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Ripple says trading and payment activity for its U.S. dollar stablecoin RLUSD is likely to move increasingly toward the XRP Ledger over time, as institutions look for faster and cheaper blockchain rails.

Speaking in a recent interview, Ripple executive Reece Merrick said most RLUSD activity currently sits on Ethereum, but that balance could change as users see the benefits of the XRP Ledger.

RLUSD adoption grows under Middle East regulationRipple said demand for RLUSD accelerated after the company secured regulatory approvals in the Middle East.

Earlier this year, Ripple received approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Market regulator to use RLUSD as a recognized U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin within its licensed zone. Similar approval was also granted by Dubai’s financial regulator.

Ripple said it has now processed more than $90 billion in payments globally and released RLUSD in late 2025 after clients asked for stablecoin-based U.S. dollar payouts. The stablecoin’s market value currently stands at around $1.3 billion.

“These approvals give institutions confidence that they can use stablecoins from this region with regulatory clarity,” he said.

Majority of RLUSD still on Ethereum, for nowRipple said over 70% of global stablecoin activity currently takes place on Ethereum, which is why RLUSD launched on both Ethereum and the XRP Ledger.

At present, roughly 30% to 35% of RLUSD supply sits on the XRP Ledger, with the remainder on Ethereum. Ripple expects that share to grow.

Merrick said users are beginning to shift activity as they recognize that transactions on the XRP Ledger settle in seconds and cost a fraction of a cent.

“Over time we expect a lot of that volume to move over and eventually eclipse what sits on Ethereum,” he said.

Institutions driving XRP Ledger usageRipple said the strongest demand for XRP Ledger-based stablecoin payments is coming from institutions rather than retail traders.

The company recently acquired treasury management firm GTreasury, which works with global businesses moving trillions of dollars between entities. Ripple said interest surged after the deal, with large enterprises exploring RLUSD to manage global funding more efficiently.

Ripple said that businesses can move funds 24 hours a day, including weekends, instead of relying on traditional banking cut-off times.

“That’s where we unlock growth,” he added, pointing to real-time settlement as a major advantage.

XRP Ledger built for payments, Ripple saysRipple reiterated that the XRP Ledger was designed specifically for payments and cross-border value transfer.

Payments on the network typically settle in two to three seconds, making it attractive for banks, companies and institutions moving funds globally.

Ripple said it remains positive that RLUSD growth will strengthen the XRP Ledger ecosystem and increase long-term utility for XRP, as demand shifts toward faster, lower-cost blockchain infrastructure.

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Interactive Brokers has started supporting USDC for funding a brokerage account, which is instantly convertible to USD. Client accounts can be funded 24/7 on Ethereum, Solana, and Base through zerohash. Support for RLUSD and PYUSD will roll out next week, with stablecoins gaining popularity. Interactive Brokers has further bolstered its services related to cryptocurrencies, with the company now allowing its clients to use stablecoins to fund their brokerage accounts, ensuring faster settlements and 24/7 access for account funding. As soon as the stablecoins are received, the transfer will be automatically settled in USD, allowing clients to fund their trading accounts.

Interactive Brokers announced on Thursday that it teamed up with cryptocurrency infrastructure company zerohash in a partnership that aims to enable the funding of stablecoin accounts on the Ethereum, Solana, and Base networks. The new system will enable clients to make their USDC deposits at any hour of the day, and such deposits will be credited in USD when they are received.

This upgrade will improve brokerage funding, especially in cases involving global clients, who often suffer from delays or high fees when transacting via fiat wires.

24/7 funding replaces wire-transfer friction Interactive Brokers positioned stablecoins as a response to a historical bottleneck in access to the global capital markets. In conventional cross-border deposits, funding access is organized through bank processing windows or cut-off times that incur fees charged by third-party institutions.

Stablecoins upset the applecart. With USDC, the transaction settlement happens on-chain, so their customers can transmit their money at any given time with near-instant verification and start trading in minutes, not days.

“Stablecoin funding gives international investors the speed and flexibility necessary to thrive under today’s market conditions,” said CEO Milan Galik. He further added that it gives traders the benefit of being able to transfer their funds as well as trade as soon as possible, thereby lowering transaction costs compared to the usual wire route.

Since Interactive Brokers immediately converts USDC to USD when received, it prevents customers from maintaining balances of stablecoins within the brokerage. This ensures that the funding mechanism remains straightforward and that it is easier to align it with conventional account settlement systems.

More stablecoins incoming next week Interactive Brokers also said it plans to expand beyond USDC shortly. Support for Ripple USD (RLUSD) and PayPal USD (PYUSD) is expected to roll out next week, giving clients more funding options depending on the networks and issuers they prefer.

The brokerage first introduced stablecoin funding for retail investors in December, when it allowed certain account types to deposit USDC. The new expansion broadens the stablecoin rails and strengthens the firm’s infrastructure by adding multi-chain support.

Interactive Brokers has also explored launching its own stablecoin in the past, according to earlier reporting, suggesting long-term interest in tokenized settlement as part of its financial product strategy.

Crypto trading expansion continues Interactive Brokers ventured into cryptocurrency trading in the year 2021 by combining digital assets with its vast platforms. It started by supporting well-known cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Later, it added more cryptocurrencies to the list.

In 2025, the brokerage added other assets such as Solana (SOL) and XRP, reflecting growing client demands for broader exposure. The upgrade to its stablecoin funding now complements those services with better means for clients to get money onto the platform.

Stablecoin growth supports adoption The timing also coincides with the wider trend. Throughout 2025, stablecoins increased sharply as governments, banks, fintech firms, and payment platforms began exploring tokenized dollars for faster settlement and cross-border transfers.

Stablecoin market capitalization surpassed $300 billion in October, driven by strong growth in major issues such as Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC, as well as newer products like Ethena’s yield-bearing USDe. As of Friday, the stablecoin sector sits above $310 billion, according to DeFi data aggregator DeFiLlama.

Now that Interactive Brokers offers stablecoin funding, the brokerage industry keeps chugging along toward these blockchain-based settlement rails, with the indication that more and more, stablecoins act as financial infrastructure, not just crypto-native tooling.

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Binance postponed AIA USDT contract launch, leaving traders uncertain.Market’s historical responses to crypto postponements remain mixed.Increased trading volume suggests investor interest despite the delay. On January 16, 2026, Binance delayed the launch of the AIA USDT perpetual contract, with a new date to be announced.

The postponement highlights uncertainties surrounding DeAgent AI’s contract, affecting traders’ strategic planning amidst a volatile crypto market, with stakeholders awaiting further updates from Binance.

Binance Delays AIA USDT Launch Indefinitely Binance, the world-renowned cryptocurrency exchange, postponed the launch of its AIA USDT perpetual contract due to undisclosed reasons. This unforeseen delay has left the trading community speculating on the underlying causes. No new launch date has been provided, creating a wait-and-see atmosphere among investors.

This postponement follows previous actions in 2025 involving AIA contracts, including a delisting and a temporary suspension.

Responses from the cryptocurrency community and stakeholders have been relatively muted, with no major statements from key figures or officials at Binance. The exchange’s leadership has yet to comment publicly on the postponed launch, maintaining their typically guarded communication strategy.

“We can summarize the findings as follows: There are no identifiable quotes from Binance leadership or DeAgent AI team members pertaining to the status of the AIA USDT perpetual contract.” AIA Token Experiences Price Surge Despite Delay Did you know? Binance’s previous handling of AIA USDT contract delistings typically involves temporary suspensions, providing a precedent for their current postponement without an immediate alternative.

DeAgentAI, identified by the symbol AIA, currently trades at $0.14. It has a market cap of approximately $20.75 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $15.93 million, marking a significant 585.57% increase. Recent price changes include a 39.74% rise over 24 hours, although the token has dropped 84.07% over 90 days, according to CoinMarketCap.

DeAgentAI(AIA), daily chart, screenshot on CoinMarketCap at 15:08 UTC on January 16, 2026. Source: CoinMarketCap Experts from the Coincu research team highlight the lack of regulatory updates directly affecting this postponement. They emphasize that while the market may see short-term volatility, DeAgentAI discusses future AI trends and implications which might affect the crypto landscape. Long-term technological developments in crypto trading are likely to overshadow current delays.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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We had high hopes for the bitcoin price in 2025. It was supposed to be the crescendo of the four-year cycle, the most bullish setup in recent memory. It was the year after the halving, the ETFs had just been approved, a new president was elected, with the promise of the money printer roaring back to life. Everything looked primed for a Q4 blow-off top, and instead of a new life in Monaco, all you got was this lousy article.

What follows is my interpretation of the events of 2025 and my outlook for 2026. I’m not a trader, not an analyst, and like you, I’ve been outperforming professional funds for years, by simply stacking Sats, of course. I’m more of a “fix the money, fix the world” kinda guy, but like everyone else, it’s hard to ignore Bitcoin’s price movements, which I think of as the game of “Snakes and Ladders”.

The bitcoin price as a game of Snakes and Ladders. In the game of Snakes and Ladders, momentum drives us forward, but it can also provide a false sense of confidence. You can be one roll away from victory, only to land on a snake that sends you sliding back ten places. As much as hopium dictates that we pray for the price to go ‘up and to the right’, markets rarely oblige. Switching from the board to the chart, price action is played on a board of global liquidity and market sentiment. When sentiment is low or liquidity dries up, no amount of good news can sustain momentum. We simply crab sideways or find a snake that slides us down into further despair.

On the other hand, when liquidity floods the system, we often find the ladders that shoot us through resistance levels. For most of 2025, we were stuck playing the former, while dreaming of the “ladder”. So let’s take this time to review 2025 from the perspective of hindsight, as foresight proved to be of little benefit.

What Happened To Our 2025 Bull Run? If there is a phrase that defines the Bitcoin market of 2025, it is exactly that: a Year of Snakes and precious few ladders. Interestingly, and unbeknownst to me, 2025 was indeed the year of the snake according to the 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle, starting January 29, 2025, and ending February 16, 2026.

The bitcoin price in 2025, overlayed with the Chinese Year of the Snake. We began the year with the kind of euphoria that usually marks a cycle top. The halving was behind us, and the political stars had aligned perfectly. Google trends showed search queries were soaring. In fact, the year kicked off with a quiet but massive victory before the political fireworks even started: FASB fair value accounting rules took effect on January 1st, finally allowing companies to report bitcoin profits rather than just losses.

Then came the main event. We witnessed the inauguration of a “Bitcoin President.” Gary Gensler departed, leaving behind a legacy that, in hindsight, was perhaps less villainous than we assumed, and Ross Ulbricht walked free within 48 hours. With the new administration came a few allies: Paul Atkins took over the SEC and Mike Selig the CFTC, securing a pro-crypto cabinet.

The financial plumbing was finally completed. The ETFs were fully operational, options trading on IBIT were unleashed, and it quickly became clear that Michael Saylor was not about to let Larry Fink steal his thunder. MicroStrategy went on a $25 billion buying spree, 100x what they bought in 2020, and the corporate treasury list exploded from 60 companies to nearly 200.

By October, the engines were well and truly revving. We hit the All-Time High on October 6th, ready to punch the accelerator for the glorious Q4 end-of-cycle run. Instead, we shifted the gear into reverse and slid all the way down to $80,000.

First, we got our knickers in a twist over the “Knots vs. Core” drama. Then came the Binance incident, where the snake manifested itself as a “technical issue” at precisely the wrong time, and right as Gold broke out. We essentially got rug-pulled by a glitch. The issue of October 10th likely created added sell pressure through forced liquidations, whilst also triggering the 4-year cycle sellers who have been trained to sell Q4 of the 4th year. Few understood the gravity of it at the time, though I tip my hat to Jesse Olson for calling it early.

Then the FUD machine was turned on. First, it targeted MicroStrategy with threats of MSCI exclusion; it didn’t help sentiment that its mNAV has been dropping all year. Then it pivoted back to Bitcoin with the return of the “quantum attack” narrative.

While the headlines swirled, the bitcoin price became stuck in purgatory, range-bound between $84,000 and $95,000 and trapped by options traders, even though the handcuffs had theoretically been taken off IBIT options earlier in the year. Bitcoin was having an Austin Powers moment, while Peter Schiff enjoyed his first day out in the sun since high school. Bless him.

Is The Tide About to Turn? While some fear 2026 will bring the hangover of a post-cycle bear market, I, like countless other optimists believe otherwise. If 2025 was the year of snakes, 2026 is the year we finally climb a few ladders.

The setup is favourable. We have a Bitcoin-ish president, who’s hungry to fire up the printing press, we’ve a developing multipolar world, where the process of game theory should be heating up, there’s a $7 trillion debt wall to be paid, the old guard are positioned, the regulation stranglehold has been loosened, the cowboys (FTX, Terra-Luna, etc.) are gone, gold and silver have both had their runs, and Bitcoin’s supposed to follow next, or so we hope. 

Source: Sminston With

Not to mention, the tax year is done, and new budgets have been allocated to fund managers and businesses alike. FASB fair value accounting is now live, smoothing the runway for corporate balance sheets. Michael Saylor is still buying with the relentless intensity of a man who understands math better than Archimedes. Even the “MSCI FUD” was defeated early, so credit to George and the Bitcoin for Corporations team for that victory.

At the point in time as the price is beginning to climb higher, the bears are finally showing signs of exhaustion, that’s according to James Check and countless others. By far the most significant headwind Bitcoin faced in 2025 was the relentless onslaught of coins sold by long-term holders. That pressure looks to finally be ending. On November 1st, approximately 67% of the Realised Cap was invested above $95k. The last two months have seen a massive supply redistribution occur, with that metric declining to 47%.

Over the last 30 days, around 80% of the coins which have transacted came from higher prices. This is the definition of capitulation. The weak hands who bought the top have flushed out, and new buyers have stepped in with a lower and stronger cost basis.

Incidentally, the Year of the Snake officially ends on February 16, 2026, to be followed by a horse, which as we all know has the ability to outrun any bull. This coincides almost perfectly with the monthly CME Futures expiry on February 27th. The shedding of a snake’s skin happens right before the growth returns. 

Is the 4-Year Cycle Dead? Really, who can truly say they know? What we do know is that the four-year cycle is no longer connected to the halvings or the presidential cycles in the way we once thought, and the halvings are less likely to have an effect going forward, as the new coins distributed are a lower percentage of supply, and the miners are supported by huge funds which can help them weather any potential death spiral.

We have not seen a Pi Cycle top signal, the 200 week moving average has not crossed the prior cycle top, the MVRV score is just 1.3, the Puell multiple is just .99, we’ve not had a considerable drawdown, and we’re still at the bottom of the range of almost every metric imaginable. For those of you who are old enough to remember the KitKat ad from the 90’s, “the 4 year cycle is not dead, it was just takin’ a break.”

As the 4-year cycle is a purely Liquidity Based Cycle, it can be measured by proxy using the ISM Manufacturing PMI, a qualitative index sourced from purchasing managers in the manufacturing industry. I give credit to Raoul Pal for highlighting this metric; he was the first I observed to point out that bitcoin is a “Liquidity” asset rather than a “Halving” asset. Bitcoin, as the highest-beta risk asset in existence, responds to shifts in global risk appetite with greater force and speed than any other asset class. The PMI tracks the business cycle, and it has been in contraction for nearly two years. The current PMI at 47.9 signals ongoing contraction, but ISM projections indicate a 4.4% revenue growth for manufacturing in 2026, crossing 50 in Q2 as Trump’s policies kick in. The bitcoin price should follow. When the ISM PMI is below 50, we’re generally in a bear market, and we’ve been that way for over two years now. The bull markets have historically topped out between 55 and 65. The question remains, when is the business cycle going to see an upturn? TechDev is of the view that it’s happening very soon, as the bullish divergence reversal momentum is decidedly building.

Source: Sminston With

The $9 Trillion Debt Question The US government has to address the $9 trillion debt wall that’s due to mature this year. But the nuance is in how they do it. President Trump has made it clear he intends to build a “Dream Military” for 2027 and is pushing for a budget increase to $1.5 trillion. When you combine that with the $4.1 trillion of debt maturing in 2026 and the standard annual deficit, the US Treasury faces a $9 trillion liquidity gap, and a further $7.4 trillion before 2028. 

Does the US have to print all $9 trillion? No. And through this lens, the recent geopolitical moves make sense. Trump didn’t only capture Maduro for a photo-op; he has likely taken control over 303B barrels of reserves and is enforcing USD oil sales, creating artificial dollar demand and easing the liquidity gap by $2-3T annually. 

Can he cover the gap via a mix of tariffs (that Americans actually pay for!), Petro-Dollar demand, and the inevitable monetization of the rest by the Federal Reserve? I guess he’ll have to. With Jerome Powell expected to leave his chair in May, the path will be cleared to give the printer engines a whir. 

There’s another $5 – $10 tr due globally in 2026, and the same again in 2027. So the fed chair won’t be without company. 

My View: 2026–2027 The four-year cycle OGs may be stepping aside, but the Liquidity Cycle is just gearing up, and Bitcoin, as Raoul Pal has long argued, remains the ultimate liquidity barometer.

Samuel Benner’s famous 19th-century forecasting chart (first published in 1875), maps long-term cycles of panics (“A” years), booms/high prices (“B” years), and depressions/low prices (“C” years). Interestingly, 2026 falls squarely in one of Benner’s “B” years, which is a period of “Good Times, High Prices and the time to sell Stocks and values of all kinds.” The chart places 2026 right alongside previous boom years like 2016, 2007, 1999, and 1989, suggesting we are entering a structurally favorable window for risk assets.

How Long Will The Next Money Printing Last? Prediction: 18–24 months

Why: History shows that once the dam gates open, it takes roughly two years to stabilize and reflate. If the official aggressive printing phase begins in late 2025 (as the liquidity uptick and Benner timeline imply, and as M2 shows), it will likely run strong through mid-2027.

How Much LIquidity Will Be Added? Prediction: ~$9–$10 trillion in the U.S. Treasury debt is maturing in 2026 alone (about one-third of outstanding marketable debt) and a further $5 – $10 tr globally.

Why: As discussed above, the maturity walls for 2026 are nearly double what we faced during the COVID crisis. Yellen extended the pain by leaning on short-term issuance back then, but come hell or high water, that debt has to be paid or refinanced—the money will arrive from somewhere. Because of this, we can expect a new wave of inflation, the 70’s and 80’s have a story to tell about that!

How High Will The Bitcoin Price Go? Prediction: $250,000

Why: During that $5 trillion COVID expansion, BTC rallied roughly 20x from the $3k–$4k lows to $69k. With the potential for double that liquidity entering the system this cycle, the upside is significant even if diminishing returns apply. From our $16k effective low, a conservative 10x to 12x multiple lands us in the $160k to $200k range as a base case. However, models suggest we could push higher. PlanC’s quantile model points toward $300k+ by the end of 2026, and Giovanni Santostasi’s Power Law projects a peak potentially around $210k early on, with room to stretch as high as $600k in outlier scenarios. But hey, I was expecting +$200k last cycle too.

Oh, if the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act moves out of the committee, and if the U.S. Treasury officially starts side-stacking alongside MicroStrategy, all bets are off the table.

When Will The Price Top Out? Prediction: Late 2026 to mid-2027

The Logic: Bitcoin historically tops out 12–18 months after the liquidity expansion enters its “mania” phase. If the ISM Manufacturing PMI crosses back above 50 in early 2026, the perfect storm should unfold throughout 2026, setting up a blow-off top, potentially in the first half of 2027.

Bitcoin is unlikely to go straight up, nothing ever does. We’ll almost certainly encounter a few snakes along the way: sharp corrections, regulatory noise, profit-taking, or some form of shenanigans. But the ladders are built, ready and waiting. The Year of the Snake is coming to an end, just ahead of the February 27 CME futures expiry, our potential ignition point, right before the anticipated PMI uptick in Q2.

2025 was a year of snakes and sideways pain, with long-term holders finally capitulated and weak hands flushed out. Now, with a wall of liquidity heading our way, 2026 looks like the ladder we’ve been waiting for. The horse year is coming, so stack and secure accordingly.

Good luck. 

Bitcoin Faces Possible Collapse in 7 to 11 Years, Warns Cyber Capital FounderJustin Bons predicts Bitcoin could collapse within 7 to 11 years due to falling security budgets and increased 51% attack risk.Bons warns about potential bank run scenarios where congestion could leave transactions stuck.He believes Bitcoin faces an impossible choice between raising supply or risking vulnerability.Cyber Capital founder and chief investment officer Justin Bons has predicted that Bitcoin (BTC) could collapse within 7 to 11 years.

He pointed to declining security budgets, a rising risk of 51% attacks, and what he calls impossible choices for the network. Bons warns that these fundamental vulnerabilities may erode trust and even lead to chain splits.

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Bitcoin’s Economic Security Model Under Scrutiny Over the years, experts have raised alarms about several risks to Bitcoin, most notably quantum computing, which may undermine current cryptographic standards.

However, in a detailed post, Bons outlined a different category of concern. He argued that Bitcoin’s long-term threat lies in its economic security model.

“BTC will collapse within 7 to 11 years from now! First, the mining industry will fall, as the security budget shrinks. That is when the attacks begin; censorship & double-spends,” he wrote.

At the center of his argument is Bitcoin’s declining security budget. After each halving, miner rewards drop by half, reducing the incentive to secure the network.

The most recent halving was in April 2024, with more scheduled every four years. Bons contended that to maintain its current level of security, Bitcoin would require either sustained exponential price growth or permanently high transaction fees, both of which he considers unrealistic.

Bitcoin’s Declining Security Budget. Source: X/Justin BonsSponsored

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Declining Miner Revenue and Rising Attack RiskAccording to Bons, miner revenue, rather than raw hashrate, is the most meaningful measure of network security. He highlighted that as hardware efficiency improves, hashrate can rise even while the cost of producing hashes falls, making it a misleading indicator of attack resistance.

In his view, declining miner revenue directly lowers the cost of attacking the network. Once the cost of mounting a 51% attack falls below the potential gains from double-spending or disruption, such attacks become economically rational.

“Crypto-economic game theory relies on punishment & reward, carrots & sticks. This is why miner revenue determines the cost of an attack. When it comes to the reward side of the calculation: Double-spending, with 51% attacks targeting exchanges, is a highly realistic attack vector due to the massive potential rewards,” the post read.

Currently, transaction fees account for only a small portion of miner income. As block subsidies approach zero over the coming decades, Bitcoin would need to rely almost entirely on fees to secure the network. However, Bitcoin’s limited block space caps transaction throughput and therefore total fee revenue.

Bons further claimed that sustained high fees are unlikely, as users tend to exit the network during fee spikes, preventing fees from reliably replacing block subsidies over the long term.

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Congestion, Bank-Run Dynamics, and a Potential Death SpiralApart from concerns about the security budget, Bons warned of potential “bank-run” scenarios. According to him,

“Even according to the most conservative estimates, if every current BTC user only did one transaction, the queue would be 1.82 months long!”

He explained that during panic events, the network may be unable to process withdrawals quickly enough, effectively trapping users through congestion and rising fees. This creates conditions similar to a bank run.

Bons also pointed to Bitcoin’s two-week difficulty adjustment mechanism as a compounding risk. In the event of a sharp price decline, unprofitable miners could shut down, slowing block production until the next adjustment.

“As the panic would cause the price to crash, which in turn causes more miners to shut down, which in turn slows the chain down even more, causing even more panic & the price to crash again & even more miners shutting down, etc, etc; ad infinitum…That is known as a vicious cycle in game theory, also referred to as a negative feedback loop or a death spiral,” he remarked.

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He further added that such congestion risks make mass self-custody unsafe during periods of stress, warning that users may be unable to exit the network when demand spikes.

An Unavoidable Dilemma for BitcoinBons concluded that Bitcoin faces a fundamental dilemma. One option would be to increase the total supply beyond the 21 million coin limit to preserve miner incentives and network security. However, he noted this would undermine Bitcoin’s core value proposition and likely lead to a chain split.

The alternative, he said, is to tolerate a steadily weakening security model, increasing exposure to attacks and censorship.

“The most likely outcome is that in 7–11 years from now, both of the options I described & more occur simultaneously,” Bons wrote.

He also tied the issue to the legacy of the block size wars, arguing that governance constraints within Bitcoin Core make meaningful protocol changes politically unlikely until a crisis forces action. By that point, he warns, it may already be too late.

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In a recent episode of Ripple's on-chain economy series, Robert Kiuru, COO of  XRPL Labs and Xaman Wallet, explains the next frontier of the XRP Ledger ecosystem: batch transactions.

In episode 8 of the Onchain Economy series, Kiuru explains how batch transactions will allow multiple actions to be executed together on XRP, allowing wallets and infrastructure providers to bundle services, charge fees and operate sustainably.

The XRPL Labs COO stated that, from his own perspective, batch transactions might unlock the new frontier for the XRP Ledger ecosystem.

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If we want the $XRP Ledger to be sustainable, the focus must shift to building and operating proper businesses on the ledger.

Products used in any market, with proper security and support, teams that survive downturns without disappearing.

In other news, I think I thought 🤣 https://t.co/2thfj2yKcH

— Robert @XamanWallet (@robertkiuru) January 15, 2026 This is because the batch transactions feature is expected to make it easier for developers to build apps that can generate revenue directly on-chain.

Kiuru mentioned the current scenario of a fairly fixed function ledger when it comes to the business side of things, that monetizing a product has been almost impossible. He believes that batch transactions would allow everyone to either take a fee or figure out a different angle to monetize their services.

Batch transactionsThe XRP Ledger enables fast and efficient transactions without the need for complex smart contracts at every step. However, a key limitation exists: multiple transactions cannot be executed atomically. This means that if a complex operation requires several transactions, a failure in one can leave the system in an incomplete or unexpected state.

A batch transaction allows multiple transactions to be packaged together and executed as a single unit.

The batch transactions feature is expected to make it even easier for developers to build apps that can generate revenue directly on-chain.

The amendment will make it much easier to offer paid features, automate flows, build apps that generate revenue and prepare XRP Ledger to support serious financial apps.

Batch Transactions (XLS-56), introduced last year through the rippled v2.5.0 release, is still being voted upon, currently at 67.65% consensus, with 23 validators voting in support and 11 against.

For the amendment to enter activation timer, it must attain a majority, with 80% consensus from validators - that is, with 27 out of 34 voting in support. 

Blockchain-based payments firm Ripple is investing $150 million in LMAX Group as part of a multi-year partnership aimed at pushing its US dollar-backed stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), into institutional trading.

Ripple Pours $150 Million Into LMAX Deal As part of the deal, LMAX Group will integrate RLUSD as a core collateral asset across its global institutional trading infrastructure. According to the Thursday press release, the integration will enable banks, brokers, and buy-side firms to utilize the stablecoin for margin and settlement across spot crypto, perpetual futures, CFDs, and select fiat crosses. 

Therefore, as part of the partnership, Ripple will advance $150 million as financial support for LMAX’s long-term cross-asset expansion strategy. Ripple stated that the financing highlights its strong commitment to boosting the convergence of traditional and digital capital markets.

“This is a strategic partnership,” David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group, said in a statement. “The backing from Ripple supports our long-term plan to create a unified, regulated marketplace that spans FX and crypto.”

Stablecoins As Tools For Institutional Market Access The alliance positions RLUSD as a bridge between traditional market infrastructure and on-chain settlement, as institutions look into stablecoins as an alternative to fiat for collateral mobility and 24/7 access. 

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According to the announcement, the RLUSD token will also be available via LMAX Custody using segregated wallets and via LMAX Kiosk, allowing round-the-clock collateral utility across FX and crypto products. 

Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, Jack McDonald, said institutional clients are increasingly exploring blockchain-based infrastructure to overhaul financial markets. The exec believes the collaboration would boost the use of RLUSD within one of the industry’s largest institutional trading environments, citing LMAX’s regulated exchange infrastructure, with $8.2 trillion in institutional trading volume last year.

The partnership also includes Ripple Prime’s integration with LMAX’s exchange, giving Ripple Prime customers access to deeper institutional liquidity and unified credit infrastructure.

RLUSD, launched in December 2024, currently has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, according to crypto data aggregator CoinGecko. 

TL;DR

KBC will let retail clients trade Bitcoin and Ether in Bolero from Feb. 16, with coins held in the bank’s custody. KBC says it filed a crypto asset service provider notification and is aligning the offer with MiCA, pitching a regulated alternative to separate venues. Belgium made MiCA effective on Jan. 3, 2026, yet ESMA’s register shows no licenses; KBC’s early rollout will test EU debates on passporting and oversight. Belgium’s KBC is bringing crypto into the core banking stack, saying retail clients will soon be able to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether inside Bolero, its self-directed investment platform, with assets held in the bank’s own custody. The rollout is slated for Feb. 16, and KBC markets it as a secure, fully regulated experience it calls a first for Belgium. KBC is betting that mainstream adoption follows when crypto looks, feels, and is serviced like banking. For customers, that means one login, one risk perimeter, familiar controls, and a channel built for everyday investors.

MiCA compliance meets Belgium’s late-start launch window KBC says it has filed a full crypto asset service provider notification and considers the service aligned with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA. Chief innovation officer Erik Luts framed the move as making innovation “concrete and accessible” within a regulated framework. The bank says trading will run on its custodial architecture and will start with Bitcoin and Ether only, keeping scope tight as onboarding scales. It is pitching this inside a regulated environment, not a separate crypto venue. The operating model is compliance-first distribution, designed to convert rule clarity into retail volume.

The timing is notable because Belgium’s national implementation only recently snapped into place. While MiCA entered into full force across the EU in late 2025, Belgium published its implementing law in December 2025 and made MiCA legally effective on Jan. 3, 2026. The law designates the Financial Services and Markets Authority and the National Bank of Belgium as supervisors for crypto asset markets. For a bank, that translates into governance checklists, custody controls, and disclosures that must map to the new regime. This sequencing matters, because product launches depend on who supervises what, and when.

There is a gap between rulebooks and visible licensing: no MiCA licenses have yet appeared in the register maintained by ESMA. KBC first announced plans to add BTC and ETH trading via Bolero in July 2025, pending regulatory approval expected by year-end, and it has not said which authority it coordinated with ahead of launch. It now positions itself as an early adopter. In an EU debate over passporting and centralized oversight, KBC’s launch will pressure-test how MiCA works in day-to-day banking. France has pushed for stronger ESMA supervision, while Malta has warned about overcentralization.

The apparent shutdown follows years of scrutiny over one of crypto's largest fraud marketplaces.

Bitcoin remained steady around the $95,000 mark as Asian equities experienced a lift, driven by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence advancements. The rise in stock markets follows robust earnings reports from semiconductor companies and the signing of a trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is often seen as a barometer for investor sentiment in the digital asset space. Its stability at this price level is noteworthy amidst evolving economic contexts and technological developments. This stability in Bitcoin’s price comes at a time when market participants are closely watching for any shifts that could influence cryptocurrency valuations.

Asian stock markets responded positively to developments in the technology sector, particularly with strong earnings announced by key chip manufacturers. These companies have benefited from increasing demand for semiconductors, which are critical components in the development and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies. The enthusiasm around AI has not only driven stock prices up but has also heightened interest in related sectors.

The recent trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan is another factor contributing to market gains. This deal is expected to bolster economic ties and facilitate smoother trade relations between the two regions. For investors, such agreements often signal a reduction in geopolitical tensions and an increase in economic collaboration, which can lead to more stable markets.

Bitcoin’s steadiness is observed as market participants weigh the impact of regulatory developments and broader economic conditions. The cryptocurrency market has been subject to increased scrutiny from regulators globally, focusing on factors such as custody solutions, market integrity, and investor protection. These elements are crucial as the market matures and more institutional investors consider entering the space.

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) linked to Bitcoin are a topic of significant interest as issuers continue to file for approvals. These financial products offer a regulated way for investors to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies without directly holding them. The approval process for such ETFs typically involves rigorous review by regulators, with emphasis on ensuring market integrity and investor protection.

As the largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is closely watched by both retail and institutional investors. Its performance often influences the wider cryptocurrency market, which includes other significant digital assets like Ethereum and Solana. Solana, known for its smart contract capabilities, is often compared to Ethereum due to its application potential in decentralized finance (DeFi) and other blockchain-based solutions.

Market risks associated with cryptocurrencies remain a consideration for investors. These include volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and operational risks inherent in digital asset trading. Additionally, tracking error and fees are important aspects for those investing in crypto-related financial products like ETFs.

In the competitive landscape, multiple financial institutions have shown interest in launching similar cryptocurrency-linked products. This competition can influence timelines and lead to amendments in filings as issuers aim to meet regulatory expectations. Such dynamics mean that investors often face uncertainty regarding the approval and launch dates of new crypto products.

Going forward, stakeholders in the cryptocurrency and financial markets are likely to monitor further regulatory developments, economic data releases, and technological advancements. Review periods for regulatory approvals, including potential amendments and requests for public comment, remain critical focus areas. These factors will likely shape the next steps in cryptocurrency market evolution.

In summary, Bitcoin’s maintained price level amid rising Asian stocks reflects broader market sentiment influenced by technological advancements and geopolitical developments. The coming months are expected to bring further clarity on regulatory fronts and potential shifts in investor behavior as new products and technologies continue to emerge.

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Samson Mow, a vocal Bitcoin proponent and CEO of JAN3, who is focused on Bitcoin nation-state adoption, has once again drawn the community’s attention to unique BTC features that make it the most decentralized digital currency on the market. Mow is known as one of the believers that BTC is definitely going to surge to $1 million in the near future.

Today, he took to his X account to remind the audience about the thing that makes Bitcoin what it is and drives Wall Street to chase it — the programmed scarcity of this cryptocurrency.

Mow issues important messageSamson Mow reminded the crypto community that there can only exist 21 million Bitcoin. In his tweet, he predicted that this feature of BTC will play a crucial role in the near future and have a huge impact on the world of finance: “The world is about to learn the meaning of absolute scarcity.”

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The world is about to learn the meaning of absolute scarcity.

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) January 16, 2026 It is worth noting that more than 19 million coins have already been mined. Besides, the Bitcoin mining mechanism includes so-called halvings, created to make BTC deflationary. Every four years, miners’ rewards get cut by half, thus less BTC gets injected into circulation every four years.

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JAN3 boss reveals when Bitcoin may surge to $1 millionEarlier this week, Samson Mow shared the time period when he expects Bitcoin to definitely skyrocket to $1 million, and perhaps even higher. This time frame is 2031-2033. He reckons that it will be possible since Bitcoin is likely to add roughly $150,000 to its price every year before then.

During some of those years, he expects Bitcoin to print Omega candles, while in some years, Bitcoin may trade sideways, letting investors stock up on it.

What's more, Mow believes that if either option hits strong enough, Bitcoin may reach $1 million sooner than 2031.

At press time, Bitcoin is changing hands at $95,250. Over the past three days, the world’s bellwether cryptocurrency has demonstrated a decline of roughly 2.75%, as it rolled down from a local peak of $97,950 — the highest price level seen by BTC over the past couple of months.

Currently, Bitcoin is largely reacting to geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and other countries, including trade tariffs imposed by the U.S. on them.

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The XRP price is pulling significant attention on low timeframes, but not for the reason many investors might expect. While exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to the token continue to attract steady inflows, the price of XRP has moved in the opposite direction.

Over the past 24 hours, the asset slipped toward the $2.07 level, extending a short-term pullback that has puzzled traders watching strong institutional demand in the background.

This divergence between ETF activity and price performance reflects a mix of broader market weakness, technical resistance, and profit-taking after XRP’s earlier rally from the $1.80 area. Rather than reacting to negative headlines, the token’s recent decline appears driven by short-term trading dynamics.

XRP's price records some losses after an uptick on the daily chart. Source: XRPUSD on Tradingview ETF Inflows Remain Strong, But XRP Price Lags XRP ETFs have continued to record consistent inflows since their launch. Data shows that these products have accumulated more than $1.26 billion in net inflows, with no recorded outflow days so far. On January 15 alone, XRP ETFs attracted about $17 million, outperforming Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana ETFs.

Institutional interest also appears stable beyond ETFs. Exchange-held XRP balances have fallen below 2 billion tokens, down from over 4 billion in late 2025. This suggests fewer tokens are readily available for selling, a trend often associated with longer-term accumulation.

Despite these supportive factors, XRP’s price has struggled to gain momentum. The token reached $2.39 earlier in January but has since slipped back toward the $2.00–$2.10 range. Over the past week, it is down roughly 3%, even as ETF inflows remain steady.

Key Resistance at $2.13 Caps Upside Short-term technical levels are playing a major role in the XRP price behavior. The $2.13 area has acted as a strong resistance zone, with traders repeatedly selling into rallies near that level.

During the latest session, XRP fell from around $2.15 to $2.07 after being rejected near $2.13 on above-average volume. A brief spike in selling pushed the XRP price to a low near $2.059 before buyers stepped in, leading to a modest rebound.

Market structure shows a series of lower highs and lower lows, a pattern that reflects short-term bearish control. As long as XRP remains below $2.13, rallies are likely to attract selling rather than sustained buying.

Broader Market and Technical Signals Weigh on XRP The wider crypto market has also been under pressure, with the global market cap recently shedding tens of billions of dollars in a single day. In this environment, traders tend to reduce risk, even in assets with strong institutional inflows.

Adding to the cautious tone, some technical indicators have turned less supportive. On the weekly chart, the XRP price has moved below its SuperTrend line, a signal often interpreted as a shift toward bearish conditions. This has contrasted with renewed “super cycle” talk circulating on social media.

While XRP’s long-term outlook may benefit from regulatory progress in Europe and continued ETF demand, short-term price action remains driven by technical resistance and profit-taking. For now, the token appears to be consolidating rather than starting a new upward trend.

Cover image from ChatGPT, XRPUSD chart from Tradingview

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2 mins mins

Key Points:

Strive finalizes acquisition of Semler Scientific, enhancing BTC holdings and leadership.Strive now holds 12,797.9 bitcoins, ranks 11th in global public companies.Leadership shifts include Avik Roy’s appointment as Chief Strategy Officer. Strive, Inc. completed its acquisition of Semler Scientific, becoming the 11th largest Bitcoin holder globally with 12,797.9 BTC, appointing new leadership roles announced today.

The move positions Strive prominently in Bitcoin treasury management, potentially impacting its financial strategy and market standing amid volatile cryptocurrency landscapes.

Strive Inc. Climbs to 11th Largest Bitcoin Holder Strive Inc. (Nasdaq: ASST) completed the all-stock acquisition of Semler Scientific, adding 5,048.1 BTC from Semler to its holdings. The combined entity now ranks 11th among public companies in BTC ownership, marking a significant entry in the crypto finance landscape.

The merger introduces notable leadership changes: Avik Roy, former board member, is appointed Chief Strategy Officer. Former Semler Executive Chairman Eric Semler joins as an independent director, and Joe Burnett assumes the role of Vice President of Bitcoin Strategy at Strive.

“If there were any specific statements or quotes made by the individuals mentioned, it might typically be included in a press release or financial disclosure document.” Bitcoin’s Role in Corporate Treasury Decisions Did you know? With the Semler Scientific acquisition, Strive’s Bitcoin holdings experienced a considerable increase, reflecting a growing trend among public companies to adopt BTC as a key treasury asset.

According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin (BTC) is currently priced at $95,407.12 with a market cap of $1.91 trillion and dominates 59.05% of the market. Recent price fluctuations show a 1.59% decline over 24 hours, though there was a 5.63% increase over the past seven days.

Bitcoin(BTC), daily chart, screenshot on CoinMarketCap at 14:08 UTC on January 16, 2026. Source: CoinMarketCap Coincu’s research team highlights potential financial outcomes reflecting a strengthened position for Strive in the digital asset market. Regulatory responses remain uncertain, with no current institutional policy shifts impacting similar acquisitions. Analysts continue to evaluate market reactions.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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Bitcoin developer, Jameson Lopp, posted a simple observation days after CoinGecko published its 2025 dead coins report.

Ignorant folks claim that Bitcoin isn't scarce because anyone can launch their own cryptocurrency. They fail to recognize that while anyone can copy code, no one can copy a network of users and infrastructure.

The timing crystallized a tension that's shaped crypto since the first Bitcoin fork. Token issuance has always been abundant, as spinning up a new coin takes minutes, not months.

But CoinGecko's latest dataset turned the “anyone can launch” argument into something measurable: 53.2% of tokens tracked on GeckoTerminal between July 2021 and December 2025 are now inactive, representing roughly 13.4 million failures out of 25.2 million listed.

The year 2025 alone accounted for 11.6 million of those deaths, 86.3% of all failures in the dataset.
This wasn't gradual attrition. The fourth quarter of 2025 saw 7.7 million tokens go dark, a pace of roughly 83,700 failures per day. For context, 2024 recorded 1.38 million failures across the entire year.

The acceleration was stark: 2025's death toll ran 8.4 times higher than 2024's, compressing what looked like multi-year churn into twelve months. CoinGecko attributes much of the fourth-quarter spike to the Oct. 10 leverage washout, which wiped out $19 billion in leveraged positions, triggering what the firm describes as a historic drawdown.

Total crypto market cap fell 10.4% year-over-year to roughly $3 trillion, with the fourth quarter alone down 23.7%. Bitcoin declined 6.4% while gold surged 62.6%, a divergence that underscored macro risk-off pressure hitting speculative assets hardest.

Over half of the 25.2 million cryptocurrencies listed on GeckoTerminal since 2021 have failed, with 11.6 million dying in 2025 alone.Scarcity isn't about the codeLopp's framing cuts through a conceptual confusion. Bitcoin's scarcity doesn't rest on the difficulty of writing software, but on the difficulty of coordinating humans around a set of rules they collectively choose not to alter.

Forking Bitcoin's codebase is trivial, while forking the social consensus that gives it credibility as neutral money is not. The dead coins data makes this legible.

Millions of tokens got launched, most piggybacking on low-friction platforms like Pump.fun or launchpad ecosystems that reduced issuance costs to near zero.

GeckoTerminal's tracked project count exploded from 428,383 in 2021 to over 20.2 million by the end of 2025. Yet the survival rate collapsed.

What CoinGecko measures as “dead” is explicitly tied to trading activity: tokens that once recorded at least one trade but no longer see active exchange. This definition narrows the dataset to tokens that crossed a basic threshold of existence, filtering out purely minted tokens that were never traded.

Even with that filter, the failure rate stayed above 50%. The bottleneck wasn't launching, but sustaining liquidity and attention long enough for a token to matter.

This maps directly onto what makes Bitcoin's network scarce.

The asset benefits from a compounding moat: a security budget funded by miners processing over a decade of transactions, a global web of exchanges and custody providers, derivatives markets deep enough to absorb institutional hedging, payment rails integrated into merchant infrastructure, and a developer ecosystem that treats protocol stability as a feature rather than a bug.

Competitors can replicate the code, but they can't replicate the installed base or the credible commitment not to change the rules opportunistically. Network effects scale nonlinearly, a principle formalized in Metcalfe's Law-style models that link network value to the square of active participants.

The implication: top networks capture disproportionate value, and most entrants never achieve escape velocity.

When liquidity meets stressThe 2025 die-off wasn't purely about oversupply.

CoinGecko's annual market recap shows a system under macro pressure. Stablecoins grew 48.9% to top $311 billion in circulation, adding $102.1 billion even as speculative assets bled. Centralized exchange perpetual volumes hit $86.2 trillion, up 47.4%, while decentralized perpetual volumes reached $6.7 trillion, up 346%.

The infrastructure for settlement and leverage kept scaling, but the breadth of tokens participating in that activity narrowed sharply.

This creates a bifurcated picture. Tokens that served settlement functions or captured genuine trading interest survived, while those relying on hype cycles or thin liquidity got crushed when risk appetite pulled back.

October's liquidation event acted as a stress test, revealing which projects had real demand and which existed only as placeholders in speculative portfolios.

The fourth-quarter failure rate suggests that most tokens fell into the latter category: assets launched on the assumption that attention and liquidity would follow, but that failed to build distribution or incentive alignment strong enough to weather a drawdown.

CoinGecko's methodology excludes tokens that never traded and counts only Pump.fun graduates, meaning the actual universe of minted-but-failed tokens is likely larger. The 13.4 million failures represent the subset that reached the point of registering activity before going dormant.

The broader lesson: getting listed is easy, staying relevant is the filter.

Token failures surged from roughly 15,000 to over 83,000 per day following the October 10, 2025 liquidation cascade that triggered mass market stress.What comes nextIf 2025 sets a baseline for token mortality under stress, 2026's trajectory depends on whether issuance patterns shift or whether the same dynamics persist.

Three scenarios map the range.

The first assumes high churn continues. Low-friction launchpads stay dominant, speculative issuance remains cheap, and another liquidity shock produces 8 million to 15 million failures. This path mirrors 2025's structure, with abundant issuance meeting constrained demand, and treats last year's extinction event as a repeatable outcome rather than an anomaly.

The second scenario anticipates consolidation. Market participants demand deeper liquidity and longer track records.

Platforms tighten listing standards, traders concentrate in fewer venues, and failure counts drop to 3 million to 7 million as quality filters take hold. This path assumes that 2025's brutal selection pressure taught the market to price survival risk more accurately, reducing the appetite for tokens without distribution or infrastructure.

The third path combines new issuance with sharper bifurcation. New distribution channels, such as wallet-integrated launches, social trading hooks, and layer-two expansions, drive issuance higher, but only a small subset achieves real network effects.

Failures land in the 6 million to 12 million range, with an even steeper winner-take-most distribution than 2025 produced.

The ranges aren't predictions, but rather plausible bounds given observed quarterly volatility and the 2024 baseline. The 7.7 million failures in last year's fourth quarter represent a stress-quarter ceiling, while 2024's 1.38 million offer a lower bound for non-extreme conditions.

The actual outcome depends on macro conditions, platform incentives, and whether the market internalizes 2025's lesson or repeats it.

Three 2026 scenarios project token failures ranging from 3 million to 15 million, compared to 2025's 11.6 million and 2024's 1.38 million.The network can't be clonedLopp's line about copying code versus copying networks lands harder in light of CoinGecko's data. Bitcoin's scarcity isn't threatened by the existence of millions of alternative tokens; instead, it's reinforced by the failure rate of those alternatives.

Each dead coin represents an attempt to replicate the network effects, credibility, and infrastructure that took Bitcoin over a decade to build. Most couldn't sustain trading for a year.

The 2025 data quantifies something crypto participants understood intuitively: issuance is abundant, but survival is scarce. Macro stress accelerated the sorting, but the underlying dynamic predates October's liquidation cascade.

Tokens that lacked distribution, liquidity depth, or ongoing incentive alignment got filtered out. Meanwhile, the core rails kept scaling, concentrating activity in assets and infrastructure that proved resilient.

Bitcoin's moat isn't its codebase. It's the credible, liquid, infrastructure-rich network that competitors can launch against but can't copy.

The code is free. The network costs everything.

Mentioned in this article

Key NotesPolygon Labs lays off ~30% of staff to accommodate incoming teams from acquisitions.The firm spent >$250M acquiring Coinme (payments) and Sequence (infrastructure).Strategy shifts to Open Money Stack, a regulated, vertically integrated stablecoin platform. Polygon Labs is radically restructuring its operations, slashing approximately 30% of its workforce while simultaneously deploying over $250 million to acquire crypto payments firm Coinme and wallet infrastructure provider Sequence. The move marks a definitive pivot from general-purpose scaling to a vertically integrated, regulated stablecoin payments platform.

POL POL $0.14 24h volatility: 8.1% Market cap: $1.52 B Vol. 24h: $102.61 M is trading at $0.14 (-6.0%) following the disclosure.

Pivot: Open Money Stack In a blog post detailing the acquisitions, CEO Marc Boiron outlined the Open Money Stack strategy. By purchasing Coinme (licensed in 48 US states) and Sequence, Polygon is effectively buying its way into regulated US payment rails and user-friendly wallet infrastructure.

The deal flow:

Coinme: A licensed crypto cash exchange with access to 50,000+ retail locations (e.g., Coinstar kiosks). Boiron called this physical footprint a “Trojan horse” for onboarding. Sequence: Wallet and cross-chain orchestration infrastructure to smooth user friction. The cost: Combined deal value exceeds $250 million. Headcount Shuffle While spending heavily on M&A, the lab is cutting deep internally. Boiron confirmed the 30% reduction in an interview, framing it as a consolidation rather than a contraction. The narrative? Clearing the decks for the incoming teams from the acquisitions.

“Ultimately, we become a regulated payments platform. And our goal here is to offer one fully, vertically integrated stack that can allow anyone to use stablecoins to move money anywhere,” Marc Boiron stated.

This follows a 19% staff cut in early 2024 and the spin-off of Polygon Ventures, continuing a multi-year effort to streamline the sprawling organization.

General Landscape This is a capitulation on the “general purpose L2” narrative. Polygon is effectively conceding that it cannot compete on pure speed or memecoin liquidity against Base and Arbitrum. Instead, they are betting the house on becoming the “Stripe of Web3”.

The Coinme acquisition is the critical differentiator here; while other L2s fight for on-chain natives, Polygon is buying physical distribution and regulatory licenses to capture the remittance and settlement market. Expect near-term sell pressure on POL as the “tech” premium evaporates in favor of a “utility” valuation model.

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

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Julia Sakovich on X

Dogecoin forms a bull flag pattern on the weekly chart with analysts targeting $0.195. Key levels at $0.154 and $0.157 could trigger the next rally phase.

Newton Gitonga2 min read

16 January 2026, 12:30 PM

Edited 16 January 2026, 12:30 PM

Dogecoin has caught the attention of market analysts as technical patterns suggest a potential rally toward the $0.195 price level. The leading meme coin currently trades at $0.1380, down 3.85% in the last 24 hours.

DOGE’s price action over the past 24 hours (Source: CoinCodex)

Trader Tardigrade identified a bull flag formation on the weekly chart, indicating possible upward momentum. This pattern typically signals continuation of a bullish trend following a period of consolidation. A move to $0.195 would position Dogecoin just below the psychologically significant $0.2 threshold. Breaking through this barrier could establish new local highs for the cryptocurrency.

Source: X

Critical Levels Define Next MoveCrypto analyst Crypto Tony highlighted $0.154 as the crucial level that could trigger the next rally phase. His technical analysis indicates that reclaiming this price point would likely propel Dogecoin above $0.16. The analysis suggests this level acts as a gateway for further gains.

Source: X

Kevin Capital pointed to another important technical development. The analyst noted that Dogecoin has successfully retested its key four-hour moving averages after breaking out above them. This behavior mirrors patterns seen in Bitcoin and several altcoins attempting to conclude their corrective phases. A break above $0.157 would confirm a new local high and provide stronger evidence that the correction has ended.

Source: X

The technical picture shows multiple analysts converging on similar price targets. This confluence of opinion stems from various chart patterns and indicators pointing in the same direction. 

ETF Flows Could Drive MomentumDogecoin exchange-traded funds represent a potential catalyst for price appreciation. Data from SoSoValue revealed zero net flows into these products on January 14, despite the price rebound. However, historical patterns suggest this situation could shift rapidly.

The same ETFs experienced significant demand earlier in January when Dogecoin rallied to $0.15. During that period, the meme coin ranked among the top performers in the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Renewed institutional interest through these investment vehicles could provide additional buying pressure.

The relationship between ETF inflows and price action remains important. Institutional money flowing through regulated products often signals broader market confidence. Any resumption of positive flows could support the technical breakout scenarios outlined by analysts.

Bitcoinsensus offered a more ambitious long-term projection. The analyst suggested Dogecoin could reach $4.5 if the cryptocurrency repeats its macro cycle pattern from previous bull markets. This forecast relies on historical price behavior during similar market phases.

Source: X

The current cycle has seen Dogecoin maintain relatively stable prices while moving sideways. This consolidation differs from the explosive rallies witnessed in past cycles. Whether this pattern will shift to match historical precedents remains uncertain. The analyst acknowledged that replicating previous performance is not guaranteed.

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Fri, 16/01/2026 - 12:31

XRP Ledger returned only 562 million XRP in payments volume in the last 24 hours, which is certainly not matching up with ETF flows.

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Right now XRP is sending out a variety of signals that do not all line up neatly. The network appears to be alive on the surface, as evidenced by the XRP Ledger's continuously increasing payment volume, which indicates that transactional activity is sustained in terms of sheer volume.

On-chain anomalyHowever, the picture changes when you consider the real value being transferred. With only about 562 million XRP transferred in the last 24 hours, payment volume has drastically decreased. This is a low amount compared to what the network has demonstrated during earlier stages of expansion. The primary anomaly is that divergence. 

XRP/USDT Chart by TradingViewEach payment is worth less when there are more. Rather than large-scale capital flows, this typically indicates fragmentation of activity: smaller transactions, internal shuffling or utility-driven micro-movements. To put it another way, big players on the chain are not using the network in a way that shows strong conviction or aggressive positioning.

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Why does it look "weird?"This is made even more bizarre by the consistent inflows into XRP ETFs. Institutional exposure has not stopped — at least not on paper. The fact that capital is still investing in XRP-related products indicates that fund and structured vehicle demand is still high. Custody abstraction is one reason why this does not result in increased on-chain volume. 

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XRP can remain in custodial structures without coming into contact with the ledger, so ETF inflows do not always need instant on-chain settlement. Timing is another factor. While on-chain activity indicates more cautious retail or payment-layer usage, institutions may be positioning passively. This hesitancy is reflected in the price chart. The 100 EMA continues to act as persistent resistance, trapping XRP below important moving averages. 

Recent rebounds have lacked follow-through volume, and attempts to push higher have been swiftly rejected. The price is structurally grinding sideways to down in a wider corrective channel, which is consistent with the notion of weak conviction. Panic is absent, but there is also no momentum.

As a result, XRP is now neutral but brittle. While declining payment volume indicates that significant capital is on the sidelines, increasing payment counts indicate that the network is neither dying nor stagnating. The tell is that volume should increase first if ETF inflows eventually force a spot-driven repricing.

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Investment bank Jefferies’ longtime “Greed & Fear” strategist Christopher Wood has reportedly dropped Bitcoin entirely from his flagship model portfolio, citing mounting concerns that advances in quantum computing could undermine the cryptocurrency’s long-term security.

According to a report by Bloomberg, in the latest edition of his Greed & Fear newsletter, Wood said the 10% Bitcoin (BTC) allocation he first added in late 2020 has been replaced by a split position in physical gold and gold mining stocks.

He argued that quantum breakthroughs would weaken Bitcoin’s claim to be a dependable store of value for pension‑style investors.

​Wood added that concern over quantum risk is rising among long-term, institutional investors, warning that some capital allocators now question Bitcoin’s store of value case if quantum timelines compress. 

He said he feared that “cryptographically relevant” machines arriving sooner than expected could let attackers derive private keys from exposed public keys, weakening the cryptography underpinning Bitcoin balances and mining rewards and, in the extreme, challenging its role as “digital gold” for pension‑style portfolios.

​Quantum risk enters mainstream portfoliosThe quantum issue has been discussed for years among developers and commentators, but Wood’s move shows how it’s now influencing mainstream asset allocation decisions at major brokerage and research houses. 

Castle Island Ventures partner and Bitcoin advocate Nic Carter has discussed the quantum issue at length, warning in December that “capital is concerned and looking for a solution” on quantum risk, even though many developers, such as Blockstream CEO Adam Back, remain skeptical that it is a near‑term problem.

Investors are concerned about quantum computing. Source: Nic CarterMacro analyst Luke Gromen has also turned cautious on Bitcoin in recent months, citing macro and technological uncertainties, including quantum computing risk, as reasons to favor increasing gold exposure versus BTC on a multi‑cycle view. 

Studies from firms such as EY and PwC similarly flag quantum computing as a significant emerging threat to traditional public key cryptography, warning that financial systems, including those supporting digital assets, need to prepare migration paths to quantum-resistant alternatives.

Magazine: Kevin O’Leary says quantum attacking Bitcoin would be a waste of time

Developers say Bitcoin has time to adaptBitcoin developers and core infrastructure builders push back on the idea that quantum progress is an immediate threat. 

Blockstream CEO Adam Back has repeatedly argued that breaking Bitcoin’s current signature schemes is likely 20–40 years away and that the network would have ample time to migrate to post‑quantum signature algorithms and better key management practices well before any real‑world break becomes feasible. 

Other analysts, including an a16z researcher, similarly conclude that the probability of a “cryptographically relevant” quantum computer capable of breaking today’s public key systems emerging this decade is low.

They say that the bigger near‑term risks come from implementation bugs, governance, and “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks on encrypted data rather than immediate attacks on live blockchain signatures.

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The PI price is trading near $0.206, trying to stabilize after a sharp move that followed a clear technical breakdown. On the 4-hour chart, the Pi Network price had been consolidating inside a symmetrical triangle, formed by lower highs and higher lows. This pattern typically signals compression before a larger move. In PI’s case, the structure broke to the downside near the apex, pushing price toward the $0.20–$0.202 area before buyers stepped in with a rebound.

While the bounce looks constructive, PI price action still reads like a post-breakdown retest rather than a confirmed trend reversal. In many setups, the broken trendline acts as overhead resistance. That makes the next few candles critical: PI must reclaim key levels with stronger volume to shift momentum back in favor of bulls.

PI Price Support Levels to WatchThe most important support zone sits at $0.20–$0.19. Bulls need to defend this range to prevent a deeper sell-off. If PI loses $0.19, downside risk increases quickly, with the next likely demand pocket near $0.185–$0.18. As long as the price holds above $0.20, the market can continue to base and attempt a recovery.

PI Resistance Levels and Upside Targets– On the upside, the first major hurdle is $0.208–$0.212. A sustained move above this band—ideally with rising volume—would reduce breakdown risk and improve the short-term outlook. If PI reclaims $0.212, the next upside area to watch is $0.214–$0.216, where prior selling pressure showed up during the earlier consolidation.

RSI and MACD Signal a Fragile Recovery—Momentum remains mixed. RSI is in the mid-40s, which suggests limited bullish strength. MACD is still subdued, indicating the rebound may struggle unless PI breaks resistance cleanly.

The Bottom LinePI price is now at a make-or-break zone, and the next move likely depends on whether buyers can turn this rebound into a reclaim. If PI/USDT holds above $0.20–$0.19 and pushes through $0.208–$0.212, the breakout can shift momentum back to the upside, with $0.214–$0.216 as the next immediate target. However, if the price gets rejected near resistance and slips back below $0.20, the risk of another sell-off increases. A decisive break under $0.19 could open the door toward $0.185–$0.18, where the next demand pocket sits

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Monero trades at $704.85 as of writing after a powerful multi-week rally. The token gained over 64% in the last 30 days and more than 54% in the last seven days. Short-term cooling now follows an explosive move. That pullback does not tell the full story. Structural shifts across privacy, derivatives, and regulation drive this cycle.

Privacy has returned as a macro theme. Investors respond to tighter KYC rules, exchange surveillance, and capital controls, and Monero sits at the center of that trend.

Hyperliquid Perpetual Swaps Reopen Price DiscoveryOn January 15, Hyperliquid launched XMR/USDC perpetual swaps with up to 5x leverage. The rollout came via a permissionless HIP-3 deployment by Felix Protocol. That detail matters. Monero faced repeated delistings from centralized exchanges. Spot access shrank while price discovery suffered.

Perpetuals changed the dynamic. After launch, XMR jumped 6% and volume rose over 13%. Traders could now express views without relying on spot venues. As one Monero contributor noted, price discovery found a way.

Key impacts stand out:

Leverage re-enters the XMR market

Liquidity improves without spot reliance

Traders hedge or speculate despite delistings

This structure mirrors earlier derivatives-driven revivals seen across crypto. Markets adapt faster than regulation.

Privacy Demand Pushes Monero to Record HighsMonero hit an all-time high of $797.54 in January 14th, 2026. The rally aligned with tightening global AML and KYC rules. Dubai banned privacy coins, the EU outlined future restrictions and Capital reacted before enforcement arrived.

Money flowed into assets with default privacy. Monero outperformed Bitcoin and Ethereum during this phase. Zcash governance issues accelerated the rotation, and investors preferred certainty over optional privacy.

Monero’s core advantage remains simple. Every transaction stays private by default. Ring signatures, stealth addresses, and confidential transactions protect users without opt-ins.

Market cap climbed past $13 billion as Monero overtook Zcash as the top privacy coin. That signals more than retail speculation. Institutions now frame privacy as a financial right, not a fringe feature.

Regulation Pressure Versus Market RealityRegulatory risk remains real. Exchange delistings continue as the EU plans stricter controls by 2027. Dubai already enforced bans, and these headlines scare short-term traders.

Yet the market response looks counterintuitive. Restrictions amplify demand outside compliant rails. Atomic swaps reflect that shift. GhostSwap processed over $750 million in BTC/XMR swaps during 2026, with that volume bypassing exchanges entirely.

This tension defines Monero’s outlook. Can regulators suppress liquidity faster than technology reroutes it? So far, technology leads.

FCMP++ Upgrade and Network EvolutionMonero plans the FCMP++ upgrade in 2026. This change replaces ring signatures with full-chain membership proofs. The goal centers on stronger privacy and quantum resistance. History offers context. The CLSAG upgrade in 2020 triggered a 25% price surge. Looking at these Privacy-focused capital tracks, theyoffer real improvements, not promises.

If FCMP++ delivers on schedule, Monero strengthens its moat, and few assets will compete at this privacy level.

Technical Structure and Market BehaviorTechnically, XMR tested a long-term resistance on the monthly chart and broke past it. The market rejected this area twice over eight years. This cycle looks different as momentum remains strong.

But now, one question rules the room. Can the breakout monthly close above the key resistance zone? Overbought conditions may signal a short-term correction, but the overall structure shows bullish strength. That sets the stage for volatility, not trend reversal.

Source: TradingView

Does price action reflect speculation or repricing of privacy itself? Looking at CoinCodex's prediction, XMR is forecasted to rise by 41% and reach $ 995.11 by April 16, 2026. Per the technical indicators, the current sentiment is bullish while the Fear & Greed Index shows 49 (neutral). At the same time, Monero recorded 17/30 (57%) green days with 16.81% price volatility over the last 30 days.

Source: CoinCodex

Monero ($XMR) Price Prediction TableYearMin PriceAvg PriceMax Price2026$650$820$1,0002027$900$1,150$1,5002028$1,200$1,650$2,2002029$1,700$2,400$3,2002030$2,500$3,600$5,0002040$8,000$14,500$25,000Final Thoughts on Monero’s Long-Term OutlookMonero thrives where regulation tightens, and that paradox defines its role. Perpetual swaps restored liquidity, privacy demand drives adoption, and technology evolves faster than oversight.

Risks remain. Mining concentration, leverage spikes, and enforcement shocks could hit the price. Yet Monero continues to function where others fail. Is privacy becoming a geopolitical necessity or a regulatory red line? The answer shapes XMR’s future, and the market looks to have already started voting.

Iranian cryptocurrency users sharply increased Bitcoin withdrawals during the protests, as citizens moved funds off exchanges amid political unrest and economic pressure. Data from Chainalysis shows a broad rise across all withdrawal sizes, signaling a shift toward self custody rather than speculative trading.

The increase accelerated during the protest period leading up to internet blackouts between late December and early January. Compared with the pre protest period, both the value and number of outbound Bitcoin transfers climbed, with the strongest growth seen among small and mid sized users. The pattern points to defensive financial behavior rather than large scale capital flight by a small elite.

The chart highlights that Bitcoin acted as a financial escape valve during moments of uncertainty. Users prioritized control over access, especially as banking services and connectivity risks increased.

Iranian Exchange Users Fly to Safety of BTC During Protests. Source: Chainalysis

Smaller Transfers Drive the SurgeLarge withdrawals under $10,000 posted the sharpest gains. Average daily dollar withdrawals in this category jumped more than 230 percent during the protest window. At the same time, the number of transfers rose by over 260 percent, according to Chainalysis data shown in the chart.

Medium sized withdrawals under $1,000 also expanded rapidly. The average value of these transfers increased more than 220 percent, while the number of transactions climbed over 120 percent. This growth suggests that everyday users, not just high net worth holders, turned to Bitcoin as conditions deteriorated.

Even the smallest withdrawals under $100 increased meaningfully. While the dollar value remains modest, the number of transactions rose nearly 80 percent, reflecting widespread participation and a push toward personal wallets across income levels.

Protests, Currency Pressure Shape BehaviorThe timing aligns with renewed protests and ongoing pressure on the Iranian rial, which has faced repeated devaluation episodes. As trust in traditional financial channels weakened, Bitcoin offered an alternative that allowed users to move value without relying on local banks.

Very large withdrawals, below $100,000, also increased, though at a slower pace than smaller bands. Their average daily value rose about 30 percent, while transaction counts grew more than 50 percent. This indicates broader participation rather than concentrated outflows by a few entities.

Overall, the data shows a clear behavioral shift. During periods of unrest, Iranian crypto users reduced exchange exposure and favored direct control of assets. Bitcoin, in this context, functioned less as a speculative instrument and more as a tool for financial continuity when access and stability came into question.

Protests, currency slide and internet blackout reshape daily life in IranIran entered 2026 with nationwide protests that began in late December after prices surged and the rial fell to record lows on the open market. Demonstrations that started with shop closures and rallies in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar spread to multiple provinces, while officials blamed unrest on outside forces and tightened security in major cities.

At the same time, Iran imposed a near total internet shutdown starting Jan. 8, cutting off many connections to the outside world and limiting reporting and coordination. Press freedom groups and researchers said the blackout strengthened the state’s information chokehold as protests continued, while technical monitors described a nationwide drop in connectivity.

Human rights organizations reported a widening crackdown that included mass arrests and lethal force in several cities, and they warned that the internet shutdown made it harder to document abuses. Amnesty International said it was investigating reports of intensified unlawful force after the shutdown, and it documented killings in multiple provinces in early January.

Christopher Wood, Jefferies' global head of equity strategy, swapped a 10% bitcoin allocation with gold on concern quantum computing could weaken bitcoin's security case.

Belgium’s second-largest bank, KBC Group, will become the first bank in the country to let everyday customers trade Bitcoin and Ethereum. The bank confirmed the move on January 15, 2026, and said trading services will start during the week of February 16, 2026 through its online investment platform, Bolero.

KBC’s announcement marks a milestone for crypto adoption by traditional banks in Belgium. The service will be offered in compliance with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which aims to create consistent rules for digital-asset services across the EU.

Under the plan, clients must complete a risk-knowledge and experience test before they can trade. The platform will operate on an “execution-only” basis, meaning KBC will not provide investment advice. Trades will be conducted inside a closed-loop system on Bolero; investors won’t be able to transfer crypto assets out to external wallets or exchanges.

KBC serves about 4 million users through Bolero, and the bank said it has filed a full Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) notification with Belgian authorities to offer the new services.

The move comes after KBC first proposed offering crypto trading to retail clients in mid-2025, pending regulatory approval. At the time, the bank said it intended to let customers buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether directly through Bolero once permissions were in place.

What This Means for Belgian InvestorsRegulated crypto trading inside a local bank could change how some Belgians invest in digital assets. Until now, most retail investors in the country have used foreign platforms such as Binance, Coinbase, or Revolut to buy and sell crypto.

By integrating crypto services into Bolero, KBC aims to provide a safer and more familiar option for investors who already use the platform for stocks and bonds. The bank has emphasized investor education as part of the rollout, with materials available to help users understand risks like price volatility.

The launch also reflects a broader shift in Europe. Financial institutions in several countries, including Germany, have begun offering regulated crypto trading under MiCA or similar frameworks. KBC’s move places Belgium alongside this trend, though wider adoption by other Belgian banks has yet to be seen.

Overall, the introduction of in-bank crypto trading could expand access to digital assets for retail investors while keeping them within regulated financial environments. 

CoinCodex Prediction Maps Bitcoin in the $74K to $105K BandMeanwhile, CoinCodex projects Bitcoin drifting lower over the next 12 months, with its baseline forecast pointing to $84,737 by Jan. 11, 2027 from a $95,333 starting point. The model’s implied move equals a 11.1% decline, and its dotted projection line spends much of 2026 trending down before flattening near the end of the window.

Bitcoin BTC Price Forecast 2026 2027. Source: CoinCodex

The forecast also sets clear outer bounds for the year ahead. CoinCodex lists a predicted high of $105,000, which signals the model still allows a rebound back toward six figures. However, the projected path does not stay near that level. Instead, it treats any strength as temporary and returns to a softer slope afterward.

On the downside, CoinCodex places a predicted low at $74,425, which defines the risk range if declines deepen. The forecast line leans toward the low-$80,000 area during 2026, then steadies, suggesting the model expects price to spend more time below the current level than above it as the year progresses.

A wallet linked by Arkham to Tom Lee’s Bitmine received about $80 million in Ether, lifting its balance to roughly 24,068 ETH. Meanwhile, Ethereum traded near $3,310 as price tested the $3,350 to $3,400 resistance band on the daily Binance chart.

Tom Lee-linked wallet receives about $80 million in Ether, Arkham data showsA wallet tracked by blockchain analytics firm Arkham and linked to Tom Lee’s Bitmine received roughly $80 million worth of Ether in a single inflow, according to on-chain data visible on Arkham’s platform. The address now holds about 24,068 ETH, with the portfolio value shown near $80.16 million as Ether traded around $3,330 at the time of observation.

Tom Lee Linked ETH Wallet Activity. Source: Arkham Intelligence/X

The Arkham dashboard shows the ETH arrived from a FalconX hot wallet in two transfers recorded roughly two hours apart. The first and largest transfer accounted for nearly the full amount, while a much smaller follow-up transfer appeared shortly after. No immediate outbound transfers were visible, leaving the wallet balance largely intact following the inflow.

This activity marks the first on-chain ETH accumulation tied to Lee-linked entities that Arkham has flagged in about three weeks. Arkham data also indicates the wallet holds only Ether, with no other token balances listed, suggesting a focused allocation rather than a diversified crypto portfolio.

Arkham has previously said Bitmine still has close to $1 billion available for potential Ethereum purchases. While neither Lee nor Bitmine has publicly commented on the latest transfer, the size and structure of the inflow point to continued institutional-scale exposure to Ether rather than short-term trading activity.

Ethereum tests $3,400 reclaim as support holdsMeanwhile, Ethereum traded near $3,310 on the daily ETHUSDT chart as price pushed into the $3,350 to $3,400 resistance band marked on the chart. At the same time, ETH held firm while Bitcoin pulled back, which kept the rebound structure intact. However, sellers still defended the same ceiling that capped earlier rallies, so the market stayed stuck at a decision level.

Ethereum TetherUS Daily Chart. Source: Ted Pillows via X

Ted Pillows (@TedPillows) said ETH is still trying to reclaim $3,350 to $3,400. He added that Ethereum has held up well despite the BTC correction. He also said a break above $3,400 with strong volume could produce a 10% to 15% weekly candle, which would signal momentum returning after weeks of choppy trading.

The chart mapped two clear paths from here. First, ETH can reclaim $3,400, then retest that zone as support, and then target the next resistance block near $3,900. Second, ETH can reject from the $3,350 to $3,400 band and rotate lower, where the chart highlighted the $3,058 support area as the first level to watch. If that floor fails, the next demand zones sit near $2,750 and $2,510, both tied to earlier bases and prior rebounds.

14h05 ▪ 5 min read ▪ by Ifeoluwa O.

Summarize this article with:

Bitcoin is showing signs of renewed strength as its price steadies after an extended period of market weakness. As conditions stabilize, Binance co-founder and former chief executive Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has maintained a highly optimistic long-term outlook, confident that Bitcoin is on course to reach $200,000 and stressing that the only uncertainty is timing. He also noted that an altcoin season is likely to arrive over time.

In brief CZ is confident that Bitcoin will eventually reach $200,000 and stresses that the only question is when this will happen He also mentions that an altcoin season is likely to arrive eventually, though it’s hard to predict when or which tokens will benefit. He emphasizes that meme coins with genuine significance tend to survive, while the majority fade over time. CZ Maintains Firm Conviction on Bitcoin’s Trajectory CZ shared his outlook during a recent ask-me-anything (AMA) session hosted on Binance Square. During the discussion, he emphasized that his view reflects a long-term belief rather than a near-term market call. According to CZ, Bitcoin reaching $200,000 is not a matter of speculation but a conclusion he sees as unavoidable over time. He later reinforced this position on X, where he underlined that the broader direction of Bitcoin’s value remains obvious to him.

This perspective aligns with views expressed by other market analysts. Fundstrat Global Advisors managing partner and head of research Tom Lee has also outlined a scenario in which Bitcoin advances toward the $200,000 to $250,000 range. Speaking during a CNBC interview, Lee explained that such price levels would represent a clear break from Bitcoin’s traditional four-year market cycle, which would normally suggest weaker performance during the current phase.

Lee attributed this shift to structural changes taking place across the financial system, noting that :

Rising institutional involvement is playing a central role in supporting Bitcoin’s recovery. This is complemented by ongoing development of blockchain-based products by major Wall Street firms, which further strengthens market infrastructure. Alongside these developments, increasing support from the U.S. government for the digital asset sector is reinforcing confidence and creating favorable conditions for the cryptocurrency. Market Data Shows Diverging Investor Behavior Alongside these broader views, Bitcoin has posted a short-term recovery, briefly climbing to $97,000 for the first time since mid-November before easing back toward $96,000. On-chain data suggests that this rebound is being shaped by a clear split between large and small holders. Analytics platform Santiment reported that since January 10, wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 Bitcoin have accumulated an additional 32,693 BTC, increasing their combined holdings by 0.24%.

At the same time, wallets holding less than 0.01 Bitcoin have moved in the opposite direction. Over the same period, these smaller holders reduced their exposure by 149 BTC, a 0.30% decline. This pattern indicates steady accumulation by larger investors while retail participation pulls back, a setup often associated with strengthening market conditions.

Whales Accumulate as Retail Sells—Bullish Signal for Bitcoin Bitcoin ETFs Activity and Altcoin Outlook Investor interest is also evident in the ETF market. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded total net inflows of $843.62 million in the latest session, marking the third consecutive day of positive flows following earlier outflows this year. The sustained activity points to renewed confidence among institutional participants.

Bitcoin Spot ETFs See Surge in Daily Inflows While remaining bullish on Bitcoin, CZ offered a more measured view of the broader market. He noted that an altcoin season is likely to emerge over time but emphasized that its timing, duration, and which tokens will benefit remain uncertain. 

Supporting this perspective, data from BlockchainCenter shows the altcoin season index at 37, indicating that the market has not yet entered an altcoin phase. The report also shows that the current streak without a season is 486 days, with 111 days since the last recorded altcoin season.

Extending this perspective, CZ also addressed meme coins, stating that only those with genuine historical or cultural foundations tend to endure, while more than 90% ultimately fade away.

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Ifeoluwa O.

Ifeoluwa specializes in Web3 writing and marketing, with over 5 years of experience creating insightful and strategic content. Beyond this, he trades crypto and is skilled at conducting technical, fundamental, and on-chain analyses.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.