Farcaster Refunds, BitGo IPO, Regulators Unite

Welcome to our Crypto news in 10, a daily podcast bringing you the latest news about crypto in under 10 minutes.

It’s Friday, January twenty-third. Today’s crypto rundown is packed... a decentralized social protocol is not shutting down — and is sending investors a rare full refund. The first big crypto IPO of twenty twenty-six just rang the bell in New York. Another household hardware-wallet brand is lining up its own Wall Street move. Coinbase is bringing quantum computing heavyweights together. And U.S. market regulators are planning a joint session to clear the jurisdictional fog.

Along the way, we’ll watch how markets digest it all — Bitcoin hovering around the ninety-thousand line as traders look for a catalyst. MarketWatch and The Economic Times both noted a brief dip below ninety thousand, with stabilization near eighty-nine thousand eight hundred. Sources: MarketWatch, The Economic Times.

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Let’s start with the Farcaster bombshell that isn’t a shutdown. Co-founder Dan Romero says the team will return the full one hundred eighty million dollars raised by Merkle Manufactory to investors, while the Farcaster protocol continues under new stewardship from Haun-backed infrastructure provider Neynar. Romero emphasized that Farcaster is not shutting down, citing roughly two hundred fifty thousand monthly active users in December and more than one hundred thousand funded wallets. Several backers — including Balaji Srinivasan — publicly confirmed the capital-return plan.

It’s an unusual outcome in crypto or tech... full repayment... paired with a handoff designed to make the network more developer-focused. If you’re tracking decentralized social, the message is continuity for users and builders — with a clean slate for the cap table. Source: The Block.

Next up: BitGo’s Wall Street coming-out party. The digital-asset infrastructure firm priced its I P O at eighteen dollars a share — above the initial range — raising about two hundred twelve point eight million dollars and valuing the company near two point one billion. Shares listed yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker B T G O, with the deal expected to close today.

Filings show Goldman Sachs led the books, Citi joined as a bookrunner, and a slate of bulge-bracket and specialist banks participated — another sign that crypto picks-and-shovels are going mainstream. Early trading saw a pop... then a fade — with an open more than twenty percent above the issue price before settling just above it. Typical I P O price discovery in a choppy tape. Whether you’re bullish or cautious, BitGo’s milestone adds a regulated, profitable crypto infrastructure name to public markets at a time institutions demand audited custody, trading, staking, and prime services. Source: Yahoo Finance.

And because one listing rumor deserves another... Ledger is reportedly preparing a New York I P O targeting a valuation north of four billion dollars. The Financial Times says the Paris-born hardware-wallet maker has tapped Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Barclays — with a listing likely later this year. Ledger was valued around one point five billion in twenty twenty-three, and management has said the U.S. has the deepest capital pools for crypto firms.

If this proceeds, you’ll see a growing cohort of public, U.S.-listed digital-asset companies spanning custody, trading, stablecoins, and now consumer security — right as self-custody demand tends to spike after every market scare or exchange incident. The Financial Times also points to Chainalysis data estimating seventeen billion dollars in crypto thefts and scams last year... underscoring why a hardware brand with mainstream recognition could find eager investors. Source: Financial Times.

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Story four: Coinbase is going long on post-quantum security. The exchange unveiled an Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain — bringing together names like Scott Aaronson, Dan Boneh, Justin Drake, Dahlia Malkhi, Sreeram Kannan, and others. The board’s remit is to publish position papers, issue practical recommendations for developers and institutions, and react quickly to real breakthroughs in quantum computing that could threaten today’s elliptic-curve cryptography.

This follows Coinbase Research’s recent note on quantum timelines and migration paths, and it lands just days after fresh headlines from Jefferies analyst Chris Wood warning about long-run quantum risk for Bitcoin. Bottom line: there’s no immediate threat... but crypto’s biggest players are starting the multi-year migration conversation now — before any cryptographically relevant machines exist. Source: Coinbase.

And fifth, a policy signal with potential market impact. The S E C and C F T C are set to hold a joint event on Tuesday, January twenty-seventh, in Washington to highlight harmonization across the two agencies and U.S. financial leadership in the crypto era. New chairs Paul Atkins at the S E C and Michael Selig at the C F T C have emphasized clearer coordination after years of turf battles.

Industry press frames the move as part of a shift away from regulation by enforcement toward rulemaking and fraud-focused cases — noting a sharp drop in crypto enforcement counts last year under the new leadership. Mark your calendar — if that joint posture holds, it could influence everything from token listings to derivatives oversight, and reduce compliance friction for exchanges and issuers. Source: S E C.

Quick market check before we wrap. After last week’s brief push toward the mid ninety-thousand range on E T F inflows, Bitcoin is churning around ninety thousand again. MarketWatch notes dips below ninety thousand as leverage unwinds, while The Economic Times calls it range-bound near eighty-nine thousand eight hundred... as traders wait for the next cue. Sources: MarketWatch, The Economic Times.

Recap time... Farcaster isn’t dead — and it’s refunding investors as Neynar takes the wheel. BitGo opened the I P O window for crypto infrastructure, raising about two hundred twelve point eight million on the New York Stock Exchange. Ledger is lining up a New York float at an eye-catching four billion valuation. Coinbase is future-proofing with a quantum advisory brain trust. And U.S. regulators are literally sitting down together next week to hash out harmonization.

We’ll keep watching how all of this flows into price action, product roadmaps, and the next wave of institutional adoption.

Thanks for listening and see you tommorow!