The digital asset market in January 2026 seemed to be suddenly awakened by a mysterious frequency after a long hibernation. A piece of data sparked widespread attention among investors in the Web3 industry: the social media account @ant_fun_trade on X (formerly Twitter), which uses the "ant" as its totem, experienced a nearly "violent" surge in followers. Within just three weeks of entering 2026, its follower count skyrocketed vertically from thousands to over 500,000.

Completing a multi-million-dollar B1 round of financing, receiving official support from the Solana Foundation, launching a social live streaming feature... These achievements have not only instantly swept major crypto communities across North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, but have also made ANT.FUN undeniably the most popular and widely discussed blockchain project of the year so far in 2026. At this moment, whether it's the established CEX giants or the latest popular DEX platforms, they all can't help but take notice of this formidable army of ants sweeping the globe with a "mountain-moving" momentum.

This is not an accidental marketing miracle. Behind this viral success lies a seasoned ToB veteran's sober reflection on the global financial order.

Chapter 1: Escaping the "Saline-Alkali Land"—A Veteran's Web3 Odyssey

To understand the sudden popularity of ANT.FUN, one must first understand its mastermind—Shaun.

In the Web3 industry, where the average age is under 25, Shaun, a Gen-Xer in his 40s, stands out as a rare figure with a "battle-scarred" aura, leading a team of engineers whose average age is Gen-Z.

Before founding ANT.FUN, he had been deeply involved in China's ToB (business services) sector for many years. As chairman, he successfully led the company to the新三板 innovation layer (a higher tier of the New Third Board).

"Doing ToB (business-to-business) business in China is like trying to grow crops in a 'salty and alkaline wasteland.'" This was Shaun's opening line in an internal sharing session that became widely circulated. Shaun once compared his own team with the team in Silicon Valley across the Pacific Ocean: they had the same AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) foundational technology, the same intensity of overtime work, and even his own team's engineering capabilities were slightly superior. However, in the capital market, domestic ToB companies face a logical dilemma—extremely low valuation benchmarks for B-side (business) value. This has led many domestic AI companies to fall into a vicious cycle of "increased revenue without increased profit, and valuation as the peak."

"If you overcompete within a localized battlefield that lacks global liquidity, even if you achieve perfection, your value will still be capped by a ceiling." Shaun's reflection ultimately led to the creation of ANT.FUN. In Shaun's view, blockchain is not just an abstract technological narrative, but the only experimental arena that can enable top-tier engineering capabilities to achieve "immediate value pricing." He led his long-time team of engineers, bringing with them the most mature user experience thinking and the most robust AI engineering capabilities from China's internet industry, to launch a "descending" attack on this market still full of prejudice and barriers.

Chapter 2: From "Tool" to "Brain"—Reconstructing the Trading Experience with AI Neurons

The decentralized exchange (DEX) landscape in 2026 is not a barren wasteland. Hyperliquid's technical stack remains solid, and its performance has long since evolved, but none of these can resolve the most fundamental issue: how to enable ordinary people to think like professional traders?

Traditional DEXs are like cold digital workshops, where users have to manually sift through complex blockchain explorers, search for scattered information on Twitter, and then miss fleeting opportunities amid cumbersome signature confirmations. The popularity of ANT.FUN lies in its fundamental transformation of this logic. It is no longer just a "ledger," but rather a "digital brain" integrated into the wallet.

"Quantum entanglement" between assets and information flows — this is the highly praised core strength of ANT.FUN. Based on its self-developed AI engine, ANT.FUN achieves deep, real-time integration between information streams and user asset positions. If you hold a certain amount of assets in the ANT.FUN wallet, you no longer need to search painstakingly for relevant news. When the ANT.FUN backend detects large on-chain transactions or subtle policy shifts in a global financial center, its AI completes translation, summarization, and personalized delivery based on your position risk — all within seconds. This "on-demand" precision intelligence enables retail investors to, for the first time, enjoy an information perspective comparable to that of high-frequency quantitative institutions.

Shaun is well aware that for Web3 to truly reach the masses, the "technical" aspects must be eliminated. ANT.FUN has created a "seamless" self-custody solution by integrating with top-tier security architectures. During the explosive market surge at the beginning of 2026, this convenience—where users could "pick it up to invest, and put it down for self-custody"—became a key factor in attracting millions of new users.

Chapter 3: Red Bull Strategy + Multilingual Localization — "Traffic Nuclear Fusion"

If AI is the muscle of ANT.FUN, then its marketing logic is the pair of wings that flaps.

Why will @ant_fun_trade attract global attention in January 2026? This is thanks to the "Red Bull Strategy" proposed by Shaun.

In Shaun's view, the cryptocurrency industry is fundamentally about "energy, adventure, and extreme efficiency." As a result, the brand image of ANT.FUN has never been as conservative as that of traditional financial institutions; instead, it exudes the intensity of extreme sports. They sponsor activities like wingsuit flying and deep-sea diving, conveying the spirit of "ants moving mountains" to the younger generation through visually striking videos.

What's even more powerful is the capital force behind it. In October 2025, ANT.FUN completed its Series B1 financing round, led by mimStream Investment. As a venture capital firm deeply familiar with the underlying logic of social media and the internet, mimStream is associated with major forces in the live-streaming industry, including Li Jiaqi's team at Me One and樊登读书 (Fan Deng Reading).

Shaun also has a global vision. "Our products support multilingual translation, enhancing user experience and truly enabling Vietnamese users to receive timely and accurate information just like English and Chinese-speaking users, achieving 'information equity'," he explained. He added that ANT.FUN has established a presence in Malaysia, Vietnam, Argentina, Europe, and North America. The company has also recruited many local market partners, and it achieves global operations through compliance, local community engagement, and brand promotion, while balancing team size and operational costs.

This cross-border and cross-regional collaboration created a chemical reaction in January 2026. When @ant_fun_trade posted an update, the message no longer remained confined to the small circle of the crypto community. Instead, it quickly spread to a broader audience, including general finance enthusiasts and even fashion-conscious individuals, through a network of traffic across regions. This "social media traffic + professional trading" approach delivered a paradigm-shifting impact on the cryptocurrency industry.

Chapter 4: The Shield of Compliance—Dancing Gracefully Through the Narrow Gate of Regulation

2026 will be the "compliance year" for the Web3 industry. As the U.S. "Crypto Asset Clarity Act" is on the verge of being enacted, projects that were swimming without swimsuits are being rapidly washed away by the tide.

The popularity of ANT.FUN at this moment is not only due to traffic, but also relies on several substantial licenses. Behind the surge in its fan base lies the comprehensive implementation of ANT.FUN's global compliance system.

According to the latest report, ANT.FUN has officially obtained a Canadian MSB (Money Services Business) license. This access permit, issued by FINTRAC, indicates that its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) systems have met the standards of major international banks. Moreover, ANT.FUN has also completed compliance filings for an STO (Security Token Offering) and RIA (Registered Investment Advisor) under the framework of the U.S. SEC. This "licensed operation" approach has enabled a large number of institutional funds and family offices that were previously holding back to find a compliant entry point.

Chapter 5: Who Is the True DEX King? — The Reconstruction of Value Coordinates

In the major event of 2026, it is inevitable for people to compare ANT.FUN with predecessors like Hyperliquid. Compared to Hyperliquid's overly technical and even somewhat aloof "tech-savvy" vibe, ANT.FUN appears more "user-friendly." Hyperliquid succeeded in trading volume, but ANT.FUN triumphed in capturing traffic and user access.

Shaun said in the interview: "We are not trying to build a better exchange; we are trying to build a more user-friendly wallet. Trading is just an added feature of a great wallet."

This logic was validated by the market in January 2026. It marked the end of the wild early days when "only tech enthusiasts could use DEXs" and ushered in a new era of "AI-assisted operations at all times, and deep integration of social interaction and trading." The continuously rising follower curve on the X platform also reflected the value recovery of its ANB token.

Shaun still maintains a low-key and pragmatic style. To him, the explosive success at the beginning of 2026 is merely the starting point. In the eyes of these giant ants moving mountains, the towering mountain ahead named "Traditional Finance" is indeed formidable. However, in the face of consensus driven by AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), anything is possible.

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