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25 Jan 2026, 17:01

How SharpLink Aims to Be the Most 'Focused, Disciplined' Ethereum Treasury in 2026

Ethereum treasury firm SharpLink Gaming hopes to stand apart from the pack by focusing on the long-term—with shareholders top of mind.

25 Jan 2026, 16:35

U.S. stock market sees the weakest presidential first-year performance in 20 years under Trump

The stock market delivered positive returns during Donald Trump’s first year back as president, but the gains fell short compared to other recent presidential terms, marking the slowest start for any president in two decades. Market indexes climbed 13.3% between inauguration day and January 20, 2026, according to data from CFRA Research seen by CNN. While these returns appear solid on their own, they represent the smallest first-year increase for a president since George W. Bush began his second term in 2005. The performance also trailed Trump’s own previous record, during his initial term as president, markets jumped 24.1% in the first twelve months. Investors pushed stocks upward throughout the year, continuing a rally fueled largely by excitement surrounding artificial intelligence technology. Meanwhile, foreign markets beat U.S. stocks in 2025, a shift that hadn’t occurred in several years. However, the market didn’t start from scratch. Trump took office following two consecutive years where the S&P 500 had climbed more than 20% annually, a streak not seen since the 1990s. This meant expectations were already elevated when his second term began. Tariff turmoil triggers historic volatility spike The past year brought significant uncertainty as the administration changed direction repeatedly on key policies. Markets dropped close to bear market territory in April when confusion over tariff plans spooked investors. Prices then bounced back sharply after Trump stepped away from his harshest proposed measures. Overall, the S&P 500 hit 39 all-time highs during the year. By comparison, the index reached 62 record peaks in 2017 during Trump’s first year in office. Trump has shown he pays attention to market movements and sees them as a measure of how well his presidency is going. This week, he dismissed recent market declines tied to concerns about Greenland and tariffs as “peanuts,” predicting the market would soon be “doubled.” Hours after those comments, he pulled back on tariff threats, which helped stocks recover. Several factors supported market growth in 2025. The artificial intelligence sector remained a major draw for investors. People felt optimistic about potential Federal Reserve interest rate reductions. Company profits stayed strong. The economy held up better than many expected. Trump also signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” during the summer months. The economic boost from that legislation could help markets continue rising this year. “The front-end loading of this stimulus is a big reason why the stock market did well the first year of this term,” Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co, wrote in an email. Maley added that many investors believe the president plans to “let the economy run hot” through the midterm elections. While this doesn’t guarantee the second year will match the first year’s performance, he noted the administration clearly wants markets performing well this year, particularly in the five to six months before those elections. Fear gauge hits pandemic levels The year brought both gains and wild swings. The VIX , which measures how worried Wall Street feels, spiked to levels not seen since the pandemic when tariff confusion peaked in spring. “The only truly exceptional thing was that the VIX went over 50 for the first time since the pandemic during the height of trade policy uncertainty,” Nick Colas, co-founder at DataTrek Research, explained in an email. Tim Thomas, chief investment officer at Badgley Phelps Wealth Management, said he’s shifted some client accounts to be more “defensive” with less risky holdings. But he’s ultimately looking beyond short-term price swings and concentrating on fundamentals like earnings growth, the AI boom, and helpful government policies. “The market performance last year was pretty good,” Thomas said. “There is a lot of policy uncertainty out there. Policy uncertainty is hard to invest around, because, by its very nature, it can change in an instant.” After three straight years of strong performance, Wall Street experts generally expect the S&P 500 to keep climbing this year. But questions remain. The U.S. dollar has struggled recently while safe investments like gold and silver keep hitting new highs. Jim Hagerty, CEO at Bartlett Wealth Management, told his main lesson from the past year is that investors need to stay disciplined. “When markets have been really good, or occasionally when they’re scary, it can tempt people away from their disciplines,” Hagerty said. “I would just emphasize: stay disciplined.” If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .

25 Jan 2026, 14:52

ARK Files SEC Registration for Crypto ETF Benchmark Led by Bitcoin, Ether, XRP

ARK Investment Management has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a new cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund benchmarked to the CoinDesk 20 Index, according to a Form S-1 filing dated Jan. 23. The proposed product, called the ARK CoinDesk 20 Crypto ETF, would offer broad exposure to major digital assets, led by Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP. The filing shows the ETF is expected to list on NYSE Arca, subject to regulatory approval. ARK is listed as the sponsor and commodity pool operator, registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The filing marks another attempt by a major asset manager to expand regulated crypto investment products beyond single-asset Bitcoin and Ether funds. ETF structure and investment approach According to the prospectus, the ETF would not hold spot cryptocurrencies directly. Instead, it plans to gain exposure through CoinDesk 20 Index futures contracts, with remaining assets held in cash and short-term U.S. government securities. Those holdings would support margin requirements and liquidity management. Because the fund tracks futures rather than spot markets, ARK said performance may differ from the prices of the underlying cryptocurrencies. Futures-based exposure can introduce tracking differences tied to contract roll costs, market structure, and pricing dynamics. The filing states that CoinDesk 20 Index futures are listed on ICE Futures U.S., with final settlement based on CoinDesk’s benchmark reference rates. Those rates rely on volume-weighted pricing during a defined daily calculation window. Index composition led by BTC, ETH, XRP The CoinDesk 20 Index is weighted by market capitalization and liquidity, excluding stablecoins, memecoins, and certain other token categories. As of Dec. 31, the filing lists Bitcoin as the largest component at about 32%, followed by Ethereum near 21% and XRP at nearly 20%. Solana and Cardano follow as smaller allocations, while the remaining constituents make up a limited share of the benchmark. The top five assets account for close to nine-tenths of the index weight, underscoring the dominance of large-cap cryptocurrencies within the structure. ARK also disclosed that the index is rebalanced quarterly, allowing weights to adjust as market conditions and asset capitalizations change. In a related filing wave, ARK also registered an “ex-Bitcoin” version of the CoinDesk 20 ETF, which would exclude BTC while keeping exposure to other large-cap digital assets. The filings come as U.S. regulators continue to review a growing pipeline of crypto-related ETFs, reflecting sustained institutional interest in diversified digital asset benchmarks.

25 Jan 2026, 14:14

Meta fights U.S. court lawsuit over false claims of WhatsApp message privacy

A group of international plaintiffs on Friday filed a new lawsuit against Meta, claiming it lied about WhatsApp privacy and fooled users into thinking their chats were truly private. According to the lawsuit, Meta has been secretly storing, analyzing, and accessing messages it publicly claims are “end-to-end encrypted.” WhatsApp shows users a default privacy warning: “only people in this chat can read, listen to, or share” messages. That’s supposed to mean that not even Meta can see what users send. But the new lawsuit says that entire promise is fake, and it accuses Meta of defrauding billions of users worldwide by making them believe otherwise. Plaintiffs say Meta misled billions about encryption The group filing the case includes plaintiffs from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa. They argue that Meta’s claims about end-to-end encryption are a complete scam, and that workers inside the company can view the content of so-called “private” WhatsApp messages. The plaintiffs say whistleblowers helped bring this to light, though they didn’t name them or explain how they got the info. Meta bought WhatsApp in 2014 and has repeatedly claimed its platform is fully secure. But the plaintiffs say that’s all just PR spin, not real privacy. They accuse Meta and WhatsApp of building an illusion of safety to lure in users, while in the background, the company collects and studies the messages it claims are out of reach. Meta is not backing down. The company’s spokesperson, Andy Stone, called the entire lawsuit a joke. “Any claim that people’s WhatsApp messages are not encrypted is categorically false and absurd,” Stone said in a statement. “WhatsApp has been end-to-end encrypted using the Signal protocol for a decade. This lawsuit is a frivolous work of fiction.” Meta says it will pursue sanctions against the plaintiffs’ lawyers. Lawyers for the plaintiffs want this case to become a class-action lawsuit. The legal team includes attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Keller Postman, and Barnett Legal. Multiple lawyers declined to comment or didn’t respond to requests. Patent fight adds pressure over smart glasses tech As Meta deals with that lawsuit, it’s also being targeted in a separate patent fight. In Massachusetts federal court, Solos Technology Ltd. filed a complaint Friday, saying Meta and partners stole smart glasses technology and violated “core patents” that power products like the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Gen 1. Solos is asking for “multiple billions of dollars” in damages. The company also wants an injunction that could stop Ray-Ban Meta products from being sold. The filing claims Meta and EssilorLuxottica had years of access to Solos’ intellectual property, going back to at least 2015. Solos says even Oakley employees tested early versions of its hardware years before Meta got involved. Solos built its first smart eyewear for cyclists over a decade ago. Its more recent “AirGo” models include AI-powered features like translation and ChatGPT integration. On its site, Solos says it holds over 100 patents and applications. The lawsuit alleges that every Meta release since Gen 1 copies Solos’ tech, including the latest smart glasses built with muscle-signal technology. Solos also says that a former MIT Sloan Fellow, Priyanka Shekar, published a 2021 study citing Solos’ patented tech. That same year, she joined Meta as a product manager. According to the lawsuit, Shekar’s work gave Meta internal access to Solos’ designs, making the alleged infringement even more deliberate. The filing claims that by the time Meta and EssilorLuxottica launched smart glasses in 2021, they already had deep, direct knowledge of Solos’ entire roadmap. That lawsuit is now one more legal mess Meta has to clean up, while it’s still trying to convince users that WhatsApp chats aren’t being read behind their backs. Claim your free seat in an exclusive crypto trading community - limited to 1,000 members.

25 Jan 2026, 14:00

Sui Group charts new course for crypto treasuries with stablecoins and DeFi

The Nasdaq-listed firm said it is evolving beyond a crypto treasury vehicle into a yield-generating operating business.

25 Jan 2026, 13:59

South Korean regulators launch regulatory scrutiny of xAI chatbot Grok

The Korean government is looking towards regulatory actions against the generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot of Elon Musk-owned xAI, Grok. This follows several criticisms directed at the chatbot and its involvement in generating and distributing sexually exploitative deepfake images. The information was reported by a local news outlet, the Electronic Times, which mentioned that the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has launched a preliminary fact-finding review into Grok after the allegations were reported in the county by several individuals. The preliminary process is to confirm if the violation actually occurred and whether the matter is within its jurisdiction before a formal investigation can be launched. The Korean government to conduct a review into Grok According to reports , the review follows several reports that surfaced locally and overseas, accusing Grok of being used to create explicit and nonconsensual deepfake images, with most of them involving real individuals and minors. With this, the PICP will reportedly determine its next course of action after reviewing the explanation provided by Grok and other supporting documents. The agency is also expected to review global regulatory trends, which would shape its decision-making. Under the Personal Information Protection Act, altering or generating sexual images of identifiable individuals without consent may constitute unlawful handling of personal data. The AI chatbots, which are integrated into the social platform X and offer both text and image generation on the platform, have faced several criticisms over the creation of fake images of real people since last year. The chatbot has been used to create all sorts of compromising images, which have been frowned upon by the general public. According to the global nongovernmental organization Center for Countering Digital Hate, Grok is estimated to have been used to generate more than three million sexually explicit images between December 29, 2025, and January 8, 2026. The organization claims that among that number, more than 23,000 were images of minors generated using the chatbot. The center warned that the rapid spread of Grok’s AI-generated images has led to a large-scale circulation of explicit content online. The regulator wants a report on measures taken to curb the menace The center has also warned about the serious safety risks that the development poses to children. As a result of this menace, countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and some others have launched investigations , while countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia have blocked access to Grok. In response to the controversy, xAI announced earlier this year that it had implemented certain technical measures to prevent it. The platform claimed that it has stopped both free and paid users from editing or generating images of real people, adding that it would announce further safeguards very soon. In Korea, the Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) demanded stronger youth protection measures from X on January 14. The Korean regulator told the social media platform that its AI firm needs to come up with a plan to prevent the generation of illegal or harmful content. In addition, the regulator also added that the company needs to limit minors’ access to such content. Currently, X has a designated youth protection officer in Korea in accordance with the law and submits annual reports on related compliance. KMCC has urged the platform to submit additional documentation regarding Grok’s safety protocol, noting that nonconsensual sexual images created and distributed on its platform, especially involving minors, are a criminal offense in Korea. The commission has set a deadline of two weeks. If X fails to respond or ignores the request, it may impose an administrative fine of up to 10 million won ($6,870). The same move has been witnessed in other countries, where xAI has been tasked with coming up with measures to curb the rise of the menace. Like Korea, the countries have also announced substantial fines if the company fails to devise and submit a report showing the steps it has taken to limit the rise in the menace. Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.