源聚合

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.