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22 Jan 2026, 14:55
China’s AI giants fight to balance GPU performance, price and policy headaches
China’s artificial intelligence sector is battling with a GPU dilemma as firms balance performance, price and policy risk in a tightening global technology landscape. Although the US loosened its grip and gave Nvidia approval to sell its H200 GPUs into China, shipments delay at customs, pushing AI developers to choose between grey market GPUs at a premium or slower domestic chips. Firms are navigating China’s GPU and AI supply squeeze According to reports from some Chinese AI companies, Nvidia’s H200 processing units have become hard to obtain through any means other than illicit channels, although they obtained regulatory approval to acquire this equipment. The uncertainty surrounding this situation is impacting how many companies are able to effectively create training plans. SCMP cited a senior official with a Beijing data center who said that “it is impossible to create a serious training plan until we have the infrastructure in place.” Pricing for H200s has skyrocketed past the world averages. According to industry consultants, “Some businesses will go to any length necessary to keep up competitive disadvantage.” Other firms are working on moving their workloads from H200s to less-powerful models. According to the Cryptopolitan , Nvidia’s suppliers have halted production of the company’s H200 AI accelerator after China moved to block shipments of advanced chips, dealing another blow to the US chipmaker’s access to one of its largest markets. Recently, the suppliers had been working nonstop in anticipation of more than a million orders from China, aiming to meet March delivery targets. This week, however, Chinese customs officials informed agents that shipments of the H200 would not be allowed into the country. China drafted a new regulatory bill that will control how many advanced AI chips local companies can buy from foreign suppliers, specifically Nvidia, according to Nikkei Asia. This is part of Xi Jinping’s mission to support state-backed chipmakers over American ones since Trump started a tech and trade war. Demand for Nvidia inside China is still high, especially from large platforms that rely on heavy computing power to run AI models at scale. Chinese companies have placed orders for more than two million H200 chips, each priced at roughly $27,000. Huawei and several other local chip fabricators have stepped in, producing GPUs to support various AI applications, rather than developing new GPUs for frontier model training. One AI engineer based in Shanghai believes the domestic chip sector continues a rapid improvement regime. “At present, they can’t compare with Nvidia, but they are becoming increasingly viable in the use of inference and applied models,” he stated. As a result of these trade-offs, some of the high-end projects have been delayed, while other projects focused on improving computational efficiency have accelerated so much that many companies are completely revising their models so that they consume fewer CPU cores. This is likely to reshape the direction of China’s AI evolution, according to analysts. Using infrastructure and energy to strengthen AI ambitions Chinese Vice Premier HE Lifeng Zhang emphasized the importance of China’s infrastructure-first strategy during the World Economic Forum and how it gives them a competitive edge. According to Zhang, China’s infrastructure-first strategy provides a structural advantage to China, since low-cost, reliable electricity will have an enormous impact on what can be accomplished with AI. Zhang stated that the establishment of large data centers could increase China’s total number of data centers from around 120 million to as many as 300 million by 2030. A policy researcher estimated that electricity consumption from all of China’s data centers would more than double by 2030, with electricity supply expected to keep pace with this increased demand. According to one energy analyst who specializes in the region, electricity is just as important to AI development as semiconductors are. “Electricity is the quiet benefactor of AI,” the energy analyst stated. Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free .
22 Jan 2026, 14:50
Asset Manager F/m Seeks SEC Approval to Tokenize Treasury ETF Shares
F/m Investments has asked the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to allow it to tokenize shares of its flagship Treasury exchange-traded fund. Key Takeaways: F/m wants SEC approval to tokenize ownership of its $6B Treasury ETF. Tokenized shares would be identical to existing ETF shares, not a new asset. The move signals growing adoption of tokenization in regulated funds. The $18 billion asset manager filed an application on Wednesday seeking exemptive relief that would permit ownership records for the F/m US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF (TBIL) to be maintained on a permissioned blockchain. The fund, which holds roughly $6 billion in assets, would continue to operate as a conventional ETF regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940. F/m Calls Proposal First-of-Its-Kind Bid to Tokenize ETF Shares In a press release announcing the filing , F/m described the proposal as the first attempt by an ETF issuer to obtain US regulatory approval specifically for tokenized shares of a registered investment company. Under the plan, blockchain-based shares would carry the same CUSIP identifier as existing TBIL shares and offer identical rights, fees, voting privileges and economic exposure. According to the firm, the initiative is not intended to create a new digital asset. Instead, tokenization would function as an alternative method for recording ownership, alongside traditional book-entry systems used by brokerages and custodians. The filing places F/m alongside a growing number of traditional asset managers experimenting with tokenization. Franklin Templeton has already launched blockchain-enabled US government money market funds, moving share ownership records onchain while maintaining compliance with federal securities laws. F/m’s proposal extends that model to a listed Treasury ETF, potentially expanding access to tokenized fixed-income products within regulated markets. F/m Investments becomes first ETF issuer to file w/ SEC for tokenized ETF shares… Would be for the F/m US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF (TBIL). "Tokenization is coming to securities markets whether we f #Bitcoin Macro hedge play heating up pic.twitter.com/vjJzL89iB8 — yusef crypto (@yusefkassar) January 21, 2026 F/m also drew a sharp distinction between its approach and crypto-native instruments such as stablecoins or unregistered tokens. The company emphasized that tokenized TBIL shares would remain subject to independent board oversight, daily portfolio disclosure, third-party custody and audits, as well as the investor protections embedded in the 1940 Act. If approved, the structure would allow TBIL to trade through both traditional brokerage channels and digital-native, token-aware platforms using a single share class. F/m said the fund’s investment strategy and portfolio composition would remain unchanged. NYSE’s Tokenization Push Signals Shift Beyond Pilot Projects The application arrives as tokenization gains traction across financial markets. Just days earlier, the New York Stock Exchange revealed plans for a new trading venue designed to support around-the-clock trading and onchain settlement of tokenized stocks and ETFs, underscoring the industry’s push beyond pilot projects toward broader adoption. Market forecasts suggest the opportunity could be significant. Standard Chartered previously projected that tokenized real-world assets could reach a $2 trillion market capitalization by 2028. In a recent research, Web3 digital property firm Animoca Brands said that tokenization of RWAs could unlock a $400 trillion traditional finance market. Last month, Libeara, the blockchain infrastructure platform backed by Standard Chartered’s venture arm SC Ventures, rolled out a new tokenized gold investment fund in Singapore, bringing one of the world’s oldest safe-haven assets onto digital rails. The fund, launched in partnership with FundBridge Capital, allows professional investors to gain exposure to gold through blockchain-based tokens issued on Libeara’s ledger. The post Asset Manager F/m Seeks SEC Approval to Tokenize Treasury ETF Shares appeared first on Cryptonews .
22 Jan 2026, 14:45
Bitwise insists crypto bear market bottomed out in Q4 2025 despite falling prices
The final three months of 2025 might have marked a turning point for crypto, even though prices didn’t show it, according to a Wednesday report from Bitwise, a company that handles digital assets. Matt Hougan, who oversees investments at Bitwise, told clients that the last quarter created a puzzling situation. While the value of cryptocurrencies fell during most of the period, other measurements showed the industry getting stronger. Activity from users, information recorded on blockchains, and money earned by companies all went up. Similar patter n se en afte r FT X collapse Hougan drew comparisons to early 2023, right after the FTX exchange went under. Back then, crypto seemed stuck even though things were actually getting better behind the scenes. Bitcoin climbed from around $16,000 to roughly $98,000 by the beginning of 2025. “At the time, we were starting to rebound post-FTX, and the data was topsy-turvy; some up, some down, some sideways,” Hougan said . “In the two years that followed, crypto prices soared.” The same split between how people felt and what the numbers showed happened again at the end of 2025, according to Hougan. Prices dropped, but important signs of health across the crypto world jumped higher. Experts don’t agree on what comes next. Tom Lee from Fundstrat thinks economic problems like trade tariffs and political questions could hurt markets through most of 2026 before things pick up late in the year. VanEck sees it differently, expecting the first three months of 2026 to be good for riskier investments like crypto because of clearer government spending plans and a steadier American economy. Four signs point to market recovery Hougan pointed to four developments from the fourth quarter that support his view about the market hitting bottom. Ethereum and related networks handled more transactions than ever before, showing more people actually using the technology. Companies focused on crypto made more money than many regular stock market sectors. Stablecoins, digital currencies tied to the dollar, saw big increases. The total value of all stablecoins passed $300 billion in the fourth quarter, reaching a new record high. People moved more stablecoins around, and more money flowed into them throughout 2025. The growth of decentralized finance completed the picture. Hougan mentioned Uniswap, a trading platform that now handles more transactions than Coinbase on a regular basis. “That’s the kind of divergence you get at the bottom of bear markets, when sentiment is down but fundamentals are up,” he said. Bitwise identified several things that could push crypto prices higher in 2026 , including movement on the CLARITY Act, more stablecoin growth, a new Federal Reserve chair, and large investment firms giving clients access to crypto funds. Join a premium crypto trading community free for 30 days - normally $100/mo.
22 Jan 2026, 14:25
FFTT's Gromen warns institutional investors will not drive BTC to $150K without major catalysts
Macro researcher and FFTT founder Luke Gromen warned that retail investors should not expect institutional investors to run Bitcoin to $150k. He made the case during an interview with Natalie Brunell, an episode of Coin Stories published on YouTube on Wednesday. Gromen stated, “If you’re counting on institutional investors to run it from you know 90 to you know 150, if that’s your plan, that’s probably not going to happen without some major catalyst.” He added that this is not how institutional investors act, noting that they will likely wait patiently. Gromen argues against institutions lifting Bitcoin to $150,000 Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $89,833, up 0.7% from the previous day and down 7.4% in the last 7 days. Data from CoinMarketCap reveal that a rise from the current price of $89,833 to $150,000 would be a 67% increase, and 18.86% above the asset’s all-time high of $126,198. For this to happen, Gromen claimed, “At the very least, that suggests there’s a whole lot of wood to chop for Bitcoin.” According to him, there’s a possibility that Bitcoin “could easily” reach $60,000 instead of rising to $150k. He cited the notion of an “all-out trade war,” the U.S. becoming isolated from the rest of the world, or even a recession as scenarios that may prompt large Bitcoin sell-offs and depress institutional interest . Gromen also phrased the question of what will happen to the cash flow of those institutions, “Do they have to turn sellers? Are the treasury companies of this cycle the forced sellers as we saw around FTX in 2022?” He went on to say that if treasury companies were compelled to sell, the market could become overstocked. According to Gromen, Bitcoin has entered a “bear market priced in gold,” signaling a larger capital rotation he claimed is similar to past trends in the 1930s, the early 1970s, and 2002. He pointed out that Bitcoin was performing poorly as investors turned to safe assets like gold, unlike traditional assets. He said that although Bitcoin had the potential to act as a decentralized, trustless monetary system, speculative flows and wider market rotations continued to have a significant impact. He also emphasized that Bitcoin’s decentralized and permissionless structure had given it a distinct position in a world where international trust was eroding. However, the majority of investors favored traditional assets, which prevented Bitcoin from reaching its full potential as a substitute for global reserves. Gromen also disclosed that he had personally sold part of his Bitcoin. According to him, this strategy prioritized financial independence over potential Bitcoin profits, allowing him to pursue other high-potential assets in the years to come. He stated that he preferred to retain a combination of assets, including gold, cash, and Bitcoin-like substitutes, to manage risk, despite Bitcoin’s long-term potential. According to Gromen, investors may prefer stability and optionality over pursuing high profits in an increasingly unpredictable world. Institutional demand could boost the Bitcoin price in 2026 Participants in the cryptocurrency market often interpret increased institutional interest as a sign that prices may rise soon. “Institutional demand for Bitcoin remains strong,” Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, stated on Wednesday. Ju cited the 577,000 Bitcoins, or around $53 billion, that institutional funds have purchased in the last year. He repeated, “Still flowing in.” In December of last year, asset management firm Grayscale predicted that Bitcoin would reach new all-time highs in the first half of 2026, citing institutional demand and more transparent US regulations as the primary drivers. The firm pointed out that the rise will also coincide with the end of the supposed Bitcoin four-year cycle. “We expect rising valuations in 2026 and the end of the so-called ‘four-year cycle,’ or the theory that crypto market direction follows a recurring four-year pattern. Bitcoin’s price will likely reach a new all-time high in the first half of the year,” Greyscle said in a statement. Grayscale stated macroeconomic tailwinds and increased regulatory clarity will fuel the demand for rare assets like Bitcoin ($BTC) and Ethereum ($ETH) this year. 2026 may be the year digital assets enter their institutional era. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .
22 Jan 2026, 14:15
European Union trade deal with South America could begin as early as March
A major trade agreement between the European Union and four South American countries could begin operating as early as March, even though European lawmakers have sent it to the bloc’s highest court for review. An EU official told Reuters on Thursday that the deal with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will likely start working on a temporary basis once the first South American country approves it. That country is expected to be Paraguay, which could ratify the agreement in March. The news comes one day after European Parliament members decided to send the trade pact to the European Court of Justice, a move that could push back full implementation by two years. The EU finished the deal with Mercosur members last Saturday after 25 years of back-and-forth negotiations, making it the largest trade agreement the bloc has ever signed. The delay upset businesses in Germany and disappointed Chancellor Friedrich Merz, one of the deal’s strongest supporters. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday, Merz expressed regret over the European Parliament’s decision. “But rest assured: We will not be stopped. The Mercosur deal is fair and balanced. There is no alternative to it if we want to have higher growth in Europe,” Merz told attendees. Those in favor of the agreement say it matters now more than ever as businesses look for ways to make up for losses from American tariffs and become less dependent on China for trade. On the other side, France leads a group of countries opposing the deal, arguing it will bring in low-cost beef, sugar and poultry that will hurt their own farmers. div]:bg-bg-000/50 [&_pre>div]:border-0.5 [&_pre>div]:border-border-400 [&_.ignore-pre-bg>div]:bg-transparent [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8"> _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 standard-markdown"> India poised for landmark 19th trade deal with EU Meanwhile, India is preparing to finalize a major trade agreement with the European Union. Agriculture will not be part of the agreement, but it shows growing economic cooperation between India and the EU in other important areas. Top EU officials are expected to travel to New Delhi to complete the deal , according to media reports. A report from Euractiv published on January 14, 2026, indicates that agriculture was deliberately left out of the agreement. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reportedly told European Parliament members in a private meeting that the agreement would be signed this month and would not cover agricultural sectors. Von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa are expected to sign the agreement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their New Delhi visit between January 25 and 27, 2026. Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free .
22 Jan 2026, 14:06
DeFi Development launches memecoin DisclaimerCoin
More on DeFi Development DeFi Development Corp.: Solana's Institutional Backing A Key Tailwind DeFi Development Corp. Is Trying To Turn Solana Exposure Into A Managed Treasury Model DeFi Development: Yes, It's Even More Of A Buy Now DeFi Development Corp provides preliminary Q4 increase in Solana per share, share buybacks DeFi Development partners with Perena to leverage USD stablecoin yield for SPS growth
