Market Signal Briefing

Key Takeaways Netflix surpassed the 325 million paid memberships milestone during Q4 2025.Ad-supported tier drives growth by providing an affordable entry point for price-sensitive consumers.Netflix projects 2026 revenue of $50.7B-$51.7B, indicating 12-14% year-over-year growth trajectory. Netflix's (NFLX - Free Report) global streaming platform spans across 190+ countries, with its membership model anchoring the business. Flexible subscription tiers, ranging from ad-supported plans to premium offerings, allow the company to address varied consumer budgets while sustaining recurring revenue. Netflix surpassed the 325 million paid memberships milestone during the fourth quarter of 2025. With penetration below 10% of total television viewing time across major markets, substantial room for membership expansion.

Membership dynamics show signs of reacceleration as engagement strengthens. Branded original content viewership increased 9% in the second half of 2025, while total viewing hours increased 2% annually. The ad-supported membership tier is driving incremental growth by providing an affordable entry point for price-sensitive consumers, expanding Netflix's addressable market beyond premium subscribers. This lower-priced option attracts members who might otherwise not subscribe at higher price points.

Netflix's 2026 content strategy targets sustained membership growth through returning franchises like Bridgerton Season 4, One Piece Season 2 and The Night Agent Season 3, alongside new productions, including Pride & Prejudice and Greta Gerwig's Narnia. The platform is diversifying beyond core entertainment into video podcasts through partnerships with Spotify/The Ringer and iHeartMedia, while expanding live programming with events like the World Baseball Classic in Japan. Enhanced licensing partnerships with Sony, Universal and Paramount broaden content variety across genres, driving engagement.

However, sustaining membership reacceleration faces headwinds from intensifying streaming competition, consumer spending pressures and content cost inflation. Netflix projects 2026 revenue of $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion, indicating 12-14% year-over-year growth driven by membership additions. Whether membership momentum continues building and growth truly accelerates will depend on ad-supported tier adoption rates, content slate performance and pricing strategy execution throughout the year ahead.

Netflix’s Competitive LandscapeNetflix faces competition in acquiring members from Disney (DIS - Free Report) and Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) as streaming platforms pursue different membership growth strategies.

Disney uses Disney+ to capture family-oriented subscribers through franchise content from Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, while Disney offers bundle discounts with Hulu and ESPN+ to reduce churn. Netflix targets a broader demographic through global content diversification and flexible ad-supported pricing, aiming to attract price-sensitive consumers.

Amazon leverages Prime Video as part of the Prime ecosystem, bundling streaming access with e-commerce benefits to drive overall Prime membership. Amazon integrates video within its retail platform rather than pursuing standalone streaming subscriptions like Netflix.

NFLX’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of Netflix have declined 28.3% in the past six months compared with the Zacks Broadcast Radio and Television industry’s decline of 12.9%.

NFLX’s Past Six-Month Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Netflix appears overvalued, trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales of 7.05X compared to the broader Zacks Broadcast Radio and Television industry's forward sales multiple of 4.3X. NFLX carries a Value Score of D.

NFLX’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NFLX’s 2026 EPS is pegged at $3.20, unchanged over the past 30 days. This indicates a 26.48% increase from the previous year.

NFLX stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Major Indexes Post Strong Gains: Dow Up 0.91%, S&P 500 Up 0.73%, Nasdaq Up 1.06% At 16:51 GMT, the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading 49522.64, up 445.41 or +0.91%. The benchmark S&P 500 Index is at 6925.99, up 50.37 or +0.73% and the tech-weighted Nasdaq Composite is trading 23470.479, up 245.655 or 1.06%.

Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, and Tech Lead Sector Gains Seven out of 11 sectors are higher on Thursday. Gains are being led by Communication Services (+1.65%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.05%) and Technology (+0.97%). Real Estate (-0.25%) and Energy (-0.18%) are the biggest losers.

Supporting the gains in the technology sector are Nvidia (+1.28%), Microsoft (+1.22%) and Meta Platforms (+4.36%).

Chip Stocks Surge Ahead of Intel Earnings Report Chip stocks also moved higher ahead of the midsession. Microchip Technology, STMicroelectronics and On Semiconductor all rose more than 2%, while Teradyne pulled back 0.77% and Advanced Micro Devices rose 2.20%.

Rebeca Moen Jan 22, 2026 16:42

OP trading at $0.31 shows neutral momentum with RSI at 46.69. Technical analysis suggests potential breakout to $0.34-$0.37 range if resistance at $0.32 breaks within 4 weeks.

OP Price Prediction Summary • Short-term target (1 week): $0.32-$0.34 • Medium-term forecast (1 month): $0.34-$0.37 range
• Bullish breakout level: $0.34 • Critical support: $0.28-$0.29

What Crypto Analysts Are Saying About Optimism While specific analyst predictions are limited in recent days, earlier January forecasts provide some insight into market sentiment. Timothy Morano noted on January 5, 2026: "OP price prediction shows potential 15-30% upside to $0.37-$0.42 range within 4-6 weeks if key $0.32 resistance breaks, supported by bullish MACD momentum."

According to on-chain data platforms, Optimism's current trading patterns suggest consolidation around current levels, with the token showing resilience despite broader market uncertainty. The lack of recent analyst coverage may indicate either reduced interest or analysts waiting for clearer directional signals.

OP Technical Analysis Breakdown The current OP price prediction is heavily influenced by several key technical indicators painting a mixed but cautiously optimistic picture.

RSI Analysis: At 46.69, Optimism's RSI sits in neutral territory, indicating neither overbought nor oversold conditions. This provides room for movement in either direction, though the slight bias below the 50 midpoint suggests mild bearish pressure.

MACD Signals: The MACD histogram at 0.0000 indicates bearish momentum has stalled, while the MACD line (0.0034) and signal line (0.0034) convergence suggests potential for directional change. This setup often precedes significant price movements.

Bollinger Bands Position: With OP positioned at 0.24 on the Bollinger Band scale (where 0 represents the lower band and 1 the upper band), the token is trading in the lower portion of its recent range. The current price of $0.31 sits between the middle band at $0.32 and lower band at $0.29.

Moving Average Analysis: The shorter-term averages (SMA 7 and SMA 20 at $0.32) provide immediate resistance, while the SMA 50 at $0.30 offers support. The significant gap to the SMA 200 at $0.53 highlights the substantial decline from previous highs.

Optimism Price Targets: Bull vs Bear Case Bullish Scenario In the bullish case for this Optimism forecast, OP could target $0.34-$0.37 within the next month. The key catalyst would be a decisive break above the $0.32 resistance level, which aligns with both the SMA 7 and SMA 20.

A successful breakout would likely target the strong resistance at $0.34, followed by the upper Bollinger Band at $0.36. If momentum continues, the previously mentioned analyst target of $0.37-$0.42 becomes achievable, representing potential gains of 19-35% from current levels.

Technical confirmation would require increased volume above $10 million daily and RSI breaking above 55 to indicate strengthening bullish momentum.

Bearish Scenario The bearish case sees OP retesting support levels if the current consolidation fails. Immediate support lies at $0.29 (lower Bollinger Band), followed by strong support at $0.28.

A break below $0.28 could trigger further downside toward psychological support around $0.25, representing a potential 19% decline from current levels. This scenario would likely unfold if broader crypto markets face additional selling pressure or if Optimism-specific negative developments emerge.

Should You Buy OP? Entry Strategy Based on current technical levels, a layered entry strategy appears most prudent for this OP price prediction:

Primary Entry Zone: $0.29-$0.31 (current range) Breakout Entry: Above $0.32 with volume confirmation Stop-Loss: Below $0.28 (approximately 10% risk) Take Profit Levels: $0.34 (first target), $0.37 (extended target)

Risk management should limit exposure to 2-3% of portfolio given the mixed technical signals. Consider dollar-cost averaging if planning longer-term accumulation, as the substantial distance from the 200-day moving average suggests OP remains in a longer-term downtrend.

Conclusion This OP price prediction suggests cautious optimism for the next 4-6 weeks, with potential upside to $0.34-$0.37 if key resistance breaks. The neutral RSI and stalled bearish momentum in MACD provide room for recovery, while the Bollinger Band positioning indicates OP is trading in the lower portion of its recent range.

However, investors should note that cryptocurrency price predictions carry substantial risk, and this Optimism forecast should be considered alongside broader market conditions and individual risk tolerance. The significant gap to long-term moving averages reminds us that OP remains well below previous highs, requiring patience and proper risk management for any potential recovery scenario.

Disclaimer: This analysis is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry high risk and prices can be extremely volatile.

Image source: Shutterstock

op price analysis op price prediction

TL;DR (70 words total)

Santiment said XRP re-entered “extreme fear” after a 19% drop from the Jan. 5 high, even as it traded near $1.95. XRP slid from $2.4 on Jan. 5 to $1.88 on Jan. 21, and Santiment said heavy bearishness has often preceded gains. XRP ETFs saw $7.16 million inflow on Jan. 21; BTC ETFs had $708.71 million outflow and ETH saw $286.95 million outflow. XRP saw significant selling pressure as the wider crypto market reacted to US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats toward the EU. Santiment said social data pushed the token back into the “extreme fear” zone, similar to the sentiment seen on Jan. 2. The setup is paradoxical: bearish retail chatter is rising, even as price and activity hint at stabilisation. The report cited a 19% drop since the Jan. 5 high and put XRP around $1.95, up 2% in 24 hours, with volume up 22% to $4.3 billion. That divergence is the headline.

👍 According to our social data, XRP has fallen into 'Extreme Fear' territory. Small retail traders have become pessimistic toward the #5 market cap cryptocurrency after a -19% drop since the high back on January 5th. Historically, this high level of bearish commentary leads to… pic.twitter.com/T0ARoRNDWw

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 22, 2026

Fear signals, institutional flows, and an enterprise catalyst The fear reading was not just abstract. XRP fell from a local high of $2.4 on Jan. 5 to $1.88 on Jan. 21, a drawdown the report linked to sustained selling pressure. Santiment’s point is that the crowd’s capitulation often marks the moment momentum quietly flips. The analysis said the same dynamic played out earlier this month: after retail pessimism peaked on Jan. 2, XRP regained bullish traction. In that framing, extreme fear becomes a contrarian signal, because heavy bearish commentary has historically preceded notable gains. That is the bullish setup.

While sentiment swung lower, institutional flows told a different story. US-based spot XRP ETFs logged net inflows of $7.16 million on Jan. 21, lifting cumulative net inflows to $1.39 billion. It added that the products have only recorded two outflow days so far, on Jan. 7 and Jan. 20. The notable contrast is that XRP-linked vehicles were attracting capital as BTC and ETH products saw material redemptions. On the same day, Bitcoin spot ETFs shed $708.71 million and Ethereum products posted $286.95 million in net outflows.

The institutional tilt was also reinforced by an enterprise partnership. Ripple, the company behind XRP, formed a strategic alliance with DXC Technology to integrate blockchain technology into banking systems, the report said. Ripple’s technology will be embedded directly into DXC’s Hogan core banking platform, which the report said supports over $5 trillion in deposits and 300 million accounts worldwide. The strategic implication is that enterprise integration can validate the stack even when token sentiment is stressed. For allocators, that mix of fear-heavy chatter and institutional traction can look like a positive setup.

Thu, 22/01/2026 - 15:52

Inactive Ethereum whale just took out 5,099 ETH from Kraken and staked all $15 million through Lido in one go right as the ETH price threatens to drop further.

Cover image via U.Today An anonymous Ethereum whale has made a comeback, and this one was big. Top U.S. exchange Kraken got hit by pulling in 5,099 ETH equal to around $15.17 million. The whale staked the full amount into Lido right away and converted it to stETH in minutes.

According to the Arkham records, the whale's address, "0x761F2F," has not been active for over three months. Its last major activity was a series of multi-million-dollar USDC transfers to and from Symbiosis and Hyperliquid, along with other stablecoin operations via MetaRouter and CoW Protocol. 

But this latest move is on a different scale and market situation.

HOT Stories

Source: Onchain LensAfter withdrawing ETH at around $2,943 per coin, the whale did not wait long and instantly sent all 5,099 ETH to Lido getting 5.1K stETH in return, which is now sitting in the same wallet. 

Right now, the balance is just over $15 million, and almost all of that is in staked ETH, revealing a major long-term plan.

Ethereum price context mattersIt is interesting that this on-chain pivot happened while ETH was trading near its local support zone around $2,939. That zone had been acting as a psychological barrier throughout January. This suggests the whale either sees the current weakness as a buying opportunity or expects strong upside in the staking economy.

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No DEX swaps, no fragmentation — just a full conversion from CEX liquidity to ETH staking exposure. With whales like this moving into stTETH, Lido might see a fresh inflow cycle in the coming weeks if others follow the signal.

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Active Currencies 18935

Market Cap $3,093,677,514,876.50

Bitcoin Share 57.47%

24h Market Cap Change $-1.25

AMBCrypto

TRON: $8 mln investment, new integrations – so why is TRX stuck?

Journalist

Posted: January 22, 2026

Justin Sun is back in the headlines, this time with a big investment. Meanwhile, the TRON [TRX] network has been busy forming partnerships in the last week.

But has all this activity moved the needle at all for the native token?

An expansion of the TRON ecosystem

Samyukhtha L KM is a Financial Journalist and Market Analyst at AMBCrypto whose work is defined by one central question: Is the latest trend in blockchain hype, or history in the making? Her expertise is built on a strong academic foundation, with a Master’s in Journalism and Mass Communication from Amity University and a Bachelor’s in Commerce from the University of Madras. This dual qualification equips her with a unique skill set: the financial acumen to dissect market mechanics and the journalistic rigor to investigate and communicate complex subjects with clarity. Samyukhtha specializes in analyzing the socio-economic impact of blockchain adoption and assessing the viability of new market narratives. This includes a focus on high-velocity, community-driven assets such as memecoins, where she evaluates sentiment and fundamentals. She is dedicated to providing readers with insightful, well-researched commentary that looks beyond immediate market moves to understand the long-term implications of decentralized technology.

The Sandbox (SAND) traded at $0.1568 as of writing, rising about 7.6% in the last 24 hours, 26.8% over seven days, and 40.3% over the last 30 days. The gains come during a softer stretch for the broader market, with Bitcoin slipping below the $90,000 support level and Ethereum dropping under $3,000, reinforcing a more cautious tone across major crypto assets.

Even so, SAND has held trader attention. Market participants have shifted toward selective altcoins showing resilience rather than moving in lockstep with Bitcoin and Ethereum. This divergence has placed SAND in focus as traders reassess positioning amid heightened volatility.

SAND Breaks Out of a Multi-Month DowntrendSAND has broken decisively above its multi-month descending channel, marking a clear structural change on the daily chart. The token no longer trades under the downward resistance line that had capped every recovery attempt for months.

Source: CryptoPulse Via X

Instead, buyers pushed the price above the channel resistance with stronger conviction, signaling a shift in control from sellers to bulls. The breakout followed a prolonged consolidation phase near the $0.11 demand zone, where downside pressure gradually weakened.

After reclaiming the mid-range region around $0.15, SAND began printing higher lows. That change has returned the $0.20 level into the conversation as a potential reclaim zone. 

Can the market treat it as the next target rather than a resistance? Traders appear to watch it closely.

Exchange Outflows Suggest Supply AbsorptionSpot netflows have remained negative, reinforcing the idea that the breakout occurred alongside steady supply absorption. At the time of reporting, SAND recorded net exchange outflows of over $1.34M

Source: Coinglass

This pattern typically indicates tokens moving off exchanges rather than returning to sell, which can reduce immediate distribution pressure. The outflows also occurred alongside a noticeable increase in trading volume, which strengthened the signal and suggested buyers absorbed available liquidity without triggering strong sell-side reactions.

Source: Coinglass

The pace of outflows has remained controlled instead of extreme. That detail matters because it points to steady conviction rather than aggressive or panic-driven accumulation. As a result, price action has stabilized above reclaimed structural levels instead of snapping back into the prior range.

Open Interest Climbs as Derivatives Participation BuildsDerivatives markets have also contributed to SAND’s momentum. Open interest surged by  over 8% to about $54 million, signaling that traders have increased exposure as price climbed.

Source: Coinglass

Rising open interest during an uptrend often reflects new positions entering the market rather than short-covering alone. This trend suggests growing directional confidence, although it can also introduce volatility if momentum weakens.

For now, positioning has appeared measured rather than overheated. Funding conditions have remained stable, pointing to continued participation without the kind of crowded leverage that often sparks sharp reversals.

Technical Setup Brings $0.20 Back Into FocusOn higher timeframes, traders have noted that SAND has bounced from the support of a falling wedge structure. Momentum indicators have begun shifting in a more constructive direction, reinforcing the idea that buyers have regained influence after months of weakness.

Source: Butterfly Via X

The breakout has shifted market focus toward continuation dynamics. If demand holds at reclaimed levels, traders may view the move as more than a short-lived bounce.

CoinCodex’s short-term forecast also aligns with the improving structure. The projection points to a move from roughly $0.1572 to $0.1675 by Feb. 21, 2026, while technical sentiment remains neutral and broader market sentiment shows extreme fear.

SAND’s next test now centers on whether buyers can maintain strength as the broader market stays fragile. The token’s ability to hold above its breakout zone could define whether the push toward $0.20 gains traction in the sessions ahead.

Tanzeel Akhtar

Journalist

Tanzeel Akhtar

Part of the Team Since

Feb 2018

About Author

Tanzeel Akhtar has been reporting on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology since 2015. Her work has appeared in leading publications including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CoinDesk, Bitcoin...

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5 minutes ago

“Thinking about buying more bitcoin,” posted Michael Saylor on Thursday morning highlighting Strategy’s reputation as one of the most aggressive corporate accumulators of BTC.

The X post follows the company’s latest disclosure that it added 22,305 bitcoin to its balance sheet, spending approximately $2.13 billion as part of its ongoing accumulation strategy. The purchase was completed at an average price of $95,284 per BTC, inclusive of fees and expenses.

Latest Purchase Expands Strategy’s Bitcoin War ChestThe acquisition disclosed on January 20 was funded through proceeds from Strategy’s at-the-market equity and preferred stock sales conducted between January 12 and January 19.

The approach mirrors the company’s prior capital-raising playbook, which has repeatedly converted equity issuance into bitcoin exposure during periods of market consolidation.

As of January 19, Strategy holds 709,715 bitcoin acquired for approximately $53.92 billion at an average price of $75,979 per BTC.

Bitcoin Price Action Shows ConsolidationBitcoin is trading around $88,800 on Thursday, down roughly 0.3% over the past 24 hours, according to CryptoNews data. The asset has retreated from recent highs above $95,000 and remains well below its October 2025 all-time high near $126,000.

Recent price action shows bitcoin moving within a broad consolidation range, with buyers stepping in near the $85,000–$90,000 zone while upside momentum has stalled below $100,000.

Trading volumes have moderated, suggesting market participants are waiting for fresh catalysts amid tightening financial conditions and shifting macro expectations.

Despite the pullback bitcoin remains up on a year-over-year basis with its market capitalisation hovering near $1.77 trillion highlighting its position as the largest digital asset by a wide margin.

Markets convulsed after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on eight European nations unless Denmark cedes Greenland, with rhetoric including hints the U.S. might seize the territory by force, triggering a global risk-off move on January 20.

Gold surged to record highs while Bitcoin plunged into the low-$90K range, with some intraday trades dipping as low as $87K.

Strategy’s Long-Term Conviction Remains IntactSaylor has framed bitcoin as a long-duration treasury reserve asset rather than a short-term trade. Strategy’s accumulation pace has shown little sensitivity to near-term volatility with purchases continuing across both rising and falling markets.

The latest X post and buy earlier this week shows the company’s view that periods of consolidation represent accumulation opportunities rather than signals of weakness.

While the strategy has drawn both praise and criticism from market observers, Saylor has repeatedly argued that bitcoin’s long-term scarcity and monetary properties outweigh interim drawdowns.

Pierre Rochard's call for the Federal Reserve to integrate Bitcoin into its stress tests came at an unusual moment: the Fed is soliciting public comment on its 2026 scenarios while simultaneously proposing new transparency requirements for how it builds and updates those models.

The timing creates a natural question that has nothing to do with whether Rochard's specific claims hold up: can the Fed ever treat Bitcoin as a stress-test variable without “adopting” it as policy?

The answer isn't about ideology. It's about plumbing.

The Fed won't mainstream Bitcoin because a former strategy chief asks nicely. But if bank exposures to Bitcoin through custody, derivatives, ETF intermediation, or prime-brokerage-style services become large enough to move capital or liquidity metrics in a repeatable way, the Fed may eventually be forced to model BTC price shocks the same way it models equity drawdowns or credit spreads.

That shift wouldn't signal endorsement. It would signal that Bitcoin had become too embedded in regulated balance sheets to ignore.

What stress tests actually testThe Fed's supervisory stress tests feed directly into the Stress Capital Buffer, the amount of capital large banks must hold above regulatory minimums.

The tests project losses and revenues under adverse scenarios, then translate those projections into required capital. Scenario design matters because it determines comparability across firms: banks that face the same hypothetical shock are evaluated on the same terms.

For 2026, the Fed proposed scenarios that run from the first quarter of 2026 through the first quarter of 2029 and use 28 variables.

The set includes 16 US metrics: six activity indicators, four asset prices, and six interest rates.
Internationally, the Fed models 12 variables across four blocs: the euro area, the UK, developing Asia, and Japan. The models track real GDP, inflation, and exchange rates in each.

SubheadVariablesCountEconomic activity & pricesReal GDP growth; Nominal GDP growth; Real disposable personal income growth; Nominal disposable personal income growth; CPI inflation (CPI-U); Unemployment rate6Asset prices / financial conditionsHouse price index; Commercial real estate (CRE) price index; Equity prices (U.S. Dow Jones Total Stock Market Index); Stock market volatility (VIX)4Interest rates3-month Treasury rate; 5-year Treasury yield; 10-year Treasury yield; 10-year BBB-rated corporate yield; 30-year fixed mortgage rate; Prime rate6The Fed explicitly noted that the 2026 set is identical to the 2025 set. Bitcoin isn't in it.

Banks with large trading operations face an additional global market shock component that stresses a broader set of risk factors, such as equity indices, credit spreads, commodity prices, foreign exchange, and volatility surfaces.

Banks with substantial trading or custody operations are also tested under a counterparty default scenario.

These components offer a natural entry point for Bitcoin: the Fed could fold a BTC shock into the global market shock framework without treating it as a core macroeconomic variable.

Country / blocReal GDP (growth)Inflation (CPI or local equivalent)USD exchange rate (level)Euro areaEuro area real GDP growthEuro area inflationUSD/euroUnited KingdomU.K. real GDP growthU.K. inflationUSD/poundDeveloping AsiaDeveloping Asia real GDP growthDeveloping Asia inflationF/USD (index)JapanJapan real GDP growthJapan inflationyen/USDWhat would make Bitcoin eligibleFour criteria would need to align before the Fed treats Bitcoin as a scenario input, and none of them requires the Fed to take a position on Bitcoin's long-term viability.

The first is materiality. Exposures must be large enough to move post-stress capital ratios meaningfully. The Fed's own transparency proposal discusses “material model changes” in terms of their impacts on projected Common Equity Tier 1 ratios, with thresholds ranging from 10 to 20 basis points.

That's not a Bitcoin-specific benchmark, but it's a realistic yardstick for “big enough to matter.” If a 50% Bitcoin drawdown paired with a volatility spike could push a bank's projected CET1 ratio down by 20 basis points, the Fed has a supervisory reason to model it.

The next criterion is repeatability. The shock must show up as a recurring driver of losses or liquidity stress, not a one-off headline.

Bitcoin's history of sharp drawdowns, often coinciding with equity selloffs and tighter funding conditions, provides the Fed with a benchmark to calibrate against. If Bitcoin behaves like a levered risk-on asset during stress episodes, it starts to look like other factors the Fed already models.

Then comes mapping into bank balance sheets. The Fed needs a clean transmission channel from a Bitcoin move to profit-and-loss or liquidity for regulated firms.

Plausible channels now include broker-dealer intermediation for ETFs, custody, riskless principal execution, and derivatives margining.

The last is data auditability. The Fed needs a defensible, monitorable series.

Bitcoin increasingly has institutional-grade reference points, such as BlackRock's IBIT, which references the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate. That makes Bitcoin easier to define in a stress scenario than many niche credit markets.

Why now feels differentThree developments in 2025 lowered the barriers to bank-adjacent Bitcoin activity and made future stress-test inclusion more plausible.

The Fed withdrew prior guidance on crypto-asset activities and shifted to “normal supervisory process” monitoring. The OCC issued guidance on crypto-asset safekeeping and, in Interpretive Letter 1188, confirmed that national banks may conduct riskless principal crypto-asset transactions.

The SEC rescinded Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 via SAB 122, removing an accounting treatment widely viewed as a custody roadblock for banks.

ETFs are now a bank-adjacent market structure. BlackRock's IBIT alone reported $70.24 billion in net assets as of Jan. 20.

The Banque de France noted that ETF authorized participants are often broker-dealer subsidiaries of US global systemically important banks, and that some US G-SIBs reported more than $2.7 billion in crypto-ETF investments by end-2024.

Authorized participants create and redeem ETF shares, hedge flows, and provide liquidity, which are activities that sit on regulated balance sheets and can transmit Bitcoin volatility into funding and margin pressures.

The Fed is also in an unusual transparency and comment cycle heading into 2026. It published proposed scenarios and explicitly asked for public comment. It issued a separate proposal on stress-test transparency and public accountability, outlining new documentation requirements and a cadence for reviewing material model changes.

This posture makes exploratory scenario components, such as testing emerging risks without embedding them in binding capital requirements, more institutionally plausible than they were before.

What changes if Bitcoin gets includedIncluding Bitcoin in stress tests wouldn't constitute endorsement. It would standardize how banks model crypto-related risks and eliminate the current patchwork of ad hoc proxies, such as equity volatility plus tech drawdowns.

Additionally, banks would get a common path to compare against, improving comparability across firms.

It would also implicitly mainstream Bitcoin as a modeled risk factor. Once the Fed treats Bitcoin like interest rates or equity indices, something that can transmit stress and must be projected under adverse conditions, it becomes harder to dismiss crypto exposures as fringe activities.

That shift could tighten controls and compliance around crypto-facing business lines.

Banks would treat those activities more like other capital-sensitive businesses: tighter limits, governance, model validation, documented hedging assumptions, and more granular data collection.

The Fed already has the latitude to add scenario components based on a bank's activities and risk profile. Bitcoin could arrive first as a targeted component for banks with meaningful crypto intermediation rather than as a universal macro variable.

That tier structure offers a natural path forward.

How Bitcoin could enter the stress-test frameworkThree implementation tiers seem plausible over time, each triggered by growing bank exposure.

Tier 1 is a trading-book Bitcoin shock inside the global market shock, and is the most likely first step.

Crypto-linked trading, hedging, and ETF facilitation at G-SIB broker-dealers would trigger a Bitcoin spot shock, a volatility shock, and a basis/liquidity shock that feed margin and counterparty exposures. This is exactly the kind of component stress test that stress tests already use for other asset classes.

Historically consistent ranges might include a 50% to 80% Bitcoin drawdown over a short horizon, implied volatility doubling or tripling, and liquidity demand spikes tied to price gaps and margin calls.

Tier 2 is treating Bitcoin as a supervisory variable. This is harder and requires broad bank mapping.

Multiple banks would need to show material, measurable Bitcoin-linked profit-and-loss sensitivity across quarters, like custody, lending to ecosystem participants, derivatives, and prime-like financing.

The Fed would need to build and validate supervisory models that, in a repeatable way, translate Bitcoin paths into losses, fee income, and liquidity stress.

Tier 3 is an exploratory Bitcoin scenario. This becomes possible during a transparency era like the current one. The Fed could publish an exploratory sensitivity analysis alongside the main test, exploring crypto-TradFi spillovers without embedding Bitcoin in binding capital requirements.

The current 2026 transparency posture makes this more institutionally feasible than it used to be.

The governance counterweightBank trade groups generally argue the Fed should preserve discretion in scenario design and ensure transparency requirements don't create distortions or mechanical capital impacts divorced from real risk.

The Fed itself has noted that adding “salient risks” via scenarios can reduce the ability to test other emerging risks and increase the burden.

That's the sober institutional reason Bitcoin won't appear in stress tests until exposures justify it: not because the Fed opposes Bitcoin, but because scenario design is a capital-allocation tool with real consequences for bank behavior.

The question isn't whether the Fed will “adopt Bitcoin.” The question is whether Bitcoin exposures at regulated banks will grow large enough and become embedded enough in trading, custody, and intermediation activities that the Fed can no longer model bank resilience without modeling Bitcoin shocks.

If that happens, Bitcoin won't enter stress tests as a policy statement. It will enter because the Fed ran out of ways to ignore it.

Mentioned in this article

Financial advisors are increasingly turning to hard assets to mitigate the risks of declining fiat currency power.

Bitwise Asset Management, in partnership with Proficio Capital Partners, has rolled out a new exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to Bitcoin, gold, silver, precious metals, and mining equities.

The fund, called the Bitwise Proficio Currency Debasement ETF (BPRO), aims to help investors hedge against the declining purchasing power of fiat currencies, targeting a minimum 25% allocation to gold while adjusting exposures based on market conditions.

“BPRO seeks to give investors a way to shield portfolios from the unstoppable train of reckless spending, rising deficits, and money printing by governments worldwide by investing in debasement-resistant assets that can’t be easily inflated or manipulated,” Bitwise said in a statement.

“Currency debasement isn’t just a theoretical risk; it is an active tax on every dollar an investor saves. BPRO represents the evolution of our wealth preservation mission,” Bob Haber, CIO at Proficio, stated.

The ETF, leveraging Bitwise’s crypto expertise and Proficio’s long-standing experience in precious metals, is now trading on the NYSE and charges an annual management fee of 0.96%.

Meme coin Pepe (PEPE) is locked in a downtrend and as per analysts, the situation could get worse if Bitcoin continues to lose important key levels, like the $90K price tag.

At the time of writing, PEPE trades at $0.000005136, up more than 1% in the past 24 hours and 30% in the past month. CoinMarketCap data shows a 42% increase in volume as well.

PEPE Price Analysis: What’s Next for the Meme Coin Pepe (PEPE) is nearing a critical technical zone, with price tightening inside a multi-month descending wedge. The coming days could determine whether the meme coin breaks higher or continues its slide.

On the weekly timeframe, PEPE is trading near 0.0000051, just above a strong demand zone between 0.0000048 and 0.0000045. This area has acted as reliable support in recent months and is once again being tested.

If buyers step in and push price above the descending trendline, the next key target sits at 0.0000070, with a potential extension toward 0.0000100 if momentum builds.

Source: TradingView

On the downside, a confirmed break below support could open the door for a deeper move toward the 0.0000038 level.

With price sitting at a make-or-break point, the next move could set the tone for PEPE’s short-term trend.

Time to Buy the Dip? Based on the analysis provided by “davie satoshi” on X, PEPE is on the verge of a massive uptrend once the broader market, including Bitcoin, turns bullish.

“Whatever happens, $PEPE will rebound and begin its march back up,” they said.

Rapid Fire Charts: $PEPE

With bitcoin dropping, all meme coins are going to get hurt. $PEPE will likely drop a lot more if bitcoin falls to $85k and even more if it drops to $75k.

Whatever happens, $PEPE will rebound and begin its march back up. GREEN route suggests a fast… pic.twitter.com/axuayJYeeQ

— davie satoshi (@NFTdavie) January 21, 2026

Based on the analyst’s claims, currently PEPE is underpriced when compared to other tokens and the “opportunity to buy the dip” is already here.

PEPE Rally Takes a Breather as AI Crypto Project Dominates Crypto Talk As traders wait for PEPE to make a move, whale money is moving into artificial intelligence tokens with massive utility.

AI-powered content platform SUBBD ($SUBBD) is gaining strong momentum, with $1.4 million already raised in its ongoing presale.

SUBBD is transforming the $85 billion content subscription industry by delivering influencer-approved, AI-enhanced content that rewards both creators and fans.

The more $SUBBD you hold, the more benefits you unlock. Buyers get discounts on subscriptions and premium content, along with early access to new features.

Token holders can also stake their $SUBBD for a 20% APY, plus additional perks like XP multipliers, loyalty rewards, and exclusive platform events.

SUBBD is setting a new standard for digital content, giving fans closer access to creators and helping influencers scale their impact without the time drain of day-to-day management.

To buy early, visit the official SUBBD website and connect any supported wallet (like Best Wallet).

Once done, you can swap your existing crypto or use a debit/credit card to complete the $SUBBD buy in seconds.

Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

Pepe News, Market News

A crypto journalist with over 5 years of experience in the industry, Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world, gathering experience and expertise in the space after surviving bear and bull markets over the years. Parth is also an author of 4 self-published books.

Parth Dubey on LinkedIn

TL;DR

Tether (USDT) growth fell from $15 billion to $3.3 billion over 60 days, according to CryptoQuant, marking a clear slowdown in liquidity since late 2025. The 60-day market cap change indicator remained in positive territory but reached its lowest level since November. Tether Treasury burned 3 billion USDT. USDT growth slowed sharply at the start of 2026, sending a clear signal about the state of liquidity in the crypto market. CryptoQuant data show that the increase in Tether’s market capitalization dropped from $15 billion to $3.3 billion over a 60-day period, a steep decline compared with the pace observed since September 2025.

The 60-day market cap change indicator remains positive but stands at its lowest level since November. In previous cycles, rapid USDT expansions coincided with sustained Bitcoin rallies, while similar slowdowns led to sideways phases or corrections. The same pattern is reappearing at the beginning of 2026, in a context of lower net stablecoin issuance.

USDT’s circulating supply showed a visible contraction, particularly on the Ethereum network. Over the past month, USDT’s market capitalization on Ethereum declined, and the token traded persistently below $1. According to CryptoQuant, Tether did not experience a depeg event, but rather a combined effect of reduced supply and capital outflows. Holders chose to redeem their positions instead of reallocating liquidity into other market assets.

Tether Burned Around 3 Billion USDT A key data point was the burn of 3 billion USDT by Tether Treasury, the largest since 2023 and the first since May of last year. Burning occurs when investors redeem USDT for dollars, forcing those tokens to be removed from circulation. This reflected an increase in redemptions amid greater caution toward macroeconomic conditions.

The stablecoin market has remained flat near $308 billion in total market capitalization for the past two months. An acceleration in outflows could break that level and open a corrective phase in the market, given the direct relationship between stable liquidity and activity in risk assets.

At the same time, an atypical flow of institutional demand emerged. Iran’s central bank acquired approximately $507 million in USDT to bypass financial sanctions and contain pressure on the rial. This transaction did not alter the broader slowdown trend, but it introduced a geopolitical component into Tether’s dynamics

Key NotesRAIN reached $0.0102 on January 22, a new all-time high for the prediction market token.WhiteBIT listing went live January 21, adding another trading venue alongside MEXC and BitMart.The token holds a $3.39 billion market cap and ranks 44th among cryptocurrencies. RAIN gained 16.62% over 24 hours to reach $0.0100. The token hit an all-time high of $0.0102 as trading activity increased following a new exchange listing.

The token’s 24-hour trading volume reached $46.68 million, down slightly from $48.81 million the previous day, according to CoinGecko data.

Over the past week, RAIN moved from a low of $0.00835651 to its current levels. The token’s market capitalization stands at $3.39 billion, placing it at rank 44 among cryptocurrencies.

RAIN/USD 15-minute chart showing the price spike to $0.01 on Jan. 22. | Source: GeckoTerminal

Exchange Listing Drives Activity Rain Protocol announced the WhiteBIT listing went live on Jan. 21. The listing expands the token’s availability to the European exchange’s user base of over 35 million customers globally.

It's $RAINing in WhiteBIT.$RAIN is now live on @WhiteBit, officially expanding into one of the largest and most secure digital asset ecosystems in Europe.

This listing marks another major step in bringing Rain's infrastructure to a global audience.

Start trading here:… pic.twitter.com/uuSCFigugP

— Rain (@Rain__Protocol) January 21, 2026

WhiteBIT welcomed RAIN to its platform. Rain operates as a prediction market where users can bet on outcomes of real-world events, from elections to sports to financial milestones.

Give a warm welcome to @Rain__Protocol ($RAIN) — a decentralized prediction market protocol that allows creating markets & forecast outcomes on global or niche events.$RAIN is its utility & governance token.$RAIN/$USDT: https://t.co/pjomYTzKRL

Website:… pic.twitter.com/UatIR7zzia

— WhiteBIT (@WhiteBit) January 21, 2026

Market Context RAIN’s rally to all-time highs came against this backdrop of general market weakness, with the token’s 16.62% gain outpacing the overall market’s 1.59% rise.

The Fear & Greed Index registered 20, indicating extreme fear, down from 24 the previous day and sharply lower than the Jan. 15 reading of 61.

Fear & Greed Index at 20 (Extreme Fear) on Jan. 22, down from 61 (Greed) the previous week. | Source: Alternative.me

The token competes in the prediction market sector alongside platforms such as Polymarket.

Nasdaq-listed Enlivex Therapeutics announced a $212 million investment deal in November 2025 to build a RAIN-focused cryptocurrency reserve.

The move made Enlivex the first U.S.-listed company with a prediction-markets-oriented treasury strategy. A Coinspeaker analysis of high-potential cryptocurrencies for 2026 included RAIN among tokens to watch largely due to that institutional backing.

Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

Cryptocurrency News, News

As a Web3 marketing strategist and former CMO of DuckDAO, Zoran Spirkovski translates complex crypto concepts into compelling narratives that drive growth. With a background in crypto journalism, he excels in developing go-to-market strategies for DeFi, L2, and GameFi projects.

Zoran Spirkovski on X

Michael Saylor again hinted at further Bitcoin purchases following Strategy’s largest acquisition in more than a year. The executive chairman posted the message “Thinking about buying more Bitcoin” on X, days after the company confirmed a $2.13B purchase.

Strategy acquired 22,305 BTC at an average price of $95,284 per coin. Following the transaction, total holdings rose to 709,715 BTC. The company led by Saylor now holds a Bitcoin treasury valued at approximately $53.92 billion, with an average acquisition price of $75,979. That position represents more than 3.3% of Bitcoin’s maximum supply. No other public company comes close to that scale; MARA Holdings ranks second with 53,250 BTC on its balance sheet.

The market reaction was negative. Strategy’s shares fell more than 1% over the past 24 hours and posted a weekly decline of over 9%. The drop coincided with a correction in the crypto market. Bitcoin lost the $90,000 level and traded around $89,000.

Source: https://x.com/saylor/status/2014342830668263718

Disclaimer: Crypto Economy Flash News are based on verified public and official sources. Their purpose is to provide fast, factual updates about relevant events in the crypto and blockchain ecosystem.

This information does not constitute financial advice or investment recommendation. Readers are encouraged to verify all details through official project channels before making any related decisions

HBAR Price Clings to $0.102 Support as Bearish Metrics Raise Breakdown RiskHBAR price holds $0.102, but capital outflows signal early breakout stress.Sentiment collapsed 94%, a sharper drop than prior corrections.Without CMF recovery and whale buying, HBAR breakout risk remains elevated.HBAR price is trying to stabilize, but the rebound is losing strength. The token is up about 7% since January 20, yet it remains down nearly 8% over the past seven days. More importantly, the structure supporting a bullish breakout is starting to weaken beneath the surface.

The W-shaped recovery pattern is still intact for now. But capital flows, sentiment, and whale behavior are no longer aligned the way they need to be for a clean upside continuation.

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Weak Capital Flows Raise Early Doubts Over the Breakout StructureHBAR price is still trading inside a W pattern on the daily chart. This pattern forms when the price makes two similar lows, showing buyers stepping in twice at the same level. The breakout theory could hold if the HBAR price crosses the neckline above $0.135.

The issue is what is happening under the pattern.

The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) is turning lower. CMF tracks whether big money (institutions, ETFs, and whales) is flowing into or out of an asset using price and volume. During the rebound, CMF briefly moved above zero, showing fresh inflows. That signal has now faded.

CMF has slipped back below zero and is pressing against its rising trendline that has held since late December. This suggests capital is starting to leave Hedera, even though the price has not yet broken support.

Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.

HBAR Capital Flows: TradingViewWhale behavior reinforces that caution. All large holder groups have mostly held their balances, but they have not added meaningfully during the dip. When whales expect a breakout to follow through, they usually accumulate into weakness.

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Whale Metrics: Hedera WatchTheir hesitation suggests uncertainty rather than confidence. Plus, if CMF breaks the trendline, the next set of capital outflow could be from the whales.

Dip Buying Holds $0.102, but Sentiment Has Collapsed SharplyDespite weakening capital flows, the HBAR price has not broken down yet. The reason is dip buying.

The Money Flow Index (MFI), often a dip-buying proxy, has been trending higher while the price trended lower since late December. MFI measures buying and selling pressure using both price and volume. This bullish divergence shows buyers stepping in on dips rather than exiting in panic. That behavior explains why the $0.102 support level has held repeatedly.

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Dip Buyers Come In: TradingViewBut dip buying alone cannot sustain a breakout if confidence fades. More so when Hedera whales haven’t been buying those dips.

Market sentiment has deteriorated aggressively. Since January 19, positive sentiment has collapsed from around 29 to roughly 1.5, a drop of more than 94% in just a few days, the lowest monthly level.

This matters because sentiment has already shown its impact on price earlier this month. Between January 6 and January 12, positive sentiment fell from about 20.8 to near 10.4. During that same window, HBAR price dropped from roughly $0.132 to $0.114, a decline of about 14%.

HBAR Sentiment Weakens: SantimentThe current sentiment drop is far steeper than that earlier episode. If the relationship holds, price pressure could intensify quickly once dip buyers step aside, or the CMF outflows offset their contribution. Plus, the indifferent whales might use this sentiment trigger as a reason to dump.

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HBAR Price Levels That Decide Whether the Story Breaks or SurvivesEverything now hinges on a narrow range.

As long as the HBAR price holds $0.102 on a daily close, the W pattern remains technically valid. A decisive break below this level would invalidate the structure and expose downside toward $0.094 first. If selling accelerates, $0.073 becomes a realistic downside target.

On the upside, the breakout case requires a shift in behavior. CMF must reclaim the zero line, sentiment needs to stabilize, and price must reclaim the $0.118 to $0.124 zone. Without those changes, the $0.135 neckline remains out of reach, and so does the 31% breakout hope.

HBAR Price Analysis: TradingViewFor now, the HBAR price is holding. But the breakout story is weakening. If capital keeps flowing out and sentiment remains this fragile, the $0.102 level stops being support and starts becoming a final test.

Disclaimer

In line with the Trust Project guidelines, this price analysis article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. BeInCrypto is committed to accurate, unbiased reporting, but market conditions are subject to change without notice. Always conduct your own research and consult with a professional before making any financial decisions. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.

Online gambling networks have continued moving funds in digital assets through Huionepay and TudouGuarantee in recent weeks, after law enforcement agencies shut them down and arrested their operators. 

Huionepay and TudouGuarantee, according to investigators at Bitrace, received about 414 million USDT over 53 days following their closures. 

The collaboration between Guarantee Platforms, online gambling platforms, and crypto payment providers has become extremely common in the online gambling industry——

After joining a Guarantee Platform, online gambling platforms integrate third-party crypto payment providers’… pic.twitter.com/vmWyyPOggR

— Bitrace (@Bitrace_team) January 22, 2026

The funds were generated by online gambling platforms, which continued issuing settlement services through third-party channels and Telegram mini apps, where gamblers now deposit and withdraw funds.

Telegram marketplace is inactive, gambling settlement services still operational According to an analysis by Elliptic, Tudou’s public Telegram guarantee marketplace has effectively stopped processing transactions. Despite that, Elliptic’s open-source analysis shows the network around Tudou was still operating through private channels and associated wallets.

Since its launch, Tudou, whose name translates to “Potato,” has processed more than $12 billion in transactions, making it the third-largest illicit online marketplace on record. 

Meanwhile, polished front Huione dubbed itself a legal financial institution based in Cambodia with offices in parts of Southeast Asia. That appearance masked a covert network of laundering hubs, online markets, and settlement platforms to clean illicit proceeds.

Among Huione’s most profitable laundering tools was a marketplace that had handled more than $26 billion in crypto transactions since 2021.

Bitrace researchers cited several intelligence sources showing Huione Telegram Wallet, Wangbo Wallet, and HWZF as the most used settlement platforms supporting the gambling operations tied to Huione, Haowang, and Tudou. 

They also found that Wangbo Wallet and Huionepay used the same software-as-a-service backend. As a result, funds moving through the two systems were effectively pooled and aggregated, complicating efforts to isolate specific transaction flows.

During the closure of Huione Guarantee last May, Elliptic found that it had processed more than $27 billion in transactions. Huione Guarantee directed its merchants to migrate to Tudou, and within weeks, Tudou’s user base more than doubled, while transaction volumes climbed close to Huione’s peak levels.

Many of the same merchants reappeared on Tudou, continuing to sell stolen personal data, money-laundering services, and providing scam infrastructure to an existing customer base.

Despite several warnings from payment platforms and crypto exchanges urging users not to send funds directly to centralized exchanges, Bitrace said user inflows continued.

Over the 53 days, about 9 million USDT flowed from the gambling-linked ecosystem into centralized exchanges, according to Bitrace’s review of transaction data. OKX received 3.6 million USDT over 2,493 transactions. Binance followed with about 2.7 million USDT across 1,764 transactions, while HTX recorded around 2.5 million USDT in 1,563 transactions.

Gate.io saw inflows of about 153,000 USDT, while Cobo, WEEX, Bybit, Bitget, and MEXC received progressively smaller sums, ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to double-digit amounts. 

Financial sanctions and arrests caused slump in guarantee platforms In October, the United States Treasury and the UK Foreign Office imposed sanctions on Prince Group and its chairman, Chen Zhi. The designation slapped the organization with a transnational criminal tag and barred any companies from transacting with it. Zhi was linked to at least ten compounds in Cambodia using human forced labor to run crypto-affiliated scams.

The Cambodian government launched an anti-money laundering campaign in the second half of 2025, culminating in the joint arrest and extradition of Chen Zhi by local law enforcement and Chinese authorities, Cryptopolitan reported.

“The public security organs will soon issue arrest warrants for the first batch of key members of Chen Zhi’s criminal syndicate, resolutely bringing fugitives to justice,” Chinese government officials stated in a broadcast on CCTV.

According to Elliptic’s real-time monitoring of Tudou’s central administrative wallets, there was a sudden drop in activity in the days after the arrest. The security firm believes this shows a direct link to Zhi’s arrest, although they warn that the activity could resurface on newly launched platforms.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the National Bank of Cambodia said no banking or financial institutions in the country are authorized to conduct crypto transactions.

“The National Bank of Cambodia would like to remind the public as well as all banking and financial institutions to exercise extreme caution when conducting transactions involving crypto assets,” the bank said, posting the notice in Khmer.

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Posted: January 22, 2026

While the market often fixates on weekly candle closes and ETF inflows, ARK Invest’s “Big Ideas 2026” report suggests we are no longer in its early phase, but entering a major structural shift.

According to the report, Cathie Wood’s latest outlook goes beyond simple growth expectations.

ARK projected that the total value of digital assets could reach $28 trillion by 2030, with Bitcoin playing the central role.

In fact, the firm believes Bitcoin will account for around 70% of the overall market, giving it a potential valuation of $16 trillion.

How did 2025 work in favour of Bitcoin? The year 2025 ended the idea that Bitcoin [BTC] is mainly a speculative asset and introduced what ARK calls the “Strategic Reserve era”.

Two key political events changed how Bitcoin’s risk was viewed.

After U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, regulatory uncertainty eased, and markets quickly adjusted.

This shift became clearer in March 2025, when an executive order signaled that the U.S. government was willing to treat Bitcoin as a national treasury asset. And…that decision triggered a wider response.

Within the U.S., states began competing to build their own Bitcoin reserves, with Texas and various others launching a state-level strategic reserve by the end of 2025.

Outside the U.S., Japan’s Metaplanet built a Bitcoin treasury worth $5.4 billion, showing that interest in Bitcoin as a long-term store of value is spreading globally, not just in Western markets.

The ETF space speaks volumes Additionally, in 2025, Bitcoin held by ETFs grew by 19.7%, reaching 1.29 million BTC.

Even more notable, Bitcoin held by public companies jumped 73%, reaching 1.09 million BTC.

Adding further, the report noted, 

“As a result, the percent of bitcoin outstanding held by ETFs and public companies increased from 8.7% to 12%.”

Interestingly, Bitcoin also stood out in terms of risk and returns.

In 2025, its risk-adjusted performance was better than Ethereum [ETH], Solana [SOL], and the broader CoinDesk 10 index.

This supports ARK’s view that Bitcoin is becoming a safe-haven asset for institutions, rather than just a volatile investment.

Current market dynamics As per CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin was trading around $89,912, down just 0.75% in the last 24 hours. Yet, despite this, the Bitcoin dominance chart stood close to 59.7% at press time.

So, rather than being a warning sign, this level of dominance is considered healthy.

It showed that money is not leaving crypto, but instead moving toward the asset investors see as the most secure.

Ark’s take on stablecoins and RWAs Additionally, ARK’s report also talked about how the GENIUS Act gave clear legal support to stablecoins, which helped drive rapid growth.

By December 2025, stablecoin transaction volume reached $3.5 trillion.

The report added, 

“Circle’s stablecoin, USDC, dominated adjusted transaction volume with ~60% share, followed by Tether’s USDT’s ~35%.”

At the same time, the total value of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) also tripled to $18.9 billion, and ARK believes this area alone could grow to $11 trillion by 2030.

This contradicts Wood’s November 2025 view, when she lowered her most bullish Bitcoin price target for 2030 from $1.5 million to $1.2 million.

Final Thoughts Volatility now masks structural strengthening rather than systemic fragility. Political clarity in 2025 fundamentally altered Bitcoin’s risk profile, accelerating its adoption as a strategic reserve asset.

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XRP has seen a surge in the derivatives market, with futures volume increasing amid traders' participation. According to CoinGlass data, XRP futures volume rose 3,948% in the last 24 hours on the Bitmex crypto exchange, reaching 3,948.30%.

The price drop across the market early this week was not only accompanied by increased liquidations but also coincided with a move that saw the options markets de-risk aggressively, with open interest falling.

At press time, XRP open interest was recovering, slightly up 2.15% in the last 24 hours. The setup is forming as XRP seeks a breakout past the $2 level, a price zone that has repeatedly shaped holder behavior.

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According to Glassnode, the $2 level remains a major psychological zone for XRP holders. This is because, since early 2025, each time XRP has retested $2, investors have seen realized $0.5 billion to $1.2 billion per week in losses. This reflects the significance of this key level.

XRP setup in focusFor now, XRP is seeing fresh demand from short-term buyers and selling pressure from long-term holders seeking to break even, which hints at a major move once one side gives in. The current setup for XRP resembles that of a reset, as futures volume and open interest rise.

XRP rebounded on Jan. 21 after dropping for seven consecutive days; however, it did not reach $2, stopping at $1.98.

A breakout above $2 might begin the next major move for XRP, targeting the $2.41 level again. Support lies at $1.85 and $1.82, from where XRP began to rise at the start of 2026.

In XRP Ledger news, the permissioned domains amendment has reached majority and is set to activate on the mainnet within the next 13 days if 80% support is sustained.

House of Doge and merger partner Brag House Holdings announced the launch of a new spot Dogecoin exchange-traded fund, taking a major step for the meme coin community in U.S. markets. The product, issued by 21Shares, began trading on NASDAQ under the ticker TDOG after receiving regulatory clearance from the SEC, making it the first U.S.-approved spot Dogecoin ETF.

Dogecoin Opens Institutional AccessThe Dogecoin Foundation has taken a significant step into traditional finance with the launch of a spot Dogecoin exchange-traded fund. The new product began trading today on the Nasdaq under the ticker TDOG, giving both retail and institutional investors a smooth way to access Dogecoin without needing crypto wallets or exchanges.

The 21Shares Dogecoin ETF gives investors a simple and secure way to gain exposure to DOGE, with each share fully backed by Dogecoin held in institutional-grade custody on a 1:1 basis.

Also read: Dogecoin (DOGE) Price Plunges Below $0.13 After a Steady Sell-off—Is it Heading Back to $0.1?

The foundation, a nonprofit that has supported Dogecoin’s open-source development and global community since 2014, endorsed the ETF issued by 21Shares. While other spot DOGE ETFs have launched before, this is the first to receive official backing from the organization behind the token.

It is also the first spot Dogecoin ETF to receive direct approval from the SEC. The earlier Dogecoin ETFs from Grayscale and Bitwise launched in November after the U.S. government shutdown and became available through an automatic process, rather than a formal sign-off from regulators.

Earlier this month, the SEC cleared the 21Shares Dogecoin ETF, a move that effectively marked the agency’s first clear position that Dogecoin is not classified as a security.

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Chainlink has launched a major expansion of its Data Streams product, bringing 24/5 U.S. equities and exchange-traded fund (ETF) market data onchain and opening access to the roughly $80 trillion U.S. stock market for decentralized finance applications.

The new offering, called Chainlink 24/5 U.S. Equities Streams, delivers fast, secure, and continuous market data across all major U.S. stocks and ETFs during regular trading hours, pre-market, post-market, and overnight sessions. For the first time, onchain markets can reliably access U.S. equity data beyond the standard 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET trading window, addressing a long-standing limitation that has kept equities significantly underrepresented in decentralized markets.

According to Chainlink, the structural mismatch between always-on blockchain markets and fragmented U.S. equity trading sessions has historically created pricing blind spots and increased risk for onchain trading platforms. Most existing data solutions only provided a single price point during regular market hours, forcing protocols to pause trading overnight or operate with stale reference prices. The 24/5 streams are designed to close that gap by transforming fragmented equity market data into continuous, cryptographically signed data streams.

The expanded data feeds go beyond simple price updates. In addition to mid-price data, the streams include bid and ask prices, bid and ask volumes, last traded prices, market-status flags, and staleness indicators. This broader market context allows developers to build more advanced trading logic, improve risk management, and enable safer execution for onchain products such as perpetual futures, lending markets, prediction markets, and synthetic equities.

Chainlink said the data is live across more than 40 blockchains and is built on its existing Data Streams infrastructure, which operates on a pull-based model designed for high-frequency trading. Unlike traditional price feeds that push periodic updates, Data Streams deliver sub-second updates only when trades occur, reducing gas costs while supporting continuous trading.

The new 24/5 U.S. equities coverage is already being adopted by several major derivatives and real-world asset platforms. Exchanges including BitMEX and Lighter, as well as ApeX, HelloTrade, Decibel, Monaco, Opinion Labs, and Orderly Network, are using the streams to power perpetual futures and other equity-linked products that can operate beyond standard market hours. Executives from BitMEX and Lighter said the data provides the integrity, low latency, and pricing context required to run professional-grade equity derivatives around the clock.

The data expansion is part of a broader effort by Chainlink to mirror the full lifecycle of traditional financial assets onchain. Alongside Data Streams for trading, the company is working with institutions such as Swift, Euroclear, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation to automate corporate actions like dividends, stock splits, and mergers, helping ensure tokenized equities remain accurate without manual intervention.

Chainlink said the combination of continuous trading data and automated asset maintenance infrastructure is intended to align blockchain-based markets more closely with traditional financial systems. The announcement follows closely after the New York Stock Exchange revealed plans to introduce a blockchain-based, around-the-clock venue for tokenized stock and ETF trading later this year.

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Sellers are not going to give up easily, according to CoinStats.

ETH chart by CoinStatsETH/USDThe rate of Ethereum (ETH) has declined by 1.1% over the last day.

On the hourly chart, the price of ETH is near the local support at $2,935. As most of the daily ATR has passed, there are low chances of seeing sharp moves by tomorrow.

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However, if a bounce back does not happen, the decline is likely to continue to the $2,900 zone.

Image by TradingViewOn the longer time frame, the situation is rather bearish as the rate of the main altcoin has not bounced off far from the support after its false breakout. If the candle closes below the $2,888 level, traders may witness a test of the $2,800 range soon.

Image by TradingViewFrom the midterm point of view, the price of ETH is in the middle of the channel between the support at $2,624 and the resistance at $3,447. The volume keeps falling, which means traders are unlikely to see sharp moves by the end of the month.

Ethereum is trading at $2,948 at press time.

"The consensus view is that crypto markets are bearish until about September," said one analyst.

Laser Digital launched a tokenized Bitcoin fund that generates yield without relying on BTC price gains. The move highlights rising institutional demand for regulated, income-focused crypto products. Laser Digital, a crypto investment firm backed by one of the largest financial giants, has launched a new Bitcoin yield fund which aims the long term bitcoin holders earn returns on the BTC price movements. It was named the Laser Digital Bitcoin Diversified Yield Fund SP. 

This is the first naturally tokenized bitcoin yield fund, which means the Fund itself is issued as a token on the blockchain infrastructure, and the investors hold the tokenized fund units rather than the traditional fund shares. The Tokenization is handled through KAIO, and the Bitcoin assets custody is provided by Komainu, which is the joint venture between Nomura, CoinShares, and Ledger. 

The Fund generates yield using the low-risk strategies, including market-neutral arbitrage, crypto lending, options strategies, and carry-style trades. Because these strategies are market neutral, the goal is to earn yield instead of simply holding the bitcoin and waiting for the price to go up.

Laser Digital says that the fund aims to deliver more than 5% net excess return above Bitcoin’s price movement and measured over rolling 12 month periods across different market conditions. The fund has some restrictions on investment, which include that the investment is only for the large and professional investors with a minimum investment of $250,000 or bitcoin equivalent, and is not available to U.S. investors. 

Jez Mohideen, CEO of Laser Digital, says the product reflects a shift in crypto asset management. According to him, investors no longer want to just hold the bitcoin, and they want Bitcoin and income without any huge risk. 

This launch shows how Bitcoin investing is changing, and traditional finance is entering crypto yield products. Backed by the Nomura Laser digital fund shows how Bitcoin investing is maturing into the full-fledged asset management segment. 

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XRP derivatives markets are lighting up on Thursday, January 22, with options volume soaring amid broader speculative positioning across crypto markets. 

According to real-time derivatives data available on CoinGlass at the time of writing, XRP options volume has climbed 213% in a day, to $9.53 million, marking one of the largest recent short-term spikes. 

XRP derivatives overview. Source: CoinGlass While options trading has gone up, options open interest also rose a modest 11%, to $73.39 million, suggesting that much of the activity was concentrated in short-dated contracts. 

As such, this pattern could be a sign of tactical positioning ahead of potential market catalysts rather than long-term directional conviction.

At the time of writing, XRP itself was trading at $1.92, down 0.4% on the day following a short 4% morning rally that brought it close to a breakout, with two critical resistance zones at $1.97 and $2.

XRP daily price. Source: Finbold XRP activity goes up Futures markets also recorded elevated activity. For instance, XRP derivatives volume reached $6.19 billion, having gone up 21%, while open interest edged higher by 1.68%, to $3.38 billion, indicating increased turnover without a sharp leverage buildup.

It is also notable, however, that positioning data showed a clear long bias across major exchanges, particularly Binance. Still, the global long-short ratio remained near neutral, implying the market is split between bullish traders and cautious hedgers.

For now, traders are closely monitoring spot price levels to determine whether the surge in derivatives activity will resolve into renewed upside momentum or further consolidation. As the token has been quite volatile this month, either direction appears equally as likely.

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