Market Signal Briefing

Flare’s FXRP can now be traded directly on-chain against two highly-demanded stablecoins, USDC & USDH.

Market Sentiment:

Bullish Bearish Neutral

Published: January 28, 2026 │ 2:00 PM GMT

Created by Gabor Kovacs from DailyCoin

Flare Network (FLR) just announced the FXRP/USDH pair listing on Hyperliquid, expanding the wrapped XRP version’s Spot market offerings. This comes just two weeks after the roll-out of FXRP/USDC on the same platform, however this cutting-edge integration is built on Hyperliquid’s native stablecoin.

FXRP/USDH Pair Enters Hyperliquid With a Bang Solidifying the on-demand liquidity for XRP on Flare has pushed 0.1511% of all circulating XRP supply to yield-bearing smart contracts, and market watchers are expecting Flare Network to capture up to 8% by year-end as infrastructure upgrades are bound to serve a liquidity boost.

Hyperliquid’s USDH stablecoin dropped in September, 2025 as a native quote asset across the platform, becoming a foundational settlement layer. USDH is backed 1:1 by United States Treasuries & cash equivalents. This empowers Hyperliquid’s customers to participate in crypto lending, yield strategies & options trading.

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Flare carries on bridging the gap between those three, enabling direct FXRP bridging from Flare to HyperEVM. Next, a dedicated FXRP bridge powered by the Flare Smart Accounts is expected to go live within two weeks. The bi-fold concept of offering both USDC & USDH for Flare’s FXRP enables advanced traders to execute delta-neutral strategies.

These include arbitrage between spot & derivatives markets on Hyperliquid, potentially making FXRP the top XRP-based choice on the decentralized crypto exchange. With over $200 million already active across Hyperliquid’s Perpetuals, the new Spot infrastructure powered by Flare’s FXRP is bound to match it and boost liquidity to unprecedented levels.

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DailyCoin's Vibe Check: Which way are you leaning towards after reading this article?

Market Sentiment

100% Bullish

This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

With Bitcoin (BTC) attempting to reclaim the $90,000 resistance zone, analysis by a trading expert suggests that the asset is likely to see a correction in the coming months.

Indeed, the TradingShot outlook shared in a TradingView post on January 28 indicated that a possible drop to $45,000 can be derived from the view that Bitcoin’s current market structure is increasingly mirroring the 2022 bear cycle. 

Bitcoin price analysis. Source: TradingView The analysis compares Bitcoin’s 2022 daily chart with its developing 2026 structure, showing that key moving-average (MA) reactions are aligning almost step by step. Bitcoin has already faced a rejection at the 100-day moving average, closely matching the March 2022 rejection that preceded the final bear-market leg.

Price is now advancing toward a retest of the 200-day moving average, which in 2022 acted as the final ceiling before a sustained breakdown. In that prior cycle, Bitcoin briefly stabilized after the MA100 rejection, retested support, then rallied into the MA200 before rolling over sharply.

The 2026 projection follows the same sequence, with the rebound toward the long-term average expected to fail near the $100,000 area based on the current position of the MA200.

Bitcoin key price levels to watch  If this rejection plays out, the historical fractal points to a multi-stage decline through successive supports, first near $70,000, then around $51,000–$52,000, and ultimately toward $45,000, mirroring the proportional depth of the 2022 bear-market low. 

By aligning the timing of the two cycles, the spacing between moving-average rejections and final lows suggests the sell-off could culminate in early October 2026, reinforcing the view that Bitcoin is tracking a broader cyclical pattern rather than reacting to a single indicator.

The outlook comes as Bitcoin climbed above $89,000 on Wednesday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and soaring gold prices, which bolstered demand for alternative assets. 

The dollar hovered near four-year lows, while gold hit record highs above $5,200 an ounce. However, Bitcoin remained largely rangebound, trading between $88,000 and $89,000, as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision.

Traders are watching for signals on future interest rate cuts, with lower rates potentially boosting non-yielding assets like Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin price analysis  By press time, Bitcoin was trading at $89,892, having gained over 2% in the last 24 hours, while on the weekly timeline, the cryptocurrency is up 1.4%.

Bitcoin seven-day price chart. Source: Finbold At the current price, Bitcoin is sitting almost exactly on its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) at $90,133. This indicates the market is in a short-term balance zone: price is neither clearly breaking higher nor decisively losing support.

The more important signal comes from the 200-day SMA at $104,551, which is well above the current price. That gap suggests Bitcoin remains in a longer-term corrective or consolidation phase, with the broader trend still under pressure until price can reclaim that level.

The 14-day RSI at 45.46 reinforces this view. An RSI below 50 but not near oversold territory indicates weak to neutral momentum; selling pressure has eased, but buyers have not yet taken control. In simple terms, Bitcoin is resting rather than rebounding.

Featured image via Shutterstock

MEXC has launched a month-long promo that cuts USDT and USDC borrowing rates from 3.5% to 0%, letting verified users lever up against BTC, ETH, SOL and XRP collateral.

Summary

From Jan. 27 to Feb. 27, 2026, MEXC Loans users can borrow USDT or USDC at 0% instead of the standard 3.5% rate, provided they complete primary KYC before the deadline.​ The platform now accepts BTC, ETH, SOL and XRP as collateral, with borrowed funds deployable across spot, futures and other in-house investment products.​ The loans have no fixed term, but users must manage collateral ratios themselves as crypto volatility can trigger liquidations despite the zero-interest offer. Digital asset exchange MEXC announced Monday the launch of a limited-time zero-interest borrowing promotion, according to a company statement.

MEXC lauches with 0% interest USDT and USDC with crypto loan program The promotional event, which runs from January 27 to February 27, 2026, at 10:00 UTC, reduces the borrowing interest rate from the standard 3.5% to 0%, the company stated. The promotion applies to MEXC Loans, a collateralized lending service that allows users to borrow USDT or USDC using cryptocurrency assets as collateral.

Users must complete Primary KYC verification before the event ends to participate, according to the announcement. Standard interest rates will automatically resume after February 27, the company said.

The platform has expanded collateral support to include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Ripple (XRP), according to the statement. Borrowed capital can be deployed across spot trading, futures trading, and other investment products, the company indicated.

During the promotional period, users can borrow at 0% interest with no fixed term, managing collateral rates and risk exposure based on individual strategies, MEXC stated.

Founded in 2018, MEXC reports serving over 40 million users across more than 170 countries. The exchange positions itself as offering zero-fee trading on select pairs and provides access to digital asset trading.

The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile, and investors face significant financial risks when trading digital assets, according to market analysts.

In brief Bitcoin is trading at $89,842 while Ethereum has reclaimed $3,000 ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting. Markets have priced in a 97% chance that the Fed holds rates steady at 3.5-3.75% range. The focus has shifted to Powell's labor market commentary as unemployment sits at 4.4%. Bitcoin and Ethereum have gained 2.1% and 3.5% respectively, as investors await the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision Wednesday afternoon.

Bitcoin is changing hands for $89,842, about level with where it was a week ago, according to data from crypto price aggregator CoinGecko. And Ethereum regained $3,000 for the first time since last week, trading for around $3,026 after having risen 2.1% in the past seven days.

With just hours to go before the Fed's first interest rate decision of the year, the CME FedWatch Tool shows that futures traders estimate there's a 97% chance that interest rates will remain unchanged.

Traders on prediction market Myriad, owned by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, put just a 33% chance on the the Fed cutting rates by more than 25bps before July.

"While a ‘hold’ at 3.5%–3.75% is a statistical certainty, crypto traders should be wary of a ‘narrative whipsaw,’" Jummy Xue, co-founder and chief operating officer of institutional crypto management firm Axis, told Decrypt. "The focus is no longer on the cost of capital, but on the Fed’s sensitivity to a 4.4% unemployment rate."

At the start of January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a December unemployment rate of 4.4%, which was little changed from the revised November 4.5% rate.

"If [Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell] emphasizes labor market resilience over cooling inflation, he is effectively taking a March rate cut off the table," Xue added. "For Bitcoin, which has thrived on the expectation of continuous easing, such a pivot could transform a ‘neutral’ meeting into a medium-term bearish catalyst."

In the current economic environment, Xue expects traders to primarily rely on the debasement trade. It's a strategy that assumes governments will keep increasing the supply of money and erode the value of cash. In response, investors gravitate towards less easily diluted assets like commodities, real estate, and cryptocurrencies.

Aurelie Barthere, a principal research analyst at onchain analytics firm Nansen, told Decrypt that Powell seemed concerned about job market weakness at the December meeting and he expects that to hold.

"Even with the U.S. economy accelerating into first half of 2026, boosted by fiscal, the labor market has kept cooling," she said, "on the demand side, not just the supply side."

But more comments from Powell on unemployment isn't necessarily a bad thing, she added, pointing to overnight index swap markets pricing in less than two rate cuts after Powell leaves the Fed in June.

"If Powell's tone remains as dovish as in December, the pricing of rate cuts could be increased and brought forward before June (March and April)," Barthere said.

The outlook for cryptoDigital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum tend to benefit when investors expect interest rates to fall because lower rates reduce returns on cash and bonds and encourage risk-taking across markets. Conversely, when rate cuts are delayed or taken off the table, crypto prices come under pressure as traders shift capital back towards yield-bearing assets.

But Wednesday's interest rate decision isn't the only macroeconomic event on the horizon.

Analysts at Singapore-based crypto trading firm QCP Capital flagged that traders are also bracing for a Friday, Jan. 30 funding deadline to keep the U.S. out of another government shutdown, uncertainty about the Senate's next move on the CLARITY Act and volatile currency markets.

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Bitget has named former KuCoin EU and Bitpanda executive Oliver Stauber as CEO of Bitget EU and will base its new MiCA-ready European headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

Summary

Bitget says its Vienna office will serve as its EU headquarters, coordinating compliance, governance and supervisory engagement across the European Economic Area.​ Stauber previously led KuCoin EU Holding and served as Bitpanda’s Chief Legal Officer, giving him deep experience in European regulatory and licensing regimes.​ The exchange is positioning the move as part of a broader European strategy focused on MiCA readiness, internal controls and transparent operations ahead of 2026 deadlines. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has appointed Oliver Stauber as CEO of Bitget EU as the company establishes its European headquarters in Vienna, Austria, according to a company announcement.

The appointment comes as Bitget prepares for operations under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which introduces a harmonized regulatory framework for digital asset services across the bloc.

Vienna will serve as the firm’s planned EU headquarters, supporting regulatory engagement and internal controls as the company prepares for MiCA implementation, Bitget stated. The Austrian hub is expected to function as an operational center for compliance, governance, and supervisory coordination across the European Economic Area (EEA).

Stauber brings experience in European executive, regulatory and legal matters across digital assets and financial services. He previously served as Managing Director and CEO of KuCoin EU Holding GmbH in Vienna and held senior leadership positions at Bitpanda, including Chief Legal Officer, where he oversaw legal, regulatory, and compliance functions, according to the announcement.

“Oliver’s appointment builds our confidence in Bitget’s long-term presence in Europe,” said Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget. “He brings the regulatory fluency and operational discipline needed to set up our EU headquarters in Austria and strengthen a governance-first approach under MiCAR.”

Stauber stated that MiCA is reshaping expectations for digital asset providers in Europe, placing greater emphasis on risk controls, disclosures, and operational discipline. “MiCAR is resetting expectations for how digital-asset services are governed in Europe,” Stauber said. “Our HQ in Vienna will build a regulated, scalable setup ready to drive the future of finance in Europe and to serve EEA users reliably.”

The company said its European strategy will prioritize regulatory readiness, compliance foundations and operational transparency.

Last week, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed it submitted an application for a MiCA license in Greece as digital asset firms across Europe accelerate efforts to secure regulatory approval before the transitional period expires. Companies have until June 2026 to obtain the license.

Bitcoin remains in a sensitive transition phase where higher-timeframe structure is still corrective, while lower-timeframe price action shows signs of stabilization. Recent rebounds have improved short-term sentiment, but the market has yet to deliver the kind of impulsive strength required to confirm a broader bullish continuation.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: The Daily Chart On the daily timeframe, BTC continues to trade below both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, with the 100-day MA of $94K now acting as the first major dynamic resistance.

The recent recovery attempt stalled precisely in this zone, reinforcing it as a key supply area rather than a reclaimed trend level. While the price is still respecting the broader rising channel that formed after the sharp sell-off, this structure so far resembles a corrective bounce rather than a renewed bullish cycle. The lack of strong follow-through after each push higher highlights hesitation from higher-timeframe buyers.

A daily close and sustained acceptance above the 100-day MA would be required to materially improve the macro structure, whereas continued rejection keeps the risk of another downside rotation active.

BTC/USDT 4-Hour Chart The 4-hour chart presents a more constructive but still incomplete picture. The asset is consolidating within an ascending channel, repeatedly finding support at the lower boundary of $86K, which confirms the presence of an active buyers’ base at discounted levels. Each dip into demand has been met with responsive buying, yet upside attempts continue to struggle near internal resistance at $92K and $95K zones and the upper channel boundary.

Momentum remains relatively muted, and the price has not produced a decisive breakout with expansion in range or volume. Until Bitcoin can break and hold above the upper boundary of this channel at $98K, the structure should be viewed as consolidation rather than confirmation of a new bullish leg.

Sentiment Analysis From a derivatives and positioning perspective, the liquidation heatmap highlights a clear imbalance in liquidity distribution. A significant concentration of overhead liquidity remains clustered above the current price, particularly in the mid-$90K region, suggesting that short-side exposure is still vulnerable if the asset manages to push higher.

In contrast, downside liquidity has already been partially absorbed during the recent decline, reducing the immediate probability of a sharp liquidation-driven sell-off. This setup creates a scenario where downside appears more controlled, while upside acceleration would likely depend on a catalyst strong enough to force the price into these overhead liquidation zones.

Until such a move materializes, on-chain data aligns with the broader picture of compression and preparation rather than confirmed expansion.

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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.

Bulls are back in the game after a correction, according to CoinMarketCap.

Top coins by CoinMarketCapDOGE/USDDOGE is one of the biggest gainers today, rising by 3.75%.

Image by TradingViewOn the hourly chart, the rate of DOGE is going down after a false breakout of the local resistance at $0.1273. If the drop continues, one can expect a test of the $0.1250 zone by tomorrow.

Image by TradingViewOn the longer time frame, one should focus on the daily bar's closure in terms of the nearest level at $0.1279. If it breaks out, the accumulated energy might be enough for an ongoing rise to the $0.13 area.

Image by TradingViewFrom the midterm point of view, the situation is less positive for buyers. The rate of DOGE is near the support level, which means sellers' pressure remains relevant. 

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As none of the sides is dominating, sideways trading in the range of $0.12-$0.13 is the most likely scenario.

DOGE is trading at $0.1263 at press time.

Meme token and Pump.fun activity is picking up on Solana again. The levels of token generation and trading are close to an 11-month peak. 

Meme token activity on Solana showed its resilience, picking up again to an 11-month peak. The latest recovery cycle shows meme tokens are ready to react positively at any moment, and the market is far from done. 

Meme token activity picked up strongly, once again driven by Pump.fun creators. | Source: Dune Analytics This time around, meme token generation does not come with outsized valuations. However, new mints, wallet engagement, and fees remain elevated. 

In the past few weeks, interest in memes has picked up with launches on Bags. The major recovery came from Pump.fun, which saw a daily spike in new token generation. All other meme market metrics spiked, including general launchpad volume, active addresses, and creators. 

Over 320,000 addresses came back to the meme token market, on a mix of bots and “trenches” traders. In total, 13,690 token creators returned to the market. 

Is meme token trading making a comeback? Meme tokens are always coming back with slight changes compared to the previous cycle. New Pump.fun creations still do not survive long, and even those that graduate to DEX activity rarely achieve high valuations. 

The latest drive in meme token creation got a boost from the attempts to spoof a Cloudflare Clawdbot token. Other hot memes gained a foothold in DEX activity. 

In addition to new token creation, DEX activity on Solana remained highly dynamic. Meteora rose as the most active DEX, standing just behind Pump.fun in terms of daily fees. 

The recent Solana meme token activity includes both newcomers like PENGUIN, as well as a return to the leading older memes, including WIF and PENGU. 

PIPPIN, the AI agent token, also reawakened with another 70% daily rally, similar to previous rapid pumps. The recent meme token performance shows Solana traders still have an appetite for risk. 

During the previous token downturn, some of the crypto activity spread to prediction markets. However, the return of liquidity to memes meant traders were always ready to seek winning tokens. This time, trenches traders came with more awareness of short-term risks, and token lifecycles came with lower valuations.

Pump.fun passes Hyperliquid with daily fees The combined activity of Pump.fun and PumpSwap led to $5.4M in daily fees. Pump.fun passed Hyperliquid in 24-hour revenue, also getting ahead of other trading platforms. 

The current meme activity is seen as increasingly dynamic, with almost no opportunity to create cult tokens with a longer lifecycle. Users creating new tokens reported immediate botting and trading, with no incentive to hold and take unrealized losses. 

Despite this, the situation benefits fee production. This has allowed Pump.fun to continue buying back PUMP tokens, already holding over 20% of the supply. 

As with other meme token seasons, the question remains whether the trading creates value or extracts value from the Solana ecosystem.

Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.

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.

Asset manager 21Shares has shared its XRP predictions for 2026. The ETF issuer highlighted that XRP enters 2026 with the groundwork laid out for institutional breakout.

In an X post, 21Shares outlined its XRP price predictions for 2026. In a base case scenario, 21Shares analysts predict XRP reaching $2.45, a near 30% increase from current prices. In a bull case scenario, XRP is predicted to reach $2.69, a 40% increase, while in a bear case scenario, XRP might drop 16% to $1.60.

21Shares explains the reason for its base case target to be due to regulatory stability, which supports steady ETF flows and incremental utility. It predicts a bull case of $2.69 amid institutional RWA scaling and potential repricing due to supply exhaustion. 21Shares predicts a 16% XRP drop in a bear case scenario on the basis that stagnant adoption and capital rotation might offset legal victory benefits.

XRP at definitive turning pointIn its blogpost, 21Shares noted that XRP stands at a defining turning point as 2026 progresses. The cryptocurrency eyes a decisive shift from speculative volatility to a valuation anchored in institutional fundamentals.

The final resolution of the Ripple-SEC lawsuit last year removed the structural overhang that had limited XRP’s price for years, despite underlying utility.

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Now that the legal cloud over XRP has been removed, the crypto asset has entered a phase of market driven price discovery as it can no longer rely on courtroom hype or regulatory uncertainty to drive its valuation or excuse underperformance.

What to expect?According to 21Shares, XRP's setup echoes Ethereum’s trajectory from 2017 to 2018, when abstract promise gave way to proven utility during "DeFi Summer" in 2020. XRP seems to be entering a similar phase.

If this is the case, 2026 might be shaping up to be a breakout year for XRP and its ecosystem, owing to a resilient investor base and increasing institutional adoption.

21Shares added that the XRP network may be primed for continued price appreciation as a history of sharp uncoiling after multiyear compression meets with regulatory clarity and institutional adoption.

Journalist

Posted: January 28, 2026

While Washington dangles the promise of a federal strategic reserve, South Dakota is tired of waiting.

Representative Logan Manhart (R) has officially revived a legislative push that could fundamentally alter the state’s balance sheet.

On the 27th of January, Manhart introduced House Bill 1155, an ambitious measure that would empower the State Investment Council to allocate up to 10% of state revenues directly into Bitcoin.

South Dakota’s second Bitcoin Reserve attempt The move is more than just a second attempt at a stalled 2025 proposal.

If passed, HB 1155 would not just allow South Dakota to hold Bitcoin [BTC] but also require strict security rules, with private keys stored across multiple, geographically separate data centers under direct government control.

By limiting the allocation to 10%, the state is taking a cautious, step-by-step approach.

The goal is to gradually treat Bitcoin as a legitimate public asset, similar to what Texas and Arizona are already doing. Thus, reintroducing HB 1155 shows that South Dakota’s view of digital assets is evolving.

Other states and their Bitcoin Reserve plans South Dakota isn’t the only state that’s tired of waiting around for Washington, as several other states are also moving in the same direction.

New Hampshire already allows up to 5% of certain state funds to be invested in digital assets, while Texas and Arizona have passed laws to include Bitcoin in state reserves.

Florida is also considering a similar bill aimed at using digital assets as an inflation hedge.

However, at the federal level, creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is still a key goal for the current administration.

Patrick Witt, Director of the White House Crypto Council, has already acknowledged that legal complications have slowed progress.

As a result, the federal plan currently depends mainly on Bitcoin seized by the Department of Justice, rather than new purchases.

What’s more? This came at a time when BTC was trading around $89,199  at press time as per CoinMarketCap, with the Bitcoin crypto sentiment standing bullish at 81%.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin Dominance also stood at 59.55% as per TradingView, reflecting continued investor preference for the asset.

All this put together showed that the market entered 2026 with a focus on fundamentals. And with this bill, South Dakota is choosing to act rather than wait.

Final Thoughts Rather than chasing price, South Dakota is legislating infrastructure for long-term exposure. HB 1155 reflects a broader trend of states testing Bitcoin before federal execution materializes.

Ishika Kumari is a Crypto Analyst and Content Strategist at AMBCrypto, specializing in the analysis of cryptocurrency regulations, market trends, and the socio-political impact of blockchain technology. Her expertise is grounded in her academic background as a graduate of Political Science from the renowned University of Delhi. This discipline has equipped her with a sophisticated framework for analyzing complex governance models, international regulatory landscapes, and the economic principles that underpin decentralized systems. At AMBCrypto, Ishika applies this unique analytical lens to her work. She excels at breaking down intricate subjects—from the technicalities of new protocols to the nuances of global crypto legislation—into clear, accessible, and insightful content. Her primary mission is to bridge the gap between the complexity of the digital asset industry and the everyday reader, ensuring that AMBCrypto's audience is not just informed, but truly understands the forces shaping the future of finance.

Ethereum plans to launch the ERC-8004 standard for trustless AI agents on its mainnet soon. ERC-8004 enables AI agents to interact and transact within a decentralized economy. The proposal introduces on-chain identity, reputation, and validation registries for AI agents. Ethereum is rolling out this thing called ERC-8004, which sets standards for AI agents that work without needing trust from anyone specific. It was first talked about back in August 2025, and now they say it should hit the mainnet pretty soon. The idea is to let these AI agents connect with different platforms and groups on Ethereum, so they can join in on a decentralized economy where anyone can participate, no permissions needed.

The exact launch date has not been set officially yet, but Marco De Rossi, who heads AI at MetaMask and helped write the proposal, mentioned it might happen around Thursday at 9 a.m. ET. Ethereum sees this as a way to help AI agents move between organizations, carrying their credibility around and working together smoothly.

ERC-8004 is going live on mainnet soon.

By enabling discovery and portable reputation, ERC-8004 allows AI agents to interact across organizations ensuring credibility travels everywhere.

This unlocks a global market where AI services can interoperate without gatekeepers. https://t.co/Yrl0rvnSxj

— Ethereum (@ethereum) January 27, 2026 Enabling The AI Agents as Economic Participants This whole setup is meant to build an agentic economy, where AI agents do tasks and make transactions on their own in Ethereum’s world. The whole setup with this trust framework seems pretty flexible. It lets AI agents plug in different models based on how risky something is, like security tiers or whatever. That way, agents can move around to different places, discover each other, and carry their reputation without losing track of credibility.

Davide Crapis from the Ethereum Foundation AI team said Ethereum could serve as a settlement layer for AI talking to AI, linking up decentralized tech with the wider AI scene. 

Ethereum is in the unique position to be the platform that secures and settles AI-to-AI interactions.

The ERC-8004 standard is coming to mainnet. pic.twitter.com/sjMziiPuaQ

— Davide Crapis (@DavideCrapis) January 27, 2026 Identity, Reputation, and Validation Framework For the identity part, ERC-8004 uses three simple smart contract registries that work on the mainnet or Layer 2. The identity one gives each agent a portable ID that’s hard to censor, so they can be found and moved around with NFT stuff. Then there’s the reputation registry for collecting signed feedback, like ratings from users on how they perform.

Validation is part of it, too, where agents can get their outputs checked through this registry. Validators then put those responses on-chain, which keeps everything transparent. But security risks are there, like Sybil attacks from bad actors creating fake identities to disrupt things. ERC-8004 tries to address that with reputation systems, validation, and trusted environments to lower the risks. It does not fully prove the photographic safety for an agent’s capabilities, though. Sort of leaves some uncertainty, but maybe that’s okay for cutting down problems overall.

Launching this on mainnet seems like a key step for Ethereum in building decentralized AI. It sets up identity, reputation, and validation basics, so AI agents can act independently in a permissionless economy. Some people might think this opens up a lot, but others worry about the risks not being fully covered.

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‌BTC Slips on Trending Cryptocurrencies List Led by PIPPIN

I specialize in Web3 and crypto writing, producing clear, research-driven content on blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and market trends.

BTC is in the 5th position on the list of trending cryptocurrencies. PIPPIN is leading the chart with a surge of 68.76% in the last 24 hours. FOGO features in the 6th position and ETH in the 7th place. BTC has slipped on the list of trending cryptocurrencies over 24 hours. The list is led by PIPPIN and has FOGO as a candidate just below Bitcoin tokens, days after Binance announced its trading pairs. It is speculated that multiple national and international factors may have changed ranks on the list.

BTC and PIPPIN as Trending Cryptocurrencies While BTC continues to dominate the global crypto market with a market cap of over $1.77 trillion, it has slipped to the 5th position on the list of trending cryptocurrencies drawn over the past 24 hours. The plunge comes despite surging slightly by 0.96% and leading the chart on many occasions.

The list of trending cryptocurrencies is now led by PIPPIN, a Solana-based AI-driven meme coin. Trading at $0.5110, the token has surged by 68.76% in the last 24 hours and now hosts a market cap of approximately $511.31 million. Positions of Bitcoin tokens and Pippin tokens are based on data from CoinMarketCap, and positions are subject to change.

Possible Influential Factors Factors that have possibly influenced the slip of BTC to the 5th position are investors shifting to a safer alternative and the policy approach of US President Donald Trump. Gold is emerging as a better alternative not just to BTC but to many more cryptocurrencies that continue to experience volatility. The precious metal just reported a new high of $5,311.31 per ounce.

The policy approach of Trump is reportedly driven by tariffs with South Korea being the latest victim. The Lee Jae Myung-led country has been threatened with a revised tariff rate of 25%, citing alleged non-enactment of earlier commitments.

Similar approaches by the US President are believed to have driven UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to China to draft a deal. And, they are believed to have boosted the mother of all deals between India and the European Union.

FOGO as a Candidate FOGO features on the list of trending cryptocurrencies as well, but in the 6th position, just behind BTC. It has soared by 15.18% to $0.04295 with a market cap of over 161.68 million.

What has possibly fueled the rise of FOGO is the availability of its trading pairs on Binance. The platform recently announced that it would list FOGO/USDT and FOGO/USDC on January 28, 2026. Binance TH added that Spot Listing and Easy Buy/Sell functions would be effective 3 hours after the launch.

FOGO is followed by ETH. Ether has jumped by 2.62% to $2,986.85, after briefly trading above the $3k mark. Tokens on the list between PIPPIN and BTC are FIGHT, PAXG, and HYPE, in the same order.

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Curious by nature, Ankur's core topic is Web3, but he's a versatile writer who can cover many more subjects. If you catch up with him in his free time, you'll find discussions often center around different movies and TV series. He's an easy person to talk to—you can literally chat with him about anything.

Analyst says BTC’s slowdown reflects prices running ahead of ETF-driven adoption, not a broken long-term thesis.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading around $90,000 on January 28, 2026, after several days of choppy price action that has left many traders uneasy.

However, ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has highlighted the cryptocurrency’s multi-year gains in comparison to traditional assets, arguing that recent frustration overlooks the broader picture.

Bitcoin’s Longer-Term Gains Clash with Short-Term Anxiety Balchunas wrote on X that Bitcoin has risen about 429% since 2022, compared with roughly 350% for silver, 177% for gold, and 140% for the Nasdaq-100, arguing that the current slowdown looks mild when viewed against those returns.

“In other words Bitcoin spanked everything so bad in ’23 and ’24 (which ppl seem to forget) that those other assets still haven’t caught up even after having their greatest year ever and BTC being in a coma,” the analyst said.

In his post, Balchunas traced much of Bitcoin’s strong performance to the period before and after BlackRock filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF in 2023. He said prices ran ahead of the “institutionalization” story, leaving the market in need of time while actual adoption plays out.

“People see one red candle and forget what that chart actually looks like,” one user replied, echoing a common sentiment among long-term holders.

Others struck a similar tone. Dan, a longtime crypto commentator, wrote that impatience during flat or falling markets tends to separate traders reacting to price from those holding a fundamentals-based view, something he said has happened repeatedly since 2011.

The backdrop is a market that has struggled to find direction in recent weeks, with Bitcoin failing multiple times to break resistance between $94,000 and $98,000 and then sliding below $90,000. Analysts cited patterns such as a bear flag and a failed head-and-shoulders setup, with downside targets as low as $70,000 if key support levels fail.

You may also like: Super Wednesday: Will the Fed and Oil Data Trigger Massive Bitcoin Volatility? Ripple (XRP) and Cardano (ADA) Show Deeper Undervaluation Than Bitcoin (BTC) ‘Bitcoin Isn’t in a Bull Market:’ Expert Warns $80K Wasn’t the Bottom Price Action Shows Pressure, While Narratives Stay Intact At the time of writing, CoinGecko data showed Bitcoin up about 1% in the last 24 hours but down roughly 6% over the past two weeks and more than 13% across the last year. The asset briefly dipped to around $86,000 earlier this week before rebounding, with resistance still clustered near the $90,000 to $92,000 zone. Meanwhile, its dominance sits near 57%, suggesting altcoins have not meaningfully outperformed during the pullback.

Broader risk-off conditions, such as uncertainty around U.S. monetary policy and large liquidations in derivatives markets, have contributed to some of the weakness around BTC.

Balchunas questioned whether Bitcoin even needs a fresh narrative, pointing to debt growth and currency debasement as ongoing themes, and adding that easier access through ETFs means allocation decisions can now unfold over time rather than through sudden bursts of speculation.

For now, Bitcoin’s chart may look uncomfortable on shorter timeframes, but zooming out could help explain why some analysts see the current lull less as a breakdown and more as a pause after an aggressive run.

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Posted: January 28, 2026

Hyperliquid [HYPE] is grabbing eyeballs! After heavy selling cleared out and big players stepped in, the network is now topping key charts that traders can’t ignore.

The engine is up and at it! HYPE is on a strong run at press time, trading near $33.8 after gaining roughly 9% in the last 24 hours and more than 50% from last week’s lows.

Source: TradingView

There has been a clear breakout from the $22-$23 range, followed by a steady climb with very little pullback. The RSI was at around 90, so there was aggressive buying. Meanwhile, the MACD flipped bullish with expanding green bars.

What’s behind the rally? A big reason is that major sell pressure has finally calmed down. Wallets linked to the Tornado Cash case and Continue Fund finished dumping millions of HYPE earlier this week. That’s cleared a major overhang.

At the same time, Data traders (DATs), including Bobby Diamond via Hyperliquid Strategies, have been buying sizable positions.

AMBCrypto previously reported that Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan claimed BTC liquidity on the platform now exceeds Binance. 

Combined with Hyperliquid’s exposure to the gold and silver rally via HIP‑3, where silver alone records over $1.1 billion in Daily Volume, the broader picture comes into focus.

Hyperliquid is pulling far ahead

Bitcoin Cryptocurrency

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Arslan Butt

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Arslan Butt is an experienced webinar speaker, market analyst, and content writer specializing in crypto, forex, and commodities. He provides expert insights, trading strategies, and in-depth analysis...

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12 minutes ago

Bitcoin Price Prediction Bitcoin is steady around $89,300, but traders are shifting their attention away from short-term price moves. The main issue now is that Bitcoin is falling behind silver, which has jumped to record highs above $117 per ounce. This growing gap is changing how investors view momentum.

Silver is drawing in capital as a hard-asset hedge, while Bitcoin is having trouble reaching its previous highs. Many traders now call this split ‘ugly’ instead of just a short-term blip. This isn’t about Bitcoin crashing. It’s about investors moving away from BTC as precious metals gain momentum.

Silver’s Surge Exposes a Shift in Market LeadershipSilver’s rise has been quick and strong. Prices nearly reached $118, up about 60% so far this year, thanks to safe-haven buying, limited supply for industry, and speculation. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is still stuck below $95,500, a level it has failed to break several times.

Silver Price Chart – Source: TradingviewBecause of this, the BTC/Silver ratio has dropped sharply. Many traders watch this ratio to see where money is flowing. When it falls for a long time, it usually means investors prefer physical or inflation-protected assets over riskier trades. In the past, Bitcoin often moved with metals, but now that link has broken.

Silver is gaining momentum. Bitcoin is staying in a tight range.

Rekt Capital Flags a Rare EMA Warning for BitcoinAdding to concerns, analyst Rekt Capital has pointed out a rare crossover between Bitcoin’s 21-week and 50-week exponential moving averages. This signal just appeared at the latest weekly close and last happened in April 2022, right before Bitcoin’s biggest bear market of that cycle.

EMA crossovers don’t predict timing by themselves, but traders watch them because they show the health of long-term trends. A bearish crossover means Bitcoin might need more time and stability before it can lead again, especially as other hard assets keep outperforming.

Bitcoin Price Prediction: Breaking the Downtrend Could Lead to $95K–$98KLooking at the 4-hour chart, Bitcoin price prediction is bullish as BTC is steady above $86,000 and making higher lows, but it’s still stuck below a falling trendline from the $95,500 high. This forms a descending wedge, which usually signals the trend is running out of steam instead of starting a new sell-off.

Candlestick patterns back this up. Long lower wicks between $88,500 and $89,000 show buyers are active on dips, and smaller candle bodies mean selling is slowing down. Bitcoin is also moving back above short-term EMAs, with the 50-EMA and 100-EMA coming together near $91,000 to $91,200, which is now a key area to watch.

Bitcoin Price Chart – Source: TradingviewMomentum is picking up, but it’s still under control. The RSI is moving up toward the mid-50s, showing a recovery that isn’t overdone.

If Bitcoin can break and stay above $91,200, it could move up to $93,300, then $95,500, and possibly even $98,000. But if it can’t hold $88,500, that move will be delayed and Bitcoin will likely stay in a range above $86,000.

Trade view: If Bitcoin breaks above $91,200, it could head toward $95,500 to $98,000. If it falls below $86,000, the focus returns to consolidation, not a crash.

Bitcoin Hyper: The Next Evolution of BTC on Solana?Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is bringing a new phase to the BTC ecosystem. While BTC remains the gold standard for security, Bitcoin Hyper adds what it always lacked: Solana-level speed. The result: lightning-fast, low-cost smart contracts, decentralized apps, and even meme coin creation, all secured by Bitcoin.

Audited by Consult, the project emphasizes trust and scalability as adoption builds. And momentum is already strong. The presale has surpassed $31 million, with tokens priced at just $0.013645 before the next increase.

As Bitcoin activity climbs and demand for efficient BTC-based apps rises, Bitcoin Hyper stands out as the bridge uniting two of crypto’s biggest ecosystems. If Bitcoin built the foundation, Bitcoin Hyper could make it fast, flexible, and fun again.

Click Here to Participate in the Presale

Ethereum has surged back above the pivotal $3,000, with bulls retesting the threshold amid a broader cryptocurrency rally.

This comes amid anticipation around the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy decision.

Notably, the top altcoin’s price climbed as Bitcoin powered to above $89,000, likely capitalizing on a weakening US dollar that bolstered risk assets across markets.

Solana, BNB, and XRP, among other leading altcoins, also registered modest advances.

ETH retests $3,000 level Copy link to section

Ethereum’s price surged by 4.1% in the last 24 hours to $3,020, at the time of writing.

While the uptick is a boost to buyers, the gains remain tempered as investor caution dominates ahead of the Fed’s policy decision.

Analysts say upbeat traders may be keen on clearer signals from the US central bank.

That’s specifically around whether the Fed takes the route of a widely anticipated pause in rate hikes, which will solidify the recent momentum in risk assets.

On the flip side, hawkish commentary on inflation and future policy could trigger a pullback.

As noted, Ethereum’s uptick aligned with Bitcoin climbing to $89k and strength in global equities.

The Asian markets saw major indices notch gains amid a softer dollar environment. In recent weeks, US dollar weakness has propelled rallies in traditional safe havens like gold and silver.

Analysts say crypto and stocks are playing catch-up.

Ether’s active wallet count explodes Copy link to section

Network growth remains at the center of Ethereum’s underlying strength, with key upgrades and traction for aspects such as tokenization boosting overall sentiment.

Amid this trend, on-chain data shows the network’s count of non-empty wallets has surged to over 175.5 million, eclipsing levels set by any other cryptocurrency.

On-chain data and analytics platform Santiment notes that the milestone highlights robust on-chain activity, driven largely by sustained interest in staking.

“As staking continues to be of strong interest, especially while markets move sideways, exchange supply will continue to shrink as well,” Santiment posted on X.

Whales increase exposure after ERC-8004 launch Copy link to section

Ethereum has drawn fresh market attention following the introduction of ERC-8004, a new AI-oriented standard designed to provide autonomous on-chain agents with identity, reputation, and validation capabilities.

Large Ethereum holders boosted their positions in the wake of the announcement, with whale balances rising from 104.18 million ETH to 104.61 million ETH.

The increase of roughly 430,000 ETH represents about $1.3 billion in accumulation at prevailing market prices.

Ethereum price prediction Copy link to section

As more users lock up ETH to earn yields, exchange balances will shrink, and sell-side pressure reduce.

The outlook positions Ethereum for a potential supply squeeze amid fresh demand.

Bullish sentiment across the broader market could also be a factor, with a Fed pause likely to catalyze gains.

Ethereum price chart by TradingViewIf ETH strengthens above $3,000, the next key upside target lies around $3,500, where prior resistance clusters align.

That said, the possibility of range-bound action below $3,000 remains, particularly if macroeconomic cues disappoint.

Major support levels are around $2,750-$2,600.

Ethereum researchers are considering a new mechanism designed to harden the network’s censorship resistance as the headline proposal for its next major protocol upgrade, dubbed Hegota.

Thomas Thiery, also known as "soispoke," has proposed Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists (FOCIL or EIP-7805) as the lead feature for the Hegota upgrade, which is expected to follow Glamsterdam later this year.

The proposal was previously deferred from the Glamsterdam fork but has now been put forward as a central pillar of Hegota’s design. Thiery is a researcher with the Ethereum Foundation’s Robust Incentives Group, where his work has focused on censorship resistance, proposer–builder separation, and block production centralization — areas directly targeted by the FOCIL design. Hegota was named late last year as the upgrade following Glamsterdam, as Ethereum developers mapped out the network’s 2026 roadmap.

FOCIL's proposal FOCIL is intended to provide a protocol-level guarantee that any transaction deemed valid under Ethereum’s rules will be included onchain within a bounded timeframe. It does so by allowing multiple validators, rather than a single block builder, to enforce transaction inclusion through Ethereum’s fork-choice rule. Thiery says this reduces the power of centralized intermediaries to arbitrarily filter or delay transactions.

The proposal aims to directly address concerns around the growing centralization of Ethereum’s builder market, which has been driven by MEV extraction and increasing vertical integration between builders, relays, and searchers. As Ethereum scales and becomes more dependent on specialized infrastructure, researchers argue that censorship resistance should be enforced at the protocol level rather than left to off-chain market dynamics.

"Without FOCIL, this core Ethereum value is not actually guaranteed, leaving the protocol vulnerable to mass censorship events," Thiery stated.

As a headliner proposal, FOCIL aligns with Hegota’s broader focus on integrated technical guarantees for fair and neutral transaction inclusion. According to its author, it would allow validators to contribute to censorship resistance without needing to run local builders or forgo MEV rewards, while giving users and applications stronger assurances that transactions cannot be quietly suppressed.

Tradeoffs The proposal does come with tradeoffs.

FOCIL would add some protocol complexity and does not currently support blob transactions or private MEV-carrying transactions — areas that researchers have said will need to be addressed through separate upgrades. Proponents also urged that Ethereum should proactively guard against large-scale censorship events, even if such behavior is limited today.

"Today, very few transactions are censored by dominant builders and relays," he wrote. "However, this was not always the case, and it can change suddenly and unpredictably. Our view is that Ethereum should be designed to be robust and resilient for decades to come and proactively preventing large-scale censorship through reliable inclusion guarantees, rather than being caught off guard and having to react."

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© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Bitcoin (BTC) institutional investors face a test of “conviction” as exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings tumble by $6 billion.

Key points:

Bitcoin ETF investors now face falling into aggregate loss on their holdings.

Net ETF holdings drop by over 8% versus all-time highs in a “psychological pivot” point.

New ETF buyers are on the horizon, a crypto industry executive claims.

BTC price lingers near ETF realized priceNew research from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant Wednesday shows Bitcoin ETF buyers struggling to stay in the market.

The US spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen outflows pass $6 billion since net holdings hit all-time highs of $72.6 billion in October 2025.

With BTC price action seeing its current record of $126,200 around the same time, its subsequent decline has hit institutional appetite especially hard.

Now, ETF investors face a battle to stay above their $86,600 realized price — the aggregate level at which they entered their positions.

US spot Bitcoin ETF realized price vs. BTC/USD (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant
“With price sitting on the ETF realized price, the marginal ETF holder is no longer a seller locking in gains, but an investor deciding whether to tolerate drawdowns or exit at breakeven,” CryptoQuant contributor I. Moreno wrote. 

“Historically, this zone acts as a psychological pivot: holding above realized price reinforces conviction and stabilizes flows, while sustained trading below it tends to accelerate redemptions as investors lose their profit buffer.”Accompanying charts show ETF holdings down 8.4% since October, something that in itself “represents the first significant stress test for this relatively nascent investment cohort since ETF approval.”

Despite this and associated erratic BTC price action, ETF realized price volatility has stabilized over the past six months.

“What stands out is that despite a $6B drawdown in cumulative flows (from ~$72.6B to ~$66.5B), realized price has remained relatively stable and continues to trend higher,” Moreno continued. 

“In other words, ETF investors have already absorbed significant pressure (The sustained outflow pressure suggests distribution from less committed capital, likely late-cycle entrants or traders seeking to lock in remaining profits before deeper losses materialize).” US spot Bitcoin ETF data (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuantBitWise exec: ETF demand set for reboundThe second half of January has not been kind to the ETFs’ fortunes.

The latest data from UK-based investment company Farside Investors shows net outflows characterizing performance from Jan. 16 onward.

Only Jan. 26 managed net inflows, with these totaling a mere $6.8 million while three ETF products still lost capital.

US spot Bitcoin ETF netflows (screenshot). Source: Farside Inivestors
Regardless, Andre Dragosch, European head of research at crypto asset manager Bitwise, eyed potential future participation as a reason for optimism.

“Major US wirehouses with 10,000s of financial advisors continue to move into Bitcoin ETFs. One of them has just greenlighted TODAY,” he reported on X Wednesday. 

“You are not even remotely bullish enough....” Dragosch said that the identity of the entity was “internal intelligence” and could not be revealed.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.

Binance Wallet Extension started support for TON network. The wallet hub will carry all TON tokens and apps, with additional developer tools for integration. 

Binance Wallet Extension became a gateway to the TON network after adding developer and end-user support. Until recently, TON was mostly accessible for native wallets such as Telegram Wallet, as well as independent apps Tonkeeper and MyTonWallet. 

While Telegram is a wide-reaching chat app, the TON network remains relatively isolated in the trading and access ecosystem. Binance Wallet may bring a new wave of users through its updated versions. 

Binance Wallet Extension launches TON update For browser users of Binance Wallet, TON access will be available after a manual upgrade, in case the automatic upgrade does not work. Binance’s team urged users to check for the inclusion of the new network. 

The inclusion of TON does not guarantee the safety of apps or tokens. Binance Wallet only works as a self-custody tool and a gateway to third-party apps. The wallet activities are not regulated or supervised by any authority, and the TON chain is rarely tracked for scams or exploits. 

For now, Binance Wallet remains one of the few mainstream tools to access the TON chain. The wallet reports more than 71,000 daily active users, with over 300M users in the Binance ecosystem. 

For now, Binance Wallet is mostly used for BNB swaps, with smaller usage on Arbitrum, Ethereum, and Polygon. TON may start out as a niche chain, as its DeFi and token liquidity are limited. Binance Wallet is also used to swap tokens through its most active chains, and may boost decentralized trading on TON. 

As Cryptopolitan reported, Telegram and the TON Chain seek to gain influence on the US market. TON aims to tap into US tokenized stocks and stablecoin transfers. 

TON Chain mostly relies on GameFi TON Chain liquidity remains relatively low, at around $76M locked in decentralized apps. The chain carries nearly $1B in stablecoins in its native TON Chain version. 

The chain carries DeFi lending and DEXs, but at a smaller scale compared to major networks. One of the growing fields on the TON Chain is GameFi, based on apps spreading across Telegram communities. 

TON Chain relies on GameFi and Telegram apps for some of its activities, with a constant user growth in the past year. | Source: Dune Analytics As of January, TON Chain carried 6.3M users in its GameFi apps. Gamified trading and tokenized games remain active, although closed into their own ecosystem. Older games like Hamster Kombat and MemeFi are still active in their groups.

Despite the activity, TON trades near its lower range at $1.53. The token has been sliding for the past year, despite the chain’s influence and the growth of Telegram.

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Citrea has launched ctUSD, a Bitcoin-native stablecoin offered by MoonPay and made on M0’s open stablecoin infrastructure. Citrea has also launched a user dashboard that permits users to manage assets over the ecosystem, track activity, and look out for applications. The application layer of Bitcoin, Citrea, has rolled out its mainnet, permitting lending, trading and settlement directly on the BTC network. On January 27, the rollout was publicised, indicating a step toward widening the use of BTC beyond long-term holding into on-chain financial activity. 

Citrea places itself as an application layer made particularly for BYC capital markets. Layer 1 is made to keep liquidity adhering to BTC while permitting programmable applications safeguarded by the network only. 

At rollout, the network launches cBTC, a Bitcoin-supported asset to be used across decentralised apps, and ctUSD, a native stablecoin aimed at backing on-chain liquidity. As per Citrea, cBTC leverages zero-knowledge proofs and BitVM-based confirmation to suppress dependency on custodians or multisignature trust setups.  

Any trial at deceptive activity can be challenged on the Bitcoin mainnet, provided a minimum of one honest participant is present. This model is designed to offer a higher level of security than previous Bitcoin bridge designs. 

Citrea’s Rollout  Along the side of these assets, the mainnet debuts of Citrea, having over 30 Bitcoin-ensured apps, comprising decentralised exchanges, liquidity tools, and early-stage lending and privacy-aimed services. Extra applications and structures that yield products are anticipated to launch in the coming weeks. 

To back trading with settlement, Citrea has launched ctUSD, a Bitcoin-native stablecoin offered by MoonPay and made on M0’s open stablecoin infrastructure. The stablecoin can easily be accessed in the US, except in New York, and over 160 other countries and is designed with keeping institutional compliance in mind. 

Adding more to this, Citrea has launched a user dashboard that permits users to manage assets over the ecosystem, track activity, and look out for applications. From the start, user actions on live applications are listed, with plans to widen dashboard features as a lot of tools come online. 

Moving forward, Citrea mentions it aims to grow Bitcoin-denominated financial activity and has made incentives for miners more robust via surged network usage. 

Highlighted Crypto News Today: 

SoftBank to Expand OpenAI Investment, Will AI Cryptos Respond?

A passionate journalist with a strong foundation in content writing and an experience in the crypto industry. With a commitment to self-growth, Sharmistha aims to make a meaningful impact in the media and communications landscape.

Altcoins jump as dollar slides, bitcoin holds steady: Crypto Markets TodayThe Dollar Index hit a four-year low, while altcoins surged led by HYPE, JTO and Solana memecoin PIPPIN. Jan 28, 2026, 11:40 a.m.

The weakening dollar helped lift altcoins as bitcoin held steady. (Frederick Warren/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)

What to know: Bitcoin held near $89,200 and ether topped $3,000, supported by a sharp drop in the U.S. dollar index (DXY).Altcoins outperformed, with Hyperliquid’s HYPE up 25% and Solana staking token JTO extending a 31% three-day rally.Speculative tokens led gains, including Solana-based memecoin PIPPIN up 64%, as CoinDesk’s altcoin-heavy CD80 index beat CD20.Bitcoin BTC$89,347.10 traded little changed Wednesday after gaining yesterday as the dollar weakened. Ether ETH$3,017.15 gave up some of its gains.

Instead, advances came from other parts of the altcoin market. Hyperliquid's native HYPE token extended gains, adding 11% since midnight UTC, and Solana liquid staking token JTO$0.3888 surged 32%, its biggest one-day gain since December 2023, according to CoinDesk data.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

The Dollar Index (DXY) fell to a four-year low on Tuesday, crucially below a trendline dating back to 2011 despite an attempt by President Donald Trump to reassure markets by saying the dollar is "doing great," and that he is not "concerned."

Dollar strength or weakness has a direct impact on the crypto market because the majority of assets are traded against the U.S. currency. The inverse correlation was a key talking point in the previous bear market, when the dollar rose by 22% between November 2021 and October 2022 while bitcoin lost more than 70% of its value.

Dollar breaks trendline (TradingView)

Derivatives positioningAnother $230 million in leveraged bullish crypto futures positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, extending the trend of consistent long-side wipeouts since Monday. Bitcoin and ether 30-day and one-day implied volatility indexes remain under pressure, a sign traders do not expect major turbulence even as the Fed interest-rate decision looms. The notional open interest (OI) in futures tied to the HYPE token has surged over 20% in dollar terms in 24 hours. That is largely reflective of price gains in the token, because in token terms it remains largely unchanged near 57 million HYPE. OI in BTC, ETH, XRP and BNB has risen 2%-4%. Except ZEC, and TRX, annualized funding rates for majors remain positive, indicating a bias for bullish positioning. On Deribit, BTC and ETH puts continue to trade at a premium to calls. Activity has picked up in BTC put options at the $85,000 strike, indicating a demand for downside hedges. Block flows in BTC have been mixed, with traders chasing both put and call spreads. In ETH's case, straddles and risk reversals were in demand. Token talkWhile HYPE and JTO are among the top performers on Wednesday, the largest altcoin gain goes to PIPPIN, a Solana-based memecoin and autonomous AI agent created by AI innovator Yohei Nakajima. PIPPIN is up by 64% in the past 24 hours and is the most bought token by "smart money" investors, according to Stalkchain.Decentralized exchange tokens JUP$0.2073 and aster ASTER$0.6857 also embarked on moves to the upside, with the former increasing by 3.11% since midnight UTC to notch a 24 hour gain of 10.9%, while ASTER trades at $0.69 having risen by 5.7% since Tuesday morning.CoinDesk indexes are also indicating altcoin strength: The bitcoin-dominant CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index is up by 2.47% in the past 24 hours and 2.38% since the turn of the year, while the altcoin heavy CoinDesk 80 (CD80) has outperformed its counterpart with a 3.7% 24-hour gain and a 7.3% increase since Jan. 1.The buoyant mood across the altcoin sector comes as bitcoin remains stuck in a tight trading range — historically a bullish period for altcoins because capital is often rotated to more speculative bets until bitcoin makes a decisive move one way or the other.More For You

Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture

Dec 30, 2025

Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.

What to know:

Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.

The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.

More For You

HYPE token's 50% surge is a story of crypto-traditional market convergence, treasury firm says

3 hours ago

HYPE has surged 50%, outperforming bitcoin, ether and the CoinDesk 20 index by a big margin.

What to know:

Hyperliquid's HYPE token has surged more than 50% to $34.57 this week, far outpacing bitcoin, ether and the broader crypto market, as trading activity on the platform accelerates.The token rally represents the merging of traditional assets with the crypto world, according to Hyperion DeFi, which is a HYPE treasury company. Originally a crypto perpetuals exchange, Hyperliquid has expanded into tokenized trading of equity indices, individual stocks, commodities and major fiat pairs via its HIP-3 upgrade. Top Stories

As gold prices surged to $5,300 this week, Tether and Coinbase — the two companies behind the world’s largest US dollar stablecoins — are taking different approaches to gaining exposure to the precious metal.

Spot gold climbed above $5,300 per ounce on Wednesday, posting a record high of $5,311 at 3:30 am UTC, according to TradingView data.

Amid the rally, Tether, issuer of USDt (USDT), the world’s largest stablecoin, doubled down on its gold accumulation, while Coinbase, a key partner in the USDC (USDC) stablecoin consortium, has promoted access to gold futures on its platform.

The contrasting strategies show the different ways crypto companies are positioning themselves as gold booms and Bitcoin (BTC) continues to lag, trading below $90,000, according to CoinGecko.

Tether hoards 130 tons of gold, aiming to become a “gold central bank”Tether, which also issues the gold-backed stablecoin XAUt (XAUT), has been accumulating gold as part of its reserves for some time, reporting $12 billion in exposure as of September 2025.

The company holds 520,089 troy ounces of gold for XAUT — roughly 16.2 metric tons — separately from a broader reserve of 130 metric tons, worth around $22 billion at current prices.

“Tether maintains approximately 130 metric tons of physical gold, and the gold backing every XAUT token is held separately, making it eligible for physical delivery redemption,” a spokesperson for Tether told Cointelegraph.

Countries holding between 100 tons and 200 tons of gold as of the third quarter, 2025. Source: World Gold CouncilBy holding this much gold, Tether is comparable with central banks in countries such as Mexico, South Africa and Sweden, according to reserves data from the World Gold Council.

“We are soon becoming basically one of the biggest, let’s say, gold central banks in the world,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg.

Coinbase highlights gold futures trading amid bullion rallyMeanwhile, Coinbase has been highlighting its commodity futures offerings as gold rallies, reminding users that the platform allows trading in multiple metals, including gold and silver.

“You can trade precious metals on Coinbase,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in an X post on Tuesday. “Silver, gold, copper and platinum futures are available on Coinbase,” he added.

Source: Brian ArmstrongCommentators noted that futures trading does not involve physical delivery, while some described the post as a “top signal” for traders, potentially hinting that the market is peaking.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by reported trading volumes, also launched perpetual futures tied to gold and silver in early January.

With the latest price spike, spot gold is up 90% over the past year, while Bitcoin is down 13%, and traded at $89,351 at the time of writing.

The US dollar index has declined about 10.7% over the same period, adding to gold’s appeal as a hedge.

Magazine: GameStop ‘likely to sell’ Bitcoin holdings, Ethereum preps for quantum: Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 18 – 24

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy https://cointelegraph.com/editorial-policy

Bitcoin [BTC] remains locked in consolidation, for now. The asset has drifted between clearly defined ranges, moving from $86,000 to $90,000, before testing another band between $90,000 and $93,000.

This range-bound behavior suggests that the market is comfortable accumulating Bitcoin, providing temporary stability and suppressing short-term price swings.

While that calm may appeal to traders wary of sharp drawdowns, Park warns that it could ultimately work against Bitcoin’s upside trajectory.

Why volatility matters for Bitcoin’s upside Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise Asset Management, has been explicit about what BTC needs next.

In a recent social media post, he argued that the upside many investors are waiting for will not materialize without a resurgence in volatility. Park said,

“It is very unlikely for Bitcoin to find momentum to the upside without experiencing significantly higher volatility,”

He noted that Bitcoin’s implied volatility currently sits near 38%, while month-to-date trading volume remains notably weak. Park described current volumes as “horrible,” adding that they are lower than any month recorded so far in 2025.

At the core of his argument is market participation. Park believes Bitcoin’s recent price action is being driven primarily by short-term traders, with limited involvement from large institutional players.

That institutional flow, he argues, is essential for driving parabolic moves and restoring the volatility that has historically accompanied major rallies.

To reinforce his point, Park pointed to silver, which recently surged to a new all-time high. That move, he said, was not the product of a calm spot market.

“Silver’s record-setting melt-up comes from all the shenanigans behind ‘paper silver,’ where margin rules, leveraged instruments and vehicles, and liquidity and maturity mismatches create immense pressure at breaking points,”

Park further explained,

“At those moments, no physical supply can be introduced fast enough to counter the velocity of paper supply.”

According to Park, Bitcoin may need a similar dynamic to regain strong upward momentum. He describes the current environment as “the worst possible setup for disappointment.”

Supporting Bitcoin, he argues, requires embracing its volatility. Anyone who claims otherwise, he adds, does not understand the fundamentals of the commodities market.

Positioning risks suggest volatility may be near Signs of rising volatility are already emerging beneath the surface.

The Long/Short Ratio, which tracks how traders are positioned in Bitcoin derivatives markets, shows a clear dominance of long positions over shorts.

While this reflects bullish sentiment, history suggests such imbalances can become unstable when the price fails to validate conviction.

On-chain analytics platform Alphractal recently warned that the current setup carries elevated liquidation risk. The firm said,

“As long as the BTC long-to-short ratio stays above the market average without price follow-through, the risk of further liquidations remains high,”

Source: Alphractal

Should that scenario unfold, it could generate the volatility needed to force a decisive price move.

Liquidation data already shows a significant flush of short positions, with $63.64 million wiped out compared to $15.38 million in long liquidations. That imbalance, however, could reverse quickly if momentum shifts.

Bitcoin pauses after years of outperformance Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, offered a broader perspective on Bitcoin’s recent underperformance relative to precious metals. He argued that the divergence is not inherently negative, framing Bitcoin’s current phase as a pause rather than a failure.

In a recent post, Balchunas noted that Bitcoin has significantly outperformed most major assets, including gold and silver, since 2022. That longer-term outperformance, he said, helps explain why Bitcoin now appears to be “taking a breather,” even as metals enjoy a stronger year.

He added that Bitcoin’s muted performance reflects how quickly the “institutionalization” narrative was priced into the market, well before many of those developments fully played out.

Source: Bloomberg

Looking ahead, Balchunas believes another narrative is forming, one that could eventually drive Bitcoin’s next major move.

“What’s the new narrative? I’m not sure it needs one beyond debt and debasement,” he said. “[That story] is clearly here to stay, and it continues growing into a bigger story every year.”

For now, Bitcoin remains caught between calm consolidation and rising tension beneath the surface, with volatility increasingly shaping the path forward.

Final Thoughts Jeff Park of Bitwise has argued that volatility remains a necessary condition for Bitcoin to transition into a sustained upward phase. That volatility may already be quietly building as the long-to-short ratio continues to lean heavily to the upside.

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It is Wednesday, Jan. 28, and the crypto market seems to have stabilized, but the charts say "not so fast." 

XRP just posted a $0 liquidation anomaly that short sellers will not forget, Bitcoin’s silent 429% run is being remembered at the worst possible moment, and Shiba Inu lines up for a February that may cement the "legendary" status for this month if price history holds.

TL;DRXRP bulls dodge liquidation entirely during short wipeout as price spikes 1.45%.Bitcoin outperformed everything since 2022; 429% surge beats even so-hyped silver and gold.SHIB’s February win rate looks locked in, with just one red candle in five years.XRP chart prints rare $0, and it is not a glitchSomething unusual just hit the XRP derivatives scene, to say the least, as bulls liquidated for exactly $0 in the last hour. That's right: zero.

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According to CoinGlass data, while $140,504 in XRP short positions got "rekt" in just one hour, long positions came through untouched. The total liquidated amount stood at $140,504, and it is all shorts. With XRP only moving +1.45% in that same hour, the essence of this event is unambiguous — somebody was on the wrong side of a very overleveraged bet.

This anomaly is not trivial in the current market environment. XRP, as any other cryptocurrency to be honest, is notoriously hostile to bulls in liquidation flows. Historically, long chasers get punished far more often.

Source: CoinGlassBut this time, it flipped. A glance at the 12-hour and 24-hour liquidation spread tells more: $1.65 million in short-side wreckage vs. $1.31 million long. It is not huge in dollar terms, but the direction is rare.

On the one-minute chart, the impulse that triggered the wipeout is represented by a mid-session breakout near $1.914, which sent the price accelerating into $1.93 before consolidating. It was not a news-driven spike but punishment for front-running downside on thin liquidity. And given the $0 bull loss, it is likely a sign of better capital control from long-side XRP whales.

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Forgotten 429% Bitcoin rally resurfacesWhile Bitcoin trades are stuck under $89,000 and everyone awaits FOMC rhetoric, a chart from Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas is cheering the space up; since late 2022 — just before the BlackRock ETF filing — BTC is up 429%.

That figure is not small, despite all the disappointment crypto enthusiasts have right now. It crushes gold's +177%, silver's +351%, and even the Nasdaq proxy QQQ with its +135% gain.

Yes, crypto was "in a coma" for much of late 2025, but Bitcoin’s two-year performance dwarfs traditional safe havens. And that is the point Balchunas makes: the "institutionalization" rally already happened, now the price is letting fundamentals catch up.

This is not a popular view. As was said, many in the market feel left behind by BTC’s slow January and outflows from ETFs. But zoom out, and suddenly the math favors the crypto; Bitcoin priced the future in 2023-2024, while legacy markets chased 2025’s soft landing.

Source: Eric BalchunasAnd now? BTC holds higher ground.

The relative strength argument becomes even stronger when factoring in that Bitcoin delivered 429% over 25 months, with 50% fewer drawdowns than in previous cycles — a sign of a maturing market structure.

At the same time, its correlation to tech stocks broke down in late 2025, reinforcing its behavior as an independent asset class rather than a speculative tech proxy.

Some speculate that this historic outperformance sets up a “lag rotation” back into Bitcoin once macro events settle — especially post-FOMC and post-budget. If real rates soften, Bitcoin’s multiyear hedge narrative could easily reassert dominance once again.

This legendary Shiba Inu (SHIB) February streak is not to miss in 2026Popular meme coin Shiba Inu (SHIB), the biggest of its kind on Ethereum, by the way, is sneaking into February with numbers that the price history likes.

Over the last five years, as per CryptoRank, SHIB has posted positive February returns four times — with the only red month in 2025 at -26.1%. The average return for February sits at +9.26%, with the median at +10.9%. 

Compare that to Dogecoin, SHIB’s closest meme rival. DOGE shows heavier red stats across February historically, with more distribution to the downside. While DOGE has the longer data set, SHIB’s recent streak looks statistically cleaner, and that is what’s driving all the "win streak" buzz.

Source: CryptoRankThe Shiba Inu coin also enters February 2026 after a +13.1% January. That sets up a momentum carryover, especially as those seeking for higher beta lean into meme coin rotations post-tax season and before altcoin breakouts.

If the rally sustains, SHIB’s status as Ethereum’s top meme asset may gain permanence — and the “legendary” February tag becomes more than a meme.

Crypto price prediction: BTC, XRP and SHIB targets ahead of FOMCThe crypto market remains suspended in macro anticipation. Today's FOMC statement at 2:00 p.m. ET is the main event. The rate pause is already priced in, but the tone will determine the market's direction. If Powell acts more hawkish, it could make people worried. But if he acts more dovish, it could boost the value of the majors.

XRP: Immediate support sits at $1.89, with the first upside resistance at $2 — more psychological than technical threshold.

Shiba Inu (SHIB): Short-term price magnet is $0.00001018, coinciding with 200-day MA. If cleared, it opens a path to $0.000013 range, matching October 2023 peaks.

Bitcoin (BTC): Strong defense seen at $87,300, but real upside trigger lies at $90,500; clearing that will break the descending diagonal from the ATH.

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Hyperliquid (HYPE) is extending its upward rally for a third straight session, rising over 25% today, as capital continues to rotate into Hyperliquid, driven by an unexpected surge in commodity-based trading. While the broader crypto market remains selective, HYPE’s rapid rally into commodity perpetuals, particularly Silver, has reshaped short-term demand for the HYPE token.

Silver Perpetuals Push Hyperliquid Volume Past $1BThe immediate catalyst behind HYPE’s rally has been explosive growth in commodity perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid. Silver futures, introduced as part of the platform’s HIP-3 expansion, quickly became one of the most actively traded instruments, pushing daily notional volume beyond the $1 billion mark across commodity markets. 

This surge matters because it introduces a new class of traders to Hyperliquid, participants who are less sensitive to crypto-native volatility and more focused on macro and commodities exposure. As these positions scale, they directly feed into Hyperliquid’s fee engine, strengthening the economic loop that underpins HYPE’s token model. Unlike short-lived incentive-driven volume, this activity has remained elevated across multiple sessions, suggesting sustained engagement rather than one-off positioning.

HIP-3 Open Interest Signals Real Capital CommitmentHIP-3 market data shows a decisive structural shift in how traders are positioning on Hyperliquid. Recent data of Jan 28, 2026 shows that total Open interest has climbed to $920.9 million, marking one of the strongest sustained growth since the product’s rollout. The growth is not evenly distributed. 

One contract alone accounts for the bulk of positioning, with xyz contributing roughly $803.3 million. This concentration suggests large directional exposure rather than fragmented retail participation. Other HIP-3 markets, including HYNA ($64.9M), FLX ($22.00M). This activity reinforces the view that the capital is flowing across the broader HIP-3 suite rather than chasing a single trade.

Importantly, the rise in Open Interest has occurred alongside elevated trading volume, reducing the risk that the move is purely leverage-driven. When OI and volume rise together, it points to conviction-based positioning, often associated with institutional buying signs.

HYPE Price Structure Signals Further Gains AheadHyperliquid chart structure favors bullish outlook as it replicates massive accumulation in the past sessions. After breaking out of the descending channel, HYPE price has rallied more than 40% and is still aiming higher. HYPE’s current price action replicates a trend reversal and the short-term moving averages have started to curl upwards which suggests a shift in structure. 

As Hyperliquid price has showcased a bullish streak, surpassing multiple hurdles in a single shot, bulls were eyeing to reach the 200 day EMA hurdle of $38. However, if commodity volumes and HIP-3 participation remain elevated, HYPE’s momentum would continue and further rally may be possible. A clean move above $38 keeps the next psychological resistance zone of $50 in focus, while a retracement below $30 would mark a higher low formation toward $28 followed by $25 the near term.

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