Cryptopolitan

Token unlocks totaling over $1.69 billion are scheduled for the week of January 12-19, 2026, according to data from Tokenomist.

ONDO leads cliff unlocks with 1.94 billion tokens worth $772.42 million, representing 57.23% of adjusted released supply. TRUMP follows with 55.10 million tokens valued at $299.17 million.

ONDO dominates cliff token unlocks with $772.42M

ONDO leads all token unlocks for the January 12-19 week with 1.94 billion tokens worth $772.42 million. The unlock represents 57.23% of adjusted released supply. It is also the largest single token unlock event.

TRUMP posts the second-largest cliff unlock with 55.10 million tokens valued at $299.17 million. The unlock accounts for 13.30% of adjusted released supply. TRUMP also appears in linear unlocks with the same 55.10 million tokens representing 27.55% of circulating supply.

CONX unlocks 1.32 million tokens worth $20.59 million, representing 1.59% of adjusted released supply. Arbitrum (ARB) releases 96.00 million tokens valued at $19.56 million, accounting for 1.68% of supply. DBR unlocks 618.33 million tokens worth $11.52 million, a substantial 14.81% of adjusted released supply.

Token unlock data: Tokenomist

CHEEL releases 20.81 million tokens valued at $11.50 million, representing 2.78% of supply. Starknet (STRK) unlocks 127.00 million tokens worth $10.33 million, accounting for 4.83% of adjusted released supply. SEI releases 75.80 million tokens valued at $9.15 million, representing 1.44% of supply.

ZK completes the major cliff unlocks with 173.08 million tokens worth $5.89 million, representing 3.16% of adjusted released supply. The nine cliff unlocks total approximately $1.16 billion in value. The concentration in ONDO and TRUMP means these two projects account for 92.4% of cliff unlock value.

Linear token unlocks add $537M in weekly releases

RAIN leads linear token unlocks with 9.41 billion tokens worth $84.13 million scheduled for the week. The unlock represents 2.77% of circulating supply.

Solana unlocks 482,400 tokens worth $67.14 million, or just 0.09% of circulating supply. TRUMP makes its second appearance with 55.10 million tokens in linear releases worth $299.17 million, or 27.55% of circulating supply.

Worldcoin releases 37.23 million tokens worth $21.13 million, 1.37% of circulating supply; RIVER unlocks 1.25 million tokens worth $21.02 million, or a quite reasonable 6.38% of the circulating supply. DOGE has unlocked 97.56 million tokens worth $13.42 million, which is just 0.06% of the huge circulating supply.

Avalanche finally unlocks 700,000 tokens worth $9.57 million, about 0.16% of the circulating supply. ASTER releases 10.28 million tokens worth $7.34 million, 0.43% of supply. Bittensor finally unlocks 25,200 tokens worth $7.22 million, representing 0.26% of the circulating supply.

Smaller projects face unlock schedules

Masters of Trivia (MOT) shows 4.83% unlock progress with the next release of 5.5 million MOT tokens worth $17.92 million. The unlock represents 1.10% of total locked supply. The trivia gaming project maintains relatively low unlock progression.

HyperGPT (HGPT) shows 86.04% unlock progress with the next release of 13.92 million HGPT tokens worth $71,884.74. Checkmate (CHECK) shows 18.18% unlock progress with the next release of 16.77 million CHECK tokens worth $1.32 million. The unlock represents 1.68% of total locked supply.

BounceBit (BB) shows 44.53% unlock progress with the next release of 32.78 million BB tokens worth $2.08 million. The unlock represents 1.56% of total locked supply. DappRadar (RADAR) shows 79.12% unlock progress with the next release of 107.89 million RADAR tokens worth $50,961.16.

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President Donald Trump said he will talk to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk about using SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet to bring back online access to Iran after authorities shut down access because of protests.

Trump said Starlink has strong technical skills that could reconnect people to the internet. The U.S. is exploring options such as satellite internet that operate outside Iran’s telecom networks.

Authorities in Iran shut down the internet

Iranian officials have shut down internet access in many areas around the country due to the ongoing protests. NetBlocks stated that connectivity levels across Iran have dropped to nearly zero and have remained low.

Without the internet, people can’t get the latest news about what’s happening in their cities or other parts of the country. Workers also can’t use cloud services for work, students lose access to online learning tools, and families can’t send or receive money through digital payment systems.

Journalists, engineers, and monitoring groups also can’t track outages, verify reports, or confirm the scale of violence in the country. 

Iran relies on a centralized internet infrastructure, where fiber-optic cables, mobile phone towers, and local data centers all require government permission to function. Officials can use this authority to demand that service providers shut down their operations and restrict internet access nationwide.

People are now seeking alternative solutions, such as satellite-based networks, because they don’t rely on local towers, cables, or service providers. Authorities don’t have much control since the networks connect users directly to satellites in space, rather than routing data through government-controlled infrastructure.

Satellite internet has helped keep communication open when local networks failed during previous shutdowns in other countries. 

The crisis in Iran has moved into the digital world as those affected try to share their experiences, and observers outside want to follow the events. Access to information now significantly impacts how events unfold and how the world perceives them. 

Trump will work with Musk to bring the internet back

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will talk to Elon Musk about bringing the internet back to Iran through Starlink. Trump said Musk is “very good at that kind of thing” because his company has great technical skills and a lot of experience building complex systems.

Starlink connects users directly to satellites orbiting the Earth, rather than relying on local service providers. The President said they could use Starlink terminals to bypass networks controlled by Iranian authorities. 

Trump said he wants regular people in the country to be able to read news, communicate with family, and know what’s happening around them because the country is in a state of fear and unrest.

However, any plan to restore internet access to Iran still requires careful review within the U.S. government, as the Middle Eastern country is subject to U.S. sanctions for trade and technology transfers. Companies can’t provide any services or hardware to such countries without special approvals or legal exemptions. 

Iran is also strongly against internet support from foreigners, as the leaders of Tehran don’t want any “intruder” to have control over their communication tools. 

Iranian officials have long warned their citizens against using unauthorized satellite equipment and have even gone so far as to block or jam satellite signals. The country’s history demonstrates the challenges involved in establishing such services and hardware, as well as the type of resistance Starlink can expect.

The world is closely watching Iran, particularly the efforts by the U.S., as similar plans in other regions have also created diplomatic tensions. Restoring internet access in Iran could also alter how the world perceives events within the country and influence how key groups respond to the crisis.

The plan by Trump to speak with Musk shows just how much their relationship has changed, as the duo have been in an on-and-off political “situationship” for a long time. Musk supported Trump’s political campaigns and stood by him during key political moments, but that relationship broke when Elon opposed the president’s tax policy.

There are new signs that their relationship is warming up again because they met in person and shared a dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. 

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The renovations to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., raised concerns that led federal prosecutors to conduct a comprehensive investigation, consequently drawing Fed Chair Jerome Powell into a legal battle, according to insiders who wished to maintain their identities hidden, as the discussion was viewed as confidential. 

These sources alleged that the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., directed this investigation, mandating an assessment into whether Powell deceived Congress regarding the renovation details. According to the sources, this investigation was approved in November by Jeanine Pirro, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Powell faces a legal battle

As individuals raised concerns about whether a grand jury had been established or if the Fed team had received any subpoenas, reports highlighted that federal prosecutors had reached out to the team and asked them to issue documents, sparking further discussions.

Reporters sought out the White House to respond to this controversy, but the officials declined to respond. On the other hand, sources familiar with the situation revealed that Powell received several complaints of dissatisfaction from US President Donald Trump, who also demanded that the Fed chair submit his resignation from his role, further intensifying the situation.

In this finding, the reporters discovered that these complaints began to heighten in July 2025. At this particular moment, Russell Vought, the Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget, issued a letter to the Fed chair.

In the letter, Vought stated that Trump raised significant concerns about his management of the Federal Reserve System and the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., alleging that this project is very costly.

Following the president’s claim, this year’s budget documents indicate that the approximate cost for successfully renovating two historic buildings, particularly in Washington, has increased from the initial $1.9 billion in 2023 to $2.5 billion.

Concerning this increase, the Fed’s 2025 budget stressed that, “construction cost estimates have kept going up, especially for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work, due to competitive bidding prices.” 

Meanwhile, Trump declared that he has appointed an ideal candidate who will assume Powell’s role as the Fed chair when he completes his term in May 2026. Nonetheless, the president chose not to disclose his choice. Even so, odds displayed on Polymarket highlighted that Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council,  has secured the position as the top candidate.

Powell claims to be innocent 

As debates continued to escalate regarding the progress of Powell’s criminal investigation, the Fed chair released a statement dated Sunday, January 11, stating that the US central bank received grand jury subpoenas from the Department of Justice. Following this issuance, Powell declared the possibility of a criminal indictment. 

His statement raised mixed reactions from individuals, with many criticizing Powell. Responding to this, the Fed chair decided to explain the situation in a clear and concise written and video message to facilitate better understanding. He stated that the matter is linked to his testimony, which he submitted before Congress in June, about updates to the central bank’s headquarters. 

“No one — certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve — is above the law, but this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure,” Powell said, arguing the investigation is being used as a pretext to influence monetary policy.

Powell stressed that this move should be viewed within the broader context of the ongoing threats and pressure coming from Trump’s administration.

“The risk of criminal charges comes from the Federal Reserve making decisions about interest rates based on what we believe is best for the public, rather than catering to the president’s wishes,” Powell stated, adding that, “This issue is about whether the Fed can keep setting interest rates based on facts and economic situations, or if monetary policy will instead be influenced by political pressure or intimidation.” 

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Stock futures dropped hard after Trump’s DOJ launched a criminal probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Powell finally fired back after a year of silence, saying the probe is punishment for not obeying Trump’s preferences.

The Fed is expected to hold rates steady on January 28th, and gold just smashed past $4,600/oz and Silver exploded to $84/oz as traders panic-bought metals amid the chaos.

Venezuela is experiencing sanctions and hyperinflation after former president Nicolás Maduro was arrested on January 3, 2026, during a military operation and transported to the U.S. But even under these conditions, USDT Tether continues to support oil trade and everyday payments in the South American country.

The main oil company in Venezuela decided to use USDT for oil sales to avoid the problems of a failed banking system. Analysts and economists stated that the state-run oil company in Venezuela utilized USDT for oil transactions and to circumvent the traditional banking system, which is currently experiencing numerous issues.

Venezuela used USDT to pay for oil sales after sanctions blocked normal banking routes

In 2020, the U.S. imposed strong sanctions on Venezuela that led to the decline of the banking system and pushed many foreign banks out of the country.

The state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela began using USDT to enable buyers to transfer USDT from one digital wallet to another. Some of them even set up special addresses for oil sales, while others used exchange agents. This new payment system allowed oil shipments to continue even when normal payment paths remained closed.

Eighty out of every 100 dollars the country received from oil came through digital currencies. Because the payments are recorded on a public ledger, it’s easier to track transactions and maintain accurate records.

However, U.S. officials began tracking the payments and even partnered with Tether to freeze many digital wallets linked to these oil payments due to irregularities. Some analysts claim that investigators used these records to track funds that the Maduro government had moved illegally. 

This didn’t stop people and businesses in Venezuela, though, because they continued using USDT to sell oil, move money, and survive the harsh conditions brought about by heavy sanctions and long-term economic problems.

Venezuelans started using USDT every day because their local money kept losing value

The prices of food, transportation, and essential services continued to increase daily. At the same time, the country’s national currency, the bolivar, lost nearly all of its purchasing power over a period of more than ten years. People would work but still struggle to afford food and healthcare because inflation increased, while their wages remained the same.

People started losing their life savings within a very short period due to the high prices, so they began to lose trust in the bolivar and started looking for a stable alternative. 

Since USDT remained close to the value of the dollar, ordinary people began using the stablecoin to protect their small savings. USDT also made it easier for people to send and receive money across borders, which was appreciated by citizens who often relied on financial support from their families abroad. Over time, more people began using USDT for everyday transactions, not just to save money, which gave them more control in a very unstable economy. 

People now use tether to pay for their rent, haircuts, cleaning, gardening, and home repairs, just like they would with the bolivar. Shop owners and service workers even started accepting USDT as payment because it felt safer than their national currency. 

There were no clear rules, strong laws, or official cryptocurrency exchanges in the country at the time, but people worked together and educated each other on how to use digital wallets on their phones. These communities in Venezuela took in stablecoins not because they love technology, but because they needed a way to survive a broken financial system. 

Other problems, such as strict capital controls, also made it difficult for individuals to obtain physical cash and limited bank withdrawals, forcing people to use USDT as an alternative. The Venezuelan government even attempted to launch its own oil-backed digital currency, called Petro, but it failed because citizens did not trust government-backed money. 

Analysts are now saying stablecoins are the only thing keeping struggling families alive in the country because they allow money to move outside normal controls. 

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Monero has officially surged to a new all-time high of $545, marking its strongest price level ever as traders shift away from Zcash. Data from Bitfinex shows the leading privacy coin surpassing its previous record of nearly $518, set in 2021, underscoring a sharp shift in capital and renewed interest in privacy-focused crypto assets.

Privacy coins, such as Monero, are designed to keep transactions anonymous, allowing users to send and receive funds without revealing their identities. Many crypto observers see the recent rally as driven in part by this rotation from Zcash to Monero.

Zcash has experienced a recent price decline. This occurred primarily because the group responsible for developing Zcash, known as the Electric Coin Company (ECC), had disagreements with other members of the community regarding how Zcash should be managed. Following that dispute, Zcash declined by approximately 25% over the course of just one week. As a result, many investors transferred their funds from Zcash to Monero.

This moving of money from one coin to another is called capital rotation. Capital rotation can cause some coins to increase in price while others decrease. In this case, Monero’s price increased sharply as more people purchased it.

Strong price movement for Monero

Monero has not only reached a new high, but it has also demonstrated strong growth across various time periods. Over the course of a day, Monero’s price climbed by more than 15%. Over the past week, its price increased by about 26.5%. Over the past year, Monero’s price has risen by approximately 168%. This means if someone bought Monero a year ago, the value of their investment would be much higher today.

At the same time, Monero also strengthened important price levels. This means that after rising, the price remained at higher levels instead of falling back quickly. Price charts indicate that Monero’s price surpassed key points between $420 and $470, and these points are now serving as a floor.

Because of this big rise, Monero is now getting closer to being one of the top ten cryptocurrencies in the world by market size. As of this weekend, Monero is ranked around 12th place, with a total value of all Monero coins estimated at around $9.9 billion. If its price continues to rise, Monero might soon move into the top ten.

Currently, the two larger coins standing in Monero’s path are Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Cardano (ADA). These coins have larger market sizes than Monero, so the crypto will need to grow significantly before it can surpass them.

Why are people interested in privacy coins?

One of the reasons Monero is performing well is that more people are discussing privacy in digital currency. At the same time, some regulators are increasing surveillance and setting tougher laws for digital assets. This makes some investors uneasy, and they look for coins that help protect user privacy.

Although Monero is performing well currently, not everyone agrees on what the future holds. As rules get tighter, privacy coins could become more popular and useful. Others believe that regulators may make it more difficult for privacy coins to be used. That could slow down their growth or make prices fall.

So far, Monero looks like a quiet winner — a coin that didn’t get huge attention for a long time, but now is rising steadily. It is gaining more value and potentially drawing money that was previously invested in Zcash. This has helped it grow faster than some other major coins, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), over the last year.

Only time will tell if Monero will remain popular and continue to rise. For now, many people are watching it closely because it shows one of the strongest moves among privacy coins and digital money in general.

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The chairs of seven parliamentary committees submitted a letter on Sunday, January 11, requesting that the UK government consider banning crypto donations to political parties completely in the country.

Following this request, a local news outlet noted that this move deepens discussions that have been ongoing for several months regarding cryptocurrencies in British elections.

UK committee chairs call for a move against crypto donations to political parties in the country 

Regarding the UK committee chairs’ recent move, a report noted that the submitted letter mentioned that crypto donations negatively impact political funding as they pose a threat to transparency, traceability, and enforcement in political funding. Notably, Liam Byrne, who leads the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, along with six other members, signed their names to this letter before submitting it.

Due to the intense nature of the situation, reporters contacted Byrne for clarification on this matter. In a statement, he stated that, “Cryptocurrency can hide the real source of funds, allow many small donations that fall below disclosure limits, and open UK politics to foreign influence. The Electoral Commission has warned that current technology makes it especially hard to manage these risks.” 

Interestingly, sources have stressed that this is not the first time the Labour government has considered imposing a ban on crypto donations. Earlier in July 2025, Patrick McFadden, a Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, publicly noted that the government was carefully evaluating this decision. With this recent move, analysts argued that the appeal exerts heightened pressure on the Labour government.

UK ministers also weighed in on the topic of discussion. They expressed their belief that crypto donations pose a threat to electoral integrity since it is difficult to trace their origins. Nonetheless, even with this assertion, these ministers acknowledged that the complex procedures and regulations put in place when imposing a ban imply that this restriction will not be included in the Elections Bill, which is anticipated to be made public soon.

Meanwhile, while UK committee chairs urge the government to consider banning cryptocurrency donations to political parties, reports revealed that Nigel Farage, a Member of Parliament for Clacton and Leader of Reform UK, declared in May last year that his party would be at the forefront to receive donations in BTC and other digital assets.

The fate of cryptocurrencies in the UK sparks endless debates among individuals 

Debates regarding crypto donations intensified in December 2025 when the Electoral Commission issued a filing claiming that Reform UK had accepted a crypto donation worth £9 million, or approximately $12 million, from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor who holds about 12% ownership of Tether. 

Following this announcement, several analysts argued that most of the investor’s wealth originated from his significant investments in the cryptocurrency industry, despite donating traditional currency rather than cryptocurrency. 

Responding to this allegation, Labour and the Liberal Democrats decided to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. 

In the meantime, it is worth noting that the UK committee chairs’ request to the government to impose a ban on cryptocurrency donations comes at a time when the nation is developing its overall crypto regulatory framework.

To support this claim, reports dated December pointed out that the UK Parliament passed a regulation that perceives cryptocurrencies as property. The reports also mentioned that the parliament is looking forward to regulating these digital assets, similar to traditional financial products, by 2027. 

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The Crypto traders also change their strategies with the market going to 2026. Many large altcoins which characterized previous cycles now have lower momentum, slower chart movement, and fewer catalysts than in the past. This has driven investors to hunt on the next crypto to purchase. 

The new trend of cheaper altcoins of less than $0.5 has become a potential solution. Most of these tokens are earlier within their growth curves and take much less liquidity to shift. One of them is already up 300% in its presale period and is at this point an emerging structural winner.

Pepecoin (PEPE)

Pepecoin ( PEPE ) was a sensation in the market in the meme coin craze. The traders adored its viral culture, light spirit, and quick breakout in bullish mood. When this paper was written, PEPE was trading below one cent and had a multi-billion valuation. The first buyers had enormous payoffs and sales per day were high in months.

Liquidity has become the challenge. The size of PEPE requires a lot of capital to achieve material chart advancements. According to market commentators, PEPE has been stalling in areas of important resistance. 

Breakout attempts have been made with failures in the past and this time the attempts have died out as a result of the selling pressure at the higher levels. To propel one to this size, retail involvement and external stimuli are needed. In the absence of either of them, the chart might be stuck in a narrow band.

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin is one of the most renowned crypto coins in the globe (DOGE). It was attractive because it was community-based energy, branded on a cultural level and was virally adopted when bull sentiment was in full swing. DOGE reached its paraxes at that time, and served as an icon of the early crypto wealth creation. It was listed on exchanges, it was backed by merchants, and it established a niche in the general discussion.

Nowadays, DOGE is confronting another problem. Its story that propelled it has become weak. The community activity has subdued and the interest in search has dwindled and demand is not like it was in the explosive stage. The strength of the chart has been weakened and no apparent catalyst to drive the price action upwards.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

Another model is Mutuum Finance (MUTM). It is a new altcoin that is concerned with decentralized lending and borrowing. It is not dependent on viral hype or meme cycles; it does not need billions of liquidity to shift price. It instead relies on lending mechanics and collateral incentives that make the token dependent on actual platform activity.

The protocol has two liquidity and borrowing markets, with the former tracking assets supplied, and the latter tracking loans. Rules of lending and borrowing are also foreseeable as opposed to being narrative based. This will allow users to earn interest without depending on hypothetical cycles of demand.

Still in presale, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) sells at $0.04 in Phase 7. More than 18,800 holders have participated and have raised over $19M. The demand has been steady and previous stages have already provided an approximate 300% appreciation since Phase 1 price of $0.01. Phase 7 is characterized by thinning; the stage implies that the presale might be pushed faster as the next stages are neared.

The Long-term Case

MUTM presents some mechanisms that relate the value of tokens to the utilization of the protocols. mtTokens are active supply positions and grow as borrowers pay interest. Its platform is based on a buy and redistribute scheme where MUTM bought in the open market is redistributed to users who post their mtTokens in the safety module. Scheduling oracle integrations assist the pricing and liquidation events to proceed seamlessly. These are instruments that develop a workable economy.

This is as opposed to PEPE and DOGE. Both rely on sentiment. There is no organic revenue or long-term participation rewarding lending demand that either of them has. That is what Mutuum Finance offers to those drivers. In the bullish case, MUTM is expected to hit $0.30 to $0.36, which will be a 9X increase compared to the present presale price.

Roadmap Catalysts

Mutuum Finance also has scheduled significant roadmap catalysts. V1 protocol testnet is scheduled to be released in Q1. The CertiK audit had a score of 90/100. Halborn Security did a technical assay. 

A stable coin pegged on the interest of the borrowers is under development. To enhance speed and cut on transaction cost, Layer-2 deployment will be used. These are some of the steps that a protocol needs to consider in order to scale up into live borrowing markets.

The inflows of whales have also enhanced in the presale. There is a 24 hour leaderboard that gives the best daily contributor $500 in MUTM. These signs bring about a sense of urgency to investors who are monitoring major cryptocurrencies that are below $0.1. Before the next crypto catalysts come many would want to be exposed.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

Whenever traders are seeking the next crypto to purchase, Solana (SOL) is a name that appears frequently. Early investors made considerable profits because of its fast development during the previous cycles. However, crypto markets evolve in the short term. 

A new altcoin is currently watched by some investors. The initial whale action implies that big investors are incorporating it into their holdings. This has cast doubts on whether there is a next crypto to hit $1. To long-term investors, the difference between a large established token and a new player can help accentuate the various ways to possible advantages.

Solana (SOL)

The past few years have seen Solana become one of the most followed cryptocurrencies. It was known to have a fast transaction and a low fee, which brought developers who created decentralized applications, finances, and NFTs. SOL is trading at an average of $138 at the time of writing, and has a market cap of 78B. These measurements make it one of the best crypto coins in terms of value.

Solana has headwinds, despite its strong position. Price action has demonstrated resistance zones in the crypto charts, which it finds difficult to clear off. Quite a number of traders consider these areas to be levels where the selling pressure escalates. Even during bullish times, it is difficult to break above them. According to market commentators this could restrain the short term upside of Solana unless new catalysts are discovered.

What Is Mutuum Finance (MUTM)? 

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is a rather new cryptocurrency that is associated with a decentralized lending and borrowing scheme. It is also in presale stages, unlike the more established tokens. The token is now valued at approximately $0.04 in Phase 7 of the sale that has already raised over $19M. More than 18,800 holders have attended and the stages have always sold out in a short time. Increased demand shifts the presale to a higher price range.

The Mutuum Finance platform is programmed to enable users to deposit assets in liquidity pools and receive interest. Borrowers are able to access loans through collateralizing loans. The system assigns the assets or debt deposits using mtTokens, and debt positions using debt tokens. 

Mutuum Finance also has a buy and redistribute business model in which MUTM bought on the open market is redistributed to users who stake the mtTokens in the safety module. Other analysts feel that this produces a demand pressure that helps token value in the long run.

Mutuum Finance has an ongoing roadmap which involves the release of the first version of the protocol on testnet. These developments provide the participants with a better understanding of the progress than the tokens with soft timelines or no product in the market.

SOL vs MUTM Price Predictions

The following considerations are useful when considering future price movements: comparing a mature token such as Solana and a younger project in its early years. In the case of SOL, there are comments from the market with some reservations. Having a large market cap with huge resistance levels, they indicate that price might not experience the same momentum as previous cycles. 

The bearish to neutral cases are that SOL may not be able to push significantly higher than the existing levels without an influx of new users or significant network upgrades. Many large tokens are faced with this fact: the larger the token, the slower its relative growth.

Mutuum Finance, in its turn, is in the earlier stage, and it has more space to expand. Assuming that the lending protocol acquires users and revenue, and assuming that presale momentum persists to post-launch trading, some analysts believe that MUTM would experience high moves. 

To illustrate, in a potential situation when MUTM can become listed on large stock exchanges and demand grows to exceeding $0.20, that would be a 400% rise in the existing price. On a positive note, forecasts indicate that even more might happen as long as the adoption and the ecosystem growth rate increase. 

This analogy indicates that valuation base and utility have potential in shaping expectations. The size of Solana is more difficult to make a substantial percentage change without significant network changes. Mutuum Finance, in turn, is premature. This very stance provides it with a story of high returns in case the project hits the goals.

Halborn Security Audit

Security and engagement mechanisms are also relevant to the investors who are triaging through what crypto to invest in today. Mutuum Finance has an audit with Halborn Security. The audit enhances an element of confidence regarding the core code of the platform prior to wider release. When the projects are successfully audited by reputable firms, they tend to attract more attention by the retail and institutional investors.

Mutuum Finance also has a 24 hour leaderboard in which the most active contributor of the day will get a reward of $500 in MUTM. Such an interaction maintains the level of activity near the presale and fosters more engagement by the community.

Investors who are interested in what crypto to buy now, or rather which crypto to buy to gain in the long-term, a comparison of old firms like Solana with new pre-sale tokens like Mutuum Finance can help them better understand risk-reward. Diversified crypto investment strategies include roles of both large and small cap projects. Their differences are important to decide on wisely.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

Betterment, a traditional investing service, was breached by crypto hackers. Thousands of users received fake push notifications and emails, promoting the classic “crypto giveaway” scam.

Users received the fake alerts from Betterment’s mobile app. Others received emails promoting the giveaway scam. The fake message promised to triple users’ cryptocurrencies. The “promo” was valid for three hours.

Crypto attackers impersonate Betterment

The email instructed users to deposit as little as $1 or up to $750,000 in Bitcoin or Ether. The mobile app notification said, “For example, if you send $10,000 in Bitcoin or Ethereum, we’ll send you right back $30,000 to your sending Bitcoin or Ethereum address.”

The hackers added specific Bitcoin and Ether wallet addresses. At the time of writing, the Bitcoin wallet had received 0.14626084 BTC, or $13,290.75. The Ether wallet has a net flow of $1,779.30.

A screenshot of the fake mobile app notification. Source: X.

Two hours after the breach, the Betterment team issued a warning on X and Reddit. On Reddit, a Betterment representative replied to a thread about the hack, saying, “We apologize for the confusion. This is not a real offer from Betterment…”

On X, Betterment’s official account explained that an unauthorized person gained access to its system. This allowed the attacker to send emails and push notifications on behalf of the company.

The company clarified, “If you clicked on the offer notification, it did not compromise the security of your Betterment account.” Betterment reassured users, saying that “The unauthorized access has been removed,” and an investigation has been initiated.

In a follow-up post, Betterment said the fake promo came from a third-party system. It wrote, “This was an unauthorized message sent via a third-party system we use for marketing and other customer communications.”

Upon further inspection, the fake emails came from two inboxes belonging to e[dot]betterment[dot]com. This appears to be a subdomain of Betterment’s main website.

A Redditor said, “I got an email about this. Everything appears to check out, headers look good, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC all passed.” This means the email was cryptographically authenticated. It was not a spoofed Gmail or a fake sender line. Betterment’s domain approved the fake email.

It’s unclear if user data was leaked from Betterment’s database to the dark web. Moreover, the compromised third-party tool is unidentified yet.

The breach shows how crypto hackers no longer rely on fake websites or cold emails. Attackers now use trusted financial platforms as a means of delivery. Once a user sends crypto, the money is gone. No chargebacks, no reversals, no recovery.

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Coinbase Global Inc. is putting lawmakers on notice that it might walk away from a key digital asset bill if new restrictions threaten its ability to pay customers who hold stablecoins on its platform.

The nation’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange could reverse its backing for legislation aimed at creating rules for the crypto market, which lawmakers plan to release Monday and review in Senate committee proceedings Thursday, a source close to the company told Bloomberg. The exchange wants any provisions about customer rewards limited to requiring more transparency, rather than outright bans or major limitations.

Some proposals being discussed would only let licensed financial institutions offer such rewards, according to people working in the industry. Traditional banks support this approach, saying accounts that pay returns on stablecoins would pull money out of regular banks.

Coinbase has asked regulators for a national trust charter that might eventually qualify it to provide rewards under these tighter rules. However, crypto companies want to keep offering platform rewards without needing such approval, warning that stronger limits could hurt fair competition.

The possibility of Coinbase pulling its support carries weight

Crypto companies spent more money on the 2023-2024 election than any other industry sector, pouring massive amounts into campaigns for their preferred politicians. Coinbase, run by co-founder and chief executive Brian Armstrong, gave $1 million to Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony and is helping fund the president’s planned White House ballroom.

These rewards matter greatly to Coinbase’s bottom line. The company and Circle Internet Group Inc. split some of the interest earned from money backing Circle’s USDC stablecoin. USDC sitting in Coinbase accounts creates a reliable income that becomes especially important when crypto prices drop. Coinbase also holds a minority ownership in Circle, which is now the top stablecoin company following rules set by federal law passed in July.

The exchange gets customers to keep USDC on its platform by giving 3.5% rewards on Coinbase One account holdings. If the new bill blocks this perk, fewer users might store stablecoins there, potentially cutting into Coinbase’s total stablecoin earnings, which Bloomberg figures show could have hit $1.3 billion in 2025.

The final impact depends on exactly how lawmakers write the bill. But people involved in the talks say some language about rewards will definitely appear in the legislation.

Trump’s second term brought quick victories for digital money companies, including the first nationwide rules for stablecoin issuers through the GENIUS Act in July. After Trump signed it, stores and traditional finance companies rushed to announce stablecoin plans. The Trump family even launched its own stablecoin called USD1 through World Liberty Financial before the law took effect.

While the administration wants more bills passed quickly, the rewards question has damaged the bipartisan agreement on the market bill. Coinbase’s warning about possibly withdrawing support shows growing friction that might delay the legislation, potentially killing any chance of passage this year. Without support from both parties during markup, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Nathan Dean estimates the odds of something passing in the first six months drop below 70%.

What the GENIUS Act already settled

The GENIUS Act stops stablecoin issuers from paying interest or returns just for holding tokens, but it allows third-party partners like Coinbase to offer rewards based on customer balances.

Banks have criticized exchanges paying stablecoin rewards, arguing this threatens to drain money from banking and weaken local lending.

“If billions are displaced from community bank lending, small businesses, farmers, students, and home buyers in towns like ours will suffer,” the American Bankers Association wrote recently. “Crypto exchanges and the constellation of stablecoin-affiliated companies are not designed to fill the lending gap, nor will they be able to offer FDIC-insured products, a point they omit from their aggressive advertising.”

The Senate Banking Committee marks up the Market Structure bill next week, and stablecoin rewards remain under debate. Congress already settled this in GENIUS—reopening it now only creates uncertainty and risks the future of the US Dollar as commerce moves onchain. Here’s why…

— Faryar Shirzad 🛡️ (@faryarshirzad) January 7, 2026

Crypto companies counter that banks are trying to reverse what the GENIUS Act already settled. Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, wrote on X that keeping stablecoin rewards helps maintain dollar dominance, pointing out that China recently said it would pay interest on its digital yuan.

Lawmakers face a difficult choice

This puts senators in a tough spot, pressured by the administration to pass legislation while facing an issue where the middle ground seems hard to find.

One compromise might restrict rewards to entities with banking licenses or financial charters, sources said. Five crypto companies recently got preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become national trust banks, though banking groups fought these approvals hard, claiming crypto firms are stretching the charter’s purpose and could threaten financial stability.

Even with restrictions, some industry insiders think crypto firms would just find new ways around them.

“There’s no world in which we won’t be able to reward consumers for taking actions within applications,” William Gaybrick, president of technology and business at Stripe, said last year. “In a world where you’re holding stablecoins within an app, that application will find some way to give you credit for doing so.”

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Walmart shoppers will soon get help from Google’s artificial intelligence assistant when buying groceries and other products, the companies said Sunday during a major retail conference in New York City.

The two companies announced their partnership at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show at the Javits Center. John Furner, who becomes Walmart’s next CEO, and Google’s chief executive Sundar Pichai shared the news on stage, though they didn’t reveal when the service would start or what the deal costs. The feature will first arrive in the U.S. before moving to other countries.

The partnership lets Walmart customers use Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, to find and purchase items from both Walmart stores and Sam’s Club. This move comes as more people turn to AI chatbots for shopping help.

Walmart already works with ChatGPT, a competing AI system made by OpenAI. That deal, announced in October, created something called Instant Checkout. This lets people buy products without leaving the chatbot. OpenAI rolled out this feature recently and has similar agreements with Etsy and several Shopify stores, including Skims, Vuori, and Spanx.

Walmart also runs its own AI helper called Sparky. It appears as a yellow smiley face inside the company’s mobile app.

“The transition from traditional web or app search to agent-led commerce represents the next great evolution in retail,” Furner said in a written statement. “We aren’t just watching the shift, we are driving it.”

Speaking at the conference, Furner said the company is “rewriting the retail playbook.” With AI, Walmart wants to “close the gap between I want it and I have it,” he explained. Furner takes over as Walmart’s top boss on Feb. 1.

Pichai called the partnership exciting and said AI adoption marks a “transformative” moment for retail.

For Walmart, customer shopping patterns are changing. More people now start their product searches in AI chatbots instead of going directly to Walmart’s website or app. This shift is forcing the retailer to rethink how it operates online.

David Guggina, who runs online shopping for Walmart U.S., said AI agents “help us meet customers earlier in their shopping journey and in more places.” He added that these tools will eventually “make it easier for customers to find what they need, want, and love.”

Company leaders have also talked about how AI will change jobs at Walmart, which employs more people than any other private company in America. Doug McMillon, the current CEO who’s retiring, said, “It’s very clear that AI is going to change literally every job.”

Google launched a package of tools to help stores create their own AI assistants

Google aims to make it simpler for brands to connect with shoppers who use AI technology. These retail AI agents help people find products, answer customer questions, and even let diners order food at restaurants. Google calls this package Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience.

These Google tools mark the company’s first major push into AI-based shopping for stores. The market for this type of shopping is just starting to take shape.

As reported by Cryptopolitan previously, OpenAI started the race last fall when it released Instant Checkout, which lets users buy things directly through ChatGPT. In January, Microsoft announced a similar checkout feature for its Copilot chatbot.

But when retailers make their products available inside AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini, they risk losing customer loyalty and missing chances to sell additional items. It could also reduce advertising money. By building their own AI agents and shopping tools, retailers keep more control over how AI shows and delivers their products.

“There’s a market shift across the spectrum of retailers who are investing in their own capabilities rather than just relying on third parties,” said Lauren Wiener, who works at Boston Consulting Group.

Walmart expands drone delivery network

Walmart also plans a major expansion of its drone delivery service this year. Walmart will add delivery-by-drone at 150 more stores over the next year, working with Wing, a drone operator owned by Alphabet. The company wants drone service at more than 270 locations nationwide by the end of 2027.

This represents a big increase from current operations, which mainly serve the Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta areas. Wing estimates more than 40 million Walmart shoppers would have access after the expansion, up from roughly 2 million today.

“We want to help customers get what they want, when they want, and where they want it,” said Greg Cathey, senior vice president of digital fulfillment transformation at Walmart. “Drone delivery is especially helpful when customers need just one to a handful of items fast.”

Companies from Walmart and Amazon to delivery app DoorDash have started aerial deliveries in parts of the U.S. over the past several years. The companies see the delivery method as a quick, convenient way for shoppers to get online orders delivered to their homes. But the rollout of the technology has mostly been sporadic and limited to specific regions.

Drone operators have faced regulatory obstacles, community concerns about noise, safety, and privacy, and limitations to flying in inclement weather.

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Crypto-powered prediction market platform Polymarket has partnered with Parcl (a data company that tracks daily home values) to let Americans gamble on whether housing prices in major U.S. cities will go up or down.

The two companies will work together to let users put money on what they think will happen to median prices in cities like Miami and Los Angeles for starters.

These markets will close on February 1, using Parcl’s daily price index to determine winners. But according to Polymarket, there will be new housing prediction markets every month, so people can keep trading based on fresh data.
Right now, most Americans still can’t use Polymarket; access is limited to a waitlist. But its competitors, like Kalshi and Robinhood, are already open to the public.

Users bet on real-time housing price movements

The housing market has always been full of stale data. Most price indicators use past sales and come out months after the fact. Real estate agents and analysts say that’s still the most reliable way to judge demand in a city. But the problem is that these reports move slower than the market itself.

Polymarket wants to change that by giving people real-time exposure. And supporters say prediction markets have a major advantage, as people are literally betting their own cash. When money is on the line, people pay more attention. These types of bets aren’t just about opinion. They’re about incentives.

And apparently, those incentives work. Polymarket traders were closer to predicting Donald Trump’s 2024 win than most political polling firms. The idea is simple: when a lot of people put skin in the game, the average of their bets often beats expert guesses or surveys.

This is happening as the U.S. housing market hits a new, weird milestone. There are now more homeowners with mortgage rates above 6% than below 3%. During the pandemic, loans under 3% were common. Now they’re rare. The average 30-year mortgage rate has stayed above 6% for more than three years, according to Federal Reserve numbers.

People who locked in those low rates are staying put. They don’t want to trade a cheap loan for a more expensive one. This has made the housing supply tight. Fewer listings means higher prices, a situation known as the mortgage lock-in effect.

Market stays frozen as rates discourage sellers

Even though rates are high, people still sell when they have no other choice. Life happens. Jobs change, families grow, divorces hit, people retire. That’s why some homes still hit the market. But most of the new 30-year mortgages are now in the 6% range, so the pool of ultra-low-rate owners keeps shrinking.

Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, said the shift from sub-3% to over-6% mortgages won’t fix things fast.“It’s becoming less of a problem the more that time goes on, but it’s a slow unwinding,” she said.

To her, anyone with a rate under 4% is still basically stuck. That includes over half of all current mortgage holders. Even rates under 5% are too good for most people to walk away from. “It’s probably going to be another four, five years of it being a major factor in the housing market,” said Daryl.

A Bankrate survey in July found that 54% of Americans wouldn’t sell their homes no matter what the mortgage rate is. That’s up from 42% the year before. About 32% said they’d only sell if rates dropped below 6%, and 23% said they’d need to see them below 5%. That 1% difference might not sound like a lot, but over a 30-year loan, it can add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

Not everyone is sold on the idea of betting on housing data. Stephen Kates, a senior analyst at Bankrate, said there’s already enough tracking happening in the space. “This partnership simply allows participants to speculate on existing trends,” he said.

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Many new people enter into crypto with a simple question. Which crypto is the most profitable when investing with a low amount of money. To a number of people three hundred dollars is sufficient to place a bet on something which has the potential of increasing in the long run. 

In previous bull markets, the solution could have been Shiba Inu (SHIB). The discussion is changing to new altcoins that are much further down their growth curves. Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is one of the names that drew attention. According to some analysts, the difference is in utility, the room of valuation, and timing.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Shiba Inu was trendy when the meme coins were enjoying their boom. It shot up thousands of per cent as traders jumped in. Nowadays, the token is trading at $0.000009 and has a market capitalization of $5B. SHIB still is popular and has a big community. It has also been quoted on most of the major exchanges. That provides it with liquidity, but it also puts a ceiling.

The price action has been languishing beneath critical resistance levels for months. Cryptocurrency traders citing crypto charts suggest that it lacks new stimuli and it becomes hard to propel a multi-billion dollar valuation without new utility. According to some market commentators, SHIB might not be able to get back to its early highs, particularly in the absence of a new story to power demand.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is a new cryptocurrency that is developing a decentralized lending and borrowing platform. The protocol will also allow the users to deposit assets in liquidity pools and earn interest. Loans are allowed where the borrowers post collateral rather than selling their possession. The platform utilizes the use of mtTokens to monitor supplied assets and debt tokens to monitor loans.

The MUTM token is under presale. It is priced around $0.04 in Phase 7. Already, the presale has raised over 19M and more than 18,800 holders. Being limited in the number of slots per stage and price, the increased demand will result in the stages selling out and advancing to the next crypto stage of the price scale. Phase 1 appreciation of close to 300% have already been seen by early entrants.

3 Reasons MUTM May Do Better Than SHIB

Valuation Room and Growth Curve.

Shiba Inu has already reached a $5B market cap. That degree restricts its distance of movement. A lot of traders realize that SHIB will not be able to replicate its initial growth since such exponential returns were achieved on a small valuation foundation. 

Mutuum Finance is in the initial growth curve. The market capitalization is very low and the token is yet to be potentially listed on any big exchange. This will leave it space to grow within a new crypto cycle in case the product is adopted. To an individual with $300 that is significant.

Utility vs Meme Dynamics

SHIB remains a meme token. It is culturally high with little direct usage. Demand depends on sentiment. That is a problem in lateral markets. Mutuum Finance is organized with respect to real utility. 

Collateralized borrowing gives yield to the lenders. It operates by the buy and redistribute system in which the MUTM bought on the open market is re-distributed to users who stake the mtTokens in the safety module. That links revenues of the platform to token demand. This, according to commentators in the market, makes a more sustainable token economy.

Timing and Capital Rotation

Timing is also a factor. There are already thousands of former SHIB owners who have made some money. Certain analysts feel that they are now moving to presales and early stage protocols with better upside potential. Mutuum Finance has recorded high presale momentum. The team also attested that its V1 platform is going live on testnet. Such developments present investors with something new to look forward to other than price.

Incentives and Onboarding Support

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) passed an audit by Halborn Security. That has assisted in confidence building before launch. It also operates a 24 hour leader board in the project that rewards the best daily contributor with $500 of MUTM. A bug bounty of $50k is also available concerning the code vulnerabilities. These rewards have assisted in driving the presale and also maintained the community interest.

With increasing numbers of investors posing the question of which crypto to purchase during the upcoming bull cycle, MUTM is regarded as an altcoin with a higher potential of earlier stages of development than Shiba Inu. 

The disparities in developing utility, timing, and valuation justify why numerous new entrants with $300 to invest are considering things other than the old meme tokens and a fresh take on projects that may outline the subsequent stage of crypto investment.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

17.5 million Instagram users have reportedly had their usernames, house and email addresses, phone number as well as other personal information put up for sale on underground websites, according to Malwarebytes. 

Users have reported receiving multiple password reset request emails following the alleged hack reported by Malwarebytes. However, Meta continues to insist that there was no breach.

Was Instagram’s user data leaked?

Malwarebytes reported that Instagram discovered a breach in its security during a routine dark web monitoring scan. And it claims that it has resulted in the sensitive data of approximately 17.5 million Instagram users being made available for sale on underground forums so far.

The compromised information includes Instagram usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and additional personal details. The cybersecurity company said this incident is linked to a potential API exposure that occurred in 2024.

However, Meta, Instagram’s parent company, has so far denied the breach claims, stating it fixed a technical issue and, in the process, had password reset emails triggered by an external party.

“We fixed an issue that let an external party request password reset emails for some people. There was no breach of our systems and your Instagram accounts are secure. You can ignore those emails — sorry for any confusion,” the company wrote. 

Despite Meta’s denial, many Instagram users have reported receiving multiple password reset request emails in recent days, and panic has spread on social media that cybercriminals are attempting to exploit people’s stolen information.

The leaked information could also be used by the attackers to craft convincing fraudulent messages that make users more likely to click on malicious links or provide additional sensitive information.

With access to usernames, email addresses, and phone numbers, cybercriminals can attempt to gain control of an individual’s accounts. The attackers can use it to spread spam, scam the victim’s followers, or access any linked payment information or private messages.

The physical addresses included in the breach could potentially be used for identity theft, targeted harassment, or even to threaten someone’s physical safety.

How can Instagram users protect themselves?

ManageMyHealth, New Zealand’s largest patient portal with about 1.8 million registered users, revealed that there was unauthorized access to its application. It stated that approximately 6% to 7% of its users may be impacted, which is roughly 108,000 to 126,000 people.

Security experts strongly recommend that all Instagram users take immediate protective measures like enabling two-factor authentication on their accounts. The security feature requires a second form of verification beyond just your password, which is typically a code sent to your phone or generated by an authentication app.

They also recommend changing your Instagram password, especially if you’ve been using the same password for an extended period or if you’ve reused it across multiple platforms. Users should create strong, unique passwords that have uppercase and lowercase letters as well as numbers and special characters.

Instagram users have been warned to be skeptical of unexpected emails, text messages, or direct messages asking for personal information or urging immediate action.

Meta was in a similar situation back in November 2024 when a leak reportedly exposed 489 million Instagram user records on a dark web platform.

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The S&P 500 does not stay the same. It never has. Companies enter, companies leave. Some grow fast and earn a spot, while others shrink, merge, go private, or collapse.

Stability is not how this index works.

So perhaps this churn helps explain how the market behaves over time. Prices can rise while the lineup behind them shifts quietly. The S&P 500 today is not the same index from ten years ago. It is not even close. The market keeps replacing its own parts.

Turnover changes leadership and investor outcomes

Goldman Sachs analyst Ben Snider put numbers to this change. “On average, 20% of S&P 500 constituents turn over every five years,” Ben wrote in a January 6 research note. He shared a chart tracking this pattern back to 1985. The data shows steady turnover across decades, not a one‑off event.

This matters because the market is never pushed by all stocks at once. At any moment, a small group drives gains. Those leaders usually look unstoppable. Then many of them slow down and fall behind. New stocks take their place and carry the market forward. That handoff keeps happening.

Recent history shows it clearly. Six of the Magnificent 7 joined the S&P 500 only within the past 25 years. They were not permanent fixtures. They earned entry over time. Their rise shows how quickly leadership can change inside the index.

Turnover also explains why beating the market is so hard. Long‑term returns come from a minority of names. Most stocks do not outperform. Picking a winner is worse than a coin flip. The odds lean toward underperforming the S&P 500, not beating it.

Timing makes it tougher. Buying a strong stock is only half the job. Selling before it drags returns is just as critical. As companies spend less time in the index, that timing window keeps shrinking. Mistakes happen faster.

Many investors avoid those choices by buying index funds. Holding an S&P 500 fund is called passive investing because it limits trading. But the holdings inside that fund still change. Investors own a rotating mix of companies as names enter and exit.

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Illicit crypto flows hit a new all-time high of $158 billion in 2025, more than double what came in the year before ($64.5 billion), according to TRM Labs’ 2026 Crypto Crime Report.

“Prior to this rebound, total incoming value to illicit entities had declined steadily from USD 85.9 billion in 2021 to USD 75.4 billion in 2022 and USD 73.3 billion in 2023, before reaching a low point in 2024,” said TRM.

TRM said this jump is directly tied to tougher sanctions, more governments using crypto, and a tech platform called Beacon Network that lets investigators talk to each other and share wallet info fast, which means dirty wallets are getting flagged sooner.

Russia-linked wallets dominated 2025’s illicit crypto flows, says TRM

TRM’s report said only 1.5% of all known crypto traffic in 2025 was dirty, down from 1.7% in 2024 and way lower than 3.5% in 2023.

Same thing happened with incoming money, where only 2.7% of new flows went to bad wallets, down from 2.9% the year before and 6.0% in 2023.

So there’s more crime in dollar terms, but less compared to how much clean money is flying around.

Source: TRM

One Russia-linked token called A757 got $72 billion in dirty money, and another $39 billion was sent straight to the A7 wallet group, which means over 80% of all sanctions-linked volume was connected to Russian players.

TRM named Garantex, Grinex, and A7 as key players. A wallet is one thing, but TRM also flagged a token called A7A5, a ruble-backed stablecoin tied to Russia’s larger game plan: cut out the US dollar and build their own rails. The A7 wallets are mostly for sanctions dodging, but A7A5 was used in all kinds of official flows.

TRM alleged that 95% of all cash going to these sanctioned wallets came in through stablecoins. That tells you the tools have changed. These people know how to hide, and they’re using stablecoins to stay under the radar. Sanctions are stricter now. So they’ve shifted to smaller, riskier platforms that don’t play by the rules.

In Venezuela, the government allegedly used crypto to keep the lights on since banks are frozen there. So they turned to tokens for state payments, remittances, and whatever else they could sneak through.

TRM also pointed at Chinese-language escrow services and underground banks being used by scammers, hackers, and sanctions dodgers.

In 2020, that activity was around $123 million, but now it’s over $103 billion. These services move huge amounts of stablecoins into legit systems, through over-the-counter brokers, money mules, and casinos in Asia, according to TRM.

Enforcement speeds up and dirty wallets get caught faster

TRM broke the numbers down by crime type. Sanctions violations grew more than 400%. Blocklisted wallets went up 32%. Hacked or stolen money rose 31%. Darknet markets added 20%. Sales of illegal goods and services rose 12%.

This wasn’t because criminals got better. TRM said the difference was faster enforcement. Beacon Network made it easier for investigators to connect the dots across countries. It didn’t change what’s defined as “illicit,” but it sped up how fast dirty wallets got tagged.

Stablecoin companies joined in too. TRM said Tether in particular started going after bad wallets linked to terrorism, scams, and hacks. That helped explain why so many of the flagged transactions involved stablecoins. Enforcement is getting smarter and faster.

TRM also updated how it counts crime. They used to compare illicit crypto activity to total blockchain traffic. That made crime look smaller because bots, trading firms, and exchanges inflate volume with fake trades and rapid moves.

Now, TRM compares illicit money to cash actually leaving VASPs, real providers like exchanges. That shows what part of real usable money is going to bad actors. If $100 comes in and $20 ends up in criminal wallets, that’s a real 20% risk. Doesn’t matter how many times the same $100 got bounced around.

Source: TRM Labs

TRM also removed fake volume from the math; stuff like wash trading, peel chains, and internal movements. These things don’t add capital. They just move it in circles to boost stats. That junk is gone from the new model.

They said the numbers are conservative. They don’t include fiat crimes that later turned crypto, or unaudited wallets. They also skipped laundering chains. They only tracked income, not what happened after the money was moved around.

TRM said these totals are going to go up later. New wallets always get found after the fact. Investigations take time. Sanctions get updated. Court records get unsealed. So what’s $158 billion today might be more tomorrow.

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The investment playbook that worked for years just stopped working. Buying shares in America’s largest technology companies used to be a sure bet, but 2025 told a different story.

For the first time since 2022, when the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates, most of the Magnificent 7 tech companies failed to beat the S&P 500 Index. The Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Index went up 25% in 2025, while the S&P 500 climbed 16%. But those gains came almost entirely from just two companies: Alphabet Inc. and Nvidia Corp.

Experts on Wall Street believe this pattern will stick around in 2026. They point to slower profit growth and growing doubts about whether massive spending on artificial intelligence will actually pay off.

Early signs support their view. The Magnificent 7 index has risen only 0.5% so far this year, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.8%. Picking the right tech stock now matters more than ever.

The three-year bull market has been driven by tech giants. Nvidia, Alphabet, Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. alone made up more than one-third of the S&P 500’s gains since October 2022. But excitement about these companies is fading as interest spreads across the broader market.

Tech giants face earnings slowdown

As Big Tech’s earnings growth slows down, investors want more than promises about AI riches. They want actual returns. The Magnificent 7 are expected to see profits grow about 18% in 2026, the slowest rate since 2022. That’s barely better than the 13% growth projected for the other 493 companies in the S&P 500, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data.

One bright spot is valuations. The Magnificent 7 index trades at 29 times projected profits over the next 12 months, well below the 40s multiples seen earlier in the decade. The S&P 500 trades at 22 times expected earnings, while the Nasdaq 100 Index sits at 25 times.

Nvidia, the leading AI chipmaker, faces pressure from growing competition and worries about whether its biggest customers will keep spending. Still, Wall Street remains bullish. Of the 82 analysts covering Nvidia, 76 recommend buying. The average price target suggests a roughly 39% gain over the next 12 months, the best among the group.

Microsoft spent 2025 underperforming the S&P 500 for the second straight year. The data center expansion is boosting revenue growth in Microsoft’s cloud business, but customers aren’t paying as much for AI services built into its software products.

Apple took a different path with less aggressive AI ambitions. Revenue is expected to expand 9% in fiscal 2026, ending in September, the fastest pace since 2021. With the stock valued at 31 times estimated earnings, the second highest in the Magnificent 7 after Tesla, it needs that growth to keep going.

Amazon leads the pack in early 2026

Alphabet went from worry to Wall Street favorite in a year. The stock rose more than 65% last year, the best performance in the Magnificent 7. But shares trade at around 28 times estimated earnings, well above their five-year average of 20. The average analyst price target projects just a 3.9% gain this year.

Amazon was the weakest Magnificent 7 stock in 2025, marking its seventh straight year in that position. But the company has started 2026 strong. Concerns about AWS falling behind rivals had pressured the stock, along with aggressive AI spending that includes warehouse automation using robotics.

Meta Platforms shows how investors have grown skeptical of big AI spending. The stock fell in late October after Meta raised its 2025 capital expenditures forecast to $72 billion and projected “notably larger” spending in 2026. After hitting a record in August with a 35% gain for the year, shares have since dropped 17%.

Tesla’s shares were the worst performers in the Magnificent 7 through the first half of 2025, then jumped more than 40% in the second half as CEO Elon Musk shifted focus from slumping electric vehicle sales to self-driving cars and robotics.

The stock now trades at almost 200 times estimated profits, making it the second most expensive stock in the S&P 500 behind takeover target Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

After two years of flat revenue, Tesla is expected to start growing again in 2026. Revenue is projected to rise 12% this year and 18% next year, following an estimated 3% drop in 2025. Still, the average analyst price target projects a 9.1% decline over the next 12 months.

Data centers are expected to require roughly $7 trillion in capital spending by 2030, according to a McKinsey & Co. report.

At the rapid rate data centers are being built in the U.S., there’s no end in sight for electricity needed to power them. 3,778 data centers are in the U.S., according to Data Center Map.

Through 2028, another 280 or so are expected to come online. The Bank of America Institute has reported that U.S. electricity demand is expected to grow 2.5% annually over the next decade, five times faster than the growth rate over the past decade.

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You are not alone, in case you missed the initial boom of Dogecoin. A lot of traders revise the meteoric surge of DOGE and question what the next breakout cryptocurrency would be. Currently, market analysts single out Mutuum Finance (MUTM) as one of the new altcoins which are drawing attention during the current cycle, a presale. This project has a real product roadmap and a decentralized finance (DeFi) focus which means that it will not only provide community sentiment and meme appeal.

Evaluating what crypto to purchase today, it is possible to run a comparison between long-established ones such as Dogecoin and new promising alternatives to make informed decisions about risk-reward scenarios. The experience of DOGE has demonstrated how community support and liquidity can perform over the long term, but it also demonstrates constraints that more recent protocols are currently placing themselves to address. 

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin (DOGE) is among the most established brands in the crypto market. Having been created by the culture of the internet, it today has become a significant digital asset that is owned by a large number of people in their portfolios. DOGE currently sells at approximately $0.14, and the market cap is approximately $24B – becoming one of the strongest tokens within the ecosystem.

Although the prices of the cryptos fluctuate occasionally, DOGE has still maintained a lot of liquidity and trading volume per day. Its crypto charts are closely monitored by traders, who observe the resistance zones existing above the pricier levels of higher prices that have been difficult to breach. This is a constant spectrum that restrains the short-term decisions of investors who are eager to know which crypto to purchase or which crypto to invest in at different Market cycles.

The popularity of DOGE is greatly motivated by the support of the community, network recognition and representation in the retail listings across the globe. Its inflationary supply model and non-evolving utility are, however, some of the limits to explosive gains in the future, according to market commentators, as is its failure to build on functional products as protocols do.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

Unlike the long-standing history of DOGE, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is a new altcoin that is linked to a futuristic lending and borrowing protocol that is decentralized. The project is doing a staged pre-sale, where the token is currently priced at approximately $0.04 in Phase 7, which is a stage that is selling out quite rapidly. Since demand is rising, each presale stage has a fixed price and distribution structure that results in tokens being shifted into higher pricing levels at a faster rate, which may result in organic upside pressure.

Mutuum Finance is not only a presale token. It is establishing a working crypto platform on which people can lend, borrow, and receive interest off of shared liquidity. The official updates show that the initial V1 protocol will be deployed to the Sepolia testnet in Q1 2026, with liquidity pools, mtTokens, debt tokens, and a liquidator bot deployed.

Security is another focus. The protocol had already been audited by Halborn Security, a reputable company in the blockchain industry, and this further presents an added level of examination to its smart contracts before being publicly tested.

Strengths and Limitations of MUTM and DOGE

Comparing DOGE and Mutuum Finance, it is worth comparing the popularity of community-based projects to the utility of the protocol.

The strength of dogecoin is obvious; popular, with a strong liquidity level, and present on virtually every exchange. But the essential application of DOGE has not yet developed to a transfer medium or a market sentiment vehicle. This is a disadvantage to investors that usually receive the question of what is the best cryptocurrency to invest in over time as the value of the products being used.

In comparison, Mutuum Finance is establishing the infrastructure that can be revenue-generating through lending activity, which can potentially finance token buyback and the staking dividend to token stakeholders in the safety module. Dogecoin lacks that direct connection between platform income and token demand.

Early investment situations can be instructive to show possible variations in the result. As an illustration, taking an early bet of $550 in DOGE would have seen your returns pegged much more to macro trends and social trending. DOGE will have an opportunity to rise in a positive crypto market, yet the market environment of stagnation or declines would also restrict the demand on meme-based assets.

Now suppose the same $550 is deployed into MUTM during its early presale stages. With strong presale demand, a defined roadmap, and utility still being built out, some analysts believe this setup could create more direct valuation support once the platform begins generating activity. 

In bullish scenarios, projections show MUTM trading between $0.30 and $0.36 within its first year of operation. At those levels, an early $0.04 entry would represent a return of 650% to 800%, assuming user growth and protocol revenue arrive as expected.

Presale Selling Out

The Phase 7 presale of Mutuum Finance is progressing fast, which indicates that there is continued interest with the launch milestones close to being reached. A completed audit work and a definite roadmap to the V1 testnet have ensured that the momentum has been maintained. The anticipation of a functioning borrowing protocol at launch has held the interests of crypto investors seeking new crypto currency to purchase with practicable use not merely in speculation of the prices.

With the presale heading towards its final stage, there has been some market commentary that the more allocation and visibility amongst users, the higher the interest may be regenerated that may turn into heightened demand once tokens are launched on larger markets. 

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance