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The long‑anticipated crypto market structure legislation known as the CLARITY Act cleared a significant procedural step on Thursday, after the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its portion of the bill during a scheduled markup earlier in the day.

According to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, the committee voted to advance the measure by a narrow 12–11 margin along party lines. No Democratic senators supported the bill, marking a clear partisan divide as the legislation moves forward.

CFTC Authority Over Crypto Advances

The version approved by the Agriculture Committee would expand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) authority over the crypto sector, granting it oversight of spot trading in digital commodities. However, the bill’s path is far from complete.

The agriculture panel’s proposal must eventually be combined with a separate section addressing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) role, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Senate Banking Committee. Only after the two pieces are merged can the broader legislation move ahead in the Senate.

Thursday’s vote followed months of negotiations between Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman, a Republican from Arkansas, and Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey. 

Those talks failed to produce a bipartisan agreement, prompting Boozman to move forward with a Republican‑only version of the bill. He said the discussions stalled due to what he described as “fundamental policy disagreements.” 

Boozman argued that the CFTC is best positioned to oversee the spot trading of digital commodities. He said the bill offers a clear definition of what constitutes a digital commodity, supports innovation and technological development, establishes consumer protection measures, and provides the agency with the resources needed to carry out its expanded responsibilities.

Senate Panel Rejects Democratic Amendments

During the markup, the committee also rejected several Democratic‑backed amendments, all along party lines. Among them was a proposal from Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado that would have barred federal officials and their immediate family members from issuing or endorsing digital assets. 

Republicans also voted down two amendments introduced by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. One sought to strengthen enforcement against fraud involving cryptocurrency ATMs, while the other aimed to prevent certain crypto firms from being eligible for federal bailouts.

With the Agriculture Committee’s approval secured, the CLARITY Act now advances to its next, more complex phase. Lawmakers must reconcile the CFTC‑focused provisions with parallel legislation under the Banking Committee’s oversight, while also determining whether bipartisan support can still be salvaged for a bill that could fundamentally reshape crypto regulation in the United States.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

The XRP Ledger has taken another step toward expanding its financial functionality with the rollout of XRPL version 3.1.0. Shortly after the update went live, the network formally pushed its native on-chain lending feature into the validator voting phase, a feature that could boost the ledger’s capabilities and attract more institutional use.

A Technical Fix With Multiple Implications

The XRP Ledger has had major improvements with the latest release of RippleD (xrplD) v3.1.0. According to notes of the release, the latest release contains the fix of fixBatchInnerSigs and new amendments of SingleAssetVault and LendingProtocol, both of which must be enabled for the Lending Protocol to be fully usable.

Among the elements included in the v3.1.0 release, one stands out for its potential impact on lending protocols. The “fixBatchInnerSigs” amendment corrects a signature validation flaw in the batch transaction mechanism of the Ledger. Since lending operations often involve multiple steps, such as checking collateral, moving funds, and updating balances, there is a need to make sure that these actions run securely. 

The fixBatchInnerSigs amendment seeks to make these batch processes safe and dependable, clearing a technical hurdle that might have deterred larger lending applications until now. The new protocol will include fixed-rate, fixed-term credit at the ledger level, using Single Asset Vaults to isolate risk and replicate TradFi lending protocols.

As noted by the Ledger validator Vet on the social media platform X, the lending protocol will allow for native on-chain lending and borrowing for XRP, RLUSD, and any other issued asset on-chain. This approach would allow users and institutions to access credit using XRP or RLUSD, while reducing the complexity and additional risk layers that often come with third-party contract systems.

That said, the amendment has not yet been activated. It is currently open for validator voting, a process that requires more than 80% of trusted validators to vote in favor and maintain that level of support for two consecutive weeks before activation can occur. As of the time of writing, the approval threshold has not yet been reached, meaning there isn’t a defined timeline for the amendment to go live.

XRPL’s Continued Path Of Network Upgrades

Developers are always rolling in updates and amendments as part of efforts to bolster the XRP ecosystem and its real-world utility. Notably, these recent amendments come on the heels of five other amendments that were announced in December 2025. Node operators running versions earlier than 3.0 have been advised to upgrade to version 3.1.0, as remaining on older software will eventually prevent them from maintaining communication with the network.

Validators are still in the process of voting on the permissionless domains proposal. Current voting trends show validators are already voting for approval. If momentum holds, the amendment is expected to pass on February 4, 2026.

Despite a brief bounce, the price of Bitcoin is still below the pivotal $90,000 mark, which has become a significant resistance lately, capping upside attempts. With recent signals from two key indicators, the slight upward push by the flagship asset may just be the beginning of another major rally.

Key Bitcoin Indicators Are Converging

Bitcoin’s price experienced a bounce on Wednesday, gradually reigniting bullish sentiment across the broader crypto market. It is worth noting that two closely watched indicators are now starting to portray the same story of a renewed bullish market trend.

Specifically, the shift is being showcased by the Bitcoin Network Growth and Risk Index. As outlined by the Bitcoin Vector, an institutional market-grade professional, on the X platform, these two crucial indicators are beginning to move in alignment, which is capable of shaping the crypto king’s next price trajectory in the short term.

In the past, the combination of Risk Index and Network Growth has often turned out to be a powerful leading indicator for BTC. This convergence points to a change toward a more balanced market environment where rising risk signals are no longer overpowering growing network activity.

When these key metrics synchronize, it frequently denotes a period of transition that may come before more long-term pricing trends. Currently, the chart shows a significant decline in network growth (1) and a high-risk environment (2), which typically leads to sustained bullish trends.

With BTC traditionally being “late to the party,” the market may be looking at one of the most massive rallies ever recorded in years. In the meantime, these indicators provide a more comprehensive, data-driven understanding of the fundamental health of Bitcoin that goes beyond short-term price swings.

In another post, Bitcoin Vector shared that a significant bullish divergence is forming between BTC and the Relative Strength Index (RSI). The formation of this bullish divergence points to a possible shift in momentum beneath the surface.

Given that similar setups have historically generated over 10% returns on these timeframes, the expert claims that a return to the $95,000 price mark is becoming likely. However, the real signal lies in the confluence. If the market continues to increase in both Network Fundamentals and Liquidity while maintaining BTC Dominance, a major bullish reversal is probably about to begin.

BTC Whales And Retailers’ Activity Diverging

According to current market trends, Bitcoin retail investors are dumping their holdings while large holders or whales are steadily buying more BTC. CW, a market expert, noted that this divergence was observed ahead of the FOMC meeting. However, the brown whale is offloading a small portion of its BTC stash.

During the investors’ action, the BTC sell wall at the $90,000 level has vanished, whereas the sell wall at $86,000 is still active. Nonetheless, a new wall is developing at the $95,000 mark, and volatility will likely happen after 3 hours.

OKX founder and CEO Star Xu took aim at a rival “industry-leading company” over the market dislocation tied to Oct. 10, arguing the episode did more than trigger a brief liquidation cascade — it inflicted “real and lasting damage” on crypto’s credibility with users and regulators.

OKX CEO Slams Binance As Crypto Still Digests Oct. 10

In a post on X, Xu said the industry has “underestimated the impact of 10/10,” framing the event as a trust shock rather than a routine volatility episode. While he did not name Binance or its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) directly, the timing and context of the remarks and subsequent discussion on X tying Oct. 10 to a Binance-related incident made the target clear to many readers.

Xu’s central claim was that leading platforms should prioritize resilience and legitimacy, especially when scrutiny from regulators and mainstream institutions is rising. “An industry-leading company should focus on strengthening core infrastructure, building trust with global users and regulators, and protecting the long-term interests of the majority of crypto users, setting an example for others to follow,” Xu wrote.

“Instead, some chose to pursue short-term gains—repeatedly launching Ponzi-like schemes, amplifying a handful of ‘get-rich-quick’ narratives, and directly or indirectly manipulating the prices of low-quality tokens, drawing millions of users into assets closely tied to them.”

That critique broadens the Oct. 10 incident from a single failure event into a pattern: attention capture through high-risk token promotion and narratives, rather than a steady focus on market integrity. Xu argued that this approach turns exchanges into traffic machines optimized for “shortcuts,” at the expense of durable confidence.

This approach does not build an industry,” he added. “It erodes trust—and ultimately, everyone pays the price.” The post landed as parts of crypto Twitter were already revisiting Oct. 10 as a possible inflection point for recent market lull.

People have underestimated the impact of 10/10. The incident caused real and lasting damage to the industry.

An industry-leading company should focus on strengthening core infrastructure, building trust with global users and regulators, and protecting the long-term interests of… https://t.co/DIU57u8utU

— Star (@star_okx) January 28, 2026

X account CryptosRus cited a Cathie Wood’s interview where she described the last “2–3 months” as an “aftershock” from an Oct. 10 “flash crash” tied to “a Binance software glitch” that “forced ~$28B of deleveraging across crypto.” In that framing, bitcoin absorbed the brunt “because it’s the most liquid asset,” and the forced selling is “mostly done,” shifting the market’s focus back to cycle positioning.

Some industry figures responded by framing the dispute as another round in centralized exchange rivalry. Moonrock Capital founder Simon Dedic wrote: “OKX attacking Binance. One shady CEX attacking the other shady CEX for extracting even more value than they do. As long as this fight costs at least one of them market share, that’s a net positive for the industry.”

OKX attacking Binance.

One shady CEX attacking the other shady CEX for extracting even more value than they do.

As long as this fight costs at least one of them market share, that’s a net positive for the industry. https://t.co/nCFTz0Kinc

— Simon Dedic (@sjdedic) January 28, 2026

Others used the moment to contrast opaque venues with on-chain alternatives. The Rollup’s CEO Andy C said “Binance is crooked and opaque,” arguing that “Hyperliquid is open, permissionless finance for all.” Flood, CEO of Fullstrack.trade, went further, writing that crypto “will never have a truly great era and reach mainstream adoption as long as Binance is the dominant exchange.”

Binance is crooked and opaque.

Hyperliquid is open, permissionless finance for all. There’s one winner here. https://t.co/o1Mcx2augA

— Andy (@andyyy) January 28, 2026

At press time, CZ had not publicly responded to the allegations, while BNB showed no immediate market reaction.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has revealed that the USDT issuer has increased its gold purchases and plans to continue doing so over the next few months. This has prompted speculation that the stablecoin issuer is abandoning Bitcoin for the precious metal, though that is not the case. 

Tether To Keep Investing In Both Bitcoin and Gold

According to a Reuters report, the Tether CEO said his company plans to continue investing in Bitcoin and gold as its reserve assets. He stated that it was reasonable to allocate approximately 10% of their portfolio to BTC and 10%-15% to gold. The stablecoin issuer notably uses gold as part of the reserves for the USDT stablecoin and also to back its XAUT gold token, which has a market cap of $2.6 billion. 

Bloomberg reported that the USDT issuer holds approximately 140 tons of gold, according to Ardoino. The stablecoin issuer’s holdings are valued at around $24 billion, representing the largest known hoard outside central banks, ETFs, and commercial banks. In a recent release, Tether announced that it now ranks among the top 30 global gold holders, surpassing countries such as Greece, Qatar, and Australia.

The Tether CEO revealed that they have been buying at a rate of about one to two tons a week and plan to keep doing so for at least the next few months. At current prices, that equates to about $1 billion in monthly purchases. Despite the significant interest in gold, the USDT issuer has not abandoned its Bitcoin strategy. 

Tether purchased 8,888 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $779 million, in the fourth quarter of last year. The stablecoin issuer currently holds 96,370 $BTC($8.46 billion) in total. Based on these holdings, it ranks as the second-largest corporate Bitcoin holder, only behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which holds 712,647 BTC. 

The Long-Term Goal For Tether

During his interview with Bloomberg, Ardoino described Tether’s role in the gold market as similar to a central bank. This came as he said the stablecoin issuer is effectively becoming one of the world’s largest gold central banks. Their bullish outlook for gold appears to partly stem from the belief that America’s geopolitical rivals will launch a gold-backed alternative to challenge the dollar’s status as the reserve currency. 

Meanwhile, the Tether CEO revealed that they aren’t looking to only hold gold but also trade it, competing with banks in trading the precious metal. Ardoino stated that they need to be the best gold trading floor in the world to continue accumulating it over the long term. His comments come at a time when gold is reaching new all-time highs (ATHs) above $5,300. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continues to lag, trading below $90,000.

Ripple scored another courtroom win tied to XRP sales, after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment against investors who alleged the company sold unregistered securities, ruling the federal Securities Act claims were time-barred by the statute of repose.

In a not-for-publication memorandum filed Jan. 27, 2026, a three-judge panel upheld the Northern District of California’s decision that the three-year repose period in Section 13 of the Securities Act had already run by the time the class action was filed.

Ripple Wins: Court Punts XRP Securities Claims

The case was led by Bradley Sostack, who purchased XRP in January 2018 on Poloniex. The underlying class complaint was filed later in 2018; Sostack was appointed lead plaintiff in 2019 and amended the complaint in 2020.

At the center of the appeal was when XRP was “bona fide offered to the public” for purposes of the Securities Act’s repose clock. The ruling sided with Ripple, pointing to early XRP distribution and trading activity tied to the XRP Ledger’s built-in exchange.

“According to the record in this case, Ripple was offering XRP to the public as early as 2013. It is undisputed that Ripple sold over 500 million XRP on the Ledger’s built-in digital asset exchange. Those offers were made ‘to the public’ even if only technologically sophisticated consumers could navigate the Ledger to purchase XRP.”

That framing mattered because Section 13’s statute of repose is unforgiving: once the three years run from the first public offering, later buyers can’t revive a federal Section 12(a)(1) registration claim by filing years afterward. The district court had reached the same conclusion in its June 20, 2024 summary judgment order on the federal class claims.

Sostack’s primary effort to avoid the time bar was to argue Ripple’s conduct in 2017, when the company began releasing its XRP holdings in monthly tranches, amounted to a separate, later offering (or effectively a new investment contract) that should restart the clock.

The panel rejected that attempt to split the timeline, emphasizing the nature of the asset itself and the absence of a factual dispute that the 2013 and 2017 activity should be treated as distinct offerings.

“But Sostack has failed to raise a material issue of fact that the 2013 offering and the 2017 offering were separate offerings. The nature of XRP did not change between 2013 and 2017; all XRP cryptocurrency remained fungible and interchangeable.”

With no separate-offering finding, the panel held the repose period began with the 2013 public offering, leaving the 2018/2019 filings outside the window and affirming judgment for Ripple. The decision is also procedurally narrow: because the district court’s Rule 54(b) certification covered only certain claims, the Ninth Circuit said it was limiting its ruling accordingly.

At press time, XRP traded at $1.88.

Bitcoin is trying to reclaim the $90,000 level as the market remains trapped in a phase of uncertainty and consolidation. After months of elevated volatility, price action has narrowed, reflecting hesitation from both buyers and sellers. This indecision has fueled a growing divide among analysts.

Some argue that Bitcoin is merely digesting prior gains, while others warn that the current structure points toward a continuation of the downtrend and a potentially bearish 2026. The lack of sustained upside momentum above key resistance levels has reinforced these concerns, especially as macro conditions remain fragile and risk appetite is uneven across global markets.

Adding weight to the cautious outlook, a recent CryptoQuant report highlights a notable shift in on-chain dynamics. Bitcoin’s Supply in Loss (%) has begun to trend upward again, a development that historically aligns with the early stages of bear markets.

In past cycles, this metric turned higher as price weakness persisted, signaling that losses were no longer confined to short-term traders but were gradually spreading to longer-term holders. This transition often marked a change in market psychology, from temporary pullbacks to more structural downturns.

Supply in Loss Turns Up, Raising Early Bear Market Concerns

In previous market cycles—2014, 2018, and 2022—the behavior of Bitcoin’s Supply in Loss (%) followed a consistent pattern. The metric began to trend upward well before the market reached its final bottom, while price continued to grind lower or remain under pressure. In each case, this early increase did not mark an immediate reversal.

Instead, it reflected a gradual expansion of unrealized losses across the market, as downside pressure extended beyond short-term traders and increasingly affected longer-term holders. True cycle bottoms only formed later, after Supply in Loss had risen substantially and broad capitulation had taken place.

At present, Supply in Loss remains well below those historical capitulation thresholds. From a purely quantitative perspective, this suggests the market has not yet reached a point of widespread distress. However, the importance lies less in the absolute level and more in the change in direction. The recent uptick indicates that losses are beginning to spread again, a condition that has historically coincided with transitions toward more defensive market regimes.

This shift challenges the narrative that the current weakness is merely a corrective pause within a broader bull trend. Instead, it raises the possibility that Bitcoin is entering a bear market structure, characterized by prolonged consolidation, repeated downside tests, and delayed recovery.

While this does not preclude short-term rebounds, the on-chain signal suggests that risks remain skewed to the downside until loss expansion either stabilizes or accelerates toward historical extremes, where durable bottoms have previously formed.

Bitcoin Testing Key Resistance Level

Bitcoin price action on this daily chart reflects a market stuck in consolidation after a sharp structural breakdown. Following the rejection near the $125,000 region in October, BTC entered a clear downtrend, marked by lower highs and lower lows. The aggressive sell-off into late November pushed price below the 50-day and 100-day moving averages, confirming a loss of bullish momentum and shifting market control toward sellers.

 

Since early December, Bitcoin has stabilized between roughly $85,000 and $92,000, forming a sideways range rather than an immediate continuation lower. This suggests that forced selling pressure has eased, but conviction remains limited.

The 50-day moving average (blue) continues to slope downward and currently caps upside attempts, while the 100-day (green) also trends lower, reinforcing overhead resistance in the $94,000–$96,000 zone. The 200-day moving average (red) remains well below the price near the mid-$70,000s, indicating that the broader cycle has not fully reset, despite the correction.

Selling volume peaked during the November breakdown but has since declined, signaling reduced participation rather than renewed demand. As long as BTC remains below the declining 50-day and 100-day averages, rallies are likely corrective. A sustained hold above $92,000 would be needed to improve short-term structure, while a breakdown below $85,000 would reopen downside risk.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

A new report released Wednesday by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs shows that 2025 marked a record year for illicit activity flowing into the cryptocurrency ecosystem, with volumes rising sharply compared to the previous year. 

According to the findings, inflows from illicit entities into crypto surged by roughly 145% year over year, underscoring a dramatic rebound after several years of decline.

Crypto Crime Volume Jumps To $158 Billion 

TRM Labs estimates that illicit cryptocurrency wallets received approximately $158 billion in incoming funds in 2025, up from $64.5 billion in 2024. This represents the highest level recorded over the past five years. 

The surge followed a prolonged downturn in illicit inflows, which had steadily fallen from $85.9 billion in 2021 to $75.4 billion in 2022 and $73.3 billion in 2023, before hitting a low point last year.

Despite the sharp rise in absolute dollar terms, the report notes that illicit activity continued to account for a smaller share of the overall crypto market. 

As a percentage of total attributed on‑chain transaction volume, illicit activity declined slightly to 1.2% in 2025, down from 1.3% in 2024 and well below the peak of 2.4% recorded in 2023. Illicit entities received 2.7% of all incoming flows to virtual asset service providers in 2025, compared with 2.9% the year before and 6.0% in 2023. 

The report highlights sanctions‑related activity as a major driver behind the 2025 increase. Volumes linked to sanctioned entities and jurisdictions rose sharply, led by roughly $72 billion in inflows associated with the A7A5 token. An additional $39 billion was tied to the A7 wallet cluster. 

TRM Labs noted that this activity was highly concentrated, with the vast majority of sanctions‑linked volume connected to Russia‑linked actors, including platforms and entities such as Garantex, Grinex, and A7.

Illicit Activity Reshaped By State Actors

Geopolitical developments played a central role in reshaping illicit crypto activity during the year. According to TRM Labs, state and state‑aligned actors increasingly turned to crypto as a core component of their financial infrastructure rather than using it only as a last‑resort tool. 

While Russia‑linked networks were the primary contributors to sanctions‑related flows, the report emphasized a broader and more consequential shift: the growing institutionalization of crypto rails by other sanctioned actors around the world.

China continues to occupy a leading position in the illicit crypto landscape, particularly as a hub for illicit financial services infrastructure. TRM’s analysis shows that activity linked to Chinese‑language escrow services and underground banking networks has expanded dramatically. 

Adjusted crypto volumes associated with these networks grew from roughly $123 million in 2020 to more than $103 billion in 2025, reflecting their increasing scale and influence.

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

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has shared its intention to move forward with the proposed cap on crypto exchange ownership despite concerns from industry players and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

FSC Backs Ownership Cap For Crypto Exchanges

On Wednesday, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon revealed that the regulatory agency is reviewing a proposal to cap major shareholders’ stakes in crypto exchanges at around 15%-20%.

According to The Korea Times, Lee stressed the need to limit the ownership stakes of controlling shareholders in crypto exchanges, claiming that the move is necessary to “align governance standards with the exchanges’ increasing public role.”

He argued that “excessive concentration of ownership” could increase the risk of conflicts of interest while undermining market integrity, noting that securities exchanges and other trading systems are subject to similar limits.

The chairman highlighted that existing regulations mainly focus on anti-money laundering and investor protection. The ownership cap proposal would be included in the upcoming Digital Asset Basic Act, also known as the Second Phase of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which is expected to serve as a comprehensive framework for the entire industry.

“Under the current system, virtual asset exchanges operate under a notification system that requires renewal every three years. The proposed shift to an authorization system would effectively grant exchanges permanent operating status,” Lee explained.

He emphasized that “this higher status means exchanges need governance rules that match their larger role and greater responsibilities.” As a result, exchanges would assume characteristics similar to public infrastructure.

A joint council representing domestic crypto exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone, has opposed the proposed cap, warning that it could hinder the development of South Korea’s digital asset sector.

Notably, major players like Song Chi-hyung, the chairman of Dunamu, the company that operates Upbit, and Cha Myung-hoon, the founder of Coinone, would be forced to sell significant portions of their holdings if the law is enacted.

The Democratic Party of Korea also expressed its concerns, observing that similar ownership caps are uncommon worldwide and could make South Korea’s framework inconsistent with global regulatory trends.

Lawmakers Set New Deadline For Digital Assets Framework

ChosunBiz reported that the DPK’s Digital Assets Task Force (TF) discussed key details of the Digital Asset Basic Act in a Wednesday meeting at the National Assembly members’ office building, attended by government officials.

According to the report, the ruling party’s members did not discuss the cap on crypto exchange ownership. Still, they revealed that they will introduce the framework before the Lunar New Year holiday on February 17.

DPK’s Lawmaker Ahn Do-geol said, “We plan to introduce the Digital Asset Basic Act before the Lunar New Year, and we hope that by then a plan agreed upon with the government as much as possible will be put together.”

Instead of the “unanimous consent system” proposed by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the task force settled on a consultative body to discuss stablecoin authorizations, comprised of the BOK, the FSC, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Financial Supervisory Service.

The task force considered that requiring unanimity for stablecoin authorization would slow issuance, while observers believe that the central bank’s proposal was “a way to control stablecoins.”

In addition, the minimum statutory capital for stablecoin issuers was set at 5 billion won, approximately $3.48 million. Nonetheless, the report affirmed that there has not been an agreement on the issuance of won-pegged stablecoins.

As reported by Bitcoinist, the BOK and the FSC have been clashing over the extent of banks’ role in stablecoin issuance. While the central bank has been pushing for a consortium of banks owning at least 51% of any stablecoin issuer seeking approval in the country, the FSC has expressed concerns about this proposal.

Lee Kang-il, a DPK lawmaker on the task force, asserted that “the 50%+1 share rule remains contentious because there is still no willingness to concede among government ministries,” but added that they have prepared a mediation plan and will “make decisions in a direction that serves the national interest overall and benefits the public.”

US authorities have launched an investigation into a potential breach involving government‑controlled cryptocurrency accounts. According to a Reuters report, the US Marshals Service confirmed in an email that it is examining a possible hack of government digital‑asset wallets. 

Social Media Drama Unveils Crypto Crime

The investigation gained public attention earlier this week after Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, weighed in on social media. 

On Monday, Witt responded on social media platform X (previously Twitter) to claims made by blockchain investigator ZachXBT, stating that he was looking into the matter. ZachXBT alleged that a hacker stole more than $60 million in late 2025, including funds traced back to government seizure wallets.

In a series of posts on X, ZachXBT accused John “Lick” Daghita, the son of Dean Daghita, the head of CMDSS, a firm that claims to supply crucial services to the Justice Department (DOJ) and the Department of Defense. The alleged theft came to light during a heated “band for band” dispute on the messaging app Telegram. 

During the argument, a young hacker began screen‑sharing his wallets while boasting about his holdings. Investigators later traced those wallets to more than $40 million in seized crypto assets belonging to the government.

ZachXBT’s findings went further, alleging that the individual known as “John Lick” was seen controlling wallets tied to more than $90 million in suspected illicit funds. 

Among the assets identified were cryptocurrencies associated with US government seizure addresses linked to the high‑profile Bitfinex hack, adding another layer of seriousness to the allegations.

Midterm Elections Countdown

While questions around government wallet security continue to unfold, the broader political and regulatory environment for crypto in the United States is also intensifying. 

CNBC reported on Wednesday that the crypto‑focused political action committee (PAC) Fairshake raised a total of $193 million by the end of last year, positioning it as a major force ahead of the upcoming congressional midterm elections.

The updated figure reflects two significant donations made in the second half of 2025, including $25 million from Ripple and $24 million from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z. 

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, another major supporter, contributed $25 million in the first half of last year, shortly before Fairshake announced it had $141 million available.

“With the midterms approaching, we are united behind our mission, with Fairshake continuing to oppose anti‑crypto politicians and support pro‑crypto leaders,” Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto said.

This week, senators are negotiating the crypto market structure bill aimed at setting regulatory standards for the entire crypto sector. One portion of the legislation is expected to receive its first vote Thursday in the Senate Agriculture Committee. 

However, the section overseen by the Senate Banking Committee has been delayed after lawmakers called off a planned vote amid ongoing disagreements over the bill’s provisions.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Tether is rapidly expanding its physical gold footprint, with CEO Paolo Ardoino casting the stablecoin issuer less like a fintech and more like a central bank. “We are soon becoming basically one of the biggest, let’s say, gold central banks in the world,” Ardoino said in an interview with Bloomberg, as the company disclosed buying and storing bullion at a scale rarely seen outside banks and sovereigns.

Tether’s Gold Strategy

The remarks land as bullion keeps rewriting the macro playbook. Gold pushed to fresh records above $5,200 an ounce this week after President Donald Trump said he was not concerned about a weaker dollar, reinforcing the “debasement trade” that has pulled flows out of sovereign bonds and currencies and into hard assets.

Tether’s gold push is physical, not just balance-sheet accounting. More than a ton of bullion is hauled into a high-security vault in Switzerland every week, according to the report, with the hoard described as the largest known stash outside banks and nation states.

Ardoino framed the accumulation as an ongoing policy decision rather than a one-off allocation. “Maybe we are going to reduce, we don’t know yet. We are going to assess on a quarterly basis our demand for gold,” he said, suggesting Tether intends to manage the position dynamically as the macro backdrop evolves.

The cash engine is USDT. With roughly $186 billion in circulation, Tether takes in dollars for its stablecoin issuance and invests reserves across assets including Treasuries and gold, generating interest and trading profits that can be recycled into further purchases.

Ardoino’s comments also point to a shift in posture, from an accumulator of bullion to an active participant in the market’s plumbing. He said the company needs “the best trading floor for gold in the world” to keep buying at scale and to exploit inefficiencies, adding that whatever strategies it adopts would be structured so the firm “remains very long physical gold.”

“Our goal is to have a steady, stable, long-term access to gold,” Ardoino said, describing logistics that look more like commodities trading than crypto treasury management. “Because one to two tons per week is a very sizable amount,” he added, as Tether looks to make the acquisition process more efficient, buying directly from Swiss refiners and also sourcing from major financial institutions, with large orders sometimes taking months to arrive.

The buildout is already reflected in staffing. Tether has hired two senior gold traders from HSBC, and Ardoino said the firm is evaluating opportunities to trade around dislocations between futures and physical pricing.

Ardoino’s broader argument is explicitly monetary. “Gold is ‘logically a safer asset than any national currency,’” he said in an earlier Bloomberg interview. “Every single central bank in the BRICS countries is buying gold.” This week, he tied that demand to the user base that made USDT a dominant offshore dollar proxy: “Exactly the people that love gold and have been using gold as to protect themselves from their own government that have been debasing their currency for a long time,” he said. “We believe that the world is going towards darkness. We believe that there is a lot of turmoil.”

That thesis feeds directly into Tether Gold (XAUT), the company’s token redeemable for bullion. Tether has issued XAUT equivalent to about 16 tons of gold, or roughly $2.7 billion, and Ardoino said there is a “good chance” it ends the year with $5 billion to $10 billion in circulation. “The way I see it, is that there are foreign countries that are buying a lot of gold, and we believe that these countries will soon launch tokenized version of gold as a competitive currency to the US dollar,” he said.

For now, Tether’s own messaging is that it’s already operating on sovereign-like scale. “We are operating at a scale that now places the Tether Gold Investment Fund alongside sovereign gold holders, and that carries real responsibility,” Ardoino said.

At press time, XAUT traded at $5,283.

Bitcoin is struggling to regain traction below the $90,000 level as the market navigates a dense mix of macro uncertainty and risk aversion. Price action remains hesitant, reflecting a broader environment where participants are increasingly focused on external signals rather than crypto-specific catalysts. According to insights from CryptoQuant, this Super Wednesday arrives with a strong market consensus: the Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.

That expectation is reflected in volatile markets. The VIX at 16.89 places equities in a zone of moderate volatility, often interpreted as an alert level rather than outright panic. Yet despite stable rate expectations, the US dollar continues to weaken, highlighting that monetary policy is not the only driver shaping global capital flows.

The dollar’s softness has increasingly been linked to political and economic decisions associated with US President Donald Trump, adding another layer of uncertainty for investors.

As confidence in US assets wavers, capital has rotated toward perceived safe havens. This shift has fueled a renewed rally in gold and silver, underscoring a defensive posture across markets. In this context, Bitcoin’s inability to reclaim $90K reflects its sensitivity to broader risk sentiment. Rather than acting as an immediate refuge, BTC remains caught between macro caution and the absence of a clear directional trigger, leaving the market in a fragile and reactive state.

VIX–Bitcoin Correlation Highlights Sensitivity To Macro Stress

According to the report, the VIX–BTC Risk Correlation becomes a key framework for interpreting Bitcoin’s behavior in the current macro environment. This indicator tracks how spikes in traditional market volatility, measured by the VIX, align with local and cyclical bottoms in Bitcoin. Rather than acting as a timing signal, it functions as a stress thermometer, helping assess when risk in traditional finance begins to translate into inflection points in the crypto market.

Historical context reinforces its relevance. During 2025, Bitcoin declined in 6 of the 7 FOMC meetings, with an average drop of 7.47% in the surrounding days. Policy expectations remain anchored, with the current federal funds rate in the 3.50%–3.75% range, the lowest since September 2022. At the same time, the Federal Reserve has announced plans to repurchase $40 billion in Treasury Bills over 30 days, adding liquidity without signaling an imminent rate cut.

On the volatility side, the VIX at 16.89 places markets in an alert zone of moderate stress. Historically, this same correlation framework flagged the last two local Bitcoin bottoms of the current cycle and also identified the bottom of the previous bear market.

The conclusion is not that a bottom is guaranteed, but that risk remains elevated. With markets pricing a rate cut only for March or September, Bitcoin continues to trade in sync with US-driven stress, making Super Wednesday another key test of the volatility–Bitcoin relationship.

Price Momentum Remains Fragile

Bitcoin price action on the daily chart shows a market trapped in a fragile consolidation after a sharp corrective phase. BTC is trading around the $89,000 area, struggling to regain momentum after failing to reclaim the descending cluster of moving averages.

The 50-day SMA (blue) continues to slope downward and acts as dynamic resistance, while the 100-day SMA (green) is also trending lower, reinforcing the bearish medium-term structure. Above them, the 200-day SMA (red) remains intact but far from price, signaling that long-term trend support is still present, yet not immediately actionable.

The sell-off from the October highs established a clear lower-high and lower-low sequence, confirming a trend shift from expansion to distribution. Since the December low near the mid-$80,000s, price has stabilized but remains capped below the $92,000–$94,000 zone, where prior demand flipped into resistance. Volume has declined during the recent sideways movement, suggesting reduced participation and a lack of conviction from both buyers and sellers.

Structurally, this is a compression phase rather than a confirmed reversal. Holding above the $86,000–$87,000 support range is critical to avoid renewed downside pressure. However, without a decisive reclaim of the 50- and 100-day averages, upside attempts remain corrective in nature.

The market is paused, not resolved, and direction will depend on whether demand returns with volume or sellers regain control.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

The long-awaited altcoin season may fail to meet expectations, according to comments shared by well-known market analyst Ted Pillows. In a recent post on X, Pillows pushed back against the popular belief that gains from Bitcoin and traditional safe-haven assets will naturally rotate into alts. This outlook is based on the analyst’s reconciliation with the fact that the structure of today’s crypto market is very different from past cycles.

Why Bitcoin Gains Have Not Flowed Into Altcoins

Many crypto market participants have been waiting for many months for a capital rotation from Bitcoin into altcoins, a trend that played out in previous market cycles, most especially in 2021. However, this has yet to play out as expected, as the crypto industry’s dynamics have matured from speculative inflows from investors since then. 

Particularly, Pillows pointed to the current 2024/2025 market cycle as a clear example of misplaced expectations among altcoin holders. According to his assessment, the rotation into alts never materialized because the dominant buyers of Bitcoin were institutions, not retail traders. 

Institutional participants, he noted, tend to accumulate Bitcoin as a long-term asset and do not actively rotate capital into altcoins the way retail investors did in previous cycles. This market behavior from the new cohort of investors has contributed to a strong Bitcoin dominance even during periods of corrections. According to CoinMarketCap’s dominance index, Bitcoin’s dominance is currently at 58.9%.

The analyst extended this logic to current expectations around gold and silver. Right now, gold and silver are trading near record highs, with social media interest in these precious metals also at remarkable highs. Gold is currently trading above $5,270 per ounce and is steadily pushing to new highs. Silver is also pushing to new highs, currently trading around $113 per ounce.

Some market participants believe that strength in these precious metals could eventually translate into Bitcoin inflows and then into altcoins. However, according to Pillows, this won’t happen again, which might leave altcoin holders disappointed. He pointed to the fact that the primary buyers of gold and silver today are central banks, not retail investors. 

What Needs To Change Before An Alt Rally

Despite the skeptical outlook, Pillows did not claim that altcoins are permanently sidelined. Instead, he outlined conditions he believes are necessary for a widespread altcoin rally to take shape. One is meaningful regulatory clarity, particularly through the approval of the Clarity Act, which could improve institutional confidence across the digital asset space. The Clarity Act, however, is currently facing delays in Congress.

The other condition for an altcoin rally is a return to aggressive liquidity expansion similar to the quantitative easing environment witnessed during the 2020/2021 cycle. Without those conditions in place, only a small subset of altcoins will manage to perform well, while many others will gradually lose relevance and slowly dump to zero.

On-chain data shows non-empty addresses on the Ethereum network have set a new record of 175.5 million, the highest among all digital assets.

Ethereum Has Seen A New Record In Total Amount Of Holders

According to data from on-chain analytics firm Santiment, the Total Amount of Holders has hit a new milestone for Ethereum recently. This indicator tracks the total number of wallets on the network carrying a non-zero balance. When the value of this metric rises, it means new users are joining the network, and/or old users who had sold earlier are investing back into the asset.

The trend can also arise due to existing users distributing their holdings across multiple wallets. In general, all three of these can be assumed to simultaneously be at play to some degree, meaning that whenever the Total Amount of Holders goes up, some net adoption of the network is taking place.

On the other hand, the indicator witnessing a decline suggests some investors are clearing out their wallets, potentially because they have decided to exit from the cryptocurrency.

Now, here is the chart shared by Santiment that shows the trend in the Ethereum Total Amount of Holders over the last few months:

As displayed in the above graph, the Ethereum Total Amount of Holders was rising during the second half of 2025, but since mid-December, growth in the indicator has gone up a gear. In January alone, 5.16 million more addresses have joined the network, representing a jump of 3.03%. The metric’s value is now at 175.5 million, a new all-time high for ETH and a record among all digital assets.

Growth in the Total Amount of Holders isn’t the only on-chain development that Ethereum has observed recently. In the same chart, the analytics firm has also attached the data for another indicator: the Supply on Exchanges. This metric measures the total amount of ETH that’s currently sitting in wallets associated with centralized exchanges.

From the graph, it’s visible that the Ethereum Supply on Exchanges has continued to go down, a sign that investors have been taking their Ethereum off these platforms. The push toward exchange withdrawals has come as staking interest has been rising on the network.

“As staking continues to be of strong interest, especially while markets move sideways, exchange supply will continue to shrink as well,” explained Santiment.

ETH Price

Ethereum has been making its way back up since its Sunday low under $2,800, as the asset’s price is now back above $3,000.

Ethereum and Solana are gradually demonstrating bullish movements following a rebound on Tuesday, but the broader outlook still appears to be bearish. On-chain metrics are flashing caution as selling pressure continues to dominate among investors of ETH and SOL, suggesting an extension of the ongoing volatile market.

Market Balance Tilts Bearish For Ethereum And Solana

While the broader cryptocurrency market has faced steady downside pressure over the past few weeks, the market dynamics of both Ethereum and Solana are undergoing a crucial shift. This shift is being reflected in the Buy/Sell Pressure Delta for ETH and SOL, which has recently turned negative.

The Buy/Sell Pressure Delta is a key metric that measures the imbalance between buying and selling forces in the market. It is worth noting that when the delta goes negative, it indicates a lack of bullish momentum since selling pressure is greater than purchasing pressure.

According to Alphractal, an advanced on-chain data analytics platform, the metric flipping negative suggests that Ethereum and Solana sellers are gaining control of the market. With buying momentum currently fading, the risk of short-term downside or consolidation becomes high.  

This shift typically points to trend exhaustion, not necessarily an immediate reversal. It also points to a cooling phase after periods of stronger momentum and buying activity. In some scenarios from the past, the platform highlighted that a negative Buy/Sell Pressure Delta has also led to price bottoms. However, this is mostly common when selling pressure starts to lose strength again, with capital flows favoring accumulation over distribution.

Furthermore, Alphractal noted that for this ongoing trend to signal a potential bottom in Ethereum and Solana prices, it is critical to monitor whether the delta is exhibiting stability or a recovery, rather than expanding further into negative territory. In the meantime, analyzing the lower timeframes would aid in spotting early signs of a shift back toward buying pressure.

At this point, it is not a standalone signal, and context matters. Price action, volume, and broader on-chain data must confirm whether the market is transitioning into a period of continuation or accumulation. As this imbalance develops across the two networks, it increases the downside risk and emphasizes how crucial it is to keep an eye on whether demand can stabilize or keep declining in the upcoming sessions.

ETH Position Inside A Dense Basis Cluster

Ethereum remains capped by the growing volatility across the crypto market, hovering below the $3,000 price mark. After delving into ETH’s recent price action, Chris Beamish has outlined that the leading altcoin is trading on a dense cost basis cluster. 

The positioning carries significance as it represents a breakeven zone for many ETH holders. As ETH holds this zone, the market is leaning toward absorption and the formation of a base. However, a breakdown would move the price into thinner support where underwater supply may derisk.

Grayscale, one of the world’s largest digital asset-focused managers, has filed a new amendment to its Spot XRP ETF, updating specific details in the original document. Meanwhile, XRP ETFs have achieved a remarkable milestone, surpassing $2 billion in total volume, reflecting growing institutional demand and interest.

Grayscale Files New Amendment For Its XRP ETF

On Tuesday, January 20, Grayscale updated its Form 8-K filing for the Spot XRP ETF, highlighting new details it has included in the index calculation. The amendment, which was submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealed changes to the digital asset trading platforms previously used to determine the Index Price for the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF, GXRP. 

The CoinDesk Indices, Inc., which provides the index, initially included Bitstamp by Robinhood, Crypto.com, Gemini, Kraken, LMAX Digital, OKX, and Bitfinex for XRP-USD trading pairs in the original XRP Spot ETF filing. For XRP-USDC trading pairs, the index previously featured Bitstamp, Bullish, Bybit, Kraken, and OKX. 

Notably, the January 20 amendment has now added Binance, Gate, and Hashkey as new platforms for XRP trading pairs. These additions follow a routine monthly review where the platforms met the conditions and eligibility criteria for inclusion. At the same time, Bitfinex was removed from the index. Grayscale disclosed that the reason for the exclusion was due to Bitfinex’s failure to meet the Index Provider’s conditions for inclusion.

The asset manager’s move reflects its ongoing efforts to maintain a more accurate and reliable pricing for its XRP ETFs. Market analyst Xaif Crypto has stated that the new amendment improves NAV accuracy on NYSE Arca. He also noted that the removal of Bitfinex underscores Grayscale’s growing focus on higher-liquidity exchanges amid XRP’s growing institutional demand and adoption post SEC clarity. 

XRP ETFs Exceed $2 Billion In Trading Volume

As investors become more familiar with the newly added trading platforms in Grayscale’s XRP ETF pricing index, new reports have revealed a major increase in volume for these investment products. According to an X post by crypto enthusiast XRP Update, the total US Spot XRP ETFs have surpassed $2 billion in cumulative trading volume, marking a significant growth milestone. 

XRP Update revealed that since October 2025, XRP Spot ETFs have seen steady demand and increasing institutional participation, reflecting growing confidence in the cryptocurrency as an investment vehicle. The chart, which shows cumulative volume, illustrates slow but sustained growth, with XRP ETFs rising above $500 million, then exceeding $1 billion, and now sitting above $2 billion. 

XRP Update notes that capital is quietly and consistently rotating into XRP ETFs. Due to strong volume growth, the crypto enthusiast believes that continued institutional demand could ignite a bullish trend in XRP’s price. In addition to its rising trading volume, XRP ETFs have also recorded another day of positive inflows, adding approximately $9.16 million to total net assets. 

In its first massive move of the year, GTreasury has announced the launch of Ripple Treasury, a move that shows how the company is positioning XRP and its broader infrastructure within global finance. The new platform, revealed through GTreasury’s official X account, presents Ripple Treasury as a full-scale enterprise treasury solution that brings together traditional cash management and digital assets under one unified system, among a few other solutions. 

Ripple Unveils Its New Treasury Platform

Ripple Treasury, backed by GTreasury, is the first fully integrated treasury platform to combine an established enterprise treasury system with modern digital asset infrastructure provided by Ripple. According to the announcement by GTreasury, many finance teams are currently burdened by outdated systems, rising operational complexity, and tighter resources. 

However, Ripple’s backing has allowed GTreasury to directly address those constraints with reinvestment into product development. This has led to engineering capacity doubling in just 90 days, and the company has expanded its capabilities through the acquisition of Solvexia, a Software-as-a-Service process automation platform acquired by GTreasury on January 6.

The announcement points to Ripple’s intention to move beyond payments alone and establish a deeper foothold in corporate treasury, liquidity management, and institutional finance. Ripple Treasury is designed to deliver practical operational benefits by giving enterprises unified visibility across traditional cash positions and digital assets, 24/7 yield optimization putting every dollar to work, instant cross-border settlements reducing FX costs, eliminating pre-funding requirements and unlocking trapped working capital, and future-ready infrastructure for tokenized assets and programmable payments, among many others.

The GTreasury Acquisition That Set the Stage

The launch of Ripple Treasury is an extension of Ripple’s acquisition of GTreasury, a deal that was first announced on October 16, 2025. The crypto frim agreed to acquire the Chicago-based treasury management systems provider for about $1 billion, one of its most significant strategic moves of the year. GTreasury brought more than 40 years of experience serving large corporations and finance teams, along with mature tools for liquidity management, cash forecasting, risk control, and payments.

At the time, Ripple described the acquisition as a direct expansion into the multi-trillion-dollar corporate treasury market. Leadership of the two companies noted that the deal is a way to combine GTreasury’s deep-rooted treasury expertise with the XRPL payment and digital asset infrastructure. The deal capped a busy year of acquisitions for the company in 2025, following its purchases earlier in the year of other financial-infrastructure companies like Hidden Road and Palisade.

GTreasury runs an enterprise-grade infrastructure trusted by hundreds of global financial institutions. The company is licensed in over 75 jurisdictions with real-time 24/7/365 cross-border payment rails and institutional custody, things that Ripple hopes to take advantage of in its aim of capturing a huge share of modern corporate finance operations.

Bitcoin’s current price outlook may appear bearish and volatile, but sentiment is leaning toward a bullish narrative in the short and long term. Despite the ongoing waning price action, large BTC players are showcasing interest and conviction in the flagship crypto asset as they continue to stack long positions.

Large Players Go Long on Bitcoin

In the midst of heightened volatility and sideways performance, Bitcoin investors are showing up at a significant rate. Joao Wedson, a market expert and the founder of Alphractal, has shared an analysis that shows that Bitcoin’s large participants, also regarded as whales, are quietly shifting into a bullish phase. 

As highlighted in the research on the X platform, the cohort continues to accumulate long positions while the broader market begins to set up. Currently, the Whale vs Retail Delta Heatmap is demonstrating a clear divergence as institutional players are positioning ahead, while retail remains cautious, but longs remain the dominant side overall.

With Bitcoin’s price waning, this suggests that whales are not reacting to short-term noise. Rather, they could be positioning themselves early for a possible shift in direction toward the upside. Such a behavior from the cohort hints at rising confidence in the asset’s medium-term to long-term prospects.

The divergence between Bitcoin and altcoins indicates that large investors are betting their capital on BTC rather than distributing risk throughout the market. Thus, a period of Bitcoin-led market leadership may be unfolding underneath the surface due to the increasing prevalence of whale-driven BTC longs.

In the past, Wedson stated that this setup is capable of increasing the probability of forced liquidations driven by crypto exchanges. However, if the metric continues to display strength, the expert claims that it has mostly occurred close to important market bottoms, especially when whale condition grows across multiple timeframes.

Multiple Long Positions Have Been Liquidated

Long positions in Bitcoin may be growing, but the journey has not been a smooth one. In another X post, Wedson reported that BTC has liquidated a large portion of long positions that were opened over a period of 30 days. 

Wedson added that this massive liquidation shows that the majority of traders are still betting on an upside trajectory in the crypto market. However, cryptocurrency exchanges and OG investors are steadily moving against consensus, as they attract easy liquidity from unprepared players.

The Bitcoin liquidation map is telling a story. CryptoPulse’s analysis of the Bitcoin Exchange Liquidation Map shows that sell-side liquidation is currently stacked, which might push the price upward after the recent downside move. This accumulation implies that if the price rises, a significant concentration of short bets may be compelled to unwind, which could increase volatility. Should the structure allow it, a natural relief push is on the horizon.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has filed for another Bitcoin ETF. This comes as the crypto ETF issuer continues to confine itself to the BTC and ETH ecosystems and has opted not to file for crypto funds such as the XRP ETF. 

BlackRock Files For New Bitcoin ETF

BlackRock filed an S-1 form for its Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. According to the filing, the Bitcoin ETF will seek to track BTC’s price while providing premium income through an actively managed strategy of writing call options on IBIT shares. From time to time, the Trust may also write call options on ETP indices that track spot BTC investment products to generate premium income. 

This proposed Bitcoin premium Income ETF will mark BlackRock’s third major crypto ETF offering, as it already offers a spot Bitcoin ETF and an Ethereum ETF. The world’s largest asset manager has, to date, opted against filing for an XRP ETF or funds that track other crypto assets, despite moves by other issuers such as Grayscale and Bitwise. 

It is worth noting that last year, BlackRock confirmed that it has no plans to file for a Solana or XRP ETF at this time, opting to focus on its existing Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. The asset manager is currently the largest BTC and ETH ETF issuer, with net assets of $69 billion and $10 billion, respectively, according to SoSoValue data. 

Meanwhile, other crypto ETFs have seen considerable success despite BlackRock’s hesitation to file for these funds. SoSoValue data shows that the XRP ETFs as a group already boast a net asset of $1.38 billion since launching in November. This accounts for just over 1% of the altcoin’s market cap. Solana ETFs have net assets of almost $1.10 billion, accounting for 1.50% of SOL’s market cap. 

BlackRock May Explore A Basket Product Down The Line

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said during an interview with market expert Nate Geraci that BlackRock appears content to stick with just Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. However, he alluded to his previous statement that the asset manager could launch a basket product or an active ETF at some point. 

This could take the form of a crypto index ETF, which provides exposure to multiple crypto assets rather than a single asset. Such a move will be similar to Ark Invest’s recent filing for a CoinDesk 20 ETF. Cathie Wood’s firm offers only a spot Bitcoin ETF but is now looking to provide exposure to other assets through an index fund, rather than filing for a spot XRP ETF or other individual crypto funds. 

Meanwhile, Seyffart made a case for a Solana ETF over an XRP ETF, stating that it is surprising that BlackRock hasn’t explored SOL. This came as he described BTC, ETH, and SOL as the ‘big 3’ in terms of crypto assets that institutional investors are looking to gain exposure to.

Rodeo, a social-focused NFT marketplace, announced it will stop operating in early March after failing to grow enough to stay viable.

The decision was shared by the team and its CEO on social channels, and users were given a short window to move their work off the site. Reports say the platform will be taken offline in stages over the next few weeks.

Shutdown Timetable And What It Means For Users

Between January 27 and February 10, Rodeo will remain fully functional. On February 10 the site will switch to read-only mode and, by March 10, it will be shut off completely.

That schedule gives creators and collectors a limited period to access their accounts, download files, and prepare transfers before trading and posting are disabled.

According to company posts, Rodeo will provide tools to help move media and metadata to other storage systems.

https://t.co/z2Zvk2ibKi

— kayvon (@saturnial) January 27, 2026

Migration Tools

Reports note that Rodeo plans to let users migrate media and metadata to Arweave, a decentralized storage option, and that an asset migration assistant will be offered to guide transfers from Rodeo’s smart contracts.

Those steps aim to prevent loss of on-chain references and to preserve creators’ work in a more permanent form. While migration tools ease the process, collectors should act quickly because on-chain operations still require steps outside the Rodeo interface.

Why It Happened And The Team’s Take

According to posts from CEO Kayvon Tehranian, the product won a loyal following but did not scale to the level needed for long-term survival.

The team framed Rodeo as an experiment in social collecting — rewarding creators for posting and building community rather than just for trading — but said that a small, passionate user base was not enough to fund ongoing operations. Some leadership changes were also announced alongside the shutdown news.

A Broader Pattern In The NFT Market

The closure of Rodeo follows other recent platform wind-downs, most notably well-known marketplace Nifty Gateway that announced its own withdrawal and shutdown timetable this month.

The twin moves have shaken artists and collectors, who now face multiple deadlines and the task of moving assets off platforms that previously handled much of the heavy lifting.

This wave of closures is being treated as another sign that many NFT businesses are still struggling to find consistent demand.

Transfer Help And Practical Steps For Creators

Reports say Rodeo will publish guides and an assistant to help users transfer NFTs and related files. Creators should export any off-chain media and save contract addresses, token IDs, and metadata hashes.

If an NFT’s media is moved to Arweave, the token can keep its on-chain pointer while the underlying file stays retrievable for the future.

Featured image from Rodeo, chart from TradingView