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An interactive question-and-answer session between members of the community and David Schwartz has peeled back another layer of early XRP and Ripple history. 

The discussion unfolded publicly on the social media platform X, where users posed a series of questions touching on the token’s smallest unit, the creative forces behind the XRP Ledger, and even some forgotten cultural details from Ripple’s early internet presence. The responses from Schwartz offered rare insights into the personalities and ideas that shaped Ripple and the Ledger in its formative years.

Ripple Name, Drop, And The Role Of Arthur Britto

The exchange began when an XRP community member known as Bird asked Schwartz who came up with the term “drop” as the name for the smallest unit of the altcoin. The question was for clarifying historical details for documentation purposes. Schwartz replied that he could not say with absolute certainty, but he believed the idea came from Arthur Britto, one of the primary architects of the XRP Ledger.

Schwartz then expanded beyond the naming question and offered a personal comparison between himself and Britto. He described himself as having the same kind of intelligence as most people, just more of it, but said Britto possessed something entirely different, a rare quality that others simply do not have. 

Another community member, Toby, switched the conversation from technical history to cultural curiosity. He asked whether Ripple’s name, which also happens to be a Grateful Dead song, and the appearance of a Dancing Bear on an old Ripple 404 error page were part of some deeper internal joke or inspiration.

According to Schwartz, the only connection he was aware of was purely incidental. The ripple.com domain had been registered by a Grateful Dead fan who secured it because of the song, and Ripple later acquired the domain from that individual.

Reality Check On XRP Price Expectations

As the conversation continued, XRPL validator Vet asked Schwartz to provide a concrete example from the past that demonstrated the special quality he had attributed to Britto. Schwartz responded by pointing to two major ideas that originated with Britto: the concept of a decentralized exchange built directly into the XRP Ledger and the use of pathfinding to allow payments to draw incrementally from multiple liquidity sources.

The tone of the discussion changed again when another user urged Schwartz to publicly tell XRP supporters that the price could never reach figures like $50 or $100. However, Schwartz declined to make such a statement. 

He explained that although he personally does not think such price levels are likely, history has taught him caution when declaring what crypto prices cannot do. He recalled thinking XRP was unlikely to reach $0.25 and selling his holdings at $0.10 because it felt irrationally high at the time. This was at a time when Bitcoin reaching $100 seemed impossible.

Charles Hoskinson says a Circle-issued stablecoin product is headed to Cardano after what he described as “deep negotiations” between Circle and a Cardano-aligned negotiating group known as the Pentad (Input Output (IOHK), EMURGO, Cardano Foundation, Midnight Foundation, and Intersect). Speaking from Fukuoka on his Japan tour livestream titled “Circle and Pentad,” Hoskinson framed the deal as a long-awaited step toward bringing “tier one” stablecoin liquidity into Cardano’s DeFi stack.

USDCX To Launch On Cardano After Deal Signed

Hoskinson said the agreement is signed and positioned the integration as near-term rather than aspirational. “This is not something that’s six months out, ink is on paper, deal is signed,” he said, adding that integration work should happen “in short order.” The pitch is that Cardano gains access to Circle’s distribution rails and liquidity network, while developers can build around a familiar dollar asset without needing bespoke plumbing for every application.

What’s coming, per Hoskinson, is “USDCX,” which he described as effectively the same asset as USDC but deployed through a model Circle uses for non-EVM chains. “USDCX is basically same asset and how it works is there’s a one-to-one reserve,” he said. “So for the non-EV chains like Stacks and others there’s a mirroring effect that occurs […] and then it’s easy through their network to access the same liquidity as USDC. So effectively it’s what we need.”

In Hoskinson’s telling, the practical implication is straightforward: Cardano users and applications get stablecoin functionality tied into Circle’s broader liquidity environment, without waiting for a native issuance path that has been a recurring community demand. “People were asking for a long, long time to get a tier one stable coin to Cardano,” he said. “This is how you do it and now we’re here. So we have access to Circle’s network, Circle’s protocol, Circle’s technology and the great liquidity of the Circle network as a whole.”

Hoskinson also emphasized what he called privacy benefits in the “USDCX” design, though he did not specify implementation details on the stream beyond noting “the added privacy benefits of USDCX and all the technologies therein.” He praised Circle as a counterparty, calling them “consummate professionals” and “tough negotiator[s],” and credited the Pentad for representing Cardano’s interests across the talks.

A key operational question for Cardano’s DeFi market is how quickly the asset becomes usable across the app layer and centralized exchange rails. Hoskinson acknowledged that distribution is not automatic just because a deal is signed.

“We have to make sure that we get USDCX integrated into all of the Cardano applications and so there’s a seamless user experience and a seamless user experience with exchanges so you can go from USDC and back without any additional steps or work,” he said, characterizing the remaining work as “a little bit more integration on our side,” but “not too much.”

He argued that Circle’s prior work on other non-EVM deployments should compress timelines. “That’s one of the advantages of this new USDCX is fast integration time,” Hoskinson said. “It doesn’t require a ton of custom work to get working with Cardano because they’ve already done these types of things with Stacks.”

The announcement lands against a backdrop Hoskinson described as poor market conditions and sour sentiment, which he suggested has fueled skepticism around Cardano partnerships more broadly. In a longer aside, he pushed back on the idea that integrations like these are perpetually “maybe” milestones.

“I do know that there are certain people that are skeptical […] ‘Well, maybe [it] will come, maybe not. Who knows? We’ll wait and see,’” Hoskinson said. “I don’t know how else to convey than signing the deal, doing the integration work […] but I understand that the skepticism comes from the market sentiment at the end of the day.”

Circle and Pentad https://t.co/qSfF1D7bcM

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) January 30, 2026

Hoskinson used the same segment to reiterate that Cardano’s roadmap and partner strategy remains the controllable variable, even if macro headlines and political noise aren’t. “All we have agency over is what we build, who we partner with, and our strategy as a whole,” he said, before citing ongoing efforts including Leios, Hydra, Pentad’s integration push, and Midnight.

At press time, ADA traded at $0.3258.

Even years after its inception, the XRP Ledger, one of the leading networks in the crypto space, continues to attract robust adoption and real-world usage. With thousands of transactions being conducted on the leading network’s DEX on a daily basis, it has now reached a historical level that marks its growing role in decentralized trading.

Decentralized Trading On XRP Ledger Accelerates

XRP is experiencing heightened interest not just in buying activity from traders; the XRP Ledger has been seeing significant usage over the past few weeks. While adoption has increased toward the network, the Ledger’s Decentralized Exchange (DEX) activity is breaking past prior highs.

Xaif Crypto, a market expert and investor on the X platform, reported that the Ledger DEX activity has surged to new levels. Specifically, data shows that the activity recently reached a 13-month high, signaling a sharp uptick in on-chain trading across the network.

As more liquidity and transactions move over XRPL’s native DEX infrastructure, the increase is indicative of increasing user involvement. Sustained growth in DEX activity frequently indicates deeper adoption and expanding use cases, in contrast to brief spikes caused solely by speculation.

According to the chart shared by the expert, the number of transactions on the 14-day MA rose to approximately 1.014 million, breaking the ceiling that held throughout all of 2025. With this level of DEX transactions, the XRP Ledger is becoming a more active center for decentralized trade within the larger cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Xaif Crypto stated that this massive transaction count is not just a mere spike; it signals sustained momentum for the Ledger. Currently, the network is witnessing a fresh wave of liquidity and real user engagement. As a result, the expert declares that the Ledger is heating up in 2026.

This milestone comes as the XRP Ledger rolls out a new Lending Protocol (XLS-66), which is attracting institutional-grade credit to the network. With the new Lending Protocol, the Ledger is now evolving into a full financial layer with Rippled 3.1.0.

The protocol includes the ability to create loans on the Ledger, with loan brokers being able to generate fixed-term and fixed-rate, uncollateralized loans. These loans are predictable for professional use.

In addition, these loans are held in a Single Asset Vault, allowing risk-isolated liquidity. Another feature is the off-chain underwriting for uncollateralized options. It boasts native efficiency, which offers low-cost lending without a middleman or intermediaries. In the meantime, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) on the Ledger has just undergone a boost.

The Lending Protocol Gains Institutional Support

Following its historical launch a few days ago, the new XRP Lending Protocol is now experiencing significant support from institutional-level investors. One of the earliest companies to interact with the new protocol is Evernorth, a leading public treasury company.

According to BankXRP, the company is backing the native lending protocol to help transition a $100 billion market cap into a productive, yield-bearing ecosystem. These kinds of moves are an indication that the future of institutional DeFi is becoming native-driven.

The Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP prices have crashed this week, recording massive declines, led by BTC, which dropped to new 2026 lows. This decline has been mainly due to macro fundamentals, including the Trump tariffs, which are causing market uncertainty. 

Why The Bitcoin, Dogecoin, And XRP Prices Are Crashing

The Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP prices are down this week and are now suffering year-to-date (YTD) losses, according to CoinMarketCap. BTC dropped below $82,000 yesterday, marking a new yearly low for the leading crypto. One reason for this decline remains the Trump tariffs, which have heightened market uncertainty. 

Earlier this week, the U.S. president announced in a Truth Social post that he was increasing tariffs on South Korea from 15% to 25%. This came just days after he threatened to increase tariffs on Canada to 100% if they made a trade deal with China. It is worth noting that JPMorgan analysts, in a recent note, explained that the Trump tariffs, especially on China, are affecting dollar liquidity, which they indicated is already contributing to the decline in the prices of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP. 

These analysts explained that China has had to adapt to the Trump tariff pressure and, in doing so, is adversely affecting the dollar liquidity cycle. Notably, China has been selling off U.S. treasuries and buying more gold. Amid this development, the U.S. dollar has weakened, which will typically be bullish for BTC. 

However, these analysts stated that investors currently treat Bitcoin as a liquidity-sensitive risk asset rather than as a hedge against the USD weakness. Gold has instead taken the spotlight in this regard, reaching new highs as investors move to it as a safe haven. Notably, the Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP prices also dropped yesterday as gold crashed over 6% amid a sudden sell-off. 

Meanwhile, rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran are also contributing to the decline in the Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP prices. Earlier this week, Trump threatened strikes on Iran that would be far worse than the strikes last year. According to a Reuters report, the U.S. president is already weighing options against Iran, which could include targeted strikes on security forces and leaders. Iran has also vowed to respond like never before if pushed by the U.S.

A Hawkish Fed Is Also Sparking Bearish Sentiment 

The Fed also appears to be hawkish at the moment, which has sparked a bearish sentiment and contributed to the decline in Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP prices. The Fed held interest rates at the FOMC meeting earlier this week, while signaling that they are in no hurry to make more rate cuts. This could mark the beginning of a rate-pause cycle, which could further constrain liquidity. 

Concerns about the Fed’s hawkish pivot have also worsened following reports that former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is likely to become the next Fed Chair. Warsh is regarded as one of the more hawkish candidates for Fed chair, as he has advocated for a smaller Federal Reserve balance sheet. It also remains unclear where he stands on rate cuts, unlike the other candidates, who have declared support for lower interest rates.

Metaplanet, the Tokyo-listed firm that has been shifting into a Bitcoin treasury role, moved this week to shore up its balance sheet and add more BTC to its vault.

The company cleared a plan to raise up to about $137 million through a mix of new shares and stock acquisition rights aimed at buying Bitcoin, supporting its income business tied to BTC, and cutting some debt.

Reports say the fundraising will be done mainly with select overseas investors rather than a public share sale.

Metaplanet’s Capital Mix

According to filings, Metaplanet plans to issue 24.53 million new common shares at 499 yen apiece, which would bring in roughly 12.24 billion yen immediately.

In addition, the company will grant stock acquisition rights that could raise more money if exercised, taking the total potential haul to about 21 billion yen (roughly $137 million).

Reports note the share price for the offering sits a little above recent trading levels, but investors still reacted nervously.

A Push To Buy More Bitcoin

Metaplanet has been piling up BTC for a while. As of late December 2025, the company held about 35,102 Bitcoin, based on public updates.

The new funds are meant to let it keep buying while also giving breathing room for its Bitcoin income operations — those are businesses that try to earn fees or returns from BTC activity rather than from hotels or other old lines of business. Some of the cash will also go toward paying down borrowings tied to its recent credit facility.

Market Response And Risks

Stock traders pushed Metaplanet shares lower after the news, with the price slipping several percent during the session on concerns over dilution and the short-term impact of the issuance.

The company has faced sharp swings before: it booked a large non-cash impairment late in 2025 after Bitcoin’s fall, a hit that trimmed reported equity by a big sum and highlighted how tied the firm is to BTC prices. That accounting loss does not mean the coins were sold, but it did spook some investors.

Why This Matters

Reports say Metaplanet is trying to balance growth of its Bitcoin stash with steps to make its finances less fragile. The move shows a bet that holding more BTC and building services around it can pay off, but the plan also exposes shareholders to more swings in crypto markets.

For some investors, the chance to back a focused Bitcoin treasury is attractive. For others, the same bet looks risky, especially when big paper losses can show up on financial statements even while the firm holds the same coins.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

In a sudden move, the Bitcoin price has dropped sharply as volatility in the broader cryptocurrency market experienced a sharp increase, causing the flagship asset to retest the $83,000 level. Amid this waning market performance, a key trend is currently in the spotlight and making waves, which is the steady reduction in BTC Lost Coin supply.

Price Declines, And Lost Bitcoins Are Dropping

While the price of Bitcoin struggles with heightened volatility, the market dynamics are starting to see a critical shift in trend and investors’ activity. Several key metrics are now displaying a cautious signal about the market again, and one of those is the Bitcoin Lost Coins metric.

In the research, Joao Wedson, the founder of on-chain data platform Alphractal, disclosed that the BTC lost coin supply is declining, hinting at a subtle but meaningful shift in the network’s long-term dynamics. According to the market expert, this decline is not a coincidence.

This development suggests that many coins that were previously thought to be permanently unreachable are being reclassified as active, lowering the expected proportion of Bitcoin that cannot be recovered. It also essentially increases the usable quantity of BTC, which has an impact on the scarcity assumptions that underlie long-term pricing models.

Wedson highlighted that several analysts attributed the decline solely to the Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), but the story is beyond the narrative. While the ETF was the structural catalyst, the real trigger was breaking the long-awaited $100,000 price mark. When Bitcoin hits the price range, all economic incentives are altered. 

BTC that had been sitting idle for years in exchange cold wallets have started to move due to custody restructuring, address migrations, and UTXO consolidation. At the same time, OG whales and long-term holders have also moved into distribution mode, as they are actively selling into the market. This is considered a classic behavior during redistribution phases, not market collapse.

The developments coincide with individuals and companies making serious efforts to recover coins once believed to be lost in old backups, forgotten hard drives, abandoned multisigs, legal custodianships, estates, and inheritances. In simple terms, BTC that were economically dead before came back to life.

After his analysis, Wedson believes that the core point is simple. BTC ETFs did not create any new coins, and the $100,000 level did not either. Instead, all they did was reawaken an old supply that had been dormant. However, the Lost Coins are declining due to BTC becoming too valuable to ignore.

What Are BTC Investors Doing In The Market

Despite the ongoing volatile landscape, CW, a market expert, revealed that Bitcoin’s large holders are steadily purchasing low-leveraged long positions. These investors are building long positions rather than chasing aggressive bets, suggesting increasing confidence in the absence of excessive risk.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Big Money Bet: Whales Are Ramping Up Long Positions As Market Sets Up

On the other hand, the high-leveraged long positions of all retail investors have been liquidated. It is worth noting that the majority of high-leverage investors lost their money before the rally even started.

XRP’s wealth distribution is under the spotlight as new data reveals how much power is concentrated among its largest holders. A crypto analyst has unveiled fresh insights from the XRP rich list, showing the percentage of supply controlled by top wallets and what this could mean for price action. 

XRP Rich List Data Unveiled

XRP’s rich list data has been exposed by market expert KKapon, who shared a breakdown of wallet balances that challenge common assumptions about token concentration. The figures show that the top 10% of wallets hold at least 2,307 XRP, the top 5% start at 8,000 XRP, and the top 1% begin around 48,087 XRP. This shifts the focus away from price talk and toward who controls liquidity in the network.

KKapon argued that most people misunderstand XRP’s distribution because they have not reviewed the data and done the math. He emphasized that his analysis is not centered on market value, since price is only an output of deeper structural factors. Instead, he focuses on who has liquidity, who does not, and who will need it when demand increases. 

He shared a table showing the number of accounts and XRP balances for wallet holders in the top 0.01% to the top 10%. The data shows that the top 0.01% of accounts hold at least 3,852,994 XRP, representing just 756 wallets with multi-million-token balances. This concentration illustrates just how liquidity is clustered at the very top of the holder base. 

Moving slightly down the distribution curve, the top 0.1% of wallets control balances of 295,194 XRP or more across 7,554 accounts. The top 0.5% threshold sits at 85,861 XRP, covering 37,768 wallets. These figures show that tens of thousands of accounts currently control a significant portion of XRP’s supply and can influence market liquidity during periods of high demand.

According to the table, the 1% tier begins at 48,087 XRP, corresponding to 75,535 wallets. At the 2% level, balances drop to 23,348 XRP across more than 151,000 accounts, while the 3% tier holds at least 15,000 XRP in over 260,000 wallet addresses. Lower distribution levels still reveal significant control among a relatively small segment of holders. The top 5% of wallets each hold at least 8,000 XRP, totaling about 377,671 accounts, while the top 10% begins at 2,307 XRP across more than 755,000 wallets. 

Who Controls XRP Rich List Wallets

KKapon noted that the rich list in his analysis mostly shows retail wallets and does not capture how institutions hold XRP. He explained that, unlike individual users, institutional investors keep their XRP in personal on-chain wallets. They also gain exposure through custodians, funds, or derivative products. This means the rich list data only shows how XRP is distributed across wallets, not who owns the balances or has economic control over them.

Bybit’s return to heavy trading was one of the stranger comeback stories of last year. Reports say the exchange moved back toward the top of the leaderboard after a massive security breach, and traders kept coming. That did not happen by accident. Quick decisions and public reassurances played a big role.

Bybit Bounces Back

According to CoinGecko, Bybit handled $1.5 trillion in trades during 2025 and ended the year with about 8% of total market share.

That is a solid showing given what happened in February, when attackers made off with $1.5 billion worth of Ether after finding a hole in the exchange’s cold wallet setup.

The theft has been linked to North Korean actors by several sources, and it stands as one of the largest losses in crypto history.

Many firms that face breaches do not recover. Reports note nearly eight out of 10 projects hit by hacks never fully bounce back.

Bybit’s choice to keep withdrawals open and to honor user balances changed the math. That move reduced panic and kept liquidity flowing.

Market Movers And Volume Gains

Trading volumes rose across multiple venues in 2025. CoinGecko’s research points out that six of the top 10 exchanges grew their yearly volume, and the total extra trades equaled about $1.3 trillion.

MEXC jumped sharply, reportedly rising 90% over the prior year, a gain blamed largely on aggressive zero-fee spot trading that pulled in high-frequency traders and new retail users.

Bullish price action for Bitcoin and several altcoins also pushed activity up; several coins reached fresh all-time highs during the year, which always sparks more trading and more headlines. For some platforms, promotions and fee policies had more immediate effect than brand reputation.

How Bybit Handled The Crisis

The exchange’s leadership was visible. Ben Zhou, Bybit’s CEO, addressed customers on camera and promised the platform would cover losses and secure additional liquidity quickly.

Some of those promises were acted on behind the scenes, where external support was arranged to shore up funds.

Trust was not rebuilt overnight. It was rebuilt in small steps, transaction by transaction, and in public statements that reassured users their capital was safe.

The combination of keeping services running and having clear communication changed investor behavior.

Binance And Rival Trends

Binance stayed the largest by a wide margin, with CoinGecko estimating about $7.3 trillion in annual volume. That massive figure hides a small drop from the prior year — a 0.5% decline — which analysts tied to a major liquidation event on October 10 that rattled markets.

Still, Binance’s user base was said to be over 300 million, and its ecosystem handles a vast range of products beyond spot trading.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView

Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg said he expects BlackRock could enter the spot XRP ETF race as soon as late 2026, framing it as a demand-led decision rather than a sudden shift in conviction from the world’s largest asset manager.

Speaking in a Jan. 27 interview with Crypto Sensei, McClurg argued that the market is already moving in that direction as more legacy ETF issuers test the perimeter of non-Bitcoin products.

BlackRock Could Join XRP ETF Race By End Of 2026

“It wouldn’t surprise me if BlackRock files for a XRP, potentially Solana ETF sometime by the end of 2026 or 2027,” he said. “I mean you’ve already got Fidelity, you’ve already got Franklin Templeton in the race there. So it’s not going to be a whole lot longer before BlackRock. Aso […] Invesco just filed for a Solana ETF. Give it time. XRP will be there as well.”

McClurg described the ETF playbook as straightforward: issuers follow client demand and liquid market structure, then expand product shelves once the commercial case is clear. “I think it has to do with a few functions. They want to see demand. They want to see high market cap and it’ll get there eventually,” he said, suggesting that XRP’s pathway to a BlackRock filing is less about narratives and more about sustained investor pull.

That framework also matches how he says Canary thinks about filings. Asked how much product development is driven by client demand versus the firm’s own views, McClurg was blunt: “It’s highly weighted towards where we believe demand is.” He added that Canary will occasionally “take a couple of risks” on earlier-stage tokens, citing Axelar as a filing that was ultimately not launched amid weaker demand and drawdowns.

McClurg’s comments came with a wider thesis about where institutional attention is shifting. He said many pension funds and sovereign wealth investors are approaching Bitcoin as an allocation akin to gold, but that conversations around Ethereum often stall. “The conversation we’re having with Ethereum is that’s old technology, I want what’s next,” he said, adding that some institutions “just pass on Ethereum,” pointing to a view that open-source code can be replicated inside private networks.

By contrast, he said institutions are increasingly focused on networks he described as “very cheap and efficient to run,” naming XRP Ledger, Hedera, and Solana, alongside “competitors to Solana” such as Injective. The core pitch, in his telling, is operational: lower costs, higher throughput, and a clearer line from network utility to enterprise deployment.

On US bank adoption, McClurg predicted banks will partner with specific crypto protocols rather than converge on a single rail, with Ripple “first,” Hedera “second,” and Solana “a far third” in terms of being “dug into the financial system.” He also singled out Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD as a potential breakout, saying, “I see that thing exploding” once integrated with partner rails, and even floated that RLUSD “could surpass USDC.”

McClurg tied much of the timing, ETFs included, to regulatory clarity. “I don’t really care what’s in the bill. I just want to know what I can and can’t do,” he said, referring to the Clarity Act debate. “And once I know what I can and can’t do, I can go make money […] just tell me the rules so that I can go out and run my business and not have to look over my shoulder.”

At press time, XRP traded at $1.75.

US President Donald Trump is expected to unveil his pick for the next Federal Reserve chair on Friday morning, with former Fed governor Kevin Warsh emerging as the clear market favorite, an event that could jolt rate expectations and, by extension, Bitcoin and crypto volatility.

Warsh met with Trump at the White House on Thursday, according to reporting from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal’s Nick Timiraos, after Trump told reporters he planned to announce his choice Friday. Trump added a pointed tease about the mystery candidate: “A lot of people think that this is somebody that could’ve been there a few years ago,” a nod to the fact he considered Warsh for the job roughly eight years ago before selecting Jerome Powell.

What Warsh Means For Bitcoin And Crypto Markets

The fastest repricing has happened not in Treasuries, but in prediction markets. Polymarket’s contract on Trump’s Fed chair nominee is currently showing Warsh at 93%, with the market displaying roughly $302 million in volume, levels traders interpreted as a leak-driven stampede rather than a slow drift.

That surge dovetails with a Bloomberg report saying the Trump administration is preparing for a Warsh nomination, and with commentary from macro traders who see the process tightening into a single outcome.

Several market observers frame a potential Warsh chairmanship as dovish on the policy rate but hawkish on the Fed’s footprint. Macro trader Alex Krüger wrote via X: “Warsh has advocated for a structural overhaul of the Federal Reserve and a ‘new Treasury-Fed Accord.’ He posits that an AI-driven productivity boom is inherently disinflationary, providing the basis for aggressive rate cuts. He also contends that the Fed’s balance sheet has been used to subsidize Wall Street and should be reduced significantly, signaling a strong stance against QE.”

Former Fed trader Joseph Wang distilled the trade-off more bluntly: “A Warsh Fed looks to trade lower asset prices for a lower rate path… This is a step to reverse Bernanke’s wealth effect.” That framing matters for Bitcoin and crypto because it separates “rate cuts” from “easy financial conditions”—two concepts markets often conflate during risk-on moves. Wang added an ominous shorthand: Warsh “will get you a lot of cuts, but you might not like how we [get] there.”

Warsh’s reputation as an inflation hawk also complicates any clean “dovish” label. Bloomberg’s Chief US Economist Anna Wong shared the below analysis and resurfaced a 2009 inflation comment attributed to Warsh, made months after Lehman and with core PCE still low, arguing that if Trump “wants someone easy on inflation, he got the wrong guy.

Chief Market Strategist at Wellington-Altus James E. Thorne added via X: “Kevin Warsh remains the strongest choice for Fed chair because he uniquely combines market credibility with a clear willingness to reset policy in a more disciplined, rules‑based direction. He is structurally hawkish on inflation and the balance sheet, but tactically flexible enough to support meaningful rate cuts when conditions warrant, which aligns with the Trump–Bessent objective of moving the funds rate lower without sacrificing institutional legitimacy.”

Krüger conceded Warsh’s track record “is not the best,” while still arguing there is “unique credibility in a former inflation hawk advocating for aggressive cuts.”

Warsh, Bitcoin, And ‘Market Discipline’

For Bitcoin and crypto, one underappreciated angle is that Warsh has publicly described Bitcoin in surprisingly non-hostile terms. In a Hoover Institution interview published July 8, 2025, Warsh rejected the idea that Bitcoin threatens the dollar, while still treating it as a policy signal. “Bitcoin does not make me nervous,” he said. “I think of it as an important asset that can help inform policymakers when they’re doing things right and wrong. It is not a substitute for the dollar.”

Kevin Wash on Bitcoin, the white paper and its role alongside the dollar:

“It can often be a good policeman for policy.” pic.twitter.com/bnSSpv0foy

— Natalie Brunell (@natbrunell) January 30, 2026

Warsh also cast Bitcoin’s role as a kind of feedback mechanism for central bankers: “I think it can often be a very good policeman for policy,” he said, before widening the lens to distinguish “real innovators” from “imitators” and “incompetents” in the broader proliferation of crypto tokens.

At press time, Bitcoin traded at $82,695.

The Bank of England (BoE) has outlined its plan to prioritize key innovation areas in 2026, including stablecoins and tokenization, to shape the future of the UK’s digital financial landscape.

BoE To Prioritize Stablecoins In 2026

On Thursday, the Bank of England’s executive director for financial market infrastructure, Sasha Mills, shared the bank’s priorities plan for the year, highlighting the role of regulators in ensuring a safe, responsible, innovative future.

During her speech at the Tokenisation Summit in London, Mills affirmed that financial authorities have “the opportunity to build truly holistic digital financial markets in the UK, bringing real benefits to the real economy.”

To achieve this, the BoE will prioritize systemic stablecoins, tokenized collateral, and the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) as three key areas of innovation this year.

The executive director explained that the Bank is focused on advancing its efforts to regulate stablecoins, including its collaboration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to test the tokens in the DSS, and clarifying policies on the treatment of tokenized collateral under the UK European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).

Regarding stablecoins, Mills detailed that they “have the potential to modernise retail and wholesale payments, enabling faster, cheaper and more efficient transactions. They could offer a valuable choice for individuals and businesses making payments in the UK and they could offer new functionalities – through programmability – to deliver real benefits for the UK real economy.”

As a result, the Bank is planning to finalize its regime for systemic stablecoins, alongside the FCA, by the end of this year. She noted that these tokens “need to meet the same standards as existing forms of money used in the UK real economy.”

As reported by Bitcoinist, the BoE released a consultation paper on its proposed regulatory framework for sterling-denominated systemic stablecoins, addressing backing rules and holding limits.

Notably, the Bank also moved forward with a controversial proposal to cap stablecoin ownership to £10,000 to £20,000 for individuals and £10 million for businesses, similar to its proposed approach to the digital pound.

UK Seeks Regulatory Clarity For Market Stability

The BoE also seeks to offer clarity for its second priority, tokenization, as the UK is already seeing “practical applications of tokenisation being piloted in collateral markets, offering greater automation and faster settlement, with the potential to lower firm operating costs and increase system-wide liquidity.”

Mills noted that, just like with stablecoins used for payments and traditional collateral, tokenized collateral will be required to meet certain standards to support financial stability.

She asserted that the Bank “aims to avoid mandating or prohibiting specific technologies.”  Nonetheless, she also emphasized that clarity on these topics and how they can operate under the UK’s EMIR rules will be crucial to ensure market confidence.

“To provide greater certainty, we will set out further policy later this year on how tokenised collateral can operate under the existing regulatory framework. Ensuring smoother movement of cross-border collateral requires a consistent international approach, so our policy will be shaped by engagement with industry and our international counterparts,” the executive director affirmed.

Regarding the third area of focus, the Digital Securities Sandbox and stablecoins within it, Mills detailed that the BoE is developing an assessment framework to determine a set of regulated stablecoins that meet high enough standards for use in the sandbox.

“As regulatory regimes for stablecoin issuers in the UK and internationally are still being developed, this assessment framework may not map exactly to future standards for what may be permitted in wholesale markets,” she stated. “However, (…) [it] will both ensure some degree of resilience for market participants, and aid transition to a future permanent regime for the use of stablecoins in wholesale markets.”

“The future is ambitious. But making the changes I outlined today (…) will support financial stability domestically and internationally.” Mills concluded.

Russia is preparing to roll out its long‑awaited regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, with lawmakers and regulators moving closer to defining how digital assets will be treated within the country. 

According to Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, the relevant legislative package is expected to be finalized by the end of June of this year. 

Beginning July 1, 2027, the new rules are set to introduce liability for illegal activity by intermediaries in the crypto market, with penalties comparable to those applied for unlawful banking operations.

Russia’s Central Bank Outlines Upcoming Crypto Rules

The groundwork for the reforms has been in development for months. Local media reports disclosed that the Central Bank submitted its proposals for changes to cryptocurrency regulation to the government in December last year. 

In its concept paper, the regulator classifies digital currencies and stablecoins as currency values that may be bought and sold, while maintaining a ban on their use as a means of payment within Russia.

Under the proposed system, retail investors with limited experience would be allowed to purchase only the most liquid cryptocurrencies, and only after passing a suitability test. 

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) would almost certainly be included, while assets such as Solana (SOL) or Toncoin (TON) could also make the list due to their popularity in Russia. All other digital assets would be reserved exclusively for qualified investors.

Even qualified investors, however, would face additional requirements. They would be required to pass mandatory testing to demonstrate an understanding of the risks associated with crypto transactions. 

Once approved, they would be allowed to buy digital assets in unlimited amounts, with one major exception: anonymous cryptocurrencies would be prohibited. 

The Central Bank has made clear that assets which conceal transaction recipients will not be permitted, as they cannot meet anti‑money laundering standards. Coins such as Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC) and Dash (DASH) fall into this category.

First Reading Looms Next Month

Legislative work on the initiative is already underway. Aksakov said the State Duma is moving toward formalizing the proposed changes in law. The initial focus will be on establishing clear rules for the issuance, mining and circulation of cryptocurrencies, as well as reaffirming the ban on their use as a domestic payment method. 

He indicated that the bill could reach its first reading as early as next month. The law is also expected to introduce administrative, financial and potentially criminal penalties for illegal activity in the digital asset market. 

The regulatory push follows a significant legal development earlier this year. On January 20, 2026, Russia’s Constitutional Court issued a ruling that effectively resolved a long‑standing legal gap affecting thousands of crypto holders. 

Featured image from OpenArt, Chart from TradingView.com 

Bitcoin is struggling to regain the $88,000 level as market uncertainty persists and precious metals continue to rally aggressively. Gold’s strength has reignited a familiar narrative: that capital is leaving Bitcoin to finance the move into traditional safe havens. However, a recent report by CryptoQuant challenges this assumption, suggesting that the current market dynamics are being misinterpreted.

On-chain data indicates that Bitcoin sell-offs are not directly funding the surge in gold and other metals. Instead, liquidity appears to be pausing rather than fleeing the crypto market altogether. This behavior is reflected in the Stablecoin Supply Ratio (SSR), a metric designed to measure the purchasing power of stablecoins relative to Bitcoin’s market capitalization. The SSR offers insight into whether capital is already deployed into BTC or sitting on the sidelines, waiting for clearer conditions.

A lower SSR implies higher latent buying power, meaning stablecoins hold significant capacity to re-enter the market. Conversely, a higher SSR signals that liquidity has largely been committed to Bitcoin. Current readings suggest that capital remains in stablecoins, indicating caution rather than outright risk aversion.

In this context, Bitcoin’s weakness below $88K reflects hesitation, not abandonment. While metals benefit from defensive positioning, on-chain signals point to liquidity waiting for a renewed catalyst in crypto, rather than rotating decisively away from it.

Stablecoin Liquidity Signals a Pause, Not a Capital Exit

The report adds important context by outlining key Stablecoin Supply Ratio (SSR) levels and how they frame Bitcoin’s current market structure. Historically, the SSR has oscillated within well-defined ranges. Readings above 15–16 indicate that stablecoin purchasing power is low, meaning liquidity has largely been deployed into Bitcoin.

Values between 10 and 15 represent a neutral zone, commonly associated with consolidation phases. When the SSR drops below 10–11, latent purchasing power is high, a condition that has often preceded bullish phases. Importantly, these thresholds provide structural context rather than precise timing signals.

At present, the SSR stands at 12.57, down sharply from recent highs in the 18–19 range. This decline signals a transition from fully deployed liquidity toward capital sitting on the sidelines. Despite price weakness, Bitcoin remains structurally stable, suggesting that capital is not exiting the crypto market but waiting for clearer conditions before re-entering.

Crucially, the ongoing rally in gold should not be interpreted as a direct consequence of Bitcoin selling. Large allocators typically operate within diversified, multi-asset frameworks, maintaining exposure across equities, precious metals, digital assets, and stablecoins simultaneously. The lower SSR confirms that capital is not rotating out of Bitcoin into gold, but reallocating risk while remaining within the crypto ecosystem.

Bitcoin Price Remains Below Key Moving Averages

Bitcoin continues to trade under pressure, with price slipping back toward the $87,500–$88,000 zone after another failed attempt to regain momentum above the short-term moving averages. On the daily chart, BTC remains decisively below the 50-day and 100-day averages, both of which are now sloping downward and acting as dynamic resistance. The 200-day moving average, still trending higher above $100,000, reinforces the idea that the broader cycle has shifted from expansion to consolidation or correction.

Structurally, the market is locked in a wide range following the sharp breakdown in November. Since then, price action has been characterized by lower highs and choppy rebounds, suggesting reactive buying rather than sustained demand. The recent bounce toward the mid-$90,000s was rejected precisely at the descending moving average cluster, confirming that sellers continue to defend rallies.

Volume behavior supports this interpretation. The largest spikes remain associated with sell-offs, while recovery attempts occur on relatively muted volume, pointing to limited conviction from buyers. This imbalance keeps downside risk active, even as price holds above the December lows.

In the near term, the $86,000–$87,000 area remains a key demand zone. A clean breakdown would expose lower structural supports, while holding this level keeps Bitcoin trapped in a prolonged consolidation. Until BTC reclaims its short- and mid-term averages, the chart favors caution rather than trend reversal.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

Scammers used new tools to widen their reach and to seem more real. According to TRM Labs, the use of large language models in scams jumped fivefold in 2025, helping fraudsters write believable messages, run many conversations at once, and trick people in different languages.

AI Tools Helping Con Artists Build Trust

Reports say AI images, voice cloning, and deepfakes are cutting the cost of making fake people who look and sound legit. These tricks have fed a pattern where criminals first make a target feel safe and then ask for money.

In some cases, a romance angle is used to win trust, and that trust is later turned into fake investment offers or bogus tax demands. This staged approach has let scams run longer and capture bigger sums from fewer victims.

A Rise In Industrial-Scale Fraud

Behind many of these schemes are groups that act like small companies. They hire people, sell tools, and reuse scripts to run campaigns in many places.

Some providers now sell phishing kits or offer AI-as-a-service to automate messages and replies, lowering the bar for new fraudsters and making scams easier to copy and spread.

Deepfake Calls And Targeted Hacks

Reports note that attackers have even used fake video calls to trick crypto workers into installing malware. In several incidents, victims were invited to what looked like normal Zoom meetings, only to find AI-generated faces on the screen.

When the meeting “needed a patch,” victims were urged to install what was actually malicious software. These methods have been linked to North Korea–connected groups and were flagged by security researchers last year.

Crypto Price Action Enters The Story

While the scams became more sophisticated, the market evolved too. Bitcoin was trading in the range of $88,000 to $90,000 in late January 2026 as investors considered macro news and policy developments.

This market context is important: as prices increase, the urgency and authenticity of crypto scams may seem more plausible, and the risks for both victims and law enforcement may be higher.

Scam Proceeds Compared To Illicit Flows Overall

Illicit inflows to crypto assets reached a record high of $158 billion, a substantial increase due to improved monitoring that brought more illicit activity to light.

Meanwhile, scam-related wallets saw a slight decrease in proceeds to around $35 billion in 2025, from $38 billion in the previous year.

However, the total volume of criminal activity increased substantially, even as the portion attributed to scams increased marginally.

It appears that scam-detecting technology is improving, but scams are evolving rapidly. The increasing use of AI-based tools makes generic advice less helpful, as the scams now sound more authentic.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Michael Saylor’s Strategy has reignited a long-running Bitcoin custody debate after co-founder and CTO of Casa Jameson Lopp challenged whether the firm can know its holdings aren’t being rehypothecated by third parties. Saylor’s blunt response — “We buy real bitcoin. We don’t rehypothecate.” — quickly turned into a broader argument about what “proof” looks like for a public company warehousing BTC at institutional custodians.

The exchange landed as Strategy’s accumulation narrative is accelerating in early 2026. On Jan. 26, Saylor posted that Strategy bought 2,932 BTC for roughly $264.1 million at an average price near $90,061 per bitcoin. He added that, as of Jan. 25, the company held 712,647 BTC acquired for about $54.19 billion at an average cost of roughly $76,037 per coin.

That disclosure sparked commentary from Jesse Myers, who framed Strategy’s pace as structurally supply-tightening. Myers said the company has acquired 40,150 BTC so far in 2026, against 11,700 BTC mined year-to-date. “Eventually, the BTC price must go higher. Much higher,” he wrote, leaning on a simple imbalance: one large buyer absorbing more than new issuance.

No Paper Bitcoin?

Lopp pushed back on the implicit assumption that all of those purchases translate into unencumbered, uniquely owned UTXOs. “Your thesis is sensible… under the assumption that he’s buying real bitcoin,” Lopp wrote. “Does Strategy actually verify that their bitcoin only belongs to them and isn’t rehypothecated? I’m skeptical.”

Saylor responded with a short, definitive denial: “We buy real bitcoin. We don’t rehypothecate.” But Lopp widened the aperture from Strategy’s own behavior to the incentives and opacity of intermediaries. “But how do you know your custodians don’t? Presumably they put your BTC in segregated addresses you can monitor,” he wrote. “People ask for proof of reserves since they don’t even know what monitoring / assurances you put in place. Multiple layers of trusted black boxes make folks nervous.”

We buy real bitcoin. We don’t rehypothecate.

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) January 28, 2026

As the thread grew, some users demanded Strategy publish addresses. One account wrote, “Prove it then. Show us the addresses.” Others argued that transparency cuts both ways. “Ever considered that TradFi could be extremely frightened if Strategy were to do this, given that it opens up multiple attack Vectors?”

Defenders leaned on the mechanics of public-company controls rather than on-chain visibility. Attorney Jesse Kobernick from Miller Nash LLP argued that Strategy’s filings describe steps auditors take to verify balances and control, and that multiple third parties touch the process, including the separation between BTC purchases and the equity sales and cash proceeds that fund them. Lopp rejected that comfort. “Trusted third parties are security holes…” he replied.

Bitcoin OG Adam Back, meanwhile, pointed to mainstream custodianship norms as a reason to discount “paper bitcoin” fears. “Think about it. Their custodians are I think Fidelity and Coinbase,” Back wrote, adding that large auditors take verification and key-control standards seriously.

Lopp remained unconvinced that outside observers can know what, exactly, is being verified. “Are these auditors spinning up nodes, verifying balances at addresses, ensuring that no clients hold claims to the same BTC?” he wrote. “I’m skeptical, but ultimately we just don’t know – it’s a black box.”

Later on Jan. 28, Saylor reposted the message more broadly, escalating from denial to prescription: “We buy real bitcoin. We audit our custodians. We don’t rehypothecate.” He added: “You shouldn’t either.”

At press time, Bitcoin traded at $88,001.

On-chain data shows the XRP addresses holding over a million tokens have seen a reversal in behavior with some population growth in January.

Millionaire XRP Wallets Have Been Growing In Count Recently

As pointed out by on-chain analytics firm Santiment in a new post on X, large XRP wallets have seen growth during the past month. The indicator of relevance here is the “Supply Distribution,” which tells us, among other things, the total number of addresses that belong to a given coin range.

In the context of the current topic, the range of interest is the one with 1 million tokens as the lower bound and no upper bound. Currently, the cutoff for the range converts to $1.87 million, so the only investors who would qualify for it will be those with substantial holdings.

As the below chart for the cohort’s Supply Distribution shows, these whales saw their population shrink between October and December.

This decline in the indicator came as the cryptocurrency sector as a whole went through a bearish shift. In total, the XRP network saw the exodus of 784 millionaire wallets during this window, a significant amount. Since the start of January, however, the trend has flipped. “XRP’s price is down a modest 4% since the start of 2026, but its number of ‘millionaire’ wallets is rising for the first time since September,” noted Santiment.

So far, the increase in addresses holding more than 1 million tokens hasn’t been anything too notable, though, with just 42 wallets of this size popping back up on the blockchain. That said, the fact that big-money investors are no longer leaving the network could still be a meaningful development.

A network that has seen a development related to whales that’s not so positive is Dogecoin. Citing data from Santiment, analyst Ali Martinez has highlighted in an X post how the memecoin has faced a 94.6% plunge in whale transaction activity during the last few weeks.

As displayed in the above graph, whale-sized XRP transactions numbered at 109 four weeks ago, but today, that figure has dropped to just 6. This suggests that the large entities have shifted their attention away from Dogecoin.

This could reflect the risk-off behavior in the wider sector, where the big-money investors are choosing to pull back as uncertainty surrounds the market.

XRP Price

XRP is trading around $1.87 right now, down 22% compared to its top from early January.

Ethereum (ETH) is extending its influence in the AI industry as developers aim to integrate AI with decentralized technology. Building on this, new reports have revealed that ETH developers are preparing to roll out an AI-focused update that could see AI agents work and engage directly on the blockchain network.

Ethereum Prepares To Launch New AI Agent Standards

Ethereum is getting ready to launch a major update that could transform how artificial intelligence interacts with blockchain. The new upgrade, called ERC-8004, uses blockchain to find, select, and work with AI agents across different organizations without pre-existing trust, enabling open-need agent economies. 

On January 27, the Ethereum team made an official announcement revealing that ERC-8004 will go live soon, opening the door for projects to integrate with AI in a decentralized way. Marco De Rossi, one of the primary authors of ERC-8004 and the AI lead at MetaMask, stated that development of the protocol has been frozen, as the team prepares to deploy it on the mainnet, with a likely launch around 9 AM ET on Thursday, January 30. 

The proposal was initially submitted in August 2025 and has since undergone multiple rounds of community review and revision before reaching its final implementation stage. Early adopters have also tested the system to explore new applications for autonomous AI agents. 

The new ERC-8004 protocol is designed to give AI agents on Ethereum unique identities and verifiable reputations, enabling autonomous systems to interact without relying on centralized platforms. Each AI agent will receive a unique ERC-721 NFT as its on-chain ID, serving as a digital passport. The system also supports ENS domains, allowing agents to have readable names and securely delegate control when needed. 

ERC-8004 also introduces on-chain mechanisms for reputation and validation, enabling AI agents to record feedback and prove task execution outcomes. The protocol also allows agents to record their actions and performance on the blockchain, so other AI agents and users can verify their interactions and build trust quickly. 

Importantly, the AI Lead at the Ethereum Foundation has also shared his thoughts on the new ERC-8004 standard. He said that Ethereum is now uniquely positioned to be the platform that “secures and settles AI-to-AI interactions.”   

ETH’s Deep Dive Into The AI Industry 

Ethereum is explaining its role in artificial intelligence, building on earlier efforts to connect the industry with decentralized technology. While the upcoming ERC-8004 standard for AI agents has gained massive attention, it is not Ethereum’s first move into AI. The network has been exploring ways to support blockchain and AI development for years, laying the groundwork for a broader ecosystem.

For instance, the Ethereum Foundation previously established a dedicated AI team, known as the dAI Team. This group is tasked with creating infrastructure that allows Ethereum to act as a coordination and settlement layer for autonomous systems. 

XRP’s long-term price action was recently examined by crypto analyst EGRAG CRYPTO, who shared a technical framework that shows the cryptocurrency on a macro move to $200. In his post, the analyst outlined a channel-based structure that tracks XRP’s behavior across multiple cycles and highlights how its price has always followed the same diagonal paths over time. Based on where the altcoin currently sits within that structure, the analysis outlines a range of possible outcomes, including triple-digit price levels under specific scenarios.

Logic Behind Monthly Channel Structure

XRP has been subjected to multiple analyses projecting prices far above the $100 level. Notably, the technical analysis in question is built around multiple diagonal channels that act as long-term support and resistance. These diagonal channels encompass XRP’s price action on the monthly candlestick timeframe chart and go as far back as 2014. 

According to the analyst, this framework behaves similarly to a logarithmic regression channel, meaning price expansion and contraction follow geometric symmetry rather than linear movement. XRP has respected these channels for over a decade, moving from lower bounds during accumulation phases to upper bounds during rallies and expansions.

The reference point is in late 2017 / early 2018, when XRP’s price rally tagged the upper boundary of this channel before extending well beyond it. That move, measured at roughly a 677% overshoot from the channel ceiling, is used as the template for projecting future extensions.

XRP’s Price Targets And The $200 Scenario

According to the analyst, current cycle levels on the monthly candlesticks align perfectly with the 2017 geometry. The most debated part of the analysis is the projection toward $200, which EGRAG CRYPTO categorizes as a black swan tail scenario. 

This outcome relies on XRP replicating the full macro extension seen in 2017, where the price didn’t just reach the upper channel but dramatically exceeded it. When that same percentage extension is applied to the current structure, the projection lands near the $200 mark.

XRP Price Chart. Source: @egragcrypto on X

However, the extreme $200 price target is not the base case. The analysis positions the $200 level as an extreme endpoint within a much broader and more detailed technical roadmap with intermediate price targets where XRP might face resistance.

Using the channel geometry, the analysis breaks XRP’s potential path into layered scenarios. The first zone is around $4.5, corresponding to a clean interaction with the upper channel boundary. EGRAG CRYPTO describes this level as a high-conviction structural area with the highest probability outcome of 80% to 90%.

The next channel projection is a move to $10. This level depends on continued expansion within the same geometric framework and XRP has only a 60% to 75% chance of reaching this level. Further up, the analyst projected $27 as the cycle peak scenario, which is situated around the peak of the channel structure. The probability of reaching this price target is between 50% and 55%.

Amid the waning cryptocurrency market, the Ethereum blockchain continues to display notable resilience, proving its position as a leader in the blockchain sector. The blockchain is experiencing significant growth, especially the ETH’s Validator network, which underscores its robust reliability and stability.

A Pillar of Stability For The Ethereum Network

Ethereum is not just becoming a settlement layer for on-chain finance; it is also becoming a secured blockchain for its numerous validators. Even with a volatile crypto condition, hindering price and network growth, the ETH validator network appears not to be affected by the bearish phase.

The Ethereum validator network is demonstrating remarkable strength, highlighting the robustness of the blockchain’s proof-of-stake architecture. In an X post, Charles Allen, a market expert and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nasdaq, has shed light on why the ETH’s validator network is demonstrating robust strength. 

Charles Allen’s perspective on the subject is primarily based on the significant demand for becoming a validator. Over the past few weeks, the expert highlighted that there has been a rise in demand to become a validator and stake ETH.

Furthermore, staking withdrawals have seen a substantial drop along with the rise in validator demand, indicating a notable shift in the landscape. With a 1 month period, staking withdrawals have fallen to about a one-day wait. Interestingly, concerns about congestion or forced exits are lessened by the shorter exit queue, which suggests a better balance between validators joining and departing the network.

While withdrawal wait times have dropped to roughly a single day, the deposit queue has grown to more than 54 days. Such a growth reflects a strong validator interest and signals a surge of new capital waiting to enter the leading network. As more ETH becomes available for staking, the rising deposit backlog highlights the tightening of the liquid supply and the increased dedication to network security.

In simple terms, the expert stated that multiple companies and individuals wish to stake ETH rather than sell it. Allen added that this is considered a robust signal for network security and validator participation.

Bitmine Is Not Slowing Down On ETH Staking

Companies and individuals’ interest in staking Ethereum rather than selling it is largely evidenced by Bitmine Immersion Technologies’ massive staking activity lately. Broke Doomer on X reported that the largest ETH treasury holding company recently committed another $341 million worth of ETH to staking.

The chart shared by the crypto expert shows that the company conducted the transfer in a series of transactions within a single day. Following this latest move, Bitmine’s overall staking holdings are now positioned at more than 2.33 million ETH valued at a staggering $7 billion.

With this massive number of ETH, more than half of the company’s ETH holdings are currently locked and earning interest. Doomer classifies this adoption as a sign of conviction building among large entities or firms over the next few years. “You don’t do that if you’re bearish. You do that when you’re building conviction for the next few years,” the expert stated.

The Justice Department’s move last year to shut a specialized crypto enforcement team is drawing fresh fire after six US senators pressed the deputy attorney general for answers about his personal stakes in digital assets.

The lawmakers say the timing and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s holdings raise real questions about conflicts that need clear records and a full explanation.

Senators Demand Answers

Reports say the letter, dated January 28, 2026, was sent by Senator Mazie Hirono and joined by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Chris Coons, and Richard Blumenthal.

They asked Blanche to provide documents and explain why the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) was disbanded in April 2025 and whether his own finances played any role in that decision. The lawmakers pointed to federal conflict rules and asked for the timeline and approvals behind the memo.

The memo at the center of the row told prosecutors to stop using enforcement actions as a kind of regulation. It said the department is “not a digital assets regulator” and ordered the NCET closed, shifting focus to crimes like trafficking, terrorism, and fraud that use crypto as a tool. That memo came from Blanche in April 2025 and marked a sharp change in how US prosecutors would treat many crypto cases.

Who Owned What And When

Reports note Blanche had sizable crypto holdings when the policy was issued. Public ethics filings and reporting put his assets in a wide range — between $158,000 and $470,000 — mostly in major coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, with some other crypto-related investments as well.

 

 

He agreed to divest, and some sales or transfers happened weeks to months after the memo. Critics say that sequence looks bad and could run afoul of conflict rules; supporters say the matters were cleared by ethics officials.

People On Both Sides Are Talking

Proponents of the policy change argued it would avoid “regulation by prosecution” and let regulators handle oversight instead of criminal cases.

Industry groups welcomed the move as a way to reduce legal uncertainty for exchanges and developers.

Opponents, including the senators, say scaling back a focused enforcement unit risks leaving gaps that bad actors can exploit, especially as illicit activity in crypto has shown sharp swings in recent years.

What Comes Next

Lawmakers are now pushing for documents and sworn answers. They want to see when Blanche learned of the holdings, how fast divestment happened, and who inside DOJ reviewed and approved the memo.

The senators pointed to federal law that bars an official from participating in a matter when they have a financial interest, and they requested a timeline and supporting records to judge whether that law was respected.

Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView