White House Urges Emergency Action to Avoid Homeland Security Shutdown

**Binance Founder CZ on Chinese Community Unity in Feb 12 AMA** Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said during an AMA on February 12 that he can’t personally represent the massive Chinese community, noting its size often sparks fierce internal competition. He added recent fake news and similar issues are likely the work of Chinese competitors—even friendly ones. CZ stressed the Chinese community isn’t as united as it should be right now, urging greater unity to boost the group’s overall international influence. However, he noted people often struggle to stay united, saying he can’t change that.

On February 12, Binance founder CZ shared during an AMA: “I believe we should focus on our own work. My advice to all ecosystem projects, projects tied to me, or those I can influence: stick to your own lane—don’t talk about others, don’t fixate on them. If our products lag others, we learn. If others have strong values, we learn. If they have a top team, we recruit. We’ve been hiring, but we only measure ourselves against our own goals. At the end of the day, a great product will win users over—that’s all that matters. Token prices being a bit higher than others isn’t cause for celebration, nor is a slight dip reason to be upset. Winning long-term is the only real win. Prioritize serving users well: protect their funds, offer the lowest fees, fastest speeds, and best user experience so they can leverage all your product features. That’s what matters most—everything else is noise, so don’t sweat it.”

February 12 — Per LookOnChain monitoring, the whale address 3NVeXm has just transferred an additional 1,800 BTC to Binance, valued at approximately $122 million. The same address sold 5,000 BTC via a centralized exchange (CEX) yesterday, with the transaction worth roughly $343 million.

On February 12, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said during an AMA session: “I think people just tally up assets and funds and slap on the ‘richest person’ label. But what matters more to me is contributing to society and the world—that’s what actually makes me feel good. I don’t do this for other people—I do it for ‘selfish’ reasons. Doing things that have a positive impact on the world makes me feel good. Humans are wired genetically to want to help each other, to leave the world a little better than we found it, right? That’s why we want to make a positive contribution. When you do this, you get a really strong internal reward that makes you happy. That’s why I do it. Especially after going through what I did over the past two years, I now value the simple joys in life. I feel really lucky right now—I have enough resources to do impactful things, enough skills, a solid team, the funds to make things happen, and the time to put into it too. I’m not exactly young anymo

On February 12, Japanese digital financial platform PayPay filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO). Prior to that, PayPay had acquired a 40% stake in Binance Japan.

**Polymarket Launches NYC’s First Free Grocery Store Amid Kalshi User Acquisition Push** On February 12, prediction market platform Polymarket announced the official opening of *The Polymarket*—New York City’s first free grocery store—at 137 South 7th Avenue in Manhattan. Built by New Yorkers, for New Yorkers, the store offers all items free of charge (no purchase required) and is open to all city residents. Polymarket is also donating an additional $1 million to local food banks. The launch follows intensified user acquisition competition between Polymarket and rival Kalshi, which has rolled out free grocery promotions in New York. On February 3, Kalshi hosted an event at WestSide Market in downtown Manhattan, giving away $50 in free groceries to attendees. Long lines formed at the event, with many participants noting the offer equaled several hours of wages and was highly appealing. Kalshi co-founder Tarek Mansour said the initiative aimed to give back to the community while ex