GM. Lighter instituted mandatory LIT staking for its $200 billion perpetuals market, forcing users to lock tokens at a 1:10 ratio to maintain access to its core liquidity pools.

Meanwhile, Kaito's token dropped 15% after X banned "InfoFi" reward apps, Football Fun launched its FUN token, and MetaMask added native support for the Tron network.

Here are all the details. 👇

Lighter Mandates LIT Staking For Liquidity Pool Access

Decentralized exchange titan Lighter instituted a mandatory staking protocol for its native LIT token to regulate access to core liquidity pools. This aggressive utility pivot forces market participants to lock digital assets to maintain yield-bearing positions.

The restrictive update debuted on 15 January 2026 across the platform's high-volume perpetual trading ecosystem. Global users must immediately adapt to these stringent capital requirements to avoid losing their status within the protocol’s lucrative insurance and liquidation pools.

Management enforced these levies to synchronize the financial incentives between long-term token holders and liquidity providers. By tightening access, the protocol aims to improve risk-adjusted returns while defending its dominant monthly perpetuals trading volume of $200 billion.

Users achieve compliance by maintaining a 1:10 staking ratio where 1 LIT unlocks 10 USDC in pool deposits. Existing participants have until 28 January 2026 to satisfy these new mandates before facing potential displacement from Lighter.

Kaito Token Drops After X's API Policy Change

The native token of Kaito plummeted 15% on Thursday following a major API policy change. X product lead Nikita Bier announced that the platform will no longer allow applications that reward users for posting. This decision immediately revoked developer access for InfoFi projects to reduce AI-generated spam and low-quality content farming.

Kaito responded by sunsetting its incentivized leaderboards and permissionless reward systems to launch a new marketing platform. The project founder explained that automated bot activity had greatly degraded the user experience across the broader crypto social landscape. Affected developers are now being assisted in transitioning their business models to alternative decentralized platforms like Threads.

Football Fun Debuts Token Amid Betting Surge

Football Fun launched its native FUN token during a highly anticipated generation event. Trading went live on major global exchanges including Binance and Kraken while supporting networks like Base and Solana. The project distributed 20,000,000 tokens during the first month to align incentives for active players and long-term asset holders.

Football Fun allows users to trade tokenized exposure to real-world athletes starting with professional football stars. This debut highlights the growing momentum of onchain prediction markets which currently attract large trading volume. Developers plan to expand the fantasy sports ecosystem into other major categories while implementing a merit-based reward system for participants.

MetaMask Adds Native Support For Tron Network

Popular crypto wallet MetaMask integrated native support for the Tron blockchain during its Thursday update. This expansion allows millions of mobile and browser extension users to manage TRX and stake assets directly. The wallet now enables seamless swaps between Tron, Ethereum, Solana, and Bitcoin networks within a single unified interface.

Parent company Consensys is pursuing a multi-chain strategy to meet the demands of a diverse decentralized economy. Tron currently processes over $21 billion in daily stablecoin transfers and hosts roughly 359 million total user accounts. MetaMask users can now interact with decentralized applications and send USDT across supported chains without using multiple external wallet applications.

Data of the day

Bitcoin open interest declined 31% since October in what analysts call a significant deleveraging signal. This contraction in derivatives contracts helps remove excess market risk and creates a stable base for recovery. Data from CryptoQuant indicates that these resets historically mark local bottoms by purging speculative frenzy from the network.

Total open interest across all exchanges currently sits near $65 billion after a period of extreme institutional activity. Spot prices have gained 10% since the start of 2026 as traders exit risky leveraged short positions. While the derivatives market remains cautious, the reduction in liquidation risk suggests the current price rally is more sustainable.

More breaking news

• Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev reaffirmed support for the US crypto market structure bill, even as the Senate Banking Committee delayed a key vote.

• Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams denied profiting from his ill-fated NYC Token after onchain data revealed suspicious liquidity shifts.

• London Stock Exchange Group launched DiSH, a blockchain-based platform enabling 24/7 settlement of tokenized commercial bank deposits across multiple currencies and networks.

• Coinbase withdrew support for the Clarity Act, prompting a Senate markup delay over concerns regarding DeFi restrictions and stablecoin reward prohibitions.

• Generic Protocol debuted GUSD, a natively private stablecoin on Ethereum that routes yield directly to users and applications rather than issuers.

• CME Group will launch Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar futures on February 9, expanding its regulated derivatives suite for institutional risk management.

• Ripple committed $150 million in financing to LMAX Group to integrate the RLUSD stablecoin as institutional collateral for global trading.

• Ethereum treasury firm BitMine invested $200 million in MrBeast’s Beast Industries to explore integrating DeFi into a new financial platform.

• Galaxy Digital closed a $75 million tokenized collateralized loan obligation on Avalanche to fund Arch Lending’s crypto-backed consumer credit facility.

For the latest updates on digital asset markets, follow us on X @Datawalletcom.

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