Megatel Homes says it’s launching a program where renters could receive rewards for paying their rent using a crypto token.
State Street said its new crypto platform would help clients build tokenized money market funds, exchange-traded funds, and products such as tokenized deposits and stablecoins.
The rise in new wallets suggests broader interest in Ethereum, driven by decentralized finance, stablecoin transfers, NFTs, and new applications.
According to analysts at JPMorgan, crypto-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs), particularly for Bitcoin (BTC), are expected to see inflows in 2026 that will far exceed those from 2025. Led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, the analysis highlights a significant trend where capital flowing into the crypto market through ETFs reached a record high of $130 billion last year, driven by a growing interest in digital asset treasuries (DATs). DAT Companies Lead Crypto Inflows In 2025 Panigirtzoglou explained that the inflows observed in 2025 were largely attributed to Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs, which the analyst suggests were primarily fueled by retail investors, as well as Bitcoin acquisitions by DAT companies. In contrast, participation from institutional investors and hedge funds, as indicated by the buying activity in Bitcoin and Ethereum Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures, appeared to have declined compared to 2024. Related Reading: Zcash Foundation Investigation Closed: SEC Decision Sparks 12% Jump In ZEC Price The analysts noted that over half of the total digital asset inflows in 2025, approximately $68 billion, came from DAT companies. Another $23 billion was attributed to formal strategies, marking a slight increase from $22 billion in Bitcoin buying from the previous year. Notably, other DATs acquired about $45 billion in digital assets, a significant rise from just $8 billion in 2024. However, most of these purchases occurred earlier in the year, and by October, the momentum in crypto buying from DATs had markedly decreased. Crypto venture capital funding also contributed to the overall capital flows, though this area remained substantially lower than the peaks experienced in 2021 and 2022. While total crypto venture capital funding saw a modest increase in 2025 compared to 2024, the number of deals declined sharply, and investment activity became increasingly concentrated in later-stage funding rounds. JPMorgan further suggested that this muted growth in venture funding was, in part, due to the increasing allocation of capital toward DATs. Funds that might have otherwise been directed to early-stage startups were increasingly diverted toward treasury strategies that provide immediate liquidity. Regulatory Changes Anticipated To Boost Institutional Interest Looking forward, the analysts expect a rebound in institutional crypto flows in 2026, which could be spurred by the anticipated passage of additional regulatory measures, such as the Crypto Market Structure Bill (CLARITY Act) in the US. This anticipated legislation is expected to further entrench institutional adoption of digital assets, along with renewed institutional engagement in areas like venture capital funding, mergers and acquisitions, and initial public offerings (IPOs). Related Reading: Crypto Market Bill Draft Criticized For Allowing Continued Developer Prosecution However, the expected markup of this bill has been delayed late on Wednesday, as crypto industry leaders, including the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN), have withdrawn their support for the legislation. This is attributed to issues related to key provisions, which the firm’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, has described as making this version “materially worse than the current status quo”. At the time of writing, the market’s leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was trading at $96,050, having recorded gains of 10% over the previous fourteen days, as broader inflows have already returned to the market since the beginning of the year. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
Amid protests and economic crisis, Iranians are increasingly withdrawing bitcoin from exchanges to personal wallets.
Web3 analytics and marketing platform Kaito is entering a new phase after the social media platform X announced plans to shut down reward-based posting models. The change has pushed Kaito to sunset its popular Yaps program and introduce a new product, Kaito Studio, signaling a bigger shift in how crypto projects approach marketing, creators, and …
Eligible Interactive Brokers LLC clients can now deposit USDC around the clock, with funds converted to dollars and credited to brokerage accounts within minutes.
Regulated investment vehicles such as exchange-traded funds expanded in 2025, and corporations added crypto to their balance sheets, opening up more pathways for user access.
Solana failed to stay above $146 and corrected gains. SOL price is now trading below $145 and might find bids near the $140 zone. SOL price started a downside correction below $145 against the US Dollar. The price is now trading below $145 and the 100-hourly simple moving average. There is a bullish trend line forming with support at $141 on the hourly chart of the SOL/USD pair (data source from Kraken). The pair could extend losses if it dips below the $140 zone. Solana Price Starts Downside Correction Solana price failed to surpass $150 and started a downside correction, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. SOL dipped below $146 and $145 to enter a short-term bearish zone. There was a move below the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $138 swing low to the $149 high. However, the bulls are active above $140. Besides, there is a bullish trend line forming with support at $141 on the hourly chart of the SOL/USD pair. Solana is now trading below $145 and the 100-hourly simple moving average. On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the $144 level. The next major resistance is near the $146 level. The main resistance could be $148. A successful close above the $148 resistance zone could set the pace for another steady increase. The next key resistance is $155. Any more gains might send the price toward the $162 level. More Losses In SOL? If SOL fails to rise above the $146 resistance, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $141 zone and the trend line. The first major support is near the $140 level and the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $138 swing low to the $149 high. A break below the $140 level might send the price toward the $132 support zone. If there is a close below the $132 support, the price could decline toward the $124 support in the near term. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for SOL/USD is gaining pace in the bearish zone. Hourly Hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for SOL/USD is below the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $141 and $140. Major Resistance Levels – $146 and $148.
Crypto markets continue to trade in a tight band on the higher timeframes, and the spotlight has clearly shifted away from the top 10 tokens. Bitcoin price slipped marginally to around $95,500, while Ethereum price held firm above $3,500. Among major alts, BNB, XRP, and Solana stayed constructive and traded above their key resistance zones …
Nexo faces fresh headwinds as California regulators take action against the digital assets platform for the second time in three years.
According to ValidatorQueue data, staked Ethereum has climbed to close to 36 million, equal to nearly 30% of the circulating supply. That figure now represents more than $119 billion at current prices. Staking rose from 35.5 million to almost 36 million since early January, even though ETH has fallen more than 30% since August. Related Reading: Futures Frenzy Pushed Crypto Exchange Volume To Nearly $80 Trillion In 2025 The unstaking queue is zero, while the staking queue topped 2.5 million ETH — its highest level since August 2023. Based on reports, those moves point to strong long-term bets on the network. Ethereum Staking Shows Strong Conviction Institutional interest helped push the numbers higher. Publicly listed Digital Asset Treasuries and big staking services are said to be among the active participants. Some of the latest increases came during a stretch that had been mostly flat since last August. Market watchers say that rising stakes add to the protocol’s security profile, and the large queue suggests demand for on-chain commitments remains high even with price weakness. Buterin Says Infrastructure Is Ready Meanwhile, reports have disclosed that Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, has urged builders to stop experimenting only in theory and start shipping real products. He has argued that the technical pieces are finally functional: the chain runs on proof of stake, transaction costs are lower, and scaling through ZK-EVMs and Layer 2s is working. Messaging that began with Whisper has been adapted into Waku, and apps such as Status and Railway were cited as examples that already use these systems. In 2014, there was a vision: you can have permissionless, decentralized applications that could support finance, social media, ride sharing, governing organizations, crowdfunding, potentially create an entire alternative web, all on the backs of a suite of technologies.… pic.twitter.com/ihU9qOrXfG — vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 14, 2026 He used the term “walkaway test” to describe a simple check: if a decentralized app’s operator disappears, can the data and functionality remain available to users? Fileverse, a decentralized document editor, was pointed to as a case where documents would survive even if the team behind it vanished. Builders Urged To Ship Practical Apps Buterin also criticized the trend toward overly centralized consumer devices and services that lock users into accounts and subscriptions. He warned against appliances that require registration and that may collect data on routine tasks. He contrasted those products with tools that a person truly owns and controls. The message was clear: now that infrastructure is in place, developers should focus on practical software people will actually use, not just experiments that live on testnets. What This Means Going Forward The split between the technical optimism and the market reality is visible. On one side, nearly 36 million ETH staked and a swollen staking queue show investor conviction in the protocol’s future. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s New Power Buyers: Companies Bought 3 Times What Miners Produced On the other, price pressure since August has been real and is still being felt. Reports emphasize that the climb in staked ETH strengthens the network’s security, but the call to build usable, user-friendly apps remains loud. If developers respond by shipping useful products that meet everyday needs, the combination of a secure chain and working applications could push broader adoption. For now, the numbers and the rhetoric are both sending a clear signal: the ingredients exist, and attention is shifting toward turning them into tools people rely on. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Short-term price action is driven by technical positioning, with $2.13 acting as a key resistance level.
Ethereum saw activity retention nearly double to 8 million addresses in a month while daily transactions hit an all-time high of 2.8 million amid soaring stablecoin use.
Traders are cautious with meme tokens, favoring assets with clearer institutional signals.
The NCAA wants the CFTC to tighten rules on college sport prediction markets, including age and advertising restrictions and anti-harassment measures.
Analysts suggest the market is pausing rather than reversing, with Bitcoin moving out of a long consolidation phase.
The Boston Consulting Group forecasts that the South Korean token securities market will grow to be worth $250 billion by 2030.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index slipped by 12 points to “neutral” on Friday amid heightened anxiety over the future of a long-awaited crypto bill in the US.
XRP price extended losses and traded below $2.10. The price is now consolidating and might decline further if it trades below $2.020. XRP price started a fresh decline below the $2.120 zone. The price is now trading below $2.10 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.0850 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken). The pair could continue to move down if it stays below $2.10. XRP Price Dips Again XRP price failed to stay above $2.150 and started a fresh decline, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The price declined below $2.120 and $2.10 to enter a short-term bearish zone. The price even spiked below $2.080. A low was formed at $2.052, and the price is now consolidating losses. There was an attempt to clear $2.080 and the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2.193 swing high to the $2.052 low, but the bears remained active. There is also a key bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.0850 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair. The price is now trading below $2.10 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. If there is a fresh upward move, the price might face resistance near the $2.0850 level and the trend line. The first major resistance is near the $2.120 level. It is close to 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2.193 swing high to the $2.052 low. A close above $2.120 could send the price to $2.1395. The next hurdle sits at $2.20. A clear move above the $2.20 resistance might send the price toward the $2.250 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $2.320 resistance. The next major hurdle for the bulls might be near $2.350. More Losses? If XRP fails to clear the $2.120 resistance zone, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2.050 level. The next major support is near the $2.020 level. If there is a downside break and a close below the $2.020 level, the price might continue to decline toward $1.950. The next major support sits near the $1.920 zone, below which the price could continue lower toward $1.880. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is now gaining pace in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is now below the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $2.050 and $2.020. Major Resistance Levels – $2.0850 and $2.120.
Bitcoin has shown renewed bullish momentum in recent sessions, pushing price back toward the $97,000 level after weeks of persistent selling pressure. For much of the recent consolidation, the market struggled under distribution from short-term participants and cautious positioning from traders who remained uncertain about the broader trend. That dynamic now appears to be shifting. While price action alone does not confirm a full trend reversal, the latest rebound suggests that downside pressure is easing and that buyers are becoming more willing to absorb available supply. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bulls Take Control: Futures Positioning Turns Bullish for First Time Since October This improvement in price behavior is supported by on-chain context rather than pure speculation. A quick insight from a CryptoQuant analyst highlights a rare development in market sentiment: the Bitcoin Bull Score Index has dropped to 20, a level that has historically appeared only a handful of times over the past several years. Such readings typically reflect deeply pessimistic conditions, when bullish signals across multiple indicators are scarce. Paradoxically, these environments often coincide with transitional phases rather than sustained declines. When bearish sentiment becomes widespread and measurable optimism disappears, markets tend to become increasingly sensitive to even modest improvements in demand. Bitcoin Bull Score Hits A Rare Historical Level Over the past six years, the Bitcoin Bull Score Index has fallen to levels of 20 or lower only seven times. The market is now experiencing the seventh occurrence, placing the current environment among the rarest sentiment regimes in Bitcoin’s history. This index aggregates multiple on-chain and market indicators to assess whether conditions favor bullish continuation or reflect broad-based weakness. Readings near 20 indicate that very few bullish signals are active at the same time, highlighting a market dominated by caution rather than optimism. Historically, such extremes have tended to appear during transitional phases. They often emerge late in corrections, when selling pressure has largely played out, but confidence has not yet returned. This does not guarantee an immediate reversal. However, it does suggest that downside momentum is becoming increasingly fragile, as most participants who wanted to de-risk have already done so. The timing of this signal is particularly relevant as Bitcoin approaches a critical psychological zone near $100,000. This level represents both a major round-number resistance and a key reference point for short-term and long-term holders. The coming weeks will be decisive. A sustained push toward and above $100K, accompanied by improving breadth in on-chain indicators, would likely mark a shift away from defensive positioning. Conversely, failure at this level could reinforce consolidation and prolong uncertainty. Related Reading: OG Bitcoin Selling Slows Sharply: Long-Dormant Coins Go Quiet Weekly Chart Shows Recovery Attempt Below Resistance Bitcoin’s weekly chart shows a market attempting to reassert strength after a prolonged corrective phase, with price now trading around the $96,000–$97,000 zone. This area is technically important, as it aligns with a former consolidation range that acted as support during mid-2025 and later flipped into resistance after the November breakdown. The recent rebound suggests buyers are willing to defend higher lows, but confirmation remains incomplete. From a trend perspective, Bitcoin is still trading below the declining 50-week moving average, which currently caps upside attempts. This level has acted as dynamic resistance during previous bear-to-neutral transitions. And will be a critical area to reclaim for trend continuation. Below the price, the 100-week moving average continues to slope upward and has provided structural support during the recent pullbacks. Reinforcing the idea that the broader market structure remains intact despite short-term weakness. Related Reading: Bitcoin Short-Term Holders Near A Profit Flip: A Key Level Comes Into Focus Volume behavior is also notable. The rebound toward $97,000 occurred without a major expansion in volume, revealing that the move may still lack strong conviction. This supports the view that the current advance could be a recovery leg within a larger consolidation rather than the start of an impulse. If Bitcoin can consolidate above $95,000 and eventually reclaim the 50-week moving average, the probability of a continuation toward the $105,000–$110,000 region increases. Failure to hold this zone would expose the market to renewed downside tests toward the mid-$80,000s. Keeping the broader consolidation unresolved. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
The sentencing of a Utah man links investor fraud and unlicensed cash-to-crypto activity under the same prosecution.
Ethereum price started a major increase above the $3,350 resistance. ETH is now consolidating gains and holding the key support at $3,280. Ethereum started a downside correction after a major rally to $3,400. The price is trading above $3,280 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a bullish trend line forming with support at $3,280 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could start a fresh increase if it stays above the $3,280 zone. Ethereum Price Hits Support Ethereum price remained stable above $3,300 and started a fresh increase, like Bitcoin. ETH price rallied above the $3,320 and $3,350 resistance levels. A high was formed at $3,402, and the price recently started a downside correction. There was a move below $3,320. The price dipped below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent wave from the $3,060 swing low to the $3,402 high. Ethereum price is now trading above $3,280 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is also a bullish trend line forming with support at $3,280 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. If the bulls can protect more losses below $3,280, the price could attempt another increase. Immediate resistance is seen near the $3,320 level. The first key resistance is near the $3,350 level. The next major resistance is near the $3,385 level. A clear move above the $3,385 resistance might send the price toward the $3,450 resistance. An upside break above the $3,450 region might call for more gains in the coming days. In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $3,500 resistance zone or even $3,550 in the near term. Downside Break In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear the $3,320 resistance, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $3,280 level and the trend line. The first major support sits near the $3,260 zone and the 100 hourly SMA. A clear move below the $3,260 support might push the price toward the $3,220 support and the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent wave from the $3,060 swing low to the $3,402 high. Any more losses might send the price toward the $3,150 region. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is losing momentum in the bullish zone. Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 zone. Major Support Level – $3,280 Major Resistance Level – $3,385
Group-IB found a ransomware dubbed DeadLock that is exploiting Polygon smart contracts to rotate proxy addresses to evade takedowns.
Keyrock and Dune have published a “12 Charts to Watch in 2026” dashboard that tries to pin next year’s crypto narrative to measurable market structure, where liquidity is forming, where value is being returned, and which rails are quietly becoming systemically important. The report’s premise is straightforward: each chart pairs a live dataset with an explicit 2026 prediction. Taken together, the set reads like a checklist of whether crypto’s core primitives: trading, issuance, payments, and funding are becoming deeper and more institutional in their behavior. 12 Crypto Metrics To Watch This Year Keyrock puts prediction markets near the top of the stack after a 2025 run that saw weekly volume rise 9.2x to just under $5 billion, with Kalshi, Polymarket and Opinion controlling a combined 98.4% share at the time of writing. For 2026, it forecasts a 5x jump versus the 2025 run-rate to $25 billion in weekly volume, and a matching 5x rise in open interest as markets deepen and positions persist longer. Related Reading: Crypto Market Bill Draft Criticized For Allowing Continued Developer Prosecution On tokenization, the chart tracks non-stablecoin onchain RWA AUM, explicitly excluding stablecoins to isolate whether capital markets assets are moving onchain. Keyrock says non-stablecoin RWA AUM grew 3.4x in 2025 and projects more than 4x growth in 2026, led by tokenized cash-like products (T-bills and money market funds) and private credit, with early signs of equities and ETFs as market structure and regulation mature. A third adoption vector is x402, which Keyrock describes as an open payments protocol pioneered by Coinbase in 2025 to let software, including AI agents pay for digital services using stablecoins. Its measurable call: weekly x402 volume exceeding $100 million in 2026, framed as a proxy for “machine-native commerce” showing up in production. For onchain asset management, Keyrock tracks vault AUM across major providers and argues 2025 was about product maturity; 2026 is positioned as distribution. Its headline forecast is vault AUM tripling to $36 billion before year-end, alongside a prediction that at least one major broker-dealer offers an onchain vault “yield shelf.” Related Reading: New Hope For Crypto: Senators Introduce Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act Derivatives are treated as the clearest stress test for depth. Keyrock highlights how the DEX-to-CEX futures trading ratio grew more than 3x in 2025, from 6.34% to 21%, and says open interest—not volume—is the key signal for whether venues can “hold risk in size” as new asset classes migrate onchain. The 2026 target: onchain perp OI exceeding $50 billion. Value return is monitored via buybacks. The report notes multi-million-dollar programs in 2025 from Hyperliquid, Raydium and Pump.fun, and predicts weekly buyback spend reaches at least 2x 2025 levels, plus a shift away from “fixed percentage of fees” models toward “value-aware” execution (pacing bands, triggers, disciplined accumulation). Solana MEV is framed as a distribution problem as much as a trading one. Keyrock notes tip-based MEV (validator + Jito tips) fell from a peak of 100,000 SOL (about $25 million at the time) to a low of 1,000 SOL (about $139,000), then points to the Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM) as the mechanism that could reshape where MEV is captured, away from reflexive tip spikes and toward explicit execution pricing set by apps and venues. Moreover, Keyrock uses “shielded ZEC” as a privacy proxy and forecasts shielded deposits rising from 4.9 million to more than 7 million by end-2026. On Ethereum, it tracks whether blobs develop a meaningful fee floor and predicts a median hourly blob cost of at least $0.05 per blob on a full-year basis. Payments show up in consumer form via crypto card spend, with the report forecasting a $500 million monthly spend print at least once in 2026. TradFi integration is tracked via spot BTC ETF AUM, with Keyrock projecting holdings surpass 2.5 million BTC in 2026 and net inflows positive in at least eight months. Finally, the stablecoin funding chart anchors on Aave’s USDC variable borrow APY on Ethereum, which it says ranged from 2.4% to 9.8% in 2025. The forward-looking claim is about rate stability rather than level: a drop in 30-day rolling volatility of USDC borrow APY to an average below 0.25 versus roughly 0.40 in 2025—positioned as a prerequisite for longer-duration, institution-style strategies. At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $3.25 trillion. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The partnership could enhance technological innovation, strengthen economic ties, and shift geopolitical dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region.
The post Taiwan to become close AI strategic partner with US following new investment deal appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Three House Democrats are urging the SEC to explain its crypto enforcement retreat and the pause in the Justin Sun case.
Bitcoin's unique low correlation with traditional assets may enhance portfolio resilience and optimize risk-adjusted returns in future markets.
The post Cathie Wood sees Bitcoin as effective portfolio diversifier in the years ahead appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Bitcoin price started a fresh increase above $96,000. BTC is correcting some gains and might decline to $94,000 before a fresh increase. Bitcoin started a decent increase above $95,000 and $96,000. The price is trading above $95,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. There is a declining channel or a possible bullish flag forming with resistance at $96,200 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair might continue to move up if it stays above the $95,000 zone. Bitcoin Price Dips and Corrects Some Gains Bitcoin price managed to stay above the $93,500 support and started a fresh increase. BTC was able to settle above $95,000 and $95,500. The bulls were able to push the price above $96,000. Finally, the price spiked above $97,500. A high was formed at $97,898, and the price is now correcting some gains. There was a move below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent wave from the $89,995 swing low to the $97,898 high. Bitcoin is now trading above $95,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. If the price remains stable above $95,000, it could attempt a fresh increase. Immediate resistance is near the $96,000 level. The first key resistance is near the $96,200 level. There is also a declining channel or a possible bullish flag forming with resistance at $96,200 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The next resistance could be $97,000. A close above the $97,000 resistance might send the price further higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the $97,800 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $98,800 level. The next barrier for the bulls could be $99,200 and $100,000. Downside Continuation In BTC? If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $96,200 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Immediate support is near the $95,000 level. The first major support is near the $94,000 level and the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent wave from the $89,995 swing low to the $97,898 high. The next support is now near the $93,000 zone. Any more losses might send the price toward the $91,850 support in the near term. The main support sits at $91,500, below which BTC might accelerate lower in the near term. Technical indicators: Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bullish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now below the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $95,000, followed by $94,000. Major Resistance Levels – $96,200 and $97,000.
Bitcoin steadies near $95K as prediction markets, market makers, and desks point to a momentum-driven run at $100K rather than a decisive breakout.