A major event shaking the cryptocurrency market, focusing on the BNB Smart Chain hard fork

This week, the cryptocurrency market is focused on events that will be watched at the same time, with technological upgrades and macroeconomic news at the same time. In particular, the execution of the Fermi hard fork on the BNB Smart Chain and the announcement of US inflation have attracted investors’ attention, and the key point is how these two events will affect the market. With cryptocurrency trading volume currently falling to half of last year’s level, the impact of this week’s major events on market sentiment is expected to be even greater.

BNB Smart Chain Fermi Hard Fork: The Implications of a 50% Reduction in Block Time

At 9:30 p.m. ET on January 13, BNB Smart Chain will activate the Fermi hard fork. This hard fork focuses on significantly improving the core performance of the network. Specifically, the block generation time will be reduced from 750 milliseconds to 450 milliseconds, which represents a performance improvement of approximately 40%.

Why are these technological improvements important? Faster block times result in faster transaction processing and improved network responsiveness. The ability to process more transactions faster not only improves user experience but also strengthens the network’s competitiveness. Ethereum’s support for the Fusaka upgrade is also being promoted at the same time, demonstrating how rapidly the BNB Smart Chain ecosystem is evolving. The success of the hard fork is likely to directly affect the market valuation of BNB tokens and on-chain projects.

Linkage between US inflation data and the cryptocurrency market

On January 13 at 8:30 a.m., the release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December is scheduled. According to market expectations, it is expected to increase by 2.7% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month. The core price index (core CPI) is also expected to rise by 2.7% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month.

Why is inflation data important for crypto investors? The trend of inflation in the United States is a key indicator that determines the direction of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy. If inflation is higher or lower than expected, it will affect the risk asset market as a whole, including cryptocurrencies. This is because in a low interest rate environment, money tends to flow into high-yield assets. Therefore, it is likely that the market’s changes in interest rate hikes/cuts after this announcement will be directly reflected in cryptocurrency prices.

Focus on chain upgrades and governance voting

This week will see significant upgrades on multiple chains and protocols simultaneously. Hedera (HBAR) will update its mainnet to v0.68 on January 13, while Mantle (MNT) will upgrade to v1.4.2 at 2 a.m. on January 14. Mantle’s focus on supporting Ethereum’s latest features shows that the technological competition among Layer 2 ecosystems is intensifying.

At the same time, several DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) are conducting important governance votes. Major protocols such as Aave DAO, Rari DAO, Extra Finance DAO, and CoW DAO are voting on various agenda items, including fund allocation, functional improvements, and infrastructure optimization. Notably, Usual DAO is voting to acquire Fira, a fixed-rate lending infrastructure developed by Usual Labs, for $1.72 million, while Treehouse DAO is voting to implement mesh bridging through Chainlink CCIP. This is a clear demonstration of how important interoperability between DeFi protocols is.

Large-scale token unlocks and changes in market liquidity

This week, several projects are scheduled for large-scale token unlocks. Aptos (APT) will unlock approximately $20.47 million, equivalent to 0.7% of the circulating supply on January 11 (current price: $1.45), Cheelee (CHEEL) will unlock $11.71 million on January 13, and Starknet (STRK) will unlock $10.6 million on January 15 (current price: $0.06).

More notable are the massive unlocks in the second half. Official Trump (TRUMP) will unlock approximately $268.5 million (current price: $4.53), or 11.95% of the circulating supply, on January 18, while Ondo (ONDO) will unlock approximately $785.96 million (current price: $0.31), or 57.23% of the circulating supply, on the same day. Notably, investors need to be cautious as large-scale unlocks of Ondo could put significant pressure on market liquidity and price.

Ravencoin Halving and Changes in the Mining Market

January 15 marks the day of Ravencoin’s (RVN) second block reward halving. At block 4,200,000, the mining reward will be halved from 2,500 RVN to 1,250 RVN per block. While it may not be as dramatic a market reaction as Bitcoin’s halving, halving events can induce changes in miners’ behavior due to changes in mining profitability.

Interestingly, the Bitcoin mining industry is shifting its business model to AI infrastructure and high-performance computing. Several mining companies have consistently excelled, suggesting a trend of diversification in the mining industry.

Expanding the NFT Ecosystem: Pudgy Penguins’ Notable Strategies

In the recent crypto cycle, Pudgy Penguins has emerged as the strongest NFT-native brand. It is evolving away from speculative “digital luxury products” to a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users first through mainstream channels and then onboard them to Web3.

Currently, the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem consists of combined physical-digital merchandise (over $13 million in retail sales and over 1 million units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party achieved 500,000 downloads in two weeks), and widely distributed PENGU tokens (airdropped to over 6 million wallets). While the market currently values Pudgy as a premium when compared to traditional IPs, its continued success will depend on retail expansion, game adoption, and deepening token utility.

U.S. Senate Hearings and Signals of Policy Direction

On January 15, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee will mark up the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. It is an important meeting that can determine the direction of cryptocurrency regulatory policy. A clear regulatory framework can facilitate institutional investors to enter, so the outcome of this meeting could signal positively to the market.

At the same time, Ravencoin’s upcoming halving, several conferences (Web 3.0 Expo Dubai January 14-15, Bitcoin Medellin January 16-17, Bitcoin Day Naples January 17), and additional token launch events are concentrated.

Key Points for Investors to Pay Attention to

As Bitcoin fell below $84,000, crypto-related stocks fell even more sharply on Thursday, following last week. Spot crypto trading volume has more than halved from $1.7 trillion to $900 billion last year, indicating a cautious market sentiment amid macroeconomic uncertainties.

In this context, the hard fork of BNB Smart Chain will be a sign of technological innovation and an example of the continuous development of decentralized finance. U.S. inflation data will determine the direction of the macroeconomy, and governance votes by each DAO suggest an acceleration of cross-protocol cooperation and ecosystem strengthening. The liquidity impact of token unlocks and Pudgy Penguins’ experimental growth model are also notable events of the week. All of these factors are expected to make this state a significant turning point in the cryptocurrency market.