Bitcoin saw a steep pullback this week, wiping out its 2026 gains as the price fell under the $88,000 mark on major exchanges. Data cited from CoinGlass shows that in the last 24 hours, 167,513 traders were liquidated and total positions worth $857 million were closed, mostly from leveraged longs. The sell-off unfolded alongside heightened tariff threats, bond market stress and a broader shift toward safe-haven assets.

US President Donald Trump unveiled a punitive tariff plan targeting eight European countries, with a 10% levy starting on February 1, 2026 and potentially rising to 25% by June. Bitcoin fell about 3% into the low-$90,000 range as investors rotated to havens, while reports indicated $750 million–$875 million in crypto long liquidations.

Global crypto exchange-traded products recorded about $2.2 billion in net inflows over the latest week, marking the strongest weekly increase since October last year. Bitcoin funds absorbed most of the new capital, while Ether products and a smaller group of altcoin ETPs also attracted fresh investor interest.

Bird, the developer of the XRPL-based meme coin DROP, has triggered discussion by saying that anyone holding more value in XRP than in their bank account is a "genius." He contrasts bank savings rates of around 4–6% with rising living costs and frames XRP as a forward-looking asset, while also noting that how much XRP to hold is subjective and depends on personal circumstances.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $1.42 billion in inflows over the latest week, marking the strongest weekly increase since early October and briefly lifting Bitcoin prices. Midweek activity concentrated the surge, with one day drawing more than $840 million and another roughly $754 million, while BlackRock's IBIT reportedly contributed around $1.03 billion to the total. Analysts note that these bursts of institutional demand via regulated funds have recently produced short-lived price bounces rather than lasting trend changes.

Strategy chairman Michael Saylor argued on a podcast that corporate Bitcoin purchases are cash allocation choices, not moral missteps. Public disclosures indicate listed companies hold about 1.1 million BTC, with Strategy at 687,410 BTC. Bitcoin traded near $95,250 at the time of writing, within an intraday range of roughly $94,320 to $95,660.

Debate in the US Senate over the Clarity Act has revived attention on XRP and other token-backed exchange-traded funds, with reports indicating the bill may clarify how ETF underlying assets are treated under existing rules. Since their November 2025 debut, XRP spot ETFs have reportedly attracted about $1.37 billion in inflows, fueling community discussion about whether in-kind structures could let holders use these products in a bank-like way. Some XRP advocates argue that, once legal status is clearer, investors may treat regulated ETFs as a preferred place to park tokens while preserving access.

Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg said during a podcast with Paul Barron that XRP and Hedera could follow a different performance path than Bitcoin this year, supported by enterprise adoption and tokenization use cases. He expects only modest, low double-digit gains for these networks, while warning that Bitcoin, which he believes topped at $126,200 on October 6, 2025, could decline another 20–30% over the next six to nine months.

CoinGecko's annual report said crypto treasury firms were major buyers in 2025, deploying nearly $50 billion and lifting holdings from more than $56 billion to $134 billion by January 1, 2026. The market briefly neared $4.4 trillion before ending 2025 around $3.0 trillion after an October liquidation of about $19 billion, while treasuries held over 5% of Bitcoin and Ethereum.