A sharp contrast emerged across the digital asset sector in mid-January, as the SEI blockchain logged the strongest usage figures in its history while a policy change at X triggered sudden losses for projects built around incentivized social media activity.
On January 13, 2026, SEI crossed a major threshold, recording more than 1.5 million daily active addresses for the first time. The milestone capped a steady four-month climb in network activity and underscored how quickly usage has expanded beyond a handful of applications, according to figures shared by the SEI team.
SEI’s usage surge broadens across apps and sectors
The growth has been unusually widespread. Nineteen applications on the SEI blockchain now exceed 100,000 monthly active addresses, suggesting that adoption is not concentrated in a single product. Activity spans decentralized finance, gaming, payments, and consumer-focused Web3 platforms.
Among the most visible examples is Kindred Labs, whose AI-driven companion platform has surpassed 100,000 daily active addresses, making it one of the most heavily used non-financial consumer applications in the ecosystem. In decentralized finance, Takara Lend has risen to become the second-most active EVM lending app by daily addresses, behind only Aave, while Yei Finance now ranks among the top five EVM chains by total transaction count.
Gaming activity has followed a similar trajectory. Eleven SEI-based games have each crossed 300,000 monthly active addresses, highlighting the growing appeal of blockchain gaming on the network. Payments data also points to heavier real-world use: peer-to-peer stablecoin supply on SEI has climbed 155% over six months, and weekly stablecoin volume rose 104% in three months to about $1.5 billion.
Market prices have reacted modestly so far. As of January 16, 2026, SEI traded at $0.1240, up 1.8% in 24 hours. Some traders have floated forecasts of a 500% rally toward $1.80, though such projections remain speculative despite the improving on-chain fundamentals.
The surge comes as the network prepares for a significant technical step. SEI is developing its Giga upgrade, supported by formal research from Sei Labs, which will introduce multiple concurrent proposers and new MEV patterns aimed at boosting scalability and efficiency. The chain has also completed an integration with Allora to strengthen on-chain market functionality.
X policy shift jolts InfoFi projects and sentiment
While SEI advanced, a sudden rule change at X unsettled another corner of the crypto market. On January 15, 2026, X Product Lead Nikita Beer said the platform would ban so-called InfoFi apps that compensate users for posting content, citing concerns over spam, excessive noise, and AI-generated material degrading the platform’s quality.
The impact was immediate. Kaito, an InfoFi project that rewards users for posting on X, saw its token drop about 20% on January 16, followed by a further 22% slide within 30 minutes as the policy took effect. Kaito had become a popular marketing channel for new blockchain projects, encouraging promotional posts in exchange for rewards through a practice known as “Yaping.”
That approach had gained traction among Generation Z users in the United States and within the Kryptophan community, but critics argue much of the output was automated and low quality, creating repetitive feeds and so-called filter bubbles. X’s move aims to curb that behavior, even at the cost of disrupting crypto-native marketing tools.
The announcement coincided with broader market unease. Bitcoin slipped 1.3% on January 15 and was trading near $95,000 at last check. The fear and greed index stood at 54 points on January 16, signaling a neutral mood after the policy shock.
Together, the developments offered a snapshot of a market moving in two directions at once. SEI’s record usage highlighted the payoff from broad application demand and infrastructure investment, while the turmoil around InfoFi underscored the risks of growth models dependent on external platforms. For participants across the crypto ecosystem, the week reinforced how quickly momentum can build—or disappear.
