Crypto News

- Here’s Why Bitcoin is a Better Scarce Asset Than Gold: Ark Invest's Cathie Wood Bitcoin’s mathematically capped supply makes it a superior scarce asset to gold in an era of rising institutional demand, according to Ark Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood. In her “2026 Outlook” report, Wood analyzes the recent divergence between the two assets. Gold vs. Bitcoin While gold surged 65% in 2025, Bitcoin declined 6%. Wood attributes gold’s 166% rally since October 2022 not to inflation fears, but to “global wealth creation” outpacing the metal’s modest ~1.8% annual supply growth. “The incremental demand for gold could be outstripping its supply growth,” she wrote. Bitcoin, however, presents a fundamentally different supply dynamic...

- Crypto Revenue Data Reveals a $5B Gap Between Top Protocol and #10 — Is Crypto's Future Centralized? Crypto was built on the promise of decentralization. In practice, however, much of the industry’s power and profits remain tightly concentrated. That contradiction is clearest in the revenue rankings, where the top spots are dominated not by decentralized protocols but by centralized stablecoin issuers such as Tether and Circle. Top Crypto Revenue Makers Based on the latest data from Token Terminal, the annualized revenue of the top crypto protocol reveals a stark disparity: about $5.2 billion for Tether versus $262 million for Phantom. Revenue data from the top 10 crypto protocols over the past 30 days shows that a small group...

- Manhattan DA Pushes Criminal Penalties for Unlicensed Crypto Operators New York prosecutors are pressing lawmakers to turn unlicensed crypto operations into a jailable offense, noting that civil fines alone have failed to deter a growing underground economy fueled by crypto. Introduced by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie, the CRYPTO Act—short for Cryptocurrency Regulation Yields Protections, Trust, and Oversight—would impose criminal penalties on virtual currency businesses operating without state licenses. The bill would raise violations that currently carry only civil fines to criminal offenses with graduated penalties ranging from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony for...

- Crypto Market Overview The crypto market is down today. The cryptocurrency market capitalisation has decreased by 0.9% over the past 24 hours to $3.33 trillion. At the time of writing, 88 of the top 100 coins have posted price drops. Also, the total crypto trading volume stands at $131 billion. TLDR: Crypto market cap is down 0.9% on Friday morning (UTC); 88 of the top 100 coins and 9 of the top 10 coins fell today; BTC decreased by 0.8% to $95,702, and ETH is down 0.3% to $3,315; $100,000 is the next significant resistance level, and $90,000 is the nearest meaningful support; Analysts don’t expect prolonged stalling at current levels; Bitcoin is likely to either retest the $90K area or continue higher toward $100K; ‘BTC is...

- What GAS Token’s 500% Surge Reveals About Crypto’s New Emerging Meta Gas Town (GAS) has emerged as the top daily gainer in the crypto market, rising over 500% and hitting a new all-time high (ATH) earlier today. The rally is part of a broader emerging trend in which builders are increasingly turning to crypto to bootstrap development. What Is the Gas Town (Gas) Token? The GAS token is inspired by Gas Town. It is a multi-agent AI orchestration framework built by Steve Yegge, a former senior engineer at Google and Amazon. Gas Town differs from typical assistants by functioning as an industrial-scale AI coding factory. Its layered agent architecture features sections called Town (headquarters) and Rigs (repositories). It also...

- Key Takeaways Jefferies Financial Group has removed its entire 10% Bitcoin (BTC) allocation from its long-only U.S. dollar pension portfolio. The global investment bank disclosed the decision in its widely followed Greed & Fear weekly investment report. Quantum Computing Fears Prompt Jefferies To Drop Bitcoin Jefferies removed Bitcoin from its pension portfolio largely due to concerns that advances in quantum computing could undermine Bitcoin's security model. The firm pointed to the emergence of “cryptographically relevant quantum computers” (CRQCs) that could challenge the cryptographic foundations securing blockchain networks. Under current conditions, cracking a Bitcoin private key with conventional supercomputers would take...

- Key Points Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is not a fiat currency, and that's precisely why it's one of the world's most unique and valuable assets. Governments can't print it to dilute holders, and despite some notable (and repeated) efforts by authoritarian countries like China, it's highly resilient against being banned or attempts to shut it down. And just this week, President Donald Trump gave every Bitcoin holder a big new reason to be grateful for the asset's liberty-forward spirit. It's encouraging to start buying even more of it on a regular basis. Here's why you might want to do the same. Central bank credibility is a real asset On Jan. 11, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the Trump administration is...

- Belarus Moves to Establish Legal Framework for Crypto Banks: Report Belarus has taken a formal step toward integrating digital assets into its financial system with President Alexander Lukashenko signing a decree that introduces a framework for crypto banks, according to the Belarusian state news agency BELTA. Lukashenko signed Decree No. 19, titled “On Crypto Banks and Certain Issues of Control in the Sphere of Digital Tokens,” on January 16. The document aims to reinforce Belarus’s positioning as a hub for financial IT innovation while creating regulated conditions for crypto banking activity within the country. Defining Crypto Banks Under Belarusian Law According to the report, the decree formally defines a crypto bank as a...

- Protests, inflation, and local currency collapse in Iran have prompted citizens to turn to Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation. Iranians have been withdrawing BTC from exchanges to their personal wallets. Blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis observed a significant shift in the on-chain behavior from December 28, 2025, to January 8, 2026. When Iran’s blanket internet blackout began early this month, the number of daily transfers to personal wallets increased, Chainalysis said. “This surge suggests Iranians are taking possession of Bitcoin at a markedly higher rate during protests than they were beforehand.” Iranians Respond to Rial Collapse Iranian currency – rial – sank to an all-time low, nearly losing all of its value...

- Could Buying Bitcoin Today Set You Up for Life? Key Points Buying and selling Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has made some investors rich, considering that its value has surged 1,200% during the past six years. That means a previous $20,000 investment would be worth $260,000 now. Those gains understandably cause some investors to wonder if buying Bitcoin today could set them up for life. Although Bitcoin has the potential to increase in value in the coming years, I think there are a few reasons it's unlikely to set you up for life. Here's why. An uncertain economy could stall Bitcoin's growth When the economy is humming, borrowing costs are low, investments perform well, and the appetite for risk tends to be higher. When that happens...

- Bitcoin’s price has staged a steady recovery in recent sessions, extending gains that now place BTC near a potential breakout zone. The ongoing rise has shifted market tone toward cautious optimism. However, as bullish momentum builds, rising short-term holder profits introduce a familiar risk that could challenge Bitcoin’s advance. Some Bitcoin Holders Exit, Others Buy The Dip Bitcoin recently surged to a two-month high near $97,500, marking its strongest level since early November. This rebound unfolded despite a notable contraction in retail participation. Over the past three days, on-chain data shows a decline in Bitcoin holders, suggesting smaller investors exited. At the same time, exchange balances have dropped to a...

- The crypto payments landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation, with crypto card volumes surging from roughly $100 million monthly in early 2023 to over $1.5 billion by late 2025, representing a 106% compound annual growth rate that now rivals peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers, according to a comprehensive report from Artemis Analytics. The explosive growth positions crypto cards as the primary bridge between digital assets and everyday commerce, with annualized volumes exceeding $18 billion while traditional P2P transfers grew just 5% to $19 billion over the same period. Visa has emerged as the dominant force in crypto card infrastructure, capturing over 90% of on-chain card volume through early partnerships with emerging...

- The crypto market cap sits at 3.32 trillion dollars, and for us watching screens a little too long, it is somehow bullish. Bitcoin price keeps pulling focus, driving the direction of the crypto market as a whole. Crypto market cap holds steady, and Bitcoin price refuses to slip; it feels like it’s about to get good. For us in the market, this is a deliberate phase. Capital is flowing back into the crypto market with intent, and the Bitcoin price keeps pushing the total cap. Since the November lows, close to 390 billion dollars have returned to crypto. Stretch that view back to April, and about 820 billion dollars have been added, good numbers to rebuild confidence. Crypto Market Cap Bullish Divergence Takes Shape On the charts we...

- Crypto Stocks Coinbase and Robinhood Drop Sharply Despite Bitcoin’s Rally — CLARITY Act To Blame? Key Takeaways Just days after crypto stocks such as Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) climbed to multi-month highs alongside Bitcoin’s (BTC) move above $95,000, the rally abruptly lost steam. On Jan. 16, both stocks slid more than 7%. The pullback appears to be driven by growing unease over delays to the long-awaited CLARITY Act, as well as mounting frustration within the crypto industry over the bill’s latest draft and its direction. COIN, HOOD Plummet Coinbase shares dropped more than 7% in early Friday trading, sliding from an intraday high above $249 to below $237. Similarly, Robinhood’s stock fell by more than 6%...

- Why Bitcoin Has Become an Element of Resistance in Iran’s Economic Crisis According to Chainalysis, Bitcoin (BTC) has emerged as an "element of resistance" in Iran amid deepening unrest, with the overall crypto ecosystem surging to over $7.78 billion in 2025. With the national currency under pressure and protests continuing across the country, cryptocurrencies have become a vital alternative for many Iranians, as evidenced by rising usage. Iranians Increase Bitcoin Transfers as Economic Crisis Deepens Since late December 2025, mass protests began sweeping Iran due to rising inflation and the sharp devaluation of the local currency against the dollar. Amid this unrest, Chainalysis observed a surge in crypto activity, with a higher...

- President Trump Plans an “Emergency Power Auction”: What It Could Mean for Bitcoin Miners President Trump is reportedly set to announce an emergency power auction that would push tech companies to bankroll new power plants. This initiative aims to ease rising electricity costs. The plan could impact both the cryptocurrency sector and the broader economy in the lead-up to the 2026 midterms. What Is Trump's Emergency Power Auction? According to Bloomberg, Trump, together with governors from several Northeastern US states, is pushing PJM, the country’s largest electricity grid operator, to hold a power auction. The push from the administration and state leaders is expected to take the form of a non-binding “statement of principles.”...

- Texas-Based Homebuilder Megatel Homes Receives SEC Nod to Issue Crypto Rewards Megatel Homes, a privately held home builder in the US, has announced the launch of a crypto payments and rewards token dubbed “MegPrime.” The announcement came after the Dallas-based Megatel received a “no-action” letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing it to launch the universal payments token. MegPrime token turns everyday spending into unified rewards, helping households earn a portion of the money they had spent. Zach Ipour, co-founder of Megatel Homes, stated that the token marks the company’s first entry into the digital assets space. Megatel Token to Earn Rewards, Not as Investment The company made it clear that MegPrime...

- Nexo has been fined $500,000 by California regulators for issuing thousands of unlicensed crypto-backed loans, adding to a growing list of enforcement actions that have followed the company’s operations in the United States. Key Takeaways: The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said an examination found that Nexo Capital Inc., a Cayman Islands–based entity within the broader Nexo group, provided consumer and commercial loans to at least 5,456 California residents without holding a valid state lending license. Regulators also said the company failed to assess borrowers’ ability to repay, existing debt levels or credit history. California Orders Nexo to Move Customer Funds After Lending Fine “Lenders must...

Policy Forces Reshape Bitcoin Trading as Four-Year Cycle Weakens A new regime in which political announcements move markets more than internal metrics has begun to undermine the relevance of Bitcoin’s four-year cycle. While equities rallied in 2025, Bitcoin lagged, pointing to a market increasingly driven by liquidity expectations and policy timing rather than broad risk appetite. Under the traditional four-year model, early 2026 would typically mark a late-cycle or post-peak phase. Instead, price action suggests investors are deferring that transition, with policy signals exerting greater influence than the halving-based cycle. “Bitcoin reacts preemptively when markets expect quasi-QE,” Ryan Yoon, senior analyst at Seoul-based...

- "Nearly $3 Billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum Options Expire as Markets Test Breakout Conviction" Nearly $3 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options are set to expire on January 16. This puts derivatives markets in focus just as crypto prices test the strength of a recent rally. While Bitcoin has pushed decisively above a key technical resistance level, options positioning and volatility metrics suggest traders remain cautious about declaring the move a confirmed bull breakout. Options Expiry Puts Bitcoin’s Breakout to the Test According to Deribit data, the total notional value of options expiring today is roughly $2.84 billion. Bitcoin dominates the expiry, accounting for approximately $2.4 billion, while Ethereum contributes...