This Week's Key News Preview | The U.S. will release December CPI data; Binance Wallet launches exclusive Booster event for Unitas (UP)

Organizer: Jerry, ChainCatcher

Key News:

• Binance Alpha will launch CharacterX (CAI) on January 12
• Binance Wallet will start an exclusive Booster event for Unitas (UP) on January 12
• The U.S. will release December CPI data on January 13
• L1 blockchain Fogo will unlock 38.98% of tokens and start a community airdrop at the network launch on January 13
• BSC mainnet Fermi hard fork will upgrade on January 14, 2026
• The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a review date for the crypto market structure bill on January 15
• BitMine plans to hold an annual shareholder meeting on January 15 to elect 8 directors and amend the company bylaws

January 12 (Monday)

Coinbase will support MKR migration to SKY, suspending related services from January 12

According to official news, Coinbase will support the migration of Maker tokens from MKR to SKY from January 12 to 14, 2026, at a conversion rate of 1 MKR : 23,520 SKY, during which MKR trading and transfers will be suspended.

Users who do not wish to be automatically converted must transfer their MKR to a self-custody wallet before January 12.

Binance Alpha will launch CharacterX (CAI) on January 12

According to official news, Binance Alpha will launch CharacterX (CAI) on January 12. Once trading opens, eligible users can claim airdrops using Binance Alpha Points on the Alpha event page.

Binance Wallet will start an exclusive Booster event for Unitas (UP) on January 12

According to the official announcement, Binance Wallet is launching an exclusive Booster event and token generation event (TGE) for Unitas (UP). Eligible users can subscribe to the token before it goes live for trading, starting at 18:00 (UTC+8) on January 12, 2026.

During the exclusive TGE, users can exclusively subscribe to Unitas tokens UP within Binance Wallet. The subscription will adopt an oversubscription model, with each user able to deposit up to 3 BNB. Token distribution will be based on the proportion of total BNB deposited by all participants.

Berachain's liquid staking protocol Infrared will stop its IR token airdrop claims on January 12

According to the official announcement, Berachain's liquid staking protocol Infrared has released details of the IR token airdrop. This airdrop aims to reward early community members who continuously used Infrared during the points program, participants of the Boyco pre-deposit event, and users actively participating in community activities (such as Discord interactions, user surveys, community events, testnet participation, etc.).

The IR token has three main functions: staking to obtain sIR for governance voting rights; participating in profit sharing through buybacks; and token issuance to optimize protocol efficiency and revenue. Users can claim the airdrop in advance through the CEX pre-deposit process, with the three centralized exchanges for pre-deposit being Bitget, Gate, and KuCoin.

Important dates are as follows: the centralized exchange pre-deposit window opens on December 16 at 1:00 (UTC+8), and closes on December 17 at 16:00 (UTC+8), with the IR token officially launching. All claims will permanently close on January 12, 2026, at 08:00 (UTC+8).

January 13 (Tuesday)

The U.S. will release December CPI data on January 13

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics officially announced that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December will be released at 21:30 Beijing time on January 13, including the year-on-year unadjusted CPI for December, month-on-month adjusted CPI, month-on-month adjusted core CPI, and year-on-year unadjusted core CPI data.

Binance supports FXS mainnet switch and renaming to FRAX, related trading will gradually adjust from January 13

Binance will stop trading and remove all existing FXS spot trading pairs (FXS/USDT) at 11:00 on January 13, 2026, and will open FRAX/USDT spot trading at 16:00 on January 15, 2026. The old FXS tokens will be exchanged for new FRAX tokens at a 1:1 ratio, and deposit and withdrawal services will be suspended at 11:30 on January 13, 2026. Users are advised to handle related matters in advance.

L1 blockchain Fogo will unlock 38.98% of tokens and start a community airdrop at the network launch on January 13

According to The Block, the L1 blockchain project Fogo originally planned a $20 million token presale (accounting for 2% of total supply) but canceled it, opting instead to airdrop the FOGO tokens intended for presale to the community and destroyed the 2% of tokens originally allocated to core contributors. According to the tokenomics model, 38.98% of tokens will be unlocked at the network launch on January 13, including airdrop shares that can be traded immediately, tokens for foundation operations, and core contributor shares that will be unlocked in phases. Token distribution includes approximately 1/3 for the foundation, 34% for core contributors (locked for four years), 8.77% for institutional investors, 7% for advisors, and 11.25% for the community.

Public company Semler Scientific will hold a special shareholder meeting on January 13, which may approve the proposed merger with Strive

Semler Scientific founder Eric Semler posted on platform X that Semler Scientific has proposed its shareholders vote in favor of the merger with Strive. The special shareholder meeting will be held on January 13, and upon approval, SMLR shareholders will receive ASST shares at a conversion ratio of 21.05.

The merged entity will hold nearly 13,000 BTC, placing it among the top five public companies that consider BTC as a primary strategic reserve. This move aims to enhance Strive's financing capabilities in the digital credit space and maximize long-term shareholder value.

January 14 (Wednesday)

BSC mainnet Fermi hard fork will upgrade on January 14, 2026

BNB Chain Developers tweeted that the BSC mainnet Fermi hard fork upgrade is expected to activate at 10:30 (UTC+8) on January 14, 2026, supporting versions v1.6.4 and v1.6.5.

This upgrade will shorten the block interval from 750 milliseconds to 450 milliseconds to improve network throughput and transaction processing efficiency.

January 15 (Thursday)

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a review date for the crypto market structure bill on January 15

According to market news, the legislative landscape for the U.S. cryptocurrency industry has reached a critical turning point, as the Senate Banking Committee has officially scheduled the review date for the "Digital Asset Market Transparency Act" (referred to as the CLARITY Act or crypto market structure bill) for January 15, 2026 (Thursday).

Committee Chairman Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, announced this decision after a series of tense closed-door meetings in early January. Senator Scott emphasized that the committee will push for a formal vote regardless of the difficulties encountered. The Republican leadership views this deadline as a strategic necessity, racing against the January 30 federal government critical spending deadline to complete legislative work, or risk triggering a new government shutdown. The committee hopes to submit the bill for review by the full Senate next Thursday, maintaining momentum for the current government's positive support for cryptocurrency.

BitMine plans to hold an annual shareholder meeting on January 15 to elect 8 directors and amend the company bylaws

According to PRNewswire, Bitmine Immersion Technologies, listed on NYSE American, announced that it will hold its annual shareholder meeting in Las Vegas on January 15, 2026. This meeting will elect 8 directors for a one-year term, and it is expected that amendments to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock, the 2025 comprehensive incentive plan, and special performance compensation arrangements for the executive chairman will also be approved at the annual shareholder meeting.

MANTRA: All ERC20 versions of OM will be deprecated on January 15, please migrate as soon as possible

Layer1 blockchain MANTRA, focused on RWA assets, reminded on platform X that currently, less than 8% of the total OM token supply is the ERC20 version of OM tokens. On January 15, all ERC20 versions of OM tokens will be officially deprecated, so please migrate as soon as possible.

January 16 (Friday)

Upbit will delist Groestlcoin token GRS on January 16

Upbit announced that Groestlcoin (GRS) will be delisted by member exchanges of the Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA). DAXA member exchanges may take measures to protect users, including issuing warnings, designating GRS as a trading alert asset, and terminating trading support.

Upbit stated that it will end support on January 16, 2026, at 15:00 local time in Korea, and will continue to support withdrawals for 34 days from the termination of trading support (until February 19, 2026).

January 18 (Sunday)

UK financial authorities launch a regulatory sandbox for local stablecoin issuers, application deadline is January 18

According to Ledger Insights, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that as part of its regulatory sandbox program, it will launch a stablecoin project group, with an application deadline of January 18, 2026.

Additionally, Bloomberg reported that the UK Debt Management Office is exploring the expansion of the UK government bond market, which will be related to stablecoin reserves. In a speech yesterday, David Geale of the UK Financial Conduct Authority stated that a "large enterprise" has been included in the sandbox program to test a pound stablecoin for payments. Sandbox participants must ensure that their designs meet the requirements outlined in the FCA's consultation document from May. The UK adopts a dual-track approach to stablecoin regulation: the Bank of England regulates systemically important stablecoins for prudential and financial stability purposes; while the FCA is responsible for the regulation of other stablecoins, including conduct and consumer protection.