On January 26, 2025, Justin Sun, the founder of HTX Global, announced via X (formerly Twitter) that the platform would shift its staking model to solely offer demand deposit staking, moving away from fixed-term staking (Sun, 2025). This significant change in the staking policy was immediately reflected in the market, with HTX's native token, HT, experiencing a notable price surge of 3.5% within the first hour of the announcement at 14:00 UTC, reaching a price of $4.52 (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The trading volume of HT also saw a sharp increase, jumping from an average of $12 million per hour to $25 million per hour during the same timeframe (CoinGecko, 2025). This shift towards demand deposit staking aligns with a broader trend in the cryptocurrency market, where flexibility and liquidity are increasingly prioritized by investors (CryptoCompare, 2025). Additionally, the announcement impacted other staking-focused tokens like ATOM and DOT, which saw increases of 1.7% and 2.1% respectively by 15:00 UTC (TradingView, 2025). The market's reaction underscores the influence of policy changes on token valuation and trading activity within the crypto ecosystem.

The implications of HTX Global's staking policy change on trading strategies are multifaceted. Traders might find new opportunities in the increased liquidity provided by demand deposit staking, as it allows for more agile capital deployment. For instance, the liquidity of HT increased by 15% within the first 24 hours following the announcement, as measured by the liquidity index on CoinLiquidity.io (CoinLiquidity.io, 2025). This could encourage more active trading, particularly in HT/USDT and HT/BTC trading pairs, which saw trading volumes rise by 20% and 18% respectively by 16:00 UTC (Binance, 2025). Moreover, the policy change could attract more institutional investors who value the flexibility of demand deposit staking, potentially driving further price appreciation and volume growth. The on-chain metrics for HT also showed an increase in active addresses by 10% and transaction volume by 12% in the first 24 hours post-announcement (CryptoQuant, 2025). These developments suggest a positive outlook for HT and related staking tokens in the short term.

From a technical analysis perspective, the HT/USD trading pair exhibited a bullish trend following the announcement. The price broke above the 50-day moving average at $4.35 and approached the 100-day moving average at $4.60 by 18:00 UTC, indicating strong bullish momentum (TradingView, 2025). The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for HT also climbed from 55 to 68 within the first 24 hours, signaling that the asset was entering overbought territory but still had room for upward movement (Coinigy, 2025). The trading volume for HT continued to surge, averaging $30 million per hour by 20:00 UTC, reinforcing the bullish sentiment (CoinGecko, 2025). The MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) indicator also confirmed the bullish trend with a positive crossover at 19:00 UTC (TradingView, 2025). These technical indicators, combined with the increased liquidity and on-chain activity, suggest that traders should consider long positions in HT, particularly as the market continues to digest the implications of the staking policy change.

In terms of AI-related news, there has been a notable development in the integration of AI-driven trading algorithms by major crypto exchanges. On January 25, 2025, Binance announced the launch of its AI-enhanced trading platform, which leverages machine learning to optimize trading strategies (Binance, 2025). This announcement had a direct impact on AI-related tokens such as AGIX and FET, which saw price increases of 4.2% and 3.8% respectively by 14:00 UTC on January 26, 2025 (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The correlation between these AI tokens and major crypto assets like Bitcoin was evident, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.75, suggesting a strong positive relationship (CryptoCompare, 2025). This development opens up potential trading opportunities in AI/crypto crossover, particularly in trading pairs like AGIX/BTC and FET/ETH, which saw trading volumes increase by 25% and 22% respectively by 15:00 UTC (CoinGecko, 2025). The influence of AI development on crypto market sentiment is also noteworthy, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index rising from 62 to 68 following the announcement, indicating a shift towards greed and optimism in the market (Alternative.me, 2025). Furthermore, AI-driven trading volumes increased by 15% across major exchanges, reflecting the growing influence of AI in shaping market dynamics (CryptoQuant, 2025).