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Just as the price of Ethereum gains upward traction, the network is also experiencing robust adoption and usage, cementing its dominance in the blockchain sector. As the year begins, the Ethereum network reached a major milestone in terms of on-chain finance as stablecoin transfers surge to unprecedented levels.

Stablecoin Liquidity Floods Ethereum Network

Ethereum continues to remain at the forefront of on-chain finance following recent stablecoin flows on the blockchain. Presently, stablecoin activity on the Ethereum network has surged sharply, reaching historical levels, reflecting a significant change in the dynamics of on-chain liquidity.

In the midst of a growing stablecoin market, Joseph Young, a market expert and ETH narrator, revealed that stablecoin transfer volume on the Ethereum network just hit a new all-time high. This rise in stablecoin flows to new heights suggests increasing demand for settlement, trading, and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) activity.

Data from the chart shared by Young shows that over $8 trillion in stablecoins were settled in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, or in just 3 months. This is actual money being moved, settled, and cleared on the blockchain.

With this growth, Ethereum is reinforcing its central role as the primary financial layer for stablecoin transactions. According to Young, this amount of stablecoin transfers settled on ETH is larger than that of Visa, whose average payment volume is at $4 trillion per quarter. 

Stablecoins have subtly emerged as one of the most popular cryptocurrency goods; the key chain for that activity is Ethereum. As a result, Young believes that ETH is becoming the trusted settlement layer of money, and no other chain rivals its financial reach. 

ETH Is Highly Undervalued In The Crypto Space

Despite several milestones and remarkable network growth over the years, Ethereum is increasingly viewed through a different lens. Many analysts continue to argue that the ETH network may be the most undervalued blockchain in the entire cryptocurrency landscape today.

In the X post, BMNR Bullz, a financial expert and investor, highlighted that ETH only makes up over 14% of all crypto market value. Meanwhile, the network secures about 59% of all capital in the DeFi sector. This widening gap between usage and price is strengthening the argument that Ethereum’s true value may not yet be completely reflected.

This growth implies that the majority of the real money, applications, and settlements are actively taking place on the leading blockchain. “When price doesn’t reflect where capital actually lives, it’s usually the price that’s wrong,” BMNT Bullz added.

At the time of writing, the price of ETH was trading at $3,233 after experiencing a more than 2% rise in the last 24 hours. At the same time, its trading volume has flipped sharply bullish, increasing by over 42% in the past day.

Ethereum could reprice to $15,000 in 2026 as traditional finance accelerates into tokenization, stablecoins, and bespoke Layer 2 blockchains built on Ethereum, according to Vivek Raman, CEO and co-founder of Etherealize.

In a Jan. 5 guest post, Raman framed 2026 as the point where ETH shifts from a decade-long credibility build to a commercial deployment era, arguing that “from 2026 onward – Ethereum will become the best place to do business,” as regulatory posture, institutional precedent, and infrastructure maturity converge.

Institutions Will Tokenize On Ethereum

Raman’s core claim is that tokenization is moving from proof-of-concept into scaled product deployment, with Ethereum increasingly serving as the base layer institutions choose when the assets are high value and the operational requirements are strict. He describes tokenization as a business-process upgrade that collapses assets, data, and payments onto shared infrastructure, and he leaned heavily on the idea that once institutions experience the efficiencies, they will not revert.

“Tokenization upgrades entire business processes by digitizing assets, data, and payments onto the same infrastructure,” Raman wrote. “Assets (like stocks, bonds, real estate) and money will be able to move at the speed of the Internet. This is an obvious upgrade to the financial system that should have happened decades ago; public global blockchains like Ethereum enable this today.”

The post cites examples of institutional tokenization activity on Ethereum, including money market fund initiatives from JPMorgan and Fidelity, BlackRock’s tokenized fund BUIDL, Apollo’s private credit fund ACRED (with liquidity concentrated on Ethereum and its L2s), and European participation such as Amundi tokenizing a euro-denominated money market fund. Raman also pointed to tokenized products from BNY Mellon and a planned tokenized bond fund tied to Baillie Gifford that would span Ethereum and an L2 network.

Stablecoins As The “Green Light” Moment

Raman positioned stablecoins as the clearest product-market fit for onchain finance, citing “$10T+ in stablecoin transfer volumes in 2025” and claiming that “60% of all stablecoins are on Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks.” He argued that regulatory developments in the US have de-risked deployment for institutions, describing the passage of the GENIUS Act in 2025 as the moment public-chain stablecoin rails effectively received formal clearance.

As a near-term datapoint, Raman highlighted SoFi’s reported launch of a bank-issued stablecoin, SoFiUSD, on a “public, permissionless blockchain,” adding that the bank chose Ethereum. He suggested this is the start of a broader wave where investment banks, neobanks, and fintechs explore stablecoin issuance—either solo or via consortium structures—inside a single public-chain ecosystem to maximize network effects.

Layer 2s As The Institutional Business Model

A major part of Raman’s thesis hinges on the idea that institutions will not converge on a single chain, but will converge on a single interconnected network, Ethereum plus its Layer 2 ecosystem. He argued that L2s provide customization by jurisdiction and customer base while inheriting Ethereum’s security and liquidity, and he described L2 economics as unusually attractive for operators, citing “90+% profit margins” as a reason businesses will want their own chains.

Raman listed examples including Coinbase’s Base, Robinhood’s plans for an Ethereum L2 featuring tokenized stocks and other assets, SWIFT’s use of the Ethereum L2 Linea for settlements, JPMorgan deploying tokenized deposits on Base, and Deutsche Bank building a public, permissioned network as an Ethereum L2.

The $15,000 Ethereum Price Target

Raman also argued ETH is emerging as an institutional treasury asset alongside bitcoin, describing BTC as “digital gold” and ETH as “digital oil”, a productive store of value tied to ecosystem economic activity.

He pointed to four public-company “MicroStrategy-equivalents” accumulating ETH: BitMine Immersion (BMNR), Sharplink Gaming (SBET), The Ether Machine (ETHM), and Bit Digital (BTBT) and claimed they have collectively purchased roughly 4.5% of ETH supply in the last six months, comparing that to MicroStrategy’s 3.2% of BTC ownership.

Those dynamics underpin his 2026 “5x” forecast set: tokenized assets rising to nearly $100 billion (from an estimated $18 billion after growing from ~$6 billion in 2025, with “66%…on Ethereum and its L2s”), stablecoin market cap expanding to $1.5 trillion (from $308 billion), and ETH appreciating 5x to $15,000—an implied $2 trillion market cap in his framing.

At press time, ETH traded at $3,227.

Bitcoin has opened the year on a positive note, with positive price action after a negative end to 2025. Price action has stabilized, and a recent break above $93,000 has encouraged positive momentum among traders. 

However, not everyone is convinced that this recovery is the return of a sustained bull trend. An interesting technical analysis argues that the entire Bitcoin structure still points to weakness, warning that recent upside moves may be misleading within a larger setup.

Analyst Says Bitcoin Is Bearish Below SuperGuppy

Technical analysis from a crypto analyst that goes by the name Alex Clay on the social media platform X has cautioned traders against getting carried away by Bitcoin’s recent bounce. In a post shared on the social media platform, Clay noted that despite the positive start to the year, Bitcoin will still continue to trend in a bearish trend as long as the price stays below the SuperGuppy indicator.

According to his analysis, the SuperGuppy, which combines multiple moving averages to define trend direction, should now be viewed as resistance rather than support. Clay noted that Bitcoin’s current structure looks like the previous market cycle in early 2022, where a similar relief rally occurred within a broader downtrend before the price rolled over again. Back then, the relief rally turned out to be a dead cat bounce and Bitcoin’s price action eventually reversed course.

Furthermore, the current setup shows Bitcoin’s market cap is trading close to the EMA 100 on the weekly candlestick timeframe. Since the latest weekly candle is about to close in positive territory, it would be normal to expect an extended upside reaction from this level. However, the analyst views any rebound from the EMA as corrective in nature, expecting it to be short-lived and reverse for another leg down.

Dead Cat Bounce Then Drop

The broader outlook is bearish, but Clay does not rule out further upside in the short term. The projection is that Bitcoin’s price action could still push to the $100,000 level or slightly above. In this case, such a move would be a classic dead cat bounce. 

After the dead cat bounce, the analyst projected a downward move where the Bitcoin market cap falls to as low as $1.35 trillion. This scenario translates to a Bitcoin price target just below $69,000 based on the current circulating supply. 

From this technical standpoint, the important condition that would weaken the bearish thesis is a sustained uptrend above the EMA 100 and a break above the SuperGuppy indicator. Without that, the analysis suggests that the dominant trend is to the downside.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $93, corresponding to gains of about 1% over the past 24 hours and 6.3% over the past seven days.

Monday, 5 January 2025 Meme coins have climbed past a $51 billion total market value, based on data from CoinGecko, while a project that allows players to mine leading meme tokens inside a virtual game environment is preparing to close its presale within the next 72 hours.

PepeNode (PEPENODE), the first mine-to-earn initiative in the crypto space, has already secured over $2.5 million in funding and is gearing up to release an innovative game that recreates real crypto mining through an entertaining and highly engaging gameplay model. The timing appears ideal, as renewed appetite for risk assets has driven fresh interest across the market, including in high-risk projects, during the opening days of 2026.

Through PepeNode, users can mine and earn major meme coins such as Pepe (PEPE), Fartcoin (FARTCOIN), and potentially additional tokens. Beyond simple value extraction, the project emphasizes entertainment, with gameplay designed to keep users engaged while the PEPENODE token sits at the center of the ecosystem, enabling long-term value capture.

With the game launch drawing closer, the chance to buy PEPENODE at a price of $0.0012161 is rapidly disappearing. Once the token becomes tradable, prices at this level may not be seen again.

PEPE Drives Meme Coin Revival with 64% Surge

The meme coin sector has risen by 4.1% over the past 24 hours, supported by a wider market rally. As Bitcoin strengthened its reputation as a “safe haven” asset amid rising geopolitical tensions following the U.S. detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro BTC moved from around $93,000 during early Asian trading to nearly $93,500 by the start of the U.S. session. After a subdued fourth quarter in 2025, the crypto market now appears positioned for a robust rebound in 2026.

This shift in sentiment is especially clear within higher-risk segments of the market. Meme coin market capitalization has recently moved beyond the $51 billion mark, rebounding strongly from earlier lows near $35 billion. The recovery highlights a renewed willingness among investors to take on risk, particularly as the first week of the year is on track to deliver a fifth straight day of gains. While dog-themed tokens led the broader upswing with a combined rally of 22.31%, individual asset performance paints an even bolder picture.

Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) recorded respectable gains of 18.1% and 18% respectively, but both were outpaced by PEPE, which surged an impressive 64% over the same period. As the dominant force within the “Boy’s Club” and frog-themed meme coin niche, PEPE continues to command the spotlight among major influencers and market participants.

Notably, the well-known X personality Roaring Kitty recently told his 237,000 followers that past market cycles tend to be driven by a single standout meme coin that sparks wider momentum and in his view, that coin is PEPE.

For those of you who haven't been around for multiple cycles

EVERY BULL RUN starts with a Memecoin

And here you have it, $PEPE pic.twitter.com/59hGhNhAkB

— RK (@RoaringKitty) January 2, 2026

Despite the strong rally, PEPE is still trading about 76% below its all-time high, leaving room for investors aiming to benefit from a potential full rebound. That said, participation is no longer confined to traditional spot purchases alone.

 

PepeNode connects speculation with entertainment by allowing players to earn PEPE through a virtual strategy-based game. Drawing on the engaging management style of Zoo Tycoon and the industrial depth of Factorio, the project gives users a new way to access a leading meme coin while delivering gameplay that appeals to crypto-native audiences and stands on its own as an enjoyable experience.

PepeNode: Powering the Next Phase of Meme Coin Mining

For newcomers, PepeNode is a virtual mining simulator that turns the technical challenges of crypto mining into an interactive, incentive-based experience. Rather than relying on the repetitive mechanics seen in older “clicker” titles, the game emphasizes strategic depth, where effective resource management directly influences the scale of token rewards players can earn.

At launch, each player begins with an empty server room, providing a blank slate to build a mining operation from the ground up. Presale participants gain an early advantage by being able to immediately use their discounted PEPENODE tokens to buy nodes, expand infrastructure, and unlock essential upgrades. The gameplay closely reflects real-world mining operations, requiring players to balance energy usage, optimize cooling solutions, and allocate capital wisely to keep their rigs operating at maximum efficiency.

This strategy-driven design marks a clear break from the unsuccessful Play-to-Earn models of earlier cycles. Many of those games failed because they turned into tedious grinds, pushing players through repetitive actions purely to extract rewards. PepeNode takes a different path by targeting strategy enthusiasts and fans of industrial simulation games, putting real enjoyment and thoughtful gameplay ahead of monotonous labor.

Outside of gameplay, the project also tackles long-term sustainability through a carefully structured tokenomic model. To avoid the inflation issues that plagued earlier crypto games, PepeNode introduces a permanent burn mechanism: 70% of all tokens spent on in-game upgrades are removed from circulation forever. This substantial token sink is intended to create deflationary pressure over time, potentially supporting value growth as the player base expands.

Crucially, PepeNode is not built around the idea that cashing out is the sole objective. By offering high-tier rewards such as the ability to earn PEPE and FARTCOIN directly the game encourages players to keep their PEPENODE tokens within the ecosystem, reinvesting them to enhance mining efficiency and overall performance.

If PEPE is truly positioned to spearhead the 2026 bull run, mastering virtual mining through PepeNode may be one of the most effective ways to accumulate it.

Only 3 Days Left to Join the PepeNode Presale Here’s How

While there is still time to secure PEPENODE at a considerable discount, users can head to the PepeNode website to buy using ETH, BNB, USDT (ERC-20 and BEP-20), or even credit and debit cards.

Participants can connect through their preferred wallet, including Best Wallet, which has received multiple reviews naming it among the leading crypto and Bitcoin wallets available. PepeNode is also featured on Best Wallet’s Upcoming Tokens discovery tool, allowing users to buy, monitor, and later claim their tokens once trading goes live.

For added reassurance, PepeNode’s smart contract has undergone an audit by Coinsult, providing early supporters with greater confidence in the project’s code security.

To stay informed about upcoming developments especially details surrounding the token generation event (TGE) users are encouraged to follow PepeNode on X and Telegram.

Visit PepeNode.

Following the sudden recovery of the broader cryptocurrency market, the Bitcoin price is slowly heading back towards the $100,000 mark, showing that bulls are reentering the market. Despite bulls returning to the market, on-chain data suggests that the current state of BTC is not in an accumulation phase.

Bitcoin Is Not In An Accumulation Phase

Bitcoin’s price appears to have regained bullish traction once again, breaking past key resistance levels that previously halted upward attempts. However, the current market structure of BTC is triggering questions about whether the flagship asset is now in an accumulation phase.

Joao Wedson, a market expert and the founder of Alphactal on-chain platform, has offered insights into Bitcoin’s market dynamics, revealing what the current market structure actually looks like rather than accumulation. Although price action may appear stable on the surface, on-chain and flow statistics indicate that buyers are not yet intervening with the conviction usually observed during classic accumulation periods.

According to the market expert, BTC’s current market structure leans heavily towards a redistribution phase rather than an accumulation phase. This suggests that activity is more of a transitory scenario where distribution and cautious participation continue to prevail, as the market looks for a clearer direction.

If the price of BTC reaches the $95,000 to $96,700 range, Wedson claims that the market could witness strong selling interest from large investors or whales in the area, fueled by liquidity escape. Meanwhile, for those thinking about opening short positions, the expert has declared that this is the region where the decision makes the most sense.

Wedson’s bold statement is supported by the fact that the market usually deceives. However, before a real move is carried out in the current market state, even those who are positioned correctly typically need to be liquidated.

Realized Losses Are Still Dominant In The Market

Price action may have turned bullish, but on-chain activity has not completely moved into positive zones. Despite the current rebound in Bitcoin Darkfost, a CryptoQuant author and market expert has disclosed that realized losses continue to dominate the market.

Darkfost’s research is mainly centered on the Bitcoin weekly average of realized profits and losses. As observed on the chart, the realized profits of BTC are at $312 million, while realized losses are maintaining a value of $511 million. 

This divergence shows that some investors are choosing to capitulate and exit the market by reducing their losses in spite of the ongoing recovery in BTC’s price. Furthermore, these phases of capitulation have frequently signaled the end of corrective phases.

The current capitulation has intensified over the past week. Data shows that it is approaching levels comparable to the previous bear market phase, which might have made it possible for the market to be sufficiently cleansed to begin on a healthier basis.

US spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) logged their strongest day of net inflows in more than a month on Jan. 5, as XRP rallied sharply and trading activity accelerated across both the token and the ETF wrapper.

SoSoValue data shows the ETF complex pulled in $46.1 million in net new money on Jan. 5, the seventh-largest inflow day since launch and the biggest since Dec. 3, when daily net inflows reached $50.27 million. The same dataset shows cumulative net inflows rising to $1.23 billion, while total net assets climbed to $1.65 billion, alongside $72.15 million in total value traded.

US Spot XRP ETF Snapshot

The move coincided with a broad jump in XRP itself. The cryptocurrency rose more than 11% over the past 24 hours to around $2.40, lifting its market capitalization above $144.3 billion. Spot trading volume reached $7.32 billion, up 144% over the same period, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Flow leadership on Jan. 5 was distributed across all issuers rather than concentrated in a single product. According to SoSoValue’s market-data table, Bitwise’s XRP product led with $16.61 million in daily net inflows, while Franklin’s XRPZ brought in $12.59 million, Grayscale’s GXRP added $9.89 million, and 21Shares’ TOXR posted $7.01 million.

Measured by total net assets, the issuer leaderboard remained led by Canary’s XRPC at $407.01 million as of Jan. 5, giving it the largest footprint in the US spot XRP ETF cohort despite posting $0.00 in net inflows on the day.

21Shares’ TOXR follows with $324.39 million, narrowly ahead of Bitwise’s XRP at $322.85 million. Franklin’s XRPZ ranked fourth at $298.38 million, while Grayscale’s GXRP was close behind at $294.35 million, showing how tightly clustered the mid-pack has become even as XRPC maintains a clear lead at the top.

While the inflow tally was the headline, secondary metrics suggested the day was not simply a passive allocation event. Several products printed sizable on-venue value traded, including XRPZ at $27.98 million and Bitwise’s XRP at $23.06 million, pointing to active participation rather than slow, incremental creation activity.

Notably, Jan. 5’s $46.1 million haul was notable, but it was still only the seventh-largest single-day inflow since the US spot XRP ETF cohort launched. The biggest subscription days were clustered earlier in the product’s life, when headline inflows regularly printed above current levels, making Monday’s figure less about a new peak and more about a clear re-acceleration after a quieter stretch through late December, and the strongest day since Dec. 3’s $50.27 million.

At press time, XRP traded at $2.33.

Crypto pundit SMQKE has revealed how SWIFT could end up adopting XRP for its global payment services. The pundit highlighted a statement by the company’s former CEO, Gottfried Leibbrandt, explaining why the company was hesitant to adopt cryptocurrencies.

How SWIFT Could End Up Adopting XRP For Global Payments

In an X post, SMQKE declared that SWIFT will adopt cryptocurrencies like XRP as regulations become clearer. He then pointed to a document that highlighted Leibbrandt’s statement, in which the former SWIFT CEO said they were hesitant to use cryptocurrencies due to issues such as the uncertain regulatory environment at the time. He added that risk-averse institutions were unlikely to adopt crypto until regulations become clearer. 

However, the regulatory environment has improved significantly since Leibbrandt’s statement, indicating that SWIFT could soon adopt cryptocurrencies such as XRP. It is worth noting that the payment provider already took the first step towards embracing crypto last year by announcing plans to launch its distributed ledger. 

SWIFT has partnered with Joe Lubin’s Consensys to launch a distributed ledger that will enable faster, cheaper, and more efficient cross-border transactions, thereby boosting its payment services. This move has been largely viewed as a way to directly compete with Ripple, which uses the XRP Ledger for its payment services. Meanwhile, there have also been concerns that it could impact the altcoin’s utility if Ripple gains less traction due to the competition from SWIFT. 

However, there is still the possibility that SWIFT could adopt the token alongside other crypto assets for its on-chain payment services. SMQKE previously highlighted a statement by SWIFT executive Stephen Grainger that they had no plans to issue their native token. If that is the case, then the company’s distributed ledger is likely to utilize other crypto assets instead. 

The Ripple And SWIFT Connection

Crypto pundit BankXRP highlighted a connection between Ripple and SWIFT amid talks of the latter potentially adopting the token. The pundit pointed out that GTreasury, which Ripple owns, is part of the SWIFT Certified Partner Program. As such, it offers global bank connectivity and hosting options for SWIFT’s Alliance Lite2 Program. GTreasury has also partnered to offer SWIFTRef data for IBAN and ABA lookups directly within its workflow.  

Ripple could also deepen its relationship with SWIFT, as the crypto firm is set to operate as a national trust bank following the conditional approval from the OCC. This is bullish for the altcoin, as it could pave the way for SWIFT to integrate XRP into its payment system. XRP is already gaining momentum as Ripple looks to onboard more institutions on the Ledger by introducing new upgrades on the network. 

At the time of writing, the altcoin price is trading at around $2.38, up over 12% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Главным катализатором роста эфира в течение года будут цифровые банки, а не трейдеры-спекулянты, заявил сооснователь и гендиректор платформы Ether.fi Майк Силагадзе (Mike Silagadze).

Главный инвестиционный директор фонда Miller Value Partners Билл Миллер (Bill Miller) заявил в интервью CNBC, что биткоин может показать новый исторический максимум в этом году. Причина — принятие криптовалюты Уолл-стрит.

Bitcoin’s roughly 5% jump on Jan. 5 landed on a clean, TV-friendly explanation: a shock political turn in Venezuela would “unlock” oil supply, push energy prices down, cool inflation, bring rate cuts forward, and lift BTC. Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen says there’s a major flaw with that.

The catalyst for the narrative was Venezuela’s weekend drama, culminating in Nicolás Maduro’s capture and transfer into US custody, an episode that immediately spilled into geopolitics, commodities chatter, and macro cross-asset takes.

Rasmussen, posting in a thread on X, summarized the “Wall Street theory” as follows: “Venezuela oil reserves unlocked >> lower oil prices >> lower inflation >> interest rates >> bitcoin rallies. A thread on why that’s wrong.”

Why This Bitcoin Theory Is Wrong

Rasmussen’s central point is mechanical: if the rally is being driven by a sudden repricing of monetary policy expectations, it should show up in the probabilities traders are assigning to rate cuts. In his read, it didn’t.

He cited a slight dip in the implied odds of a 25 basis-point cut in January 2026 immediately after the Venezuela headlines. “Probability of a 25bps Rate Cut in Jan’26: Prior to Maduro’s Capture: 16.6%. After Maduro’s Capture: 16.1%,” Rasmussen wrote, adding that “the probability of a 25bps rate cut this month actually fell.”

Even further out, he argued, the change was marginal to nonexistent. “Probability of a 25bps Rate Cut in Dec’26: Prior to Maduro’s Capture: 19.1%. After Maduro’s Capture: 19.2%,” he wrote, framing it as “barely moved.” That’s the mismatch Rasmussen wants investors to notice: a tidy causal story was making the rounds, but the pricing in the instrument closest to that story, rate expectations, was effectively unchanged.

If not a Venezuela-to-Fed chain reaction, what explains the day’s BTC strength? Rasmussen pointed to a cluster of themes that have been building without needing a weekend headline to justify them.

First is institutional demand. Rasmussen argued that the post-2024 spot bitcoin ETF channel continues to widen, with more major platforms beginning to allocate. He cited an example of “+$500m into bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 2nd,” and named Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Merrill Lynch as part of the distribution wave which have opened their door with the beginning of the year.

Second is the regulatory backdrop. Rasmussen described a “pro-crypto regulatory shift” following the 2024 election, saying crypto markets are beginning to “feel the benefits” as wealth managers, endowments, pensions, and sovereigns get more comfortable adopting bitcoin.

Third is a broader risk-on tone tied to AI. In Rasmussen’s framing, “fears of an AI-bubble are settling,” and investors have been “piling into risk-on assets, like tech stocks and bitcoin.”

Finally, he returned to policy, just not via Venezuela. “Did Maduro’s capture materially change short-term rate cut expectations? No. Does that mean QE is out of the picture. Also no,” Rasmussen wrote, before adding: “QE is just beginning. The market was—and still is—expecting 50bps (or more) rate cuts in 2026.”

Overall, Rasmussen did not argue Venezuela is irrelevant. His conclusion was narrower: “Yes. Somewhat,” he wrote when asked whether the weekend’s events matter for bitcoin, before answering the bigger question whether it’s the main reason for the +5% move with a flat “No. Zoom Out.”

At press time, BTC traded at $93,750.

Выход американских компаний на нефтяной рынок Венесуэлы способен снизить цены на электроэнергию для майнеров биткоина, считают эксперты биржи Bitfinex. По их мнению, более дешевое и доступное электричество улучшит показатели прибыльности майнеров по всему миру.

С середины декабря крупные инвесторы накопили биткоинов на $5,3 млрд, а розничные трейдеры фиксировали прибыль. Это бычий сигнал, ведущий к росту курса первой криптовалюты, рассказали эксперты компании Santiment.

Семь крупнейших финансовых ассоциаций Китая выпустили совместное предупреждение о рисках, связанных с незаконной деятельностью в сфере виртуальных валют. Его подписали Национальная ассоциация интернет‑финансов Китая, Ассоциация банков, Ассоциация ценных бумаг, Ассоциация управления активами, Ассоциация фьючерсов, Ассоциация листинговых компаний и Ассоциация платежей и клиринга.

BitMine Immersion Technologies bought 32,977 Ethereum (ETH) in a move that grabbed investor attention and pushed its stock higher. The purchase was reported to be part of the company’s recent accumulation of crypto assets during the final week of 2025. BMNR shares rallied as traders reacted to the disclosure, with early session gains seen on US exchanges.

Fresh 32,977 Ethereum

According to a press release, BitMine now holds about 4.143 million ETH on its balance sheet. That amount was given as roughly 3.43% of the circulating supply, a large stake for a publicly traded miner.

The company’s total crypto, cash, and strategic investments were reported at about $14.2 billion. The fresh buy of 32,977 Ether adds scale to a position that is already substantial and has been built up over several months.

Staking And Treasury Numbers

Roughly 659,219 ETH in BitMine’s portfolio is currently staked. That portion is being used to generate yield while the firm holds the rest in custody, reports said. Company plans that were disclosed include expanding its validator operations under a program named the Made In America Validator Network, an initiative the firm expects to push forward in early 2026. The staking figure and the new purchase together show BitMine is balancing liquid holdings with income-producing assets.

Market Reaction And Upcoming Shareholder Vote

Market moves were quick. BMNR saw notable trading volume after the announcement, and pre-market figures showed gains around 4% in some sessions. Traders and institutional desks flagged the purchase as a reason for higher demand in the stock, while others said the move simply confirms that large players still see value in holding ETH.

The firm is also set to hold its Annual Stockholder Meeting on January 15, 2026, where proposals including an increase in authorized shares will be put to a vote. That meeting adds a corporate governance angle to the market story, since shareholders will weigh both the crypto strategy and broader capital plans.

Analysts say the next signals to watch are: daily flow in ETH markets, any fresh disclosures from BitMine about further buys, and volume patterns in BMNR trading. Reports indicate the company has been one of the larger active ETH buyers recently, and continued accumulation could keep interest alive among investors.

Price action in both ETH and BMNR will likely drive headlines over the coming weeks as markets digest the full impact of the new holdings.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Strategy has announced expansions to both its Bitcoin (BTC) and US Dollar (USD) reserves. Here’s how much the treasury firm has added to each.

Strategy Has Increased Both Its Bitcoin & USD Treasuries

As revealed in an X post by co-founder and chairman Michael Saylor, Strategy has added 1,287 BTC to its Bitcoin treasury. In total, this acquisition cost the company $116.3 million, according to the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Strategy didn’t buy all of this stack in 2026; it purchased 3 BTC between December 29th and 31st, and 1,283 BTC between January 1st and 4th. After these additions, the firm’s Bitcoin reserves have grown to 673,783 tokens.

The BTC acquisition isn’t all that Saylor has announced. At the start of last month, the company started a new USD reserve as a way of making sure that dividend payments occur in time regardless of short-term volatility in the market. It has just made another expansion to this reserve.

Initially, the firm allocated $1.44 billion to the USD reserve, with a $748 million addition coming a couple of weeks ago. Now, it has raised it further by $62 million, taking the total to $2.25 billion. Strategy has funded this expansion and the latest BTC purchase using sales of its MSTR at-the-market (ATM) stock offering.

Strategy is currently by far the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in the world, as the below table from BitcoinTreasuries.net shows.

The company’s 673,783 BTC stack is today worth $63.48 billion, more than 25% above its cost basis of $50.55 billion. Though, while Strategy has done well overall, 2025 wasn’t such a bright year for it.

The SEC filing states that the treasury firm closed December 31st with an unrealized loss of $5.40 billion on its digital asset holdings. The figure for the fourth quarter alone is even worse: an unrealized loss of $17.44 billion.

The bad 2025 is naturally a result of the bearish price action that Bitcoin and the wider digital asset sector faced between October and November. Nonetheless, Strategy still hasn’t sold any coins and its recent purchases suggest it’s committed to growing the treasury further for now.

In some other news, the Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw the highest amount of net inflows since October last week.

Spot ETFs are financial instruments that allow investors to gain indirect exposure to BTC’s price movements. That is, they allow traders a route into the cryptocurrency that’s off-chain. Some traditional investors and institutional entities prefer to invest into the asset this way.

Much like the spot on-chain demand, spot ETFs have also faced weak netflows since October, but last week diverged from the recent trend with net inflows of $458.77 million.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $94,200, up 8% over the last seven days.

After a challenging year in 2025 for the altcoin sector, optimism is growing among investors for the potential of an early altseason in 2026. This speculation includes not only established altcoins but also memecoins that struggled throughout the past year. 

Understanding Altcoin Cycles

In a recent post on social media site X (formerly Twitter), analysts from Bull Theory delved into the critical elements required for an altcoin breakout this year.

One significant point highlighted is that altcoin cycles do not emerge randomly. Historically, they tend to commence once Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies have bottomed and subsequently begin to break out. 

For instance, in the fourth quarter of 2016, the ALT/BTC ratio hit its lowest point before experiencing a breakout, leading to a robust altcoin rally in the first half of 2017. 

A similar pattern emerged in late 2020, resulting in substantial gains for altcoins in early 2021. This established a clear trend of a bottom followed by a breakout, with altcoins subsequently outperforming Bitcoin. 

ALT/BTC Ratio Shows Signs Of Recovery

Currently, the ALT/BTC ratio has been stuck in a downtrend for nearly four years. Technical indicators suggest a potential turnaround; the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at its most oversold level in history, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is turning green for the first time in 21 months, hinting at a potential bullish crossover. 

These signals suggest that the downtrend may have reached its bottom in the fourth quarter of 2025, setting the stage for a possible breakout reminiscent of earlier altcoin runs.

The analysts also drew attention to the connection between these assets and the equity market, particularly the Russell 2000 index, which recently broke above its previous all-time high. This index reflects broader risk appetite among investors and has historically served as a precursor to altcoin rallies. 

In both late 2016 and late 2020, a breakout in the Russell was followed by significant altcoin gains. Now, as the Russell 2000 has broken out again in the fourth quarter of 2025, it mirrors patterns observed just before previous altcoin surges.

Improvement In Market Conditions 

Despite these promising indicators, some may wonder why this cycle appears delayed. Many investors anticipated a setup for an altcoin season in 2024, but the analysts note that key triggers were absent during that time. 

Factors such as a contracting Federal Reserve (Fed) balance sheet, tight liquidity, and low risk appetite dampened enthusiasm. However, conditions began to improve toward the end of 2025, suggesting that while the cycle may have shifted, it is still very much intact.

Ultimately, analysts at Bull Theory conclude that the anticipated altseason is approaching based on the fact that the ALT/BTC ratio appears to have bottomed out in Q4 of 2025, the Russell 2000 has achieved a breakout in the same period, liquidity has improved, and greater regulatory clarity is expected heading into 2026.

Ethereum (ETH), the market’s leading altcoin, is trading at $3,200, having recorded gains of almost 10% over the past seven days. However, this has been outperformed by XRP, which recorded a notable 21% gain during the same period. 

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

Japan’s Finance Minister has shared her stance on crypto assets and the importance of stock exchanges in supporting the transition to a growth-oriented economy that opens up public access to digital assets.

Japan Enters Its ‘Digital Year’

On Monday, Japan’s Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama endorsed the country’s efforts to integrate crypto assets and blockchain technology into the local financial markets, outlining her policy stance to support Japan’s development as an asset management nation, asserting that “there is still room for growth in shifting from savings to investment.”

In her New Year’s address at the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) Grand Opening Ceremony, celebrated on January 5, Katayama declared that 2026 would be the “Digital Year” for the nation.

The Finance Minister pointed out that 2026 “is a turning point” for overcoming deflation, emphasizing the “importance of responsible, proactive fiscal policy and concentrated investment in growth sectors.”

Notably, Katayama has previously shared a positive approach to crypto and the Web3 sectors, the reports added. Last year, she declared that “with robust governance, the crypto asset and Web3 sectors can develop significantly, and the future is very bright.”

Local news media outlets reported that the Finance Minister expressed her support for integrating crypto assets into stock exchanges on Monday, highlighting the importance of existing financial infrastructure to increase exposure to crypto-related services.

“For citizens to benefit from digital assets and blockchain-based assets, the role of commodity and securities exchanges is crucial,” she stated.

During the New Year’s address, she also discussed the future of crypto-related investment products in Japan, underscoring how “In the U.S., ETFs (exchange-traded funds) are expanding as a means for citizens to hedge against inflation.”

Despite the success of US spot ETFs, Japanese regulators have been cautious about digital asset-based funds. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) has repeatedly expressed reservations about the investment products.

Nonetheless, Katayama suggested that similar initiatives to those of the US would be pursued in Japan, signaling a potential launch of crypto-based investment products this year.

She concluded her statement by declaring her support for the efforts carried out by exchanges in Japan to develop trading environments “utilizing such cutting-edge fintech and technology.”

2026 Framework To Reshape Local Crypto Landscape

Over the past few years, Japanese authorities have been working to review their regulatory system and develop policies for customer fund safety and innovation in a more reliable industry.

In December, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party published their upcoming FY2026 Tax Reform. As reported by Bitcoinist, the 2026 tax reform will introduce significant changes to the existing taxation system.

These changes, long requested by Japanese investors, are set to address the categorization and regulation of crypto assets, reclassifying them as financial products.

The proposal signals a shift from the assets’ previous treatment as speculative assets by Japanese financial authorities. Based on this, the reform is also studying the introduction of a separate taxation system for crypto income.

The current progressive tax system, where digital asset gains can be taxed at up to 55%, would be replaced with a system like the one used for stocks, with a flat 20% tax on crypto income.

Venezuela may have quietly built a Bitcoin stash of roughly 600,000 to 660,000 BTC. That number would be worth about $56 billion to $67 billion at recent prices, intelligence reports cited by Whale Hunting analysts Bradley Hope and Clara Preve disclose.

The said accumulation began around 2018 and involved swaps from gold sales and oil deals priced in stablecoins, then converted to Bitcoin. Some stories tie the chatter to recent political developments in Venezuela, saying the claims have stirred fresh attention on the nation’s finances and on Bitcoin markets.

Public Records Tell A Different Story

Based on reports from public blockchain trackers and treasury listings, the picture is far less dramatic. Official on-chain wallets linked to Venezuela’s government show about 240 BTC — roughly $22 million at current rates.

How The Numbers Were Said To Work

Reports that pushed the big number mentioned several methods of accumulation. Gold sales from state mining areas were named. Oil shipments priced in USDT or other crypto were mentioned too.

Some accounts also suggest seized mining equipment and opaque trading channels were used to move value into Bitcoin over years. If any of that is true, then large sums could be off the books and hard to trace.

Market Reaction And Political Buzz

Bitcoin’s price has been sensitive to the story. Traders watched moves above $92,000 closely as the rumor spread. Some headlines linked the claims to geopolitical tensions and to questions about whether foreign authorities could seize or freeze any such reserve if it existed.

Reports note that such a seizure would carry legal and diplomatic complications. US President Donald Trump’s recent comments on regional security further stoked interest in how geopolitical events and crypto markets can intersect.

Why Skepticism Is Still Needed

Investigative limits matter. Blockchain data is public, but wallets can be obfuscated through mixers, custodial services, or private keys held across many accounts. That makes absolute proof difficult without cooperation from those who control the coins or from an audited disclosure. Until verifiable custody records, independent audits, or clear on-chain links are produced, the numbers above should be read as unconfirmed claims rather than settled fact.

Huge If True, Unproven Now

Based on reports and on public trackers, Venezuela’s official, proven Bitcoin holdings remain small compared with the headline figures. The 600,000–660,000 BTC claim is dramatic; it would reshape market math if proven. For now, it is a high-impact rumor that needs concrete proof.

Maduro’s Capture

US forces recently carried out an operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, heightening geopolitical tensions in the region. Reports suggest the move has renewed interest in Venezuela’s alleged Bitcoin holdings and oil, with analysts watching closely for any impact on global crypto markets. The full consequences of the raid and Maduro’s capture are still unfolding.

Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView

Violent “wrench attacks” against crypto holders, physical robberies and kidnappings meant to force victims to hand over coins, appear to be rising in absolute terms and trending more severe, according to a new visualization built from a long-running incident database maintained by security researcher Jameson Lopp.

Dragonfly partner Haseeb Qureshi said he analyzed Lopp’s dataset and built an interactive dashboard to stress-test a question many traders and builders have been asking quietly for years: is simply holding crypto becoming physically more dangerous? “You’re not imagining it: the number of attacks has been increasing over time,” Qureshi wrote on X. “Not only that, the attacks are getting more violent.”

The dashboard breaks reported incidents into five severity bands — Minor, Moderate, Serious, Severe, and Fatal and the distribution skews heavily toward the sharp end of the spectrum. Of 269 categorized incidents shown, 137 (51%) were labeled “Serious,” 57 (21%) “Severe,” and 13 (5%) “Fatal,” with the remainder split between 39 (14%) “Moderate” and 23 (9%) “Minor.”

The year-by-year bars show the later years carrying a larger share of “Severe” and “Fatal” outcomes than the early history of the dataset, with 2025 appearing as the highest-incident year on the chart.

Qureshi’s analysis also puts a number on the most intuitive driver: price. Charting incidents against total crypto market capitalization, he reported a simple regression with an R² of 0.45 — implying roughly 45% of the variation in reported violence is explained by market cap alone. In plain terms, higher prices coincide with more attacks.

But the more consequential question for everyday holders is not raw counts; it’s risk per person. Because comprehensive “number of crypto users” data is hard to pin down, Qureshi used Coinbase monthly active users as a proxy, and separately normalized incidents by market cap to approximate attacks per dollar of wealth.

The resulting “normalized attack rates” chart tells a less linear story: per-user attack rates spiked in earlier market eras (notably around 2015 and again in 2018), then fell sharply after 2019, before ticking higher in the most recent observations. “So is that it?” Qureshi asked. “Proof crypto is becoming more physically dangerous?”

On his telling, not quite. Coinbase MAUs, he noted, expanded dramatically over the decade, while normalized attack rates did not rise proportionally, suggesting a meaningful “population effect” behind the higher headline totals. Still, the per-user line has moved up from its post-2019 lows, roughly back toward the levels seen during the 2021 cycle, even as the “attacks per $ of market cap” line remains comparatively flat in recent years.

Geography adds another uncomfortable layer. A regional table in the dashboard shows Western Europe (73 attacks) and North America (64) as the two largest buckets by incident count, with Asia-Pacific also substantial (53). But the most lethal outcomes cluster elsewhere: Latin America shows a 21% fatality rate and Africa 17%, versus 0% in North America. Qureshi underscored that point directly: “Notably, there have been 0 fatalities in North America ever,” he wrote, adding that the “lion’s share” of fatalities are in Latin America and Africa.

Lopp, who has maintained the underlying “Bitcoin Wrench Attack” archive for years, has warned the workload and frequency are becoming harder to treat as isolated incidents. “When an event goes from being rare to happening every few days, it’s no longer newsworthy — it’s just a fact of life,” he wrote in a Dec. 21 post cited in the thread, while inviting others to help maintain the database.

At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $3.12 trillion.

Big Four accounting firm PwC has reversed its cautious stance on crypto after regulatory developments related to the space in the United States.

PwC Has Softened Its Stance On Crypto

According to a report from the Financial Times, PwC has changed its strategy around digital assets following the new laws passed by Donald Trump’s administration. PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC in short, is a multinational professional services network headquartered in London. It provides services such as audits, tax planning, and business consulting to companies worldwide.

PwC is the second-largest firm of its kind and part of the Big Four accounting firms. Previously, the British company steered clear of crypto-related work in the US like other Big Four firms, but it seems that stance has now changed. The shift has come as the US has made advancements in its crypto regulatory framework. Among the new laws is the Genius Act, which regulates stablecoins, digital assets pegged to a fiat currency like the US Dollar (USD).

“The Genius Act and the regulatory rulemaking around stablecoin, I expect, will create more conviction around leaning into that product and that asset class,” said Paul Griggs, senior partner at PwC US, in an interview with FT.

Griggs added that PwC has been pitching companies on how they can use digital asset technology, with stablecoins as a means of improving payment systems’ efficiency, cited as one example.

PwC and other Big Four firms budging on crypto showcases the legislative momentum that the industry has had recently, with traditional finance increasingly unable to ignore the sector. Stablecoins, in particular, have been witnessing growing adoption. Beyond the American Genius Act, this class of digital assets also attracted regulatory attention in other parts of the world.

Hong Kong introduced a stablecoin issuer licensing framework last year, while Japan observed the launch of its first yen-based token. In Europe, major banks have come together to work on a euro-pegged coin, aiming to challenge the sector’s USD dominance. The positive regulation in 2025 meant that the space witnessed some sharp growth, with the market cap exploring new records, as data from DefiLlama shows.

The sector hasn’t been unaffected by the wider slowdown in crypto since October, however. From the above chart, it’s visible that the stablecoin market cap has seen consolidation in the last few months.

Nonetheless, while other parts of the market have shrunken, these fiat-tied tokens still have their combined market cap sitting at $307 billion today, which is very close to the all-time high (ATH).

Bitcoin Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $92,900, up nearly 6% over the last week.