By Wednesday the rally reached a local peak, stopping just short of $98,000. In the second half of the week bitcoin slipped into a mild correction, pulling back to $95,000 (+5% in seven days).<\/p>\n After weeks of listless trading, the leading cryptocurrency joined the advance in risk assets and precious metals. Analysts at QCP Capital said bitcoin had long lagged gold and equities, but the break above $95,000\u2014resistance since November\u2014changed the picture.<\/p>\n They reckon the current price already discounts key macroeconomic risks, from developments in Venezuela and Iran<\/a> to tariff policy in the US<\/a>. They also suggested a rotation of capital into digital assets amid the depreciation of fiat currencies.<\/p>\n The rest of the crypto market kept pace. Ethereum exceeded $3,300 (+7% on the week).<\/p>\n Most top-10 crypto assets by market value also ended in the green. TRX added 6%, and SOL 4.5%.<\/p>\n In parallel, the crypto Fear and Greed Index<\/a> jumped. Over the week the gauge rose<\/a> from 29 to 50, pointing to \u201cgreed\u201d for the first time since October.<\/p>\n Crypto-ETF<\/a> flows also stabilised. Bitcoin-based spot funds took in $1.42bn, and Ethereum funds $479m.<\/p>\n Total crypto market capitalisation stands at $3.3trn. BTC dominance is 57.4%, ETH 12.1%.<\/p>\n On January 15, the US Senate Banking Committee postponed<\/a> consideration of the Clarity Act on crypto market structure. Officials said the bill needs further alignment with industry stakeholders.<\/p>\n Coinbase did not back the latest draft, citing \u201ctoo many issues\u201d including restrictions on tokenised-stock operations and exchanges paying rewards to stablecoin holders.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seemed extremely unfair to me that one industry [banks] came in and got the ability to seize control over regulators by banning competition,\u201d said<\/a> the company\u2019s CEO Brian Armstrong in an interview with FOX News.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Later, journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that the company\u2019s stance sparked \u201crage\u201d in President Donald Trump\u2019s administration. According to her, the White House threatened to withdraw its support for the bill unless Coinbase resumed talks.<\/p>\n After the rumours spread, Armstrong posted<\/a> a rebuttal. He said the administration is not considering backing away from the Clarity Act.<\/p>\n \u201cThe White House has been exceptionally constructive here. They asked us to try to reach an agreement with the banks, which we are working on now,\u201d the executive added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Meanwhile David Sacks, Trump\u2019s lead on crypto, urged the industry to use the delay to \u201cresolve any remaining disagreements.\u201d He added that \u201cmarket-structure legislation remains closer than ever to completion.\u201d<\/p>\n On January 12, during a Times Square conference, former New York mayor Eric Adams announced<\/a> the NYC Token meme coin on Solana.<\/p>\n The coin\u2019s stated aim was to fight \u201canti-Americanism\u201d and antisemitism. The politician promised to direct all proceeds to a non-profit.<\/p>\n About 30 minutes after launch, however, the token\u2019s price plunged from $0.47 to $0.10.<\/p>\n Bubblemaps analysts pointed to suspicious activity. A wallet linked to Adams profited by $1m through manipulations with the meme coin\u2019s liquidity pool.<\/p>\n According to the analysis, an address affiliated with the coin\u2019s creator sent 80m NYC to an account that provided them as liquidity on the Meteora decentralised exchange. It then withdrew $2.5m in USDC at the price peak, returning only $1.5m after a 60% drop.<\/p>\n Bubblemaps also noted that the wallet linked to the coin\u2019s deployment opened several single-sided liquidity pools on Meteora.<\/p>\n The scheme has already been compared to the launch of the LIBRA token<\/a>, which Argentina\u2019s president Javier Milei promoted on his social networks.<\/p>\n After the scandal, representatives of the former New York mayor said<\/a> he did not profit from the token. They said NYC has no relation to the city administration or other authorities. It remains unclear who is behind the launch.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be absolutely clear: Eric Adams did not move investor funds. He also did not profit from the release of NYC Token,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n On January 16, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko signed<\/a> the law \u201cOn crypto banks and certain issues of oversight in the sphere of digital signs (tokens).\u201d<\/p>\n Under the law, a crypto bank is a joint-stock company resident in the High-Tech Park (HTP) and included in a special National Bank register. Such organisations will be able to conduct token operations alongside classical banking and financial services.<\/p>\n Two bodies will regulate these institutions: the central bank and the HTP.<\/p>\n \u201cDual regulation will allow a crypto bank to offer clients innovative financial products that combine the advantages of classical banking operations with the technological sophistication, speed and convenience of operations with digital signs (tokens),\u201d the presidential website says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Crypto banks must meet requirements applied to non-bank credit and financial organisations, including capital adequacy, risk management, AML\/CFT, and consumer protection.<\/p>\n Also on ForkLog:<\/strong><\/p>\n On January 15, the number of daily active addresses on the Ethereum network topped<\/a> 1m\u2014more than double last year\u2019s 410,000.<\/p>\n A new peak in daily transactions of 2.8m was recorded in parallel, up 125% year on year.<\/p>\n The positive trend is linked to lower transaction costs and increased use of stablecoins. Glassnode researchers also observed a twofold rise in the Ethereum network\u2019s activity-retention metric.<\/p>\n The number of addresses interacting with the blockchain for the first time in the past 30 days jumped from 4m to 8m.<\/p>\n In addition, the amount reached<\/a> record levels in Ethereum staking.<\/p>\n As of January 16, 35.8m ETH\u201429.57% of the circulating supply\u2014was locked on Beacon Chain. The number of active validators stood at 976,117.<\/p>\n The exit queue has almost cleared. At the time of writing, 128 ETH is awaiting withdrawal.<\/p>\n The main drivers were large players and exchange-traded product issuers:<\/p>\n The fight for privacy is shifting from ideals to infrastructure, and Zero-Knowledge is one of the industry\u2019s most powerful tools. We explain why 2026 will be the year of ZK.<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-aeb28e3ff37f7d5b-3964926141377549-1024x488.png\")
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Clarity Act delayed<\/h2>\n
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What to discuss with friends?<\/h2>\n
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New York\u2019s scam token<\/h2>\n
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Belarusian crypto banking<\/h2>\n
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An influx of new users to Ethereum<\/h2>\n
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What else to read?<\/h2>\n