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Bitcoin jumped more than 4% to break above 95,000 dollars as risk appetite returned on softer inflation data and falling bond yields, while ether, Solana and Cardano each climbed around 7–9%, bouncing cleanly from support levels. The macro backdrop of cooling inflation and lower real yields helped pull fresh liquidity into crypto, and a wave of short liquidations in leveraged futures added extra buy pressure as prices pushed higher. Overall, the move looks like a sharp repricing of risk after a choppy rangebound period rather than a full melt up, with total crypto market cap pushing further above 3 trillion dollars.

Options and futures data show bitcoin and ether traders are bracing for a relatively calm start to 2026, with one month implied volatility drifting lower as BTC holds around the low 90,000 dollar area and ETH trades just above 3,000 dollars. Demand for far out of the money calls has cooled, interest is shifting toward income strategies that profit from sideways markets, and put buying points to measured hedging rather than crash fear. Leverage in perpetual swaps remains moderate, funding rates are close to neutral, and positioning is spread across longer maturities. With markets still digesting uncertain Fed cut timing and other assets like stocks and gold near record highs, crypto traders appear content to stay long but hedged and to bet on consolidation instead of another round of wild swings.

India’s Financial Intelligence Unit has introduced tougher rules for crypto exchanges to fight money laundering and terror financing, requiring “liveness” KYC with blinking selfie videos, detailed geo location and IP logging, extra ID documents and verified bank accounts tied to each user. Platforms must run enhanced due diligence every six months on higher risk clients, file suspicious transaction reports, keep records for at least five years and stay registered with the FIU. The guidance also tells exchanges to avoid privacy mixers and ICO style token sales, which regulators say carry complex laundering and terror risks. The new regime effectively ends anonymous trading on compliant Indian platforms and pushes the industry toward bank style surveillance standards in order to remain inside the formal financial system.

Vitalik Buterin warned that most so called decentralized stablecoins still have deep structural flaws, from being pegged only to the US dollar which loses real value over decades, to heavy dependence on oracles that can be corrupted if attackers gain enough capital or governance control. He also pointed to tension between using staked ETH as collateral and offering attractive yields without adding hidden risk, since slashing and downtime can hit the backing assets. His message is that if crypto wants truly durable, censorship resistant money, future stablecoins must solve these issues around pegs, oracles and yield mechanics instead of relying on optimistic assumptions that only work in good market conditions.

President Donald Trump said in a New York Times interview that he has no plans to pardon Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO serving a 25 year sentence for fraud and conspiracy over the exchange’s collapse, despite previously granting clemency to other crypto linked figures like Ross Ulbricht and Changpeng Zhao, signaling that support for the broader digital asset industry will not extend to rescuing its most notorious offender.

Bitcoin is hovering around 91,000 dollars and ether is easing after their early January spike, with both still up on the week as the first 2026 rally cools rather than reverses. XRP has pulled back about 4.5% after a strong run, while dogecoin remains the best weekly performer among large caps, up more than 22%. In the background, a rally in government bonds and softer U.S. data are strengthening expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts later in 2026, a macro shift that supports risk assets but also encourages short term crypto traders to lock in profits and wait for clearer signals.