Daily Summary, January 29

Regulation and Institutional News

* UAE: The country’s Central Bank approved and launched the first UAE dollar stablecoin, USDU. The token is registered under local regulation and intended for official settlements.
* USA (SEC): The Securities and Exchange Commission stated that tokenized shares and bonds remain securities, even if recorded on a blockchain. Earlier the same day, former SEC head Paul Atkins remarked that now is a suitable time to consider allowing cryptocurrencies into 401(k) retirement plans (the volume of this market in the US is about $12.5 trillion).

Markets and Assets

* Precious Metals: Silver reached a new all-time high of $120 per ounce. In China, frantic demand has led to the only silver ETF trading at a 42% premium, equivalent to a price of about $167.
* Trading Volumes: Trading volumes on crypto exchanges (CEX) noticeably declined in January, amounting to $1.1 trillion. This figure could be the lowest since July 2025.
* Solana: The number of validators in the Solana network decreased by 68% due to rising node maintenance costs, leading to the exit of small operators.

Technology and Projects

* The DAO: The Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin announced the relaunch of The DAO under the new name Unchained. It is now a network security support fund with capital of about $220 million.
* Forecasts for 2026: A TOP-20 list has been compiled of projects highly likely to launch their own tokens in 2026.
* OpenAI: The company is developing a social network with bot protection based on identity verification.

Security and Fraud

* Cere Network: Investors accuse the project of fraud amounting to $100 million.

Curiosity

* Billionaire and well-known investor Zak Pritzker gives lectures on cryptocurrencies while wearing socks with holes, which has become a topic of discussion on social networks.