Many EV manufacturers have leaned heavily on energy-gulping resistive heaters to keep the cabin and battery warm in the winter time. But heat pumps, which can cut down on battery range losses in the cold, are becoming more prevalent in EVs, and they could help EV owners in the US who are dealing with the low temperatures across much of the country this week.

EV research site Recurrent reported that heat pumps can improve drivable range in below freezing temperatures by about 8 to 10 percent. The site tested this by comparing the ranges of 2020 Model 3 and Model S vehicles that lack heat pumps against 2021 versions that have them.

Recurrent’s data shows that the Tesla Model X and the Audi E-Tron only lose about 11 to 13 percent of their range at 32 degrees Fahrenheit compared to driving them in ideal temperatures hovering around 70 degrees, as The Washington Post notes, making them among the best heat pump-equipped EVs.. However, The Washington Post says that heat pumps aren’t as effective below 15 degrees.

A heat pump works by efficiently transferring heat generated by the car to the cabin and other components. Similarly, gas cars have long used a heater core to transfer wasted heat energy from its internal combustion engine into the cabin.

Heat pumps have made their way into popular EVs like Teslas as early as 2021 and are coming to other top models like Ford’s Mustang Mach-E for the 2025 model year. They also are already in many EVs on the road today, including the Polestar 2, Honda Prologue, Chevy Equinox EV, Kia EV6, Rivians, and even some Nissan Leaf models as early as 2013. Recurrent has a complete list of EVs that have heat pumps.

Older EVs with smaller batteries that lack heat pumps demonstrate cold range loss more vividly. For instance, my sister, who is driving a 2017 Ford Focus Electric, is only getting about 80 miles of range in the freezing cold with its resistive heaters off and only about 50 with it on. That could be the difference between being able to do a full work commute roundtrip without stopping or needing to find a (hopefully working) DC fast charging station on the way back.

We’ve previously shared some tips on how to handle EVs in the winter that can help you through icy situations on the road. Some tips include preconditioning your vehicle while plugged in before leaving and brushing snow off more often since it won’t melt off the hood like a gas car.

Coinbase rolled out the newest State of Crypto report. The study was conducted by Ipsos. It observes how crypto and blockchain technology are viewed in Argentina, Kenya, the Philippines, and Switzerland and how it impacts the lives of people in these countries.

For most of the part, the study is based on surveys with 4,000 adults (not specifying the age rates) in Argentina, Kenya, the Philippines, and Switzerland conducted on behalf of Coinbase. The choice of countries aims to give an outlook of societies living in markedly different socioeconomic conditions in different parts of the world (none of these countries belong to the same continent, with the Philippines being an archipelago-based country).

The similarities between these countries are the mostly Christian populations and the government systems revolving around the republic model. Nevertheless, the countries have strikingly different areas, positions on the map, historical experiences, cultures, languages, climates, economic states, etc. 

Coinbase, however, outlines another similarity between Argentina, Kenya, the Philippines, and Switzerland: according to the exchange team, the residents of these countries feel that the local financial systems need to be improved. More than that, generally, the polled residents see cryptocurrencies and blockchain as tools that may enhance their lives in terms of financial wealth and overall give more freedom and independence. 

The state of economy in these countries

The report starts with the statistics demonstrating that in each country, less than a half of all respondents believe that the current financial direction in their country will make them live better than the previous generation. However, even fewer people believe that they will live worse than their parents in Argentina and the Philippines. 

So it’s fair to say that in Kenya and Switzerland, people don’t approve of the current financial politics in contrast to the past years, while Argentina and the Philippines rather dislike both the current and the previous efforts, believing that nowadays things are a bit better than before. Respondents in all these countries agree that the local financial system should be changed or overhauled completely. They refer to the financial systems of their countries as “slow,” “expensive,” and “unstable.” They also cited a lack of innovation as one of the problems. 

The study reveals four main concerns of the respondents named in the surveys: lack of fairness (discrimination), centralization, decreasing value of the national currency, and too much hard work to earn enough or save money.

The distribution of concerns varies from country to country, with Kenya and the Philippines being most critical towards centralization, discrimination, and wage slavery. Switzerland is least concerned about many of these issues while being cautious towards the government’s dependency on banks. Argentinians have the biggest trust issues with their financial institutions and a problem with saving money.

Crypto as a remedy

Most people polled by Ipsos for the study want to be in charge of their financial state and gain more freedom and control over their money. 7 in 10 respondents see cryptocurrency and blockchain as the way to achieve these goals. More than that, both crypto owners and those who don’t have crypto agree that digital currencies can help them gain more freedom and control over their wealth.

Switzerlanders are markedly less interested in crypto than respondents from other countries. However, over 70% of crypto owners in Switzerland believe that crypto offers them more control and freedom. Less than half of the surveyed Switzerlanders with no crypto believe that they need it.

Wider blockchain adoption is also viewed as a favorable factor that may improve the local financial systems and individual wealth. Most respondents believe that blockchain promotes innovation and facilitates control over individual finances. Respondents hope that blockchain will make the system faster and more accessible.

In all polls, Switzerland is presented with lower numbers. It reflects the lower expectations associated with Bitcoin and blockchain and the lower level of dissatisfaction with the financial status quo.

Looking into this study, you may notice a strong connection between the level of satisfaction with the country’s financial direction and the level of support for cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The residents of Switzerland and Argentina are less concerned with the current financial state of their countries, and they are less into crypto than Kenya and the Philippines. Probably, that’s one of the reasons why not only Kenya but Africa in general, where the population has little to no access to banking services but has smartphones, are usually seen as the driver of the mass adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain-based solutions as the substitute of traditional banks. 

In a leadership shakeup at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Acting Chair Caroline Pham appointed Harry Jung as Acting Chief of Staff on Wednesday.

Jung, who previously served as Pham’s Counselor and Senior Policy Advisor, will lead the agency’s crypto and digital assets engagement and will build on his experience at Citigroup and prior regulatory roles.

CFTC’s Crypto Engagement

The appointment comes as part of broader leadership changes shortly after Pham’s interim appointment by President Donald Trump.

Pham has been involved in several digital asset initiatives at the CFTC, including the creation of a Digital Asset Markets subcommittee. In 2023, she proposed the establishment of a regulatory sandbox to develop a framework for emerging technologies and outlined plans for a digital asset pilot program.

The Trump administration has not yet named a permanent replacement for Rostin Behnam, who will leave the CFTC on February 7th. Former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz is reportedly a top contender for the position.

Throughout his four years at the CFTC, Behnam strongly advocated for the agency to lead the regulation of Bitcoin and other digital currencies. He emphasized the importance of robust oversight as the digital asset market grew rapidly. Under his leadership, the CFTC took major enforcement measures, such as reaching a $2.7 billion settlement with Binance.

In its final push, the agency subpoenaed crypto exchange, Coinbase for customer information tied to Polymarket, a prediction market platform accused of regulatory violations. This last-ditch effort just before the Trump takeover came amidst allegations of market manipulation and gambling law breaches at Polymarket.

SEC, FDIC Shuffle

Besides Pham for CFTC, Mark Uyeda was appointed as the acting chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President Donald Trump, replacing Gary Gensler. A vocal critic of Gensler’s crypto policies, Uyeda will serve in this role until the Senate confirms a permanent successor. The American attorney has a history of advocating for a more lenient regulatory approach to crypto, particularly against enforcement actions targeting non-fraudulent crypto firms. Paul Atkins, a pro-crypto figure, is Trump’s nominee for permanent SEC chair.

At the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), on the other hand, Travis Hill has been named temporary chair following Marty Gruenberg’s resignation. The FDIC has faced criticism, including allegations from Senator Cynthia Lummis, over its handling of digital asset records tied to “Operation Choke Point 2.0.”

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

UK consumer confidence fell sharply in January to the lowest level in more than a year as a spike in government borrowing costs and warnings of job cuts took a toll on economic sentiment.

The GfK consumer confidence index — a measure of how people view their personal finances and broader economic prospects — fell 5 points to minus 22, the lowest reading since the end of 2023, according to new data.

Consumer confidence provides a forward-looking measure of household spending — gloomier sentiment means people are more likely to save than make significant purchases. Households built up substantial savings last year, limiting the recovery in spending, despite wage growth outpacing inflation throughout 2024.

The month-on-month drop in the GfK consumer confidence index was the largest since September 2024, when consumers were concerned about potential tax rises in October’s Budget.

Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director, at NIQ GfK, noted particularly steep falls in confidence about the wider UK economy. “These figures underline that consumers are losing confidence in the UK’s economic prospects,” he said.

The survey was conducted in the first half of January, when the UK’s 10-year borrowing cost rose to the highest level since the financial crisis, threatening the government’s ability to meet its fiscal rule and raising the risk of more tax rises.

Borrowing costs have since eased following a surprise drop in December UK inflation but remain higher than in the autumn.

Business surveys in early January also highlighted reduced hiring forecasts, driven in part by the upcoming increase in employer national insurance contributions, set to take effect in April.

Confidence was lower than the minus 18 forecast by economists polled by Reuters but was in line with expectations by Ellie Henderson, economist at the investment bank Investec.

Henderson said news of rising borrowing costs and potential job losses “might well have taken a toll on perceptions and expectations for the economy and household finances”.

Consumers have become “increasingly worried about employment prospects”, said Tomasz Wieladek, chief European economist at investment company T Rowe Price.

The GfK saving index, which is not included in the calculation of the overall confidence index, leapt 9 points to plus 30. Bellamy called this increase “unwelcome” as it signalled households were bracing for tough economic times by prioritising savings over spending.

The UK household saving ratio, the proportion of disposable income that is not spent, was 10.1 per cent in the three months to September, well above the 5.5 average of the 2016-2019 period, according to official statistics. Despite real wages rising for more than one and a half years, household consumption per capita remained 2.2 per cent below its Q4 2019 levels, before the pandemic.

But Henderson argued that when confidence recovers, double-digit saving rates and healthy wage growth could turn consumption around.

“If confidence was to pick up, consumers in aggregate have the means to unleash a higher level of consumption,” said Henderson. “That confidence recovers soon though is less certain” she added.

Housing affordability has improved, according to separate data published on Friday by Nationwide. It showed that while remaining above long term average, the price-to-earnings ratio for first time buyers fell to 5 at the end of last year from a peak of 5.8 in 2022. Similarly, mortgage payments for first-time buyers fell to 36 per cent of their take home pay, from a peak of 38 per cent at the end of 2023.

The nonprofit Center for AI Safety (CAIS) and Scale AI, a company that provides a number of data labeling and AI development services, have released a challenging new benchmark for frontier AI systems.

The benchmark, called Humanity’s Last Exam, includes thousands of crowdsourced questions touching on subjects like mathematics, humanities, and the natural sciences. To make the evaluation tougher, the questions are in multiple formats, including formats that incorporate diagrams and images.

In a preliminary study, not a single publicly available flagship AI system managed to score better than 10% on Humanity’s Last Exam.

CAIS and Scale AI say they plan open up the benchmark to the research community so that researchers can “dig deeper into the variations” and evaluate new AI models.

Chainlink (LINK) is navigating a turbulent market phase, recently experiencing an 11% decline after reaching a local high of $27 yesterday. This pullback reflects the heightened volatility sweeping through the cryptocurrency market, particularly affecting altcoins. Many altcoins, including Chainlink, are facing sharp declines and aggressive price swings as traders respond to uncertain conditions and Bitcoin’s consolidation near all-time highs.

Related Reading

Despite the recent dip, optimism remains among analysts and investors. Top analyst Ali Martinez shared a technical analysis on X, highlighting a bullish perspective for Chainlink. According to Martinez, LINK is currently in the midst of a bullish breakout that, if sustained, could propel the price toward a $50 target. This long-term outlook offers hope for those concerned about the recent retracement, positioning Chainlink as a potential standout in the altcoin market.

As volatility continues to dominate, Chainlink’s ability to navigate these conditions and hold above key levels will be crucial for its bullish trajectory. With analysts pointing to the potential for significant upside, the market is closely watching LINK’s price action in anticipation of its next move. The coming days will reveal whether Chainlink can capitalize on its current setup and emerge as a leader in the altcoin space.

Chainlink Prepares For A Breakout 

Chainlink (LINK) has emerged as a bullish standout amid a volatile crypto market, displaying resilience and strength even as altcoins face aggressive selling pressure and uncertainty. With its price maintaining a clear bullish structure, Chainlink appears poised for another upward move, signaling confidence among investors despite broader market turbulence.

Renowned crypto analyst Ali Martinez recently shared a technical analysis on X, highlighting Chainlink’s strong position. According to Martinez, LINK is currently in the midst of a bullish breakout, with a target set at $50. This optimistic projection is supported by the token’s ability to consolidate above critical demand levels, further reinforcing its bullish outlook.

Beyond the technicals, Chainlink’s strong fundamentals add to its appeal. As a pioneer in Oracle blockchain technology, Chainlink continues to cement its leadership in the Real-World Assets (RWA) sector. Its cutting-edge solutions, which enable seamless data integration between blockchains and traditional systems, have garnered widespread adoption and positioned Chainlink as an indispensable part of the decentralized finance ecosystem.

Related Reading

As Chainlink consolidates its gains and prepares for the next leg higher, all eyes are on its ability to maintain its structure and capitalize on its bullish momentum. With both technical and fundamental indicators aligning, LINK is well-positioned to weather market volatility and lead the altcoin recovery. Investors are watching closely as Chainlink continues to set itself apart in the evolving crypto landscape, with its $50 target representing a potential milestone in its ongoing growth.

LINK Holding Strong Above Key Level

Chainlink (LINK) is currently trading at $24.26, a pivotal level that has transitioned from a stubborn resistance to a strong support zone. This shift marks a significant milestone for LINK, as the $24 level had acted as a supply zone for weeks. Now holding firmly as support, it signals that bulls have regained control, setting the stage for a potential surge.

The price action suggests that LINK is building momentum to break above the $27 mark, a critical level that could trigger a more explosive rally. With the broader market facing uncertainty and heightened volatility, LINK’s ability to maintain key demand zones showcases its relative strength and investor confidence.

This bullish setup positions Chainlink as a standout performer among altcoins, as it continues to weather market turbulence. If bulls can maintain control and push above $27 with conviction, the next rally could propel LINK into higher targets, potentially sparking renewed interest and activity in the altcoin market.

Related Reading

As traders closely monitor these developments, Chainlink’s resilience at the $24.26 level underscores its potential for significant upside. The coming days will be crucial in determining whether LINK can sustain its bullish structure and capitalize on this opportunity to lead the market higher.

Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Ben Schiller, CoinDesk’s Opinion and Features editor.

In this issue:

• DAO governance tool merger
• Ethereum Foundation drama
• Stablecoin USDh comes to Bitcoin
• $25 million grant program for DePIN

Network News

DAO GOVERNANCE PLATFORM ACQUIRES RIVAL: Agora, a blockchain governance startup, is set to acquire its competitor Boardroom. The company framed the acquisition as a strategic move to enhance governance within the broader Ethereum ecosystem, citing expectations of renewed growth in decentralized governance due to President Trump’s promise of regulatory clarity for the blockchain industry. “2025 is the year we make good governance the standard for all protocols in Ethereum,” Agora co-founder Yitong Zhang told CoinDesk. Agora was founded in 2022 by Zhang, Charlie Feng, and Kent Fenwick. The trio initially started working on governance tooling at Nouns DAO, one of the buzzier blockchain protocols to emerge from 2021’s DAO and NFT hype cycle. Agora was founded on the premise that token governance is central to the value of crypto protocols. It aims to provide user-friendly, open-source governance tools for DAOs like Uniswap and Optimism, which both currently use Agora to organize token holders and hold governance votes.Boardroom, which predated Agora and has similar goals, took a more horizontal approach to blockchain governance. Boardroom has gradually transitioned from an Agora-style DAO tooling software to a data feed — similar to a “Bloomberg” for crypto governance data. Agora declined to disclose how much it paid to acquire Boardroom. Boardroom’s employees have been offered roles at Agora, and Boardroom’s founder, Kevin Nielsen, will remain as an advisor. “There’s no plan to deprecate” Boardroom, according to Zhang. Rather, the Agora team will keep both platforms running and will work with users to determine how the tools might gradually be integrated. Read more. – Sam Kessler

ETHEREUM TURMOIL: Konstantin Lomashuk, the founder of the Lido staking protocol, has teased his intention to build a “Second Foundation” to advance Ethereum’s ecosystem. Over the past several days, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has outlined plans for a major restructuring of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), the nonprofit organization responsible for supporting Ethereum’s development. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Buterin shared details of the reorganization, which he said would streamline decision-making processes and address inefficiencies. The announcement has sparked criticism, with some arguing that Buterin’s central role in the restructuring process undermines Ethereum’s ethos of decentralization. The EF has long been scrutinized for its own centralizing influence. Over the past year, the organization has faced mounting pressure to define a clearer vision for Ethereum’s future as competing networks like Solana make strides. Read more. – Sam Kessler

BITCOIN GETS NEW STABLECOIN: The developers of USDh, a stablecoin built on Bitcoin layer 2 Stacks, have completed a deal to bring around $3 million in liquidity to the token. Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Hermetica has secured the liquidity, which it says will make it the largest stablecoin on Stacks, through collaboration with Bitcoin lending protocol Zest. The two plan to offer yield on USDh through lending against sBTC, the bitcoin-backed bridging asset that users can use to put their bitcoin wealth in the Stacks ecosystem. The initial liquidity boost could create a short-term window of higher yields, Hermetica said, with projections of an annual percentage yield (APY) as high as 50%. It currently provides an average APY of 18%, Hermetica said in an emailed announcement on Wednesday. Stablecoins play an integral role in the crypto economy, giving users a means of holding their assets in a token that isn’t prone to such significant ebbs and flows in value, because they are pegged to a fiat currency (usually the U.S. dollar). Provision for stablecoins therefore would naturally be an important development in Bitcoin’s evolution into a network that can support DeFi capabilities, a trend that has gathered momentum in the last couple of years. It should be pointed that, however, that the $3 million in liquidity that USDh provides is tiny compared to the dominant stablecoins in crypto. USDT and USDC have market caps of over $138 billion and $51 billion respectively, highlighting the relative infancy of the Bitcoin DeFi sector. Read more. – Jamie Crawley

DEPIN GRANT PROGRAM: World Mobile, a decentralized wireless network, has announced a $25 million grant program aimed at fostering Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) projects. Tenity, an early-stage investor and global leader in innovation programs and startup acceleration, is a partner in the initiative, which will make available its six international hubs. “By partnering with Tenity, we’re ensuring that the World Mobile Chain Grant Program doesn’t just fund projects but provides the guidance and resources necessary to drive scalable, impactful innovation,” said Micky Watkins, CEO of World Mobile Group. The $25 million offers funding starting at $5,000 and has a focus on decentralized communications, on-chain governance, and the tokenization of real-world assets. World Mobile is an EVM-compatible “Layer 3” developed on Base. Read more.

In Other News

L2s Getting Faster

Letters of Credit for DeFi

Regulatory and policy

Calendar

• Jan. 20-24: World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland
• January 21-25: WAGMI conference, Miami.
• Jan. 24-25: Adopting Bitcoin, Cape Town, South Africa.
• Jan. 30-31: PLAN B Forum, San Salvador, El Salvador.
• Feb. 1-6: Satoshi Roundtable, Dubai
• Feb. 19-20, 2025: ConsensusHK, Hong Kong.
• Feb. 23-24: NFT Paris
• Feb 23-March 2: ETHDenver
• March 18-19: Digital Asset Summit, London
• May 14-16: Consensus, Toronto.
• May 27-29: Bitcoin 2025, Las Vegas.