Crypto Morning News: CoinGecko considers selling at a valuation of around $500 million, privacy protocol Zama launches token sale
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Crypto Morning News: CoinGecko considers selling at a valuation of around $500 million, privacy protocol Zama launches token sale
The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee has rescheduled the cryptocurrency bill hearing to January 27.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: TechFlow
Yesterday's Market Developments
U.S. December Unadjusted CPI YoY at 2.7%, in line with expectations of 2.70% and prior value of 2.70%
According to Jin10 News, the U.S. December unadjusted Consumer Price Index (CPI) year-over-year rate was 2.7%, matching both market expectations and the previous reading of 2.70%.
The U.S. December seasonally adjusted CPI month-over-month rose by 0.3%, also in line with expectations of 0.30%.
Fed Whisperer: December CPI unlikely to shift Fed’s current wait-and-see stance
Nick Timiraos, known as the “Fed whisperer,” reported by Jin10 News, stated that the December CPI data is unlikely to alter the Federal Reserve's current cautious approach. Officials likely want to see more evidence confirming that inflation is stabilizing and gradually declining before considering further rate cuts. The Fed has cut its benchmark interest rate at each of its last three meetings, most recently in December, despite inflation having stalled in its downward trajectory over the past year. Rate reductions were driven by concerns about labor market weakening faster than anticipated. For the Fed to resume cutting rates, officials may need fresh signs of deteriorating labor conditions or easing price pressures—particularly the latter, which might require several more months of inflation data to become evident.
Senate Agriculture Committee reschedules crypto legislation hearing to January 27
Per CoinDesk, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture announced it will release its cryptocurrency market structure bill on January 21, 2026, followed by a key hearing scheduled for 3 p.m. on January 27. The hearing was originally set for January 15 but has been postponed. Committee Chairman John Boozman said the revised schedule ensures transparency and allows comprehensive review of the proposed legislation.
In parallel, the Senate Banking Committee will hold its own markup session on its version of the bill this Thursday. Differences remain between the two committees’ versions on issues such as ethics provisions and bipartisan representation among regulatory bodies, potentially affecting prospects for bipartisan support on any final bill.
Privacy protocol Zama launches token sale with $55 million floor valuation
According to The Block, privacy-focused crypto protocol Zama will launch a fully on-chain token sale via CoinList and its own auction app using a sealed-bid Dutch auction model, with a minimum valuation of $55 million. The sale will distribute 12% of the total 11 billion ZAMA token supply.
The sale consists of three phases: a 2% community sale this week for NFT holders, an 8% main auction through CoinList from January 21–24, and a 2% follow-up sale at the finalized auction price from January 27 to February 2.
PancakeSwap proposes reducing CAKE max supply from 450 million to 400 million
As shown on PancakeSwap’s governance forum, the PancakeSwap team has submitted a proposal to reduce the maximum supply of CAKE tokens from 450 million to 400 million.
The team noted that CAKE has been deflationary since September 2023 and this trend is expected to continue. Approximately 3.5 million CAKE have already been accumulated into an ecosystem growth fund, which will be prioritized for protocol development needs, making it unlikely that the protocol will revert to an inflationary state.
The proposal will proceed to a community vote after discussion; if approved, it would permanently cap CAKE’s maximum supply at 50 million fewer tokens.
ETHGas reveals tokenomics: 10 billion GWEI total supply, 10% allocated to community
Per an official announcement, ETHGas, an Ethereum block space futures market, has unveiled its token economic model. The GWEI token has a total supply of 10 billion, distributed as follows: 31% to ecosystem, 27% to investors, 22% to team, 10% to community, 8% to foundation, and 2% to advisors. Additionally, the snapshot for token airdrop eligibility will be taken on January 19 at 00:00 UTC.
Earlier reports indicated that ETHGas raised $12 million in funding at the end of last year, led by Polychain Capital.
Grayscale adds MegaETH, Horizen and others to asset consideration list
According to The Block, Grayscale has updated its digital asset consideration list, expanding it to include 27 tokens across categories including artificial intelligence, decentralized finance, consumer applications, and infrastructure.
The update, published on January 12, added new assets including MegaETH, Horizen, ARIA Protocol, Playtron, Nous Research, Poseidon, and Geodnet.
Grayscale emphasized that inclusion on the list does not guarantee the launch of related investment products, as product creation involves internal reviews, custody arrangements, and regulatory considerations. The next routine update is expected around April 15, 2026.
YZi Labs makes "multi-eight-figure" investment in Genius Trading; CZ to serve as advisor
Per The Block, YZi Labs has made a “multi-eight-figure” (i.e., tens of millions of dollars) investment in Genius Trading, with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) joining the startup as an advisor.
Genius Trading aims to build a privacy-first on-chain trading platform offering spot, perpetual contracts, and copy trading, with ambitions to become a decentralized version of Binance.
Polygon Labs acquires Coinme and Sequence for over $250 million
According to Fortune, Polygon Labs has completed the acquisition of crypto startups Coinme and Sequence for a combined value exceeding $250 million.
Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, and Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of the Polygon Foundation, said the acquisitions support their stablecoin strategy. Seattle-based Coinme specializes in cash-to-crypto conversion and holds multiple money transmission licenses across the U.S., while New York-based Sequence focuses on blockchain infrastructure development, including crypto wallets. Nailwal described the move as part of Polygon’s effort to compete with fintech giant Stripe.
Source: CoinGecko considering sale at ~$500 million valuation
Per Coindesk, sources report that CoinGecko is exploring a potential sale at a valuation of approximately $500 million. It is understood that the company has engaged investment bank Moelis & Company to manage the sale process, although the final valuation remains undetermined as the process only began at the end of last year.
Notably, CoinGecko’s competitor CoinMarketCap was acquired by Binance for about $400 million in April 2020. CoinGecko was founded in 2014 by TM Lee and Bobby Ong.
Bitcoin trading platform Bitpanda targets Frankfurt IPO in first half of 2026, eyeing €5B valuation
According to Bloomberg, Vienna-based cryptocurrency trading platform Bitpanda GmbH, backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, plans to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as early as the first half of 2026. Sources indicate the company could be valued between €4 billion (~$4.7 billion) and €5 billion in the listing.
Bitpanda has appointed Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank to arrange the offering. Some sources suggest the company could go public as early as the first quarter.
Market Movements
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With Pokémon Card Heists on the Rise, Can Tokenization Solve Physical Collectibles' Risks?
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