The Daily: Senate unveils updated market structure bill, YZi Labs invests in Genius Trading as CZ joins as advisor, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Tuesday! Cooling U.S. core inflation has cleared the macro fog and boosted risk appetite, pushing bitcoin back above $93,000 as investors price in a softer landing, 21Shares crypto research strategist Matt Mena told The Block.

In today's newsletter, Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott releases an amended crypto market structure bill, YZi Labs invests in Genius Trading as CZ joins as an advisor, Zama launches a token sale at a $55 million FDV floor, and more.

Meanwhile, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams' memecoin faces rug pull allegations.

P.S. Don't forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It's a great read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!

Senate unveils updated market structure bill limiting stablecoin rewards

U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott released an updated bipartisan crypto market structure bill that would ban interest-like rewards for simply holding stablecoins while allowing incentives tied to user activity.

• The new draft attempts to draw a clear policy line by permitting stablecoin rewards only when users transact, stake, provide liquidity, or post collateral rather than earn yield on idle balances.
• The compromise language reflects weeks of negotiations led in part by Senator Angela Alsobrooks, aiming to address one of the most contentious issues between banks and crypto firms over stablecoin incentives.
• Banking groups argue that the earlier GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation left loopholes that increase liquidity risk, while crypto companies warn that further restrictions could undermine competition, with Coinbase threatening to withdraw support if reward programs are curtailed too aggressively.
• Beyond stablecoins, the latest draft also incorporates a separate bipartisan measure from Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden that shields software developers and infrastructure providers from being treated as financial intermediaries simply for creating or maintaining code.
• The legislation advances toward a Senate Banking Committee markup as lawmakers still debate ethics provisions tied to President Trump and work to reconcile parallel efforts across committees and the House.

YZi Labs invests 'multi-8-figure' in Genius Trading, with CZ joining as advisor

YZi Labs, the family office of Binance co-founders Changpeng "CZ" Zhao and Yi He that spun out of Binance Labs, has made a "multi-8-figure" investment in Genius Trading, with Zhao joining the startup as an advisor.

• Genius is building a privacy-focused, self-custodial trading terminal offering spot, perpetuals, and copy trading across more than 10 blockchains, positioning itself as an onchain alternative to Binance.
• The platform said it has processed over $60 million in volume since its October soft launch, with early usage concentrated among onchain whales managing millions of dollars in monthly trading activity.
• Central to Genius' roadmap is developing a privacy layer that splits large trades across hundreds of wallets to reduce onchain traceability, with a public beta planned for the second quarter of 2026.

Zama launching token sale at $55 million floor FDV via CoinList and own auction app

Privacy protocol Zama is launching an onchain token sale with a $55 million floor fully diluted valuation using a sealed-bid Dutch auction run via CoinList and its own auction app.

• The sale will distribute 12% of the 11 billion ZAMA token supply, including an 8% CoinList auction running from Jan. 21 to Jan. 24, alongside a 2% community and 2% post-auction tranche.
• The main auction will run fully onchain on Ethereum, with bids encrypted using Zama's fully homomorphic encryption technology to preserve privacy while maintaining auditability.
• The ZAMA tokens will be fully unlocked and usable from Feb. 2, with the sale framed as a distribution mechanism rather than a capital raise, as Zama's mainnet is already live, co-founder Rand Hindi told The Block.

Kraken-linked SPAC targets Nasdaq IPO with $250 million offering

KRAKacquisition Corp., a blank-check company sponsored by a Kraken affiliate, filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to raise about $250 million in an IPO.

• The special purpose acquisition company plans to list 25 million units at $10 each on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker KRAQU, with each unit consisting of one Class A share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant.
• KRAKacquisition said it has not identified a merger target but is focused on crypto infrastructure opportunities such as payment networks and tokenization platforms, according to a report from IPO-focused investment services firm Renaissance Capital.
• The filing comes as Kraken pursues its own U.S. IPO and broader expansion strategy, including recent acquisitions such as tokenized asset issuer Backed Finance and futures platform NinjaTrader.

Bernstein raises Figure price target, names stock 2026 'best idea' with 38% potential upside

Bernstein named Figure Technology Solutions its 2026 "best idea," raising its price target on the Nasdaq-listed stock to $72 and implying about 38% upside, citing accelerating tokenized credit volumes, strong marketplace adoption, and expanding margins.

• Founded by SoFi co-founder Mike Cagney, Figure has grown into one of the largest independent, non-bank home equity line of credit originators in the U.S.
• Bernstein's analysts argued that Figure is well-positioned to benefit from banking disruption and a clearer U.S. crypto regulatory backdrop, with new lending products and tokenized equities adding longer-term optionality.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. mortgage data are due at 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday. U.S. PPI figures follow at 1:30 p.m.
• U.S. FOMC members Neel Kashkari and Raphael Bostic will speak at 5 p.m. Fellow member John Williams follows at 7:10 p.m.
• CfC St. Moritz 2026 kicks off in the Swiss Alps.

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