Market Signal Briefing

Bitcoin is approaching a key macro event as US lawmakers race to avert another federal government shutdown before the January 30 funding deadline. The market enters this period under pressure, following a failed January rally and a sharp shift in sentiment.

Ethereum (ETH +4.63%) and Polkadot (DOT +3.79%) generally attract different types of cryptocurrency investors. Ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, is the world's second-most-valuable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin (BTC +1.96%). It's often considered a "blue chip" token, more stable than smaller altcoins or meme coins. A $10,000 investment in its earliest trade in 2015 would be worth $10.5 million today.

Polkadot is a smaller altcoin created by Ethereum's co-founder, Gavin Wood. A $10,000 investment in its first trade in 2020 would have shrunk to about $6,900. Let's see why Ethereum flourished as Polkadot fizzled out -- and if either coin can deliver more millionaire-making gains.

Image source: Getty Images.

The differences between Ethereum and Polkadot Ethereum was originally a proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain like Bitcoin, but it transitioned to the energy-efficient proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism in 2022. After that transition, known as "The Merge", Ether could no longer be actively mined like Bitcoin.

Instead, its token could be staked for interest-like rewards. It also gained support for smart contracts, which developers used to create decentralized applications (dApps), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other tokenized assets. Today, it's the largest platform for developing dApps, and Ether's value is usually reflected in the growth of its developer ecosystem.

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Polkadot's blockchain is built on the PoS consensus mechanism, so it natively supports smart contracts and dApp development. Its core Relay Chain handles all security, validation, and cross-chain communication, while all its apps run across its "parachains" -- which have their own logic, governance, and tokenomics rules.

So if the Relay Chain is the Federal government, then the parachains are comparable to individual states. That structure makes Polkadot's parachains more flexible than Ethereum's Layer-1 (L1) blockchain, which requires all of its smart contracts to follow the same rules. They also tend to process transactions at faster speeds than Ethereum's L1 blockchain.

However, Ethereum allows Layer-2 (L2) blockchains, which can be customized for a wide range of applications, to run on top of its L1 blockchain. By bundling its L1 transactions and processing them on its L2 blockchain, Ethereum can deliver comparable speeds to Polkadot's parachains and other nimbler PoS blockchains like Solana (SOL +5.17%).

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Neither Ether nor Polkadot are valued by scarcity like Bitcoin, which becomes harder to mine every four years. Ether, which has a circulating supply of 121 million tokens, doesn't have a fixed supply limit like Bitcoin. However, it started "burning" (removing from circulation) a portion of its gas fees to throttle its rising supply in 2021. Polkadot, which originally increased its supply by 10% annually, capped its supply at 2.1 billion tokens last September.

Ether also has stronger institutional investor support. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Ether's first spot price exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in 2024, but it hasn't yet approved Polkadot's first two spot price ETF applications.

Which token has more upside potential? Ethereum's latest Dencun upgrade, which reduces its L2 transaction costs by more than 90%, could draw more developers and users to its dominant ecosystem. As it expands, it could become the default platform for developing decentralized finance (DeFi) apps and tokenizing real-world assets. It could burn more tokens to stabilize its long-term supply.

Polkadot also recently upgraded its platform by replacing its expensive, long-term parachain slot auctions with on-demand blockspace. Its supporters expect that the "Agile Coretime" update will reduce costs and risks in handling its app-specific chains. Its app-specific parachains, predictable fees, on-chain governance, and compliance-friendly architecture could also make it better suited than Ethereum for certain regulated finance, supply chain, and government clients.

However, Polkadot could still struggle to stand out in the crowded market of smaller PoS blockchains. Its price might eventually stabilize, but I don't expect it to generate millionaire-making gains over the next decade.

Ethereum, on the other hand, still has significant upside if it becomes the default ecosystem for developing dApps. While it might not replicate its massive gains from the past decade, it could still generate millionaire-making gains over the next few decades.

Bitcoin is once again entering a critical phase as volatility contracts, and BTC price continues to coil within a tightening range. This volatility squeeze reflects a market in temporary balance, where neither buyers nor sellers have full control, but pressure continues to build under the surface. With macro catalysts and derivatives positioning near the key technical levels, the current compression suggests that BTC may be approaching a decisive expansion.

Bitcoin is being held in place, but is about to break. In an X post, an analyst known as NoLimit revealed data showing why BTC feels stuck between $85,000 and $95,000. While everything else is moving up, the magnetic pull that is holding BTC back will expire in 4 days. BTC is currently trapped inside a massive options web, and the chart shows the concentration around January 30 is nearly double that of any other date.

Why Low Volatility Often Precedes Big Moves Currently, the market makers are sitting in a Long Gamma position in this range, which will completely change how the price behaves. When BTC price rises, dealers are forced to sell to stay hedged, and when it dips, they’re forced to buy to stay hedged. This setup reveals why every pump is immediately rejected and why every dump is bought up instantly, not weak buyers, but forced dealer activity.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Mirroring Key Patterns From 2021 – Is History About To Repeat?

The data has also shown a massive gamma unwind on January 30. As BTC approaches that expiration, the magnetic force holding the price in this range will start to fade. Once those options expire, the hedges and the mechanical selling pressure that have been suppressing BTC rallies would disappear. Thus, the market would move from a pinned to a released market. When that much gamma leaves the system at once, the move is usually fast and aggressive.

BTC volatility contracts | Source: Chart from NoLimit on X NoLimit noted that he will share an update in 4 days of the expiration of the magnetic pull holding BTC back. The analyst emphasized that he has been an analyst for over 10 years, and called every major market top and bottom publicly, including the $126,000 BTC all-time high. When the next move is set up, he ensures to post it publicly for everyone to see.

How Bitcoin Price Holds Structure Despite Sell Pressure Bitcoin is bullish on Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) divergences, and the price is starting to build up, which could be an early sign of absorption by a larger entity. A full-time trader known as CEDOZXBT has pointed out that the market structure in CVD and price action is the key setup. 

At the same time, open interest (OI) has continued to rise, showing that shorts are entering the market at the point of order. This is an early stage for full validation, but if this structure continues to build up, it could be interesting and great for a long setup.

BTC trading at $87,931 on the 1D chart | Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com

TL;DR

An alleged $40M theft from US seizure wallets exposes critical vulnerabilities in government crypto custody. The breach is linked to a contractor, highlighting risks in fragmented, multi-agency management. The incident undermines the credibility of the US plan to build a “digital Fort Knox” Bitcoin reserve. The US government has been attempting to execute a historic pivot with its Bitcoin holdings for nearly a year, shifting from a messy, case-by-case inventory of seized crypto into a strategic national reserve. 

The ambition, often framed as a “digital Fort Knox,” now faces a credibility test after allegations that approximately $40 million in cryptocurrency was siphoned from government-linked seizure wallets.

Even if the reported loss appears small relative to the roughly $28 billion in Bitcoin the US is widely believed to control, the episode cuts at the core premise of the new posture. It raises serious doubts about whether Washington can manage a sovereign-scale Bitcoin balance sheet with reserve-grade security and auditable controls.

Over the weekend, blockchain investigator ZachXBT alleged that more than $40 million in crypto was stolen from US government-linked seizure wallets. ZachXBT linked the alleged theft to John Daghita, popularly known as Licks, who he said maintains family ties to the executive leadership of Command Services & Support (CMDSS), a private firm contracted to support US Marshals Service (USMS) crypto seizure operations.

Corporate filings indicate that Dean Daghita serves as president of CMDSS. The firm is based in Haymarket, Virginia, and is contracted by the USMS to manage and dispose of specific categories of seized cryptocurrency.

Insider Breach Exposes Vulnerability in Government Custody ZachXBT indicated he was able to connect John Daghita to the alleged theft after what he described as a “band-for-band” argument on Telegram, a dispute in which two individuals attempted to prove their wealth by comparing wallet balances. The dispute allegedly culminated in a persona identified as “Lick” screen-sharing an Exodus wallet and moving large sums in real time.

The screen-shared activity provided a trail ZachXBT said he used to trace a cluster of addresses linked to more than $90 million in suspected illicit flows. Of the sum, approximately $24.9 million moved from a US-controlled wallet in March 2024.

The scenario spotlights a vulnerability that has less to do with sophisticated protocol exploits and more with custody governance, contractor access, and human failure modes that tend to scale poorly when real money and real operational complexity collide.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time federal crypto custody operations have faced scrutiny. In October 2024, a wallet linked to the Bitfinex hack proceeds was drained of approximately $20 million, though the funds were largely recovered.

The operational reality for these assets is far more fragmented Custody arrangements for seized crypto are a patchwork of agencies, legal statuses, and storage solutions. Funds can sit at different points in the forfeiture pipeline, and “US holdings” is not a single ledger entry but rather a complex operational system.

The variance matters because security in a multi-agency mesh depends on process discipline, consistent standards, and rapid migration of funds from temporary seizure wallets into long-term cold storage. A single custodian can be defended with fortress-like protocols, but a system involving multiple vendors and handoffs behaves differently.

The system depends on the consistency of controls across every node in the network, including the people and contractors who touch the process. The ambiguity around which agency holds which keys and when expands the attack surface. Oversight can slip in the gaps between organizations, between temporary wallets and long-term storage, and between policy ambition and day-to-day operational reality.

In the context, the significance of the reported $40 million loss becomes bigger as it implies a process failure. The custody failure suggests unknown exposure elsewhere, especially if the weakness is rooted in vendor governance or insider access rather than a one-off technical exploit.

Contractors like CMDSS are central to understanding the risk profile because they sit where the government’s custody system becomes most complicated. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision from March 2025 confirmed that the USMS awarded CMDSS a contract to manage “Class 2-4 cryptocurrencies.”

The GAO document draws a distinction between asset classes that helps explain why contractors matter. Class 1 assets are generally liquid and can be readily supported by standard cold storage. Class 2-4 assets, by contrast, are described as “less popular” and require specialized handling, often involving bespoke software or hardware wallets.

The long tail of crypto custody includes the long list of assets that are not simply Bitcoin and a handful of other liquid tokens, but the messy inventory that arrives through seizures. Managing the assets can require navigating different blockchains, unfamiliar signing flows, and complex liquidation requirements.

In practical terms, it creates a reliance on external expertise to manage the most challenging aspects of custody. Under the model, the government effectively outsources the messiest corner of crypto operations.

The GAO notes that contractors are strictly prohibited from using government assets for staking, borrowing, or investing. But contractual prohibitions are not physical controls. They cannot, on their own, prevent misuse of a private key if human controls are bypassed.

That is why the allegations, framed as contractor ecosystem risk and social engineering rather than protocol failure, carry weight beyond the specific theft claim. If the system’s resilience depends on discipline across every vendor and handoff, then the weakest node becomes the most attractive target.

Warnings about custody gaps are not new. A 2025 report highlighted that the USMS could not provide even a rough estimate of its BTC holdings and had previously relied on spreadsheets lacking adequate inventory controls. A 2022 Department of Justice Office of Inspector General audit explicitly warned that gaps like these could result in the loss of assets.

The stakes of these operational gaps have risen because US policy is shifting. The White House has moved to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate Digital Asset Stockpile, with directives for the Treasury to administer custodial accounts where Bitcoin “shall not be sold.”

The policy change shifts the government’s role from a temporary custodian, historically associated with auctions and evidence disposal, to a long-term holder. However, the strategic reserve framing shifts the lens, as the central question becomes custody credibility.

If Bitcoin is to be treated as a reserve asset analogous to gold, the standard investors will implicitly demand is vault-grade security, clear custodianship, consistent controls, and auditable procedures.

The alleged $40 million theft draws attention back to whether the infrastructure supporting this ambition still resembles an ad hoc evidence workflow or is being scaled for long-term stewardship. A large, well-known government Bitcoin hoard could become a prime target for malicious actors seeking to exploit a porous system.

Altcoins Pepe Shiba inu XRP

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We believe in full transparency with our readers. Some of our content includes affiliate links, and we may earn a commission through these partnerships. However, this potential compensation never influences our analysis, opinions, or reviews. Our editorial content is created independently of our marketing partnerships, and our ratings are based solely on our established evaluation criteria. Read More

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We believe in full transparency with our readers. Some of our content includes affiliate links, and we may earn a commission through these partnerships. However, this potential compensation never influences our analysis, opinions, or reviews. Our editorial content is created independently of our marketing partnerships, and our ratings are based solely on our established evaluation criteria. Read More

Ahmed Balaha

Author

Ahmed Balaha

Part of the Team Since

Aug 2025

About Author

Ahmed Balaha is a journalist and copywriter based in Georgia with a growing focus on blockchain technology, DeFi, AI, privacy, digital assets, and fintech innovation.

Has Also Written

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We believe in full transparency with our readers. Some of our content includes affiliate links, and we may earn a commission through these partnerships. However, this potential compensation never influences our analysis, opinions, or reviews. Our editorial content is created independently of our marketing partnerships, and our ratings are based solely on our established evaluation criteria. Read More

Last updated: 

January 26, 2026

Looking at the crypto market these days is nothing but pain. The question is how much longer this pain will last before we finally see XRP, Shiba Inu, and PEPE rise again.

It all depends on Bitcoin. With some geopolitical stability, we could see more moves toward risk-on assets.

XRP, Shiba Inu, and PEPE, technically, are still in a weak phase. Below is how things could play out for the three as we head into 2026.

XRP Price Prediction: Holding Long-Term Support as Bulls Fight to Regain ControlRipple (XRP) is currently not in the best position price-wise, yes. However, it is holding its 18-month support and could reverse at any time.

The relative strength index (RSI) is leaning bearish right now, which is worrying for bulls if they do not regain momentum.

Source: XRPUSD / TradingViewAt the time of writing, XRP is trading at $1.91 and just bounced off the $1.81 dip. If it continues this bounce, $2.00 and $2.25 are the first psychological resistance levels. Breaking above those levels would confirm a bullish shift.

This scenario and the target of $3.00 remain valid for XRP as long as it holds above the $1.80 support. A break below it would invalidate the setup and ruin the structure.

PEPE Price Prediction: Fool Me Once, Shame On YouAt the beginning of the year, PEPE price fooled everyone into believing memecoins were back after 5 days of constant pumping and a rally of over 60%.

This ended shortly after topping near $0.000007, and the price has been trending down since. It is still up around 20% on the monthly chart, but expectations were much higher.

Source: PEPEUSD / TradingViewIf we talk purely technically, PEPE respected the upper boundary of the descending channel. A bullish outlook would be anticipated if a breakout above the $0.000006 resistance occurs.

If the dump continues, the horizontal support at $0.000004 is important to hold. There have been repeated reactions at this same price level. If a candle closes near its low, things could turn ugly, as there is very little historical support below.

Shiba Inu Price Prediction: Does It Even Try To Pump Anymore, Worst Performer?Shiba Inu is the worst performer among the top memecoins. The burn mechanism is in constant decline, and the narrative being “dog-themed-memecoin” is considered old now.

Source: SHIBUSD / TradingViewThe Shiba Inu chart is basically a clean descending channel that has been respected for a long time, with lower highs and lower lows grinding price down in a very orderly way.

Right now, the price is sitting right on the lower boundary of the channel, which is an important area. Historically, this is where short-term relief bounces can start if buyers step in.

RSI is sitting around the mid-40s, which backs that up. It is not oversold, but it does show bearish momentum cooling rather than speeding up.

Until SHIB breaks and holds above the channel resistance, this remains a bearish structure with bounce potential, not a confirmed reversal. In short, the trend is still weak, the price is sitting at support, and this is an interesting spot, but confirmation is everything.

Bitcoin Hyper Price Prediction: Anticipation Building Quietly While the Market HurtsWhile XRP, SHIB, and PEPE are all stuck grinding lower and waiting on Bitcoin to finally flip sentiment back to risk-on, some traders are already looking past the pain and positioning early. That is where Bitcoin Hyper starts to stand out.

Bitcoin Hyper is being built for exactly this kind of market environment. When majors are weak, momentum is dead, and confidence is low, capital tends to rotate into new narratives that are not tied to broken charts or long downtrends. That rotation almost always starts quietly, before Bitcoin and altcoins wake up.

The project has already raised 31M, showing conviction even while the broader market struggles. On top of that, Bitcoin Hyper offers 38% staking rewards, giving holders a reason to stay positioned instead of chasing short-term pumps elsewhere.

Historically, the biggest upside opportunities show up when the market feels the worst. If Bitcoin stabilizes and risk appetite returns heading into 2026, projects that were accumulated during these painful phases tend to move first.

For traders tired of watching XRP, SHIB, and PEPE bleed while waiting on Bitcoin to save the market, Bitcoin Hyper is shaping up as a high-risk, high-reward alternative worth keeping on the radar.

Visit the Official Bitcoin Hyper Website Here

Tezos activated its twentieth protocol upgrade, Tallinn, following an on-chain governance process with participation from all bakers and the community. The update was developed by Nomadic Labs, Trilitech, and Functori.

Tallinn reduces Layer-1 block time to 6 seconds, accelerating transaction finality. The EVM-compatible Layer-2, Etherlink, confirms operations in under 50 milliseconds, now backed by Layer-1 finality in 12 seconds. All bakers can attest to each block using BLS signatures, which aggregate hundreds of signatures into a single one, reducing node load and enabling future block time reductions.

The upgrade introduces an Address Indexing Registry that improves storage efficiency by up to 100x for Michelson-based apps, eliminating redundant address data and lowering costs. The network maintains full decentralization and optimizes its infrastructure for enterprise applications, large NFT ledgers, and other setups with high storage demand.

Tallinn was activated without forks or interruptions, delivering improvements in speed, security, and efficiency across the entire Tezos blockchain.

Source: https://x.com/tezos/status/2015741930525929720

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

Ethereum investors are seeing very nice gains to kick off a new week.

As of 4:30 p.m. ET, Ethereum (ETH +4.01%) is making a very nice move higher. Up 4.6% over the past 24 hours, Ethereum has at least partly reversed what was a rather bleak double-digit decline for the world's second-largest token last week.

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As most investors are well aware, Ethereum's role in the cryptocurrency sector is really unmatched. The world's largest decentralized smart contract-enabled layer-1 platform, Ethereum is still the go-to choice for developers and users looking to build or use the best decentralized applications the crypto sector has to offer.

As we enter a new week in which spirits appear to be much better than they were to start last week, let's dive into what's driving this move in Ethereum today.

Ethereum's rally is welcome

Source: Getty Images.

Tom Lee's Bitmine (and Ethereum treasury company) just bought more than 40,000 ETH over the past week, boosting the company's holdings to slightly more than 3.5% of the outstanding supply of the world's second-largest cryptocurrency. Lee and others have touted 5% as a special tipping point for the firm, giving it a dominant position in driving the circulating supply of Ethereum lower (and providing greater impetus for other bulls to take future rallies to the next level).

We'll have to see if he's ultimately able to get BitMine's holdings to this level. Indeed, at sub-$3,000 per token, it's much cheaper to acquire a larger stake in Ethereum right now. And if you believe (as ardently as Tom Lee and other Ethereum bulls do) that Ethereum will remain the base layer for most of the future innovation and growth we're going to see out of the DeFi sector, this is a token to pay attention to.

I'd expect a confluence of improving supply and demand fundamentals, along with increasing on-chain usage, to drive a bullish narrative around Ethereum for the remainder of the year. I may be wrong, but Tom Lee's courageous purchases at a time like this are certainly noteworthy, and investors are clearly taking note.

Chris MacDonald has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

AI agents choose tools, execute multi-step workflows until the job is done, all while being transparently evaluated and rewarded on-chain.

Market Sentiment:

Bullish Bearish Neutral

Published: January 26, 2026 │ 11:07 PM GMT

Created by Gabor Kovacs from DailyCoin

Fire Hustle, a seasoned crypto analyst, is making a stark call: while traders wait for macro catalysts and watch altcoins bleed, the next major narrative is already forming — and it isn’t DeFi, NFTs or real-world assets. It’s AI agents, framed not as chatbots, but as autonomous “digital employees” that could anchor one of the defining themes of the next cycle.

From Chat-Bots To ‘Digital Workers’ With Crypto WalletsThe host pushes back on the idea that tools like ChatGPT or Claude count as agents. Those systems answer questions and stop. By contrast, AI agents are described as autonomous workers that can break down goals, choose tools, execute multi-step workflows, respond to feedback, and keep going until the job is finished.

Sponsored

In crypto, the analyst sketches concrete examples: a trading and portfolio management agent that runs a strategy 24/7, adjusts position sizes by volatility, re-balances automatically, and learns from what’s working — without human emotions.

An on-chain research agent scanning thousands of projects, tracking whale flows, reading documentation and socials, and surfacing credible early-stage plays in chosen niches.

To support her thesis, Fire Hustle cites Gartner, claiming the firm expects the share of enterprise software embedding AI agents to jump from under 5% to about 40% in roughly a year, and pegs the broader market at a projected $47 billion by 2030.

Sam Altman is quoted as saying these agents will join the workforce as “actual employees” while Nvidia’s Jensen Huang is cited predicting IT departments effectively become HR for AI agents.

BitTensor’s Role In AI Agents Boosted By SundaeBar DevsFire Hustle argues centralized AI has two structural challenges: corporate control over censorship and bias, and opaque performance. Crypto, she says, can address this by giving agents on-chain wallets, token rewards, and transparent, market-based evaluation of results.

That’s where BitTensor enters the picture. It’s presented as a decentralized network of AI marketplaces, using its TAO token to reward the best-performing models across specialized “subnets.” Agents don’t just claim quality; validators score them on standardized tests, and only the top performers earn rewards, creating continuous pressure to improve.

On Subnet 121, a project called SundaeBar is highlighted as a “generalist” agent effort: one continuously improving AI worker designed to handle business tasks across operations, finance, marketing, research, and coordination. The standout feature, according to the host, is persistent memory and context.

Unlike typical systems that “forget” after each session, SundaeBar’s agent is said to retain prior decisions, task states, retrieved data, tool outputs, and user preferences, picking up workflows where they left off and integrating with tools like CRMs and calendars with fewer errors.

The competition layer is critical to the story.

SundaeBar’s stack is described as open source, with hundreds of independent developers able to see how the leading agent works, iterate, and attempt to dethrone it.

An “agent eval test suite” benchmarks agents across real-world scenarios; validators rank them, and a winner-takes-all reward model on the subnet pushes rapid iteration. The analyst claims this collective race can outpace even well-funded centralized teams.

On the commercialization front, sundaybar.ai is already live as an AI agent marketplace, where businesses can test the current top agent, customize it to their workflows, pay through the platform, and potentially feed future revenue back to the subnet to sustain development.

The stated ambition: millions of businesses running a shared, ever-improving digital worker.

The message to investors is clear: if Gartner’s adoption curve is even directionally right and agents become embedded across enterprise software, then on-chain, wallet-enabled agents with transparent scoring. Particularly on AI-driven networks like BitTensor, where AI agents could sit at the center of one of the next cycle’s most important narratives.

Check out DailyCoin’s popular crypto news today:
SwapNet Base Hack Drains $16.8M, Circle Criticized Over USDC Freeze
Tezos Activates Tallinn Upgrade, Slashing Block Time to 6 Seconds

People Also Ask:What’s the key difference between an AI chatbot and an AI agent in this view?

Chat-bots answer prompts and stop; agents autonomously execute multi-step workflows end to end, using tools and learning from feedback.

Why is BitTensor (TAO) singled out?

Cause it offers decentralized marketplaces where AI agents are openly evaluated, ranked, and rewarded with TAO tokens based on performance.

What is SundaeBar building on BitTensor?

A generalist AI “digital worker” on Subnet 121 with persistent memory and context, aimed at handling real business tasks across departments.

Is this framed as an investment recommendation?

No. FireHustle repeatedly says the content is educational, not financial advice, and urges viewers to DYOR and only risk what they can afford to lose.

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.

Crypto trader and YouTuber Trader Mayne is making a renewed case for Bitcoin as the only digital asset worth holding over the long term.

Ethereum is sending mixed signals to investors, with bearish macro warnings colliding with record on-chain usage.

Summary

Ethereum’s seven-day simple moving average of active addresses climbed to roughly 718,000. Despite the surge in activity, Ether has struggled to break out of its established trading range. Ether appears vulnerable to further downside, according to Bloomberg Intelligence commodity strategist Mike McGlone. Bloomberg Intelligence commodity strategist Mike McGlone said Ether appears vulnerable to further downside, warning that the token is more likely to slip below key support than break to new highs as broader market volatility returns.

Ether appears to be heading toward the lower end of its $2,000-$4,000 range since 2023. I see greater risks of it staying below $2,000 than above $4,000, especially when stock market volatility rebounds. pic.twitter.com/1IAMV10Jwe

— Mike McGlone (@mikemcglone11) January 25, 2026 The cautious outlook stands in contrast to Ethereum’s on-chain data, which shows accelerating network activity even as prices remain rangebound.

Ethereum’s seven-day simple moving average of active addresses climbed to roughly 718,000, the highest level on record, according to blockchain data. The milestone signals rising user participation and transaction demand across the network.

Despite the surge in activity, Ether has struggled to break out of its established trading range. The token was up about 3% on the day, but remained well below recent highs.

The divergence between flat prices and rising usage has historically preceded periods of price appreciation, as expanding network activity often reflects growing utility that markets reprice with a lag. Analysts say the latest increase in activity may be driven by higher Layer-2 adoption, renewed decentralized finance usage, or returning retail participation.

For now, Ethereum’s fundamentals appear to be strengthening even as macro risks — including equity market volatility and tightening financial conditions — weigh on investor sentiment, leaving traders to decide whether network growth or broader risk-off pressures will ultimately dictate ETH’s next move.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto project backed by US President Donald Trump, moved a chunk of its Bitcoin exposure into Ethereum this week. Reports say the group sold wrapped Bitcoin holdings and picked up a large amount of Ether in the same set of transactions.

WLFI Moves From WBTC To ETH According to blockchain trackers, about 93.77 WBTC was sold, which worked out to roughly $8 million at the time of the swap. The proceeds were used to buy around 2,868 ETH, with an average price of about $2,813 per unit.

The trade was executed from a wallet that on-chain analysts link to WLFI’s treasury. That wallet activity was visible on public ledgers and has been shared across several crypto news sites and data monitors.

Onchain Data And Market Context Prices were modestly lower for ETH when the purchase happened, which some traders see as a buying chance. Reports say this move comes as Ethereum trading ranges have made some holders rethink where to park large sums.

The World Liberty Finance (@worldlibertyfi) has sold 93.77 $WBTC ($8.07M) for 2,868.4 $ETH at a price of $2,813.

Address: 0xee7f7f53f0d0c8c56a38e97c5a58e4d321a174dc

Data @nansen_ai pic.twitter.com/yhh7IvYLLz

— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) January 26, 2026

WBTC is a tokenized form of Bitcoin that inhabits the Ethereum chain, so swapping it for native ETH changes how those funds can be used within decentralized finance.

The funds were moved through a public wallet tied to WLFI. This was confirmed by on-chain evidence that was circulated by data platforms.

Strategic Reasons Behind The Shift Several reasons could explain the swap. Holding ETH gives direct access to smart contracts, staking, and DeFi tools that WBTC cannot offer on its own.

Some market watchers think WLFI may be positioning to use ETH for on-chain services, staking, or profit from future network activity.

Others suggest it could be a way to rebalance risk between stores of value and utility tokens. Reports say no single motive can be proved from the chain itself, only the movement of funds.

WLFI is currently trading at $0.16. Chart: TradingView Reaction And Broader Signals Traders reacted with curiosity rather than panic. Prices barely moved on the news, showing the market may have already priced in similar flows.

Smaller investors watched closely because such a swap by a high-profile, politically linked project draws attention. The wallet activity was tracked publicly, and analysts noted the timing matched a period of calmer ETH price action.

What This Could Mean For Investors Reports note that big reallocations like this can change short-term sentiment, though they do not always lead to lasting rallies. For holders who prefer simplicity, swapping WBTC for ETH changes the way capital can be used, moving from a Bitcoin peg to native network participation.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Cardano’s big whales got caught on-chain scooping bags and bags of ADA as the token deals with uncertain selling pressure. Fresh data shows that wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million ADA added about 454.7 million ADA over the past two months. At current prices, that accumulation stands around $161 million.

As big whales look to take over, smaller wallets continue to exit positions. Wallets holding 100 ADA or less dumped 22,000 tokens over the last week. The investors’ behavior has grown a spot on separation between large and small holders. Such actions often appear during phases of market stress. It is suggested that when whales add and retails dump, it could turn out to be an ideal setup for a rebound when markets stabilize.

Cardano holders sitting on losses?  Santiment in a post shared data around Cardano’s current market value to realized value ratio. It mentioned that a lower 30-day MVRV suggests reduced downside risk relative to recent market participants. However, ADA’s 30-day MVRV stood at minus 7.9 percent.

A negative MVRV number indicates that the average holder is sitting on unrealized losses. This can lower the selling pressure since fewer holders are in profit. It added that if a coin holds a positive percentage, then the traders you’re competing with are making money. This eventually pushes a high risk of entering while profits are above the normal.

Data shows that other major altcoins are also holding similar readings. Chainlink sits at minus 9.5 percent, while Ether is at minus 7.6 percent. XRP is at minus 5.7 percent. The biggest crypto, Bitcoin, shows a milder negative reading of minus 3.7 percent.

Cardano price has dropped by almost 19% in the last 60 days but it has managed to gain by 6% on YTD. ADA price jumped by 4% in the last 24 hours. It is trading at an average price of $0.35 at the press time. It is down by over 88% from its all time high of $3.10, recorded in September 2021.

Is ADA facing US regulatory pressure? The accumulation trend comes as Cardano faces political and regulatory uncertainty in the United States. Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson said the current administration has left the US crypto industry in a weaker position than under former President Joe Biden.

Hoskinson criticized how the Trump admin handled the launch of the Trump Coin and Melania Trump’s token. He said the rollout blasted the trust and damaged prospects for bipartisan crypto legislation in early 2025. Earlier, after Donald Trump’s election in November 2024, he reportedly stated that he would work with the new administration. He later said relations worsened as policy decisions unfolded.

Despite political headwinds, institutional infrastructure around Cardano is expanding. CME Group said it plans to list futures contracts tied to Cardano on Feb. 9. It is still awaiting regulatory approval. It also plans to introduce futures for Chainlink and Stellar. The products would fall under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The exchange plans to offer both standard and micro contracts. Position sizes for Cardano would range from 10,000 to 100,000 ADA. Chainlink contracts would range from 250 to 5,000 LINK. Stellar contracts would range from 12,500 to 250,000 XLM.

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, /PRNewswire/ -- Louis Pinkham, Chief Executive Officer of Regal Rexnord Corporation (NYSE: RRX), announced that the Board of Directors, at its regular quarterly meeting held on January 26, 2026, declared a dividend of $0.35 per share. The dividend is payable on April 14, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31, 2026. The company has paid a dividend every quarter since January 1961.

About Regal Rexnord
Regal Rexnord's 30,000 associates around the world help create a better tomorrow by providing sustainable solutions that power, transmit and control motion. The Company's electric motors and air moving subsystems provide the power to create motion. A portfolio of highly engineered power transmission components and subsystems efficiently transmits motion to power industrial applications. The Company's automation offering, comprised of controllers, drives, precision motors, and actuators, controls motion in applications ranging from factory automation to precision tools used in surgical applications.

The Company's end markets benefit from meaningful secular demand tailwinds, and include discrete automation, food & beverage, aerospace, medical, data center, energy, residential and commercial buildings, general industrial, and metals and mining.

Regal Rexnord is comprised of three operating segments: Industrial Powertrain Solutions, Power Efficiency Solutions, and Automation & Motion Control. Regal Rexnord is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has manufacturing, sales and service facilities worldwide. For more information, including a copy of our Sustainability Report, visit RegalRexnord.com.

SOURCE Regal Rexnord Corporation

HomeMarketsU.S. & CanadaMarket ExtraMarket ExtraTrading volume in a popular silver ETF is the highest of any U.S. equity on Monday as silver prices see their best day since 1985Published: Jan. 26, 2026 at 5:31 p.m. ET

Silver traders: Welcome to your meme-stock moment.

After posting the strongest year on record going back to at least 1979, silver prices have continued their rapid climb in January. On Monday, the price of the most-active futures contract SI00 gained 14% through daily settlement, marking the best day for the white metal since March 19, 1985, Dow Jones Market Data showed.

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Today, Jan. 26, 2026, federal backing reshapes this mine‑to‑magnet player’s role in U.S. rare‑earth supply chains.

Today's Change

(

7.39

%) $

1.83

Current Price

$

26.60

USA Rare Earth (USAR +7.39%), a rare-earth mining and magnet developer, closed Monday at $26.72, up 7.87%. The stock moved higher after confirmation of a $1.6 billion government-backed funding package. Trading volume reached 121.1 million shares, about 796% above its three-month average of 13.5 million shares. USA Rare Earth IPO'd in 2025 and has grown 44% since going public.

How the markets moved todayThe S&P 500 added 0.50% to finish Monday at 6,950, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.43% to close at 23,601. Within rare-earth mining and magnet manufacturing, industry peers MP Materials closed at $63.44 (-8.83%) and Lithium Americas finished at $5.98 (-7.14%) as investors rotated toward newly funded domestic projects.

What this means for investorsUSA Rare Earth confirmed it would receive roughly $1.6 billion from the U.S. Commerce Department in a debt-and-equity deal that’ll see the U.S. take a 10% minority stake in the company. While the deal offers the potential for shareholder dilution, it also signals a major vote of confidence from the U.S. government — and gives it serious financial firepower.

This $1.6 billion will be combined with another $1.5 billion raised by USA Rare Earth in a separate Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) deal, giving the company ample funding to build out its mining and magnet manufacturing facilities in Oklahoma and Texas. With the U.S. government determined to reduce its reliance on foreign countries for the critical minerals the company mines, USA Rare Earth will remain an interesting stock to monitor.

Josh Kohn-Lindquist has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends MP Materials. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Litigation Partner Brandon Walker Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses In StubHub (STUB) To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options

If you are a long-term stockholder of StubHub common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and prospectus (collectively, the “Registration Statement”) issued in connection with the Company’s September 2025 initial public offering (“IPO” or the “Offering”) and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Bragar Eagel & Squire partner Brandon Walker or Melissa Fortunato directly at (212) 355-4648.

Click here to participate in the action.

NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

What’s Happening:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, is investigating potential claims against StubHub Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: STUB) on behalf of long-term stockholders following a class action complaint that was filed against StubHub on November 24, 2025. Our investigation concerns whether the board of directors of StubHub have breached their fiduciary duties to the company.
Details:

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that Registration Statement was materially false and/or misleading, and failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) the Company was experiencing changes in the timing of payments to vendors; (2) those changes had a significant adverse impact on free cash flow, including trailing 12 months (“TTM”) free cash flow; (3) as a result, the Company’s free cash flow reports were materially misleading; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects, were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
Next Steps:

If you are a long-term stockholder of StubHub, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Melissa Fortunato by email at [email protected], by telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you.
About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, South Carolina, and California. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in securities,
derivative, and commercial litigation as well as individuals in consumer protection and data privacy litigation. The firm has a nationwide practice and routinely handles cases in both federal and state courts. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn and Facebook, and keep up with other news by following Brandon Walker, Esq. on LinkedIn.

Contact Information:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
[email protected]
www.bespc.com

Ad-tech investors reassessed The Trade Desk's moat today, Jan. 26, 2026, as the company announced an unexpected C-Suite change.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.50%) rose 0.50% to 6,950.15, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.43%) added 0.43% to 23,601.36, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +0.64%) climbed 0.64% to 49,412.41 as solid macro data offset lingering volatility ahead of this week’s Fed decision and earnings deluge.

Market moversAd-tech player The Trade Desk (TTD 7.47%) slid after negative analyst commentary flagged rising competitive pressure and easier customer switching in a generative‑AI landscape. Company-specific news also helped sink the stock even as tech stocks had a strong day.

What this means for investorsInvestors expect the Fed to keep rates unchanged at its meeting this week, but the upcoming pick for a new Fed chairman is the bigger news right now. The new chairman will take the job with spot gold and other metals surging as investors seek alternatives to equities amid a growing U.S. deficit.

Gold broke above $5,000 per ounce today, and the dollar weakened further. U.S. consumers are still spending, however, keeping the economy humming. Yet geopolitical risks and trade tensions remain.

Tech investors pushed past AI valuation and correction risks today. But The Trade Desk sank after the unexpected departure of its chief financial officer (CFO), Alex Kayyal, was announced. A new interim CFO was named, and the change is effective immediately. No reason for the change was given, but the company tried to help soothe investor anxiety by reaffirming its fourth-quarter guidance.

Howard Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Exxon Mobil logo and stock graph are seen through a magnifier displayed in this illustration taken September 4, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

CompaniesJan 26 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), opens new tab said on Monday it has begun its commercial operation of carbon capture and storage, or CCS, with ammonia producer CF Industries (CF.N), opens new tab in Louisiana, starting in 2025.

The project will transport and store up to 2 million tonnes a year (MTPA) of carbon dioxide from CF Industries' Donaldsonville complex, the company said.

Sign up here.

Carbon capture is a process through which carbon dioxide (CO2) generated from industrial activity is stored underground. The process has been embraced by oil companies including Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab, Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N), opens new tab and Talos Energy (TALO.N), opens new tab.

The energy major has also signed agreements with AtmosClear and Lake Charles Methanol II to handle up to a combined 2 MTPA of CO2 from their planned projects in Louisiana. Additionally, it expects to start CCS operations with Linde and Nucor later this year.

Exxon plans to advance multiple CCS developments across Texas and Louisiana and is targeting a final investment decision on its first low-carbon data center by the end of 2026.

The company expects three CCS projects to come online in 2026.

Reporting by Katha Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

The Treasury Department has axed a string of contracts with consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton over a former employee’s leaks of the tax returns of President Donald Trump — along with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk — to news outlets.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ripped the firm’s failure to handle confidential data following the scandal involving former Booz Allen contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn, who stole tax records relating to Trump and handed them to the New York Times.

“Booz Allen failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect sensitive data, including the confidential taxpayer information it had access to through its contracts with the Internal Revenue Service,” Bessent said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blasted the major government contractor for failing to put the proper safeguards in place to prevent such leaks. REUTERS He added that Treasury’s cancellation of the 31 contracts worth $4.8 million annually and $21 million in total obligation was part of Trump’s efforts to “root out waste, fraud, and abuse.”

Littlejohn pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax return information.

His leaks came between 2018 and 2020, during Trump’s first term. The president had refused to release his taxes publicly before Littlejohn’s breach revealed details.

The 41-year-old St. Louis native was slapped with a five-year federal prison sentence in January 2024, with the IRS claiming that the leak affected about 406,000 taxpayers between 2018 and 2020.

Stock for Booz Allen — one of the biggest security contractors in the US, which once employed whistleblower Edward Snowden — fell more than 10% following Monday’s announcement, closing down 8.11% at $108.29.

The firm has repeatedly distanced itself from Littlejohn’s actions and emphasized that the breach occurred on government systems, not its own.

“We have consistently condemned in the strongest possible terms the actions of Charles Littlejohn, who was active with the company years ago,” Booz Allen said in a Monday statement to The Post.

WikiLeaks whistleblower Edward Snowden was once employed as a contractor by Booz Allen Hamilton AFP/Getty Images “Booz Allen has zero tolerance for violations of the law and operates under the highest ethical and professional guidelines.”

The company also said it stores no taxpayer data on its systems and cannot monitor government networks, and added that the company fully cooperated with the investigation to secure Littlejohn’s prosecution.

“We were surprised by [Monday’s] announcement and look forward to discussing this matter with Treasury,” the statement concluded.

While Bessent’s move appeared to hit the company’s stock, Booz Allen still has deals worth billions of dollars with the Department of Defense.

In August, it signed a five-year, $1.58 billion agreement to provide intelligence analysis related to countering weapons of mass destruction.

Despite Bessent’s move, Booz Allen remains a major contractor and enjoys billions of dollars of contracts with the Department of Defense. AP Booz Allen has faced criticism for past security incidents.

Its most infamous leak came in 2013 when National Security Agency whistleblower Snowden handed over confidential government documents to Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks website while Snowden was working for Booz Allen.

Snowden, who fled the United States for Russia, said he was disillusioned with his work after learning that the US government had conducted extensive internet and phone surveillance of tens of millions of Americans.

He still faces espionage charges including theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence.

SummaryCompaniesSmall firms might be interested in new contract modelLarger companies remain cautious on legislationLawyers working to avoid vague language, contradictionsHOUSTON/WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A proposed reform of Venezuela's oil law is enough to encourage companies working in the country to expand and for some new entrants to begin investing, but deeper reforms would be necessary to attract the $100 billion the U.S. says is required to revamp the nation's energy sector, foreign and local executives and lawyers said.

The U.S. has taken control of Venezuela's oil exports and revenue following a military incursion to capture President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, and a naval blockade to stop oil shipments on sanctioned vessels since December.

Sign up here.

Oil is the Venezuelan government's main source of revenue. Washington has said it plans to control the country's energy resources and revenue indefinitely to ensure Caracas governs in a way that the U.S. considers is in line with its foreign policy targets.

U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing U.S. oil companies to invest massively in the country's dilapidated industry to reverse decades of mismanagement and underinvestment. For many investors, one of the biggest obstacles to secure capital for Venezuela is a long-standing legal framework that gives state-run oil company PDVSA a monopoly on operating projects in the oil and gas sector.

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez proposed a sweeping reform to the hydrocarbon law last week. Venezuela's authorities discussed it on Monday with lawmakers and oil executives from firms including U.S. producer Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab and India's ONGC (ONVI.NS), opens new tab, sources close to the talks said. It is expected to be approved on Tuesday after the brief consultations.

Chevron did not reply to a request for comment. ONGC could not immediately be reached for comment after working hours.

The reform would give PDVSA's joint-venture partners more control over projects, direct access to proceeds from oil sales and more flexible operating conditions.

Existing partners - which include Chevron along with European, Chinese and Russian companies - have been requesting those changes for years. PDVSA is currently the majority stakeholder in over 40 joint ventures, after a nationalization two decades ago saw many companies leave the country.

The fast-tracked reform goes some way to ending the monopoly, but some vague language in the proposal, as well as some contradictory clauses on trading and taxation need to be ironed out, industry associations and lawyers said. Otherwise, large international energy companies would have little appetite for investment, they added.

"You got to deal with what you have," said Ali Moshiri, CEO of Amos Global Energy Management, which has stakes in energy projects in Venezuela. "There is no option other than this... If you don't make this (industry) more attractive, the entire progress we want to make is going to come to a halt, including current operators."

NEW MODEL TO COMEThe reform is expected to formalize a production-sharing contract model that Maduro pushed with little success in recent years, allowing about half a dozen companies to operate in some Venezuelan oilfields.

The loosely regulated model would coexist with current joint ventures, but minority partners in those would gain autonomy to handle their share of output and even sell PDVSA's share if sale prices negotiated by them exceed those agreed by the state company and its customers.

The reform would allow the government, at its discretion, to lower royalty rates to as low as 15% from the current 33%. That would reduce Venezuela's government take - among the highest in Latin America - which oil executives in the United States and elsewhere have flagged as problematic.

The changes would also facilitate independent arbitration to resolve disputes, although it is unclear whether cases could go before international courts.

Many other reforms, however, would be needed to reduce taxes and make the country competitive with other oil-producing nations, six lawyers and executives said. They asked for anonymity because of the topic's sensitivity in Venezuela.

Those would need to include a reform of Venezuela's income tax law, they said. Other legislation that includes a provision for an oil "shadow tax" that secures the country no less than 50% of the value of each barrel produced would need to be removed, they said.

Venezuela's oil ministry would gain precedence over Congress and other ministries on tax and ownership changes for projects, which some executives including Moshiri said was positive because it would speed up project approvals. Others viewed the move cautiously because an incoming government could reject it.

Giving PDVSA's partners financial and operational control of projects was another reform international companies would find attractive, the executives added. That would include loading and exporting oil that corresponds to them and selling it where they want, known as equity lifting, which is common in other countries where international oil companies operate.

"As long as the law allows equity lifting, that would be as good as for any place else, like a typical joint venture," Moshiri said. The new model of production-sharing contracts could be attractive for small and midsize companies, he and executives from companies in Venezuela have said.

"This is sufficient enough for the transition, until there is a permanent government in Venezuela," Moshiri said.

CHALLENGES REMAINSome lawyers have raised a red flag, however, over the discretionary power the reform gives the government. Under the reform, the government would have no need to consult with Venezuela's National Assembly to approve contracts, lower royalties or transfer output commercialization to PDVSA's partners.

"(This reform's) aim is to keep undermining the National Assembly's oversight capacity," said lawmaker Henrique Capriles.

"What's behind this hydrocarbons law? The oil business won't change with a new law," he said. "The most serious problem the oil industry has faced, among many others, has been corruption."

The reform is unclear on the rights of joint-venture partners, other experts said. That includes on important issues such as project ownership, investment and trading. There is also nothing in the reforms to tackle a structural crisis at PDVSA, they said.

"The regulation of new oil contracts is confusing and ambiguous," said Boston-based lawyer Jose Ignacio Hernandez in a report last week. "The proposed reforms fail to strengthen the fragile regulatory framework significantly and, consequently, do not offer the legal certainty needed for rebuilding the oil industry."

Venezuela's government has said the reform will boost output and give entry to companies interested in unexplored fields.

Some analysts and company executives expect the largest U.S. producers to stay out of the new contract model until a clearer reform that can be greenlit by their legal departments is drafted and a National Assembly with more robust opposition takes office.

The U.S. oil industry was initially supportive of the proposed law reform, but remained skeptical about its long-term durability, sources in Washington said.

Reporting by Marianna Parraga, Jarrett Renshaw and Reuters staff; Additional reporting by Sheila Dang. Editing by Nia Williams

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Focused on energy-related sanctions, corruption and money laundering with 20 years of experience covering Latin America's oil and gas industries. Born in Venezuela and based in Houston, she is author of the book "Oro Rojo" about Venezuela's troubled state-run company PDVSA and Mom to three boys.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 26, 2026) - Makenita Resources Inc. (CSE: KENY) wishes to announce that it has entered into a loan agreement (the "Loan Agreement") with an arm's length lender to borrow $200,000 (the "Loan"). The Loan is unsecured and bears interest of 8% per annum.

DALLAS, Jan. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: TCBI), the parent company of Texas Capital Bank, and its board of directors declared a cash dividend of $14.375 per share of the 5.75% Fixed Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series B (the “Series B Preferred Stock”), equivalent to $0.359375 per depositary share, each representing a 1/40th interest in a share of the Series B Preferred Stock. The depositary shares are traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol “TCBIO.” The Series B Preferred Stock dividend is payable on March 16, 2026, to holders of record at the close of business on March 2, 2026.

ABOUT TEXAS CAPITAL BANCSHARES, INC.
Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ®: TCBI), a member of the Russell 2000® Index and the S&P MidCap 400®, is the parent company of Texas Capital Bank (“TCB”). Texas Capital is the collective brand name for TCB and its separate, non-bank affiliates and wholly-owned subsidiaries. Texas Capital is a full-service financial services firm that delivers customized solutions to businesses, entrepreneurs and individual customers. Founded in 1998, the institution is headquartered in Dallas with offices in Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth, and has built a network of clients across the country. With the ability to service clients through their entire lifecycles, Texas Capital has established commercial banking, consumer banking, investment banking and wealth management capabilities. All services are subject to applicable laws, regulations, and service terms. Deposit and lending products and services are offered by TCB. For deposit products, member FDIC. For more information, please visit www.texascapital.com. 

TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gauzy Ltd. (Nasdaq: GAUZ) (“Gauzy” or the “Company”), a global leader in vision and light control technologies, today announced changes to its management and Board of Directors and provided an update regarding its liquidity, financial position, and ongoing operations.

The Company announced that Meir Peleg, Gauzy’s Chief Financial Officer, has notified the Company of his decision to resign from his position. Mr. Peleg has agreed to remain in his role as Chief Financial Officer until no later than April 10, 2026, to assist in stabilizing the Company and to ensure a smooth transition to the Interim CFO. Dan Oshri, Gauzy’s current Executive Vice President of Finance, previously Finance Manager at Chevron Mediterranean Ltd. (Formerly Noble Energy Mediterranean Ltd.), has been appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer at Gauzy, effective upon Mr. Peleg’s departure. In this role, Mr. Oshri will continue to work closely with the Board of Directors and management team to support the Company’s liquidity initiatives, financial operations, and ongoing efforts to stabilize the business and evaluate strategic and financing alternatives.

In addition, Lilach Payorski and Alexander Babitsky, members of the Company’s Board of Directors, have stepped down from the Board. The Company expects to strengthen its Board of Directors with highly skilled and experienced independent individuals to support its plans in the near and long term.

Eyal Peso, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gauzy, commented:

“I would like to thank Meir for his leadership and contributions to Gauzy over the past eight years, including his stewardship during a complex and challenging period for the Company, and for his commitment to supporting a smooth and orderly transition. Additionally, having worked closely with Dan, I have confidence that he will provide strong financial leadership during this interim period, continuing to support in continuity, discipline, and focus as the Company executes on its strategic and operational priorities.”

“I also want to thank Lilach and Alexander for their service and guidance as members of our Board of Directors. We are grateful for their contributions and wish them continued success in their future endeavors.”

Meir Peleg, Gauzy’s Chief Financial Officer, added:

“It has been an honor to serve as CFO of Gauzy for the past eight years. I’m proud of what we accomplished as a team—from strengthening our global financial infrastructure and controls to leading the Company through its IPO and the transition to life as a Nasdaq-listed public company. I sincerely appreciate the support, guidance, and professional development I have received while working with Eyal, the leadership team, and the broader organization, and I remain fully committed to helping ensure a smooth transition in the months ahead.”

Additionally, in order to manage recent liquidity challenges and operational constraints that have impacted the business of late, on January 23, 2026, the Company entered into a term sheet with an existing shareholder for a $50 million equity line of credit facility in order to support the Company’s operations. Under the proposed terms, the Company would have the right, but not the obligation, to draw down funds at its sole discretion over a 36-month period following SEC effectiveness of a Form F-1 registration statement.

The Company intends to file a Form F-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the proposed facility. The equity line of credit facility remains subject to negotiation of definitive agreements, SEC effectiveness of the registration statement, and satisfaction of customary closing conditions. There can be no assurance that the proposed facility will be completed on the terms described, or at all.

About Gauzy

Gauzy Ltd. is a fully-integrated light and vision control company, focused on the research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of vision and light control technologies that are developed to support safe, sustainable, comfortable, and agile user experiences across various industries. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, the company has additional subsidiaries and entities based in Germany, France, the United States, Canada, China, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. Gauzy serves leading brands across aeronautics, automotive, and architecture in over 60 countries through direct fulfillment and a certified and trained distribution channel.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Gauzy’s strategic and business plans, technology, relationships, objectives and expectations for its business, growth, the impact of trends on and interest in its business, intellectual property, products and its future results, operations and financial performance and condition and may be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “seek,” “will,” “consider,” “likely,” “assume,” “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “do not believe,” “aim,” “predict,” “plan,” “project,” “continue,” “potential,” “guidance,” “objective,” “outlook,” “trends,” “future,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “target,” “on track” or their negatives or variations, and similar terminology and words of similar import, generally involve future or forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect Gauzy’s current views, plans, or expectations with respect to future events and financial performance. They are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, and other risks, uncertainties, and contingencies. Forward-looking statements are based on Gauzy’s current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict including, without limitation, the following: Gauzy’s ability to secure funding in order to maintain and support its operations; the outcome of the insolvency proceedings commenced in France and the overall impact they may have on the Company’s operations and financial condition; Gauzy invests significant effort and capital seeking validation of its light and vision control products with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, mainly in the aeronautics and automobile markets, and there can be no assurance that it will win production models, which could adversely affect its future business, results of operations and financial condition; failure to make competitive technological advances will put Gauzy at a disadvantage and may lead to a negative operational and financial outcome; Gauzy being an early growth-stage company with a history of losses and its anticipation that it expects to continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future; its operating results and financial condition have fluctuated in the past and may fluctuate in the future; it is exposed to high repair and replacement costs; it may not be able to accurately estimate the future supply and demand for its light and vision control products, which could result in a variety of inefficiencies in its business and hinder its ability to generate revenue; if it fails to accurately predict its manufacturing requirements, it could incur additional costs or experience delays; the estimates and forecasts of market opportunity and market growth it provides may prove to be inaccurate, and it cannot assure that its business will grow at similar rates, or at all; it may be unable to adequately control the capital expenditures and costs associated with its business and operations; it may need to raise additional capital before it can expect to become profitable from sales of its light and vision control products, which such additional capital may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force it to delay, limit or terminate its product development efforts or other operations; shortages in supply, price increases or deviations in the quality of the raw materials used to manufacture its products could adversely affect its sales and operating results; its business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine; it is subject to, and must remain in compliance with, numerous laws and governmental regulations across various countries concerning the manufacturing, use, distribution and sale of its light and vision control products, and some of its customers also require that it complies with other unique requirements relating to these matters; if it is unable to obtain, maintain and protect effective intellectual property rights for its products throughout the world, it may not be able to compete effectively in the markets in which it operates; the market price of its ordinary shares may be volatile or may decline steeply or suddenly regardless of its operating performance, and it may not be able to meet investor or analyst expectations; its indebtedness could adversely affect its ability to raise additional capital to fund operations, limit its ability to react to changes in the economy or its industry and prevent it from meeting its financial obligations; it has limited operating experience as a publicly traded company in the United States; conditions in Israel could materially and adversely affect its business; and any other risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties in the Company’s reports filed from time to time with the SEC, including, but not limited to, the risks detailed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 11, 2025. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. The inclusion of forward-looking statements in this or any other communication should not be considered as a representation by Gauzy or any other person that current plans or expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Gauzy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

Contacts

Media:
Brittany Kleiman Swisa
Gauzy Ltd.
[email protected]

Investors:
Dan Scott, ICR Inc.
[email protected]

VanEck has introduced the first U.S.-listed spot Avalanche exchange-traded fund, marking a new milestone in the expansion of regulated crypto investment products. The VanEck Avalanche ETF (VAVX) began trading today, offering investors direct exposure to the price performance of AVAX, with the potential to earn staking-related rewards.

The launch expands the universe of single-asset crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, positioning Avalanche among the first major altcoins to receive standalone spot ETF treatment in the U.S. market. As of January 26, 2026, VAVX is the only U.S.-listed exchange-traded product providing spot exposure to AVAX, reflecting growing institutional interest in diversified digital asset access.

Source: Nate Geraci (ETF analyst)

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This information does not constitute financial advice or an investment recommendation. We recommend always verifying official project channels before making related decisions.