Crypto

Aave (AAVE) was also a top performer, rising 1.4% from Thursday.

It's a massive bet on Mr. Beast—but arguably more bullish for the future of BMNR.

As DePIN projects generate revenue and AI agents move onchain, builders are shifting focus from speculation to fundamentals, but questions remain about Web3’s decentralization ethos. Crypto entered 2026 with a familiar dichotomy: The industry is maturing, but its decentralized identity is at risk. Still, following years heavily dominated by speculation, 2025 became the year that pushed builders and investors toward fundamentals and proved that blockchain can support real-world goods, services and infrastructure. In this week’s episode of Byte-Sized Insight, Cointelegraph explores what that shift looked like on the ground, particularly through the lens of the emerging “machine economy.” Leonard Dorlöchter, co-founder of peaq, argues that 2025 was a turning point in how projects were evaluated.  Read more

Renewed spot Ethereum ETF inflows topped $474 million this week while network metrics smashed records, positioning ETH for a rally to $4,500 in the coming weeks. Ether (ETH) traded at $3,310, up 11% year-to-date, as renewed ETF buying and record onchain activity placed it on a path toward $4,500 over the next few weeks. Key takeaways: Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $474.6 million in inflows over four days, outpacing new supply amid a surge in institutional buying.  Read more

A growing amount of the blockchain industry’s fees are captured by DeFi protocols rather than the underlying networks, signaling a potential investor shift to front-end facing applications. Revenue in the crypto industry is increasingly flowing to user-facing applications rather than the underlying blockchain networks, according to recent data, signaling a potential shift in where investors and developers focus their attention. Decentralized finance (DeFi) applications now capture five times the fees generated by blockchains, according to data shared by Jamies Coutts, chief crypto analyst at crypto intelligence platform Real Vision. The trend suggests that more of the industry’s fees will be captured by DeFi applications like wallets, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and other protocols, while the underlying networks will attract a smaller share of revenue. Read more

Bitcoin is grinding higher into a heavy resistance pocket while spot supply on exchanges keeps shrinking. Structurally, that’s a bullish backdrop, but technically, the price is pressing right into an area where profit-taking is expected. Therefore, either the price breaks and holds above this ceiling, or a corrective pullback into the mid-range would occur. Bitcoin […]

The apparent shutdown follows years of scrutiny of one of crypto’s largest fraud marketplaces. A Telegram-based escrow service linked to an illicit online marketplace appears to be winding down operations after refunding more than $130 million in stablecoins, a move that analysts say may disrupt a major hub for crypto-related scams. Tudou Guarantee, a service linked to the Huione Group, has apparently refunded $130 million in Tether USDt (USDT) to the group’s public merchants since the beginning of 2026, according to data shared by blockchain analytics company Bitrace. Refunds began with about $3.7 million on Jan. 1 and peaked at about $18.1 million on Sunday, Bitrace said. Earlier on Friday, the company seemingly announced the shuttering of operations through its Telegram channel, according to screenshots shared by Bitrace. Read more

The investment gives BitMine exposure to consumer media and potential DeFi revenue streams, strengthening its treasury strategy beyond ether accumulation.

Copper hit a new record high this week as crypto traders focused on the surge in silver and gold. However, copper's rise could actually shift the rate path that underpins the market’s liquidity narrative. The all-time high for copper is now around $6.06 per pound as of Wednesday, Jan. 14. Futures activity has tracked the […] The post Forget silver, Copper’s AI-fueled explosion exposes a “higher for longer” trap that most crypto traders are ignoring appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Belgium’s KBC Group is set to become the first bank in the country to offer regulated Bitcoin and Ether trading for retail investors under the EU’s new MiCA framework through its Bolero investment platform, starting February 16, 2026. The post Belgium’s KBC Bank Makes History With First-Ever Bitcoin and Ether Trading Under MiCA appeared first on Cryptonews.

US President Donald Trump is bringing criminal charges against the head of the Fed in what many see as a political move motivated by a desire for lower interest rates. The US Department of Justice, at the direction of President Donald Trump, has opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The DOJ alleges that the chair has misallocated funds in the course of renovations of Federal Reserve office buildings, a claim that Powell has denied. The Fed chair said that the charges were politically motivated and “a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.” Read more

Bitcoin's fixed supply makes it a superior scarce asset to gold when demand rises, according to the Ark Invest CEO's 2026 Outlook report.

Christopher Wood, Jefferies' global head of equity strategy, swapped a 10% bitcoin allocation with gold on concern quantum computing could weaken bitcoin’s security case.

US President Donald Trump said the “leaker on Venezuela has been found and is in jail” as some Polymarket accounts tied to early bets on Maduro’s ouster go silent. US President Donald Trump said the “leaker on Venezuela” has been jailed, a remark that has renewed scrutiny of prediction markets following a series of well-timed bets earlier this month. “The leaker on Venezuela has been found and is in jail right now,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday, according to a video posted by The Wall Street Journal. Although Trump did not mention prediction markets, blockchain analysts such as Lookonchain have speculated that the leaker may be linked to a cluster of Polymarket accounts that placed concentrated bets on Venezuela outcomes just hours before the news became public. Read more

Bitcoin’s next move hinges on U.S. institutions, with a return of buyers potentially driving a breakout above $100,000.

Jefferies’ Greed & Fear strategist Christopher Wood has slashed a 10% Bitcoin allocation from his portfolio and moved into gold, citing the quantum risk to BTC, Bloomberg reports. Investment bank Jefferies’ longtime “Greed & Fear” strategist Christopher Wood has reportedly eliminated Bitcoin from his flagship model portfolio, citing mounting concerns that advances in quantum computing may undermine the cryptocurrency’s long-term security. According to a report by Bloomberg, Wood said in the latest edition of his Greed & Fear newsletter, that the 10% Bitcoin (BTC) allocation he first added in late 2020 has been replaced by a split position in physical gold and gold mining stocks. He argued that quantum breakthroughs would weaken Bitcoin’s claim to be a dependable store of value for pension‑style investors. Read more

A Utah man was sentenced to three years in prison for a crypto fraud scheme that cost investors nearly $3 million. The post Utah Man Sentenced to Three Years for $2.9M Crypto Fraud Scheme appeared first on Cryptonews.

The CRYPTO Act would criminalize unlicensed crypto businesses, with penalties escalating to felony charges and up to 15 years in prison.

[PRESS RELEASE – Gibraltar, Gibraltar, January 16th, 2026] MINGO today announced the launch of MINGO Tickets, its digital ticketing platform, alongside its expansion across 54 countries. Designed to make event access verifiable and reliable, the platform improves the fan experience while giving organisers greater confidence and control over ticketing. Live event ticketing continues to face […]

Your day-ahead look for Jan. 16, 2026