A Whale Buys 1.415 Billion PEPE Tokens, Worth $2.05 Million

On January 16, the Financial Times reported the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, triggering global central bank concerns over the Fed’s compromised independence. The development not only impacts the direction of U.S. monetary policy but also directly threatens a key crisis tool of the global financial system: currency swap agreements. Swap agreements are a core mechanism through which the Fed provides dollar liquidity to other central banks during crises, serving as a "financial lifeline" from the global financial crisis (GFC) to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, pressure from the Trump administration on the central bank has stoked fears the tool could become politicized. European officials discussed alternative arrangements last year, reflecting growing awareness among countries that their reliance on dollar liquidity could be weaponized. Analysts note that if the U.S. ties swap agreements to geopolitical intere

January 16 Data from Coinglass shows total net outflows of ETH from centralized exchanges (CEXs) over the past 24 hours hit 38,700 ETH. The top three CEXs by ETH outflows are: - Bithumb: 25,300 ETH outflows - Bybit: 18,200 ETH outflows - Binance: 8,762.69 ETH outflows On the inflow side, OKX topped the list with 21,800 ETH inflows.

**Nexo Fined $500k by California’s DFPI for Unlicensed Crypto-Backed Loans** California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced Jan. 16 that it has levied a $500,000 fine against cryptocurrency asset management platform Nexo for offering crypto-backed loans to at least 5,456 California residents without a state-issued license. An investigation found Nexo Capital Inc.—the platform’s Cayman Islands-registered subsidiary—issued loans to consumers and businesses between July 2018 and November 2022 without valid authorization. The firm failed to assess borrowers’ repayment ability, existing debt, or credit history before lending, violating California’s financial regulations, the regulator said. DFPI Commissioner KC Mohseni noted: “Lenders must follow the law and avoid issuing high-risk loans that put consumers in danger—crypto-backed loans are no exception.” Beyond the fine, Nexo has 150 days to transfer all California user funds to a licensed U.S.-affi

On January 16, Farside Monitoring reported that U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs saw a net inflow of $164 million yesterday—marking the fourth straight day of net inflows. The breakdown includes: - ETHA: Net inflow of $149.2 million - Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETH): Net inflow of $15.2 million

On January 16, OnchainLens monitoring shows that over the past two days, a whale address has swapped 363 BTC (≈$34 million) for 10,390.5 ETH via ThorChain, at a transaction price of roughly $3,273 per ETH. Two hours ago, the same whale swapped an additional 323.26 BTC (≈$31.15 million) for 9,240.6 ETH. As of now, the whale has cumulatively swapped 686 BTC (totaling ≈$65.16 million) for 19,631 ETH through ThorChain, with an average transaction price of around $3,319 per ETH.

Farside monitoring reported on January 16 that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted a net inflow of $100.2 million yesterday, extending their streak of net inflows to four consecutive trading days. Key fund flow breakdown: - IBIT: Net inflow of $315.8 million - Grayscale BTC: Net inflow of $6.7 million - BRRR: Net inflow of $3 million - FBTC: Net outflow of $1.889 billion - Grayscale GBTC: Net outflow of $36.4 million This version aligns with U.S. English news conventions—concise, clear data presentation, and common verbs like "posted" "extending" for flow.