RaaS #583: The End of InfoFi!

MrBeast Secures $200M From BitMine, Pudgy Penguins Teams Up With Man City, And Moar!

X revoked API access for InfoFi apps like Kaito and Cookie DAO after their mechanisms flooded CT with low-effort AI spam. Kaito shut down Yaps, Cookie sunset Snaps, and both tokens dumped hard as leaderboards froze. Users celebrated cleaner timelines, while builders scrambled for alternatives.

After being “mocked” by Solana for low base-layer activity, Starknet launched STRK directly on Solana using NEAR Intents, enabling seamless swaps via Jupiter and Meteora. The move highlighted Starknet’s real DeFi traction while turning the roast into a cross-ecosystem win.

Saturn raised $800K to launch USDat, a Bitcoin-adjacent stablecoin offering ~11% yield backed by Strategy’s STRC preferred shares and U.S. Treasuries. The pitch: a transparent, monthly-paying yield that bridges institutional credit into DeFi, although returns are variable and not guaranteed.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced a $200M equity investment in MrBeast’s Beast Industries, betting its massive Gen Z reach can accelerate crypto’s mainstream adoption. Shareholders are split on whether this is visionary distribution or a distraction from the ETH-native focus.

We’re so done.

Zebec Network integrated World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin into its payroll and card rails, fueling comparisons to XRP’s early infrastructure thesis. Unlike XRP’s slow grind, ZBCN already has live payroll, cards, and compliant stablecoin flows, compressing years of adoption into months.

Pudgy Penguins announced a premium collectible and merch collaboration with Manchester City, bringing Pengu to a global football audience. The drop goes live January 17, marking another mainstream brand crossover for NFTs.

Ripple partnered with LMAX to integrate its RLUSD stablecoin as core collateral across spot, FX, perps, and CFDs. Backed by $150M in Ripple financing, the deal pushes stablecoins deeper into institutional trading infrastructure.

Your daily dose of bite-sized crypto news.

1. Sentient launched its tokenomics, powering its open-source AGI ecosystem.

2. Dreamcash partnered with Tether and Selini Capital to bring USDT pairs to Hyperliquid, with fiat onramps already live.

3. Zama opened its community sale portal for OG NFT holders ahead of the public auction on January 21.

4. Felix will bring spot equities onchain via Ondo, offering TradFi-level execution and borrowing against stocks.

5. MetaMask rolled out native TRON support across mobile and browser extensions.

Uniswap launched on OKX’s X Layer, giving users direct access to Uniswap liquidity as OKX deepens its DeFi stack.

 Thanks for playing.

Top Gainers: GAS, OWL, RIVER, EGL1, FIRO.

High-signal reads are worth your time, all in one place.

1. Bloomstar maps out the money narratives for 2026, highlighting perps, privacy, prediction markets, AI, and memes while arguing that success comes from positioning early with strategies matched to your capital and risk profile.

2. EXM argues prompt engineering becomes a real edge in 2026, claiming that as every product turns into a chat interface, high-quality prompts, not auto-generated templates, will separate average users from power users.

3. The DeFi Investor says airdrops are far from dead, noting that billions were still distributed in 2025 and that selective, thesis-driven farming remains a viable way to make outsized returns in 2026.

4. Aporia explains why real systems only emerge after complexity, arguing that effective workflows, trading systems, and habits are earned through iteration and failure, not shortcuts or borrowed simplicity.

5. Eli5DeFi outlines the shift to “Gen 2” DeFi lending, explaining how the 2025 crash and new regulations are pushing the sector toward privacy-preserving, interoperable, consumer-friendly, and reputation-based credit models beyond overcollateralized speculation.

MilkyWay Protocol announced a permanent shutdown after failing to find sustainable DeFi demand. A final snapshot distributed accrued USDC fees to holders, and the remaining team tokens will be burned. A rare, clean exit in DeFi.

pumpdotfun launched Callouts, letting users send push notifications to followers recommending a coin every six hours. With global leaderboards ranking calls by performance, influencer-driven price discovery just got a native mobile weapon.

That’s all for today!