The London Stock Exchange's new Digital Settlement House uses tokenized bank deposits for instant, round-the-clock settlement across blockchain and traditional payment networks.
Arthur Hayes is positioning for a 2026 liquidity rebound, arguing that Bitcoin’s weak 2025 wasn’t a referendum on “crypto narratives” so much as a straightforward dollar-credit story. In his latest essay, “Frowny Cloud,” the Maelstrom CIO says he is adding risk via Strategy (MSTR), Japan’s Metaplanet, and Zcash (ZEC) as he expects US dollar liquidity to inflect higher after a year in which Bitcoin lagged both gold and US tech stocks. Hayes frames 2025 as an awkward year for the standard cross-asset shorthand that treats Bitcoin as either digital gold or a high-beta proxy for US tech. In his telling, Bitcoin behaved “as expected” under tightening conditions, while gold and the Nasdaq 100 rose for different reasons despite falling dollar liquidity. Related Reading: Here’s Why Bitcoin Volatility Sparks Fresh Attention On MicroStrategy He argues gold’s bid is being driven by sovereign balance sheets rather than retail mania, rooted in distrust of US Treasury exposure after prior asset-freeze precedents. “If the US president steals your money, it’s an instant zero. Does it then matter what price you buy gold at?” he writes, casting central banks as price-insensitive buyers. On equities, Hayes leans into an industrial-policy interpretation of the AI trade. His claim is that the US and China have effectively treated “winning AI” as strategic, dulling the usual market discipline and helping explain why the Nasdaq decoupled from his dollar-liquidity index in 2025. That divergence matters because it sets up his core takeaway for 2026: Bitcoin needs expanding dollar liquidity to regain momentum. “Bitcoin and the Nasdaq rise when dollar liquidity expands. The only problem is the recent divergence,” Hayes writes, before returning to the “vicissitudes of dollar liquidity” as the primary driver he wants to track. The Three-Pillar Liquidity Pitch Hayes’ 2026 outlook hinges on a sharp rebound in dollar credit creation. He cites three channels: a growing Fed balance sheet via Reserve Management Purchases (RMP), commercial-bank lending into “strategic industries,” and lower mortgage rates catalyzed by policy-driven demand for mortgage-backed securities. In his account, quantitative tightening faded as a dominant headwind in late 2025, with QT ending in December and RMP beginning as a new, steady buyer. He claims RMP “at a minimum” expands the balance sheet by $40 billion per month, and expects that pace to rise as government funding needs increase. The second leg is bank credit creation, which he says accelerated in 4Q25, with large lenders willing to extend loans where government equity stakes or offtake agreements reduce default risk. The third is housing: Hayes points to Trump-backed directives for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to deploy $200 billion toward MBS purchases, arguing that lower mortgage rates could unlock a familiar wealth effect and, by extension, more credit. Related Reading: Bitcoin Accumulation Continues: Strategy Purchases 1,287 BTC Amid Rising Prices He ties the pieces together with a simple conclusion: if liquidity turns, Bitcoin should follow. “Bitcoin … and dollar liquidity bottomed around the same time,” he writes, arguing that the next major leg depends less on sentiment than on renewed credit expansion. MSTR, Metaplanet, And ZCash Hayes describes himself as a “degen speculator” and says Maelstrom is already “nearly fully invested,” but he still wants “MOAR risk” to capture upside convexity if Bitcoin reclaims higher levels. Rather than using perpetuals or options, he says he’s long Strategy and Metaplanet for levered exposure via corporate balance sheets. His timing argument is valuation-relative: he compares each company’s “DAT” to Bitcoin priced in the relevant currency (yen for Metaplanet, dollars for Strategy) and says those ratios sit near the low end of the past two years, after being “down substantially” from mid-2025 peaks. He adds a key condition: “If Bitcoin can retake $110,000, investors will get the itch to go long Bitcoin through these vehicles. Given the leverage embedded in the capital structure of these businesses, they will outperform Bitcoin on the upside.” He also flags continued accumulation of Zcash. Hayes argues the departure of developers at Electric Coin Company (ECC) is not bearish: “We continue to add to our Zcash position. The departure of the devs at ECC is not bearish. I firmly believe they will ship better, more impactful products within their own for-profit entity. I’m thankful for the opportunity to buy discounted ZEC from weak hands.” At press time, MSTR traded at $179.33. Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan warned that stablecoin yield rules could shift up to $6 trillion in deposits from banks.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted over $1.7 billion in a three-day streak as BTC hit two-month highs and sentiment turned bullish.
The Senate Banking Committee postponed a markup hearing for the legislation late Wednesday after Coinbase pulled its support for the bill.
Crypto exchange Lemon has launched a Bitcoin-backed Visa credit card in Argentina, letting users lock up BTC as collateral to access peso credit lines without selling their coins.
Argentina’s crypto platform Lemon has launched the country’s first Visa credit card backed by Bitcoin collateral, allowing users to access peso credit without selling their BTC or requiring a bank account or credit history. Customers deposit a small amount of BTC as collateral and receive a credit limit in pesos, which they can use at …
After its recent price breakout, Ethereum (ETH) is facing its next big test and attempting to turn a crucial area into support. Some analysts have suggested that the altcoin is ready to continue its bullish momentum, arguing that the biggest rotation in years is coming. Related Reading: Bitcoin Nears ‘Historic’ Technical Test As Price Eyes $93,500 Barrier – What’s Next? Ethereum Challenges Key Resistance Area On Wednesday, Ethereum broke past a crucial area and retested the $3,400 level for the first time in over a month. The king of altcoins has seen a 6% increase in the daily timeframe, jumping from the $3,100 level to the current levels. Notably, ETH has been hovering between the $3,000-$3,300 area since the start of the year rally, but failed to break the local range’s upper boundary during last week’s attempt. Now, the cryptocurrency has daily closed above this barrier and is testing this area as support. Amid this performance, analyst Michaël van de Poppe affirmed that “it’s ETH season” as the leading altcoin has held above the 21-day Moving Average (MA) since January 1. He explained that this level, officially lost during the early Q4 2025 corrections, is crucial for the price to hold onto to strengthen the momentum. To the market observer, Ethereum is “ready to make new highs and continue the uptrend,” and based on this structure, his main scenario is that the cryptocurrency will likely retest the $3,800 area soon. Meanwhile, Daan Crypto Trades pointed out that ETH is currently facing a “big test.” The trader noted that the altcoin has been moving within its $2,600-$3,300 price range over the past two months, adding that a breakout from this range is necessary to define the direction of its next move. Per the chart, Ethereum must reclaim the $3,350 level, where the 200-day exponential moving average (EMA) is located. This indicator has served as a key rejection area since November, and breaking above it “should lead to a move higher to catch the Daily 200MA next,” currently located around the $3,600 area. ETH To Follow Its 2018 Playbook? Crypto Jelle also shared an optimistic outlook for the cryptocurrency, asserting that Ethereum “looks better than it has looked in years” against both Bitcoin (BTC) and the US Dollar. He argued that both charts are poised to move higher since ETH’s downtrend against BTC is over, and its USD chart looks ready to push towards the $4,000 barrier again. He added that the ETH/BTC anticipated rally means “ETHUSD could see price move a lot higher over the coming months.” Similarly, Alex Wacy recently explained that the “biggest ETH rotation in 8 years [is] forming right now.” The analyst highlighted that the king of altcoins is repeating the same playbook that led to its 2018 breakout against BTC, but with “bigger players” and “more capital entering.” Related Reading: Monero (XMR) Hits New $610 All-Time High – Veteran Trader Shares Silver-Like Setup According to the chart, ETH saw a multi-year accumulation against Bitcoin between 2015 and 2017, leading to its massive expansion in 2018. After an initial breakout, the cryptocurrency re-accumulated for an extended period inside a falling wedge pattern, which resulted in a 50x pump from this structure. This time, Ethereum’s trading pair against BTC moved within a multi-year falling wedge pattern again, which was broken out of in Q4 2025. If history repeats itself, the altcoin could see a new massive surge against the flagship crypto over the coming months. As of this writing, Ethereum is trading at $3,375, a 5% increase in the weekly timeframe. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Solana's verified X account fired a shot on Jan. 14: “Starknet has 8 daily active users, 10 daily transactions, and still somehow has a 1b MC and 15b FDV[…] Send it straight to 0.” The data used in the ‘sh*tpost' appears to trace back to an April 2024 snapshot, as the FDV figure was wrong. […]
The post Solana’s public attack on Starknet exposes how billions in “mercenary” volume are artificially pumping network valuations right now appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The bond market volatility gauge has slipped to its lowest since October 2021, supporting risk-taking in financial markets.
Ticketed help desks and live support are replacing always-on Discord channels at major DeFi protocols.
A fourth-quarter crypto downturn exposed how closely ARK’s flagship ETFs are now tied to digital assets, with Coinbase and Roblox emerging as the biggest performance drags.
Sentiment in the Bitcoin market has marked an improvement recently as the Fear & Greed Index has surged into the neutral zone for the first time in months. Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index Is Now Pointing At ‘Neutral’ The “Fear & Greed Index” refers to an indicator created by Alternative that tells us about the average sentiment present among traders in the Bitcoin and wider cryptocurrency markets. It determines the investor mentality using the data of five factors: market cap dominance, trading volume, volatility, social media sentiment, and Google Trends. To represent the sentiment, the index makes use of a numerical scale running from 0 to 100. All values below 47 correspond to fear among the investors, while those above 53 reflect the dominance of greed. The metric being between the two cutoffs suggests a net neutral sentiment. Related Reading: Litecoin Whale Activity Spikes To 5-Week High: Reversal Or Continuation Signal? Now, here is how the current market sentiment is like, according to the Fear & Greed Index: As is visible above, the index has a value of 48 right now, indicating that sentiment around Bitcoin is neutral. This is a sharp change from how the market mood looked just yesterday. The Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index had a value of 26 on Tuesday, which means that the investor sentiment was deep inside the fear zone. The reason behind the turnaround in trader mood has been the coin’s recovery rally, which has now taken its price beyond the $97,000 level. Since the Fear & Greed Index hasn’t made it into the greed zone yet, investors still look to be hesitant about embracing the bullish price action. In the past, the cryptocurrency market has often tended to move against the expectations of the majority, so the fact that traders aren’t outright greedy yet could actually be a positive sign for the rally’s sustainability. That said, the latest jump in sentiment has been a rapid one, so the indicator could be to keep an eye on in the coming days, as a venture into the greed zone could very well be next. The current break into the neutral zone reflects the first time since late October that the Fear & Greed Index has surged into the region. A greedy sentiment hasn’t been witnessed since the first half of October, more than three months ago. Related Reading: Monero (XMR) Rockets 51% To New ATH, But Watch Out For FOMO In some other news, the new Bitcoin recovery run has triggered a large amount of liquidations, as revealed by on-chain analytics firm Glassnode. “Across the top 500 cryptocurrencies, the latest move triggered the largest short-liquidation event since 10/10,” explained Glassnode. BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $97,500, up more than 7% in the last seven days. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin, ether, solana and XRP spot ETFs all posted net inflows on Wednesday, led by the strongest day for bitcoin funds in months.
The sentiment gauge climbed to 61 after weeks in fear territory, tracking bitcoin’s rebound to its highest level since November.
The recently released draft of the CLARITY Act, a significant piece of legislation aimed at regulating the crypto market, has ignited a wave of criticism from supporters within the community. Initially, the bill was meant to include protections for developers. However, expert commentary suggests that it opens the door to continued prosecution of developers and enhances surveillance measures for users of non-custodial software. Crypto Market Structure Bill Draft Lacks Essential Protections Market expert Ryan Adams highlighted another key issue in the crypto bill, stating that if banks succeed in eliminating stablecoin yield provisions within the CLARITY Act, it would indicate that the Senate is prioritizing bank interests over those of the general public. Adams’s concerns were echoed by various users, who opined that the strategy appears orchestrated to allow banks to benefit by controlling how yields are managed and distributed. Related Reading: Zcash Foundation Investigation Closed: SEC Decision Sparks 12% Jump In ZEC Price An independent report by The Rage reinforces these worries, detailing how the proposed draft includes so-called developer protections that may fall short. Notably absent are safeguards against the rigorous implications of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) for self-custodial wallets. Additionally, the draft hints at possible applications to decentralized finance (DeFi) that could empower agencies to implement Travel Rule-like regulations, along with anti-money laundering (AML) measures targeting web-based interfaces and blockchain analysis firms. Per the report, the Senate has already received 137 amendments to the draft ahead of its markup, scheduled for January 15. A revised version of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) is also included, which has been seen as vital for protecting developers. BRCA Loopholes While the BRCA offers exemptions under AML and counter-terrorist financing regulations, it continues to leave developers vulnerable to accountability for the actions of users utilizing their software. The BRCA states that “non-controlling” developers—defined as those without unilateral control over digital asset transactions—will not be categorized as money transmitters under the relevant laws. However, this only alleviates certain charges and doesn’t prevent criminal liability for those whose software is misused. Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis remarked on this aspect of the BRCA, indicating that it retains all necessary AML protections, which implies that despite any positives, accountability remains a looming threat for developers. Simultaneously, the “Keep Your Coins Act” within the draft includes provisions claiming that federal agencies cannot prohibit self-custody of digital assets. However, further stipulations assert that this right does not prevent the application of laws concerning illicit finance, leaving loopholes for government intervention. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) past attempts to impose a broker rule that would classify decentralized finance services as intermediaries requiring reporting obligations have been echoed in the current draft. This time, the Senate Banking Committee appears to be leaning towards a similar regulatory approach, aiming to provide guidance on BSA and AML compliance for “non-decentralized finance protocols,” thereby raising concerns about the implications for crypto developers who maintain and update protocols. Privacy Concerns Mount Under the new sections, the Senate Banking Committee introduces a concept termed “Distributed Ledger Application Layers,” which the report claims invites scrutiny and creates compliance obligations for software applications that allow users to interact with decentralized finance protocols. The provisions also compel the Treasury to develop additional oversight mechanisms to mitigate exposure to illicit financing risks identified through distributed ledger analysis tools, effectively ensuring that crypto transactions remain under close scrutiny. Related Reading: The NYC Token Crash: Allegations Of Rug Pull After $2.5 Million Liquidity Withdrawal As it currently stands, the lack of robust protections for developers and users involved in privacy-enhancing technologies in this current draft suggests that the Senate’s proposal for market structure will do little to safeguard non-custodial developers. Instead, it further entrenches their vulnerability to government oversight and user surveillance. Ultimately, these developments present a significant challenge for privacy software users and developers. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
Amazon's investment risk highlights the volatility of retail partnerships and the potential financial instability impacting tech-retail collaborations.
The post Amazon’s $475M Saks Global investment at risk after bankruptcy filing appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Bitcoin (BTC) price is back in motion after a tight consolidation phase by pushing higher even as the broader market remains cautious. Typically, a breakout invites optimism. This time, the reaction looks different: sentiment indicators suggest traders are still hesitant to trust the move, and social commentary is skewing more negative despite the upside. That …
US spot bitcoin ETFs reported $843.6 million in net inflows on Wednesday, which is the highest daily total since Oct. 7
The group says contracts mirror sports betting but lack safeguards, warning transfer portal markets could pose “catastrophic” risks to student athletes.
Senate efforts to rewrite U.S. crypto rules hit another snag after the Banking Committee delayed markup of the industry-shaping bill.
Standard Chartered has pushed its base-case price target for Ethereum to $7,500 by the end of the year, a big jump from an earlier $4,000 projection. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s New Power Buyers: Companies Bought 3 Times What Miners Produced According to the bank’s digital assets team, growing demand from corporate treasury buyers and spot ETH products has driven the change in outlook. Bank Raises Ethereum Target The bank’s lead analyst expects fee growth on the Ethereum network and stronger institutional adoption to be key drivers for the move higher. The bank also revised its longer-term numbers, lifting its 2028 target to $25,000 and laying out scenarios that push toward $40,000 by 2030. These wider targets reflect models where stablecoins and tokenized assets expand on Ethereum’s chain. Institutional Buying Drives Demand Data cited by market researchers points to heavy accumulation since June, with spot ETF flows and treasury firms together taking close to 4% of Ether’s circulating supply over that period. ETHEREUM SEEN OUTPERFORMING BITCOIN Standard Chartered says Ethereum’s outlook has improved and it is likely to outperform bitcoin. While weak bitcoin performance has weighed on the broader crypto market, rising institutional demand for ethereum and its dominance in stablecoins,… — *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) January 13, 2026 Treasury firms alone reportedly bought about 2.3 million ETH in just over two months, a pace that Standard Chartered says outstrips some previous accumulation phases seen in Bitcoin. Ethereum Vs. Bitcoin Standard Chartered’s note also argues that Ether could outperform Bitcoin, raising the possibility of the ETH/BTC ratio returning toward levels last seen during 2021’s run-up. Based on the bank’s scenarios, weaker Bitcoin momentum combined with stronger real-world use of Ethereum might lift Ether’s price faster than Bitcoin’s in the months ahead. Long-Term Upside Scenarios Some headlines have pointed to even bigger long-range targets produced by the same models, including forecasts of $30,000 by 2029 and $40,000 by 2030 under more bullish assumptions. These outcomes rely on a substantial expansion of stablecoin use, tokenized real-world assets, and continued staking demand that would remove supply from the market. Independent forecasters remain split, and other banks have offered lower year-end projections, offering a reminder that expert views differ. Meanwhile, market watchers caution, though, that relative moves depend heavily on ETF flows and corporate balance-sheet decisions. Related Reading: Bitcoin At $100K Could Spark A Fresh Wave Of Retail FOMO, Analysts Warn Network Fundamentals And Risks According to the bank, Ethereum’s large share of stablecoin activity and its role in decentralized finance make fee income and on-chain demand a meaningful part of valuation models. That said, the bank notes that scale improvements and Layer 1 throughput will matter a lot if big, traditional finance transactions migrate onchain. The research also warns that shifts in macro conditions, outflows from major ETFs, or regulatory setbacks could change the math quickly. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Bitcoin has returned to a price range where repeated profit-taking by long-term holders capped rallies last year, though those wallets are now selling more slowly than in 2025.
Heavy selling pressure emerged after a failed rally attempt, with late-session stabilization showing exhaustion rather than reversal.
Ripple received preliminary authorization for an e-money license in Luxembourg, potentially expanding its regulated payment services in the EU.
Bitcoin derivatives open interest fell 30% from October highs as deleveraging purged excess leverage, historically signaling market bottoms and recovery.
Bitcoin is continuing to move higher on the daily chart, and recent analysis shows the upward momentum remains intact. After rising steadily from its November lows, the price has now reached an important area where the next move could shape the short-term trend. Bitcoin is currently trading in the $97,000 to $98,400 range, a level …
The Solana-based token plunged more than 80% shortly after launch, with on-chain watchers flagging liquidity shifts that its backers and Adams’ team dispute.
Bitcoin should be able to steal some “juice” back from gold and the Nasdaq in 2026, with several catalysts supporting the idea of US dollar liquidity expansion.
The NYC Token's volatility highlights the risks and challenges of investing in emerging digital assets, impacting investor trust and market stability.
The post Ex-NYC Mayor Eric Adams denies profiting from NYC Token chaos, says swings are part of the game appeared first on Crypto Briefing.