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According to multiple media outlets, Bitmine (BMNR), a publicly traded company known for its strategic accumulation of ETH, has announced a $200 million equity investment in Beast Industries, the corporate holding company of world-famous YouTuber MrBeast.

Bitcoin's rally this year is being driven by spot demand, which is a healthier market indicator than futures-led growth because it reflects genuine rather than speculative interest, according to an analysis by CoinDesk. The media outlet reported, citing data from Checkonchain, that demand shifted from futures to spot during the recent price increase from $90,000 to $97,000. This trend is further supported by data from CoinGlass showing that Bitcoin futures open interest has remained largely unchanged. However, the analysis also identified the negative perpetual futures funding rate as a key variable. If spot prices continue to rise while the funding rate remains negative, the risk of a short squeeze could increase. A short squeeze occurs when rising prices force the cascading liquidation of short positions, which in turn adds to the upward price momentum.

SG-Forge, the cryptocurrency subsidiary of French financial giant Societe Generale, has completed a settlement for a tokenized bond using both cash and a stablecoin, CoinDesk reported. The transaction utilized EURCV, a euro-denominated stablecoin issued by SG-Forge, and was conducted in collaboration with the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). SG-Forge stated that the deal demonstrates the feasibility of core functions such as issuance, delivery versus payment (DvP), interest payments, and redemption.

Swiss crypto bank Sygnum predicts that Bitcoin could surge to as high as $400,000 if the United States establishes clear cryptocurrency regulations, Cointelegraph reported. In a report, the bank stated that growing anticipation around U.S. legislation, such as the CLARITY Act and a proposed Bitcoin Act for national-level purchases, increases the likelihood that other countries will add BTC to their reserve assets. Sygnum identified pragmatic nations or those facing currency crises, including Japan, Germany, Brazil, and Poland, as potential adopters. The bank analyzed that such a multi-country adoption could drive the price of BTC to between $350,000 and $400,000. Sygnum also projected that up to 10% of new bonds issued by major institutions this year will be in a tokenized format.

Zero-Knowledge (ZK) verification computing platform Brevis announced it will build an Intelligent Privacy Pool on BNB Chain. The project is a collaboration with BNB Chain and 0xBow, the development team behind the blockchain privacy tool Privacy Pools. The new pool will build on 0xBow's existing features by adding a ZK-based user eligibility verification system. This will allow users to prove their regulatory compliance without exposing personal data, either through their on-chain history or by linking off-chain Know Your Customer (KYC) information via zkTLS technology. The pool is scheduled to launch in the first quarter.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is also a co-founder of Worldcoin (WLD), will attend an upcoming shareholder meeting for Bitmine (BMNR), a publicly traded company known for its strategy of accumulating ETH, DL News reported. The agenda for the meeting includes a proposal to increase the number of authorized new shares from 500 million to a maximum of 50 billion.

OKX announced it will list the LIT/USDT spot trading pair at 3:30 p.m. UTC on Jan. 15.

On-chain indicators suggest that BTC may have bottomed out, with a bull market potentially on the horizon, according to several analysts cited by Cointelegraph. Crypto trader Jelle noted that on the three-day chart, the BTC Relative Strength Index (RSI) has surpassed 50 for the first time since early October of last year, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is showing a buy signal. Jelle believes this combination indicates that BTC has reached its bottom. Additionally, analyst Isiah suggested that if BTC were to break through its 50-week Simple Moving Average (SMA) of $101,000, it would be an unusual event, assuming the market is currently in a downtrend. Meanwhile, trader Daan Crypto Trades observed that the bull market support band, which consists of two moving averages, is currently acting as resistance. The trader stated that BTC is likely to retest this band soon and that a breakout above its upper boundary will determine the market's direction for the next several months.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has warned that allowing interest payments on stablecoins could lead to an outflow of approximately $6 trillion from the banking system into the stablecoin market. This figure represents about 30-35% of total deposits in U.S. commercial banks. Moynihan explained that stablecoins are structurally similar to money market mutual funds, with reserves invested in short-term financial instruments like U.S. Treasurys rather than being used for bank loans. He noted that this structure keeps funds outside the traditional banking system, which would shrink the deposit base banks rely on for lending to households and businesses. The issue of permitting interest on stablecoins is currently a major point of contention between the banking and crypto industries amid discussions over the U.S. crypto market structure bill (CLARITY).

Bybit announced it will list LIT for spot trading at 2:30 p.m. UTC today.

The BSC Foundation has resumed purchasing ecosystem tokens for the first time in four days, according to on-chain analyst ai_9684xtpa. The foundation is buying two tokens: 币安人生 and 我踏马来了.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $97,000. BTC is trading at $97,009.98 on the Binance USDT market.

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has announced the launch of its digital payment platform, LSEG DiSH. The open platform supports real-time, programmable payments through an independent network that operates both on-chain and off-chain. Supported assets for payment include various foreign currencies and digital assets.

Declining volatility in U.S. Treasurys, which has reached its lowest level in nearly four years, is strengthening expectations that BTC could surpass the $100,000 mark, Coindesk reported. According to the outlet's analysis, stable Treasury prices facilitate credit creation, which tends to encourage investors to increase their exposure to risk assets like cryptocurrencies. The MOVE Index, a measure of expected Treasury volatility over the next four weeks, has fallen to 58, its lowest point since October 2021. BTC has historically maintained a positive correlation with the Nasdaq 100 index and a negative correlation with the MOVE Index. With U.S. Treasurys now at their most stable in years, the analysis suggests BTC could break $100,000 for the first time since mid-November.

A growing number of DeFi protocols are suspending their Discord channels due to the platform's rampant phishing schemes, Cointelegraph reported. DeFi lending protocol MORPHO recently switched its official Discord channel to read-only mode, citing the platform's role as a hotbed for phishing. Similarly, DeFi data platform DefiLlama is also minimizing its channel activity in a move away from Discord. While the platform remains a popular communication tool for cryptocurrency users, its failure to address persistent security issues is reportedly causing a rift with the crypto community.

Binance has announced it will list FRAX/USDT perpetual futures at 8:00 a.m. UTC today. The new contract will support leverage of up to 50x.

Amendments to South Korea's Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act, which provide the legal framework for token securities (STOs), have passed a plenary session of the National Assembly, Digital Asset reported. The passage comes approximately three years after financial authorities first released guidelines on the matter. The legislation officially defines the digitization of securities under the Capital Markets Act using distributed ledger technology. It also integrates token securities into the electronic registration system and establishes a new category of issuer account management institutions. This will allow qualified issuers to directly issue, record, and manage their token securities on a distributed ledger. The bill now awaits Cabinet approval and promulgation before becoming law.

The U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to halt the operation of sports prediction markets, CoinDesk reported. In a letter, the NCAA argued that these prediction markets are similar to sports betting but lack the consumer protection measures found in licensed betting operations. The organization pointed out that while these markets fall under the Commodity Exchange Act, they do not adhere to state-level regulations, allowing them to bypass rules on age limits, advertising, and monitoring for game integrity. The NCAA called for a temporary suspension of sports prediction markets until a robust, properly regulated system is established, warning that the current situation poses a serious risk to athletes, consumers, and the integrity of sports.

The following are the 24-hour long/short ratios for BTC perpetual futures on the top three global crypto futures exchanges by open interest: Overall: 51.04% long, 48.96% short 1. Binance: 51.18% long, 48.82% short 2. OKX: 51.27% long, 48.73% short 3. Bybit: 50.17% long, 49.83% short

The Bank of England is considering measures to protect stablecoins in a manner similar to commercial bank deposits, Bloomberg reported. Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden stated that maintaining long-term trust in stablecoins may require mechanisms analogous to depositor insurance schemes. He added that legal procedures designating stablecoin holders as priority creditors in the event of a bankruptcy could also be necessary. Ramsden noted that the bank is currently reviewing what actions are needed to prepare for the potential failure of systemically important stablecoins.

The South Korean crypto exchange Upbit announced it has resumed deposit and withdrawal services for digital assets on the SUI network following the completion of system maintenance. The affected assets include Sui (SUI), DeepBook (DEEP), Haedal Protocol (HAEDAL), LumiWave (LWA), Momentum (MMT), and Walrus (WAL).

A significant decrease in open interest (OI) in the Bitcoin derivatives market is being viewed as a positive sign of deleveraging, according to an analysis by CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost. The contributor noted that Bitcoin derivatives OI has fallen by 31% since last October, describing it as a healthy signal that excessive leverage is being cleared from the market. Historically, such movements have often established major market bottoms and created momentum for a rebound. However, Darkfost cautioned that if BTC falls further into a full-blown bear market, open interest could decline even more, potentially prolonging the market correction.

The decentralized perpetual futures exchange Aster announced via its official X account that Season 2 of its Human vs. AI trading competition will run from Jan. 22 to Jan. 29. The event, which will be held on the Aster Chain testnet, features a total prize pool of $150,000. Participants will include 40 professional traders, 30 traders selected through an application process, and 30 AI traders. Applications are open until 11:59 p.m. UTC on Jan. 18, and the results will be announced on the Aster platform on Jan. 20. In the previous competition, a human trader nicknamed ProMint won first place in the net profit category. However, the AI team outperformed the human team in the overall team results, posting a total return on investment (ROI) of -4.48% versus the human team's -32.22%.

Argentinian cryptocurrency exchange Lemon has launched a Visa credit card collateralized by BTC, according to Wu Blockchain. The card is reportedly the first of its kind in Argentina, allowing users to access it without a bank account or credit history. Lemon stated that its objective is to enable users to convert their long-term BTC holdings into a practical financial tool for everyday use.

On-chain analytics firm Santiment stated on X that pessimism about Bitcoin surged on social media this week, even as the asset rebounded. The firm noted that markets tend to move contrary to retail investor sentiment. With the strongest levels of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) observed in the last 10 days, Santiment suggested that Bitcoin could potentially reclaim the $100,000 mark for the first time since Nov. 13 of last year.