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A governance vote that moved this week has left many WLFI holders upset. Some feel they were shut out while a small group pushed the plan through. The divide is loud online and on chain.

Locked Tokens Leave Many Without A Voice Reports say about 80% of WLFI tokens sold to investors remain locked, which meant most holders could not take part in the vote over the treasury move.

That gap in voting access has become the focus of criticism. People who bought early and still cannot trade their tokens say it is unfair for the project to spend community assets without broad participation.

Social posts and forum threads show growing calls for a clear unlock plan and more transparent rules on governance.

Concentrated Votes From Few Wallets Data pulled from the vote and coverage indicate that a small number of addresses carried much of the weight in the decision. Reports note the top nine wallets controlled nearly 60% of the voting power, and one large address alone held a significant share.

The governance proposal to use a portion of the unlocked treasury to incentivize USD1 adoption has passed with 77.75% of the vote in favor.

This happened because the community showed up, evaluated the proposal, and made a clear decision about the direction of the WLFI ecosystem.…

— WLFI (@worldlibertyfi) January 4, 2026

At the same time, the official vote tally posted by the project showed the proposal passed with strong support among those who could vote.

According to a public update, around 77.75% of cast votes were in favor. That result has done little to calm critics who point to the locked-token issue as the root cause of the dispute.

What The Proposal Would Use The Funds For The plan approved allows use of a slice of the unlocked WLFI treasury to support USD1, the project’s stablecoin. The proposal language and the project’s governance page say the allocation would not exceed 5% of unlocked treasury holdings.

WLFIUSDT now trading at $0.16. Chart: TradingView Supporters argue these incentives and partnerships could help USD1 gain more use and push activity across the network.

Opponents worry about spending before solving token access and governance fairness. Some also point to past price swings after partial unlocks as a reason to slow down spending from the treasury.

Haven’t seen anyone else talk about this yet, so I wanted to bring up an alarming governance vote by World Liberty Fi this month that appears to be the start of a slow extraction of value from WLFI holders by the team:

What you see above appears to be a rigged vote, where the… pic.twitter.com/CGsj7vVUUk

— DeFi^2 (@DefiSquared) January 20, 2026

Pressure On Leadership And Next Steps The controversy has put pressure on the team to respond. Calls for a clear timetable for unlocking the remaining tokens are widespread.

There are also requests for a review of voting rules so that major economic decisions have broader buy-in from holders who are affected by the outcomes.

Trump Family Connection To WLFI US President Donald Trump and members of his family have previously been linked to WLFI through investment and advisory roles.

Reports note that their involvement has drawn additional media attention to the project, with some observers questioning whether high-profile ties influence governance decisions and treasury allocations.

Their connection adds another layer of scrutiny as the controversy over locked tokens and concentrated voting continues.

Featured image from Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times, chart from TradingView

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Christian, a journalist and editor with leadership roles in Philippine and Canadian media, is fueled by his love for writing and cryptocurrency. Off-screen, he's a cook and cinephile who's constantly intrigued by the size of the universe.

Don't believe the hype when it comes to meme coins or longtime market laggards.

A couple of weeks into 2026, the cryptocurrency market appears to be roaring back to life. With just a few exceptions, every major cryptocurrency is up to start the year as I write this.

But I'm not convinced that this rally is going to persist throughout the year. The following four cryptocurrencies are at serious risk of a decline of 50% or more in value. You have been warned.

1. & 2. Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Let's start with the obvious picks first: Dogecoin (DOGE 1.98%) and Shiba Inu (SHIB 1.24%). Both of these meme coins are up more than 15% to start 2026, but I think this is really just a dead-dog bounce. These meme coins are fundamentally worthless, and their massive market caps are really just a result of their very high circulating coin supplies.

Image source: Getty Images.

Just look at the numbers for both meme coins -- they're beyond atrocious. For example, Dogecoin is trading at an 82% discount to its all-time high from May 2021. If Elon Musk can't save Dogecoin, nobody can. I think there's further to fall, as investors give up on these two meme coins entirely.

3. Cardano Touted as a potential Ethereum (ETH 6.54%) challenger when it launched back in 2017, Cardano (ADA 2.16%) is going nowhere fast these days. Yes, Cardano is up 15% to start the year. But zoom out and take a nice, long look at the five-year chart for Cardano (below). It doesn't inspire confidence. I'm no longer confident that Cardano can break through the $1 price level anytime soon.

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Right now, Cardano has a market cap of nearly $14 billion. If it loses 50% of its value, it would approach the market cap of Sui (SUI 3.56%), an up-and-coming Ethereum challenger that launched in 2023. I'd rather put my money into Sui right now than wait for Cardano to move higher.

4. Litecoin Litecoin (LTC 1.86%) has been a real standout so far this year, but for all the wrong reasons. Of all major cryptocurrencies with a market cap of $1 billion or higher, Litecoin is among only a handful that are actually down for the year. Over the past 90 days, Litecoin is down more than 20%.

At some point, investors are going to throw in the towel on Litecoin. The much-ballyhooed Litecoin halving event of August 2023 was a complete nothingburger, and even the promise of new spot Litecoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last year did little to boost its prospects.

If Litecoin loses 50% of its value, it would approach the value of Bittensor (TAO 4.66%), a highly speculative artificial intelligence (AI) coin. I'd rather take my chances with a cryptocurrency tied to the future of AI than put an underperforming proof-of-work coin in my portfolio.

Can these cryptocurrencies ever turn things around? It's almost impossible to think that these longtime market laggards are suddenly going to turn things around in 2026. I predict they will plunge big time. The only possible scenario is if Bitcoin goes absolutely en fuego, helping to light a fire under the entire crypto market.

But even if that happens, I'd rather own Bitcoin than Litecoin. I'd rather own Ethereum than Cardano. And I'd rather own just about any cryptocurrency (no matter how speculative) than Dogecoin or Shiba Inu.

Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Cardano, Ethereum, and Sui. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Bittensor, Ethereum, and Sui. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Polygon price has retreated and pared back some of the gains experienced earlier this year. The POL token was trading at $0.1345 on Wednesday morning, down from the year-to-date high of $0.1865. Its fundamentals suggest that the POL price will eventually rebound as the network growth accelerates.

Polygon’s adoption rate has soared  Copy link to section

Polygon, one of the biggest players in the layer-2 industry, has done well this year as the impact of the Madhugiri hard fork continued.

The network has struck major deals, leading to a surge in the number of transactions, active addresses, and fees.

In a statement on Tuesday, Polygon noted that Toku had selected its network to provide its payment infrastructure. Toku, a payroll company that has raised millions of dollars, will use Polygon to launch a global stablecoin payment feature on the network.

NEW: Toku selects Polygon to launch compliant, global stablecoin payroll for employers. Same systems, same compliance standards, but entirely new onchain rails for recurring payments. With this integration, every Toku user across 100+ countries receives a Polygon wallet by

This is an important development as it means that each Toku user will receive a Polygon wallet by default. It will also likely draw more companies in the payroll industry to use Polygon to handle transactions.

More companies have embraced Polygon’s technology, with the most notable ones being fintech companies like Stripe, Revolut, Shift4 Payments, and Mastercard  

Additionally, Polygon powers Polymarket, one of the biggest players in the fast-growing prediction industry. This integration means that Polygon handles transactions worth over $2 billion a month.

This growth has led to a surge in transactions and fees in the network, a situation that will accelerate after the recent Coinme and Sequence acquisitions.

Data compiled by Nansen shows that the number of transactions in Polygon jumped by 5% in the last 30 days to over 175 million, while the number of active addresses remained at oc 11 million.

Polygon transactions have jumped | Source: NansenMost importantly, Polygon is generating huge sums of money in fees. Its network fees jumped by 400% in the last 30 days to over 3 million.

The soaring fees are important for the POL price because of the token burn. Recent data shows that the POL burn rate has jumped to a record high this year, with millions of tokens being removed from circulation.

There are signs that POL is highly undervalued, a situation that happened because of the elevated competition from other layer-2 networks like Base, Optimism, and Arbitrum. 

For one, unlike most tokens, Polygon does not have any token unlocks and it has a token burn mechanism that removes millions of coins from circulation a month. This is unlike a token like Sui that has large token unlocks, weaker metrics, and a higher valuation than Polygon.

Polygon price technical analysis  Copy link to section

POL price chart | Source: TradingView The daily timeframe chart shows that the POL price has retreated from the year-to-date high of $0.1840 to the current $0.1343. It has moved below the important support level at $0.1500, its lowest level in April last year.

The token has remained below the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA), while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has continued moving downwards.

Therefore, the most likely scenario is where the token rebounds in the coming weeks, potentially to the year-to-date high of $0.1840, which is about 37% above the current level.

Roughly 92% of the $1.09 billion in liquidations came from long bets, indicative of how heavily traders had been positioned for further gains before prices reversed.

Netflix delivered strong fourth-quarter results, but guidance was mixed. Doubts remain about its planned acquisition of Warner Bros.

Westgold Resources Limited (WGX:CA) Q2 2026 Earnings Call January 20, 2026 7:01 PM EST

Company Participants

Wayne Bramwell - CEO, MD & Executive Director
Aaron Rankine - Chief Operating Officer
Su Heng - Chief Financial Officer
Simon Rigby - General Manager of Exploration and Growth

Presentation

Operator

Hello, and welcome to the Westgold Resources December 2025 Quarterly Report Call. Our presenter today is Wayne Bramwell, Managing Director and CEO. We'll answer questions at the end of the presentation, but you can type them and submit them at any time.

Over to you, Wayne.

Wayne Bramwell
CEO, MD & Executive Director

Thank you, Steve, and hello to everyone on the call. Thank you for taking the time to dial in today. With me on the call, I have Aaron Rankine, our Chief Operating Officer; and Tommy Heng, our Chief Financial Officer. I'll provide a quick overview of what has been another record quarter for Westgold before handing over to Tommy and Aaron to discuss the financial and operating results. Let's get into it. Slide 4. Our second quarter features a record cash build, record gold production, and we achieved a record gold price. Let's unpack that. How did we achieve this? In Q2, we generated an underlying cash build of $365 million, double the $180 million underlying cash build of Q1. Our treasury includes cash, bullion and liquid investments. This increased by $182 million for the quarter, net of several items, including the repayment of a modest $50 million drawn debt against our corporate facility. This has now closed out and sees us debt-free.

We paid $76 million in stamp duty on the Karora transaction. That's a one-off payment. Our recent dividend and share buyback costs of $29 million was an outflow. We also saw outflows of investments of $60 million in our key growth projects and $6 million on

Jensen Huang, president/CEO of Nvidia, speaks during a Siemens keynote at CES 2026, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 6, 2026. REUTERS/Steve... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab CEO Jensen Huang plans to travel to China in late January as he seeks to reopen a critical market for the company's artificial intelligence chips, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Huang is expected to attend company events ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in February, and may also visit Beijing, according to the report.

Sign up here.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Nvidia declined to comment.

It is unclear whether Huang will meet senior Chinese officials, and his plans could still change depending on whether prospective meetings are confirmed, the report said.

This comes after last week, the Trump administration formally approved sales of Nvidia's second-most powerful H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, a move expected to pave the way for shipments despite concerns from China hawks in Washington.

However, Chinese customs authorities said a day later, on January 14, that the H200 chips were not permitted to enter the country, Reuters reported.

Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich

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

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.

These stocks have incredible long-term opportunities.

The S&P 500 is back to hitting new highs, but it's also becoming more expensive. The CAPE ratio, or cyclically adjusted P/E ratio, is nearly 40. That's the highest it's been in more than a decade. Whether or not that means the market is due for a correction, it certainly seems like stocks are trading at higher valuations, and it's harder to spot bargains.

But they exist, even in the high-growth artificial intelligence (AI) space. Consider Amazon (AMZN 3.42%) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 4.45%), both of which look like super values right now and offer continued long-term opportunities.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Amazon Amazon is one of the major hyperscalers that's pouring billions into developing a top-of-the-line AI program. CEO Andy Jassy has stressed many times that there's going to be a shift from on-premises information technology (IT) spend, which represents about 85% of company spend today, to the cloud, and Amazon is preparing for it. It's investing more than $125 billion in 2026 in the AI program, after spending about that much in 2025, and it's upgrading everything from its chips to its large-language models (LLMs) to its range of services for clients, like its semi-custom Bedrock platform.

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It's growing in every way, from its core e-commerce business through the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud business to advertising and more. Adding the AI business to these segments takes the whole business up a notch, and positioning itself to benefit from the AI windfall gives it years of further growth ahead.

Yet Amazon stock trades at less than 34 times trailing-12-month earnings. The stock is only up 6% over the past year, but as it keeps reporting strong growth and harnesses its opportunities, it should keep rewarding investors.

2. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Taiwan Semiconductor is a core player in AI production. It's responsible for 85% of global start-up semiconductor prototypes, and it works with nearly every high-level AI player in nearly every type of technology, also beyond AI.

Even though it's a well-established industry giant with solid relationships and high profitability, including a 54% operating margin in the 2025 fourth quarter, it's still growing quickly. Sales increased 21% year over year in the quarter. It has tremendous AI tailwinds, and all the money that Amazon and its peers are spending comes back at some level to Taiwan Semiconductor.

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Yet Taiwan Semiconductor stock trades at only 32 times trailing-12-month sales, and it's barely moved over the past year, even though the stock has gained 60%. It's a great value for growth investors -- or any investor.

Jennifer Saibil has positions in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Hancock Whitney Corporation (HWC) Q4 2025 Earnings Call January 20, 2026 4:30 PM EST

Company Participants

Kathryn Mistich - VP & Investor Relations Manager
John Hairston - President, CEO & Director
Michael Achary - Senior EVP, CFO & Principal Accounting Officer
D. Loper - Senior EVP & COO
Christopher Ziluca - Senior EVP & Chief Credit Officer

Conference Call Participants

Michael Rose - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division
Catherine Mealor - Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc., Research Division
Casey Haire - Autonomous Research Limited
Brett Rabatin - Hovde Group, LLC, Research Division
Benjamin Gerlinger - Citigroup Inc., Research Division
Gary Tenner - D.A. Davidson & Co., Research Division
Christopher Marinac - Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division

Presentation

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Hancock Whitney Corporation's Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this call may be recorded. I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference, Kathryn Mistich, Investor Relations Manager. You may now begin.

Kathryn Mistich
VP & Investor Relations Manager

Thank you, and good afternoon. During today's call, we may make forward-looking statements. We would like to remind everyone to carefully review the safe harbor language that was published with the earnings release and presentation and in the company's most recent 10-K and 10-Q, including the risks and uncertainties identified therein. You should keep in mind that any forward-looking statements made by Hancock Whitney speak only as of the date on which they were made. As everyone understands, the current economic environment is rapidly evolving and changing.

Hancock Whitney's ability to accurately project results or predict the effects of future plans or strategies or predict market or economic developments is inherently limited. We believe that the expectations reflected or implied by any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions but are not guarantees of

NEW YORK and NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors with substantial losses that they have until February 17, 2026 to file lead plaintiff applications in securities class action lawsuits against Coupang, Inc. (NYSE: CPNG), if they purchased or otherwise acquired the Company’s securities between May 7, 2025 and December 16, 2025, inclusive (the “Class Period”). These actions are pending in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of California and Western District of Washington.

What You May Do

If you purchased securities of Coupang and would like to discuss your legal rights and how these cases might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cpng/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in the class actions, you must petition the Courts by February 17, 2026.

About the Lawsuits

Coupang and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

The alleged false and misleading statements and omissions include, but are not limited to, that: (i) the Company had inadequate cybersecurity protocols that allowed a former employee to access sensitive customer information for nearly six months without being detected; (ii) this subjected the Company to a materially heightened risk of regulatory and legal scrutiny; (iii) when defendants became aware that the Company had been subjected to this data breach, they did not report it in a current report filing in compliance with applicable Securities and Exchange Commission reporting rules; and (iv) as a result, defendants’ public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all times.

The first-filed case is Barry v. Coupang, Inc., et al., No. 25-cv-10795. A subsequent case, Lee v. Coupang, Inc., et al., No. 26-cv-00047, expanded the class period.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.

TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action Services

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner
[email protected]
1-877-515-1850
1100 Poydras St., Suite 960
New Orleans, LA 70163

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 20, 2026) - American Pacific Mining Corp (CSE: USGD) (OTCQX: USGDF) (FSE: 1QC1) ("American Pacific" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, due to strong investor demand, it has increased the size of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") (see news release dated January 20, 2026) from 34,090,909 units at a price of $0.22 per unit (the "Unit") for gross proceeds of $7,500,000 to 44,318,182 units for gross proceeds of $9,750,000. The private placement is now fully subscribed and the order book is closed.

"We appreciate the strong investor participation in this financing, which underscores the market's confidence in our strategy of advancing our highly prospective Madison Copper-Gold Project in Montana, while also providing exposure to a significant equity portfolio of exceptional western US copper, gold and silver company," commented CEO Warwick Smith. "Following the closing of this financing, we intend to undertake a robust drill program aimed at delineating a first mineral resource estimate at Madison, while also testing the full scope of the Project by drilling both skarn and porphyry targets."

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for exploration and development on the Company's Madison Copper-Gold Project, other mineral exploration and development projects, and for general corporate purposes. Closing of the Offering is expected to occur as soon as practicable and may occur in one or more tranches. The Company may pay a finder's fee in connection with the Offering to eligible arm's length finders in accordance with the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange. Eventus Capital Corp. has been appointed as a Finder in connection with the Offering.

This Offering is being conducted under the listed issuer financing exemption as per Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions. As a result, the securities issued will not be subject to a hold period under the prevailing Canadian securities laws. An Offering Document related to this Offering is available on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca and on www.americanpacificmining.com. Potential investors are advised to thoroughly review the offering document prior to making any investment decisions.

The securities issued pursuant to the Offering have not, nor will they be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons in the absence of U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About American Pacific Mining Corp.

American Pacific Mining Corp. is a precious and base metals explorer focused on opportunities in the Western United States. The Company's flagship asset is the 100%-owned past-producing Madison Copper-Gold Project in Montana. For the acquisition of Madison, American Pacific was selected as a finalist in both 2021 and 2022 for 'Deal of the Year' at the S&P Global Platts Metals Awards, an annual program that recognizes exemplary accomplishments in 16 performance categories. Through a 2025 transaction with Vizsla Copper, American Pacific has established a major equity position and secured $15M in aggregate milestone upside exposure to the advanced exploration stage Palmer Copper-Zinc VMS Project in Alaska. Also, in American Pacific's portfolio are several high-grade, precious metals projects located in key mining districts in Nevada, on which the Company intends to transact. The Company's mission is to provide shareholders discovery and exploration upside exposure across its portfolio through partnerships, spin-outs and direct exploration.

On Behalf of American Pacific Mining Corp. Board of Directors:

Warwick Smith, CEO & Director
Corporate Office: Suite 910 - 510 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC, V6C 3A8 Canada

The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information (collectively referred to as "forward-looking information". Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of their respective officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in forward-looking information in this press release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the parties can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. The forward-looking information in this press release include, amongst others: the terms of the Offering, the anticipated closing of the Offering, the ability of the Company to complete the Offering, the approval of the Offering by the CSE, and the intended use of proceeds of the Offering. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company. There are risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking information.

By their nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. There are a number of important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others: currency fluctuations; limited business history; disruptions or changes in security markets; results of operation activities and development of projects; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; and general development, market and industry conditions. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of their securities or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable). The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on the Company's forward-looking information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events.

The Company has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. The Company does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/281055

Source: American Pacific Mining Corp.

Ready to Announce with Confidence? Send us a message and a member of our TMX Newsfile team will contact you to discuss your needs.

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NEW YORK and NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors with substantial losses that they have until January 26, 2026 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (“Sprouts” or the “Company”) (NasdaqGS: SFM), if they purchased or otherwise acquired the Company’s securities between June 4, 2025 and October 29, 2025, inclusive (the “Class Period”). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.

What You May Do

If you purchased securities of Sprouts and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqgs-sfm/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by January 26, 2026.

About the Lawsuit

Sprouts and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On October 29, 2025, the Company announced its third quarter fiscal 2025 results, disclosing comparable stores sales growth below expectations as well as disappointing fourth quarter guidance and cuts to its full year estimates, despite raising them only one quarter prior, due to “challenging year-on-year comparisons as well as signs of a softening consumer.”

On this news, the price of Sprouts’ shares fell from a closing market price of $104.55 per share on October 29, 2025 to $77.25 per share on October 30, 2025, a decline of about 26.11% in the span of just a single day.

The case is Singh Family Revocable Trust u/a dtd 02/18/2019 v. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc., et al., No. 25-cv-04416.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.

TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action Services

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner
[email protected]
1-877-515-1850
1100 Poydras St., Suite 960
New Orleans, LA 70163

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Aurelia Metals Limited (AUMTF) Q2 2026 Earnings Call January 20, 2026 6:00 PM EST

Company Participants

Bryan Quinn - MD, CEO & Director
Andrew Graham - Chief Development & Technical Officer
Martin Cummings - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Paul Kaner - Ord Minnett Limited, Research Division
Paul Hissey - MA Moelis Australia Securities, Research Division
Daniel Roden - Jefferies LLC, Research Division

Presentation

Operator

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Aurelia Metals Limited December Quarter Activities Report. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Bryan Quinn, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

Bryan Quinn
MD, CEO & Director

Thanks, Kaley. Look, welcome, and thanks for joining us for the Aurelia Metals quarter 2 results for FY '26. We appreciate your time to join us and allow us to sort of present some very positive results for this quarter and a bit of an outlook as well.

I'm joined today by Martin Cummings, Chief Financial Officer; and Andrew Graham, our Chief Technical and Business Development Officer; and Angus Wyllie, the Regional General Manager for Cobar, he's on a much-deserved leave at the moment. So he won't be joining us. So we'll obviously take questions at the end of the call and presentation.

Now please just refer to the forward-looking statements on our pack. I would now like to talk through the highlights for the quarter before moving into some more details. So if you can just move on to the highlights slide.

We're very proud to announce we had a very good quarter with cash flow with $42.9 million operating cash flow after our sustaining capital costs. This is supported by strong commodities prices and obviously strong gold production for the quarter.

Our Federation mine is performing well. Our ore

NEW YORK and NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., notifies investors in DeFi Technologies Inc. (“DeFi” or the “Company”) (NasdaqCM: DEFT) of a class action securities lawsuit.

CLASS DEFINITION: The lawsuit seeks to recover losses on behalf of investors of DeFi Technologies who were adversely affected by alleged securities fraud between May 12, 2025 and November 14, 2025. Follow the link below to get more information and be contacted by a member of our team:

https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqcm-deft/

DeFi Technologies investors should contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqcm-deft/ to learn more.

CASE DETAILS: According to the Complaint, on November 13, 2025, post-market, the Company announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2025, disclosing a nearly 20% decline in revenue, well below market expectations, and also significantly lowered its 2025 revenue forecast, from $218.6 million to approximately $116.6 million, due to “a delay in executing DeFi Alpha arbitrage opportunities previously forecasted due to the proliferation of [DAT] companies and the consolidation in digital asset price movement in the latter half of 2025.” On this news, the price of DeFi’s shares fell $0.40 per share, or 27.59%, over the following two trading sessions, to close at $1.05 per share on November 17, 2025.

The case is Linkedto Partners LLC v. DeFi Technologies Inc., et al., No. 25-cv-06637.

WHAT TO DO? If you invested in DeFi Technologies and suffered a loss during the relevant time frame, you have until January 30, 2026 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff; however, your ability to share in any recovery does not require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.

TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action Services

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner
[email protected]
1-877-515-1850
1100 Poydras St., Suite 960
New Orleans, LA 70163

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NEW YORK CITY and NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors with substantial losses that they have until February 9, 2026 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Integer Holdings Corporation (“Integer” or the “Company”) (NYSE: ITGR), if they purchased or otherwise acquired the Company’s shares between July 25, 2024 and October 22, 2025, inclusive (the “Class Period”). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

What You May Do

If you purchased shares of Integer and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-itgr/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by February 9, 2026.

About the Lawsuit

Integer and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On October 23, 2025, the Company disclosed a lower full-year 2025 sales guidance to a range between $1.840 billion and $1.854 billion, well short of analysts’ estimates, as well as expected net sales growth of -2% to 2% and organic sales growth of 0% and 4% for the full year of 2026, among other things, due to the market adoption of its products being slower than anticipated.

On this news, the price of Integer’s shares fell $35.22 per share, or more than 32%, from a closing price of $109.11 per share on October 22, 2025, to a closing price of $73.89 per share on October 23, 2025.

The case is West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. Integer Holdings Corporation, et al., No. 25-cv-10251.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.

TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action Services

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner
[email protected]
1-877-515-1850
1100 Poydras St., Suite 960
New Orleans, LA 70163

CONNECT WITH US: Facebook || Instagram || YouTube || TikTok || LinkedIn

Bitcoin has surrendered its 2026 gains, falling approximately 4% in the past 24 hours to around $88,850 as of Wednesday morning Asia time.

The price now sits almost exactly where it closed in 2025, erasing a three-week rally that had briefly pushed the cryptocurrency above $97,000. At the time of writing, the token is attempting to rebound after touching a session low of $87,901.

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A Disappointing Year-End for 2025Bitcoin closed 2025 at approximately $87,000-$88,000, down about 30% from its October all-time high of $126,000 and posting a roughly 6% annual loss. December proved particularly brutal, with the cryptocurrency falling about 22% for its worst monthly performance since December 2018.

The much-anticipated “Santa rally” never materialized. Thin holiday liquidity and a lack of fresh catalysts left the market drifting into the final session of the year. The repeated attempts to reclaim key resistance levels were met with selling pressure.

New Year Rebound: Inflation Relief and Regulatory HopesSentiment shifted dramatically in early 2026. On January 14, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released an inflation report showing prices stabilizing, prompting Bitcoin to surge more than 4% over 24 hours and break above $97,000, levels not seen since mid-November.

Breaking above the $95,000 level, a zone that carries both technical and psychological significance, suggested further upside potential. Optimism around the Clarity Act, which would establish a broad regulatory framework for digital assets, also supported sentiment. However, the Senate postponed its planned markup of the bill to the last week of January, signaling it had not yet secured the necessary votes.

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Geopolitical Risk ReturnsOn January 21, President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland and threats of new tariffs on European allies sent shockwaves through global markets. US benchmark stock indexes sank more than 2%, the VIX touched its highest level since November, and the dollar slid against most major currencies.

Shiyan Cao at hedge fund Winshore Capital told Bloomberg the situation “opened up a tail risk—that people don’t want US assets,” adding that investors must now price in a political risk premium.

The selloff echoed fears from April 2025, when Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement triggered a deep slump in US markets and a massive spike in volatility.

Outlook: Volatility Here to StayBitcoin has now completed a round trip, erasing its year-to-date gains and returning to 2025 closing levels. Additional volatility looms on Wednesday as the Supreme Court hears arguments over Trump’s bid to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

A deal may eventually defuse the Greenland tension, but it could take months—leaving markets facing heightened volatility in the interim.

For now, the cryptocurrency appears to be stabilizing above $88,000 as traders assess whether this represents a buying opportunity or the start of a deeper correction.

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TL;DR:

Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital, highlights that XRP solves multi-trillion dollar liquidity problems in real-time. XRP Ledger technology outperforms traditional systems like SWIFT in speed and operational cost reduction. Analysts project XRP’s price could reach $5 or even $8, driven by institutional adoption. In 2026, the regulatory landscape for Ripple has taken a complete 360-degree turn after years of uncertainty. Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital, surprised the market by declaring that XRP is essential for the next century of finance, positioning the asset as the fundamental “financial plumbing” for moving trillions of dollars globally.

Industry experts assert that XRP’s primary advantage lies not only in its speed but in its capacity to process real-world use cases. While other assets remain in experimental phases, the XRP Ledger already settles operations in a matter of seconds, leaving behind the slowness of traditional banking systems.

Decoupling from Bitcoin and the Path Toward Utility-Based Valuation One of the most notable phenomena so far this year is XRP’s growing independence from Bitcoin’s price movements. Thanks to the expansion of tokenized assets and the success of the RLUSD stablecoin, the network’s value is now linked to its practical utility rather than just retail market speculative sentiment.

Furthermore, the current environment allows financial institutions to use the ecosystem to manage bonds and real estate efficiently. For this reason, the investment narrative has shifted from legal survival to technological dominance, consolidating the trust of high-level asset managers who previously focused exclusively on BTC.

Regarding price projections, Standard Chartered analysts suggest that the growth in liquidity required to settle debt markets could drive the token toward new all-time highs. Although the market is experiencing short-term volatility, the robustness of the technical support zones between $1.96 and $2.00 maintains a constructive structure for long-term investors.

In summary, this shift toward a utility-driven market is redefining the financial mathematics of the crypto ecosystem. With an infrastructure free of smart contract risks and unprecedented operational efficiency, the path toward mass adoption seems clearer than ever for Ripple’s asset.

Leading cryptocurrencies fell alongside stocks on Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s tariff threats threw risk-on markets into a tailspin.

CryptocurrencyGains +/-Price (Recorded at 8:20 p.m. ET)Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC)-3.95%$88,951.35Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               -6.76%$2,965.89XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                         -3.42%$1.91Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                         -4.57%$127.45Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)             -2.23%$0.1254Crypto Market Goes Into ‘Extreme Fear’Bitcoin plunged below $88,000, with trading volume surging 76% over the last 24 hours.

The market sell-off spread widely, driving Ethereum’s price below $3,000 for the first time in three weeks. XRP and Dogecoin also recorded sharp declines.

Shares of cryptocurrency-related companies, including Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR)  and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN), closed down 7.76% and 5.57%, respectively

Roughly $1.7 billion was liquidated from the market in the last 24 hours, according to Coinglass, with a billion worth of levered longs evaporated.

Bitcoin's open interest fell 1.22% in the last 24 hours, while total funds locked in Ethereum futures slid 3.22%.

The market sentiment worsened from "Fear" to "Extreme Fear," according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M)Gains +/-Price (Recorded at 8:20 p.m. ET)Axie Infinity (AXS )   +19.02%    $2.10River (RIVER )                 +15.35%      $35.31Story (IP )           +14.44%      $2.67The global cryptocurrency market capitalization shrunk 4% to $3 trillion in the last 24 hours.

Stocks Crack on Trade TensionsAs anticipated, the stock market tumbled on Tuesday, marking its worst session in more than three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 870.74 points, or 1.76%, to finish at 48,488.59. The S&P 500 dipped 2.06% to end at 6,796.86, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 2.39% to close at 22,954.32.

With equities falling, investors sought refuge in safe havens. Spot gold rose 0.48% to a new all-time high of $4,785 an ounce.

The risk-off sentiment intensified amid Trump's tariff threats on Europe if they don't back his bid to acquire Greenland. The President asserted that there "can be no going back" on this issue, reiterating that the island is key for national and global security.

Is This A Long-Term Bullish Signal?Despite the sell-offs, Bitcoin whale investors have not stopped accumulating, according to on-chain analytics firm Santiment.

Addresses holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC have grabbed 36,322 tokens over the last 9 days, an increase of 0.27%.

"Optimal conditions for a crypto breakout are when smart money accumulates, and retail dumps," Santiment stated. "Geopolitical issues aside, this pattern continues to be great for a long-term bullish divergence."

Michaël van de Poppe, widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, noticed dense on-chain activity for Ethereum between $2,772 and $3,119, calling it a "key area of support."

Photo: KateStock / Shutterstock

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Bitcoin has come under renewed pressure after sliding toward the $90,600 region, putting short-term sentiment back on edge. While the move has shaken weak hands, price is now approaching a critical retest zone that could determine whether this dip is merely a shakeout or the start of a deeper correction. How BTC reacts here will likely set the tone for the next directional move.

Bitcoin Slides to $90.6K As Selling Pressure Returns According to an update by Lennaert Snyder, Bitcoin has extended its downside move, dumping toward the $90,623 level. The latest decline suggests increasing near-term weakness, with expectations that the US market opening could add further pressure and keep sentiment cautious.

Despite the volatility, Snyder emphasizes the importance of patience in such conditions, waiting for clear triggers, especially as the market navigates a fragile structure after the recent sell-off. On the bullish side, a potential scalp setup emerges if BTC manages to break the M15 market structure by reclaiming the $91,265 level. Should this occur, the initial upside target is located near the $93,377 resistance, with the monthly high serving as the ultimate objective if momentum continues to build.

BTC’s potential for an upsurge appears high | Source: Chart from Lennaert Snyder on X From a bearish perspective, current prices are considered too low to aggressively pursue shorts. Instead, attention shifts to a possible retest of the $93,000 resistance zone, where short positions would only be considered after clear confirmation of rejection.

Looking ahead, a clean reclaim of the $93,377 resistance would signal continuation to the upside and reopen the path toward the monthly highs. However, if no bullish reversal materializes in the near term, Bitcoin may remain range-bound and gradually grind lower through the rest of the week.

Bitcoin At A Crossroads: Two Scenarios In Play Ardi outlined two possible scenarios for Bitcoin’s next major move, both centered around the key $94,000 resistance zone. This level remains the main decision point that will determine whether the market resumes its broader upside trend or rolls over into deeper downside.

Path A suggests a bullish outcome, where price pushes back into the $94,000 resistance, breaks through with strong acceptance, and continues higher toward the $100,000+ region. In this scenario, the recent downside move would be seen as a shakeout rather than a trend reversal, clearing weak hands before continuation.

However, path B points to another potential fakeout into the $94,000 resistance, only to get rejected once again at the top of the range, followed by a breakdown below $90,000 and a liquidity sweep toward the $88,000 area before the next meaningful move develops.

Both scenarios likely involve a retest of the $94,000 zone. The key difference lies in what happens after that test, whether price acceptance confirms strength, or rejection signals another leg lower.

BTC trading at $91,205 on the 1D chart | Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Pngtree, chart from Tradingview.com

XBTO CEO Philippe Bekhazi told CoinDesk in an interview that ETFs, derivatives hedging, and corporate treasuries are compressing BTC swings, while metals absorb the macro stress trade.

Crypto could be in “optimal conditions” for a breakout as Bitcoin whales and sharks accumulated 36,322 Bitcoin over the past nine days while retail dumped, according to analysts from Santiment. 

“Bitcoin’s whales & sharks continue to accumulate,” Santiment said in an X post on Tuesday, after Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 4.55% over 24 hours, trading at $89,110 at the time of publication.

Between Jan. 10 and Jan. 19, Bitcoin wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 Bitcoin (also referred to as “smart money”) accumulated $3.21 billion in Bitcoin.

Retail wallets, described as those holding less than 0.01 BTC, offloaded 132 BTC ($11.66 million) over the same period, according to Santiment.

Bitcoin is up 0.93% over the past 30 days. Source: CoinMarketCap“Optimal conditions for a crypto breakout are when smart money accumulates and retail dumps,” Santiment said. “Geopolitical issues aside, this pattern continues to great a long-term bullish divergence.” 

Bitcoin tumbles on tariff threatsSince Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2024, Bitcoin has experienced volatility whenever the US president has floated new tariffs. 

It happened again on Monday, as Trump discussed imposing tariffs on eight European countries as part of his push to claim Greenland, leading to Bitcoin falling almost 7%.

Last week, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said that “retail has left Bitcoin markets and whales are buying.” 

However, Santiment pointed out on Tuesday that Bitcoin is seeing one of the highest increases in discussion rates on social media among the crypto community, including comparisons to metals like gold and silver, which reached new all-time highs on Monday amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Crypto sentiment down as markets remain BTC-focusedOther crypto indicators suggest that market participants are cautious and still heavily Bitcoin-focused compared to other cryptocurrencies.

Meanwhile, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures overall crypto market sentiment, posted a “fear” score of 32 in its Tuesday update.

The Altcoin Season Index, which is based on the performance of the top 100 altcoins relative to Bitcoin over the past 90 days, reads a “Bitcoin Score” of 29 out of 100.

Crypto analyst Will Clemente said in an X post, “Being objective, it’s tough to be excited about Bitcoin here based on price action.” 

Magazine: Here’s why crypto is moving to Dubai and Abu Dhabi

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Gold’s dramatic rally, rising nearly 70% in a year and marking its strongest performance in almost 50 years, has significantly boosted investor interest across both traditional and digital markets. As geopolitical tensions escalated and concerns over new tariffs resurfaced, demand for safe-haven assets intensified. Among the standout beneficiaries was tokenized gold, a fast-growing segment of the crypto market that combines blockchain technology with physical gold backing.

According to a report by crypto exchange CEX.io, gold-backed cryptocurrencies such as Tether Gold (XAUT) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) experienced explosive growth in 2025. Trading volume for tokenized gold reached an impressive $178 billion for the year, with $126 billion recorded in the final quarter alone. This surge pushed tokenized gold trading activity beyond that of most traditional gold exchange-traded funds, trailing only the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), which manages $165 billion in assets.

The report noted that if tokenized gold were categorized as an ETF, it would already rank as the world’s second-largest by trading volume. However, the market remains highly concentrated, with Tether’s XAUT accounting for roughly 75% of fourth-quarter trading volume. Despite this concentration, overall market capitalization for tokenized gold jumped 177% year over year, surpassing $4.4 billion. While this figure is still small compared to the estimated $32 trillion global gold market, it highlights rapid adoption and growing investor confidence.

Retail investors have played a crucial role in driving this growth. Unlike some tokenized assets limited to accredited investors, tokenized gold allows fractional ownership with no minimum investment. This accessibility has been especially appealing in emerging markets, where traditional gold investment products may be difficult to access.

As gold prices climbed to around $4,750, nearly 10% higher since the beginning of the year, analysts remain bullish. Gracy Chen, CEO of crypto exchange Bitget, believes gold could soon approach the $5,000 mark, citing renewed tariff concerns and continued demand for defensive assets. With blockchain-based gold offering liquidity, transparency, and global access, tokenized gold is increasingly positioning itself as a compelling alternative to traditional gold investments.

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Bitcoin is trying to hold above the $91,000 level as the market searches for support, but demand remains fragile after weeks of volatility. While the recent decline has pressured sentiment, a CryptoQuant report suggests January is still shaping up as a recovery phase rather than a full breakdown. The analysis points to cautious optimism driven by institutional and whale-level accumulation, while retail participation remains hesitant and risk-averse.

According to Binance-related data, Bitcoin’s spot price action and funding rates have started to diverge in early 2026, signaling a spot-driven market environment. This setup is often viewed as constructive because it implies the latest move is being supported more by real spot buying than by excessive leverage in derivatives. In practice, a spot-led trend tends to reduce the risk of sudden liquidation cascades, which have recently amplified downside moves across the crypto market.

Bitcoin Binance Divergence BTC-USDT and Funding Rate | Source: CryptoQuant CryptoQuant notes that spot-driven conditions can also create more durable rallies, since they attract organic inflows and allow price to climb without relying on unstable speculative positioning. Historical comparisons to the 2021 and 2024 cycles show similar divergences between spot strength and muted funding rates often preceded extended upside expansions, ranging from 20% to 50%.

The CryptoQuant report raises a bigger question that many investors are now debating: is the traditional four-year Bitcoin cycle starting to fade? As the market matures, analysts argue that the old post-halving pattern may no longer apply in the same way. Since 2024, spot Bitcoin ETFs and corporate treasuries have been absorbing a growing share of supply, potentially creating steadier demand and reducing the boom-and-bust dynamics that defined prior cycles.

This argument gained traction in 2025. Despite being a post-halving year, Bitcoin failed to deliver the type of parabolic rally seen in previous cycles, while altcoins also struggled to produce a true “altseason.” That divergence has led some analysts to conclude that halvings are becoming less dominant as a driver, especially now that Bitcoin trades as a $2T+ macro asset.

Instead, market direction may be increasingly shaped by global liquidity conditions, including Federal Reserve policy, M2 growth, geopolitical risk, and large-scale institutional flows. Analysts like Raoul Pal have framed this as a shift toward longer liquidity cycles that could last five years or more, reinforcing the idea that the four-year framework may be outdated.

The report also highlights Binance as a critical reference point. Historically favored by whales, Binance remains a major leading indicator for broader crypto market positioning and flows.

Bitcoin Weekly Chart Signals Fragile Recovery Bitcoin is attempting to stabilize after weeks of heavy selling pressure, but the weekly structure still reflects a market fighting to reclaim lost ground. BTC is trading near $91,075 after printing a sharp weekly pullback, reinforcing that volatility remains elevated even as price tries to base. The recent rebound from the sub-$85,000 region shows buyers stepping in aggressively, yet the recovery still looks fragile while broader macro uncertainty keeps risk appetite limited across crypto.

BTC consolidates around key level | Source: BTCUST chart on TradingView From a technical perspective, Bitcoin is hovering around the zone where previous support has flipped into resistance. Price is currently sitting near the rising 100-week moving average (green), which is acting as a key pivot for bulls. Holding above this level would signal that demand is strong enough to absorb supply during dips. However, the 50-week moving average (blue) has rolled over and remains above price, highlighting that the broader trend has not fully reset bullish momentum.

The 200-week moving average (red) continues to trend higher far below current levels, confirming the long-term uptrend remains intact. For now, the market likely needs a clean weekly reclaim above $95,000 to shift sentiment. Until then, this bounce risks being treated as corrective rather than trend-confirming.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

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Trend Research has strengthened its Ethereum position with an additional purchase of 9,939 ETH, valued at $30.85 million, bringing its total holdings to 636,815 ETH, worth approximately $1.98 billion at current prices.

The Hong Kong-based firm transferred the newly acquired 9,939 ETH to Aave V3 and then borrowed $20 million in USDT to purchase more Ethereum, reinforcing its long-term accumulation strategy. Trend Research founder Jack Yi previously stated that the company remains bullish on Ethereum and intends to continue buying until the next bull market arrives.

Meanwhile, BitMine Immersions Technologies announced the purchase of an additional 35,268 ETH over the past week, raising its total holdings to 4,203,036 ETH, valued at $12.73 billion. According to BitMine Chairman Thomas Lee, the company stakes more ETH than any other entity globally, generating $374 million annually from staking. BitMine also holds 192 BTC, worth approximately $17.39 million.

Institutional demand is also evident in U.S.-listed spot Ethereum ETFs, which have accumulated $479.04 million in ETH over the past five days and hold $20.43 billion in Ethereum, representing roughly 5.14% of the cryptocurrency’s market capitalization.

Sources: Arkham Intelligence

Disclaimer: Crypto Economy Flash News relies on verified public and official sources. Its aim is to provide fast, factual updates on relevant events in the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. This information does not constitute financial advice or investment recommendations.