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Kirk West, the man accused of stealing $11 million in XRP from Nancy Jones, the widow of U.S. country music icon George Jones, has filed a countersuit, Decrypt reported, citing music magazine Rolling Stone. West was arrested last year for allegedly stealing $400,000 in cash and 5.5 million XRP, then worth about $11.6 million, from Jones. In his new lawsuit, West claims he is entitled to a portion of the assets and is a victim of fraud and defamation. West reportedly approached Nancy Jones after her husband's death in 2013 to inquire about buying their home, and the two subsequently entered a romantic relationship. He presented himself as a crypto expert and began offering investment advice. After forcing West to leave her home last year, Jones discovered that her Ledger hardware wallet, containing her private keys, was missing from a safe. While legal action has helped recover over five million XRP, about 483,000 XRP (currently worth over $1 million) is still missing. West claims his sound investment judgment during their relationship created joint wealth and is suing for half of Nancy Jones's assets, including $5 million in gold and silver, $1 million in cash, and precious metals, in addition to the crypto assets.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $96,000. BTC is trading at $96,020.22 on the Binance USDT market.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a noted crypto opponent, has urged that the chartering process for a bank linked to WorldLibertyFinancial (WLFI) be halted until President Donald Trump resolves his associated financial interests, CoinDesk reported. In a letter to Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould, Warren described the situation as an unprecedented level of financial conflict of interest and potential for corruption. She argued that if the charter is approved, it could lead to rules that directly affect the profitability of the president's company, resulting in a structure where the president effectively oversees his own business. Warren also noted that because Congress failed to adequately address this issue during the passage of the Genius Act, the Senate must rectify the problem as it deliberates on a crypto market structure bill.

Major exchanges have seen $436 million worth of futures liquidated in the past hour. In the past 24 hours, $648 million worth of futures have been liquidated.

BTC has risen by 1.89% in the past five minutes on the Binance USDT market. Currently, BTC is trading at $95,879.99.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $95,000. BTC is trading at $95,391.64 on the Binance USDT market.

Decentralized perpetual futures exchange Lighter has launched a mobile trading app, according to CryptoBriefing. The application, available for both iOS and Android, allows users to trade spot, perpetual futures, real-world assets (RWA), and pre-market assets.

Coinbase has announced that it will list RAY. Trading is scheduled to begin once liquidity conditions are met.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed lower. The S&P 500 fell 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%.

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will be replaced soon. During a speech at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump referred to Powell as an idiot and said he would be gone shortly.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $94,000. BTC is trading at $94,068 on the Binance USDT market.

U.S. President Donald Trump has once again urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, Walter Bloomberg reported. Trump stated that the Fed Chairman is ruining every bull market and expressed hope that the chairman would lower rates when positive economic indicators are released. This comes after the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the December Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7% year-over-year, in line with market expectations.

U.S. asset manager Strive has secured shareholder approval to acquire Semler Scientific (SMLR), a Nasdaq-listed medical technology firm that has been strategically acquiring Bitcoin, CryptoBriefing reported. The acquisition will increase Strive's total holdings from its current 7,750 BTC to 12,798 BTC by incorporating Semler's assets.

JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum has warned that it is risky for cryptocurrency firms to pay interest on stablecoins, CoinDesk reported. During an earnings call, he noted that while paying interest on stablecoins has the same characteristics and risks as bank deposits, the practice is not subject to the appropriate regulations that govern banks. Barnum described this as clearly dangerous and undesirable. His comments follow the release of a draft bill on crypto market structure by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. The legislation proposes that interest or rewards on stablecoins be permitted only when tied to substantive activities such as opening an account, trading, staking, or providing liquidity, rather than for simply holding the assets.

An amended version of the U.S. crypto market structure bill (CLARITY Act) is expected to be submitted within the next few hours, according to Sarah Wynn of The Block. Sources indicate the amendment will include stricter limits on stablecoin yields. The U.S. Senate Banking Committee previously released a draft of the bill that would only permit interest or rewards on stablecoins if they are tied to substantial activities such as opening an account, trading, staking, or providing liquidity.

Coinbase International Exchange, the cryptocurrency derivatives platform of Coinbase (COIN), has announced it will conduct system maintenance for three hours starting at 5:00 p.m. UTC on Jan. 24. During the maintenance period, services including trading, deposits, withdrawals, and transfers will be unavailable.

The number of new wallets created on the Ethereum network has reached an all-time high, averaging 327,000 per day, according to on-chain analytics firm Santiment. The firm attributed the surge to a significant reduction in gas fees following the Pusaka upgrade introduced last December, which has spurred an influx of new users. Santiment also noted that stablecoin transfer volume on the Ethereum network hit a record $8 trillion in the fourth quarter of last year, explaining that new users are being drawn to the network as it is increasingly utilized as a practical payment infrastructure.

The Solana-based prediction market aggregation platform Fors has launched its beta service, CryptoBriefing reported. The new service gathers prediction data from diverse fields such as politics, sports, macroeconomics, cryptocurrency, and global issues, providing it in a standardized format that integrates probability, price, and liquidity.

Nasdaq-listed Upexi has entered into a $36 million convertible note agreement with Hivemind Capital, with the notes collateralized by locked SOL. The deal is expected to push Upexi's total SOL holdings above 2.4 million. As of Jan. 5, the company held 2,174,583 SOL.

Ethereum block trading platform ETHGas is launching its own token, GWEI, The Block reported. The token will grant voting rights based on staking and lock-up conditions, allowing holders to participate in key protocol decisions such as parameter adjustments, upgrades, and treasury management.

Whale Alert reported that 2,238 BTC has been transferred from Coinbase Institutional to an unknown new wallet. The transaction is valued at about $209 million.

U.S. crypto-friendly bank Old Glory Bank is pursuing a public listing through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Digital Asset Acquisition Corp, Bloomberg reported. Following the merger, the company will be renamed OGB Financial and is expected to be listed under the ticker OGB. Old Glory Bank transitioned from a regional bank in Oklahoma to a crypto-focused bank in 2022.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $93,000. BTC is trading at $93,098.97 on the Binance USDT market.

The structure of the cryptocurrency market has shifted since last year, with liquidity increasingly concentrating in major assets like BTC and ETH rather than dispersing across the board, according to a report from crypto market-making firm Wintermute cited by The Block. The report suggests this trend is weakening the momentum for altcoin rallies. As evidence, Wintermute noted that the average duration of an altcoin rally last year was 19 days, a sharp decrease from the 61-day average in the prior year. The firm also pointed to the early conclusion of the memecoin cycle at the beginning of this year as a factor that limited the spread of capital. Additionally, the report observed a change in institutional trading strategies, with participants now favoring short-term, news-driven approaches over directional bets and moving away from simpler seasonal trading toward more repetitive and sophisticated methods.

Bitcoin could experience a price surge similar to gold if demand from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continues, according to a statement on X by Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise. He explained that while central bank purchases are often cited for gold's price increase, the actual mechanics were more complex. Hougan noted that central bank demand for gold began to rise in 2022, with annual purchases doubling from 500 to 1,000 tons after the U.S. froze Russian-held Treasury assets. However, the price did not react immediately due to selling from existing holders. Instead, gold saw gradual gains, rising 2% in 2022, 13% in 2023, and 27% in 2024, before experiencing a major surge in 2025. Hougan argued that Bitcoin is following a similar pattern. Since the launch of spot ETFs in January 2024, the market has absorbed more BTC than has been newly issued. He attributed the muted price response to selling pressure from existing holders. Hougan concluded that this selling pressure is finite and that if ETF demand persists, a significant price increase is highly likely.