The Tornado Cash developer was found guilty of operating an unlicensed transmitter business in August and could still be retried on two counts on which a jury deadlocked.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly backed convicted Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, calling privacy tools a human right.
Ripple’s XRP is seeing a clear shift in investor behavior, with large on-chain transactions surging to levels not seen in months. With market dynamics turning positive after months of volatility and capitulation, XRP investors are returning to the market with conviction. Transactions valued at $100,000 and above have been recorded with increasing frequency on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) , signaling renewed interest and confidence in the cryptocurrency. Ripple’s XRP Investors Return As Transactions Surge New data shows XRP whales returning just as the broader market attempts to stabilize after recent pullbacks. According to crypto analytics platform Santiment, XRP Ledger activity spiked sharply at the start of the week. Apparently, transfers valued at $100,000 or more have climbed to their highest level since early October 2025. The accompanying chart highlights that on January 5, 2026, the XRP network recorded 2,170 whale transactions. Activity spiked even more on January 6, when the count jumped to 2,802 large transactions in a single day. Notably, this surge signals a clear shift in high-value XRP activity, highlighting strong participation from major holders across the network. Alongside the increase in large-scale investor activity , XRP price candles on the chart reflect a sharp rebound from recent lows. After a steady decline through late December 2025, XRP’s price action turned upward as transaction counts surged. The timing of this move stands out because XRP had spent weeks trending below $2 before this sudden increase in on-chain movement. Notably, XRP investors may be returning after earlier declines as market sentiment slowly improves. Lower prices appear to have attracted long-term holders who see current levels as a favorable accumulation zone. Another factor possibly behind the renewed interest could be the perception that downside pressure has weakened . The stabilization seen before the transaction spike likely encouraged large players to reposition capital in the cryptocurrency. Although the market appears to be moving away from previous downtrends, Santiment analysts have highlighted rising volatility on the chart. Rapid swings in transaction volume appear alongside sharper price movements, signaling that volatility is likely to remain elevated. XRP Reserves On Binance Drop To Yearly Low In other news, data from the blockchain and analytics platform CryptoQuant indicates a major shift in how XRP is held on crypto exchanges like Binance. CryptoOnChain, an analyst at CryptoQuant, published a report announcing that XRP’s reserves on Binance have fallen to 2.6 billion tokens, the lowest level seen since January 2024. The analyst highlighted that declining supply often signals reduced selling pressure. He stated that XRP holdings have steadily dropped from nearly 3.25 billion tokens in late 2025, suggesting investors are moving assets into self-custody and potentially adopting a HODL mindset. CryptoQuant also noted that this trend reflects a strong accumulation phase that removes liquidity from active trading. With fewer tokens available on the sell side, the platform stated that a demand spike could lead to sharper price moves, creating a favorable setup for XRP in the short- to medium-term.
Bitcoin (BTC) is holding near $90,000 after a week of listless trading, unable to build momentum toward six figures. It has led to analyst Doctor Profit cautioning that the dominant cryptocurrency could still fall to the $70,000 zone, with the crypto strategist pointing to a massive, sudden injection of liquidity by the U.S. Federal Reserve as a critical warning signal for all risk assets. Market Consolidates as Bearish Targets Loom The price of Bitcoin is effectively unchanged over the past week, and at the time of writing, it was trading around $90,300. It has moved less than 2% in either direction in the last seven days, trapped between immediate support near $89,300 and resistance just above $94,400, according to recent data. In a post on X, Doctor Profit laid out a clear bearish case, stating that they have maintained short positions initiated between $115,000 and $125,000 and are now targeting a move down to the $70,000-$75,000 area. “The next target is BTC at the $70k region, bearish,” the analyst wrote. They noted they would only add to these short positions aggressively if Bitcoin sees an upward move into the $97,000-$107,000 range, viewing that as a final opportunity before a deeper decline. Other traders are watching key levels, with Titan of Crypto noting that Bitcoin recently bounced at support around the Ichimoku cloud, but warned that losing this structure would raise the odds of revisiting lower price zones. Axel Adler Jr. added that the $79,000 area could become a major stress test for long-term holders if selling pressure increases. Liquidity Warning and Structural Hurdles Ahead Beyond chart patterns, macroeconomic factors are adding to investor caution. Doctor Profit specifically highlighted the Federal Reserve’s recent emergency lending operation, which provided over $106 billion in short-term liquidity to banks this week. The analyst drew a parallel to similar actions taken in 2008, framing it as a significant red flag for financial stability that could impact speculative assets like Bitcoin. Meanwhile, in a January 9 market brief, Adler s uggested that the current drawdown is rather mild by historical standards, even as sentiment darkens. According to him, Bitcoin’s correction from last year’s high stands near 29%, far shallower than the 70% to 90% dips seen in past bear markets. His analysis placed BTC around two times above its cumulative value days destroyed (CVDD) fair-value model, a zone that has often marked early-stage bear conditions rather than full capitulation. The community sentiment is also mixed, reflecting the uncertainty. As investor Merlijn The Trader put it in a post, “Price doesn’t lift on belief. It lifts when structure is repaired and liquidity returns.” And with Bitcoin’s structure still in question and macro warnings flashing, the battle for its next major directional move is intensifying. The post Bitcoin Risks $70K as Analyst Flags Fed’s $106B Liquidity Alarm appeared first on CryptoPotato .
Bitcoin whale holdings have fallen by 220,000 BTC year-on-year, but data shows long-term holders remain inactive.
Australian crypto exchange group DAEX has ceased trading and entered voluntary liquidation. The liquidator is now urging creditors to come forward. Liquidation Details The Australian cryptocurrency exchange group DAEX has halted all trading operations and entered voluntary liquidation, leaving investors in a state of uncertainty regarding the recovery of their funds. According to the Daily
From PRISM to AI, mass surveillance has only grown more powerful. Bruce Schneier warns the post-Snowden world may be entering an even darker phase.
Polygon’s token climbed about 17% over the past day as traders reacted to a fresh push by Polygon Labs into stablecoin payments. The move lifted Polygon to around $0.149, marking one of its strongest daily performances in recent weeks and reversing part of its longer-term downtrend. Polygon Labs Unveils “Open Money Stack” Polygon Labs said it is working on an “Open Money Stack” framework designed to support stablecoin-based payments across blockchains. The initiative aims to provide open infrastructure for issuing, transferring, and settling stablecoins, with a focus on real-world payment use cases. The announcement renewed attention on Polygon’s role as a payments-focused scaling network rather than only a DeFi or NFT platform. As a result, market participants rotated into the token during the session, pushing prices steadily higher through the day. The chart shows a clear intraday uptrend. Polygon advanced from the $0.13 area to just under $0.15, with shallow pullbacks and higher lows. Buying pressure remained consistent into the close, suggesting the move was not driven by a single spike but by sustained demand. Polygon price chart. Source: CoinCodex While short-term momentum turned positive, Polygon still trades well below its mid-2024 levels. The chart highlights a broader decline from above $0.25 in late summer to December lows near $0.10, followed by a rebound into January. According to CoinCodex projections, Polygon could see further upside in the coming weeks, though forecasts remain cautious. The platform’s outlook suggests modest gains rather than a full trend reversal, with price action expected to consolidate before attempting higher levels. CoinCodex’s forward curve implies gradual recovery into early 2026 rather than an immediate breakout. Polygon price forecast chart. Source: CoinCodex For now, the 17% rally reflects renewed narrative interest tied to payments and stablecoins rather than a structural shift in the long-term trend. However, the Open Money Stack announcement has placed Polygon back into conversations around blockchain-based payments, a sector that continues to attract attention amid broader stablecoin adoption. As trading continues, Polygon can hold above the $0.145–$0.15 zone. Holding that area would signal that the move has legs, while a failure could point to another consolidation phase after the sharp rebound. Polygon hits record 2025 activity as transactions top 1.4 billion, Dune chart shows Meanwhile, Polygon logged more than 1.4 billion transactions in 2025, marking its highest yearly total on record, according to a Dune chart shared by Rand (@cryptorand). The post pointed to Polygon’s push to scale onchain payments as activity rose. Polygon PoS yearly network transactions. Source: Dune The chart titled “Polygon PoS Yearly Network Stats (All)” shows yearly transaction bars climbing into 2025, with the latest bar the tallest in the series. Earlier years also stayed above 1 billion, while 2025 moved higher than 2024 and prior peaks. Meanwhile, the black cumulative line on the same chart continues rising into 2025, indicating total transactions kept compounding as annual counts stayed elevated.
Does the rate of Bitcoin (BTC) have enough power for a move to the $100,000 zone?
Bitcoin hovers around $91,600 at press time, up 1.4% over the past 24 hours as investors digest the latest U.S. labor market data. Visit Website