At Davos, Jeremy Allaire said Circle's stablecoin functions as shared infrastructure rather than a competitor to banks or card networks.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Gold rebounds to new highs near $4,900 after Trump halts tariffs as silver surges while Bitcoin lags and US stocks rally.
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Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, has described the XRP community as “great people” while openly questioning why Brad Garlinghouse, chief executive of Ripple, supports the US crypto Clarity Act. In an interview with CoinDesk, Hoskinson said the disagreement is about policy direction, not personal conflict, and stressed that he has no issues with the XRP …
A record surge in activity on the Ethereum network is likely being driven by scam-related behavior rather than genuine user growth, according to the bank's analysts.
The Pi Network has introduced a series of updates to its Pi App Studio at the start of 2026, directed at expanding access to app creation and increasing the use of Pi within applications built on its ecosystem. The updates include simplified payment integration, an ad-supported option for deploying apps, and a community feedback initiative …
Bitcoin’s April 2025 swing low around $73,000 has become the make-or-break line for 2026, according to veteran professional trader and commentator Nik Patel, who argues that a higher-timeframe break below that level would likely open the door to a prolonged grind in the mid-$50,000s. In Part Three of his “2026 Outlook” published Jan. 21, Patel laid out a high-conviction call that Bitcoin prints fresh all-time highs in the first half of 2026, framing it as further evidence the market has shifted away from the clean, narrative-driven four-year cycle. “Bitcoin trades new all-time highs in H1 — the 4-year cycle is dead,” he wrote, summarizing his regime view as “higher for longer,” potentially stretching into 2027. Why Bitcoin Must Hold $73,000 Or Risk A Slide Patel’s core technical claim is simple: as long as Bitcoin does not close key higher timeframes below the April 2025 low, the broader structure remains intact and the base case is continuation higher. He acknowledged that he expected a sharper reversal earlier: “Timing-wise, I was wrong on my expectations for a more immediate reversal,” but stressed that price has continued to hold above the April lows “despite having every reason to break and close below.” Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Power Shift: New Whales Now Control The Market That resilience, in his view, matters more than moving averages or anchored references. “Since 2022, we have not made fresh lows on a weekly timeframe below the bottoms that preceded the next highs (or, more plainly, weekly structure in the most technical sense has remained bullish with higher-highs and higher-lows),” Patel wrote. “This has not changed and I place less weight on MAs, VWAPs etc. than I do on price itself, and whilst the $73k April lows that preceded the $126k all-time highs are protected, weekly structure is still bullish.” His forecast leans heavily on a macro and positioning backdrop he describes as inconsistent with a deep-cycle crypto bear market. Patel cited “Goldilocks into reflation,” rising inflation breakevens, falling real rates, midterm dynamics, and bearish sentiment and positioning as part of the setup that makes a 2018- or 2022-style unwind less likely in his framework. Patel’s downside map is unusually explicit for a discretionary macro-technical thesis. “If I’m wrong — and we close the higher timeframes below $73k — we likely trade mid-$50ks this year, consolidate there for many months and produce no new highs in 2026,” he wrote, outlining a scenario where a structural failure forces a wholesale reassessment. He reiterated that the trigger is not an intraday wick but timeframe closes. In his year-ahead playbook, he described being “invalidated on a weekly close below $73k but with a view to re-entering on an immediate reclaim,” while “fully” cutting exposure if Bitcoin prints a monthly close below $73,000, in which case he would “prepare for mid-$50ks.” Related Reading: Is Bitcoin Selling Off On Quantum Fears? A Reality Check Patel also pushed back on the idea that the drawdown from the highs represents a new, uniquely bearish regime. “Where many view the most recent move off the highs into $80k as a ‘structural shift unlike prior corrections’, I disagree and continue to view this as a ‘higher for longer’ regime within which we have these 30-40% corrections, range-bound price-action chewing through supply and subsequently continue higher,” he wrote. He added that the correction “felt different” in part because it coincided with what he called “the largest liquidation event in crypto history,” alongside forced selling dynamics and long-term holder supply, yet it has still only produced a drawdown modestly larger than prior pullbacks in the broader uptrend. Even so, Patel allowed for near-term turbulence. He said there is “a decent chance we sweep the November low in early Q1,” but maintained he “categorically” does not expect a higher-timeframe close below the April lows in the first half of the year. His base case remains new highs in H1 2026—“perhaps in late Q1 but likely in early Q2.” At press time, BTC traded at $90,060. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The price of Bitcoin is currently moving sideways, as traders pause after weeks of volatile trading. Analysts say the market is consolidating, with no clear trend in place, even as long-term expectations around a move toward $100,000 remain alive. On the daily chart, Bitcoin is locked in a range, reflecting uncertainty rather than strong buying …
An actively managed fund blends Bitcoin, precious metals and mining stocks as asset managers expand crypto’s role in macro and capital-preservation strategies.
Kingsport's new ordinance could set a precedent for balancing technological advancement with community concerns in urban planning.
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U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded three straight trading sessions of net outflows this week, totaling $1.58 billion. The pullback follows a brief stretch of positive follow-through, sandwiched between another three-day outflow streak from Jan. 7 – 9 that totaled $1.134 billion, or about $378 million a day leaving the category. Earlier in the month, […]
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USD.AI primarily operates as an onchain bank for AI startups, accepting tokenized GPUs as collateral for stablecoin loans.
The crypto custodian priced its initial public offering at $18 per share late Wednesday.
The Bitcoin price rally to $90,000 failed to hold after 17,000 BTC were sent to exchanges, but an improving spot market suggests that traders view BTC’s current pricing as discounted.
Natix and Valeo are building a decentralized, self-driving camera model to offer a transparent foundation for the safe mainstream deployment of physical AIs.
Spacecoin aims to provide permissionless internet access via satellite constellation, targeting remote and underserved communities.
"Historically, Ethereum’s successive upgrades have failed to meaningfully enhance network activity on a sustained basis."
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he is advising several governments on tokenizing state assets.
Analysts told Decrypt that though network activity for the privacy coin is far below its peak, offshoot projects show promise.
Blockchain game PGA Tour Rise is set to be one of the first major apps to launch on Skale’s new layer-3 network on Base.
Bitwise’s take on the final months of 2025 reads like a careful, hopeful note rather than a loud market call. Momentum on the chains rose even as prices stalled, and that gap is exactly what has traders talking. Some think it marks a bottom. Others say it’s too soon to be sure. Related Reading: Trove’s New Token Craters 95%, Sparking Investor Revolt Crypto: On-Chain Activity Surges According to Bitwise, Ethereum activity and layer-two transactions climbed to new highs, and decentralized trading grew markedly. Stablecoin supplies also swelled, with the total market cap passing the $300 billion mark in Q4. Reports note that decentralized exchange volumes at times matched or exceeded those of major centralized venues. These are hard numbers. They are signs that real use and liquidity are expanding under the surface. The latest Bitwise Crypto Market Review just dropped—and it’s the most important one we’ve ever published. Why? Because it shows a tension in crypto markets that has historically signaled a bear-market bottom (see Q1 2023). Receipts: During Q4 2025… – ETH’s price fell 29% …… — Bitwise (@BitwiseInvest) January 21, 2026 Why Prices Have Lagged Bitwise’s chief investment officer, Matt Hougan, compared this setup to early 2023 when prices trailed rising fundamentals before a significant rebound took hold over the following two years. The comparison makes sense on paper. Price can be stubborn. Market psychology often lags behind on-chain realities, and traders sometimes wait for a clearer macro story before committing capital. Fundstrat’s Tom Lee offers a counterpoint, saying the year could be bumpy until late, with tariffs and political tensions weighing on risk appetite. That view keeps many investors cautious. Crypto, Stablecoins And DeFi At The Center According to market data, flows into stablecoins accelerated, and fund inflows to crypto firms outpaced several other sectors in the stock market. DeFi use was no longer a niche metric; it was central to the Q4 narrative. “That’s the type of divergence you get at the bottom of bear markets, when sentiment is down but fundamentals are up,” Hougan said. Some infrastructure firms reported rising revenues. At the same time, trading volumes remained muted compared with the peaks seen earlier, which helps explain the mismatch between on-chain strength and sideways price action. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Sharp Reversal Leaves Over $800 Million Liquidated In 1 Day Why This Might Matter For 2026 Bitwise highlighted 10 broad indicators it sees as health signs for the market, ranging from transaction counts to custody and fee trends. Progress on regulatory clarity was also flagged. Reports say the Clarity Act could change how stablecoins are treated in the US, and a new US Federal Reserve chair could shift policy in ways that matter for risk assets. Bitwise sees Q4 as a quiet period where things were improving behind the scenes, even if prices didn’t show it. The firm says this kind of gap between price and activity has happened before big rebounds. It doesn’t mean a rally will happen right away, but the market could be setting itself up for a stronger year ahead. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
The crypto company's stock will be available in a tokenized version on Ethereum, Solana and BNB Chain closely after it starts trading on NYSE.
Chainlink acquires Atlas to enhance SVR protocol, scaling on multiple blockchains and boosting MEV recapture for DeFi protocols.
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The regulatory debate has narrowed to rewards, as lawmakers weigh how incentives around stablecoins could affect bank deposits.
Chainlink and Atlas will offer a loan liquidation auction tool for "non-toxic" MEV that pays both backrunning bots and protocols.
The launch of this ETF highlights growing investor demand for assets that hedge against inflation and currency devaluation, impacting global markets.
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Pierre Rochard's call for the Federal Reserve to integrate Bitcoin into its stress tests came at an unusual moment: the Fed is soliciting public comment on its 2026 scenarios while simultaneously proposing new transparency requirements for how it builds and updates those models. The timing creates a natural question that has nothing to do with […]
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SpaceX readies 2026 IPO that may top $25B and $1T valuation, with Goldman, JPMorgan, BofA, and Morgan Stanley in talks.
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Elliptic says the ruble-pegged A7A5 processed nearly 250,000 onchain transactions, demonstrating how stablecoins facilitate cross-border flows under sanctions pressure.