Из жизни альткоинов

Во Франции сотрудница налогового управления региона Иль‑де‑Франс Галия С. (Ghalia C.) подозревается в передаче конфиденциальных данных из налоговых баз. По версии следствия, она «сливала» информацию о криптоактивах преступным группировкам.

Роспатент зарегистрировал товарный знак платформы Hadron, предназначенной для токенизации активов. Площадка принадлежит компании Tether — крупнейшему эмитенту стейблкоина USDT.

The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) has taken a significant step forward in the cryptocurrency and digital asset space by introducing tokenized deposit capabilities specifically for institutional clients. 

Tokenized Deposits Launch At BNY Mellon

According to reports on the matter, the new system operates on a private, permissioned blockchain. Traditional deposit balances will still be recorded in the bank’s conventional systems, offering clients both security and flexibility.

BNY Mellon expressed that the introduction of tokenized deposits could facilitate significant improvements in efficiency. According to Carolyn Weinberg, the bank’s Chief Product and Innovation Officer: 

Tokenized deposits provide us with the opportunity to extend our trusted bank deposits onto digital rails—enabling clients to operate with greater speed across collateral, margin, and payments, within a framework built for scale, resilience, and regulatory alignment.

The launch is part of a broader initiative to bridge traditional banking with emerging digital infrastructures, including stablecoins and tokenized money market funds. 

In the long run, BNY Mellon envisions that tokenized deposits will support rules-based, near real-time cash movements, further easing settlement processes and enhancing liquidity for institutional clients.

Yuval Rooz, co-founder and CEO of Digital Asset, welcomed the opportunity to partner with BNY Mellon, highlighting how this initiative represents a practical, institution-ready approach to tokenization. 

He noted that bringing deposit balances on-chain could significantly enhance asset mobilization and unlock liquidity across critical workflows.

Major Financial Players Join

Market expert MartyParty provided insights into the implications of this launch, stating that tokenized deposits create an on-chain digital representation—a “wrapper”—of actual client cash balances held in traditional BNY accounts. 

He emphasized that the real money remains secure within the regulated banking ecosystem, accruing interest and remaining a direct liability of BNY Mellon, designated as a globally systemically important bank (G-SIB).

Unlike stablecoins or other crypto assets, tokenized deposits represent programmable bank money on a private blockchain, synchronized with core banking records. 

The benefits are substantial, enabling 24/7 operations, instant or near-instant transfers, and programmable payments that execute under specific conditions. 

This advancement is also expected to reduce the friction associated with legacy systems and significantly improve liquidity efficiency, even outside of traditional banking hours.

The list of initial participants in this initiative  includes the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Citadel Securities, DRW Holdings, Ripple Prime, Circle (the issuer of USDC), Anchorage Digital, Galaxy, Invesco, and Baillie Gifford. 

These institutions will be testing real workflows such as collateral management and high-value settlements, further validating the effectiveness of BNY Mellon’s new offering.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

In a significant development, Ripple has expanded its footprint in regulated markets after gaining regulatory approval from the UK’s financial authorities to provide payment services.

Ripple Obtains FCA Approval

On Friday, Ripple secured a major regulatory victory in the UK by officially obtaining its registration approval with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) through its subsidiary Ripple Markets UK Ltd.

According to the FCA’s official records, the company obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license under the country’s Money Laundering Regulations (MLR). Therefore, it will be able to conduct certain crypto-related activities in the UK.

The EMI registration will allow Ripple to provide payment services and issue electronic money, according to the FCA website. However, it will remain subject to key restrictions without the financial authority’s approval.

First, “Ripple Markets UK Ltd will not, without the prior written consent of the Authority, provide the following services: 1. The firm will not operate a machine which utilises any automated processes to exchange cryptoassets for money or money for cryptoassets 2. Offer or commence any services to retail clients,” the records read.

In addition, the company cannot appoint any agents or distributors, and “will not issue electronic money, or provide payment services, to a consumer, micro-enterprise or charity.”

Ripple’s regulatory approval comes amid the authorities’ efforts to develop a comprehensive financial services regulation that integrates crypto assets into the existing framework, positioning the UK as a global crypto hub.

As reported by Bitcoinist, the UK Treasury is set to extend existing laws to cover crypto firms, moving exchanges, wallet providers, and other crypto service companies from the current anti-money-laundering registration to the regulatory regime of banks and brokers.

FCA To Start New Registration Regime In September

Ahead of the new rules’ implementation, set to take effect in October 2027, the FCA recently unveiled a timeline for crypto firms to comply with the new registration regime, which could affect Ripple’s recent victory.

On January 8, the financial regulator published a notice informing that it expects to open the application period for crypto firms requesting authorization in September 2026.

Notably, firms seeking to undertake any of the new crypto asset regulated activities will need new approvals to undertake those activities authorized by the FCA under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

Therefore, crypto companies operating in the UK must secure approval or a variation of the existing permission. The FCA emphasized that “firms that are registered with us under the MLRs should note that there will be no automatic conversion and that they will need to secure authorisation by us under FSMA prior to the commencement of the new regime.”

Based on this, Ripple’s UK subsidiary will need to reapply in September to continue conducting regulated crypto activities under the new regime. Firms that apply during the established window are expected to receive a decision before the rules take effect. Nonetheless, companies that have not received approval by October 2027 will be allowed to continue operating until a decision is made.

Meanwhile, companies that miss the application period or are not authorized before the new rules are enacted will enter a “transitional provision.” This will allow them to continue fulfilling existing contracts, but they won’t be able to conduct new regulated crypto activities in the UK until they are authorized.

Bitcoin is struggling to hold above the $90,000 level as uncertainty continues to dominate market sentiment. After weeks of consolidation and failed recovery attempts, price action reflects a fragile balance between cautious buyers and persistent selling pressure. While traders focus on technical levels and macro signals, an often-overlooked component of the Bitcoin ecosystem is quietly sending important warnings: miner behavior.

Top analyst Darkfost explains that mining activity comes with variable and rising costs, including energy, hardware, and operational expenses. When miners begin operating at a loss, they are typically left with two main options, which are often used in combination. The first is to sell BTC to cover expenses and remain operational. The second is to reduce or shut down activity by turning off machines, effectively lowering their exposure to unprofitable conditions.

At its core, Bitcoin mining consists of solving cryptographic problems using computational power. The network is engineered so that one block is mined roughly every 10 minutes. When block times drift higher or lower, the protocol automatically adjusts mining difficulty every 2,016 blocks to restore equilibrium. These adjustments, combined with miner profitability, are directly reflected in the network’s hashrate.

Currently, the hashrate is declining, signaling mounting stress across the mining sector. This suggests miners are scaling back operations, a dynamic that often coincides with heightened market fragility and elevated sell-side risk for Bitcoin.

Miner Pressure Eases as Difficulty Adjusts Lower

Today, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty is beginning to adjust, offering early signs of relief for a sector that has been under sustained pressure. The latest adjustment shows a decline of approximately 2.6%, and current projections suggest the next difficulty change could also move lower by around 1.88%. While these figures may appear modest, they carry meaningful implications for miner behavior and broader market dynamics.

A downward difficulty adjustment reduces the computational effort required to mine new blocks, effectively lowering operational stress for miners. As a result, profitability conditions improve at the margin, even if Bitcoin’s price remains range-bound.

This easing of pressure helps stabilize mining activity and, critically, reduces the urgency for miners to sell BTC simply to cover operating costs. Historically, periods when miner stress begins to unwind have often coincided with declining sell-side pressure from this cohort.

These dynamics are implicitly captured by the Hash Ribbons indicator, which tracks short- and long-term moving averages of the network hashrate to identify miner capitulation and recovery phases. Darkfost notes that Hash Ribbons is still flashing a buy signal, indicating that the market remains in a post-capitulation environment where miner selling pressure has largely been absorbed.

However, this signal is now starting to fade. As difficulty adjusts downward and conditions normalize, miners are likely to gradually return to full operational capacity. As machines come back online, the hashrate should trend higher, marking the transition out of the stress phase and signaling that the window of miner-driven relief may be narrowing.

Price Action Remains Range-Bound Below Key Averages

Bitcoin continues to trade in a broad consolidation range after the sharp sell-off from the October highs, with price currently hovering around the $90,000–$92,000 zone. The chart shows BTC attempting to stabilize after reclaiming the red long-term moving average, but upside momentum remains limited as price is still capped below the blue and green mid-term moving averages, which are now acting as dynamic resistance.

The recent bounce from the $85,000–$87,000 area suggests that buyers are defending this demand zone, which has repeatedly attracted bids since late November. However, the structure remains corrective rather than impulsive. Each recovery attempt has produced lower highs, signaling that sellers continue to distribute into strength. Volume also remains relatively muted compared to the sell-off phase, reinforcing the idea that this move is a consolidation rather than a trend reversal.

From a structural perspective, Bitcoin remains trapped between strong resistance near $95,000–$98,000 and key support around $85,000. A decisive reclaim of the 100-day and 200-day moving averages would be required to confirm a bullish regime shift. Until that happens, price action favors continued sideways movement or another test of lower support.

Overall, the chart reflects a market in balance: sellers are no longer in full control, but buyers lack the conviction needed to push Bitcoin back into a sustained uptrend.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

As the US Congress gears up to mark up the long-awaited crypto market structure bill on January 15, industry representatives are actively engaging in discussions regarding the critical elements of this legislation. 

Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, highlighted important points concerning the state of the bill and the ongoing negotiations among lawmakers in a recent social media post on X (formerly Twitter).

Key Points For Crypto Market Structure Bill

Mersinger described the upcoming markup as a pivotal moment for digital asset legislation, emphasizing the significance of the moment for US leadership in the crypto space. 

While she expressed gratitude to Senate leadership for their efforts, she underscored the necessity of addressing several “non-negotiable issues” to ensure that the bill remains durable, workable, and supportive of innovation.

One of the primary concerns Mersinger raised was the need for developer protections. She argued that the builders of peer-to-peer (P2P), open-source technologies should not be classified as financial intermediaries, making it essential for the inclusion of the BRCA (Blockchain Regulatory Compliance Act) in the market structure bill. 

Additionally, Mersinger highlighted the need to amend “outdated laws,” which she alleges poses risks of meritless criminal prosecutions for developers simply writing code for non-custodial technologies.

Another critical point made by Mersinger is the preservation of decentralized finance (DeFi). She emphasized that DeFi must not be legislated out of existence, stating that open and decentralized innovation is vital for US competitiveness in the global market. 

She stressed that more than 110 organizations and companies have voiced similar sentiments, as illustrated by an August 2025 letter sent to the Senate advocating for developer protections.

Bipartisan Compromise On Stablecoins At Risk

Stablecoin policy also emerged as a significant topic in Mersinger’s remarks. She urged Congress to safeguard a bipartisan compromise established in the GENIUS Act, warning against measures that would impose yield bans, which could constrain lawful rewards and favor large banking institutions over new entrants to the market. 

Mersinger stressed that market structure reforms should facilitate competition between emerging players and legacy institutions, rather than entrench existing advantages.

Mersinger’s statement comes on the heels of insights shared by crypto journalist Eleanor Terret who recently disclosed that the Senate Banking Committee plans to pass the bill next week, after which it will be merged with the Senate Agriculture Committee’s portion before heading to the Senate floor for a full vote. 

Should this process proceed smoothly, the bill could reach President Trump’s desk for signing, with Terret estimating that this could happen as early as March. However, she cautioned that if the House decides to make amendments to the Senate’s version, the timeline could extend into the summer.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

Ethereum is once again attempting to reclaim the $3,100 level after several days of speculation, hesitation, and mixed signals across the broader crypto market. While price action has shown signs of stabilization, conviction remains limited, keeping traders cautious as Ethereum hovers near a key inflection zone. Bulls are trying to regain control, but the market is still searching for confirmation that the recent pullback has fully played out.

According to an analysis published on CryptoQuant, derivatives data offers important context for this phase of consolidation. Open Interest across Ethereum markets currently sits around $7.8 billion, while price trades near $3,100. This positioning is notable because it reflects a balanced environment: Open Interest is neither at extreme lows, which would signal mass position unwinding, nor at overheated highs typically associated with excessive leverage and fragility.

Instead, the data suggests that market participants are largely maintaining existing positions rather than aggressively exiting or entering new trades. This behavior points to a compression phase, where traders are waiting for a clearer directional catalyst before committing further capital. Such conditions often precede sharp moves, as volatility tends to expand once the price breaks out of consolidation.

As Ethereum tests this critical level, the interaction between price stability and sustained Open Interest will be key. Whether this balance resolves into a bullish continuation or a renewed downside move will likely define Ethereum’s short-term trajectory.

Rising Open Interest Signals Breakout Risk for Ethereum

The report explains that Ethereum’s recent price behavior is increasingly constructive when viewed alongside derivatives data. Over the past sessions, price has been trending modestly higher while Open Interest has continued to rise. This combination is important: it suggests that new positions are being opened without a meaningful reduction in existing exposure. In practical terms, market participants are engaged rather than sidelined, and positioning is building rather than unwinding.

At the same time, volatility is beginning to expand after a prolonged period of compression. This type of environment often precedes a decisive move, as price and positioning tighten into a narrower range. Notably, Open Interest has now recovered above its SMA(30), SMA(50), and SMA(100) moving averages. This shift signals a renewed willingness to take risks in the leveraged market and confirms that traders are gradually increasing exposure instead of reacting impulsively.

If Ethereum can continue to hold above the $3,000 level and Open Interest rises steadily—rather than through abrupt spikes that typically precede liquidations—the setup favors a controlled, spot-driven advance. Under these conditions, price could extend toward the $3,700 area, which represents a natural upside objective for this structure.

Ethereum appears to be preparing for an imminent breakout. With Open Interest climbing and demand improving, a sharp move is increasingly likely. The market will either resolve through a clean upside break above the $3,324 resistance or be flushed via liquidations. The bias remains for a positive breakout toward $3,700, followed by a reassessment within the broader downtrend.

ETH Consolidates at a Critical Long-Term Pivot Zone

Ethereum’s price action on the weekly chart shows a market caught between structural support and unresolved bearish pressure. After failing to sustain momentum above the $4,000–$4,200 zone in 2025, ETH entered a broad corrective phase that pushed price back toward the $3,000 area, where it is currently consolidating. This region has become a pivotal battleground, acting as a medium-term equilibrium between buyers and sellers.

From a trend perspective, ETH is trading near its long-term moving averages, with the 200-week moving average providing dynamic support around the mid-$2,000s. The ability to remain above this level suggests that the broader uptrend from the 2022 lows is not yet invalidated. However, price remains capped below declining shorter-term averages, highlighting that bullish momentum is still weak and rallies continue to face supply.

Structurally, the market is forming a wide consolidation range between roughly $2,700 and $3,400. A sustained hold above $3,100 keeps ETH in range-bound conditions, but does not confirm trend reversal.

For bulls, reclaiming and holding above the $3,300–$3,400 resistance zone would be the first signal of renewed strength and a potential path toward higher levels. Until then, Ethereum remains vulnerable to further downside volatility if support near $2,800–$2,700 is revisited.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com