B14g, a Bitcoin staking platform, has experienced a significant surge in its total value locked (TVL), increasing by over 500% in the past month and surpassing $12 million as of January 31, according to DefiLlama. Launched in December 2024, B14g has emerged as a leading restaking application within the DeFi sector.

The platform's primary offering, the Merge Marketplace, facilitates BTC merge-staking by allowing participants to commit a complementary token, thereby unlocking higher rewards without the necessity of holding both assets. This feature connects with Core, enabling dual-staking and lowering entry barriers for users.

B14g's innovative approach has positioned it as the 15th largest DeFi app on Bitcoin, with record daily inflows and substantial deposits.

Apollo Global Management has announced the launch of its first on-chain tokenised fund, the Apollo Diversified Credit Securitize Fund (ACRED), in collaboration with Securitize. This initiative marks Apollo's entry into real-world asset tokenisation, following industry leaders like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.

The fund will be accessible on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Aptos, Avalanche, and Polygon, from its inception. Securitize is utilizing its partnership with Warmhole for this multi-chain deployment. The fund's structure, featuring daily subscriptions and net asset value, is designed to complement both stablecoins and more volatile crypto yield products, offering a diversified on-chain portfolio option.

Elastos has announced a $20 million funding round led by Rollman Management to advance its BeL2 network, a utility layer designed to enhance Bitcoin's appeal for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. BeL2 aims to establish a decentralized BTC settlement network by enabling zkBTC full nodes to operate on mobile devices, removing the reliance on third-party confirmations. This development allows Bitcoin to engage in smart contracts via Zero-Knowledge Proofs without asset transfer. The initiative positions Bitcoin as a formidable entity in the DeFi space, leveraging its $2 trillion blockchain value.

Sei Foundation has announced the launch of a $65 million fund, named "Sapien Capital – Open Science Fund 1," aimed at investing in Decentralised Science (DeSci) projects. This initiative is fully backed by the Sei Foundation, with no external capital involved at present, although future collaboration with external investors remains a possibility.

The fund is designed to support projects exclusively on the Sei layer-1 blockchain, focusing on expanding access to scientific research funding and ensuring fair compensation for scientists. DeSci is gaining traction as it challenges traditional, centralized research funding models by enabling researchers to share data on-chain.

Justin Barlow, head of business development and investments at Sei Foundation, highlighted the potential of DeSci to significantly impact sectors such as healthcare, science, and biotech. The fund will provide venture capital through equity and tokens, with investments ranging from $100,000 to $2 million, aiming to deploy the full capital within three to four years.

ZKsync Era, a layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, has experienced significant growth, with its total value locked (TVL) surpassing $402.8 million as of January 24, according to DefiLlama. This marks a threefold increase within a month.

The surge in TVL is largely attributed to the Ignite program, which distributes 300 million tokens as incentives to attract liquidity. This initiative is part of ZKsync's strategy to enhance its layer 2 network.

ZKsync Era, utilizing zero-knowledge technology and compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, has become the largest zkEVM solution, overtaking Starknet and Linea.

D3, a blockchain-based domain platform, has announced a $25 million funding round led by crypto firm Paradigm. This follows a $5 million seed round earlier in 2023. The company plans to utilize the funds to enhance its infrastructure for blockchain-based domain registration and trading. D3's new service, "DomainFi," aims to transform existing domains into Web3 domains using NFT technology. Partnerships with Solana and Avalanche will enable the creation of new domains ending in .SOL and .AVAX. D3's CEO, Fred Hsu, highlights the inefficiencies in the traditional domain market, emphasizing the potential for blockchain to streamline processes and enable crypto payments.

Pod has successfully raised $10 million in a seed round co-led by A16z Crypto’s Startup Accelerator and 1kx, with participation from Flashbots, Blockchain Builders Fund, and Protagonist. Notable angel investors include Celestia’s Nick White, Babylon’s David Tse, and Axelar’s Sergey Gorbunov.

The company is developing a "consensusless" layer-1 network, enabling transactions to be streamed directly to validators for attestation and timestamping. This innovative approach could achieve transaction speeds of up to 200 milliseconds, akin to Google search, according to CEO Shresth Agrawal.

Pod aims to support applications in gaming, social networks, stablecoin payments, decentralized exchanges, and AI agents. The devnet is set to launch soon, with testnet and mainnet launches planned for 2025 and 2026, respectively.

Bluwhale has announced a significant fundraising round, securing $85 million from token purchase commitments and an additional $8 million from grants and node sale proceeds. This brings the total funding to $100 million, following a $7 million seed round last March. The funds will be used to expand Bluwhale's Web3 intelligence layer across multiple L1 and L2 blockchains. In collaboration with Caldera, Bluwhale is developing Oceanum, a Zk-powered L3 on Arbitrum, aimed at decentralizing AI workloads. The initiative has attracted investment from prominent Web3 VCs and industry players.

Bluwhale has successfully raised $100 million in total funding, following a recent round that garnered $85 million from token purchase commitments and $8 million from grants and node sales. This funding will support the expansion of its Web3 intelligence layer across multiple L1 and L2 blockchains. In collaboration with Caldera, Bluwhale is developing Oceanum, a Zk-powered L3 on Arbitrum, aimed at decentralizing AI workloads. The initiative has attracted investment from notable entities such as Movement Labs, Arbitrum, and several leading Web3 venture capital firms.

Size Credit, a burgeoning DeFi lending protocol, has witnessed a significant surge in its total value locked (TVL), nearing the $3 million mark, according to DefiLlama. This growth is notable given the protocol's modest beginning with less than $400,000 in January.

Since its inception in July 2024, Size Credit has expanded its offerings, becoming the sole fixed-rate lending platform for any maturity in DeFi. It allows borrowing of USDC against Ethereum and other tokens, with operations on Ethereum and Base networks.

Recent developments include the introduction of a fixed-rate market for sUSDe-USDC, contributing to the protocol's rapid TVL increase. Ethereum now leads as the dominant chain for Size Credit.

Humanity Protocol, a decentralized digital identity company, has successfully raised $20 million in a funding round co-led by Pantera Capital and Jump Crypto. The fundraising closed at a fully diluted valuation of $1.1 billion, as reported by Reuters. The company plans to utilize the capital to expand its product rollout in the coming months.

Humanity Protocol is developing a system that uses palm scans to verify online account authenticity, addressing issues like bots and fake accounts. Additionally, the company is preparing to launch its crypto token, with final preparations underway. This development occurs amid growing demand for decentralized identity verification and a bullish crypto market.

Circle has introduced Paymaster, a transaction processing interface enabling users to pay gas fees using the USDC stablecoin, aiming to simplify interactions with decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. This solution allows users to bypass the need for native tokens, facilitating broader adoption of stablecoin payments. Currently operational on Arbitrum and Base, Circle plans to expand Paymaster's reach to other blockchains, including Ethereum, Polygon PoS, and Solana. This cross-chain functionality is designed to enhance user experience by reducing the necessity of holding native tokens for various blockchain applications.

Corn, an Ethereum layer-2 network, has successfully raised $8.3 million in an oversubscribed token round. The round attracted interest from over 4,200 investors, with participation from both venture capitalists and community investors on equal terms. Notable backers include Babylon, Polychain Capital, and Nomura’s Laser Digital.

The funds will be used to integrate a hybrid tokenized version of Bitcoin, BTCN, into the DeFi ecosystem. BTCN will serve as a gas token, backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin without reliance on a single custodian or bridging solution. This marks a significant step for Corn, following its $6.7 million funding in August 2024.

Keplr, a self-custodial crypto wallet service built on the Cosmos chain, has successfully closed a $5 million seed round led by 1Confirmation, achieving a valuation of $50 million. Founded in 2021, Keplr has grown to support Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible networks and claims to be the largest Cosmos chain-based wallet with over 2 million users. The fundraising saw participation from notable investors including Coinbase Ventures and HashKey Capital. The capital will be used to expand Keplr's team and enhance support for both EVM and non-EVM chains, focusing on improving user experience.

SOON, an Ethereum layer-2 network utilizing the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM), has successfully raised $22 million through an NFT sale led by Hack VC. The fundraising saw participation from notable investors including ABCDE, Anagram, and IDG Capital. SOON aims to enhance transaction speeds by leveraging SVM's Parallel Processing Model, achieving an average block time of 50 milliseconds. The network adopts a community-first approach, allocating 51% of its token supply to the community, with additional allocations for ecosystem development and liquidity. This strategic move positions SOON as a significant player in the blockchain space.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the formation of a Crypto Task Force, aimed at establishing a clear regulatory framework for crypto assets. Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda revealed that Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead the initiative, with Richard Gabbert and Taylor Asher serving as Chief of Staff and Chief Policy Advisor, respectively. The Task Force will focus on defining regulatory boundaries, creating feasible registration paths, and developing disclosure frameworks. This move follows the resignation of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler and aligns with broader efforts to ensure investor protection and market integrity.

Circle, the issuer of the stablecoin USDC, has announced its acquisition of Hashnote, the company behind the tokenised treasury money market fund USYC. This strategic move aims to integrate USYC with USDC, enhancing its utility as a yield-bearing collateral on crypto exchanges, custodians, and prime brokers.

The integration is part of Circle's broader strategy to provide seamless access between TMMF collateral and USDC, marking a significant development in the stablecoin market. This initiative is further supported by a partnership with DRW affiliate Cumberland, which will leverage its liquidity capabilities to bolster the adoption of both USDC and USYC.

Mynth, a cross-chain layer zero protocol, has announced its Initial Dex Offering (IDO) across nine blockchain networks. The IDO, scheduled for January 21, will distribute Mynth's native token, MNT, which is integral for protocol services, network security, staking, and governance. With a starting price of $0.1, 50 million of the total 99,989,832 MNT supply is allocated for the event. Mynth employs a deflationary model with a buyback and burn mechanism to ensure sustainability. The protocol facilitates seamless token transfers across networks, aiming to unify the fragmented blockchain ecosystem.

Meteora, a decentralized exchange (DEX) and liquidity hub on Solana, has seen its total value locked (TVL) surge by over 300% in the past week, reaching a record $1.9 billion according to DefiLlama. This growth is largely driven by the platform's DLMM (Dynamic Liquidity Market Maker) for Solana-based token swaps. The recent introduction of Trump and Melania meme coins has significantly contributed to this liquidity increase. As of now, USDC dominates the platform's liquidity, followed by TRUMP and MELANIA tokens. Meteora's rapid growth places it among Solana's top 10 decentralized applications.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Genesis Global Capital LLC (GGC) with misleading investors. DCG faces a $38 million penalty, while Genesis CEO Michael Moro is fined $500,000. The charges relate to a lending program where GGC allegedly misrepresented its financial health following a major borrower's default in June 2022. This case highlights ongoing regulatory scrutiny in the crypto sector as the SEC addresses unresolved cases before leadership changes. DCG and Moro have 30 days to settle their respective penalties.