according to Paul Griggs, CEO and Senior Partner of PwC, PwC has decided to embrace cryptocurrency after years of caution, as the regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies in the US became more favorable during the Trump administration.

Griggs stated in an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday that new leadership at regulatory agencies such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as new laws like the GENIUS Act, were key factors prompting PwC's change in attitude.

He said: "I expect the GENIUS Act and the regulatory framework around stablecoins to enhance confidence in the product and this asset class." He also added: "Tokenization will inevitably continue to develop. PwC must be involved in this ecosystem."

 "We continue to be optimistic about gold and have raised the target price for March, June, and September 2026 from $4,500 per ounce to $5,000 per ounce." The latest view from UBS Wealth Management Investment Office points out that gold prices recently hit a historic high, mainly driven by a weaker US dollar, escalating geopolitical tensions, ongoing institutional uncertainty, and seasonal liquidity tightness. Central banks in multiple countries continue to increase their gold holdings, ETF investment inflows have increased, and strong demand for physical gold bars and coins provide solid support for rising gold prices. Looking ahead to 2026, UBS expects that as market concerns about US fiscal sustainability deepen, central banks and investors may continue to favor physical assets like gold that have no counterparty risk, with gold demand expected to maintain steady growth. Investment enthusiasm for gold ETFs is also expected to remain high. However, with current gold prices already high, if the Federal Reserve unexpectedly shifts to a hawkish stance or if ETFs experience large-scale redemptions, gold prices may face downward pressure. UBS reminds that historical experience shows gold prices may enter a consolidation phase after US elections, with a slight decline expected to $4,800 per ounce by the end of 2026 (after the US midterm elections). If political or financial risks further increase, gold prices could surge to $5,400 (previously $4,900). Gold remains a highly attractive asset and an important risk hedge in investment portfolios.

according to analyst @eyeonchains, a BTC OG insider whale transferred 34,244 ETH (approximately 102.82 million USD) from Coinbase to their Binance deposit account in the past 5 days. The analyst believes this move indicates that they may currently hold leveraged trading positions on Binance.

Previously, it was reported that the BTC OG insider whale account's total unrealized profit expanded to 17 million USD. Their main holding is a long position in ETH, which has turned profitable with an unrealized gain of 11.95 million USD (9%), an average price of 3147 USD, and a position size of about 650 million USD. They also hold long positions in BTC and SOL, both with unrealized profits. The current total account position size is about 815 million USD, ranking first on Hyperliquid’s ETH, BTC, and SOL long leaderboard.

 the market expects Trump to announce his nominee for the Federal Reserve Chair sometime this month. Data on Polymarket shows that Hassett and Warsh have an equal probability of being nominated, both at 39%. (Warsh has risen by 8%, Hassett has dropped by 3%.)

January 5 news. Hours after the "Maduro arrest," Musk posted a dinner photo with Trump on the X platform, showing that the previously tense relationship between US President Trump and himself now seems to have been repaired. In the photo, Musk is dining closely with Trump and First Lady Melania at Mar-a-Lago, and he captioned it: "2026 will be spectacular!"

It is worth noting that just hours before this dinner, the US took military action against Venezuela. Musk's American aerospace company SpaceX's satellite internet project "Starlink" announced on January 3 that it would provide free broadband service to Venezuela for one month, ending on February 3. This statement highly coincides with the time of the meeting between Trump and Musk at Mar-a-Lago on the same day, but "Starlink" did not disclose specific reasons.

According to the internet monitoring agency Netblocks, some areas of Caracas experienced network outages during the US military operation, suspected to be related to abnormal power supply, while the country's overall network connection remained basically normal.

 data shows $118 million liquidated across the entire network in the past 4 hours, including $20.34 million long liquidations and $97.81 million short liquidations, mainly short liquidations. Among them, ETH liquidations totaled $30.69 million, and BTC liquidations totaled $50.71 million.

 analysts stated that on Sunday night, the price of Bitcoin broke above $93,000, with Ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies rising simultaneously, becoming part of a broader "comprehensive rally."

According to market data, as of 10:00 PM Eastern Time on Sunday, Bitcoin was priced at $93,113, up 2.1% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum rose 1.7% to $3,194; XRP increased by 5.5%; BNB rose 2.3%; Solana rose 2.3%.

Min Jung, research assistant at Presto Research, said this round of crypto market movement appears to be part of a "comprehensive rally," with Asian stock markets also strengthening in sync, as South Korea's KOSPI and Japan's Nikkei index both rose by more than 2%. As of Monday noon, KOSPI was up 2.83%, and the Nikkei index was up 2.82%. Jung stated: "The first week of the new year is often accompanied by investors' portfolio reallocations. At the current price level, Bitcoin may be seen as an attractive entry point. At the same time, traders are closely watching geopolitical developments, which remain an important source of potential volatility in global markets."

Nick Ruck, research director at LVRG Research, holds a similar view, saying Bitcoin's upward movement seems to be driven by renewed investor interest after the New Year resumption of work, while institutional accumulation in a consolidating market environment also provides support. Ruck said: "Traders are closely watching the key resistance level around $95,000 to determine whether a sustained breakout will occur, while also assessing the potential impact of macro environment changes in early 2026 and ETF fund flows."

 the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) officially came into effect on January 1, 2026, initially covering 48 countries and regions.

The framework requires Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) to disclose user transaction information to tax authorities and submit annual reports covering transactions, exchanges, and asset transfers, aiming to promote global tax transparency and strengthen cross-border data exchange. CARF is designed to fill the regulatory gap in the digital asset field left by the existing Common Reporting Standard (CRS), with plans to initiate regular information exchange among member countries starting in 2027. All EU members, the UK, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, and other regions will participate first, while countries such as Australia, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the UAE are expected to join in 2028, and the United States plans to connect to the system in 2029. The OECD stated that the framework incorporates crypto assets into tax regulatory standards comparable to the traditional financial system, significantly reducing the space for tax evasion using crypto assets.

 Liquid Capital founder Yi Lihua posted on the X platform stating that the Aster project has been stopped at a loss, and the project team is unable to contact the founder. JackYi expressed anticipation for new Binance team-level projects to emerge in the exchange track and promised to strongly support investments.

Currently, their allocation plan selects BTC and BCH for the POW track, ETH for public chains, WLFI for stablecoins, and BNB for exchanges, while also looking forward to new stars in the industry.