Russia’s State Duma plans to finalize legislation by July 1, 2026, establishing a two-tier crypto access system that caps non-qualified investors at 300,000 rubles ($4,000) annually while granting unlimited purchasing power to qualified investors, according to Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, in an interview with Parlamentskaya Gazeta. The framework, based on the Bank of Russia’s December concept submitted to the government, treats digital currencies and stablecoins ...

“These proposals continue our progress towards an open, sustainable and competitive crypto market that people can trust,” the regulator said.Meanwhile, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) moved into the final stage of consultations on a set of proposed crypto regulations. The FCA said it is seeking feedback on 10 proposed rules, describing this as the “final step” in the consultation process.Macro uncertainty triggered over $550 million in crypto liquidations as BTC and ETH came under pressure.The re ...

Market Overview - Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a recovery after hitting a low of $86,000, rising over 2% within nine hours before facing resistance at $88,250, indicating a potential early bear-market reversal despite an ongoing downtrend since October [1] - The recent selloff was influenced by risk-off sentiment among investors, following U.S. President Trump's speeches at Davos, which affected Bitcoin's status as a safe-haven asset and aligned it more closely with U.S. equities [2] Derivatives Positioning - Bitcoin futures open interest (OI) remained stable at $22.6 billion, suggesting a pause in deleveraging despite price volatility [3] - Funding rates across most exchanges have neutralized around 5% annualized, with OKX showing a -3.8% rate, indicating localized hedging or bearish positions [3] - The 3-month annualized basis on Binance and Deribit increased to just over 5%, reflecting a firming institutional appetite during market consolidation [3] - BTC options displayed high conviction with a 15% one-week 25-delta skew and 58% call dominance in 24-hour volume [3] - Implied volatility (IV) term structure shifted from contango to backwardation, with near-term rates higher than those further out, indicating a premium for immediate positioning [3] Liquidation and Altcoin Performance - Coinglass data reported $744 million in liquidations within 24 hours, with a 77-23 split between longs and shorts, highlighting significant market activity [3] - Bitcoin's weakness contrasted with altcoin resilience, as Ether (ETH) and XRP rose by 2.8%, while privacy coins Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR) gained 6% and 3%, respectively [3] - Metaverse tokens performed notably, with Axie Infinity (AXS) increasing by over 23%, contributing to a 34.4% year-to-date rally in the CoinDesk Metaverse Select Index (MTVS) [3] Altcoin Market Dynamics - The CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index, dominated by Bitcoin, has lost 0.52% since the start of the year, while the CoinDesk 80 (CD80) Index, heavy on altcoins, has risen by 2.5%, indicating relative strength among altcoins [4] - RIVER, the native token of a stablecoin protocol, surged over 2,100% in the past 30 days, with a 34% increase in the last 24 hours [4] - The "altcoin season" indicator is currently at 28/100, significantly higher than last month's 16/100 but still below September's peak of 76/100 [4] - A lack of liquidity and market depth since October's $19 billion liquidation cascade has led to exaggerated altcoin movements, resulting in high liquidation rates during selloffs and rapid recoveries [4]

Market Overview - The cryptocurrency market capitalization has decreased by 3% over the past 24 hours, now standing at $3.21 trillion, with 95 of the top 100 coins experiencing price declines [6][5][12] - Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped by 2.7% to $92,532, while Ethereum (ETH) is down 3.6% to $3,192 [5][10] Price Movements - BTC began the day at $95,000, reaching an intraday high of $95,467 before falling to a low of $92,263 [9] - ETH traded between $3,089 and $3,379, with a current price of $3,192 [11][10] Market Sentiment - The crypto fear and greed index has fallen from 50 to 49, indicating market uncertainty [12] - Market participants are awaiting macroeconomic and geopolitical signals to guide near-term movements [12] Investment Trends - Newrez, a mortgage lender, will allow specific crypto holdings, including Bitcoin and Ether, to be used as qualifying assets in its mortgage underwriting process [2][5] - Steak 'n Shake has purchased $10 million of BTC for its treasury, marking its first direct allocation since accepting crypto payments [15][16] ETF Flows - US BTC spot ETFs recorded outflows of $394.68 million, while ETH spot ETFs saw inflows of $4.64 million [5][14] - Among twelve BTC ETFs, only one posted positive flows, while four recorded outflows [13] Future Projections - Analysts suggest that BTC may see further downside unless buyers step in, with strong support around $88,000 [8][6] - A close above $104,000 would indicate the start of Wave V in the current bull run, while a drop below $80,000 could lead to a decline towards the low $70,000 range [7][5]

Monero (XMR) climbed to a new all-time high on Wednesday, breaking above the $797 mark as investors piled into privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. The move capped a week-long rally that lifted XMR by more than 50%, making it one of the strongest performers in the crypto market. The surge pushed Monero’s market value above $13 billion and briefly placed it among the top 15 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Trading volumes also spiked as buyers rushed to gain exposure. Rising Demand for Financial Privacy The ...

There’s also the Zcash Factor. After a historic run to end the year, the coin entered 2026 in crisis after the entire development team behind the token, the Electric Coin Company, resigned on January 7, citing "constructive discharge" by the board. CEO Josh Swihart accused board members Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai of moving into "clear misalignment with the mission of Zcash."This regulatory crackdown arrives precisely as privacy coins catch a bid. In markets, that kind of ...

Monero continues to dominate headlines as its price surge pushes the privacy-focused cryptocurrency into uncharted territory. XMR formed a new all-time high at $690 during an intraday rally, extending a historic streak.  However, signs of overheating are emerging as momentum-driven gains accelerate faster than underlying fundamentals. Monero FOMO Is On The Rise Investor attention around Monero has intensified sharply. Santiment data shows social hype surrounding XMR has reached exceptionally elevated le ...

Market Overview - The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has increased by approximately 1.7% over the past 24 hours, reaching around $3.22 trillion [1][7] - Total 24-hour trading volume is approximately $115.6 billion, indicating steady but restrained market activity compared to recent peaks [1] Major Cryptocurrencies Performance - Bitcoin (BTC) is trading near $92,169, up about 1.7% in the last 24 hours, contributing positively to the overall market [3][7] - Ethereum (ETH) has risen 0.7% to around $3,136, although it remains lower on a weekly basis [3][7] - Solana (SOL) has shown strong performance, climbing 3.0% to roughly $141.79 [3] - TRON (TRX) gained 2.3%, trading near $0.299, while BNB (BNB) posted a modest increase of 0.1% to around $908.50 [3] Underperformers - XRP (XRP) is the weakest performer, down 11.5% over the past week, trading near $2.06 [4] - Dogecoin (DOGE) has dropped 6.8% on the week to about $0.1396, and Cardano (ADA) is down 5.3%, currently priced near $0.393 [4] Notable Gainers - Monero (XMR) has surged more than 50% over the past week, trading around $671.61 [4] - Dash (DASH) has risen nearly 37% over the past week to approximately $51.08 [5] - Other top gainers include Pirate Chain (ARRR) and Dolomite (DOLO), both posting gains of more than 50% [5] Market Sentiment and Future Outlook - VanEck has declared 2026 a "risk-on" year for investors, highlighting clearer fiscal and monetary policy visibility [5][6][7] - The Fear & Greed Index currently stands at 41, indicating a neutral sentiment in the crypto market [7] - US BTC spot ETFs have seen net inflows of $116.67 million, bringing cumulative inflows to $56.52 billion, while US ETH spot ETFs posted modest inflows of $5.04 million [7]

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack. GM! Today’s top news: Crypto majors are green to start week; BTC at $92k Monero (XMR) jumps another 15% and hits new ATH at $680 US Senate releases draft crypto market structure bill, prohibits stablecoin interest Saylor buys $1.25B in Bitcoin, biggest weekly purchase since July Fogo and Footbal ...

Market Overview - The cryptocurrency market capitalization has increased by 0.6%, currently standing at $3.2 trillion, with a total trading volume of $87.2 billion, which is lower than previous weeks [4][5][20] - 63 of the top 100 coins have experienced declines over the past 24 hours, while 4 of the top 10 coins have also seen price drops [4][5] Price Movements - Bitcoin (BTC) has appreciated by 0.7% to $91,271, while Ethereum (ETH) is up 1.2% to $3,128 [4][5] - Monero (XMR) recorded an 18.1% increase, trading at $569, while Provenance Blockchain (HASH) declined by 9.5% to $0.02155 [1][4] - Pol (POL) saw a significant drop of 11.3%, now trading at $0.1584, and XRP (XRP) fell by 2.1% to $2.05 [2][4] Institutional and Regulatory Developments - Coinbase announced it would withdraw support for major crypto legislation if the US Senate adds restrictions on stablecoin rewards, increasing tensions ahead of the markup scheduled for January 15 [6] - South Korea is potentially ending its nine-year ban on corporate crypto investment, allowing listed companies and professional investors to trade crypto [6] Investor Sentiment and ETF Flows - The crypto market sentiment is decreasing, with the fear and greed index standing at 40, indicating a neutral zone but with rising caution among market participants [14] - US BTC spot ETFs experienced outflows of $249.99 million, while ETH ETFs saw outflows of $93.82 million, indicating a trend of investors pulling funds from these categories [15][16][17] Market Risks - Bitcoin is highly sensitive to institutional risk, with analysts noting that confidence in the Federal Reserve's independence is being questioned due to ongoing legal challenges [10][9] - The potential for political interference in monetary policy could reinforce Bitcoin's role as a "non-sovereign risk asset" in the long term [10]