Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced on Wednesday that the exchange is withdrawing support from the U.S. Senate Banking Committee's crypto market structure bill, released Monday, citing "too many issues" including a de facto ban on tokenized equities, regulations on decentralized finance (DeFi), CFTC approaches, and proposed amendments. The committee was set to debate and vote on Thursday, but Chairman Tim Scott later canceled the markup amid unfinished business, with stakeholders continuing negotiations. Armstrong prefers no bill over a bad one but remains optimistic about a better draft through ongoing talks. Over 75 amendments were proposed, addressing contentious issues like stablecoin yield rewards, AML/KYC for DeFi, registration pathways, and SEC disclosures. Democrats raised ethics concerns over President Donald Trump and family profiting from crypto.

The Digital Chamber supports revisions, while Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse praised the bill on X as a "massive step forward" for clarity and consumer protection. The Blockchain Association is discussing Coinbase's stance. Banking lobbyists, via the American Bankers Association's petition signed by over 3,200 banks, oppose stablecoin yields, arguing they siphon funds from local lending.

Separately, KuCoin achieved a record $1.25 trillion in 2025 trading volume ($114 billion monthly average), capturing the highest centralized exchange share as volumes outpaced the broader crypto market slowdown. Spot and derivatives each exceeded $500 billion, with altcoins dominating beyond BTC and ETH.

Coinbase Global Inc., a major cryptocurrency exchange, has withdrawn its support for the current version of a proposed market-structure bill set for markup in the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. The bill aims to regulate digital asset markets, including Bitcoin trading.

Coinbase’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong expressed concerns in a post on X on Wednesday, stating, “There are too many issues.” He further argued that “this version would be materially worse than the current status quo. We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill,” highlighting potential setbacks for the Bitcoin and broader crypto market amid ongoing regulatory debates.

Bitcoin's recovery above $94,000 has sparked debate on whether it signals a bull cycle continuation or a final rally before a deeper reset. Crypto analyst Xanrox, via TradingView, analyzes the weekly candlestick chart using Elliott Wave theory, indicating Bitcoin completed a five-impulse wave from early 2023, peaking above $126,000 in October 2025. The cryptocurrency is now in corrective waves ABC, with wave A as a sharp decline from a projected $125,000 high to the low-$80,000 range. Current price action represents a bullish counter-trend wave (B) or (X), potentially advancing to $100,000–$103,000 in coming weeks or months, possibly drawing altcoin rotations, before a larger downward move.

Xanrox's long-term structure, spanning 2017 to 2026, draws parallels to past cycles' deep corrections—over 75% drawdowns in 2018 and 2022—forecasting a major reset in 2026 to sub-$60,000, targeting $57,000 (0.618 Fibonacci retracement from the 2025 peak, above the 200-week moving average). This would equate to a 54% correction from the high. However, Spot Bitcoin ETFs may provide stabilization, potentially halting the drop before $57,000.

Bitcoin is lagging behind gold, which hit new all-time highs on Monday, amid markets reacting to U.S. government actions against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Gold and silver prices continue rising, while Bitcoin (BTC) struggles, falling below 20 ounces of gold at the start of 2026 and now oscillating near two-year lows, per TradingView.

Investment specialist Karel Mercx of Dutch consultancy Beleggers Belangen argues Bitcoin has failed as an anti-inflation tool, or "debasement trade." In a Monday X post, he stated: "The verdict is in: the debasement trade is gold and silver, not Bitcoin." BTC remains 20% below its peak, as investors favor real hard money over "digital gold," calling the narrative "compromised" and "fallacious."

Crypto trader Michaël van de Poppe senses urgency for a market recovery, while analyst Benjamin Cowen highlights the gold vs. S&P 500 (SPX) chart as pivotal: "If SPX falls against gold, the last decade's context changes completely," based on monthly data.

In September 2025, Mercx declared Bitcoin's four-year price cycle "dead," noting weakening cycles in BTC priced in gold, marking the first quadrennial loss.

Binance's dominance in global crypto trading is declining as competitors gain market share and traders adopt innovative buying and selling methods for digital assets. The world's largest digital asset exchange saw its spot trading volume drop to 25% of the overall market in December, marking the lowest level since January 2021, according to CoinDesk Data. This represents a decrease from 28.5% in November.

At its 2023 peak, Binance controlled nearly 60% of all spot crypto trades, where actual ownership of assets transfers quickly. The shift highlights evolving dynamics in the crypto market, with rivals like other exchanges challenging Binance's position.

Global cryptocurrency markets, including Bitcoin, faced a sharp contraction with over $104 million in leveraged positions liquidated in a single hour on major derivatives exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and OKX. The 24-hour total reached $768 million, marking significant deleveraging amid high volatility. This event, reported by Sofiya on Bitcoinworld.co.in 9 hours ago, highlights systemic risks in digital asset trading.

Liquidations occur automatically when a trader's margin falls below the maintenance threshold due to adverse price moves, forcing exchanges to close positions. A cascade effect ensued from rapid price drops triggering long position sales, amplified by automated algorithms. Analysts point to potential catalysts like macroeconomic data, regulatory news, large wallet movements, or technical breakdowns below support levels. Historically, such events pale against multi-billion liquidations in May 2021 and November 2022 sell-offs, but the hourly intensity signals high leverage sensitivity.

Impacts include reduced spot market liquidity, heightened volatility, and cautious sentiment suppressing buys. Traders are advised to use lower leverage, set logical stop-losses, maintain excess collateral, diversify, and monitor via tools like Coinglass, Bybt, and CryptoQuant. Exchanges' risk engines and transparency aid stability, though events underscore prudent risk management in crypto futures.

Interview on Maduro's Alleged Bitcoin Holdings

In a Radio Radicale interview recorded on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 15:30, Marcello Coppo, deputy from Fratelli d'Italia and president of the intergroup for digital assets and blockchain, discussed Nicolás Maduro's purported Bitcoin fortune. Maduro, recently captured by Trump's special forces and imprisoned in Brooklyn, allegedly amassed around 60 billion USD in Bitcoin to evade U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil sales. Payments, often in USDT stablecoins, were converted to Bitcoin for security, as its decentralized nature prevents blocking by authorities like the U.S. Treasury, even for terrorism or narcotraffic-linked funds.

Bitcoin's Role and Market Insights

Coppo noted Bitcoin's value surge from $5,000 (when acquired) to $94,000–$95,000, turning it into a lucrative investment despite market volatility. For large sums, multi-signature wallets (requiring multiple keys, e.g., from Maduro and aides) ensure security. Venezuela's holdings might exceed the U.S.'s 120,000 BTC, China's 180,000–190,000 BTC, and Ukraine's donations-funded stash combined. Possible Italian ties include an Italian wife linked to a company aiding Maduro, though details remain unverified.

Implications for Bitcoin Market

Converting 60 billion USD to euros yields about 50 billion EUR (at 1 USD ≈ 0.83 EUR), enough for multiple national budgets. However, selling could crash prices, as it represents a significant portion of Bitcoin's 21 million total supply. Coppo compared it to gold bars but praised Bitcoin's transparency via blockchain analysis, contrasting failed Venezuelan crypto like Petro, which hyperinflated due to lacking real backing like oil. Bitcoin serves as a neutral tool for regimes securing illicit or sanctioned assets.

Author's Bitcoin Investment Journey

In mid-2022, Senior Contributing Editor invested $50 plus $1.15 PayPal fees in Bitcoin, opting for restraint over dumping his full $64 PayPal balance. The investment quickly plunged: 14% down after one week, another 14% two weeks later (28% total), and 60% by the six-month mark. By January 1, 2023, it was down 66%, prompting the author to mock Bitcoin as a "fake currency."

Avoiding checks until January 1, 2024, the value had nearly doubled from July 2023 but remained underwater overall.

Key 2024-2026 Market Events

Bitcoin hovered around $60K through 2024, post-halving on April 19, 2024, when the mining reward dropped from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC to enhance scarcity. President Trump's pro-crypto stance, highlighted by Reuters in January 2025, drove surges after his election: $69,494 on November 1, 2024; $75K on November 6; $97K by December 1.

Author's holdings reached $99.92 on January 1, 2025 (95% net profit). By July 14, 2025, up 150.18% to $127.97. However, by January 14, 2026, gains eroded, stabilizing near prior year's value amid fading political hype.

The author views crypto as speculative "gambling," akin to fiat economies, but won't increase his small stake, questioning mainstream adoption like credit cards pre-1950s.

Bitcoin has declined sharply, dropping below $95,000 on Friday from its all-time high of over $126,000 in October—a more than 24% fall. This extends losses amid a broader stock market sell-off, driven by investor anxiety over the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions. By midday Friday, Bitcoin hovered just above $96,000, with strong downside pressure persisting.

Key factors include massive outflows from Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), hitting the second-highest daily level on Thursday per Bloomberg, adding selling pressure. Last month's sell-off stemmed from leveraged liquidations and sales by long-term holders (whales). 10X Research highlights no major buyers emerging, with on-chain indicators like declining active addresses and rising exchange inflows confirming a bear market regime. They warn that breaking $93,000 support could lead to deeper short-term losses, especially without a December Federal Reserve rate cut or dovish signals.

Fundstrat strategist Sean Farrell, typically optimistic, now cautions on the lack of catalysts, exacerbated by a prolonged government shutdown delaying liquidity. He suggests a dip to the low $90,000 range could reset valuations and attract buyers. Historically, Bitcoin's bear markets follow bull runs, like the 70% drop from $69,000 in 2021 to $15,000. Hopes rest on resumed ETF inflows, Fed rate cuts, or positive macro data, but tighter liquidity favors safer assets. Long-term fundamentals remain strong, advising against leverage and favoring dollar-cost averaging while monitoring Fed updates and key levels like $93,000.

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) started 2026 volatile, with US-listed spot Bitcoin BTCUSD ETFs attracting $753 million on Tuesday—their second consecutive inflow day after a four-day losing streak—per Farside Investors. Total net inflows for Bitcoin ETFs reached $660 million in 2026 so far, amid fluctuating demand. In contrast, traditional ETFs drew $46 billion in the first six days of 2026, an "abnormally high" pace for $158 billion monthly (4x the norm), according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas in a Monday X post. This divergence highlights investors' preference for lower-risk traditional funds over crypto ETFs.

Bitcoin ETF demand has waned over six months, from $6 billion monthly inflows in July 2025 to $1.09 billion outflows in December 2025, per SoSoValue. Spot Ether ETHUSD ETFs saw $130 million inflows on Tuesday, totaling $240 million in 2026, while spot Solana SOLUSD ETFs recorded $67 million net inflows since year-start, per Farside Investors.

Blockchain data shows Bitcoin treasury firms filling the demand gap, adding 260,000 BTC to balance sheets in the past six months—outpacing 82,000 mined coins—for monthly investments of ~260,000 BTC ($25 billion), per Glassnode. However, "smart money" traders hold $122 million net short positions on Bitcoin, betting on declines in most top cryptocurrencies except Ether, XRP (XRP), Pump.fun’s PUMP token, and Zcash (ZEC), per Nansen.

Wrapped Bitcoin USD (WBTCUSD), a tokenized version of Bitcoin pegged 1:1 for use on blockchains like Ethereum, enables DeFi liquidity and cross-chain trading. It holds a $11.8 billion market cap and serves as key collateral in decentralized finance protocols.

As of January 14, 2026, WBTCUSD trades at $94,832.56, up 3.53% in 24 hours from a previous close of $90,934.08. It opened at $95,010.86, hit a day high of $95,307.81, with trading volume at 416.9 million—26% above the 30-day average of 330.1 million. Year-to-date, it's up 6.37% but down 20.74% over six months, below its 200-day moving average of $106,107.36. The year high is $125,777.45, low $74,486.36.

Technical indicators are mixed: RSI at 59.13 (neutral), MACD bearish with bullish histogram divergence, ADX 33.32 (strong trend), Stochastic %K 86.05 (overbought), and CCI 337.37 signaling pullback risk. It's near the upper Bollinger Band at $93,404.

Forecasts include monthly $93,185.08 (-1.74%), quarterly $139,482.32 (+47.16%), and yearly $83,923.50 (-11.48%). Key support: 50-day MA $89,440.09, lower Bollinger Band $83,836.12, Keltner lower $83,220.29. Resistance: day high $95,307.81, Keltner upper $95,464.89.

WBTCUSD reflects Bitcoin trends and DeFi adoption, per Meyka AI PTY LTD data. Not financial advice; conduct due diligence.

Bitcoin surged 4.6% on Tuesday to $96,500—its strongest single-day gain in nearly 1.5 months—driven by cooling U.S. inflation (core CPI falling to 2.6% from 2.7%), $591 million in crypto short liquidations, optimism around the proposed CLARITY Act regulation bill, and spot Bitcoin ETF inflows jumping nearly 7x to $753.7 million. Ethereum rallied to $3,300, XRP gained over 5%, and Dogecoin soared 8%, showing coordinated market strength. Joel Kruger, crypto strategist at LMAX, noted the breakout above $95,000 signaled fresh buying interest amid rising trading volume.

On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, prices corrected modestly: Bitcoin at $95,120 (-0.28%), Ethereum at $3,296 (-0.81%), XRP at $2.13 (-1.77%), and Dogecoin at $0.1467 (-0.99%). Technical analysis reveals all four assets remain in a 2-month consolidation since mid-November, trading below key 200-day moving averages, preserving a bearish structure. For Bitcoin, the upper boundary ($94,000-$96,000) held firm after testing $96,500, with the lower boundary at $82,000-$85,000 (late 2025 lows) and 200 MA at $106,120 intact.

The analyst, with over a decade of experience, sees no fundamental change, expecting swings to lower targets: Bitcoin $74,000-$68,000 (April 2025 lows and weekly chart), Ethereum $2,600-$2,730, XRP $1.77 (December 19 lows), and Dogecoin $0.12 (early January 2026 lows). Despite macro tailwinds like Fed easing, deteriorating technicals suggest continued uncertainty.

Bitcoin is trading at an average of $91,894, up nearly 2% in the past 24 hours, but the market signals caution. Analysts note Bitcoin dominance pressing against a falling trendline; historically, failure to break higher with weakening momentum benefits altcoins. CryptoQuant data shows wallets holding 1,000–10,000 BTC sold about 220,000 BTC over the last year—the fastest decline since early 2023—indicating large players reducing exposure near local or macro tops.

Geopolitical tensions add uncertainty, with Bitcoin's recent pullback linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs, rattling risk assets. Analyst Maartunn highlights unusual liquidity: recent Mondays feature upside grabs followed by reversals hunting long liquidations, repeating in four of the last five weeks.

The $92,000 level is a key pivot; a clean break above could target $100,000, while failure might drift prices to the low $80,000s, near ETF holders’ average cost basis of $80K. With fragile positioning, traders eye rotation to altcoins like Remittix, a PayFi platform with live wallet on the App Store, CertiK audit, confirmed listings on BitMart and LBank, and a crypto-to-fiat app launch on February 9, 2026.

Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ: BITF), a vertically integrated Bitcoin mining company, announced on January 14, 2026, a strategic pivot from Bitcoin mining to high-performance computing (HPC) and AI data centers, targeting hyperscalers and GPU-as-a-service opportunities. Executives, including COO Liam Wilson and CFO Jonathan Merne, emphasized that infrastructure, not chips, is the key constraint amid rising AI demand, with data center lease rates surging 12% annually since 2022 and projected power shortfalls by 2030. Bitcoin operations continue to generate about $8 million monthly, funding investments without straining the balance sheet.

The company is designing 99% of its 2026–27 portfolio for NVIDIA's next-gen Vera Rubin GPUs, favoring cooler regions like Pennsylvania, Washington, and Quebec for lower power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.2–1.3 versus 1.4–1.5 in hotter areas like Texas. Key U.S. sites include: Moses Lake, Washington (18 MW, potential GPU-as-a-service yielding higher income than Bitcoin mining); Panther Creek, Pennsylvania (350 MW secured, expandable to 500+ MW, $200M Macquarie facility); Sharon, Pennsylvania (110 MW, full substation by end-2026); Quebec (170 MW renewable hydropower, convertible to HPC); and Scrubgrass, Pennsylvania (potential 1.3 GW gigacampus by 2028).

Financed by $590M convertible proceeds, $750M unencumbered liquidity, and the Macquarie facility, Bitfarms expects notice to proceed (NTP) for Moses Lake, Sharon, and Panther Creek in H2 2026, with revenue by late 2027. Corporate shifts include exiting Latin America via Paso Pe sale, adopting U.S. GAAP for 2024–2025, opening a New York City office, and potential U.S. redomiciliation in 2026.