merge

a16z partner and a16z crypto leader Chris Dixon published an article on social media titled "The Long Game of Cryptocurrency," stating: There is a popular saying that the non-financial use cases of cryptocurrency are dead. Some also claim that the "read-write-own" model has failed. These conclusions misunderstand the core concepts and misjudge the stage of development we are in.We are currently in the financial era of blockchain. But the core idea has never been that all crypto applications will emerge simultaneously, nor that finance will not lead the way. The core thought has always been that blockchain introduces a new primitive—capable of coordinating human and capital at internet scale, embedding ownership directly into the system. Finance is the domain where this primitive can most naturally prove its value, which is why we often cite finance as the primary example of productive use cases for tokens.Finance is not separate from a larger vision; it is part of it. It serves as the foundation and testing ground for all other applications. At a16z and a16z crypto, we are looking long-term: our fund structure is designed for a cycle of over 10 years because building new industries takes time—operational sequence is crucial. Infrastructure and distribution networks often emerge before new categories of applications.The internet did not begin with social media, streaming, or online communities; it began with packet switching, TCP/IP, and basic connectivity. Only after hundreds of millions of people went online did entirely new cultural and economic categories emerge. Cryptocurrency is likely to be similar. A reasonable speculation is that we need to onboard hundreds of millions of people through financial applications like payments, stablecoins, savings, and DeFi before we can see meaningful adoption in media, gaming, AI, or other potentially more distant fields.Many applications rely on ready wallets, identities, liquidity, and trust mechanisms. This is why a16z has spent over five years working to establish a clear regulatory framework for tokens. Great endeavors take time. The breakthroughs we see today in the AI field are the result of decades of hard work by outstanding talents. Building a new technological system is a marathon, and this is what a marathon looks like in practice: a long period of groundwork followed by a sharp turning point. It is those chaotic years that make the clarity of the future possible.

According to GlobeNewswire, digital asset management company CoinShares and special purpose acquisition company Vine Hill (VCIC) announced that they have submitted a revised F-4 registration statement draft to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).This submission follows the confidential submission of the initial registration statement draft and represents a continued progress in the transaction regulatory review process. The merger transaction is still proceeding as planned, but it must meet customary closing conditions, including obtaining the approval of CoinShares and Vine Hill's respective shareholders, securing the necessary acts from the Royal Court of Jersey, the effectiveness of the F-4 form, and obtaining approval from local regulatory authorities.It is reported that the relevant hearing is scheduled to be held on February 17, 2026.

DogeDesigner posted that X has added a small rocket like button animation, possibly in response to the progress of the merger between SpaceX and xAI.

Binance posted on platform X that withdrawals are currently affected by a technical issue. The team is working on a fix, and services will be restored as soon as possible.

According to informed sources, Musk plans to merge SpaceX with xAI, aiming to integrate its increasingly large strategic layout in the fields of artificial intelligence and space exploration.The merger plan is expected to be announced on Monday through an internal memorandum. The merged company is anticipated to be priced at about $527 per share, with a company valuation reaching $1.25 trillion. SpaceX and xAI have not yet responded. This move further intertwines Musk's various businesses. He acquired the social media platform Twitter (later renamed X) at the end of 2022, and subsequently merged the company with xAI for $33 billion. xAI also operates the chatbot Grok, which consumes about $1 billion per month to achieve its goal of deep understanding of the universe. Merging with SpaceX will integrate funding, talent, and computing resources while blurring corporate boundaries. This merger may realize Musk's vision of deploying data centers in space to support complex AI computations. According to documents submitted last Friday, SpaceX is applying for permission for this plan, intending to launch up to 1 million satellites into Earth orbit.

According to Reuters, citing informed sources, Musk is pushing for a merger between SpaceX and xAI through a stock swap, in preparation for a significant IPO planned by SpaceX.The deal has not been finalized yet, but Musk has established a merger entity in Nevada, indicating that the integration is moving into a substantive phase. If the merger is completed, SpaceX's rockets and space infrastructure will be deeply integrated with xAI's Grok large model and X platform data, creating an integrated business system of "Space + AI." Based on the latest valuations, SpaceX is approximately $800 billion, xAI is about $230 billion, and the combined valuation could reach $1.5 trillion.

Tokenization company Securitize announced that its revenue for the first nine months of 2025 was $55.6 million, representing an 841% increase compared to the same period in 2024. The company has currently submitted a public registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to advance its plan to go public through a merger with Cantor Fitzgerald-backed Cantor Equity Partners II (CEPT). The merger transaction with CEPT is still subject to approval by shareholders and regulatory agencies.If approved, Securitize will trade as a public company on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SECZ.

According to Bloomberg, SpaceX is considering a potential merger with Tesla, while also exploring the option of combining with the artificial intelligence company xAI. Any deal could attract significant interest from infrastructure funds and sovereign investors in the Middle East, and may require large-scale financing. Sources say that no final decision has been made yet, and details may change. Musk, as well as representatives from SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla, have not immediately responded to requests for comment.According to Jin10 data, as a result, Tesla's stock rose over 4.84% in after-hours trading.

According to RootData, this week (January 19-25), the crypto market witnessed a total of 12 financing events, 3 mergers and acquisitions (Universal Execution Abstraction Protocol Atlas, decentralized social network Farcaster, crypto media Coinstack), and 1 IPO (crypto custody service provider BitGo, raising $213 million).Among the 12 financing events, the blockchain-based government bond fund Superstate secured $82.5 million in Series B funding from institutions such as Bain Capital Crypto, Haun Ventures, and Galaxy Digital; the chain abstract stablecoin system River received $12 million in strategic financing from institutions including Tron; the asset-backed protocol Cork Protocol obtained $5.5 million in seed round financing from a16z CSX, Gate Labs, and others; and the intent-driven modular blockchain Warden Protocol secured $4 million in strategic financing, with a post-money valuation of $200 million.

Placeholder partner Chris Burniske posted on the X platform stating that he is currently not a buyer, but believes that key Bitcoin price levels worth noting include: 1. Approximately $80,000: This is the low point in November 2025, a local low in this round of "bear market." 2. Approximately $74,000: This is the low point in April 2025, also the low of the "tariff panic," slightly below the cost basis of Strategy (around $76,000). 3. Approximately $70,000: The top of the $50,000-$70,000 range is roughly close to the high point of 2021. 4. Approximately $58,000: This is the 200-week simple moving average (SMA) and on-chain cost basis. 5. Approximately $50,000 and below: This is a psychological bottom price level, below which the narrative of "BTC is dead" will resurface.Chris Burniske stated that if the market rebounds from the current position, he will continue to hold existing assets and diversify his portfolio; if the market declines, he will purchase more Bitcoin and specific crypto assets.

According to Forbes, AI startup Lightning AI has merged with computing power provider Voltage Park to create a "full-stack AI cloud." The merged company will be named Lightning AI, with a valuation of over $2.5 billion and annual recurring revenue exceeding $500 million.Lightning AI is the developer of the open-source tool PyTorch Lightning, while Voltage Park was established with a $900 million grant from the Navigation Fund, a nonprofit organization founded by Ripple co-founder and Mt. Gox co-founder Jed McCaleb, managing over 35,000 Nvidia GPUs. After the merger, Jed McCaleb's Navigation Fund will hold a significant stake in the new company.

The official White House account posted on the X platform, stating that victories, expulsion actions, and memes will continue to appear.

The cryptocurrency trading indicator analysis platform CoinKarma stated, "BTC rose to nearly $98,000 this Monday, but as it approached that price level, the market experienced the most significant selling pressure in recent weeks, causing a slight price pullback.However, the overall liquidity between buyers and sellers has not shown a significant imbalance and remains relatively balanced. Other key market indicators have not yet shown clear signals. Based on the current situation, long positions entered at relatively low points earlier this year may consider taking profits, with the option to fully or partially close positions and wait for clearer signals before re-entering."

Strive announced that the shareholders of Semler Scientific voted to approve Strive's acquisition proposal. As part of an all-stock transaction, Strive will acquire 5,048.1 bitcoins held by Semler Scientific. Strive also announced the purchase of an additional 123 bitcoins for its corporate treasury at an average price of $91,561 per bitcoin, for a total purchase price of $11,264,000 (including fees and expenses), bringing Strive's total bitcoin holdings to 7,749.8 bitcoins.Upon completion of the acquisition of Semler Scientific, the merged company will hold 12,797.9 bitcoins, making it the 11th largest corporate holder. Strive stated that its goal is to tokenize Semler's medical diagnostics business and address a $120 million debt issue.With the completion of the merger, the board approved a 1:20 reverse stock split for the Class A and Class B common stock of the merged company. Strive plans to disclose more details regarding the anticipated reverse stock split, including the expected effective date and the new CUSIP number for Class A common stock, in an upcoming current report on Form 8-K.After the transaction is completed, Semler Scientific Executive Chairman Eric Semler will join Strive's board of directors. Following this announcement, the stock prices of Strive and Semler Scientific fell by approximately 10%, respectively.

According to DL News, data from Architect Partners shows that the publicly disclosed merger and acquisition (M&A) deal volume in the cryptocurrency industry surged to $37 billion in 2025, more than seven times that of the previous year, far exceeding analysts' expectations of around $30 billion, and setting a historical high for the industry. The transaction volume increased by 74% year-on-year, reaching 356 deals, of which 39 had a value exceeding $100 million, and 17 exceeded $500 million.Karl-Martin Ahrend, co-founder of Areta, stated that the speed of M&A transactions will depend on the clarity of regulations, interest rates, risk appetite, and valuation attractiveness, with traditional financial institution buyers most interested in the stablecoin and payments sectors. He expects that M&A activity will remain active in 2026, with the industry shifting towards building sustainable enterprises, leading to more "bridge" mergers and acquisitions, with deal terms focusing more on risk management. However, there may also be resistance from regulatory surprises, and the direction of U.S. regulations in early 2026 may provide clearer signals.

According to DL News, the cryptocurrency market is expected to surpass the record $37 billion in merger and acquisition transactions set in 2025 by 2026.Data from Architect Partners shows that publicly disclosed cryptocurrency M&A transaction volume surged sevenfold to $37 billion in 2025, far exceeding analysts' expectations of $30 billion. The number of transactions increased by 74% year-on-year to 356, with 39 transactions exceeding $100 million and 17 transactions exceeding $500 million.Karl-Martin Ahrend, co-founder of cryptocurrency M&A consulting firm Areta, stated that transaction activity in 2026 will depend on regulatory clarity, interest rates, risk appetite, and valuation attractiveness. Traditional financial institutions are most interested in the stablecoin and payments sectors. The report indicates that more traditional companies are expected to acquire cryptocurrency capabilities rather than build them in-house.

Gemini's Director of Institutional Business, Patrick Liou, released five predictions for 2026.The 4-year Bitcoin cycle is dead; ETFs and institutional adoption have made the market more mature, with volatility dropping from a historical 80% to 25-40%, and drawdowns only 30% instead of the past 75-90%.Crypto will become a bipartisan issue in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, with the CLARITY Act expected to break through.The crypto prediction market will expand significantly, with Polymarket's growth attracting players like Coinbase.Digital asset reserve companies will merge to survive; MicroStrategy's massive losses in Q4 last year and a 60% drop in MSTR's stock price show the pressure.At least one country will sell part of its gold reserves to buy Bitcoin; Germany, Sweden, and the Czech Republic have publicly discussed BTC as a reserve asset. Liou believes that 2026 will be driven by institutions, policies, and sovereign capital, rather than speculative cycles.

The cryptocurrency market is entering a critical phase of transitioning from a brief rebound to a structural recovery: as mainstream assets stabilize and sector rotations repair, market sentiment has gradually shifted from cautious observation to rational positioning. The current focus of the industry has shifted from "Is a bull market coming?" to "Who can become the last key piece to complete the bull market puzzle?" At this turning point, on January 6 at 8 PM, the SunFlash special roundtable will collaborate with several industry veterans to discuss the signals of structural recovery, the direction of sectors moving from narrative to value, and the characteristics that the ultimate mainline capable of supporting large-scale liquidity should possess, from the perspectives of capital flow, sector realization capabilities, and market structure.Users are encouraged to follow the official accounts @sunpumpmeme and @Agent_SunGenX, retweet the post, and @ three friends. The official account will randomly select 5 lucky users from the participants to receive a reward of 10 USDT each.