Bitcoin climbed back above $90,000 on Jan. 21, trading at $90,143 with its 24-hour loss narrowing to 0.53%, HTX data cited by BlockBeats show. Ethereum briefly touched $3,000 before pulling back to $2,995.3 on the same platform. The broader crypto market moved higher alongside a moderate statement from Trump.

Whale address bc1q8g transferred 2,000 BTC to Binance on Jan. 21, Lookonchain data show. The address acquired the 2,000 BTC three months ago at $109,759 each, totaling $219.5 million; the holdings are now valued at $178.7 million. A sale at current prices would result in a $40.8 million loss.

Wall Street institutions are reducing their Bitcoin cash-and-carry positions as annualized returns dropped to about 4.7% from roughly 17% a year earlier, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 21. The strategy involves buying spot Bitcoin while selling futures to capture the spread, which has narrowed due to heavy market inflows.

Nasdaq-listed KindlyMD said on Jan. 21 it has rebranded to Nakamoto and holds about 5,400 BTC worth over $500 million since adopting its Bitcoin treasury strategy, Businesswire reports. The company said the move aligns its identity with its long-term Bitcoin strategy and clarifies its goals.

CryptoQuant analyst XWIN said on Jan. 21 that renewed tariff measures under the Trump administration have been a clear downside factor for Bitcoin since 2025, as these policies directly affect corporate earnings, inflation and monetary policy expectations, weakening overall risk appetite for assets such as Bitcoin. Rising uncertainty around economic growth and interest rate prospects is prompting investors to reduce risk exposure in the short term, with Bitcoin often treated as a liquid asset that can be temporarily sold to rebalance portfolios rather than as a long-term store of value. CEX net flows offer an additional angle, as the adjustment phase has seen brief increases in exchange inflows consistent with temporary position changes, though these inflows have not persisted, suggesting no ongoing structural selling pressure on Bitcoin in centralized markets.

Hyperinsight data show whale address 0xa503 opened a 30 BTC long position at approximately $89,300 on Jan. 21 at 17:23. The address currently holds a 40x leveraged BTC long valued at approximately $2.68 million, with an unrealized profit of approximately $1,707 and a liquidation price at approximately $86,000.

Bitcoin remained weak after falling below $90,000, despite a brief bounce above $97,000, QCP said on Jan. 21. Japan's 10-year bond yield rose to 2.29%, while US-EU tariffs are set to increase from 10% to 25% on June 1, adding pressure to risk assets. QCP noted that BTC is behaving like a high-beta risk asset.

Centralized exchanges recorded a net inflow of 549.06 BTC in the 24 hours on Jan. 21, Coinglass data show. Binance led with an inflow of 875.81 BTC, followed by Kraken at 292.74 BTC and Gate at 206.53 BTC. OKX posted the largest outflow among exchanges at 481.42 BTC.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said on Jan. 20 at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos that the government will stop selling seized digital assets and classify all Bitcoin held by the Justice Department and Treasury as part of a "U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve," BlockBeats reports. Under the policy, Bitcoin obtained through criminal and civil forfeitures will be retained permanently rather than auctioned by the U.S. Marshals Service, with over 200,000 BTC now held by the government treated as a long-term value reserve on the national balance sheet. Besant stated the reserve will expand on a "budget-neutral" basis through law-enforcement seizures rather than taxpayer-funded purchases, with assets custodied by the Federal Reserve and not sold except in extreme national economic emergencies. Analysts cited in the report said the move marks the first time U.S. policy has elevated Bitcoin to strategic asset status comparable to gold.