By Shikha Singh
Bitcoin ETFs Rebound With Modest Inflow of $18 mn.
On January 28, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a modest rebound, with net inflows of $18.44 million. Blackrock’s IBIT ETF led the charge with $30.14 million in inflows, while Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB experienced outflows of $11.7 million. The remaining Bitcoin ETFs showed no significant changes. The total value of assets traded was $2.49 billion, with the cumulative net inflow reaching $39.5 billion.
BlackRock’s IBIT led all ETFs with a cumulative net inflow of $39.82 billion, outpacing Fidelity’s FBTC by more than three times. Other major ETFs like ARKB, Bitwise’s BITB, and Grayscale’s BTC reached over $1 billion in net inflows. Bitcoin’s ETF net asset ratio stood at 5.91%, with a total net asset value of $118.62 billion. On the other hand, Ether ETFs saw no trading action with no inflows or outflows.
Russia’s Digital Ruble Passes Secret Trials as Kremlin Eyes CBDC Rollout.
Russia has completed the initial phase of testing for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital ruble, with trials conducted in late 2024 by the Bank of Russia, Ministry of Finance, and Treasury.
The digital ruble aims to integrate into the country’s budgetary system, although Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted there are no immediate plans for mandatory usage.
The CBDC will exist alongside traditional fiat and non-cash payments. A full-scale pilot is expected to begin in mid-2025, starting in Chuvashia, with major banks like Sberbank, VTB, and Alfa-Bank participating.
This initiative aligns with Russia’s growing use of crypto to bypass Western sanctions while maintaining state control over domestic financial transactions.
Shiba Inu Lead Teases Extremely Powerful Partnership to Impact Shibarium Projects.
Shiba Inu’s lead developer, Shytoshi Kusama, teased an upcoming “extremely powerful” partnership that could significantly impact all Shibarium projects and the broader crypto industry.
While details were not disclosed, Kusama hinted that the partnership will benefit Shiba Inu’s ecosystem tokens, including SHIB, LEASH, TREAT, and BONE, as well as the broader crypto space.
This announcement follows the recent Astra Nova partnership, which aims to innovate the Web3 space by merging gaming, AI, and community-driven projects.
Kusama also addressed concerns about the misuse of Shiba Inu’s official X handle (@Shibtoken) for promoting unrelated tokens, emphasizing that the account should focus solely on Shiba Inu-related updates to avoid associations with scams or pump-and-dump schemes.
ai16z Rebrands to ElizaOS Amid Confusion with Andreessen Horowitz.
ai16z, a venture capital firm run by AI agents, is rebranding to ElizaOS as it expands its technology and community.
The name change follows a request from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) due to branding confusion. Founder Shaw Walters explained that the rebrand positions the project for future success and enables collaboration with established Web3 players.
Despite the change, Eliza, the project’s mascot, will remain the face of the platform. The company is also developing Eliza v2, an advanced AI framework, and has committed to not creating any more tokens. Eliza Labs’ growth has been significant, with a 300x increase in assets under management (AUM) in just three months.
SK Set to Launch ‘Crypto Crime Unit’ To Tackle Illicit Activities.
South Korea has officially launched a “Crypto Crime Unit” to combat rising illegal activities in the cryptocurrency space.
The unit, which began in July 2023 as the Joint Investigation Unit (JIU), will now focus on fighting fraud, scams, and hacks tied to digital assets.
This move comes as crypto adoption in South Korea grows rapidly, with 15.6 million users, which is 30% of the population, by late 2024.
The official recognition of the JIU is seen as a step toward positioning South Korea as a leading crypto hub, joining markets like Hong Kong, the UAE, and Singapore.
India to Get World’s Largest Data Center in AI Push.
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group is building a 3-gigawatt facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat, which will house the world’s largest data center by capacity.
Expected to cost between $20 billion and $30 billion, this data center will primarily run on renewable energy and use Nvidia’s AI semiconductors.
It aims to surpass the current largest data centers, including Microsoft’s 600-megawatt site in Virginia. The move highlights India’s growing focus on AI, with the government investing in AI-ready infrastructure and courses in universities.
IndiaAI, a government initiative, is also advancing by selecting firms to procure 10,000 GPUs to boost AI development.
Microsoft plans to invest $3 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure in India, including new data centers, and partner with IndiaAI to skill 500,000 individuals by 2026. The country’s rapid investment in AI infrastructure reflects its ambition to become a leader in the AI field.
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