PA Daily | Meta acquires AI company Manus; Dragonfly partner predicts BTC will surpass $150,000 by the end of 2026

Today’s Headlines:

Media: Tony Leung’s son, Tony Leung Hsiao-feng, serves as a senior software engineer at a Web3 company and previously worked on NFT game CryptoKitties

Dragonfly Partner: BTC will break through $150,000 by the end of 2026, but market share will decline

Manus founder Xiao Hong’s social media profile includes the tag “btc holder”

Lighter announces the launch of the infrastructure token LIT, with 50% ecosystem allocation

Tokenized stocks’ total market cap has risen to $1.2 billion, a new high

Billionaire Grant Cardone announces the launch of the world’s largest real estate Bitcoin company in 2026

Macro

Cicely LaMothe, Deputy Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, is about to retire after formulating crypto guidelines

According to The Block, the SEC’s Deputy Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, who played a key role in shaping the agency’s cryptocurrency regulation approach, is set to retire. On Monday, the SEC announced LaMothe’s retirement in a statement. The SEC stated that over the past year, LaMothe participated in drafting several important staff statements related to cryptocurrencies, including one clarifying that meme coins are not securities, and another explaining the agency’s stance on staking. Besides crypto-related matters, LaMothe also led policy advice for filings submitted by companies, among other duties.

Viewpoint

Analysis: Ethereum’s “triangle” pattern approaches a critical point, potential direction confirmation in 2026

Matrixport’s chart analysis today indicates that during the previous cycle, Ethereum attracted incremental funds driven by expectations of ecosystem expansion on smart contract platforms and the “programmable currency” narrative, leading to rapid price growth in 2020-2021; at the high point in 2021, market expectations briefly reached $10,000. However, the trend did not continue upward. After retreating from highs, Ethereum entered a long-term consolidation phase, mostly trading within a large triangle pattern, with recent years characterized by range-bound oscillation and no clear trend. Structurally, the price attempted twice to break out of the range—once down, once up—both times failing to sustain, quickly returning to the range. Before a clear direction is confirmed, the market remains oscillatory. Currently, the triangle pattern is converging, with price movement space continuously shrinking, approaching the end of the structure. As this long-term consolidation gradually concludes, 2026 may become a key window for Ethereum to determine its direction and enter the next phase.

Yi Lihua: The Federal Reserve will gradually loosen monetary policy with increasing intensity, the company has ample funds to leverage and buy on dips

Jack Yi (Yi Lihua), founder of Liquid Capital, posted on X: “The Federal Reserve will gradually loosen monetary policy, and the intensity will increase—this is the second time since the pandemic. The first was the massive easing during the March 12 pandemic, which led to a bull market. This round is also easing, and with institutions locking in Bitcoin and ETH, the chip structure has changed. When prices rise, short squeezes are inevitable. Short sellers organize armies to attack me, trying to influence public sentiment—futile. The company has sufficient funds to leverage and buy on dips. Shorts will close early with small losses, then close later with big losses—the short alliance has already disintegrated.”

Dragonfly Partner: BTC will break through $150,000 by the end of 2026, but market share will decline

Haseeb, managing partner at Dragonfly, shared his 2026 forecast: BTC will surpass $150,000 by year-end, but its market share will decline. Fintech public chains like Tempo, Arc, RobinhoodChain may underperform market expectations; in contrast, Ethereum and Solana will outperform, with top developers continuing to choose neutral infrastructure chains. A major tech company (such as Google, Facebook, Apple) will launch or acquire a crypto wallet in 2026. Three large Perp DEXs will dominate 90% of the market, with remaining projects fighting over the other 10%. Equity investments will grow rapidly, accounting for over 20% of DeFi investment by year-end. The supply of stablecoins will increase by about 60%, with USD stablecoins maintaining over 99%, and USDT’s dominance slightly decreasing to around 55%. The “Clarity” bill will become law after significant negotiations. Market development is expected to be rapid, but 90% of prediction market products will be ignored and gradually disappear before year-end. AI’s main applications in crypto remain in software engineering and security; other areas are still in prototype stage.

Delphi Digital: GameFi funding down over 55% YoY this year, Web2.5 games quietly rising

Delphi Digital states: “2025 is a tough year for GameFi. Funding has dropped over 55% YoY. The most anticipated projects underperformed, market enthusiasm waned. But the situation is more complex. We are witnessing the rise of Web2.5 games, which treat blockchain as infrastructure, often skipping tokens altogether and competing with actual revenue. Studios like Fumb Games, Mythical Games, and Wemade/Wemix are leveraging blockchain in their own ways while generating substantial income. Blockchain improves profit margins, enhances user engagement, or introduces new revenue streams. While Web3-native games generated six to seven figures in revenue this year, their user base remains small and filled with bots. Once incentives fail, gameplay suffers, but some teams are experimenting with new models. Web2.5 studios no longer need to force users into speculation or justify poor UX to leverage blockchain. The proliferation of stablecoins should accelerate this trend. Small transactions, global payment channels, and participation-based rewards will become more convenient.”

Framework Ventures Co-founder: In 2026, the market will focus on mainstream tokens, with continuous influx of institutional capital into quality DeFi projects

Vance Spencer, co-founder of Framework Ventures, states: “2025 may not be the glorious year many expect for crypto, but it could be a necessary transition for sustained industry development. The industry has largely moved away from meme coins, NFTs, low-liquidity high-FDV projects, and consumer-oriented narratives. I predict that in 2026, token issuance will sharply decline, with a focus on mainstream assets (ETH, BTC). Institutional funds will continue pouring into DeFi blue chips with rational value capture mechanisms. This buying pressure may exceed expectations, especially with ongoing buybacks and high financial discipline at the protocol layer. The future direction is clear: stablecoins, real-world assets (RWA), lending, capital markets, and asset management will dominate. We will address many issues in crypto through meticulous operations, reducing reckless expansion, and regulatory compliance. It’s a bullish outlook, but rebound, rally, and exit opportunities will be highly concentrated.”

( Project Updates

Media: Tony Leung’s son, Tony Leung Hsiao-feng, serves as a senior software engineer at a Web3 company and previously worked on NFT game CryptoKitties

According to Lianhe Zaobao, 75-year-old “Music King” Tony Leung’s son, Howard (Tony Leung Hsiao-feng), has recently excelled in the tech field, including cryptocurrency. He is now a senior software engineer at a Web3 startup, focusing on digital wallets and cryptographic protocols. Howard previously worked at Canadian game company Axiom Zen, where he managed the world’s first Ethereum-based NFT game, CryptoKitties, which once accounted for over 16% of Ethereum network transactions.

Lighter announces LIT token trading is live, airdrop completed

Lighter announced on X that LIT token trading is now live. Previously, the Lighter Discord Chinese community admin posted that the airdrop had been completed and trading would soon open.

Gate founder Dr. Han releases 2025 year-end letter: platform remains second in global spot trading, top three in derivatives, accelerating Web3 adoption

According to official release, Dr. Han, founder of leading crypto exchange Gate, published a year-end letter focusing on Gate’s achievements over the past year and sharing insights on the industry’s move toward maturity and long-term strategy. This year marks the 12th anniversary of Gate. The platform has made breakthroughs in trading volume and compliance: spot trading volume and liquidity rank second globally; derivatives trading and overall strength remain in the top three worldwide. Gate is also expanding compliance in key markets like Dubai, Europe, Australia, and the US, laying a foundation for long-term international growth. Dr. Han notes that 2025 is a critical turning point for Web3 from concept to real-world application. As infrastructure, user experience, and compliance mature, Web3 is moving beyond niche tech circles into broader real-world scenarios. Gate will continue integrating Web3 into daily activities like investing, wealth management, payments, and digital asset management in a seamless, “invisible yet real” way. Looking ahead to 2026, Gate aims to connect the entire digital economy through a unified Gate App. Dr. Han emphasizes that Gate prefers steady, long-term growth over speed, aiming to accompany users into the next phase of Web3.

Star releases 2025 year-end letter: stability, security, and transparency are the foundation for financial freedom

OKX founder and CEO Star states in his 2025 year-end letter: Financial freedom is not ruleless; it’s a reliable, verifiable, and selectable financial system tested through extreme markets. In 2025, despite multiple extreme market fluctuations, OKX maintained system stability, processing peak transactions of 1.72 million per second on October 11, with order latency at 20 microseconds. Star notes that OKX maintained 3%-5% asset redundancy throughout the year, continuously published proof of reserves (PoR), with main asset reserves always above 100%. The platform also invested heavily in security, anti-fraud, self-custody, and compliance expansion. In 2025, global trading volume increased by 16% YoY, DEX trading surged about 262%, and the total number of users worldwide surpassed 120 million.

Lighter announces the launch of infrastructure token LIT, with 50% ecosystem allocation

Lighter announced on X the launch of the infrastructure token LIT, detailing its structure, vision, and roadmap. All value created by Lighter’s products and services will belong entirely to LIT holders. Operating in the US, Lighter’s token is issued directly by its Class C company, which will continue to operate the protocol at cost. The token is allocated 50% to the ecosystem and 50% to the team/investors. The first and second quarter points activities in 2025 generated 12.5 million points, which will be airdropped immediately, representing 25% of the fully diluted value. The remaining 25% of tokens in the ecosystem will be used for future point activities and, to a lesser extent, for partnerships and growth plans. Tokens for the team and investors are subject to a one-year unlock, followed by a three-year linear vesting. Specific allocations are 26% for the team and 24% for investors. LIT holders can access financial products that generate risk-adjusted returns, improve execution efficiency, and capital efficiency. Infrastructure for executing financial transactions and verifying fairness and correctness will be layered based on LIT staking and will become increasingly decentralized. Market data access and price verification are also critical future infrastructure components. Financial data providers and subscribers will use LIT as a fee token, with staking incentivizing the provision of verifiable data for trading and risk management.

Manus founder Xiao Hong’s social media profile includes the tag “btc holder”

Manus founder Xiao Hong’s profile on his WeChat account includes the tag “btc holder.” Previously, Meta acquired the AI application developer Manus’ company Butterfly Effect for billions, making it Meta’s third-largest acquisition after WhatsApp and ScaleAI. After the acquisition, Butterfly Effect will operate independently, with Xiao Hong serving as Meta Vice President.

edgeX: TGE postponed to no later than March 31

Decentralized derivatives trading platform edgeX confirmed during yesterday’s Community Call that its TGE will be delayed, with a new date no later than March 31. The project is a order book-based perpetual contract exchange incubated by Amber Group.

Bitmine plans to launch its commercial Ethereum validator network MAVAN in 2026

Official sources state that Bitmine is working with three staking service providers to launch its commercial MAVAN (Made-in-USA Validator Network) in 2026. As of December 28, 2025, Bitmine has staked a total of 408,627 ETH (about $1.2 billion). Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee predicts: “When all of Bitmine’s ETH are staked via MAVAN and its staking partners, the staking fee will reach $37.4 million annually.” Additionally, Bitmine’s annual shareholder meeting will be held on January 15, 2026, to vote on four key proposals: 1. elect eight directors for the next year; 2. approve amendments to the company’s articles to increase authorized common shares; 3. approve the 2025 comprehensive incentive plan; 4. approve, in a non-binding advisory manner, a special performance-based compensation arrangement for the executive chairman.

Ethereum validator queue size reaches about twice the exit queue for the first time in six months, staking demand rebounds

According to Cointelegraph, the size of the Ethereum validator entry queue has surged to nearly twice the exit queue for the first time in six months. This indicates a rebound in staking demand, mainly driven by digital asset treasury firms like BitMine and possibly supported by the Pectra upgrade.

) Key Data

Two whales short $3.5 million LIT with 3x leverage on HyperLiquid

Onchain Lens monitoring shows whale accounts are shorting LIT tokens (Lighter’s native token) on HyperLiquid. Whale “0x47e” deposited $2 million USDC and opened a 3x leveraged short position on LIT; whale “0xd6b” deposited $1.5 million USDC, also opening a 3x leveraged short on LIT.

“Insider whale 1011” deposits 112,894 ETH back into Binance, worth $332 million

Lookonchain reports that “Insider whale 1011,” holding $749 million in BTC, ETH, and SOL long positions, deposited 112,894 ETH (worth $332 million) into Binance again after the recent crash.

An address opened a 300 BTC long 7 hours ago, ranking in the top 5 BTC longs on Hyperliquid

On-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa monitored that address 0x931…ae7a3 opened a 300 BTC long 7 hours ago, now ranking in the top 5 BTC longs on Hyperliquid. The $26 million BTC long position has an average entry price of $87,965.3, with an unrealized loss of $239,000, liquidation price at $86,073.7. The trader set take-profit and stop-loss ranges at $79,419–$109,496, with partial stops at the lower and upper bounds.

Tokenized stocks’ total market cap hits $1.2 billion, a new record high

According to Cointelegraph, data from Token Terminal shows that driven by strong growth in September and December, the total market cap of tokenized stocks has surged to a record $1.2 billion. Token Terminal states: “Today’s tokenized stocks are like stablecoins in 2020.” This highlights the market is still in early stages. In 2020, stablecoins were just starting, but this year, the industry has grown to a $300 billion scale. Industry insiders compare tokenized stocks to the boom of DeFi in early 2020, noting that more global stocks may be tokenized in the future, benefiting from faster settlement, 24/7 trading, and fractional ownership.

BlackRock’s first tokenized money market fund BUIDL has paid out over $100 million in dividends

Finance Feeds reports that since its launch, BlackRock’s first tokenized money market fund BUIDL has paid out over $100 million in dividends, indicating tokenized securities have moved beyond pilot and proof-of-concept stages into practical application. The fund invests in short-term dollar-denominated instruments such as US Treasuries, repurchase agreements, and cash equivalents.

Funding / M&A

Meta acquires Manus’ AI app developer Butterfly Effect for billions

Jin10 reports that Meta acquired Butterfly Effect, the AI app developer behind Manus, for billions of dollars. This is Meta’s third-largest acquisition after WhatsApp and ScaleAI. Before the acquisition, Manus was raising a new round at a $2 billion valuation. ZhenFund partner and Butterfly Effect angel investor Liu Yuan said the deal was completed in a very short time, just over ten days. Both Manus and Meta Platforms(META.O) announced Manus joining Meta on their official websites, but no specific transaction details were disclosed.

Institutional Holdings

Metaplanet discloses Q4 investment of approximately $451 million in 4,279 BTC

Official sources state that Japanese listed company Metaplanet purchased 4,279 BTC in Q4 2025 at an average price of about $105,412 per BTC, spending $451.06 million; since the beginning of 2025, its Bitcoin return has reached 568.2%. As of December 30, 2025, Metaplanet holds 35,102 BTC, which