Rick Rieder, BlackRock's CIO of Global Fixed Income, has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Jerome Powell. According to Polymarket, his nomination odds rose from single digits earlier this month to 32% as of Thursday, trailing Kevin Warsh at roughly 44%, after Bloomberg reported a Thursday Oval Office meeting. Rieder's policy stance includes a 3% neutral rate and a more flexible view on deficits.

Bitwise Asset Management has introduced the Bitwise Proficio Currency Debasement ETF (NYSE: BPRO), an actively managed fund blending Bitcoin with gold, silver, and mining equities. The firm partnered with Proficio Capital Partners, which oversees $5 billion in AUM, to rotate exposures based on market cycles and valuation. Launch materials note the dollar's roughly 40% purchasing power loss since 2006 and U.S. debt nearing $40 trillion.

Speaking at the Reuters Global Markets Forum during the World Economic Forum, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci set a hoped‑for Bitcoin target of $125,000 to $150,000. He said his late‑2025 $170,000 call missed due to policy delays, as Bloomberg reported the U.S. market‑structure bill may slip to late February or March. He also cautioned that Bitcoin’s price is hard to predict.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has told CNBC he is willing to go on record with a forecast that Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market will set new all-time highs in 2026. He pointed to supportive regulation and growing institutional participation as key drivers, even after Bitcoin slipped below the $90,000 mark. XRP began 2026 near $1.85, briefly spiked toward $2.40 in early January, then retreated back to its yearly open by Jan. 20.

Ripple President Monica Long has outlined a vision of crypto's "production era," arguing that stablecoins will move from niche payment tools to core infrastructure for global settlement. She predicts that by 2026 around half of Fortune 500 companies will hold crypto or tokenized assets, including stablecoins and onchain T-bills, while expanding ETF access supports broader institutional participation.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has issued a bearish outlook for Bitcoin, highlighting a megaphone-style topping formation that points to potential downside toward the $58,000–$62,000 range. His chart-based scenario outlines successive targets from around $73,786 down to an ultimate objective near $58,840, while he also questions the "Bitcoin up forever" thesis in light of possible quantum-computing advances.

Venture capitalist Tim Draper has reiterated his bold Bitcoin outlook, projecting a move to $250,000 within six months and a possible long-term climb to $10,000,000 per coin. He links this scenario to shrinking US dollar dominance amid inflation and debt, and believes easing regulatory pressure now makes his long-standing target more achievable.

Bitcoin's latest drop unfolded with unusually tight dispersion across major spot venues and stable session extremes. More than $500 million in long positions were liquidated in roughly sixty minutes across derivatives markets. The move looked dramatic, yet order books and arbitrage activity appeared orderly.

On January 16, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that the roughly 58 BTC forfeited by Samourai Wallet developers will be held on the federal balance sheet within the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve under Executive Order 14233. Earlier reports had suggested a possible sale via SDNY and the U.S. Marshals Service.