Market Signal Briefing

Ethereum remains in a corrective structure, but the recent price behaviour suggests the market is attempting to stabilize after a prolonged downside phase. Current price action is compressing near key technical levels, making the next directional move increasingly important.

Ethereum Price Analysis: The Daily Chart
On the daily chart, ETH has slightly broken above the broader descending channel that has defined the price action for several months. The recent advance has pushed the asset back toward the upper boundary of this structure, resulting in a local bullish breakout attempt above the short-term channel dynamics. However, this breakout lacks strong momentum or follow-through, raising the risk that it is corrective rather than impulsive.

ETH is now reacting beneath a major supply zone around the $3.5K range, which overlaps with the moving average resistance. This area continues to cap upside attempts and has repeatedly triggered sell pressure. As long as Ethereum remains below this zone, the broader daily structure stays neutral to bearish, with upside moves better classified as retracements rather than trend reversals. Sustained acceptance above this resistance would be required to confirm a structural shift toward a new bullish cycle.

ETH/USDT 4-Hour Chart
On the four-hour chart, Ethereum is consolidating within a narrowing wedge formation. This structure reflects decreasing volatility and a balance between buyers and sellers after the prior impulsive sell-off. The asset is respecting both the rising lower trendline and the descending upper boundary, suggesting that the market is waiting for a catalyst before committing to direction.

This consolidation alone is not sufficient to signal a bullish continuation. A decisive breakout above the wedge at $3.4K, ideally with strong displacement and acceptance, would be needed to confirm renewed bullish momentum. Until that occurs, the current price action should be treated as range-bound and corrective, with the risk of another rejection remaining elevated if resistance continues to hold.

Onchain Analysis
Ethereum’s leverage ratio on Binance has reached an unprecedented high of 0.8, surpassing the previous peak in December. This surge reflects growing trader confidence and increased market fragility.

This indicator measures the extent to which market participants use borrowed capital relative to their collateral. Extreme levels indicate heavily leveraged open positions, which can trigger forced liquidations and amplify volatility.

Ethereum is trading near $3.1K, suggesting upward momentum from liquidity in the futures market. While rising prices and expanding leverage often indicate strong risk appetite, this dynamic is unstable. Elevated leverage can quickly become a source of downside pressure if sentiment shifts or price action stalls.

Historically, record-high leverage ratios have been followed by sharp volatility spikes, either through pullbacks or aggressive price swings to eliminate excess leverage. While the current Estimated Leverage Ratio level isn’t a standalone bearish signal, it serves as a cautionary flag, especially for short-term traders in a crowded and leverage-heavy environment.

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Strategy increases Bitcoin holdings with stock sale proceeds, showcasing commitment to digital asset investment.

Key Takeaways

Strategy reported a $17.4 billion unrealized loss on digital assets in Q4 due to declining Bitcoin prices.
As of the end of 2025, the company had a cumulative unrealized loss of $5.4 billion for the year.

Strategy, the enterprise software company and largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, reported a $17.4 billion unrealized loss on digital assets for the fourth quarter of 2025 as Bitcoin prices declined during the period.

Bitcoin closed 2025 lower than where it began, falling by around 6% for the year. The asset hit an all-time high of about $126,000 in October but weakened in the fourth quarter, ending the year near $87,000.

Bitcoin was trading at $92,575 at the time of reporting, up about 6% in the last seven days, per CoinGecko. The resurgence came amid escalating tensions between the US and Venezuela.

For the full year ending December 31, 2025, Strategy recorded a $5.4 billion unrealized loss on digital assets with an associated $1.5 billion deferred tax benefit.

The company said it bought 1,286 Bitcoin between December 29, 2025, and January 4, 2026, bringing total holdings to 673,783 BTC, worth about $62 billion at current market prices.

Strategy also maintains a $2.2 billion US dollar reserve to support preferred stock dividends and interest payments on outstanding debt, noting that the reserve remains subject to management’s discretion.

Disclaimer

Bitcoin traders have kick-started 2026 with more options bets that might push the asset above six digits. On-chain data revealed that since at least January 2, there has been a surge in investor interest in the $100,000 level expiry call option listed on Deribit. 

Data from the world’s largest crypto options exchange by volume and open interest suggests that the call option will give the purchaser the right to purchase the digital asset at a predetermined price in the future. The $100,000 call option on the exchange signals that traders are betting that BTC’s price will rally above that level on or before the expiry of the contract. 

Altcoins surge in price in tandem with BTC
According to data from Amberdata, open contracts in that particular option have surged by 420 BTC in the past 24 hours. At current BTC price levels, the open contracts in the $100,000 level equate to an open interest increase of $38.08 million. 

Those open contracts are also the most among all January calls across all expiries on Deribit. Deribit Metrics revealed that the option had recently attained a notional open interest of $1.45 billion. The firm also noted that the January expiry accounted for $828 million.

“Flow remains dominated by rolls, with a notable uptick in interest around the 30 Jan 100K calls.”

-Jasper De Maere, Desk Strategist at Wintermute.

The open contracts align with the current bullish sentiment that dominated most of last year. In 2025, traders purchased call options for $100,000 to $140,000. QCP Capital believes that those bullish option plays could increase if Bitcoin’s price continues to rally and pushes above the $94,000 level.

At the time of publication, Bitcoin is trading at around $93,065, up more than 1.9% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin has also surged nearly 6.2% in the past 7 days and about 4% in the previous 30 days.

QCP Capital stated last week that the post-December expiry positioning has already shifted. The firm noted that Bitcoin perpetual funding on Deribit has increased above 30%, indicating that traders are currently targeting the upside. 

QCP Capital also acknowledged that the shift was evident as spot prices pushed above $90,000, triggering hedging flows into perpetuals and near-dated calls. The firm believes that a sustained move above $94,000 could amplify the current effect.

Other altcoins also gained as markets opened on Monday, driven by a reaction from traders due to the fast-moving political situation in Venezuela. At the time of publication, Ethereum is trading around $3,174, up more than 1.83% in the last 7 days. ETH has also added nearly 1% for the day, but is down 7.61% in the last 12 months.

XRP has remained relatively unchanged in the last 24 hours, trading at around $2.128. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency has gained more than 7.3% over the past 7 days and approximately 1.2% in the last 30 days.

Solana plummeted by around 1.12% on Monday to $135.42. SOL is up more than 3% in the past 7 days.

U.S. intervention in Venezuela impacts crypto prices
The surge in the price of digital assets follows President Donald Trump’s announcement on Saturday to run Venezuela after capturing the country’s President Nicolas Maduro. The White House has offered few details of what the plan to run the country would entail, which has ignited geopolitical tensions.

Trump’s actions have ignited fears globally about the implications of the U.S.’s intervention in Venezuela and its potential impact on oil prices. The President has invited U.S. energy companies to invest billions of dollars in Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and repair the country’s damaged infrastructure.

On Monday, Venezuela’s Supreme Court also appointed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as acting President, granting her full presidential powers in place of ousted Maduro.

Author of the WealthMastery crypto newsletter, Lark Davis, argued that traders were using BTC as a hedge while traditional markets remained closed. He also believes that the U.S’s initiative makes Bitcoin the front-running indicator of sentiment if the fallout is mainly centered on oil.

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Binance Coin has joined the latest altcoin rally, with its price and trading volume teasing more breakout ahead.

Cover image via U.Today

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Binance Coin (BNB) has registered a surprise move in the cryptocurrency market with an over 22% spike in trading volume, leading to a price surge. The asset outpaced the broader crypto market by over 1.11% as the price breached the $901 resistance level within the last 24 hours.

Binance Coin breaks $901 resistance as volume spikes 22%As per CoinMarketCap data, Binance Coin’s price rose by 2.53%, to exchange at $906.60. Notably, BNB soared from a low of $883.78 to breach the $901 resistance level to hit a peak of $907.98. The bullish rebound has sparked excitement in the Binance Coin community as engagement has increased.

This has triggered a 22.97% spike in trading volume as it hit $2.02 billion within the 24-hour time frame.

The breakout move above $901 paves the way for Binance Coin to retest the $926 price level. However, BNB faces a tough challenge ahead as its Relative Strength Index (RSI) has hit 74.35, signaling overbought conditions.

Although trading activity is currently up and engagement is positive, Binance Coin stands the risk of slipping from its bullish trajectory. If the coin drops below $891.62, the breakout move could become invalidated, and the price could crash again.

It is worth noting that Binance Coin has not been able to breach $925 in the last 30 days as it continues to face volatility challenges. The broader crypto market fluctuation has also impacted BNB and held it down between the $821 and $875 price range for the greater part of the last month.

Market participants remain optimistic that Binance Coin might sustain the current breakout and continue on this bullish trajectory.

The asset is currently 33.76% away from its all-time high (ATH) of $1,370.55, which indicates that BNB needs to increase by almost $400 before it can reclaim October 2025 levels.

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Can Binance Coin challenge XRP's ranking?Although Binance Coin’s Bollinger Bands had signaled BNB could reclaim $1,000 in November 2025, broader market volatility prevented an immediate upsurge. At the time, BNB changed hands at $914. The coin is again surging toward this price range, and that might position it for a huge rally.

If BNB breaks out and rebounds to $1,000, it is likely to flip XRP in terms of its ranking in market capitalization. XRP has remained resilient despite its own bearish outlook in recent times. However, it has refused to give up the fourth position to BNB.

The current breakout move of Binance Coin might linger if traders sustain the engagement and if selling pressure stays down.

Related articles

Prior to the US market opening this week, Bitcoin is trading around the low $90,000s again after the unprecedented weekend macro activity. You can feel the familiar shift in the room: less celebration, more checking phones, more chart screenshots.

More people are asking the same question in different ways: “Are we about to dip?”

Right now, the loudest answer on Crypto Twitter is two yellow rectangles.

They’re the open CME gaps, one around $91,000 to $90,000 and the other around $88,000. They’ve turned into a kind of group anxiety, a shared map of where price “has to go” next.

Bitcoin's CME gaps (Source: AshCrypto)If you’re newer to this, the idea can sound almost supernatural. Like the market left something unfinished, and now it must return to complete the story.

The reality is simpler, and the impact is bigger than the rectangles.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is a major regulated venue where institutions trade Bitcoin futures. The contract itself is large: each standard CME Bitcoin futures contract represents 5 Bitcoin.

That market doesn’t trade the same way spot exchanges do. It pauses over the weekend and follows a structured schedule, while Bitcoin spot never sleeps.

When Bitcoin moves while CME is closed, the next CME session can open far away from the prior close. That “gap” is simply the space between those two prints.

So when people say “CME gaps usually get filled,” they’re really describing a pattern. Liquidity often returns to the same area once the biggest regulated pool of futures trading comes back online.

It isn’t only about a market mechanic. It’s also about how attention turns into behavior, and how enough traders staring at the same level can turn it into a place where orders collect, stops sit, and fear gets priced.

Why these gaps feel like magnetsThe gap zone around $91,000 to $90,000 is close enough to matter in everyday trading terms.

A move like that is the kind of pullback people don’t describe as a crash. It’s the sort of dip that can happen during a normal week without changing the bigger picture.

Bitcoin sits around $92,458 at the time of writing, so the upper gap sits within striking distance.

The second gap, around $88,000, is different emotionally.

That level tends to flip the narrative because it feels like a larger giveback. It can push more people into defensive mode, especially anyone who chased the move late or is using leverage and watching liquidation prices creep closer.

The CME angle matters because it offers a window into institutional participation that isn’t just vibes.

In CME’s own daily bulletin for crypto products, total open interest for BTC futures on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, is listed as 20,981, with a daily change of +562. The same bulletin shows Globex volume for BTC futures at 12,536 for that session.

That’s the part people miss when they treat CME gaps like folklore.

This is a market where real size trades, and those positions get marked, hedged, and adjusted when liquidity is deepest. When price snaps away over a weekend, the reopening can pull action back toward the zone where futures traders last did business.

It doesn’t guarantee a fill. It does help explain why the level attracts attention from traders who care about structure.

Volatility is the key, and it’s telling you the “gap tag” odds are highA useful way to talk about these gaps without turning it into prophecy is to frame it through volatility. Volatility tells you what the market thinks is plausible over the next month.

CF Benchmarks publishes the CF Bitcoin Volatility Real Time Index, BVX, described as a forward-looking 30-day implied volatility measure based on CME-regulated Bitcoin and micro Bitcoin options.

It’s also part of CME Group’s own announcement about launching CME CF Bitcoin volatility indices, which framed them as a way to read implied volatility embedded in regulated options markets.

On the BVX page, the displayed volatility surface snapshot around Dec. 31 shows values in roughly the low 0.40s up to around 0.58 in parts of the surface.

That implies roughly 40–58% annualized implied volatility in that snapshot.

Translated into plain English: the market is pricing plenty of movement over the next month. That makes near-term tags of nearby levels feel normal, even if the bigger trend stays intact.

There was a jump in implied volatility during late November, with 30-day implied volatility rising from 41% to 49% while bearish positioning built in options markets.

So when someone tells you “don’t panic, a pullback is normal,” there’s data behind that sentiment. The options market is effectively saying swings are expected.

Flows are the other half of the story, and they’ve been choppySpot Bitcoin ETFs changed how dips feel because they added a visible, daily scoreboard of institutional demand.

When inflows are strong, the market treats pullbacks like shopping opportunities. When flows turn negative, even briefly, traders get jumpier because there’s a new narrative: “Who is selling, and why?”

Farside Investors tracks daily net flows for US spot Bitcoin ETFs. Its table shows a mixed run into early January, including outflow days like Dec. 19 and Dec. 26, then a rebound in early January. See Farside.

The point isn’t any single day. It’s the rhythm.

Choppy flows often line up with choppy price action. That’s when technical levels like gaps become more influential because there’s less conviction to simply grind higher without looking back.

The three paths from here, and what each one means for cryptoHere’s the part that matters for Bitcoin holders and the wider crypto market: the gaps are less about destiny and more about where the next fight could happen.

Path one, a quick dip into $91,000 to $90,000, then stabilization.This is the “normal week” outcome.

Price taps the gap zone, leverage gets cleared, spot buyers step in, and volatility cools. In this scenario, the gap works like a reset button for sentiment.

For the rest of crypto, this tends to be manageable. Altcoins wobble, then follow Bitcoin back up, and the market moves on.

Path two, the $90,000 area breaks cleanly, and the market starts staring at $88,000.This is where the impact spreads.

A deeper move tends to pressure high-beta assets harder. It makes meme coins and thin-liquidity alts feel brittle, forces de-risk decisions, and can drain confidence fast.

The CME bulletin data is a reminder of how much positioning exists in the regulated futures complex. When price moves hard, hedging flows can amplify the move.

If price heads toward the lower gap, it becomes a stress test for whether buyers still treat dips as opportunities.

Path three, no fill, Bitcoin holds above the gap and keeps pushing.This can happen in strong trend regimes, especially when the broader macro backdrop supports risk.

A lot of people treat “gap fill” as an iron rule, and markets love embarrassing iron rules.

Bitcoin’s increasing sensitivity to macro conditions is real, especially as it trades more like a risk asset during shifts in global sentiment.

When macro tailwinds are strong enough, price can keep climbing and leave technical targets behind for a long time.

Why this matters even if you never trade futuresThe human-interest angle is that CME gaps have become a shared language between retail and institutions.

Retail traders see them as targets. Institutions see the underlying reality: this is where regulated liquidity last met price, and where risk books may rebalance when the market reopens.

That shared focus can make the level matter more because attention creates clusters of orders.

If you’re holding Bitcoin and trying to make sense of the noise, the practical takeaway is that these two gaps create a map of where the market might try to find liquidity next, and where crypto’s emotional temperature can change quickly.

A dip into the $91,000 to $90,000 zone can feel scary in the moment. It can still be a routine swing inside a volatile asset that is priced by an options market already implying big movement.

A move toward $88,000 is where the narrative tends to shift, and where the rest of crypto usually feels the knock-on effects more sharply.

Either way, the gaps aren’t magic, and the spotlight matters because everyone is looking.

Mentioned in this article

The US government claims that Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro has hoarded billions in oil revenue, gold reserves, and other state assets. According to unverified reports, the leader in US custody may have converted the property to a “shadow reserve” of Bitcoin and Tether.

The largely unverified claims suggest that Caracas may have converted these assets into crypto to evade sanctions and scrutiny from the US Treasury. The Maduro regime liquidated approximately 73 tons of gold between 2018 and 2020, valued at roughly $2.7 billion at the time. 

According to intelligence reporting from Whale Hunting, citing anonymous sources, this gold was converted into about 400,000 BTC.

The remaining portion of the alleged Bitcoin reserve is tied to oil revenues collected in late 2025, when Venezuela settled around 80% of its crude exports in USDT. These proceeds were reportedly “washed” into BTC to prevent account freezes and protect against US sanctions.

Does Venezuela secretly have Bitcoin and USDT holdings?
In 2018, Venezuela launched its own native cryptocurrency called the Petro, which Maduro forced down the throat of government and travel agencies, mandating services to be paid exclusively in the token. Even after years of pushing Petro’s adoption, the Venezuelan government finally closed down the project in 2024 and sold all of its reserves. 

Intelligence claims suggest Venezuela may control a massive #Bitcoin “shadow reserve” of up to 600,000 BTC. pic.twitter.com/1vAdC66Qvn

— TFTC (@TFTC21) January 4, 2026

During the “Petro-fied” economy, Caracas reportedly used Tether as a proxy to keep up oil sales while avoiding sanctions, then converted much of it back into Bitcoin. The uncorroborated estimates of the regime’s total cryptocurrency holdings are between 600,000 to 660,000 BTC, worth between $56 billion and $67 billion at current prices. 

A breakdown of the speculated assets includes gold swaps from 2018–2020 valued at $45 billion to $50 billion, oil settlements from 2023–2025 worth $10 billion to $15 billion, and mining seizures between 2023 and 2024 totaling around $500 million.

Alex Saab, the businessman who supposedly led the building of this Bitcoin accumulation network, has been deemed a DEA informant since 2016.

Were Bitcoin reserve rumors started to bring down Bitcoin’s price?
The rumors of Venezuela’s crypto reserves are against the backdrop of Bitcoin’s modest value uptick on Monday. The largest coin by market cap went up by as much as 2.3% to $93,323 over the weekend, its highest level since December 11. 

Some online commentators claim the US government is spreading misinformation of the 600,000 BTC figure to “drive Bitcoin’s price down again.”

“This is bullshit… Maduro tried to negotiate for $40million per the US gov’t…. if they had $60 billion in bitcoin he would have just taken it and gone to Russia…. This reporting makes absolutely no sense,” said crypto user PiercoSci.

The tense relationship between the US and Venezuela began in the late 1990s following the election of Hugo Chávez, a socialist leader whose policies clashed with American interests. An early US-backed attempt to remove Chávez in a 2002 coup deepened the mistrust on both sides.

After Chávez’s death from cancer in 2013, Nicolás Maduro assumed the presidency, which economists argue led to a severe economic decline, mass emigration, and increasing authoritarianism prevalent after a contested 2018 election.

“In Venezuela, the currency has devalued 99.99999% over the last decade! Imagine working a 60-hour week, only for your paycheck to lose its value before you even reach the grocery store. Nobody stops to pick up that worthless money on the street,” claimed one netizen.

The Trump administration had slapped Maduro’s regime with sanctions, military threats, but it finally removed Maduro from office over the weekend. President Trump sought blockades on Venezuelan oil and staged strikes against vessels alleged to be involved in drug trafficking. 

As Cryptopolitan reported, satellite images and local news outlets reported airstrikes on military bases, although cities and densely populated areas were not affected as much. Observers expressed surprise at the operation’s scale, noting that both Maduro and international analysts likely assumed US threats were limited to negotiation tactics or a bluff.

“Everyone is flabbergasted that this has happened. Maduro himself thought this was a bluff or a negotiating tactic to force him from power or trigger a military coup. Instead, it’s come to this, in such a spectacular fashion,” said political commentator Tom Phillips.

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Massive 4.8 Million XRP Moves from Upbit, Showing XRP Ledger’s efficiencyA staggering 4.8 million XRP has just moved out of Upbit, one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, signaling significant activity in the XRP market. 

According to market analyst Xaif Crypto, this transaction underscores both the scale at which institutional and high-net-worth investors are engaging with XRP and the efficiency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) itself.

What makes this transfer even more remarkable is the minuscule cost involved. The entire transaction carried a fee of just 0.01 XRP. At the current market price of $2.13 per XRP, this fee amounts to roughly $0.00213, a virtually negligible cost for moving millions of dollars worth of digital assets. This highlights one of XRP’s most celebrated features: fast, low-cost transactions, even at high volumes.

Source: CoinCodexThe XRP Ledger is designed for rapid settlement, capable of confirming transactions in just 3–5 seconds. For comparison, traditional banking transfers for equivalent sums can take days and incur significantly higher fees. 

Therefore, this speed and cost efficiency make XRP an attractive option for large-scale traders, remittance services, and institutional investors seeking liquidity without the drag of expensive transaction costs.

Movements of this magnitude often draw market attention, as they can indicate strategic positioning by large holders or whales. While the exact buyer or destination wallet is unknown, such a transfer could signal potential accumulation or redistribution strategies in preparation for broader market activity. 

The low fee associated with this transaction also serves as a reminder of XRP Ledger’s unique design. Unlike networks burdened with high gas fees or congestion during peak usage, XRP can move large sums quickly and cheaply. This efficiency reinforces its use case not just as a speculative asset but as a practical financial tool for real-world transactions.

In a market where transaction costs compound at scale, this 4.8 million XRP transfer from Upbit underscores why the XRP Ledger stands apart. Executed at minimal cost, the move highlights XRP’s growing role as a fast, reliable, and highly cost-efficient blockchain for both institutional and retail use.

ConclusionThe 4.8 million XRP transfer from Upbit is more than a large on-chain move—it’s a clear proof of XRP’s utility at scale. 

Moving millions of dollars in seconds for a fee of just $0.00213 underscores why XRP continues to draw interest from whales, institutions, and payment-focused investors. 

As blockchain adoption increasingly favors speed, efficiency, and ultra-low costs, transactions like this spotlight the XRP Ledger’s competitive advantage. Whether reflecting strategic accumulation or broader market positioning, such activity reinforces the narrative that XRP isn’t built for speculation alone, but for enabling high-value financial flows in a global digital economy.

Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin, began the new year with its first purchase of 2026 while reporting a steep fourth-quarter paper loss as Bitcoin prices slid late last year.

Strategy acquired 1,283 Bitcoin (BTC) for $116 million, boosting its holdings to 673,783 worth $62.6 billion purchased at an average cost basis of $75,026 per BTC, according to a Monday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The coins were acquired at an average purchasing price of around $90,000 each using proceeds from the sale of shares of MSTR Stock under the company’s at-the-market (ATM) offering.

The company also increased its US dollar reserve by $62 million to reach $2.25 billion, Strategy co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor said in a Monday X post. The cash reserve is used to support payments on dividends, preferred stock, and to pay interest on outstanding debts.

Strategy filing with the SEC. Source: StrategyWhile the latest purchase is larger than last week’s $108 million buy, it is small compared with some of Strategy’s biggest additions in 2025.

Strategy made its two largest Bitcoin purchases of 2025 on March 31 when it acquired 22,049 BTC for $1.92 billion, followed by a 21,021 BTC for $2.46 billion on July 29, according to data from SaylorTracker.com. 

The latest investment comes two weeks after Strategy added $747.8 million in net proceeds to its cash reserves, obtained from the sale of common stock, Cointelegraph reported on Dec. 22.

Strategy posts $17 billion paper loss for in Q4 2025Concerns over Strategy’s Bitcoin-focused business model persist as the company posted a $17.4 billion unrealized loss on its Bitcoin holdings during the fourth quarter of 2025, as Bitcoin’s price fell by more than 23%, Cointelegraph data shows.

The company also posted a $5 billion associated deferred tax benefit, which represents a potential future reduction in the company’s income tax liabilities, according to the filing.

MSTR stock price, 1-day chart. Source: google.com/financeStrategy’s stock price rose 3.88% in pre-market trading on Monday to surpass $157, but it’s down over 58% in the past year, Google Finance data shows.

Strategy’s advocacy for the world’s first cryptocurrency has inspired several companies to adopt Bitcoin-focused treasury strategies, such as Japanese investment firm Metaplanet, which has grown to become the fourth-largest public Bitcoin holder, with 35,102 Bitcoin worth $3.25 million on its books.

BTC in treasuries. Source: BitconTreasuries.netLed by Strategy, public companies have amassed 1.09 million Bitcoin, or 5.21% of the total supply, according to Bitcointreasuries data.

Magazine: Would Bitcoin survive a 10-year power outage?

In brief
The average size of Bitcoin deposits to Binance has jumped 34x since early 2024, hitting 21.7 BTC, signaling a major return of large-holder activity.
Analysts link the rally to a potential "regime shift" from macro events like the U.S. strikes on Venezuela, but warn it's a recalibration, not an unbounded bull run.
The consensus outlook is for a volatile, range-bound Q1 2026, with over $3B in sidelined stablecoin capital and equity market risks acting as near-term headwinds.
Bitcoin's decisive breakout above $92,000 to start 2026 has been accompanied by a surge in activity from large holders, signaling a shift in market participation even as analysts project a volatile but range-bound quarter ahead.

The top crypto is up 6.3% over the week and 1.7% in the past day, according to CoinGecko data. Roughly $255 million in leveraged positions have been liquidated as a result of Bitcoin’s sustained uptrend, per CoinGlass data, suggesting increased speculative activity.

Bitcoin's rally follows a range-bound December and aligns with a notable change in exchange flow patterns. The average size of Bitcoin deposits to Binance has surged to 21.7 BTC per transaction in December 2025, a 34x increase from the 0.86 BTC average in early January 2024, according to data from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant.

“The sharp increase in average Bitcoin inflows to Binance suggests that larger holders are becoming more active again, which is typically an early signal of renewed speculation rather than retail-driven noise,” Wenny Cai, COO of SynFutures, told Decrypt.

Geopolitical turmoil spurs speculationThis renewed speculation comes amid a significant macro event involving a U.S. military operation that captured Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro. This event has injected a "strategic frame" into the market, according to Singapore-based trading firm QCP Capital’s Monday note.

The analysts highlighted chatter around potential Venezuelan Bitcoin reserves and a resulting disinflationary impulse from lower oil prices as factors aligning crypto with broader risk assets, suggesting a potential "regime shift."

Other analysts urge caution, viewing the geopolitical development as a source of uncertainty.

“Whilst the Venezuela incident does not have a direct impact on crypto prices, it renders the geopolitical situation a little more shaky,” Derek Lim, head of research at crypto market-making firm Caladan, told Decrypt. He warned that ripple effects from the move “may trigger fear events that will impact markets.”

Still, the consensus outlook for early 2026 remains measured, with analysts viewing the current move as a recalibration rather than the start of an unbounded rally, with major catalysts still on the horizon.

“What we’re seeing looks more like a recalibration after weeks of muted positioning, where traders are testing the upside rather than committing aggressively,” Cai said. She expects Bitcoin to “remain range-bound but volatile” in Q1, with direction depending on ETF re-engagement and institutional strategies.

On prediction market Myriad, owned by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, traders place a 77% chance on Bitcoin's next move taking it to $100,000 rather than $69,000.

Lim echoed this range-bound view, noting that key “liquidity catalysts take time to properly play out.” Two factors could limit the rally's momentum, he said: more than $3 billion in stablecoin capital remains on the sidelines, and equities—which are "priced to perfection"—risk a correction that would pressure crypto.

Despite the caution, the re-engagement of large holders after a period of accumulation marks a change in market dynamics. “Long-term Bitcoin holders are becoming net buyers for the first time in months,” Lim noted, suggesting a firmer foundation for prices even within a defined trading range.

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ChatGPT puts the odds at 10-15%, but what do Grok, Perplexity, and Gemini estimate?

Many of the leading cryptocurrencies have posted solid gains over the past several days as the market started the year on the right foot. Pi Network’s PI has also headed north, albeit charting only a minor uptick.

The asset’s investors might be wondering whether a more significant pump is coming in the short term, so we asked four of the most popular AI-powered chatbots if an ascent to $1 is possible throughout the first quarter of 2026.

‘Very Unlikely’
ChatGPT is quite pessimistic that PI, currently trading around $0.21, can skyrocket to $1 in Q1. It noted that the asset needs a triple-digit upward move in a very short time, and that is unlikely to happen without “strong organic demand.”

The chatbot claimed that PI’s liquidity remains weak and that there is no decisive catalyst on the horizon that can trigger such an explosive push. It stated that there is only a 10-15% chance that the price will hit the psychological $1 level before the start of April, whereas the most probable scenario is the $0.30-$0.50 range. Grok, the chatbot integrated within the social media platform X, shared a similar forecast:

“Reaching $1 in Q1 would require a roughly 5x increase from current levels in a very short time, pushing the market cap to over $8 billion. While the crypto markets are volatile, current data and forecasts do not support this.”

Grok named limited real-world utility, low trading volume, and the upcoming token unlocks as the main obstacles to PI’s price making a decisive breakout. It estimated that over 1.2 billion coins are scheduled for release this year: a factor that can result in increased selling pressure.

Data shows that around 131.7 million PI will be freed up in the next 30 days alone. This may sound substantial, but in some of the previous months, the unlocks were far more aggressive.

PI Token Unlocks, Source: piscan.io
PI Needs the Perfect Storm
Perplexity and Google’s Gemini were a bit more optimistic. The former claimed that PI can rise to $1 in Q1 if a leading exchange lists the token and if Pi Network’s team releases a major update focused on advancing the entire ecosystem.

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One such platform can be Binance. Last year, it was rumored that it might embrace PI, and the team even held a community vote to gauge users’ general take on the matter. While over 85% of the participants voted in favor of the asset, it remains unavailable on the exchange.

Gemini also claimed that backing from a giant like Binance can push PI’s price to as high as $1. However, it argued that such a development is more likely to occur later in the year, not throughout the first quarter.

Tags:

Cango produced 569 bitcoin in December amid favorable network difficulty adjustments, raising its total holdings to more than 7,500 BTC.

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Ethereum price remained steady above the $3,100 mark on Monday, trading near $3,174, following a broader crypto market rally. 

The world cryptocurrency market achieved a 1.29% increase in the past 24 hours, which is a continuation of a 6.09% increase in the past week. This growth is an indicator of enhancing the bullishness in digital assets.

Ethereum Outlook Amid Venezuela’s Political Turmoil 
The latest surge coincides with escalating geopolitical developments. A U.S. military operation in Venezuela on January 3 led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. He and his wife should stand in a New York court on charges of drug-related offenses.

 As an answer, the acting President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, demanded the establishment of a respectful and balanced relationship with the United States in the political transition of the country.

Market analysts are keeping a keen eye on the speculation that Venezuela holds a lot of crypto. In case the United States government confiscates and blocks the Bitcoin holdings in the country. There is a high possibility of impacting the supply in the market. 

This initiative can be a bullish Ethereum catalyst, and this trend supports its existing trends.

The investors also await critical economic indicators in the U.S. economy, such as the jobs report and a potential announcement of a Federal Reserve Chair.

The price movement of Ethereum will be vital as institutional interest increases and Latin American events are played out. The fact that it was able to support the level of support during the crisis in Venezuela can become a characteristic of the short-term trends in the crypto market.

Analyst Predicts Ethereum Price Could Surge To $4,000 After Key Breakout
Crypto analyst has spotlighted the detailed Ethereum price analysis approach toward a key resistance range between $3,200 and $3,400. As seen in the chart provided, a successful breakout beyond this zone would trigger the bullish momentum. And ETH would climb to the new heights of the price range of $3,800 to $4,000. 

The analysis is based on historical price action and market structure, where there are obvious levels of resistance and support.

$ETH is now approaching its $3,200-$3,400 resistance zone.

A reclaim of this level will pump Ethereum towards the $3,800-$4,000 level.

A rejection from the resistance zone means ETH could retest the $3,000 support level again. pic.twitter.com/gTIiBhcpCD

— Ted (@TedPillows) January 5, 2026

Conversely, in case Ethereum price is rejected at this resistance band, the price can potentially start to go down again and revisit the price support area of $3,000.

Ethereum Derivatives Market Sees Major Surge in Trading Volume
The Ethereum (ETH) derivatives market has witnessed a sharp uptick in trading activity, signaling renewed investor interest. 

Recent data show that the volume of ETH derivatives trading has increased massively by 52.94% to a total of 51.13 billion.

Merely, there was a slight increase of 0.96 in open interest in ETH derivatives that took the aggregate amount to 42.04 billion.

Source: Coinglass
Open interest is the amount of contracts outstanding in the market. An increasing number shows the ongoing inflow of capital and trust in the near-term price dynamics of Ethereum.

ETH Price Analysis
As of the writing, the ETH price trades near $3,178, showing slight gains during the latest four-hour session. The technical indicators indicate that the RSI has been at and above 70. This indicating that Ethereum is overbought in the short run.

In the meantime, the Chaikin Money Flow is still in positive. This indicates a stable capital flow into the asset. 

Source: ETRH/USD 4-hour chart: Tradingview
Ether price movement indicates that a resistance is being formed towards the $3,300 mark and has been blocking upward movements in the recent past.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Current momentum and capital inflows suggest Ethereum may maintain $3,100, barring major bearish triggers.

Seizure of Venezuela’s crypto could reduce supply, indirectly boosting Ethereum's price.

Ethereum price is up nearly 4% over the past seven days, showing fresh strength after months of pressure. That move stands out because ETH is still down roughly 33% over the past three months, keeping the broader trend firmly bearish until now.

The latest bounce has finally broken that bearish structure. But just as the trend flips, a new risk is starting to surface, one that could decide whether this breakout holds or stalls. Debunking that risk requires a 10% upmove.

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Ethereum Breaks a Bearish Structure, but Momentum Is Not Fully CleanEthereum had been trading inside a descending channel since early October, a structure that reflects a controlled bearish trend where each bounce fails lower than the last. This week, the price finally pushed above the upper trendline, signaling that the bearish structure has been broken.

That breakout did not happen randomly. Between October 10 and December 18, the Ethereum price made a lower low, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) made a higher low. RSI measures momentum. When price falls, but RSI rises, it often signals that selling pressure is weakening. This bullish divergence helped set up the trend reversal.

Ethereum Reverses Trend: TradingViewWant more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.

However, the reversal is not without friction.

Between December 10 and January 5, the Ethereum price is forming a lower high (still incomplete), while the RSI is forming a higher high.

This creates a hidden bearish divergence, which usually points to consolidation or a pullback rather than a full trend failure. If the next candle forms under $3,220, it would confirm the bearish pattern.

Bearish Vibes Surfacing: TradingViewSponsored

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This indicates that Ethereum has reversed the bearish trend, but it has not yet fully demonstrated its strength.

Derivatives Risk Is High, Even as Whales Step InThe biggest short-term pullback risk comes from derivatives positioning.

On the Binance ETH/USDT liquidation map, long liquidation leverage sits near $2.20 billion, while short liquidation leverage is just around $303 million. Long exposure is more than seven times larger than short exposure. When positioning becomes this one-sided, even a small pullback can trigger forced selling.

Liquidation Map: CoinglassSponsored

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The thickest liquidation clusters show that long liquidations begin around $3,150 (current price) and extend down toward $2,850 (visible on the price chart), which has acted as strong support since early December. A sharp move into this zone could trigger a cascade, potentially dragging the Ethereum price lower.

Biggest Long Liquidation Clusters: CoinglassWhales, however, are leaning the other way, showing strength across the spot markets.

Over the recent weekend alone, Ethereum whales increased their holdings from 101.31 million ETH to 101.63 million ETH, adding roughly 320,000 ETH. At the current price, that accumulation is worth about $1.0 billion. This suggests large holders are positioning for upside rather than preparing to exit.

ETH Whales: SantimentStill, whale accumulation does not remove liquidation risk. It only offsets it.

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The 10% Test That Decides The Next Ethereum Price MoveEthereum price levels now matter more than narratives.

Ethereum is currently trading inside the same $3,220 to $2,850 range that has defined price action since early December. As long as ETH remains inside this band, liquidation risk stays elevated.

A move above $3,470 would be critical. That level represents roughly a 10% rally from current prices and would invalidate the hidden bearish divergence by pushing the price to a higher high. Clearing it would also move Ethereum away from the densest long-liquidation cluster.

Ethereum Price Analysis: TradingViewIf that happens, Ethereum could open the door toward $3,910, followed by $4,250 if momentum builds further. On the downside, losing $2,850 would weaken the reversal thesis and re-expose ETH to deeper downside risk.

Ethereum price has beaten a bearish trend, but the breakout is still fragile. A 10% move higher is now the difference between a confirmed reversal and another painful reset.

On Jan. 5, 2025, bitcoin is trading at $93,055 per unit, commanding a market cap of $1.85 trillion, with 24-hour trading volume totaling $38.07 billion and an intraday price band stretching from $90,925 to $93,169.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) will allow more than 15,000 Merrill and Private Bank advisers to proactively recommend four spot Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) ETFs starting Jan. 5, formally opening Bitcoin access across its wealth platform.

Big Four Banks Now All Offer Bitcoin AccessBank of America joins JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in opening institutional Bitcoin access to wealth clients, marking the final holdout among the Big Four U.S. banks.

JPMorgan has already pushed deeper into blockchain-linked products.

In November, the bank expanded its JPM Coin deposit token framework and later filed a structured product tied to BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT), offering potential uncapped upside through 2028. 

Meanwhile, Citi is building a crypto custody service launching by 2026 after spending two to three years developing the infrastructure. 

Morgan Stanley also expanded its crypto access in October, allowing advisers to offer products to all wealth clients regardless of net worth, dropping the previous $1.5 million asset requirement.

From “Dirty Little Secrets” To 1-4% AllocationThe policy shift reverses Bank of America’s March 2021 research note titled “Bitcoin’s Dirty Little Secrets,” which stated there was no good reason to own Bitcoin unless you see prices going up.

Now, the bank’s CIO recommends a 1% to 4% allocation to digital assets for suitable clients, backed by formal guidance and adviser training.

Chris Hyzy, chief investment officer at Bank of America Private Bank, said the lower end may fit conservative investors, while higher allocations suit portfolios with greater risk tolerance.

Four Bitcoin ETFs Get CoverageTo support the rollout, Bank of America's CIO approved four U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs for coverage starting Jan. 5.

Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (NASDAQ:BITB)
Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (CBOE: FBTC)
Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (NYSE:BTC)
BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT)
These four ETFs are among the largest and most liquid spot Bitcoin products on the market. 

Samar Sen, APAC head at institutional trading platform Talos, said these names run the top digital asset ETFs due to their experience, assets under management, and track record.

Advisers Can Now Recommend ProactivelyUntil now, Bank of America wealth advisers could only discuss crypto products at a client’s request. 

The new framework allows advisers across Merrill, Bank of America Private Bank, and Merrill Edge to proactively recommend spot Bitcoin ETFs backed by CIO research and allocation guidance.

However, the bank has not publicly committed to adding Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) or other digital asset ETPs. 

Sen said any expansion beyond Bitcoin will likely depend on available liquidity, market structure maturity, and institutional-grade execution capabilities at scale.

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Cardano (ADA) has slightly dipped below $0.40 on Monday after a rally that allowed it to close above the falling wedge pattern in the previous week. 

The positive performance is supported by increased participation in the derivatives market, with retail traders optimistic about ADA’s price in the near term. 

ADA trades around $0.40 as retail sentiment improves
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ADA, the native coin of the Cardano blockchain, added 10% to its value in the last seven days.

The rally comes amid improved sentiments in the derivatives markets.

Data obtained from Coinglass shows that Cardano futures OI at exchanges rose to $847.17 million on Monday from $644.34 million recorded a week ago. 

An increasing OI represents new or additional money entering the market, with traders betting on ADA’s price to rally higher in the near term. 

Furthermore, Cardano’s long-to-short ratio has increased and now stands at 1.06, close to its monthly high.

This ratio, above one, suggests that the market sentiments are bullish. 

ADA eyes $0.43 as bullish momentum remains
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The ADA/USD 4-hour chart is bullish thanks to the current market conditions.

ADA’s price broke and closed above the upper trendline of the falling wedge pattern on Friday and has rallied higher since then.

At press time, ADA is trading at $0.3992 and could rally higher if the market conditions remain bullish.

ADA could rally towards its next major resistance level at $0.42, which coincides with its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA).

Closing above the 50-day EMA could see ADA extend gains toward the next daily resistance at $0.49.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the 4-hour chart reads 66, above the neutral level of 50, indicating bullish momentum is gaining traction. 

Furthermore, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator showed a bullish crossover and rising green histogram bars above the neutral level, adding confluence to the bullish narrative.

However, failure to close above the $0.42 resistance level could see ADA retrace towards Wednesday’s low of $0.32.

Despite the current bullish outlook, the current geopolitical tensions could trigger risk-off sentiments in the market. 

Over the weekend, the United States conducted an operation in Venezuela over the weekend, capturing Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

President Trump stated that Maduro and his wife both will face US justice, adding that the US will be running Venezuela until they can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.

Furthermore, the lack of progress in the Russia-Ukraine peace deal, unrest in Iran, and issues surrounding Gaza could also affect the bullish conditions of the market.

These issues could benefit the US Dollar (USD) and negatively affect risk-based assets like cryptocurrencies. 

Regardless, retail sentiment has switched bullish, suggesting that ADA and other major cryptocurrencies could rally higher in the near term.

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Strategy boosted bitcoin holdings and cash reserve last weekThe Michael Saylor-led company added 1,287 BTC and $62 million in cash through via the sale of common stock.Updated Jan 5, 2026, 1:19 p.m. Published Jan 5, 2026, 1:17 p.m.

Strategy (MSTR), the world's largest publicly traded holder of bitcoin, in the final days of 2025 and early days of 2026 lifted both its bitcoin holdings and cash reserve.

Led by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, the company added 1,287 bitcoin for just over $116 million, or an average price of about $90,000 each. Firm holdings are now 673,783 bitcoin purchased for $50.55 billion, or an average price of $75,026 each.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

The company last week also added $62 million to its cash reserves, bringing that total to $2.25 billion.

The boosts to both the cash and BTC reserves were funded through the sales of common stock.

The cash reserve is intended to fund dividend payments on the company's perpetual preferred equity. At current levels, Strategy has enough cash on hand to fund 32.5 months of dividend coverage, according to the company dashboard.

MSTR shares were up 4.5% in premarket action alongside a weekend rise in the price of bitcoin to the current $92,900.

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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

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KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.View Full Report

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Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) surprised the crypto market today with a sharp 22.3% price jump, lifting its weekly gains close to 60% and placing it among today’s top performers. 

The sudden rally is fueled by upcoming product launches, expanding real-world use cases, and a strong rise in trading activity.

Upcoming AI Agent Marketplace Launch The biggest reason behind VIRTUAL’s rally is excitement around its decentralized AI agent marketplace, set to launch on January 15. This platform will allow users to deploy, manage, and earn from autonomous AI agents.

Unlike many AI projects that remain theoretical, Virtuals Protocol is already generating real revenue. 

Meanwhile, the daily protocol earnings have reached around $26,000, while active DEX users have rebounded to nearly 3,700.

Lately, AI-linked crypto projects have helped push VIRTUAL and other tokens, such as RENDER, NEAR, TAO, and FET, posting double-digit gains this week.

OpenMind AGI Partnership Boosts CredibilityAnother major factor lifting sentiment is Virtuals Protocol’s partnership with robotics firm OpenMind AGI. Recent demonstrations showed AI agents powered by Virtuals Protocol controlling physical robots to perform DeFi-related tasks, such as cross-chain USDC transfers.

While this partnership may not immediately boost revenue, it adds strong credibility. It shows how Virtual Protocol could connect blockchain, AI, and real-world automation.

Trading Volume Surges as Buyers Step InVIRTUAL’s price increase is backed by strong market activity. VIRTUAL’s 24-hour trading volume jumped nearly 136% to around $338 million, showing clear buyer interest rather than thin trading.

Over the past week, VIRTUAL has outperformed many larger tokens, gaining more than 60% while the overall market stayed relatively calm.

VIRTUAL Token Price OutlookAfter dropping from its October high of $1.89, VIRTUAL was trading inside a descending channel for several weeks. That pattern has now broken, with price moving above the channel’s upper trendline, a classic bullish signal. 

Meanwhile, rising trading volume confirms that the breakout is backed by strong buying interest.

According to Coinpedia analysts, the immediate resistance stands near $1.47. This level marks a previous rejection zone and could slow the price in the short term. However, a clear daily close above $1.47 may trigger a stronger upside move, opening the path toward the $1.80–$1.85 range.

Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.

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Key takeaways:

XRP’s technical setup is turning bullish, with breakout patterns signaling trend continuation.

Institutional demand is absorbing supply, as ETF inflows and falling exchange balances tighten liquidity.

XRP (XRP) started 2026 on a strong footing, rallying roughly 18.50% in the first five days to reach above $2.16.

The gains mirrored upside moves across the crypto market, wherein the net valuation of all cryptocurrencies, led by top coins, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), jumped 7.30% year-to-date.

XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingViewAmid improving fundamentals and technical strength, here are three bullish XRP signals that could drive further price rallies in the coming months.

XRP breaks out of falling wedgeXRP’s daily chart shows a falling wedge breakout, a bullish reversal pattern that typically forms during corrective phases within broader uptrends.

XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingViewThe structure developed over several months as prices posted lower highs and lower lows inside a narrowing channel, signalling weakening downside momentum.

In early January, XRP broke above the wedge’s upper trendline near $2.05–$2.10, accompanied by improving relative strength.

Price is now attempting to reclaim key moving averages, including the 20-day and 50-day EMAs, while the 200-day EMA near $2.35 remains the next technical hurdle.

If confirmed, the breakout opens the door for a move toward the $2.60–$2.70 resistance zone by February, up 25% from current prices.

XRP Wyckoff reaccumulation model hints at $7XRP’s latest pump occurred inside its prevailing Wyckoff reaccumulation pattern, according to a chart highlighted by analyst Charting Guy.

Reaccumulation is a mid-trend pause that typically appears after an initial rally, allowing large players to absorb supply before the next leg higher.

XRP/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView/Charting GuyXRP began stabilizing in late 2024 after establishing a base near $1.20, marking Phases A and B of the pattern. Price then spent most of 2025 consolidating below resistance around $1.90-2.00, indicating cooling rather than a general trend reversal.

In late 2025, XRP briefly dipped below $1.70, a classic Wyckoff “spring below,” before quickly reclaiming lost ground, signalling seller exhaustion.

As of early 2026, XRP is attempting to break above the descending “creek” resistance near $2.10-2.15. A decisive breakout would confirm a Jump Across the Creek (JATC) and entry into Phase D.

If sustained, the structure points toward $2.80-3.20, with some analysts projecting longer-term breakout targets near $7, or roughly 230% upside from current levels.

XRP’s institutional adoption raises $8 target oddsUS-based spot XRP ETFs continued to attract capital through December, extending their inflow streak to 29 consecutive trading days despite volatile market conditions.

XRP ETFs recorded $13.59 million in net inflows on Friday, lifting cumulative inflows to $1.37 billion since launch, according to data resource SoSoValue.

XRP spot ETF net flows (daily and cumulative). Source: SoSoValueTotal net assets stood at roughly $1.24 billion, even as XRP’s price and the broader crypto market faced month-end selling pressure.

Although daily inflows cooled from early-December peaks of $30–$40 million, XRP ETFs have still drawn about $478 million over the month, underscoring resilient institutional demand.

These sustained inflows indicate institutions are quietly absorbing XRP supply in the background, even as price action remains muted.

At the same time, XRP balances on exchanges have dropped to their lowest level since 2018, signalling reduced sell-side liquidity.

XRP balance on exchanges. Source: GlassnodeThese trends point to tightening supply alongside sustained demand, a market setup that has historically preceded stronger upside moves once broader selling pressure begins to fade.

Standard Chartered echoed this view, projecting that XRP could rise to $8 by 2026 as institutional participation and long-term capital allocation continue to increase.

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

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

Dogecoin has spent a large part of the current cycle moving sideways, leaving its long-term chart largely defined by a downtrend. However, a technical study of Dogecoin’s previous market cycles, where similar stretches of compression preceded outsized price expansions, points to instances where Dogecoin can rally to price targets anywhere between $10 and $20 in the current cycle.

How Dogecoin Performed During Previous Alt-Seasons
A recent technical analysis shared by crypto analyst Javon Marks on the social media platform X looks at direct comparisons between Dogecoin’s current structure and the setups that led to its most dramatic rallies in the past. 

Looking back at previous market cycles, Dogecoin went through some of the biggest magnitudes of rallies, even within the volatile world of cryptocurrencies. During its first major alt-season run, Dogecoin surged by more than 9,000% from its base to reach a new peak of $0.015 in early 2018. Back then, this rally caught many doubters off guard, considering the fact that Dogecoin had no inherent value at the time and was the first mover in a niche of meme coins.

Source: Chart from Javon Marks on X
What followed in the next cycle was even more extreme, with the second major expansion delivering gains of about 28,000% in 2021. This rally was enough to establish Dogecoin’s reputation as the king of meme coins, and the all-time high of $0.73 it reached back then is yet to be broken.

The chart that followed Marks’ analysis shows that each rally began after prolonged periods where Dogecoin appeared largely stagnant and was trading sideways.

What A 9,000% Or 20,000% Move Means For DOGE
Applying those percentage gains to Dogecoin’s current price range produces eye-catching figures that propose a break above the anticipated $1 level and even above double digits. 

A move similar to the first major alt-season rally, roughly 9,000%, would place Dogecoin around the $10 price level. A repeat of the second cycle’s performance would push the price far higher. to as high as $20. 

These are ultra-bullish targets that seem unrealistic based on Dogecoin’s current price levels. However, the analyst also highlighted near-term reference zones that sit well below the most extreme projections but still reflect meaningful upside. 

Price levels around $0.6533 and $1.25111 were identified as more realistic milestones within a bullish scenario. Interestingly, these are also very bullish, as they represent increases of 340% and 740%, respectively, from Dogecoin’s price range around $0.15.

Not everyone reading the chart arrives at the same conclusion, and that difference in interpretation was evident in comments under Marks’ post. Another Dogecoin analyst, KrissPax, responded by saying there’s a difference between a full alt-season and what he described as a relief rally. According to KrissPax, nothing in the current chart suggests a $20 Dogecoin this year.

However, Marks explained that the idea is not that Dogecoin will certainly reach $10 or $20 this year, but to show what types of gains to expect if another alt-season unfolds, which is looking more and more likely.

DOGE trading at $0.14 on the 1D chart | Source: DOGEUSDT on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Pngtree, chart from Tradingview.com

BNB Chain’s 2026 roadmap targets 20,000 TPS, sub-second finality and lower fees with parallel execution and a Rust client to stay competitive in Layer 1.

Summary

BNB Chain’s 2026 roadmap targets up to 20,000 TPS and sub-second finality via parallel execution and a Rust-based client.​
The upgrades aim to cut latency and fees, attracting DeFi and AI apps as competition among Layer 1s like Ethereum and Solana intensifies.​
BNB’s role as the network’s utility token and its 50-day SMA may reflect market confidence in the roadmap and long-term positioning.

BNB (BNB) Chain has outlined a technical roadmap for 2026 focused on increasing transaction throughput and reducing finality times, according to the network’s published upgrade plan.

BNB heading into 2026
The roadmap targets throughput of up to 20,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality, the network announced. The planned improvements include parallel transaction execution and integration of a Rust-based client, according to the technical specifications.

The upgrades are designed to reduce latency and transaction costs, potentially positioning BNB Chain to compete with high-throughput blockchain networks for decentralized finance and artificial intelligence applications, the roadmap stated.

Industry analysts note that transaction speed and cost efficiency have become key factors in determining where developers deploy new blockchain applications as competition among Layer 1 networks intensifies. Higher on-chain activity typically increases demand for network utility tokens used for transaction fees and governance functions.

BNB serves as the utility asset for BNB Chain, supporting transaction fees, governance mechanisms, and ecosystem incentives within the network.

The cryptocurrency’s technical chart shows the 50-day simple moving average serving as a medium-term directional indicator, according to market data. Price movement above or below key technical thresholds could signal shifts in market sentiment regarding the network’s upgrade timeline and competitive position.

The success of BNB Chain’s 2026 roadmap depends on the execution of the technical upgrades and the network’s ability to attract developers from competing platforms, market observers noted. Regulatory developments and token supply dynamics remain additional factors affecting long-term price performance.

BNB Chain operates as a blockchain platform supporting smart contracts and decentralized applications, competing with networks including Ethereum, Solana, and other Layer 1 protocols.

January 05, 2026 07:30 ET

 | Source:

Advanced Flower Capital

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Jan. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advanced Flower Capital Inc. (Nasdaq: AFCG) (“AFC” or the “Company”) announced today that it has completed its previously announced conversion from a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) to a business development company (“BDC”) regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) (the “Conversion”), effective as of January 1, 2026.

“We thank our shareholders for their continued support in AFC as we complete this important milestone,” said Leonard M. Tannenbaum, CFA, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “We enter 2026 with a deep and compelling pipeline of investment opportunities under evaluation, which we believe will help position the Company to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders.”

The completion of the Conversion expands AFC’s investment flexibility to pursue opportunities beyond real estate-backed loans, including a broader universe of operating businesses, aimed at enhancing long-term shareholder value.

There is no impact on AFC’s Nasdaq listing, and the Company continues to trade under its existing ticker symbol, AFCG.

Additional details regarding the Conversion and certain related matters will be included in the Company’s Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Advanced Flower Capital

Advanced Flower Capital Inc. (Nasdaq: AFCG) (“AFC” or the “Company”) is a business development company specializing in loans to U.S. middle-market companies operating in the cannabis industry in states where medical and/or adult-use cannabis is legal, as well as companies ancillary to the cannabis industry and select companies outside of the cannabis industry. Businesses ancillary to the cannabis industry may include, but are not limited to, brand developers, business services providers, and equipment and consumables providers. Leveraging its management team’s deep network and significant credit, structuring, and industry-specific expertise, AFC originates, structures, underwrites and manages senior secured loans and other types of loans, typically ranging from approximately $10 million to over $100 million. The Company is externally managed by AFC Management, LLC (“Manager”) and is based in West Palm Beach, Florida. For additional information regarding the Company, please visit advancedflowercapital.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that reflect our current views and projections with respect to, among other things, future events and financial performance. Words such as “believes,” “expects,” “will,” “intends,” “plans,” “guidance,” “estimates,” “projects,” “anticipates,” and “future” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, including statements about our future growth and strategies for such growth, are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions and are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results. Certain factors, including the ability of our Manager to locate suitable loan opportunities for us, monitor and actively manage our loan portfolio and implement our investment strategy; management’s current estimate of expected credit losses and current expected credit loss reserve and other factors could cause actual results and performance to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect our business and financial results is included in AFC’s filings with the SEC, including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of AFC’s most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and subsequent filings. New risks and uncertainties arise over time, and it is not possible to predict those events or how they may affect AFC. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Investor Relations Contact

Robyn Tannenbaum
561-510-2293
[email protected]

Media Contact

Collected Strategies
Jim Golden / Jack Kelleher
[email protected]

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 5, 2026) - Mogotes Metals Inc. (TSXV: MOG) (FSE: OY4) (OTCQB: MOGMF) ("Mogotes", or the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement through the issuance of 71,698,113 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.265 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to C$19,000,000 (the "Offering").

Each Unit shall be comprised of one common share (each, a "Common Share") and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.53 per Common Share for a period of three (3) years from the closing of the Offering. The gross proceeds from the sale of the Units will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes.

The Company welcomes the participation of CD Capital Fund IV L.P. ("CD Capital"), which, has subscribed for C$15,000,000 of the Offering, resulting in CD Capital becoming a significant shareholder on completion of the Offering. In connection with the strategic investment, Carmel Daniele will join the board of directors of the Company.

Founder & CEO of CD Capital, Carmel Daniele, an investor with a strong track record in the minerals industry, has launched four Private Equity funds, raising over US$1 billion in long-term patient capital, predominantly from leading North American institutional investors, including endowments and foundations, family offices and pension funds. CD Capital develops projects globally in minerals critical to the data revolution, the greening of the planet and fertilizers essential to feeding the world's population. CD Capital has a unique focus on partnering up with management teams that have a strong track record in successfully developing projects globally, including; Peru, Argentina, Chile, Canada, Finland, Greenland and Australia.

Carmel Daniele and the CD Capital team identified the potential in the Filo del Sol project early and prior to its high-grade Aurora Zone discovery (FSDH041 returned 858m at 0.86% Cu; 0.70g/t Au; 48.1g/t Ag from 188m depth)1. CD Capital took a strategic stake in Filo Corp back in 20202 enabling an expansion program of drilling to define deeper sulphide mineralisation. The Filo del Sol project, which is the neighbour of the Mogotes Filo Sur Project, has since gone on to significant exploration success as the World's largest greenfield copper discovery of the last 3 decades3.

Carmel Daniele, who will be joining the board of directors of Mogotes in connection with this investment, previously served on the board of directors of Filo Corp (acquired by BHP and Lundin Mining for a valuation of C$4.5B), and currently serves on the board of Lundin Gold (market capitalization over C$27B at time of press release).

Mogotes looks forward to working closely with Carmel and the CD Capital team leveraging its combination of long-term patient institutional capital and sector expertise, to unlock value from the Filo Sur project.

In connection with the strategic investment, the Company has entered into an investor rights agreement with CD Capital. Under the terms of the investor rights agreement CD Capital has been granted: (i) a pre-emptive right to participate in any equity financing on the same terms as other investors to preserve its existing ownership stake while it holds 5% or more of issued shares of the Company; (ii) a top-up right to purchase additional shares whenever conversions or property-related share issuances dilute its stake by 2% or more; (iii) an additional subscription option, exercisable at any time within five years, to increase its holdings to up to 19.9 % of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company; and (iv) the ongoing ability to nominate one director to the board of directors of the Company, for so long as it holds 5% or more of issued shares of the Company.

All securities issued pursuant to the Offering in Canada and the United States will be subject to a hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance and the resale rules of applicable securities legislation. Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, all securities to be issued pursuant to the Offering in jurisdictions outside of Canada and the United States pursuant to Ontario Securities Commission Rule 72-503 - Distributions Outside Canada will not be subject to any statutory hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws. The closing of the Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical disclosure for the Filo Sur project included in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Stephen Nano who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Nano is a Director and Technical Advisor of the Company.

Note that the Qualified Person has not verified the information regarding adjacent properties such as Filo del Sol and that the information regarding the mineralization of the Filo del Sol project is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the Filo Sur project.

About Mogotes Metals Inc.

Mogotes Metals Inc. is a mineral exploration company exploring for copper and gold in the prospective Vicuña district of Argentina and Chile. Mogotes flagship project, Filo Sur, adjoins the large Filo del Sol Copper-gold-silver discovery, and is along the same N-S trending belt as the Filo Del Sol - Aurora and NGEx Minerals Lunahuasi and Los Helados copper-gold deposits. The Company cautions investors that mineralization hosted on nearby or adjacent properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on Filo Sur.

Follow Us

X: https://x.com/mogotesmetals

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR
DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

1 Source, Filo Corp press release from May 2021: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/filo-mining-reports-858m-at-1-80-cueq-discovers-new-high-grade-feeder-zone-at-filo-del-sol-882143075.html
2 Source, Filo Corp press release from September 2020: https://news.cision.com/filo-corp-/r/filo-mining-corporate-update,c3186302
3 Source: https://lundinmining.com/news/lundin-mining-announces-initial-mineral-resource-a-123197/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/279438

Source: Mogotes Metals Inc.

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Vancouver B.C., Jan. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TERRA CLEAN ENERGY CORP. (“Terra” or the “Company”) (CSE: TCEC, OTCQB: TCEFF , FSE: C 9O0) welcomes the recent U.S. Department of Energy announcement on uranium and announces the appointment of Jon Li as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective January 1, 2026.