challenges

According to CoinDesk, while quantum computers cannot disrupt the Bitcoin mining mechanism or the blockchain ledger, they may potentially crack the elliptic curve encryption system that protects wallet ownership through Shor's algorithm. Currently, about 6.9 million BTC (approximately one-third of the total supply) face potential risks due to public keys being visible on-chain, including around 1 million early holdings by Satoshi Nakamoto; transactions generated after the Taproot upgrade in 2021 are also affected due to public key exposure.Ethereum has established a formal quantum resistance migration plan since 2018, with 4 full-time teams and over 10 independent development groups, and has launched a dedicated progress website at pq.ethereum.org. In contrast, Bitcoin currently lacks a unified response roadmap, and the existing BIP-360 proposal and BitMEX Research detection scheme have not received widespread support from core developers. Notable Bitcoin advocate Nic Carter pointed out that Bitcoin's response is "the worst," while Blockstream CEO Adam Back believes that current quantum systems are still in the laboratory stage, but he also agrees that optional upgrade solutions should be deployed in advance.Analysts point out that Bitcoin's anti-centralization governance culture makes coordinating large-scale security upgrades extremely difficult, and how to handle historical legacy issues such as Satoshi Nakamoto's holdings is particularly challenging. A related paper from Google warns that once quantum attacks become a reality, the window for response may have already closed.

According to Jinshi reports, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen stated that she still believes there is a possibility of interest rate cuts later this year; however, the fluctuations in oil prices caused by the Iran war have cast a shadow over the outlook. Yellen pointed out that this is a broad supply shock affecting multiple areas, including gasoline, liquefied natural gas, fertilizers, food, shipping costs, and semiconductors. While the possibility of raising interest rates cannot be ruled out, stable long-term inflation expectations suggest that this is unlikely to happen. She expects that there may be interest rate cuts by the end of this year.

According to Fortune, the private market fund Robinhood Ventures I launched by Robinhood has rebounded about 30% after an initial poor performance. The product was launched in early March and fell 16% on its first day, but has gradually recovered, attempting to provide retail investors with a channel to participate in equity of late-stage private companies.However, analysts warn that with the potential IPOs of tech giants like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic approaching, the private market may face short-term volatility pressure. If leading companies perform poorly in their IPOs, it could drag down secondary market valuations and affect IPO expectations for unicorns, including Stripe.The head of Robinhood Ventures responded that the aforementioned concerns are more about short-term fluctuations, and there are still numerous investment opportunities in the long term. As AI technology continues to advance, the application ecosystem built around leading models will unleash tremendous growth potential. Currently, the fund primarily invests in a few late-stage companies, including fintech companies Airwallex and Stripe, as well as AI firms like Databricks, acquiring equity through primary market or licensed secondary market transactions.

According to Jinshi reports, Fed's Harker stated that the Federal Reserve's policy is in a favorable position to effectively address inflation and employment challenges.

Anthropic has announced that it will challenge the U.S. Department of Defense's decision to blacklist it, which claims that the company refused to lift all restrictions on the military's use of its Claude model. The company also expressed that it is "very saddened" by the escalating dispute. This cutting-edge artificial intelligence company is doing something that few others have done since Trump returned to the White House: directly and publicly challenging the Trump administration.Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth threatened earlier on Friday to sever Anthropic's ties with numerous clients through a "supply chain risk" designation, a practice historically reserved for "foreign adversaries." Anthropic stated, "No matter how the 'War Department' intimidates or punishes, it will not change our stance on mass surveillance or fully automated weapons." "We will legally challenge any supply chain risk designation."

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal citing informed sources, the Federal Reserve is secretly initiating a legal challenge in response to two subpoenas issued by U.S. prosecutor Jeanine Pirro in the criminal investigation against Powell.Pirro, a longtime ally of President Trump, launched the investigation to examine whether Powell made false statements to Congress last summer regarding the Federal Reserve building renovation project. This action prompted Powell to respond publicly in an unprecedented manner, stating in a video statement on January 11 that the investigation is a guise for Trump's ongoing pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and undermine the central bank's independence.In the secret proceedings, the Federal Reserve is requesting the judge to quash the subpoenas to reduce or eliminate its obligation to respond. The specific legal arguments have not been disclosed. In high-profile investigations, it is not uncommon for recipients of subpoenas to challenge prosecutors on the grounds that the requests are overly broad or involve information protected by legal privilege.Due to the confidentiality rules applicable to criminal investigations before grand juries, this legal battle is quietly ongoing and not open to the public.

According to the "2026 Skynet Prediction Market Report" released by CertiK, the trading volume of prediction markets is expected to grow to $63.5 billion in 2025, achieving a fourfold increase, with Kalshi, Polymarket, and Opinion becoming the dominant platforms. However, this growth in scale also brings new risks, including oracle vulnerabilities, administrator key abuse, and Web2.5 architecture issues.The report notes that prediction markets have been deemed legal financial products in the U.S. through CFTC rulings, but are banned in several EU countries as unauthorized gambling. Additionally, regulatory differences among U.S. states may further complicate compliance. In December 2025, a security incident involving Polymarket's third-party certification provider exposed centralized failure points in the hybrid Web2/Web3 architecture.The research also estimates that during the peak of airdrops, manual trading volume on some platforms reached 60%, severely distorting liquidity metrics. CertiK predicts that in 2026, prediction markets will see enhanced technical privacy and accelerated institutional adoption, but platforms must simultaneously address issues such as liquidity maintenance, security infrastructure development, and the sustainability of revenue models to achieve long-term growth.

Binance founder CZ spoke at the "Financial New Era" panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, stating, "Different countries have different priorities, different agendas, and different considerations. Therefore, establishing a global regulatory body is quite difficult. We certainly hope to see such an institution emerge, especially if this global regulatory body can create a relatively favorable regulatory framework for innovation. This greatly simplifies the work of industry participants.Cryptocurrency is the same in every country; there is no tribal system that varies by country, so there should be an optimal framework that we can utilize and implement. Therefore, I am currently working hard, spending a lot of time trying to figure out what this framework is and how to collaborate with different countries."

According to the Associated Press, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will attend the U.S. Supreme Court's oral arguments regarding Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Wednesday, marking an unusual public statement and support from the head of the U.S. central bank. The Supreme Court is reviewing whether President Trump has the authority to dismiss Waller, who was appointed by former President Biden.Sources indicate that Powell plans to attend Wednesday's hearing. This also represents Powell's most public and direct support for Waller to date, as Trump first attempted to remove Waller in late August of last year.Previously, Powell revealed that the Trump administration had issued subpoenas to the Federal Reserve and threatened to bring unprecedented criminal charges against it. In a video statement released on January 11, Powell condemned these subpoenas as merely an "excuse," with the real aim of forcing him to significantly lower the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate.

According to Bloomberg, as Michael Selig takes office as the new chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the agency is at a critical juncture facing the expansion of regulatory authority over crypto assets and the rapid growth of prediction markets.Currently, over 90% of the trading volume on platforms like Kalshi comes from sports predictions, and the CFTC's stance on limiting prediction markets remains unclear. Selig has previously opposed restrictions on sports betting and will inherit multiple challenges, including court litigation, personnel restructuring, and resource shortages at the regulatory agency. It is expected that the CFTC will increase protections for retail traders in the future and carefully assess policy pathways related to crypto and prediction markets.

MANTRA co-founder JP Mullin announced a company restructuring, including a reduction in team size. This restructuring primarily affects support positions in business development, marketing, human resources, and more.JP Mullin stated that from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025, MANTRA made significant investments in real-time asset tokenization, blockchain, and ecosystem development. However, adverse events in April 2025, ongoing market downturns, increased competition, and changes in market dynamics have made its cost structure inconsistent with recent realities.To improve capital efficiency, MANTRA plans to adopt a more streamlined operational model in 2026, concentrating resources and focusing on core business execution. The company has already taken measures to cut unnecessary expenses and optimize processes, but further adjustments through layoffs are necessary to align operations with future development paths.

According to Jinshi reports, Federal Reserve's Bostic stated that inflation remains one of the main challenges facing the economy.

According to The Block, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan pointed out in the latest client update that although Bitcoin and Ethereum both rose about 7% at the beginning of 2026, the crypto market needs to overcome three key challenges to maintain this momentum.The first challenge is to avoid a large-scale market crash similar to the one on October 10, 2025, which caused over $20 billion in futures position liquidations. Hougan believes this challenge has been largely addressed; the second challenge is to advance the passage of the Clarity Act crypto legislation in the U.S., which is currently under consideration in Congress and is expected to be marked up in the Senate on January 15; the third challenge is to maintain the stability of the stock market and avoid significant declines that could drag down all risk assets.Hougan stated that if these three challenges can be successfully overcome, the upward trend of the crypto market at the beginning of 2026 is likely to continue throughout the year.

According to official social media news, the decentralized contract trading platform Sun Wukong (SunX) will hold a live broadcast themed "Sun Wukong 72 Debates: The Political Regulatory Storm of 2026 | Opportunities and Challenges in the Crypto Market" today at 20:00 (UTC+8). Influential crypto KOLs such as Damo Ge, Crazyox, Crypto Master Brother, and Zi Ru | MemeMax will be invited to attend and discuss core topics such as the global crypto regulatory trends in 2026, the impact of policy uncertainty on the market, and response strategies.

QCP Capital stated in an official channel that the market is ending the year with a fragile balance of confidence and caution. The Federal Reserve's dovish rate cuts are mixed with hawkish tendencies, signaling support for the labor market while firmly keeping inflation in focus. The dot plot suggests that the path of interest rates will flatten, with the market currently pricing in about 2 to 3 rate cuts expected next year.The stock market remains a key macro swing factor. Funds continue to flow into the artificial intelligence infrastructure sector, but its monetization process is lagging. If revenue growth cannot keep pace with investment, the risks will spread from the AI sector, potentially triggering a broader stock market valuation reassessment in 2026.The cryptocurrency market still faces pressure, as Morgan Stanley Capital International is reviewing the eligibility of digital asset management companies for index inclusion. This could trigger passive outflows of up to $2.8 billion.

AETDEW (World Institute of Engineering and Technology for Developing Countries) officially signed a memorandum of cooperation with the AB Charity Foundation X AB DAO at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, working together to solve the energy development dilemmas faced by developing countries.The signing was witnessed by several industry authorities, including AETDEW Executive Director Dr. Ir. Ts. Wong Chee Fui and Senior Advisor of the AB Charity Foundation Dr. Moneef R. Zou'bi, laying a solid foundation for professional collaboration.According to the agreement, both parties will engage in deep collaboration in areas such as engineering technology upgrades, smart grid construction, and the implementation of renewable energy, integrating advanced technology with the needs of public welfare resources. The AB Charity Foundation, leveraging the technology and funding of AB DAO, will also create a transparent energy public welfare system using blockchain and AI technology, empowering the energy sector in relevant regions.

The Italian Ministry of Economy announced that it has initiated an "in-depth review" of the current risk prevention mechanisms related to cryptocurrency investments, aiming to assess whether the protections for retail investors in the process of directly or indirectly investing in crypto assets are adequate.This decision was made by the Macroprudential Policy Committee, which consists of the Bank of Italy, the market regulator Consob, the insurance and pension regulator, and the Ministry of Finance. Regulators have warned that as crypto assets become increasingly intertwined with the traditional financial system and the issue of fragmented international regulation intensifies, their potential risks may further rise. Currently, the overall economic and financial situation in Italy remains stable, but it faces high global uncertainty.